Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire (BOOK 4 of 7)

Chapter 12-The Familiar Man

 "Congratulations, Potter."

Harry turned to Barty Crouch and nodded.

"Fine achievement. Well done, boy."

"See you at Hagrid's, Harry!" Ron called.

Mr. Crouch took Harry aside and launched into a speech. "I'm sorry we haven't spoken. After all, your story is one I've heard so many times. And quite remarkable, isn't it? Tragic of course, to lose one's family; never whole again, are we? Still, life goes on, and here we stand. I'm sure your parents would be very proud of you today, Potter."

"Bartemius!" Harry whirled around to see Professor Moody walking towards them.

"Not trying to lure Potter into one of the Ministry's summer internships, are we? The last boy who went into the Department of Mysteries never came out!"

After saying that, Moody did what Draco had dubbed the tongue-slip thing. Harry didn't know this or notice this. But Mr. Crouch did. He had seen that before. He walked closer to Moody and examined him before walking away.

"And they say I'm mad," Moody said before he, too, left.

What Harry didn't know was that Mr. Crouch had realized that Mad-Eye Moody was currently being impersonated.

Later that day, as Harry was walking through the woods with Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione, he noticed a pair of shoes sticking out from behind a tree. When he stepped towards the tree, his scar began to hurt. To his shock, the shoes belonged to a dead Mr. Crouch.

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Potter looked both ways before leaving Dumbledore's office. Draco quickly ducked into a side hallway to avoid being seen by Potter. The minute the other boy had passed, Draco hurried to the gargoyle.

"Great. I don't even know the password."

He thought for a moment before saying, "Chocolate frogs."

Nothing.

"Acid Pops. Toffee Eclairs. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Licorice Snaps. Cockroach Clusters."

The gargoyle finally responded. When Draco walked into Dumbledore's office, he collided with a cabinet. Suddenly there was a large noise and a big shift. The cabinet doors opened and out came a pedestal with a dish on it. The dish was swirling with some sort of liquid.

Draco, who had done so much research in his four years of secret rebellion in the Necessity Room, didn't know what it was. He leaned forward to get a better look and the next thing he knew, he was falling through the air.

Surprisingly, he landed in a seat, unharmed.

Draco looked around. He was in a courtroom of sorts. He turned to his left.

"Professor?"Draco said. But someone else did too. A younger version of Dumbledore turned to face him. He extended his arm right through Draco and the person who'd acknowledged Dumbledore before shook back.

In the middle of the room, there was a cage, and none other than Igor Karkaroff sat in it.

"Igor Karkaroff," a voice announced. Draco turned to see a younger Barty Crouch. "You have been brought from Azkaban at your own request to present evidence to this counsel. Should your testimony prove consequential, Counsel may be prepared to order your immediate release. Until such time, you remain in the eyes of the Ministry a convicted Death Eater. Do you accept these terms?"

"I do, sir," came the desperate reply.

"And what do you wish to present?"

"I have names, sir. There was a Rosier, Evan Rosier."