Chapter 23
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HARRY FELT AS THOUGH HE WAS BACK IN THE BLACK LAKE. Or at least, he felt like he was swimming through murky water, obscuring his vision and muffling the noises around him. Someone was talking to him, and Harry was responding, but he didn't register any words. He couldn't even hear them.

His limbs felt heavy. He could not move on his own. The person was guiding Harry away, but Harry tried to resist. Everything was a blur, the cottons inside his head were back. Though, whereas usually, they provided a sense of comfort, right now, alarm bells were going off somewhere, instead.

Someone had told him to wait.

Harry was walking up stone steps. He could hear the padding of his feet.

"What happened, Harry?"

His vision was slowly clearing up. There was no way to mistake that artificial eye. It was Mad-Eye Moody.

Harry tried to push the man with all his might, but he felt more like a flopping fish out of water. "You...it was you..."

Moody wasn't affected. He dragged Harry up the marble stairs, along the corridor and through a door. Harry couldn't even resist. And by the time he started to become more conscious, Harry was drinking some kind of potion.

Moody's sickly pale figure looked back at him. "Voldemort's back, Harry? You're sure he's back? How did he do it?"

Harry frowned. He was no Ravenclaw. He was a Gryffindor, through and through. Bold and brave like one. Reckless like one. And definitely stupid like one.

But even he wasn't this stupid.

"I sh — should ask you that, n — no?"

"What do you mean?"

Harry let go of the cup in his hand. It fell to the ground, and Harry heard the sound of metal clatter and roll, but he kept his eyes on Moody, who was watching him back.

"Voldemort said something about stationing a Death Eater here. And it can't be Karkaroff."

"Oh? And why is that?"

The man was frowning, as he usually did. But this time, it felt like he was forcing down a smile. It looked oddly like the stitching of a worn-out doll slowly undoing itself.

"Because he's dead. Voldemort killed him. I saw him kill him."

Harry's head was still sort of fuzzy, but the mist was slowly clearing out.

Mad-Eye Moody licked his lips. "Ah, yes. You're right, Harry. I can't lie to you."

"I saw you, you know? That day at the Forbidden Forest. With Bertha Jorkins. Well, not Jorkins but—"

"—the Dark Lord. Yes, yes. You saw me with my master, didn't you?" The stitching around his mouth was completely undone, and now Moody smiled, looking unlike himself. He kept sticking his tongue out like a snake.

"And you saw him return, didn't you? You saw him stand in his complete self? What did he look like? Strong? Powerful?"

Harry's head still pounded. His scar still stung, and the wound on his wrist still burned. But Moody's manic eyes made him want to flee. He stood up to do just that, but the man simply pushed him down.

"You put my name in the Goblet."

Moody ignored him, looking even more crazy. "Did he use his wand? How about the Death Eaters? Tell me he tortured them the way that they deserved! Roaming free, turning their backs on my master! They deserved to be punished for their betrayal!"

Harry had enough, he kicked the man away from him. "Betrayal? You're the one who betrayed the Order!"

Moody instead laughed. His eye was bulging, his skin was sagging. He continued to laugh hysterically, looking more and more insane.

"The Order? My one and true master has always been, and will always be Lord Voldemort!" he declared. "He and I have much in common, you see. Both of us were named after our disappointing fathers, both of us suffered the indignity, and both of us had the pleasure of killing them ourselves to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"

Harry stumbled back. Whatever was in that potion Moody gave him gave Harry back his strength. But he didn't think the effects would remain. His legs already felt too cold.

"You're mad....you've gone completely mad..."

Moody continued to laugh.

At that moment, the door flung open, and in came Sirius holding a wand at Mad-Eye Moody.

"Bombarda!"

The bookshelves behind Moody exploded, momentarily blinding him as he shielded his eyes with his arm from the debris.

The spell was followed by another: "Incarcerous!" But someone else had come to Harry's side and grabbed him by his face. He opened his eyes to see Adhara.

"You're fine...you're okay..." she murmured.

Adhara looked frantic. Her brows furrowed, sweat covering her face. She wasn't wearing her usual mask of indifference.

"He's back..."

"What? Who? Who's back? What are you talking about?!"

He heard several others enter the room. But he didn't care.

"Voldemort's back...he's back..."

Harry's legs finally gave out.

━━

Adhara grabbed onto Harry and slowly laid him down on the floor. "Haz?! Haz? Harry!" She smacked his face to get him to open his eyes.

"Harry!"

"Wait, wait! He's fainted, he's fine." Sirius grabbed Adhara by her shoulders and pulled her close to get her to calm down. Adhara allowed it, just for the moment, because, despite his words, Sirius was checking Harry's pulse.

