chapter 9

337 8 0
                                    

"Hello Sirius", Harry said

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

"Hello Sirius", Harry said. He opened his bag and let Sirius sniff at the food inside. After taking a good long sniff, Sirius led them around the stile to the foot of the mountain. They all climbed the mountain, with Sirius being their guide, sweating and panting.

Although it felt like an eternity to Emelie, they'd finally reached the place where Sirius wanted to talk to them all. The place was a cave in which they all squeezed into. Buckbeak the Hippogriff stood at the end of the cave looking at them. Emelie was so focused on Buckbeak, she didn't even notice Sirius turn into his human form. He was wearing gray robes, which looked suspiciously like the ones he was wearing when he left Azkaban.

"Chicken! Thank you Harry", Sirius said, ripping apart the chicken legs to eat them. "How are you all doing?".

"Very well for now", Hermione told him, "Now, why did you come here Sirius?".

"I've told you, it's about Harry's scar hurting. I've been reading many things off the Daily Prophet that seem quite odd amidst Harry's scar paining him".

Sirius gestured towards several copies of the Daily Prophet littering the floor of the cave. Ron picked one up and read out loud.

"Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch.... hasn't been seen in public since November . . . house appears deserted, blimey they are making sound like he's dead, Harry ''.

Emelie meanwhile was trying to conjure up an image of what Crouch looked like. Harry had informed her about him and how he wasn't at the Quidditch match but his house elf, Winky, was. She could hear Harry explaining the events of the match to Sirius right now as she was thinking about them. After Harry finished explaining, Sirius scratched his chin, deep in thought.

"So, Winky, the elf was saving Crouch a seat in the Top Box, right?". Harry, Ron, and Hermione all nodded simultaneously.

"And Crouch didn't turn up at the match". They nodded again. Suddenly, Emelie was struck with a thought.

"Pardon my interruption, but maybe Crouch was the one who conjured the Dark Mark ''. Sirius thought about this for a moment, just now acknowledging Emelie's presence, then shakes his head.

"Couldn't have been him. Who else was in the Top Box?".

"Well, a couple Bulgarian Ministers, Cornelius Fudge, the Malfoys-". Harry is cut short by Ron who yells, "The Malfoys! I bet all my money that Lucius Malfoy conjured the Dark Mark!".

Sirius doesn't even think this through saying, "Anyone else?".

"Well, there was Ludo Bagman", Hermione says, "And even if there were more people, Winky was not the one who conjured the Dark Mark, I can bet on that". Emelie had a feeling that Hermione would be including Winky in her organization, S.P.E.W.

"Now that you give me these facts, I've got a feeling that possibly Crouch conjured the mark". Harry thinks this through, nodding his head.

"But, I don't wish to cause any more stress, of course. I simply wanted to meet you all to inform you to look out for Crouch, especially now that this tournament is coming up."

"Emelie", he says, startling her, "I'm counting on you to keep them safe". Emelie nodded, glad to be put up with such a big responsibility.

"Now it's best if you all go, Hogsmeade time is up in a few minutes, I believe". He shoved them out of the cave and guided them down the mountain back at the stile.

"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to write to me, Harry". He waved goodbye and winked at Emelie. Emelie returned the wink.

Soon, they were all walking back to Hogwarts, Harry pondering what Sirius had said.

"Do you really think Barty Crouch conjured the Dark Mark? And if he did, might he be at Hogwarts secretly, which is why my scar is hurting?".

"I haven't gotten a clue, Harry", Ron said, "As long as your scar doesn't pain you leading up to the tournament, you should be all right. Plus, we might want to get back to our common room or else Hermione is going to burst her little patient bubble".

That was true, since Hermione was stalking ahead of them, past the students going back into the school.
Emelie didn't hear any of it, though. The only thing that mattered to her was that Sirius had given her a job and she was going to achieve it.

𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 - cedric diggoryWhere stories live. Discover now