Stardust

Chapter 20

Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Barty Crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around Barty Crouch, binding him tightly. He turned to Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Stella and Harry upstairs?"

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall. She looked slightly nauseous, as though she had just watched someone being sick. However, when she drew out her wand and pointed it at Barty Crouch, her hand was quite steady.

"Severus" — Dumbledore turned to Snape — "please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me." Snape nodded silently and swept out of the room.

"Stella, Harry?" Dumbledore said gently.

Harry got up and swayed again; the pain in his leg, which he had not noticed all the time he had been listening to Crouch, now returned in full measure, he tried to help Stella but she was already on her feet. She looked at him and realized that he was shaking. Dumbledore gripped his arm and helped him out into the dark corridor.

"I want you to come up to my office first," he said quietly as they headed up the passageway. "Sirius is waiting for us there." Harry nodded and Stella frowned wondering if he was talking about Sirius Black.

A kind of numbness and a sense of complete unreality were upon her, but she did not care; she was even glad of it. She didn't want to have to think about anything that had happened since she had first touched the Triwizard Cup. She didn't want to have to examine the memories, fresh and sharp as photographs, which kept flashing across her mind. Mad-Eye Moody, inside the trunk. Wormtail, slumped on the ground, cradling his stump of an arm. Voldemort, rising from the steaming cauldron. Harry in pain and all the power she used to reach that spell. She could feel her blood boiling, but she didn't care.

They had reached the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore gave the password, it sprang aside, and the three of them went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. Dumbledore pushed it open. Sirius - Stella knew from the pictures her mother and father used to show her - was standing there. His face was white and gaunt as it had been when he had escaped Azkaban. In one swift moment, he had crossed the room.

"Harry, are you all right? I knew it — I knew something like this — what happened?" His hands shook as he helped Harry into a chair in front of the desk. "What happened?" he asked more urgently and Stella sat down as Dumbledore began to tell Sirius everything Barty Crouch had said.

Stella was only half listening. So tired every bone in her body was aching, she wanted nothing more than to sit here, undisturbed, for hours and hours, until she fell asleep and didn't have to think or feel anymore. She knew Harry felt the same, she watched him closely as he was sitting there, shivering and not daring to speak.

There was a soft rush of wings. Fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on Stella's knee.

"Helloo, Fawkes," said Stella quietly. She stroked the phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at her. There was something comforting about his warm weight. Dumbledore stopped talking. He sat down opposite Stella and Harry, behind his desk. He was looking at them, as they both avoided his eyes. Dumbledore was going to question them. He was going to make them relive everything.

"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze," said Dumbledore. Stella said something, but we need more details... I'm sorry."