The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

101. The Cave

Most of Saturday morning was spent gathering food for Amara and Sirius from the breakfast and lunch table so that by the time they set out for Hogsmeade, all four of them had bags filled to the brim with food.

"This way," Althea said, glancing back quickly to ensure they were not being followed.

They walked in silence for nearly half an hour before the cave came into sight. The moment they stepped inside, Althea let out a joyful laugh as Amara embraced her. Harry was shocked at the difference between what his godparents had looked like when he'd first met them compared to now. Sirius' hair was now significantly shorter, although it still was longer than average. He had gotten new clothes that, although slightly torn, were in significantly better condition than his former clothing. Amara had changed less than Sirius had, but Harry could still see a difference. She too had cut her hair so that it only reached her shoulders. She had also gotten much tanner than Harry remembered her being.

One thing they had in common, however, was that they were both exceptionally thin.

"It's so good to see you, Harry," Amara said, embracing him with a warm smile.

"We brought these for you," Althea said, taking her bag off her shoulders as the others did the same.

"Oh thank Merlin," Sirius muttered, opening the first bag he could and pulling out a chicken leg.

Handing it to Amara, he took out another for himself and began to eat.

"We've been living on plants and rats, mostly," Sirius explained. "Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade. We'd draw too much attention to ourselves. Amara's been apparating to small muggle villages and getting us some food there, though."

"What are you both doing here?" Harry asked worriedly, not returning Sirius' smile.

"Fulfilling our duty as your godparents," Sirius replied. "Don't worry about it. I'm pretending to be a lovable stray."

"We need to be here, Harry," Amara said, seeing his anxious look. "After everything that's happened, we need to be here when something happens. Especially with...well..."

"You're worried about Professor Lyra?" Althea guessed.

"And Karkaroff," Sirius added.

"But what if they catch you? What if you're seen?" Harry retorted.

"You four and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know we're Animagi," Sirius replied with a small shrug. "Is Crouch still MIA?"

"Yes," Harry admitted.

"It's not like Crouch to be gone this long," Amara said quietly, giving Sirius a confused look.

"If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak," Sirius agreed.

"D'you know Crouch, then?" Harry asked.

Sirius' expression darkened as all warmth seemed to leave Amara's face. What she remembered was watching her husband dragged away from her while she was pinned to a wall screaming and crying.

"Oh I know Crouch all right," Sirius said darkly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban - without trial."

"What?" Ron and Hermione exclaimed in shock.

"You're kidding," Harry said incredulously.

"No, I'm not," Sirius said grimly.

"Crouch used to be the Head of Magical Law Enforcement," Amara explained. "He was even tipped for Minister of Magic, as I recall."

"He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch," Sirius said. "Powerfully magical - and power-hungry."

"Never a Voldemort supporter," Amara interrupted, catching sight of the expression on Harry and Althea's faces.

"No, certainly not," Sirius agreed. "No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side...well, you wouldn't understand...you're too young."

"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," Ron said irritably. "Try us, why don't you?"

Grinning, Sirius replied, "All right, I'll try you...Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't. You know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family and friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing...the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere...panic...confusion...that's how it used to be." Glancing at Amara, he asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"That about covered it," she said dryly.

Harry could tell this wasn't a subject she was very fond of.

"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning - I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers - powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened...Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently, they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."

"Crouch's son was caught?" Hermione gasped.

"Yep," Sirius said, tossing a chicken bone to Buckbeak as he drew out a loaf of bread, breaking it into equal halves and handing the other half to Amara. "Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while...gotten to know his own son."

"Was his son a Death Eater?" Althea asked curiously.

"No idea," Sirius admitted. "I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out from Amara. The boy was definitely caught in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters - but he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like Crouch's house elf."

"Did Crouch try to get his son off?" Hermione asked.

Amara burst into laughter, sharing an amused look with her husband as she scoffed, "Crouch let his son off? Hermione, if the man wouldn't give me a moment with my husband before shipping him off to Azkaban, what makes you think he'd spare a shred of pity for his son? Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go: he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister of Magic. You saw him dismiss a devoted house-elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again - doesn't that tell you what he's like? Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy...then he sent him straight off to Azkaban."