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In the Owlery, Blair stroked Herman before tying her monthly letter to his leg. After the Yule Ball, her parents, mostly Olivia, had calmed down. Blair even wrote a letter to Mrs. Weasley to assure her that she was fine and to thank her for the sweater. It did make Mrs. Weasley feel a little less worry, but she was still considerably worried. "Thank you, Herman."

Blair was happy to see people pay attention more to Ron than they did to Blair. It was good that he got to share Harry and Blair's limelight, but his story sure changed a lot. From the true story to a violent struggle with the mermen. 

For Blair, the best thing about the aftermath was how Hermione and her had seemed to get closer, not that they weren't already close before, as if the invisible wall between them was broken down. Hermione was in a rather tetchy mood as people teased her about her being the thing that Blair would miss the most, but the teases died down when Blair wrapped an arm around Hermione and glared at them. That put Hermione back into a great mood.

As they entered March, the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned their hands and faces every time they went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because the owls kept being blown off course. But because of Sirius's reply that they'd be meeting soon, Blair went on her day in a good mood. She was afraid for Sirius too, but she really did want to see him again.

The four Gryffindors approached the final lesson of the afternoon — double Potions. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in a huddle outside the classroom door with Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. All of them were looking at something Blair couldn't see and sniggering heartily. 

Pansy's pug-like face peered excitedly around Goyle's broad back as Blair, Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached. "There they are, there they are!" she giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart.

Blair saw that Pansy had a magazine in her hands — Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the front showed a curly-haired witch who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand. 

"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!" Pansy said loudly, and she threw the magazine at Hermione, who caught it, looking startled.

At that moment, the dungeon door opened, and Snape beckoned them all inside. Blair, Hermione, Harry, and Ron headed for a table at the back of the dungeon as usual. Once Snape had turned his back on them to write up the ingredients of today's potion on the blackboard, Hermione hastily rifled through the magazine under the desk. At last, in the center pages, Hermione found what they were looking for. Blair, Harry and Ron leaned in closer.

A color photograph of Harry headed a short piece entitled:

Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

A boy like no other, perhaps — yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.

Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since her third year, as a source close to her reports, Blair Wood has been chasing her and asking her out, and since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with the three champions' affections.

Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl." Blair Wood, on the other hand, had once challenged Draco Malfoy, a kind and handsome fourth-year student, to a duel because of her undying love for Miss Granger.

However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate champions' interest. "She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."

Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.

"I told you!" Ron hissed at Hermione as she stared down at the article. "I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you out to be some sort of — of scarlet woman!" 

Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter. "Scarlet woman?" she repeated, shaking with suppressed giggles as she looked around at Ron. 

"It's what my mum calls them," Ron muttered, his ears going red.

"If that's the best Rita can do, she's losing her touch," said Hermione, still giggling, as she threw Witch Weekly onto the empty chair beside her. "What a pile of old rubbish." 

Blair smiled at Hermione widely. "Blimey, Granger. Marry me." Hermione blushed before she looked over at the Slytherins, who were all watching her, Blair and Harry closely across the room to see if they had been upset by the article. Hermione gave them a sarcastic smile and a wave, and she, Blair, Harry, and Ron started unpacking the ingredients they would need for their Wit-Sharpening Potion. 

"There's something funny, though," said Hermione ten minutes later, holding her pestle suspended over a bowl of scarab beetles. "How could Rita Skeeter have known?"

"Known what?" said Ron quickly. "You haven't been mixing up Love Potions, have you?" 

Blair gasped mockingly. "Hermione Granger! Is that how I fell for you?" 

"Don't be stupid," Hermione snapped and blushed, starting to pound up her beetles again. "No, it's just... how did she know Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer? Malfoy must have told her about the duel."

Hermione determinedly avoided Blair's eyes. Blair scowled. "What? When?" 

"He asked me right after he helped me up. Madam Pomfrey gave us both blankets and then he sort of pulled me away from the judges so they wouldn't hear, and he said, if I wasn't doing anything over the summer, would I like to —" Hermione's muttering was cut off by Blair. 

"And what did you say?"

