Chapter 31 The Takedown

The night before the task, Harry dreamed of naked women dancing around a fire in the light of a full moon. It was one of his favorite dreams. He had just gotten to a good part, when he was hailed by Picard that there was something happening, and he was needed. He jerked out of dream and was on the main deck of the Enterprise. Communications were opened with the away team. "Data has come across something, and we were just about to hear his report," the captain said, nodded to a helmsman, who typed something in and the overhead screen changed from black space to Data's face.

"Thanks, Captain," Harry said, turning to look at the view screen. "What have you got for me, Data?" he asked, to the stoic face of the android.

"We were scanning the white space trying to analyze what it was, so far everything indicates it is a void of nothingness. We were progressing towards the orange glow, when sensors indicated a small anomaly floating within. We changed course to intercept and scans showed that it is the night you ran. We believe that the shield surrounding it was part of a memory blocking spell. It took us time, but we dropped the shield without corrupting the integrity of the memory. I am uploading it now," Data stated as he looked down and pushed some keys in front of him.

Harry watched the computer screen as the scene played out. While it wasn't completely incriminating, it would help in taking down Snape. "Thanks, crew, let me know if you make it to my memories, but do me a favor and alert me first. I don't want to be in the middle of something and have those all slam into me at once." The last thing he needed was a mass influx of memories when he least expected it.

"Understood, Harry. My analysis shows that that would be for the best as well," Data stated with a sharp nod.

"Thanks again, Harry out," the sleeping teen said with a cordial nod. The viewer went blank and Harry turned way, thinking over the recovered memory. His face was grim. He knew that slimy bastard had something to do with all this, and he really hoped the twins pulled off their part. Now, with the plan that they had, this memory would go a long way in helping. That and the conversation he had had with the Bloody Baron. If he could somehow project those to Madam Bones, then the potions teacher was done for. He smiled in his sleep as he pictured all the ways the man would be taken down.

"Captain, have someone figure out a way to project my memories. I want to be able to show them as if viewing a movie screen," he commanded, trying not to come off as an arse, but failing miserably. "Sorry, I have a lot on my mind and I need this done by tomorrow." He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand down his face.

"We will get it done, Harry," Picard stated as he started barking orders.

"I'm going back to sleep, and hopefully dream more relaxing dreams," Harry stated as he slipped back in his dreams of lovely ladies.

The next morning was bright and clear, Harry shivered from the cold as he put on his normal jeans and jumper. He was very glad he still had his boots; they were a godsend in this freezing weather. As he laced them up he noted that there was a uniform hanging on the door. It was a red and gold Quidditch uniform, and he wondered if it was his. He shook his head and reckoned that Dumbledore had one of the house elves bring it to his room. It was just hanging there like he was supposed to wear it, but he ignored it. He didn't understand why that man didn't get a clue. He had no idea how many times he had to tell him he wasn't going to play their games, but it was getting increasingly trying.

He went to the common room, but no one was there. Shrugging his shoulders, he went to the Great Hall. There was his group of friends all fretting about what could happen today, if the looks they shared was any indication. He had no idea why they were worried; the plan was simple and there was no risk involved. He sat by the twins and quietly asked, "Did you get it?" he asked, cutting a look to the Staff Table and seeing all the teachers and officials there. It was a great feat in restraint that he didn't glare at Snape.

"Yeah," they whispered back as Fred handed him an object, which he placed in his TARDIS pocket.

"It was easy, what with all the practice we've been doing," George continued with a wink.

"Piece of cake," Fred said, copying his brother. "I'm surprised that it was still there. You would think Snape was smart enough to get rid of it." He shook his head at the man's oversight.

"Nay, he thinks because he Obliviated me that he's safe." He didn't tell them he got his memory back. This was not the place to discuss it.

"Probably," the twins said.

"This is great, thanks guys," our hero stated with a wide smile. This would go a long way in trapping Snape. If they got something implicating the man in making illegal potions, then all he had to do was give it to Madam Bones. Coupled with his memories, yeah, it was going to be a good day.

"Harry, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Hermione whispered, leaning over the table to make sure that no one heard her. She wasn't sure that everything was going to go as planned. She felt that Harry was getting too cocky in his movements with the staff. There was just so much that could go wrong.

"Don't worry, I've got this," he said smoothly, unknowingly proving her point. "I'm just going to sit in the stands with you guys and talk to Madam Bones. I'll give her what I've got and then let her take care of the rest. I'm not going to play superhero, so calm down," he stated calmly as he casually served up some hot cereal.

"Okay, well, the first task is starting soon, so you better eat up," she said, going back to her breakfast. She was still worried, but she was hopeful that with Madam Bones there, and that it would go off okay.

The gang ate and chatted on unimportant things, while the adults agonized.

Dumbledore's POV

"Look at him; he looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. I thought you were going to speak to him," Crouch Sr. stated, glaring at the old man. He just knew that boy was going to make him look bad. He was just eating completely unconcerned with what was happening today. Not like the other champions, who were pushing their food around their plates.

"Do not worry so, Bartemius, I will make sure that young Harry is at the first task," Dumbledore stated, though he was bit concerned. He had tried to find Harry all week, but he and his friends kept disappearing on the seventh floor. He didn't know where he or his friends went, or what they were doing. For all he knew the boy was up to something and from the looks of it he was right. However, he had a plan to get Harry to the task, and he was not going to fail.

