The Crouch Family's House-elf

Why had she used that spell?

The spell had never appeared in any textbook, and she had never seen it anywhere else. How had she managed to say it so effortlessly?

Why? Where had things gone wrong?

Clara didn't know. The pain in her head had grown worse and worse from the moment she saw the mark.

The pain made it impossible for her to keep her wand aimed. Her wrist went limp, and by the time she finished the spell, it lacked the force she had imagined. It only sent the House-elf flying into a tree, after which she fell to the ground and lay motionless.

There was no one in sight among the trees, but Clara was certain she had heard two thuds as something hit the ground. Then the woods fell silent once more.

Clara knelt on the ground, her chest heaving, her arm still held out as if she were casting the spell. She stared at the small figure lying beneath the tree, her mind blank. She had hurt her. She had hurt a House-elf with a spell she didn't even recognize.

The moment she closed her eyes, a faint blue light appeared on her left wrist, but it vanished in an instant.

She didn't know how much time had passed before footsteps approached from behind her, more than one person's. Clara tried to turn her head, but her neck was like a rusty hinge, and she couldn't move it at all. Then she caught that familiar scent of cedar.

"Lyla!" Rowle's voice reached her ears first, thick with tears. "Merlin, there you are-where did you go—we've been looking for you everywhere-"

Then came Cedric. He crouched in front of her and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice urgent and tinged with lingering fear. "Does anything feel wrong?"

The green mark in the sky had gradually faded, and her headache was finally beginning to ease. Clara shook her head and struggled to get up from the ground.

She wanted to answer him, to explain what had happened, to ask why they were here, but her lips moved and all that came out were a few disjointed words. "That... House-elf... I used a spell... I don't know..."

"She just hit the tree and got knocked out. She'll be fine. We'll explain when the Ministry of Magic gets here. You were trying to save your own life, after all." Rowle had already checked on the House-elf. "That's strange, though. I think she belongs to Mr. Crouch. I saw her in the stands today. I wonder why she's here."

"Rowle, was there anyone else near the House-elf?"

"No." Rowle looked into the bushes. Moonlight fell through gaps in the trees, but beyond that lay nothing but thick darkness. "Just the three of us and the House-elf."

Had she misheard? Clara shook her head. It might have been a hallucination caused by her headache.

Clara tried to get up, but her legs were still a little weak. Cedric didn't ask whether she could walk. He simply held out his arm for her to lean on and pulled her to her feet.

She wasn't in good shape. Cedric could tell, but he didn't know how to ask her about it.

"How did you find me?" Clara asked, leaning against Rowle, her voice still a little hoarse.

"Rowle said you'd run toward the woods," Cedric said. He sent a signal into the sky, presumably to notify Mr. Diggory and Mr Collins. "We followed you all the way here. Dad went to notify the Ministry of Magic. They should be here to deal with this soon."

As they spoke, a jumble of footsteps came from the direction they had arrived, followed shortly by Mr Collins's booming voice.

"Oh! Clara! Thank goodness you're all right!" His face was a little pale. He rushed over to Clara and checked her from head to toe. "Thank goodness you didn't run into that lot. They're all mad! If anything had happened to you, I really wouldn't have known how to face your mum and dad."

Clara felt dizzy again for a moment as he turned her around, but she didn't pull away. Mr Collins's hands were big and warm, and she could feel their solid warmth even through her sweater. He was just as reckless as Rowle, and just as sincere.

"I'm all right, Mr Collins," she said softly. "I just have a bit of a headache."

"A headache?" Mr Collins's voice rose another notch. "Rowle, did you bring any Chocolate Frogs? Could her blood sugar be low? Clara, did you eat dinner today? I told you all before the match not to get so caught up preparing those hats-"

"It's not because I'm hungry. It's because of that green mark," Clara added weakly.

Mr Collins froze for a moment. Clearly, to him, that was worse than hunger.

"Oh, Merlin. If that's the case, I think we ought to find Dumbledore."

Then more footsteps drew near. Mr. Diggory strode over from another direction, followed by several Ministry of Magic officials in robes. The light from their wands illuminated the entire clearing. He saw Cedric first-Clara noticed his shoulders relax when he saw that his son was safe. Then his gaze moved to Rowle, and he frowned.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, more curtly than usual.

Rowle looked bewildered. "Huh? No?"

"Then whose blood is that on your jacket?"

Rowle hurriedly looked down and only then noticed a small bloodstain on his cuff. He had probably gotten it on him when he checked on the House-elf.

"It's the House-elf's. She's under that tree over there. Lyla cast a spell to protect herself, and the House-elf passed out."

A Ministry of Magic witch walked over to the House-elf under the tree, crouched down to examine her, and passed her wand over her.

"She's only unconscious. Nothing serious. She'll wake up soon." But her wand gave off a strange ring of light. She suddenly looked up, her gaze sharpening as she scrutinized Clara. "What spell did you use?"

