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

102. What Crouch Did

"He gave his own son to the dementors?" Harry said quietly.

"That's right," Sirius said. Any amusement he and Amara had shared before was gone from both their faces. "I saw the dementors bringing him in, watched them through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though...they all went quiet in the end...except when they shrieked in their sleep."

A haunted look had entered Sirius' face. Amara's heart lurched in her chest at the sight of it. Gently, she took his hand into both of her own. Sirius started, looking over at her with the same haunted look, as though moving of his own accord. The moment his eyes met hers, however, warmth returned to his expression. There was still sorrow in his eyes, a darkness none of them really believed would ever be gone, but something about Amara sparked something far more vital to survival than happiness. It was a will to keep going, a motivation to keep trying, to grow, to learn, and to survive.

He blinked, squeezing her hand in his own before turning back toward the children as Harry asked, "So he's still in Azkaban?"

"No," Amara said softly, running her thumb soothingly against Sirius' hand. "He died about a year after he was brought in."

"He died?" Althea gasped.

"He wasn't the only one," Sirius muttered bitterly. "Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The dementors buried him outside the fortress. I watched them do it."

"That's terrible," Althea whispered.

Sirius said nothing. Amara had laid her head against his shoulder, and Sirius was leaning against her, his head resting against her own. It seemed he was done talking about Azkaban.

"So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made," Amara said softly, her eyes trained on the floor.

"Moody says Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark Wizards," Harry said after a long pause.

"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him," Sirius replied, seemingly glad of the change of subject.

"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!" Ron exclaimed triumphantly, giving Hermione a look.

Only Althea noticed how Amara paled slightly and Sirius' grip on her hand tightened convulsively.

"Yes, and that doesn't make any sense at all," Sirius replied thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it does!" Ron exclaimed excitedly.

"Listen, if Crouch wants to investigate Snape, why hasn't he been coming to judge the tournament? It would be an ideal excuse to make regular visits to Hogwarts and keep an eye on him."

"So you think Snape could be up to something, then?" Harry asked quickly.

Before he could reply, Hermione broke in, "Look, I don't care what you say. Dumbledore trusts Snape-"

"Oh, give it a rest, Hermione," Ron said impatiently. "I know Dumbledore's brilliant and everything, but that doesn't mean a really clever Dark wizard couldn't fool him-"

"Why did Snape save Harry's life in the first year, then? Why didn't he just let him die?" Hermione retorted.

"I dunno - maybe he thought Dumbledore would kick him out-" Ron began.

"What d'you two think?" Harry said loudly.

Although he addressed the question to both Sirius and Amara, his eyes were fixed on the latter.

Amara was quiet a moment before she admitted, "I don't know whether Severus is loyal to Dumbledore or not. He's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he became quite famous for it at school."

"Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was," Sirius added.

"Severus probably knew more curses when we arrived than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters," Amara explained weakly.

"Rosier and Wilkes," Sirius listed off, his brows furrowed as he tried to remember. "They were both killed by aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges - they're a married couple - they're in Azkaban. Avery - from what I've heard he wormed his way out of trouble by saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse - he's still at large. But as far as I know, Snape was never ever accused of being a Death Eater - not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble."

"Snape knows Karkaroff pretty well, but he wants to keep that quiet," Ron said.

"Snape knows Professor Lyra too," Harry admitted.

"What?" Sirius said in surprise. "How do you know?"

Harry hesitated a moment before he explained, "After my name came out of the Goblet of Fire, there was this shouting match between the three schools. Lyra was one of the few foreigners who seemed to understand I didn't put my name in. She was the first person to suggest someone else had done it to try and kill me."

Sirius and Amara shared surprised looks.

"But during the argument, Snape said something to her that made her really angry," Harry explained. "I think she had said something about it being a dupe and Snape brought up her name, calling her Professor Charlotte."

"Charlotte is her middle name, I think," Sirius explained. "If she's trying to hide the fact that she's a Malfoy, she may be using it as her last name, but Snape already knows who she is. Would he have any reason for knowing her that you know of, Ami?"

"I have no idea," she admitted, with a shrug. "I think we can safely assume, though, that he's close with Lucius. Maybe he knew her as a child and recognized her somehow. Maybe she looks like her mother."

"Fat chance," Ron scoffed. "Her mum looks like she's got dung under her nose."

Sirius smiled. Amara loved when he smiled. It seemed to draw years from his face. It reminded her of their time at Hogwarts.

"What's the time?" Sirius asked.

"Half past three," Althea replied, glancing at her watch.

"You'd better get back to school," Sirius said, getting up before helping up Amara. "Now listen," he added, giving Harry a particularly hard look. "I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to come see us, all right? Either send notes to us or tell Ellie. She can leave school without risking her neck. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission; it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you."

"No one's tried to attack me so far," Harry said. "Except a dragon and a couple of grindylows."

"Harry," Amara said scoldingly.

Harry was shocked to see she gave the exact same look of gentle scolding that he had seen Althea give a hundred times over.

Letting out a small sigh, she embraced him as she pleaded, "Please, please, please be careful, Harry."

Releasing him, she embraced Althea.