Shifted: Book One

Chapter Thirty Three - Lip Smacking

Hazel was abruptly taken to Dumbledore's office, brought by his quivering arms. McGonagall and Snape rapidly trailed behind them with broken expression, even Snape had a face of concern and remorse. Hazel slammed her knees down to the hard, shiny surface and collapsed into a trembling ball of tears. McGonagall kneeled down beside her and gently rubbed her back as Dumbledore cupped her wet face and looked into her hurt eyes. Her hurt was a spider web, intricate, yet strong. She knew in time it would pass and the sun would regain its warmth, but the joy from her heart disappeared without a trace.

"Hazel, what happened?", he said, demanding an explanation.

Hazel sniffled and choked on her tears that were overflowing her organs inside. They ascended to her throat then out her mouth, where horrified words trembled out.

"We took the cup together before the maze trapped us in", she started, rewinding the events in her foggy mind.

"It was a port key. We were transported to a cemetery and-", Hazel continued before shutting her eyes tightly and quivering her lips with trauma.

"What? Hazel what happened next?", he demanded, staring deeply at her.

"Wormtail appeared from the shadows, he struck the Avadra Kedavra curse at Cedric but I shielded him. My- my body felt as thought it went up in flames, every inch of it was burning and electrocuting, I thought I was going to die", she coughed.

McGonagall and Snape's eyes lit up.

"The Avada Kedavra curse causes instantaneous death, there is no way you could survive it", Snape said with confusion as he looked to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore looked just as confused. He had never heard of anyone to survive the curse, and Hazel, a new witch of all people, made it that much more unusual. Hazel rubbed her eyes and continued the story.

"Wormtail, he- he dropped Voldemort, only he was small and fragile, into this cauldron and he was reborn into something skeletal and slender", Hazel continued, gasping for air and wiping her tears away.

"He summoned the death eaters and then challenged us to a duel with Goyle and Malfoy-", she said, her eyes growing in terror.

"Lucius? Lucius Malfoy?", he asked in a disgusted tone.

Hazel nodded and broke down again.

"He struck me with his wand, I- I screamed and Cedric turned around to me before being murdered by Goyle-", she finished before guilty cries escaped her mouth. Her eyes were waterfalls, the tears crashing down and splashed on to her clothes, almost washing out the blood that had stained them.

"It's my fault, it's my fault he's dead", she cried out before brought to her trembling feet.

"How did you escape the cemetery?", he asked, his face growing shamefully intriguingly.

"Harry's parents- their spirits helped us get back to the cup", she finished, wiping away more tears, though it was no use as they streamed down her face continuously.

Dumbledore let go of her face softly and stepped back, looking into nothing, his mind racing with thoughts. McGonagall placed both her shaking hands on Hazel's shoulders, comforting her with no words, but only her presence. Snape's jaw slowly hung before he closed it and his eyes shot wide at Dumbledore.

"Potter", he said before Dumbledore rushed through them and stormed to Moody's storage cupboard, with Snape, McGonagall and Hazel herself swiftly following behind.

They reached the door and heard rattles and bodies moving chaotically inside as though Harry was in danger.

"Aberto", Snape casted, pointing his wand to the lock on the door before them.

As soon as it swung open, the four saw Moody in Harry's face with his wand pointed at him.

"Expelliarmus!", Dumbledore called out, striking Moody back and rushing to his weak body, pushing him into the chair beside Harry.

Harry quickly shuffled back next to Hazel whilst the three professors pointed their wands at the imposter. Dumbledore held Moody at the neck whilst Snape swiftly poured drops of Veratisium into his thirsty mouth, then snatching the empty bottle Moody held in his hand.

"Do you know who I am?", Dumbledore asked with a fire in his voice.

Moody gurgled on the liquid before swallowing it entirely. He answered and called Dumbledore's name with disgust. His face grew purple and his veins bulged from his skin.

"Are you Alastor Moody?", he howled, tightening his grip.

"No", he admitted, his voice squirmed and his lips quivered.

"Is he in this room? Is he?", Dumbledore asked, his eyes lit with amber flames and the lion within him roared out.

Moody's fake eye twitched and slid to the left, looking at an unusual, large black box with intricate details. The three professors, as well as Hazel and Harry who clung onto one another, looked to the object before backing away. A white bolt travelled from the tip of Snape's wand to the bolt on the box, revealing what was inside. The lid lifted, revealing a replica of the box, only smaller. That box then mimicked the first movement, revealing an even smaller clone. The peculiar object revealed smaller and smaller boxes until one lifted its lid and revealed a black void. Snape and McGonagall peered their heads and looked down, finding the real Alastor Moody sat at the bottom, his skin looked starved and his trembling hand covered his missing eye. Snape lifted the hatch off the bottle and sniffed inside, the familiar scent travelling up his nose.

"Polyjuice potion", he snapped, turning to Dumbledore who was now stood beside him, looking down at Moody.

"Now we know who's been stealing from your storage, he replied, whilst Snape glared at Hazel and Harry, realising he was wrong.

"We'll get you up in a minute", Dumbledore reassured before turning his attention back to the fraud.

The fake Moody, sat in the chair behind them, groaned and squirmed. As they all turned around, he started to change form. His face began to melt like an ice cream on a scorching summer day, the fake eye popped out of its band and rolled to the ground whilst his hands took the band off his head. His greasy hair grew darker and shorter as it sat messily on the top of his head. His sausage-like fingers grew slimmer and longer as his body fidgeted and jolted. He shook chaotically before hanging his head down low, then slowly looking up again, smacking his lips with his slippery tongue. He went to stand up in Moody's old clothes that drenched him and extended his hand out to Hazel's who was stood too close. He yanked onto her arm and dug his nails deep into her skin before being pushed back by Dumbledore. Hazel snatched her arm away and rushed to the back on the other side of the room beside Harry, gripping her arm that was scarred with nail marks.

"Barty Crouch Jr...", Dumbledore stated whilst he, Snape and McGonagall resumed their positions and pointed their wands at the man. He licked his lips intensely and rolled up his sleeve.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours", he yelled, revealing the dark mark inked on his clammy skin, the same mark as Igor's and Wormtail's.

Dumbledore grabbed Harry's arm and compared the dark mark with the wound Wormtail carved into him. The scarlet blood stained his skin as it continued to slowly trickle down. Barty Crouch Jr's face grew in joy, a wide smirk plastered the lips his tongue continuously licked whilst his eyes shifted intensely.

"You know what this means... he's back. Lord Voldemort has returned", he declared, licking his teeth with his slithering tongue as the sweat dripped from his forehead, highlighting his muddy face.

"Send him back to Azkaban, I think you'll find they're missing a prisoner", Dumbledore declared whilst McGonagall snatched his wand off of him and she and Snape took him away.

Before he left the room, he held his head high, his eyes shimmering in the dim lights in the room.

"I'll be welcomed back as a hero, he declared, before being removed from the room.

They left the room without another word, Hazel brought Harry in for a tight embrace, she rested her head on his shoulder, letting the tears continue running down her cheeks, though she was almost out of them now. They stood for a moment in each other's arms, knowing that Barty Crouch Jr was gone for good, but this was only the beginning of a nightmare, one Hazel never imagined having.