Blair started grinding her pestle on the desk, and Harry and Ron exchanged glances. They were sure that she would get another detention if Snape caught her defiling his equipment. 

"And he did say he'd never felt the same way about anyone else," Hermione went on, going suddenly red, "but how could Rita Skeeter have heard him? She wasn't there or was she? Maybe she has got an Invisibility Cloak; maybe she sneaked onto the grounds to watch the second task..."

"And what did you say?" Blair repeated, pounding her pestle down so hard that it dented the desk. 

"Well, I was too busy seeing whether you, Harry and Ron were okay to —" 

"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger," said an icy voice right behind them, and all four of them jumped, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Snape had glided over to their desk while they were talking. The whole class was now looking around at them; Malfoy took the opportunity to flash WOOD SUCKS across the dungeon at Blair. "Ah... reading magazines under the table as well?" Snape added, snatching up the copy of Witch Weekly. "A further ten points from Gryffindor... oh but of course." Snape's black eyes glittered as they fell on Rita Skeeter's article. "Potter and Wood have to keep up with their press cuttings."

The dungeon rang with the Slytherins' laughter, and an unpleasant smile curled Snape's thin mouth. It took Harry and Ron to cover Blair's mouth before she could say something she would regret. Hermione held her hand under the table and Blair instantly stopped squirming, but she didn't stop glaring at Snape.

To Blair's fury, he began to read the article aloud. "'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache... dear, dear, Potter, what's ailing you now? 'A boy like no other, perhaps..." Blair saw Harry and Hermione's faces burning. Even her own face was but it was out of rage. Snape was pausing at the end of every sentence to allow the Slytherins a hearty laugh. The article sounded ten times worse when read by Snape.

"'...Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.' How very touching," sneered Snape, rolling up the magazine to continued gales of laughter from the Slytherins. 

"Well, I think I had better separate the four of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter, beside Mr. Malfoy. Wood — that table in front of my desk. Move. Now."

Blair was about to say something when Hermione pleaded with her eyes. Blair's shoulders slumped and dragged her bag and cauldron to the empty table. Snape followed, sat down at his desk and watched Blair unload her cauldron. Determined not to look at Snape, Blair resumed the mashing of her scarab beetles, imagining each one to have Snape's face.

"All this press attention seems to have inflated your already overlarge head, Wood," said Snape quietly, once the rest of the class had settled down again. Blair took in deep breaths. No doubt Snape was hoping an excuse to give her another detention before the end of the class. 

"You might be laboring under the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you," Snape went on, so quietly that no one else could hear him (Blair continued to pound her scarab beetles, even though she had already reduced them to a very fine powder), "but I don't care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me, Wood, you are nothing but a nasty little girl who considers rules to be beneath her."

Blair tipped the powdered beetles into her cauldron and started cutting up her ginger roots. Her hands were shaking slightly out of anger, but she kept her eyes down, as though she couldn't hear what Snape was saying to her. "So I give you fair warning, Wood. You and Potter," Snape continued in a softer and more dangerous voice, "pint-sized celebrity or not — if I catch you breaking into my office one more time —"

"We haven't been anywhere near your office! I was in detention, remember?" said Blair angrily, forgetting her feigned deafness. 

"Don't lie to me," Snape hissed, his fathomless black eyes boring into Blair's. "Boomslang skin. Lacewing flies. Gillyweed. Corffdwir. All come from my private stores, and I know who stole them. You probably got into detention on purpose so you could execute your plan."

Blair stared back at Snape, determined not to blink or to look guilty. In truth, she hadn't stolen either of these things from Snape. It was way back in second year when Hermione stole the boomslang skin and lacewing flies, and it was Dobby who had stolen the gillyweed and corffdwir.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Blair lied coldly. 

"Potter was out of bed on the night my office was broken into!" Snape hissed. "I know it, Wood! Now, Mad-Eye Moody might have joined your fan club, but I will not tolerate your behavior! One more nighttime stroll into my office, it may be you or Potter, Wood, and you will pay!"

"Right," said Blair coolly, turning back to her ginger roots. "I'll bear that in mind if I ever get the urge to go in there." 

