⚠️READ AT OWN RISK, THIS WAS ERITTEN WHEN I WAS 14 😭⚠️
NIGHTMARE || ❝ - I've gotta recognise the weapon in my mind - ❞
【 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦
𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳
𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴
𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦
𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 】
FINAL WORD C...
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— (chapter nineteen.) —
"It comes down to this," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead. "Either Mr. Crouch attacked Viktor, or somebody else attacked both of them when Viktor wasn't looking."
"It must've been Crouch," said Ron at once. "That's why he was gone when Harry and Dumbledore got there. He'd done a runner."
"I don't think so," said Harry, shaking his head. "He seemed really weak - I don't reckon he was up to Disapparating or anything."
"You can't Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?" said Hermione.
"Okay...hows this for a theory," said Ron excitedly. "Krum attacked Crouch - no, wait for it - and then Stunned himself!"
"And Mr. Crouch evaporated, did he?" said Hermione coldly.
"Oh yeah..."
It was daybreak. Harry, Aurora, Ron, and Hermione had crept out of their dormitories very early and hurried up to the Owlery together to send a note to Sirius. Now they were standing looking out at the misty grounds. All four of them were puffy-eyed and pale because they had been talking late into the night about Mr. Crouch.
"Just go through it again, Harry," said Hermione. "What did Mr. Crouch actually say?"
"I've told you, he wasn't making much sense," said Harry. "He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault....He mentioned his son."
"Well, that was his fault," said Hermione testily.
"He was out of his mind," said Harry. "Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions."
"And...remind me what he said about You-Know-Who?" said Ron tentatively.
"I've told you," Harry repeated dully. "He said he's getting stronger."
There was a pause. Then Ron said in a falsely confident voice, "But he was out of his mind, like you said, so half of it was probably just raving...."
"He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort," said Harry, and Ron winced at the sound of the name. "He was having real trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore."
Harry turned away from the window and stared up into the rafters. The many perches were half-empty; every now and then, another owl would swoop in through one of the windows, returning from its night's hunting with a mouse in its beak.