She heard him release a breath of relief. "He's fine," Sirius confirmed.

Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape had followed them. They were talking to the Defence professor. Adhara heard mentions of Veritaserum and the Imperius spell, but she wasn't paying attention.

Remus followed right after, making a B-line for his family instead. He took in the scene in front of him and lifted Harry into his lap.

"What happened?" he asked.

"He fainted, must've been exhausted."

He's been exhausted, Adhara wanted to say. Since this whole tournament ordeal started. Hell, since the whole Voldemort ordeal started.

This wasn't fair.

"I think he saw Cedric die."

"I think so, too."

"He said something," Adhara broke through the conversation. She took Harry's wrist out of Sirius' hand and checked for her brother's pulse herself. "He said Voldemort was back."

She couldn't feel his pulse properly. Adhara took off her glove, unwrapped the bandages around her fingers and felt it again. Her skin burnt.

━━

When Sirius looked at the scene with the professors, there was an open chest in the corner of the room and another man in Mad-Eye Moody's place. There was a house elf sobbing on the man's lap.

Adhara stood up before him, taking in the scene. Sirius followed while Remus remained on the ground with Harry.

"Who is that?" asked Adhara.

Sirius recognized him almost immediately. He would recognize him anywhere. From watching the bloke run around Hogwarts alongside his little brother during his teenage years to the brief moment he lived in the cell next to him. The man looked haggard, thin and dirty. Almost like himself when Sirius first escaped Azkaban.

Barty Crouch Jr. looked like a free man.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead," Sirius blurted out.

Everyone turned to him.

Barty, instead, started laughing. A 'throw your head back' kind of laughter that slowly tapered off the sniffs.

He looked at Adhara with shiny eyes. "It's like I've used a time-turner! She looks just like him, doesn't she?"

Sirius felt the strong urge to punch him in the face.

"You wouldn't believe how I felt when I saw her for the first time...and you know what? I found her conspiring against newspapers with Pandora's kid!" He chuckled, shaking his head and looking down at his lap sadly. "Like I've gone back..."

Adhara took a step forward. Instead of commenting on the obvious confession that the man used to be friends with her father, she asked Crouch another question.

"Are you the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet?"

Crouch chuckled again. "That's right, kid. That was me. It was the first step to bring back my Dark Lord." He whipped out his left arm, revealing the black ink of the Dark Mark.

"You know what this means, don't you? He's back! My master has returned!"

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"Is Harry awake?" asked Dumbledore, looking toward them.

Sirius frowned. "Why?"

"He should be for the next part. He deserves to hear what Crouch has got to say."

McGonagall looked flummoxed. "He should be brought to the Hospital Wing. The poor lad had been through enough for tonight."

"He needs to understand, Minerva," said Dumbledore curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight and why."

Sirius arched a brow. "Are you implying we should use magic to forcibly wake him up?"

"I know this is difficult to understand, but this is for his own—"

"No," Remus announced calmly, "he's unconscious. I'm not going to forcibly wake him up so that he could listen to a madman ramble."

One thing people didn't know about Remus Lupin was that, unlike what one may believe, the man did get angry. It was just that he tended to look calm at the beginning and only raised his voice if the target of his anger continued to argue back.

His anger was like a time bomb. Harmless at all times, and when set off, it would slowly tick until it suddenly exploded.

"I'm sure he will understand just fine if we were the ones to explain."

"Remus—"

"I think he's made himself quite clear, Albus," Sirius asserted.

Albus looked defeated, but still, he kept insisting. "But don't you think he has the right to know who put him in this situation?"

"You mean you?"

Everyone turned to Adhara, stunned by what she was implying.

But Adhara didn't look concerned with them. "None of this would have occurred had you simply done your job right and prevented him from participating in the tournament."

"I have explained this once before, already, Miss Black, there is a binding contract—"

"Or, you could have simply not held the tournament at all. Wasn't it originally abolished for a reason?"

That shut Dumbledore right up.

"You failed to see the dangers of this tournament, and now one of your students is dead," she scoffed. "Though, I guess I should not be surprised. You never cared about your students' safety."

"Now, Miss Black," started McGonagall, "that isn't a fair accusation. Professor Dumbledore has definitely made mistakes," she said, throwing the said man a stern look, "but I'm certain his heart was in the right place."

Adhara didn't look impressed. "So? Is that meant to make everything better? One of Voldemort's servants had managed to pass through the safety of the castle once before, yet he's let it happen a second time."