Snape's eyes flashed. He plunged a hand into the inside of his black robes. For one wild moment, Blair thought Snape was about to pull out his wand and curse her — then he saw that Snape had drawn out a small crystal bottle of a completely clear potion. Blair stared at it.

"Do you know what this is, Wood?" Snape said, his eyes glittering dangerously again. 

"No," said Blair, with complete honesty this time. 

"It is Veritaserum — a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets for this entire class to hear," said Snape viciously. "Now, the use of this potion is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines. But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips" — he shook the crystal bottle slightly — "right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then, Wood... then we'll find out whether you and Potter have been in my office or not."

Blair said nothing. She turned back to her ginger roots once more, picked up her knife, and started slicing them again. She didn't like the sound of that Truth Potion at all, nor would she put it past Snape to slip her some. She repressed a shudder at the thought of what might come spilling out of her mouth if Snape did it. She tipped her ginger roots into the cauldron too, and wondered whether she ought to ask Moody where he bought his hip flask. 

There was a knock on the dungeon door. "Enter," said Snape in his usual voice. The class looked around as the door opened. 

Professor Karkaroff came in. Everyone watched him as he walked up toward Snape's desk. He was twisting his finger around his goatee and looking agitated.

"We need to talk," said Karkaroff abruptly when he had reached Snape. He seemed so determined that nobody should hear what he was saying that he was barely opening his lips; it was as though he were a rather poor ventriloquist. Blair kept her eyes on her ginger roots, listening hard.

"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff," Snape muttered. 

Karkaroff interrupted him. "I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me." 

"After the lesson," Snape snapped. Under the pretext of holding up a measuring cup to see if she'd poured out enough armadillo bile, Blair sneaked a sidelong glance at the pair of them. Karkaroff looked extremely worried, and Snape looked angry. She met eyes with Harry and subtly nodded to tell him that she would listen in.

Karkaroff hovered behind Snape's desk for the rest of the double period. He seemed intent on preventing Snape from slipping away at the end of class. Keen to hear what Karkaroff wanted to say, Blair deliberately knocked over her bottle of armadillo bile with two minutes to go to the bell, which gave her an excuse to duck down behind her cauldron and mop up while the rest of the class moved noisily toward the door.

"What's so urgent?" she heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff. 

"This," said Karkaroff, and Blair, peering around the edge of her cauldron, saw Karkaroff pull up the left-hand sleeve of his robe and show Snape something on his inner forearm. 

"Well?" said Karkaroff, still making every effort not to move his lips. "Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since —"

"Put it away!" snarled Snape, his black eyes sweeping the classroom. 

"But you must have noticed —" Karkaroff began in an agitated voice. 

"We can talk later, Karkaroff!" spat Snape. "Wood! What are you doing?" 

"Clearing up my armadillo bile, Professor," said Blair innocently, straightening up and showing Snape the sodden rag she was holding.

Karkaroff turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeon. He looked both worried and angry. Not wanting to remain alone with an exceptionally angry Snape, Blair threw her books and ingredients back into her bag and left at top speed to tell Harry, Ron and Hermione what she had just witnessed.

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The four Gryffindors left the castle at noon the next day to find a weak silver sun shining down upon the grounds. The weather was milder than it had been all year, and by the time they arrived in Hogsmeade, all four of them had taken off their cloaks and thrown them over their shoulders.

The food Sirius had told them to bring was in Harry's bag; they had sneaked a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table. They went into Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby, where they had fun selecting the most lurid socks they could find, including a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly.

Then, at half past one, they made their way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village. Blair had never been there before. Then they turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for them, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in its mouth and looking very familiar. 

Blair smiled widely and said loudly. "Uncle-" 

"Shhh!" Harry, Ron and Hermione immediately shushed her. 

Blair pouted before whispering. "Uncle Padfoot!" Sirius barked once and nuzzled her hand.

"Hello, Sirius," said Harry with a grin. The black dog sniffed Harry's bag eagerly, wagged its tail once, then turned and began to trot away from them across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. Blair, Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed over the stile and followed.

