✓ | RECKLESS AND BRAVE | Draco Malfoy

45 | SEHNSUCHT

"What the hell just happened?" she whispered to him under her breath, but Harry was just as thunderstruck as she was. She looked passed his shoulder and gave a sort of strangled noise.

Harry whipped around and found Dumbledore sitting right next to him. "Professor! I'm sorry — we didn't mean to — we were just looking at that basin in your cabinet — I — where are we?"

The headmaster didn't speak nor did he glance over to acknowledge them. In fact, nobody in this room did. Dumbledore was still staring at the door in the corner of the room.

Tessa swallowed, eyes roving across the room. "Harry," she said slowly, "what's going on?"

"I think," he started, raising a hand and waving it in front of Dumbledore who didn't even flinch, "we might be in a memory."

Tessa narrowed her eyes, searching the room for any clues until she paused. Realization dawned on her and she quickly tugged Harry's arm to speak, "Harry — remember when I mentioned about how I would be the first Chief Witch of the Wizengamot? Well, this is Courtroom Ten." She swallowed, her breathing faltering upon recognizing what memory she was in. "This — this was during a hearing my uncle Kasi told me about."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What's Courtroom Ten and what happens in here?"

"It's where the Council of Magical Law and the Wizengamot use for hearings. And right now — it's the Council that's here."

Before Tessa could elaborate more on it, there were footsteps resonating the room, and the door flung open as three people entered. It was Igor Karkaroff, flanked by two dementors who placed him in the chained chair before sweeping out of the room.

     "Igor Karkaroff," a familiar voice said loudly, and Tessa looked over to see a young Barty Crouch with a stern expression. "You have been brought from Azkaban to present evidence to the Ministry of Magic. You have given us to understand that you have important information for us."

     Karkaroff straightened himself, the golden chains binding his arms. "I have, sir. I wish to be of use to the Ministry. I wish to help. I — I know that the Ministry is trying to — to round up the last of the Dark Lord's supporters. I am eager to assist in any way I can . . . "

     The crowd mumbled amongst one another, and Tessa heard a very distinct growl from the other side of Dumbledore, "Filth." She glanced to see Mad-Eye Moody with two normal, working eyes. "Crouch is going to let him out," Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors."

     Dumbledore made a small disgruntled noise of disapproval.

     "Ah, I was forgetting . . . you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?"

     "No," Dumbledore said calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."

     "But for filth like this . . ." Moody said softly.

     "You say you have names for us, Karkaroff," Crouch continued on in a loud, clear voice that rang throughout the courtroom. "Let us hear them, please."

     "You must understand," Karkaroff breathed out hurriedly, "that He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy . . . He preferred that we — I mean to say, his supporters — and I regret now, very deeply, that I ever counted myself among them —"

     "Get on with it," Moody sneered.

     "— we never knew the names of every one of our fellows — He alone knew exactly who we all were —"