She turned to the old man, looking at him right in the eye. "You're called the Greatest Wizard of your time, and yet you failed to notice that a Death Eater was masquerading as your friend for a whole year."

Sirius knew Remus' anger very well. Slow, simmering, and then explosion. Like a time bomb. Harry's anger was loud from the start. He made noise from the very beginning, shielding himself with his screams. He was similar to Sirius in that way; both lost their composure and said things without meaning to.

And right now, Sirius was witnessing Adhara's anger. Calculating and deliberate. He had only ever heard her raise her voice the first time they met, and even then she knew where to hit, aiming her words like an arrow to a target.

As inappropriate as the time may be, Sirius couldn't help but smirk.

"You want Harry to know who caused this? Sure, I'll be sure to let him know it was you," finished Adhara. Then she surveyed a look over the other two adults in the room. "In fact, none of the teachers noticed there was something odd about him."

Snape cleared his throat. He talked with his usual drawl. "And how exactly were we to know? He took a sip of his poly juice potion at every hour—"

"Are you not a master potioneer? If you want me to call you 'Professor', you should at least be deserving of the title."

From his chair, Crouch snickered. "Just like him..."

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Later that night, when Harry was sleeping in the Hospital Wing, the rest of their friends joined him and Adhara. Sirius and Remus had stepped out to let the kids have their privacy.

Adhara sat on one side of Harry, his wrist in her hand, his beating pulse under her finger. Ron was at the end of the cot, under the covers and waiting for Harry to wake up. Apparently, he had passed out from over-exhaustion, and it was better to let him sleep.

Hermione was on Harry's other side. Millicent was beside Adhara.

"I don't think I'm going back with you," Adhara announced to Hermione.

Hermione looked at her, dark circles underneath her eyes and tear stains on her dark cheeks, a remnant from all her crying this evening.

Adhara continued. "Voldemort is back. And he will want his servants back with him. He will target any pureblood family he can."

Adhara knew how this went. Regulus Black's diary wasn't meant for her to read, she had realised that halfway. The letters were for her, but the diary he left for his brother. Surely, however, the man knew Adhara was going to read it anyway.

And the diary recounted everything Regulus went through before he was marked. And then everything he did in order to recruit others.

"I'm the heir to a Dark Family. And my father was a Death Eater. He will want to recruit me regardless of my blood status. I can't put a target on your parents' back for being muggle."

The tears had come back. Hermione didn't say anything, simply nodded in understanding.

"My father already owled me," confessed Millicent. "A few hours ago. He said he'll come pick me up, so I won't be riding the train with you guys."

"Do you think he'll —"

"I don't know. I'll find out soon enough."

Adhara didn't like the sound of that but decided against pressing any further.

"Did they tell you?" asked Ron. "About what happened? With Bertha Jorkins and the fake Moody?"

Adhara hummed. "Voldemort found Jorkins in the summer, he killed her and then possessed her body. She knew about Crouch Jr. being still alive, so that was how Voldemort found out. And when the Dark Mark lit up during the Word Cup, Voldemort was there. He knew who cast it, apparently and released Crouch right then."

The rest of the conversation with Crouch had gone on without a snitch. Dumbledore asked his questions, and Crouch answered them. Everything was fine.

Except for the fact that Fudge didn't believe him, and Snape has to whip out his own dark mark to prove it to him. But Fudge was an idiot man, convinced his position and power came to him from his own actions. Or perhaps he knew that it didn't, and that was why he was so afraid of anything that could question said position.

Hypocritical Light.

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When Harry woke up, the first thing Adhara did was look him directly in the eye and say: "It's 5 to 3 now."

Harry whacked her with his pillow.

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Harry had a terrible night. Day, week, month, whatever. Cedric was dead, and it was his fault. Voldemort was back, and that was also because of him. And apparently, that idiot of a Minister did not believe Harry.

And now. Well. Now, this.

"Grimmauld Place?"

Sirius was sitting on a chair, eyes closed and two fingers rubbing the area between his brows. Remus was pacing in front of Harry's cot, looking just as frustrated as Sirius.

Harry and Adhara watched them, both in bed, underneath Harry's covers, as he occasionally took spoonfuls of his awful porridge whilst Adhara watched with furrowed brows and crossed arms.

"But he even helped put up the wards around the cottage? We wouldn't have taken Harry there had it not been safe."

"That's what I said!" Sirius let out an irritated sigh. "But. Loathe as I am to admit it, he is right."

"How?"

Sirius stole a glance at Harry and Adhara, then looked at Remus from his spot. "With Voldemort back, Death Eaters will become more active."