Sirius led them to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. It was easy for him, with his four paws, but Blair, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were soon out of breath. Blair whispered to Hermione. "Want me to carry you, Granger?" Hermione slapped her on the arm in response. They followed Sirius higher, up onto the mountain itself.

For nearly half an hour they climbed a steep, winding, and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail, sweating in the sun. Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when they reached the place where he had vanished, they saw a narrow fissure in the rock. They squeezed into it and found themselves in a cool, dimly lit cave.

Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak the hippogriff. Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of them. All four of them bowed low to him, and after regarding them imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees and allowed Hermione to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck.

Blair was looking at the black dog, which had just turned into her godfather. Sirius was wearing ragged gray robes; the same ones he had been wearing when he had left Azkaban. His black hair was longer than it had been when he had appeared in the fire, and it was untidy and matted once more. He looked very thin and licked his lips at the smell of the food.

"Chicken!" he said hoarsely after removing the old Daily Prophets from his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor. Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of chicken legs and bread. 

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself."

He grinned up at Harry and Blair, and the returned the grin. 

"What're you doing here, Sirius?" Harry said. 

"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a lovable stray."

He was still grinning, but seeing the anxiety in Harry's face, said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter... well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried." He nodded at the yellowing Daily Prophets on the cave floor, and Ron picked them up and unfolded them.

Harry, however, continued to stare at Sirius. "What if they catch you? What if you're seen?" 

"You four and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus," said Sirius, shrugging, and continuing to devour the chicken leg. Ron nudged Blair and passed her the Daily Prophets.

There were two: The first bore the headline Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing — Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved. Blair scanned the story about Crouch. Phrases jumped out at him: hasn't been seen in public since November... house appears deserted... St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries decline comment... Ministry refuses to confirm rumors of critical illness...

"They're making it sound like he's dying," said Blair slowly. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here." 

"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Ron informed Sirius. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork." 

"Mind you, he did look ill, last time we saw him up close," said Harry slowly, still reading the story. "The night our names came out of the goblet-"

"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Hermione, an edge to her voice. She was stroking Buckbeak, who was crunching up Sirius's chicken bones. "I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now — bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him." 

"Hermione's obsessed with house-elves," Ron muttered to Sirius, casting Hermione a dark look.

Sirius, however, looked interested. "Crouch sacked his house-elf?" 

"Yeah, at the Quidditch World Cup," said Harry, and he launched into the story of the Dark Mark's appearance, and Winky being found with Harry's wand clutched in her hand, and Mr. Crouch's fury. When they had finished, Sirius was on his feet again and had started pacing up and down the cave.

Sirius frowned at Blair. "You got injured?"

Blair smiled reassuringly. "It was just a small one, let's talk about that later." Sirius hesitated before nodding and pacing up and down again.

"Let me get this straight," he said after a while, brandishing a fresh chicken leg. "You first saw the elf in the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?" 

"Right," said Blair, Harry, Ron, and Hermione together. 

"But Crouch didn't turn up for the match?"

 "No," said Blair. "I think he said he'd been too busy." 

Sirius paced all around the cave in silence. Then he said, "Harry, did you check your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?"

"No," Harry said finally after thinking about it. "I didn't need to use it before we got in the forest. And then I put my hand in my pocket, and all that was in there were my Omnioculars." He stared at Sirius. "Are you saying whoever conjured the Mark stole my wand in the Top Box?"

"It's possible," said Sirius. 

"Winky didn't steal that wand!" Hermione insisted. 

"The elf wasn't the only one in that box," said Sirius, his brow furrowed as he continued to pace. "Who else was sitting behind you?" 

"Loads of people," said Blair. "Some Bulgarian ministers, Cornelius Fudge, the Malfoys..."

"The Malfoys!" said Ron suddenly, so loudly that his voice echoed all around the cave, and Buckbeak tossed his head nervously. "I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!" 

"Anyone else?" said Sirius. 

"No one," said Harry. 

"Yes, there was, there was Ludo Bagman," Hermione reminded him. 

"Oh yeah." 

"I don't know anything about Bagman except that he used to be Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps," said Sirius, still pacing. "What's he like?"

