It was warmer than it had been in a while the next day when they reached Hogsmeade. Megan and the others had gotten as much food from the kitchens as they could. They they made their way past Dervish and Bangs, towards the edge of the village. They saw a large black dog waiting for them. Megan grinned as it jumped forwards, put its paws on her shoulders and licked her enthusiastically. He was so big she only just managed to keep her balance.

"Hey, that tickles!" Megan laughed as the dog jumped down, then turned to the others. "Come on."

They followed the dog up the long, winding and climbing path to the foot of the mountains, before climbing up for about half an hour. Then, at last, they saw Sirius slip into a crack in the mountain. It was just large enough for them to squeeze through.

Cedric, who was taller, got there first. Megan arrived behind him just as the dog was turning into a fully grown man with messy brown hair and worn clothes, his eyes slightly sunken but warm.

"Sorry about that," he smiled at Megan. "The dog part is rather... enthusiastic."

"That's okay," Megan said, smiling herself.

The cave was round with jagged walls, but the place Cedric and Megan were standing on was higher up, like a natural stair. Cedric hopped down then held out his arms to Megan and helped down, pressing a light kiss to her lips as he did so. They smiled at each other.

"So, you're finally there, are you? About time," Sirius grinned.

Cedric glanced at Megan, an eyebrow raised.

"Long story," she said, flushing slightly.

Cedric didn't press on and helped Hermione next. Megan heaved a quiet sigh of relief. She wasn't keen on Cedric knowing she'd spent an entire evening pouring her heart out to Sirius about her feelings for him like a lovesick teenager in a sappy romance novel.

"It's good to see you, Megan," Sirius went on, his face worn but happy.

Megan beamed back and rushed to hug him. Buckbeak was in a corner, scratching the floor. He looked tired and didn't appear to have been eating as much as he should have, but then, proper meals were difficult when you were on the run. When she released him, her smile faded.

"You shouldn't be here!" She chided anxiously. "If someone saw yo-"

Sirius raised a hand to appease her.

"I'm just fulfilling my duty as your godfather," he said. "And I'm only ever in the open under my dog form. Since you and Dumbledore are the only ones who know that I am an Animagus, no one will be looking for a black dog. I want to be nearby. Your last letter tells me things are getting fishier. I've been snatching abandoned papers as often as I could, and it looks like I'm not the only worried one..."

He held out a tattered copy of the Prophet. Megan read the article about Crouch.

"Mystery Illnes of Bartemius Crouch... Not seen at work since second task at Hogwarts... house deserted... St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies decline comment... Ministry refuse to confirm critical illness theory... They're making it sound like he's dying..." she said. "But he can't be that ill, can he, if he managed to get up to the castle..."

"My brother says he's overworked," Ron told Sirius. "He's working with him."

"He did look ill when I saw him..." Megan said thoughtfully. "The night my name came up in the Goblet. And then, he was there for the second task but we haven't seen him since..."

Sirius frowned, deep in thought.

"All these absences..." he said. "It's not like him."

"D'you know him?" Megan asked as she sat down.

"Oh, I know him, all right," Sirius said, darkly. "He's the one who ordered my imprisonment without a trial."

"He what?!" Megan gasped.

"Yes," Sirius said. "He used to to be the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. He's a great wizard, but he's both powerful magically, and power hungry. Always very outspoken against the Dark Arts. But then, a lot of people who were against the Dark side... people didn't know who was, who wasn't. One knew Voldemort could control you to do horrible things. They were scared for their lives, their families... And as time passed, there were more deaths, disappearances, tortures... The Ministry was completely lost, not knowing what to do while still trying to keep it all hidden from Muggles when they were dying too... It was Hell on earth, trust me."

They watched him, waiting for him to continue.

"Times like that bring the best out of people, or the worst. Crouch probably had good motives, I don't know. He rose quickly in hierarchy, and gave harsh orders about Dark wizards. He gave Aurors the power to kill rather than just capture, for example. Most people thought he was right to act like that, and wanted him to be Minister for Magic. And for a time, he seemed like the obvious successor. But then... his own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to avoid Azkaban. It seems they were trying to find Voldemort, to help him back to power."

He flopped down beside Buckbeak and bit into the bread. "Nasty shock for Barty, I imagine. Should have taken more time for his family."

"Was his son a Death Eater?" Megan asked.

"No idea." Sirius said. "I was in Azkaban already when he was jailed. I mostly found all this out after I got out. But Crouch's son was definitely found with people I would bet were Death Eaters. Of course, he could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So... Barty Crouch just... shunted him off?" Hermione asked.