"Yes, but they're going to keep a low profile at first," reminded Remus. "You-Know-Who's still not back to his original power. Not to mention a lot of his Death Eaters are either dead or in Azkaban...and now with Lucius..."

That caught Harry's attention. "What about Lucius Malfoy?" Just the mention of the man's name made his wrist hurt.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look.

"After you mentioned Little Harrington, Fudge sent Aurors to the village."

Sirius scoffed. "Quite reluctantly. You should've seen his face. If he could, he would've swept this whole ordeal under the rug." Sirius got up from his chair, walked to Harry's bed and sat at his and Adhara's feet. "But a student was dead, and the effects of the killing curse are unmistakable."

Harry scrunched a fist-load of his covers in his hands. Cedric's dead body and his face will haunt his thoughts for the rest of Harry's life.

"A frozen expression," he said quietly. He looked Sirius in the eye. "Cedric's face. He looked frozen in fear."

Solemnly, Sirius nodded once. "A frozen expression. And an unmarred body."

Quietly, Adhara slipped her hand through Harry's.

Remus rested a hand on Sirius' shoulder, joining them on the cot. "And with a Death Eater who was posing as a professor all year, Fudge had no choice but to investigate at least a little. He needed to give some sort of explanation. Otherwise, the public would cry outrage."

"And we all know that Fudge cares more about public opinion than actual justice," continued Sirius.

Adhara scoffed. "Obviously. It's what's keeping him in power."

Harry was getting lost. "So, he sent Aurors to the graveyard? Because I mentioned it?"

"They had to look into it since it was mentioned."

"And there," said Sirius, "they found Lucius Malfoy in front of a cauldron with one of his hands missing."

"And a dead Karkaroff," finished Remus.

Silence reigned. All eyes were trained on Harry, expecting answers. He fidgeted under their daze, unsure. He told them about the Voldemort being back part but not the crawling out of the cauldron part. Or the part where Lucius Malfoy dug into his wrist with a knife.

They definitely all wondered how he got the wound. And Harry didn't really want to tell them about it, but it seemed like he may not have a choice.

Harry played with the fabric of Adhara's glove, not meeting eyes with anyone. "He needed a potion to return to his original body. And he needed...umm...his father's bones, flesh from a servant...and blood from an enemy."

Adhara squeezed his hand.

"It was fine, really. I've got hurt worse during quidditch," Harry reassured. But his uncles' gazes were still hard.

"Lucius Malfoy did that?"

"Yes, but he also has to cut off his own hand, so I'd reckon we're even."

Adhara rolled her eyes. She didn't press, perhaps sensing that Harry wanted a change of subject.

"And? So, they found Lucius Malfoy there. Are they saying he did all this?"

"They're looking into the attack at the World Cup now, since Crouch mentioned it. But yes," confirmed Sirius. "They're putting the blame on Malfoy and Jorkins, even though she's missing."

Harry thought that her body most probably disintegrated into the potion, but he wasn't going to mention that.

"Trial is this weekend. But it's already certain that he will be sentenced."

Harry was perplexed. He didn't know how he imagined this year to end, but it certainly wasn't this. Voldemort back, Cedric Diggory dead and Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban.

"But what's this got to do with Grimmauld Place?" asked Adhara.

"Low profile or not, the Death Eaters have their leader back, and Harry is their main target," said Sirius looking at him. "With Malfoy going to Azkaban, the Ministry will close the case. So, if Death Eaters were to attack, we wouldn't have the Aurors on our side."

Remus closed his eyes, sighing out loud. He did not look happy. "And so Grimmauld Place?"

"It's safer than the cottage."

"But still. Grimmauld Place? Surely, there's another option!"

"There really isn't. It's the safest place, right now."

"That's what they say about Hogwarts," reminded Adhara. "Yet, Harry almost died three times since he got here."

"And as concerning as that may be, it doesn't apply to Grimmauld," explained Sirius.

"Why?"

"Because Grimmauld will be managed by our magic."

Adhara blinked. "Our?"

Sirius shrugged. "All members of the Black Family are bound to it from birth. Watch. Adz, think of a number."

She furrowed her brows. "What?"

"Say the first number that comes to mind."

Adhara didn't answer. Frown still on her face, arms still crossed. She was stubborn like that.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "No need to look that excited."

Adhara frowned even more.

"C'mon."

"Twelve."

Sirius smirked.

Remus' mouth fell open. "How? Isn't Grimmauld under fidelius?"

Sirius shrugged. "Ancient magic. The house is bound to us from birth. The Fidelius Charm is there to keep outsiders out."