"He's okay," said Harry. "He keeps offering to help me and Blair with the Triwizard Tournament." 

"Does he, now?" said Sirius, frowning more deeply. "I wonder why he'd do that?" 

"Says he's taken a liking to us," said Blair. 

"Hmm," said Sirius, looking thoughtful.

"We saw him in the forest just before the Dark Mark appeared," Hermione told Sirius. "Remember?" she said to Blair, Harry and Ron. 

"Yeah, but he didn't stay in the forest, did he?" said Ron. "The moment we told him about the riot, he went off to the campsite." 

"How d'you know?" Hermione shot back. "How d'you know where he Disapparated to?" 

"But it couldn't have been Bagman. You saw how he acts." Blair said. 

Hermione was about to protest, but Sirius held a hand up. "When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"

"Went to look in the bushes," said Harry, "but there wasn't anyone else there." 

"Of course," Sirius muttered, pacing up and down, "of course, he'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf and then he sacked her?" 

"Yes," said Hermione in a heated voice, "he sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled —" 

"Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!" said Ron.

Sirius shook his head and said, "She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." 

He ran a hand over his unshaven face, evidently thinking hard. "All these absences of Barty Crouch's... he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too. It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."

"D'you know Crouch, then?" said Blair. 

Sirius's face darkened. He suddenly looked as menacing as he had the night when Blair first met him. "Oh I know Crouch all right," he said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban — without a trial." 

"What?" said Blair, Ron and Hermione together.

"You're kidding!" said Harry. 

"No, I'm not," said Sirius, taking another great bite of chicken. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?" Blair, Harry, Ron, and Hermione shook their heads. 

"He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic," said Sirius. "He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical — and power-hungry. Oh never a Voldemort supporter," he said, reading the look on their faces.

"No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side well, you wouldn't understand... you're too young..." 

"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," said Ron, with a trace of irritation in his voice. "Try us, why don't you?"

A grin flashed across Sirius's thin face. "All right, I'll try you." He walked once up the cave, back again, and then said, "Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere... panic... confusion... that's how it used to be.

"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning — I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers — powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. 

"I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you — plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened..." Sirius smiled grimly. "Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."

Blair clenched her fists. She knew him. He was one of the accused who tortured Neville's parents to insanity, but nobody really knew if he was truly one of them. 

"Crouch's son was caught?" gasped Hermione. 

"Yep," said Sirius, throwing his chicken bone to Buckbeak, flinging himself back down on the ground beside the loaf of bread, and tearing it in half. "Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while, gotten to know his own son." He began to wolf down large pieces of bread.

"Was his son a Death Eater?" said Harry. 

"He wasn't, I think, but no one really knows." Blair quietly answered. 

They all looked at her in surprise, but Sirius continued on, still stuffing bread. "I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out. The boy was definitely caught in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters — but he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the house-elf."

Blair gritted her teeth. Another victim of those Death Eaters. They probably had fun torturing Neville's parents. They were probably laughing then, and they had to bring an innocent person into it. 

"Did Crouch try and get his son off?" Hermione whispered.

Blair closed her eyes and listened to Sirius tell the story of Barty Crouch Jr. His sad life. Crouch's lack of affection towards him. His son's death and his downfall. There was a long silence. Blair was feeling mixed emotions. She felt sadness for Barty Crouch Jr. He had a horrible life, and he was brought into a punishment that he didn't deserve. Another innocent life. Then, anger at Mr. Crouch. He was so selfish. Couldn't he put aside his goals to be there for his family?

"Mister Alastor told me Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark wizards," Blair told Sirius. 

"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him," said Sirius, nodding. "If you ask me, he still thinks he can bring back the old popularity by catching one more Death Eater."

"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!" said Ron triumphantly, looking at Hermione. 

"Yes, and that doesn't make sense at all," said Sirius. 

"Yeah, it does!" said Ron excitedly.

Sirius shook his head. "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?" asked Harry.

Hermione broke in. "Look, I don't care what you say, Dumbledore trusts Snape —" 

"Oh give it a rest, Hermione," said Ron 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?" 