"I... I..." Clara couldn't explain.

She had never even learned that spell!

Mr Collins stepped forward, placing himself in front of her. "The Dark Mark was right above them at the time. A fifteen-year-old girl had every right to use a spell to defend herself under those circumstances." His tone wasn't harsh, but every word rang out clearly. "If you have any questions, you can ask me. I'm her guardian."

"Aiden, she used Dark Magic. I can't rule out the possibility that she was involved in a plot with the people responsible for tonight's events." The witch stood up. "I've never seen this spell before. I think Miss Albert may need to come with us to the Ministry of Magic."

"Aire, that's impossible! Clara's a fifteen-year-old child. She was only one back then!" Mr Collins was so angry he stamped his foot. Were these people mad, calling a fifteen-year-old child a Death Eater?

But the words "Dark Magic" had already caught Clara's attention.

"Sectumsempra is Dark Magic?" Clara muttered to herself.

She was really going to fall apart.

It was bad enough that she had cast a spell she didn't know, but it was Dark Magic too!

I'm not going to Azkaban, am I?!!!

"What spell?" Cedric, who had been standing beside her all along, suddenly spoke.

"Sectumsempra." Clara glanced carefully at him, trying to prove that she hadn't done it on purpose. "I really didn't know it was Dark Magic, Cedric. It just popped into my head, and I couldn't stop it-"

Cedric won't think badly of me, will he?

Oh, Merlin, how can I still be thinking about that at a time like this!

"Mr Collins," Cedric said after a moment's thought, interrupting the argument between Mr Collins and the witch. "I think we could speak to Professor Dumbledore about this. He might know something. It would also be more appropriate procedurally for the headmaster of Hogwarts to look into the situation before the Ministry of Magic formally opens an investigation."

"And right now, I think it's more important to find out who conjured the Dark Mark tonight. You can check our wands for that. Clara should be cleared of suspicion. Also, the House-elf is awake. She seems to belong to Mr. Crouch."

Cedric pointed at the House-elf leaning against the tree.

At some point, Mr. Crouch and a group of Ministry of Magic officials had arrived behind them, bringing Harry and two others with them. Indignation was written all over the three's faces.

"This-impossible-impossible," Mr. Crouch said haltingly. "This is impossible."

Mr. Crouch hurried over and strode past the House-elf.

"There's no use, Mr. Crouch," Mr. Diggory said. "There's no one else there. I checked."

But Mr. Crouch clearly had no intention of listening to him and continued searching through the bushes.

Clara could feel the atmosphere around Cedric growing tense, but she didn't know why.

Cedric was still struggling with himself.

He knew whom Mr. Crouch was looking for.

Harry and he had gone over everything Barty Crouch Jr. had done, from beginning to end. So the moment he saw Winky, he had been certain that Barty Crouch Jr. was nearby.

He should say it now-walk straight up to Mr. Crouch and tell him, "Your son is nearby. I saw him."

And then what? No one would believe a seventeen-year-old student. He had no evidence. No witnesses. The only witness was the House-elf who had just been knocked unconscious by Clara's spell and was still trembling under the tree, but she belonged to the Crouch family. There was no way she would tell the truth.

Besides, if he spoke now, Barty Crouch Jr. would know he had been exposed. Then what would happen to the Goblet of Fire? What would happen to the Triwizard Tournament? The fake Moody had not yet appeared at Hogwarts. If this lead was lost, Voldemort would find another way to return, and Cedric would lose his only chance to anticipate his moves.

"Cedric?" Clara's voice came from beside him, a little cautious. "What's wrong? You look awful."

He came back to himself and saw Clara looking up at him.

Which Clara Albert was she, exactly?

That was the question that had puzzled him most tonight.

He remembered her using Sectumsempra countless times in that graveyard.

The spell wasn't in the textbooks, he was certain of that, nor was it in the book she had given him. The remaining possibility was probably the extra Defence Against Dark Magic Class she had taken.

Had Professor Snape taught it to her?

But she clearly didn't remember, did she?

"Nothing. I was just wondering how tonight's events would be resolved. Is your headache any better?" He raised an eyebrow and decided to stop thinking about it. If she remembered, then she surely had her reasons for not saying so. If she didn't remember... then perhaps some other reason had caused her to use the spell?

Clara nodded. Then she noticed something strange.

"Can House-elves have wands?"

Cedric paused, then shook his head.

Clearly, Mr. Diggory had noticed it too. He picked up the wand beside the House-elf. "When you were found, you had a wand in your hand-"

"Ah—that's mine."

The three of them turned to see Harry, surrounded by Ministry of Magic officials, speaking up timidly.

"I lost it."

Oh, Merlin. It seemed she wasn't the only one going to the Ministry of Magic tonight.