Adhara raised a questioning brow. "Then wouldn't Narcissa and Draco know the location, too? That wouldn't make it very safe."

Sirius shook his head. "They aren't the main branch or the heir."

Adhara didn't look too convinced. "If it's under fidelius, who's the secret keeper?"

"You and me."

Remus chimed in. "But isn't the point of a secret keeper that it's meant to be a secret? Feels a bit on the nose if you and Adhara are the keepers."

"Grimmauld's fidelius is different. If either Adhara or I die, then those who learned the location from either her or me will lose the knowledge instantly."

Adhara's eyes cleared up. "So, if I die without an heir..."

"Then the location of Number 12 Grimmauld Place will be lost forever."

The furrow between Adhara's brows disappeared. If Harry dared, he would even say she looked impressed. She should be. Because Harry thought the charm was brilliant.

Harry spoke up. "Wait. Does this mean we aren't going back to the cottage?"

Sirius turned to Remus, who still looked unhappy about the whole situation.

"I still don't like this."

"What other option do we have?"

Remus didn't reply. Instead, he looked intensely into Sirius' eyes as though both were having a conversation without exchanging actual words.

Adhara glanced at Harry, silently asking if he knew what was going on, but Harry was just as clueless.

"Yes, Harry," said Remus finally. "This does mean we aren't returning to the cottage. At least, not for a while."

Great. Just great.

Voldemort was back. Cedric was dead. The Ministry of Magic believed Harry was a liar. And now, they weren't returning to the only place outside of Hogwarts Harry thought of as home.

What a great end to a year.

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A/N There are many things I want to point out. First thing being, yes, Ron is a seer. I just find it really funny and decided to explore more into it. I realized when I wrote the e scene where Ron mentions Bertha Jorkins being creepy that it would have been better had he mentioned her previously throughout the year. Or even if Bertha/Voldemort was more present during the tasks. Something to keep in mind when editing.

(update 06/12/2024 it's been edited)

Also, I kept Barty alive. And, as you noticed, Lucius Malfoy takes the blame for Cedric's death. In the original series, I never really understood how Cedric's parents accepted his death as a freak accident? And also, the effects of the killing curse are kinda obvious? Anyway.

So since Malfoy is being blamed, and he needs to be put on trial (along with others involved), Fudge doesn't execute Crouch. Basically, since the case is being presented at court, Fudge can't kill Barty, otherwise he will be questioned. Fudge is stupid but not when it comes to having his position being questioned.

Another thing: the change in the Fidelius Charm involving Grimmauld Place. I have no explanation for it, except that I find this cool. That's it. Also, it just makes sense to me.

Finally, IT'S THE END OF YEAR FOUR! Anyone who's been following Unexpected since the beginning may have noticed that I wrote the first three years within a year, yet year 4 took me two years to write. Whoops? Honestly, it's because I don't like like the Goblet of Fire, so writing it felt kind of like a chore. Not to mention there are some things in my own year 4 that I would like to change but anyway.

Another reason it took so long is because university is a pain in the ass and if we weren't living in a society that only puts importance in education when it benefits capitalism, I'd say it's is also useless. But we do, so anyway.

Year 5 will take a while to come out. Honestly, I'd apologize but I did the mistake of writing year 4 one chapter at a time and I ended up having a few plot holes cause I couldn't go back and change things in previous chapters. Also, I tend to get new ideas as time go, so I couldn't even add those since I had already published the chapter. So, year 5 will only be published when I have at least 75% of the fic written out, which is what I did for the first three years and I fell like that system works better for me.

And as always, thank you all for still sticking with this fic! You reads and comments mean a lot to me. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story!

Blossom

Edit: I'm editing/rewriting this (as I said, I don't like how this turned out), and will be posting the complete rewritten version (as in in one go) at the same time as year 5 gets posted.

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FOR THOSE WHO ARE HERE TO READ THE POINT FORMS OF THE EDITS I BROUGHT, HERE THEY ARE.

1. Remus and Sirius both go to get Adhara from Aleyne. Harry still goes before them both with Ron and the twins, except he doesn't return to the cottage. He's part of the 'rescue'.

2. Bertha is more present during the tasks, and Ron notices her more, making his comment about how creepy she is more relevent.

3. Adhara trains Astoria in quidditch (there are like two scenes)

There are other small additions here and there but these are the major changes that I brought to the plot. Thank you for putting up with me lol

And if you're wondering I edited year 4, the reason is simple. I absolutely hated the previous version and was unable to move no from it. Decided to simply bite the bullet and edit it. 

Year 5 is scheduled to be posted on 06/17/2024! Stay tuned!