"I dunno — maybe he thought Dumbledore would kick him out —" 

"What d'you think, Sirius?" Blair said loudly, and Ron and Hermione stopped bickering to listen. 

"I think they've both got a point," said Sirius, looking thoughtfully at Ron and Hermione.

"Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was," Sirius added, and Blair, Harry and Ron grinned at each other. 

"Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school 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."

Sirius held up his fingers and began ticking off names. "Rosier and Wilkes — they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges—" Blair's breath hitched, "— 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 even 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," said Ron. 

"Yeah, you should've seen Snape's face when Karkaroff turned up in Potions yesterday!" said Harry quickly. "Karkaroff wanted to talk to Snape, he says Snape's been avoiding him. Karkaroff looked really worried. Blair said he showed Snape something on his arm, but she couldn't see what it was."

"He showed Snape something on his arm?" said Sirius, looking frankly bewildered. He ran his fingers distractedly through his filthy hair, then shrugged again. "Well, I've no idea what that's about but if Karkaroff's genuinely worried, and he's going to Snape for answers..."

Sirius stared at the cave wall, then made a grimace of frustration. "There's still the fact that Dumbledore trusts Snape, and I know Dumbledore trusts where a lot of other people wouldn't, but I just can't see him letting Snape teach at Hogwarts if he'd ever worked for Voldemort."

"Why are Moody and Crouch so keen to get into Snape's office then?" said Ron stubbornly.

 "Well," said Sirius slowly, "I wouldn't put it past Mad-Eye to have searched every single teacher's office when he got to Hogwarts. He takes his Defense Against the Dark Arts seriously, Moody. I'm not sure he trusts anyone at all, and after the things he's seen, it's not surprising. I'll say this for Moody, though, he never killed if he could help it. Always brought people in alive where possible. 

"He was tough, but he never descended to the level of the Death Eaters. Crouch, though, he's a different matter. Is he really ill? If he is, why did he make the effort to drag himself up to Snape's office? And if he's not, what's he up to? What was he doing at the World Cup that was so important he didn't turn up in the Top Box? What's he been doing while he should have been judging the tournament?"

Sirius lapsed into silence, still staring at the cave wall. Buckbeak was ferreting around on the rocky floor, looking for bones he might have overlooked. Finally, Sirius looked up at Ron. "You say your brother's Crouch's personal assistant? Any chance you could ask him if he's seen Crouch lately?" 

"I can try," said Ron doubtfully. "Better not make it sound like I reckon Crouch is up to anything dodgy, though. Percy loves Crouch."

"And you might try and find out whether they've got any leads on Bertha Jorkins while you're at it," said Sirius, gesturing to the second copy of the Daily Prophet. 

"I heard Mister Alastor talking about her with Tonks during the summer. They said she might have stuck her nose into something she shouldn't have, but they stopped talking about it when they saw me. Bagman also told us they hadn't." Blair said with a frown.

"Yes, he's quoted in the article in there," said Sirius, nodding at the paper. "Blustering on about how bad Bertha's memory is. Well, maybe she's changed since I knew her, but the Bertha I knew wasn't forgetful at all — quite the reverse. She was a bit dim, but she had an excellent memory for gossip. That was Bertha alright. It used to get her into a lot of trouble; she never knew when to keep her mouth shut. I can see her being a bit of a liability at the Ministry of Magic... maybe that's why Bagman didn't bother to look for her for so long."

Sirius heaved an enormous sigh and rubbed his shadowed eyes. "What's the time?" 

"It's half past one," said Hermione. 

"You four better go and meet up you're your other friends then," Sirius said, getting to his feet. 

Hermione nodded. "I have to meet up with Lavender and the others. I'll see you three at school." She waved goodbye and left. Blair frowned. She hoped to walk around with Hermione more.

Then, Sirius looked particularly hard at Harry and Blair. "Now listen. I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me, all right? Just send notes to me here. 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 us so far, except a dragon," Harry said. 

"Oh, don't forget the grindylows and mermen." Blair said.

Sirius scowled at them. "I don't care. I'll breathe freely again when this tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?"

