So You're the Mole!

Ivan sighed at Sirius's explanation, but said nothing more, knowing full well how much Sirius was obsessed with Peter.

When he first heard Harry talking about Sirius leaving them behind to go after the Death Eaters, he thought it was strange, but now he realised that Peter was the only one who could make him go after them…

"What happened then? Did you catch up with Peter?" Yvonne asked.

"I followed Peter into a forest and watched as he took off his jacket. It was then that I saw that Peter was carrying a monster in his arms…" Sirius said grimly. "I didn't know that the monster was You-Know-Who, so I chose to fight them instead of running away…and was hit with You-Know-Who's Imperius Curse."

Ivan could not hide the shock on his face. He did not expect Peter to sneak into the vicinity of the World Quidditch Cup with Lord Voldemort and risk being discovered.

No wonder Barty Junior had suddenly disappeared into the camp. He must have succeeded in attracting Voldemort's attention by firing the Dark Mark, and ordered Peter to rescue him.

While Ivan was thinking this, Sirius continued speaking.

"After being bewitched by You-Know-Who, a voice in my head kept telling me to bring Harry out alone."

"But You-Know-Who was probably a bit careless. I've been in Azkaban for over ten years, and the Dementors have sharpened my will…"

Sirius gave a self-mocking smile before speaking again. "So he did not have complete control over me, and I knew full well that doing so would get Harry killed, desperately resisting instructions from You-Know-Who."

"But You-Know-Who's magic was too strong, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break free of the Imperius Curse. Eventually, I came up with an idea, and instead of resisting You-Know-Who's orders, I used my last vestiges of sanity to imitate the Death Eaters and set fire to the tents around us, attracting nearby Aurors!"

'You're going to let the Aurors arrest you for questioning, and even hope they find out about the Imperius Curse?' asked Ivan, immediately guessing Sirius's intentions.

'Yes! That's exactly what I thought! Or at the very least, lock me up again…' Sirius sighed. 'It's just a shame that Arthur came along with his men soon after the Aurors caught me. He vouched for me!'

"This is really…" Ivan shook his head helplessly, not knowing what to say. Arthur Weasley's willingness to risk his life to guarantee Sirius's safety was a very good act of friendship.

Sirius also smiled wryly, as the revolt had drained him and, crucially, You-Know-Who had detected it and thus tightened his grip.

The only good thing was that the accident also made You-Know-Who more careful.

Upon his return from the Ministry, he was not forced to go to the Burrow to take Harry away, but was ordered to return home.

"What about Lupin, Kreacher, and the others? You've been under control for so long, and they've never suspected you?" Yvonne asked.

"Lupin found a new job and moved out half a month after you left, so You-Know-Who stayed at my house for a long time, and as for Kreacher…" Sirius's face contorted into a grimace of pain and malevolence, his nails digging into his palms and his words turning cold.

"You-Know-Who told me to order him not to leave the house, Kreacher could not resist my orders, and Winky, a house-elf, was keeping him under constant surveillance."

"Winky? The house-elf that Mr. Crouch disowned?" Ivan frowned; he had heard Hermione mention that Sirius had adopted Winky.

"Yes! That's it! You-Know-Who was short-handed, so I took Winky away! The house-elf had been abandoned by his master and was in desperate need of a home, so You-Know-Who ordered Barty Crouch Junior to re-sign a contract with Winky, binding her to help him with something.

However, You-Know-Who distrusted the house-elves, believing them to be stupid, low-born and incapable of great things…" Sirius said, glancing ahead.

They arrived at the Whomping Willow's tree, and Sirius grabbed a rock from the grass and threw it at the tree's scar, then led Ivan into the secret passage.

During the journey through the secret passage, Sirius told Ivan the rest of the story, and a few days before Hogwarts was to be officially opened, You-Know-Who hatched a plot to bring Harry to him through the Triwizard Cup.

"Why didn't Voldemort tell you to go straight to the Burrow and get Harry?" Ivan asked.

"By then, Arthur was suspicious of me, and he wrote me a letter the next day demanding to know why I had set fire to the camp, which was witnessed by an Auror," Sirius explained. "Fearing that I would be seen through, You-Know-Who asked me to write a reply to his letter, stating that the Ministry was making things difficult for me…"

"Arthur may have believed my explanation, but he never wrote to me again.

Also, his resurrection ritual was not yet complete, he was short of special ingredients, and the brewing of the potion would take some time, in contrast to Dumbledore, who would notice Harry if he disappeared for too long."

"You-Know-Who suspected that Dumbledore had placed a curse on Harry that would allow him to track Harry's movements with a specific spell, and, fearing that I would resist a second time, changed the plan at the last minute, using me as a mole to help Barty Crouch Junior get Harry out of school."

Sirius scoffed at Voldemort's assumption that Dumbledore could not have placed a spell on Harry.

However, Voldemort apparently intended to do so, planning to act only after the preparations were complete, in which case it would be too late for Dumbledore to react.

"In other words, you were the one who told Voldemort about Barty Crouch Junior's death?"

The other day, when Harry got his second vision, Ivan suspected they had a spy for Lord Voldemort, but he did not think much of Sirius.

Sirius nodded, and since the beginning of the school year, he had Harry write regularly to him about everything that happened at Hogwarts.

Voldemort guessed that Barty Crouch Junior was in trouble when Harry suddenly told him about Moody's strange behaviour…