A Potter Secret

Aftermath of the Task

Back at the arena Harry appears with Cedric's body. The crowd don't understand what has taken place and they all cheer, triumphant music starts to play. Harry weeps on Cedric's body. "Harry! Harry!" Dumbledore cries. Dumbledore tries to pry Harry from Cedric's body. "Tell me what happened!"

"He's back, he's back! Voldemort's back," Harry sobs. "Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him, not there." Isabella runs out, pushing through the crowd and hugging Harry. He cries into her as Dumbledore tries to help.

"It's alright Harry. It's alright, he's home, you both are," Dumbledore tries to calm.

"Keep everybody in their seats. A boy has just been killed," Fudge instructs before heading towards Dumbledore and Harry. "The body must be moved Dumbledore, there are- too many people."

"Let me through! That's my son! My boy!" Amos cries, trying to push through the crowd. Amos breaks down wailing. The crowd look on distraught.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mad-Eye Moody enters and closes the door behind him. Harry is in the room still sobbing into Isabella. They sit. "Are you alright Potter?" Mad-eye asks quietly. Harry nods. "Does it hurt?"

"Not so much now," Harry replies.

"I'd better take a look at it," Mad-eye says, going to grab a potion. We see Harry's arm, it has a skull and snake marking.

"The cup was a portkey. Someone had bewitched it," Harry explains.

"What was it like? What was he like?" Mad-eye asks.

"Who?" Harry mumbles.

"The dark lord. What was it like to stand in his presence?" Mad-eye asks.

"I dunno. It was like I'd fallen into one of my dreams. One of my nightmares," Harry mutters.

Mad-Eye starts shaking and struggling for air, he reaches for his bottle but it's empty. He rushes to a chest with other bottles and struggles to find one. "Were there others? In the graveyard, were there others?" Mad-eye demands.

Harry looks at him, confused and hesitant. "He didn't say they were in a graveyard, Professor," Isabella states.

"Marvellous creatures dragons aren't they?" Mad-eye starts. "Do you think that miserable oaf would have led you into the woods if I hadn't suggested it? Do you think Cedric Diggory would have told you to hold the egg under the water if I hadn't have told him first myself? Do you think Neville Longbottom the witless wonder could have provided you with gilliweed if I hadn't have given him the book that led you straight to it? Huh?"

Harry looks at him. Realizing the truth. "It was you from the beginning. You put my name in the goblet of fire. You bewitched Krum. But-"

Mad-Eye makes sobbing noises making fun of Harry. "You won because I made it so Potter," Mad-eye assures. "You ended up in that graveyard tonight because it was meant to be so. And now the deed is done. The blood that runs through these veins runs within the dark lord. Imagine how he will reward me when he learns that I have once and for all silenced the great Harry Potter."

A flash of magic occurs and Mad-Eye is knocked into the wall. Dumbledore and Severus come rushing in. Dumbledore takes Mad-Eye by the neck. "Severus," Dumbledore calls. Severus administers some veritaserum. Mad-Eye wriggles demonically. "Do you know who I am?"

"Albus Dumbledore," Mad-eye grits.

"Are you Alastor Moody? Are ya?" Dumbledore demands.

"No."

"Is he in this room? Is he in this room?" We see a nod as Mad-eye looks to the chest in the corner. "Harry get away from there! Take Isabella out of here." Dumbledore approaches the chest as the Potters scramble away. The chest opens, it contains a series of smaller chests. When the final chest is open we see that there's a pit within holding a man the real Alastor Moody. "Are you alright Alastor?"

"I'm sorry Albus," the real Mad-eye calls back, his hand over his eye.

"That's Moody, but then who's-?" Harry trails off.

Dumbledore holds up one of Mad-Eye's Bottles. Severus takes it and sniffs it. "Polyjuice potion," Snape says decisively.

"Now we know who's been stealing it from your store Severus," Dumbledore notes. Harry gives Snape an I-told-you-so look. Dumbledore looks into the pit. "We'll get you up in a minute." Alastor Moody groans. The Mad-Eye Moody they have captive in a chair begins to twitch about restlessly making strange noises. He appears to be transforming. He rips off his fake eyepiece which falls on the floor, we see that he's transformed into Barty Crouch Junior. "Barty Crouch Junior," Dumbledore notes.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Barty says. Barty Jr rolls up his sleeve to reveal a skull and snake marking.

"Your arm Harry," Dumbledore says, pulling out Harry's arm and showing everyone the cut.

"You know what this means don't you?" Barty asks. He's back. Lord Voldemort has returned."

"Send an owl to Azkaban, think they'll find they're missing a prisoner," Dumbledore says.

"I'll be welcomed back like a hero," Barty says.

"Perhaps. Personally I've never had much time for heroes," Dumbledore smiles.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella steps quietly into the hospital wing where the Diggory's sit in silence. She has a bookbag on her back. Severus is waiting outside with Dumbledore and a portkey. As she steps closer, they Diggory's turn and see her. Amos stands up and walks over to Isabella. "You want to see him?"

"I'm actually here to see you," Isabella replies. She sits on the bed beside Cedric and pulls his sleeve up to reveal the bracelet. "I gave him this bracelet a couple weeks before this task. I had had a vision of him being- being killed by the killing curse by Wormtail. The way it works is if the killing curse is cast to the wearer, the wearer is sent into magic stasis." Isabella waves her hand over Cedric and a monitor appears above him, showing a faint but there heartbeat. Elizabeth gasps and Amos runs off to find Madam Pomphrey.

"It was a round-about way of protecting him and I- I'm not sure if he'll come out of it because of the extremely dark nature of the curse but it- he has a chance," Isabella says. "And you need to keep the fact he's alive hidden and protected. Death Eaters will be angered that he survived and since Voldemort asked that he be killed, he will be a target."

Elizabeth nods as Amos runs back with Madam Pomphrey. "We need to move him to our home," Elizabeth says. "Where he'll be safe and hidden." Amos nods. When he turns to thank Isabella, she's already gone.