He handed Harry the empty napkin and flask and went to pat Buckbeak good-bye. "I'll walk to the edge of the village with you," said Sirius, "see if I can scrounge another paper." He transformed into the great black dog before they left the cave, and they walked back down the mountainside with him. 

While they were walking across the boulder-strewn ground, Blair whispered to Harry as an idea popped into her head. "Hey James. You have the cloak, right?" 

Harry nodded and looked at her suspiciously. "What are you planning now, Aika?" 

Blair grinned and nudged Ron as well to tell her the plan. Harry and Ron snorted but agreed anyways.

They went back to the stile. Sirius allowed each of them to pat him, but Blair bent down when it was her turn. "Hey Padfoot. Up for an adventure?" Sirius, in his dog form, smirked at Blair and let out a cheerful bark.

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Hermione smiled as she arrived outside the Three Broomsticks and saw Lavender, Parvati and Fay there. Lavender held out the other Butterbeer in her hand. "Here, Hermione. We got you one, already." 

"Thanks, Lavender." Hermione sipped her Butterbeer before looking at them curiously. "So, why did you call me out here?"

The four of them started walking. Lavender, Parvati and Fay started giggling to Hermione's confusion. "Well, we just wanted to ask how you are. We saw the article, and we thought to ask how you were feeling about that." Parvati said when they stopped in front of the Shrieking Shack. 

Hermione was about to answer when she suddenly felt a breeze behind her. She looked behind her, but saw nothing and was confused when it left so suddenly. "Well, I honestly don't care about the article. Most of it is false anyways-" 

"So, what part of it was true?" Hermione was cut off by Fay's excited voice. 

Hermione suddenly realized what they were doing and scoffed. "Seriously? Is that why you wanted to talk to me?" 

Parvati shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you know. We wanted to know what you really felt for Blair. I mean, the poor girl has been chasing you for over a year now."

Hermione's neck turned red and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt the sudden breeze again, and this time, she heard a noise behind her. She looked again, but there was still nothing. She frowned before turning back to her roommates. "W-Well, I admit. Blair is still the same girl she is. A little annoying, but caring, kind-" 

"Undeniably attractive?" Fay added in, and the three giggled again. Hermione glared at them, and they shut up. 

"So?" Lavender pushed on.

Hermione let out a sigh before a smile made its way onto her face at the thought of Blair. "Like I said, she's caring. She's kind. She's always there for me, and I won't deny. She really is attractive, and she's idiotic but sweet." 

The three girls giggled and Parvati asked. "What about Krum?"

Hermione thought hard before answering. "Well, he doesn't talk much. He's more of an action person, and-" 

Hermione was cut off when Lavender suddenly shouted. "It's the Grim!" Parvati and Fay screamed as well before running away with Lavender. 

Hermione whipped around but saw nothing and scoffed before she went on her way back towards Hogwarts, muttering under her breath. "Blasted divination."

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Blair paced around the room and scoffed. "You should've heard it, Ignis, Tranqs, Gramen! 'He doesn't talk much. He's more of an action person.' Does she not like me because I'm loud? I'm quiet, aren't I?" 

The five boys in the room just shared glances before Seamus answered. "You are quite loud, Caelum." 

But Blair ignored him and glared at the wall. "Bloody Krum and his actions. I should just put tape over my mouth instead. Maybe, she'll like me then."

Harry let out an exasperated sigh. "But you heard what she said about you, right, Aika?" 

Blair suddenly smiled widely. "Yeah! You won't believe it, Ignis, Tranqs, Gramen. She called me attractive!" 

"And idiotic." Ron added. They all snorted except for Blair, who pouted and crossed her arms. 

Neville chuckled at her. "Only Merlin knows how you're still one of the top students, Blair. You slack off more than any of us." 

Blair smirked at them. "I'm inspired, Gramen. When you're in love, you'd be willing to do anything. You feel a fire ignite in you, and..."

"And?" Dean asked. 

"And you feel complete." Blair finished with a soft look in her eyes. The five boys exchanged glances and shook their heads. It was obvious. That was how Blair felt for Hermione Granger.

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Thank you all for 3000 reads uwu, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update as much but I'll still update every week. Thank you for all your support. Happy holidays!

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