"Yep. Anything that would tarnish his stellar reputation had to go." Sirius said. "He'd dedicated his life to being Minister for Magic. He gave his son a trial, but that's about it. Sent him straight to Azkaban. Barely nineteen, he was, when they took him. He was in a cell near mine."

"... Is he still there?"

"No," Sirius said. "No, he's dead. Died a year after they threw him in Azkaban. He wasn't the first one. When one of the inmates was about to die, the Dementors would get excited. So you could tell."

Megan, who was sitting on a rock beside Cedric, reached out and squeezed Sirius's hand. It must have been horrible to stay there for twelve years. It had probably felt like even longer.

"His mother died shortly after him. Grief-stricken." He went on. "So old Crouch lost all he had faster than he had time to realise. From hero to being frowned upon because the son of such a respectable man had gone so badly astray. Fudge got the Minister position, and Crouch was shunted to the sidelines."

Megan looked at Cedric. She could tell, even without saying anything, that he was thinking the same as her. Crouch's overreaction at the Cup had to have been because the Dark Mark brought back bad memories.

"Moody said Crouch was obsessed with catching Dark wizards," Megan said.

"Yes, I heard something like that," Sirius said. "It's become a kind of mania to him. My guess is he's hoping to return to popularity by catching another Death Eater."

"And sneaks into Snape's office!" Ron let out triumphantly.

"Which makes absolutely no sense," Sirius said.

"But Megan saw him on the map..." Harry said.

"No, Sirius is right," Megan said. "If he wanted to investigate Snape, he would have been there at the ball. He'd find no better excuse to come regularly to Hogwarts and keep an eye on him."

"But Dumbledore trusts Snape." Hermione reminded.

"Dumbledore's brilliant and all, but he's not infallible." Ron said.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Ron –"

"Enough!" Megan called loudly. "This is going to get us nowhere."

She turned to Sirius.

"What d'you think, Sirius?"

"Well... both have a point." He said. "I've wondered why Dumbledore hired Snape from the moment I heard he had. He's always been captivated by the Dark Arts, he was known for it at school. Knew more curses when he arrived than half the kids in the seventh year. He was part of a gang of Slytherins, almost all of which became Death Eaters."

He held up a hand and counted on his fingers.

"Rosier and Wilked, who both got killed by Aurors, a year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges, a couple, in Azkaban. Avery, who from what I heard claimed to have been under the Imperius Curse, and is still at large. As for Snape, as far as I know, he was never accused. Though, that means little, since a lot of them were never caught. And Snape's more than smart enough to wriggle out of trouble."

"He and Karkaroff know each other." Megan said. "Snape's trying to keep it secret, but I saw them talking. Karkaroff seemed worried about the tattoo on his arm."

"His arm? A tattoo of what?" Sirius asked, eyes snapping up.

"The Dark Mark."

Sirius frowned, thinking.

"Well... I don't know what that's about..." he said. "But if he's really scared and turning to Snape for answers..."

He paused.

"But Hermione's right," he went on. "Dumbledore trusts him. He trusts where others wouldn't, but I can't see Dumbledore letting someone stay in Hogwarts if they're bad..."

"Then, why the break in and inspection...?" Harry asked.

"Well, in Moody's case, I wouldn't be surprised if he checked all the teachers' offices when he arrived," Sirius said. "He takes the Dark Arts very seriously. I don't think he even truly trusts anyone, but given what he's seen, it's not surprising. In his defence, he never killed if he could avoid it, though. Always tough, but decent. Crouch, on the other hand... Is he really ill? And if not what's he up to... Why has he been missing when he's supposed to be judging the tournament...?"

No one seemed to have any answer.

"What's the time?" Sirius asked.

"Three thirty," Hermione replied.

"You better go back to the castle," he said, getting up. "And listen up: I don't want any of you sneaking out to see me, all right? It's the perfect moment to attack you."

"No one has, so far, aside from a dragon and a bunch of Grindylows." Harry said.

"I don't care. I'll breathe freely after this thing is over, and that's only in June."

He got to his feet.

"I'll walk you to the edge of the village and see if I can get another paper."

He turned into the big black dog they knew and stayed close to Megan's heel as they walked down the path. They reached the stile they had found him at. Megan crouched down and scratched his ears.

"You be careful. Okay? I don't want to read about you in the Prophet unless it's to tell me you're officially innocent."

He yapped and licked her face. She straightened up and they walked away the black dog's watchful eyes on them. When Megan peered over her shoulder a few moments later, he had vanished.