"You'd better, or it is on your head," the surly man snapped as he got up and stomped out of the room. He had last minute things to take care of.

Bagman got up and followed. He was sweating bullets, still worried about the goblins, who were very upset with wizards right now. What with all the things going through their wards. He really hoped the Headmaster had a plan.

"'Ow are you going to convince ze young man to compete?" Madam Maxime asked as she watched her champion not eat her food. She was concerned about the young woman, while she was the strongest student in her school, she lacked confidence. It was something they worked on since the girl's name came out of the goblet. Fleur was now firm in that she knew what she was going to do, but the fact that she had to face a dragon was making her upset.

"I am sure that it will only take a small bit of persuasion to bring him around," the old man stated as he calmly ate his bagel.

Karkaroff scoffed, he knew that the old geezer was planning something and that the boy would not like it, but he held his tongue. He really didn't want Harry Potter to participate, not that he thought Krum couldn't beat him, but it took away from the Quidditch star's fame. The Boy-Who-Lived was in good with the public at this time. They all pitied him, and many were demanding that he not be forced to contend. Fudge was adamant that the child hero do so, he felt it would bring up his rating if the boy won.

Snape was making plans to leave after the task, when everyone was focused on the winner. He had to appear or there would be questions and people would seek him out. He had everything ready and was prepared to run. He had a really bad feeling that if he didn't soon, then he never would. It might have to do with his lab being broken into last night, and the potion disappearing. If he could have, he would escape now, but the old man showed up at his door this morning and was making him stick by his side. He grumbled about conniving old men and their stupid plans as he finished his eggs.

Harry's POV

The group of six were done with breakfast and they watched as Dumbledore and his cohorts left the room. They figured that meant it was time to go and were now making their way out of the Hall, when the little blonde stopped suddenly, causing everyone to look at her.

"Is Sirius going to be there?" Luna asked with a vacant stare. "I have a feeling he is going to be needed."

"Yeah, he's going to be near Junior," Harry answered, rubbing her arm as he guided her out of the Hall. He really hated it when she was vague but knew that was how it worked and pushing her would not make it different.

"You need to beware of the nargles, Harry. If I were you, I would not…," she tried to warn, but trailed off and shook her head. It was gone. She just knew that everything wasn't going to go as planned, but she didn't know how it would be upset. All she saw was Harry in the arena surrounded by flames. "Please, don't compete, no matter what," she added, grabbing ahold of his arm.

"I have no intentions on stepping anywhere near the dragons. Don't worry, I'll be careful," he said, patting her hand, and then groaned as his alert went off. He looked at his map and saw Dumbledore and Snape making their way towards him. He figured they were going to try and talk him into competing, so he waved his friends on and said, "You guys go ahead, I'll be there in a minute." He then turned to confront the adults. He wasn't going to back down.

The other five opened their mouths like they were going to protest, but he gave them a wink and they reluctantly moved towards the stands.

"Mr. Potter, it is my understanding that you are still refraining from participating in the competition," Dumbledore stated in a questioning tone as the three teachers stopped in front of him. Snape just sneered.

"That's right. I didn't enter, and I'm not playing your games," the teen said with a nod of his head, folding his arms in a defiant manner. He sneered back and the Potions Masters, hoping he was keeping the twinkle out of his eyes. The last thing he wanted for the man to know that he knew.

"I am afraid I am going to have to insist," the old man replied with a bit of steel in his voice.

"Insist all you want, I'm not going. I'm done talking to you," Harry said, turning away from them as he had so many times before. He heard his red alert go off, and he made to turn around, but darkness overtook him.

Dumbledore nodded his thanks to the Potions Master, who had just hit our hero over the head with a blunt object spelled to render someone unconscious. Perhaps, he had hit the child too hard, but he really didn't care. Maybe, it would make the boy's amnesia worse and that would give Snape more time to run.

"Are you sure this was the right way to go about his, Albus? It could have some repercussions," the dour man asked, banishing the staff he used.

"I cannot risk him losing his magic. It is imperative that he remain here," the Headmaster tried to placate as he disillusioned and levitated the boy out of the school. "How will he fight Voldemort if he is so impaired?" he asked with a lifting of his eyebrow.

"Perhaps, you could have reasoned with the brat," Snape said unconvincingly.

"Have I been able to reason with Harry since his return?" was the rhetorical comeback.

Snape conceded the point and they made their way to the champions' tent, with the invisible boy floating behind them.

"Where is Potter?" Crouch demanded, when they appeared to come in alone. He needed the Boy-Who-Lived to compete. Fudge was breathing down his neck, and he was majorly concerned for his job. That and he still didn't know where Junior was.

"Do not worry. Continue on, and Harry will be there when he is supposed to," the Headmaster stated, keeping the teen invisible.

They did as he bid, each one hoping different things.

Hermione's POV

"Where's Harry? The task is going to start soon," Hermione asked, very worried about her friend. She was looking around at everyone but didn't see him.

"I don't know," Neville answered as he too scanned the crowd for the wayward teen.

"I find it lacking on his part that he required us to come and then didn't show," Madam Bones stated with a small glare at the children. She was a very busy woman, but the teen's lawyer stated that it was important that she be here. Something about Death Eaters that would be unmasked today. There were also hints that dead men would appear, not that she gave much credit to that part. Dead men, indeed. Still, for the young man to not show didn't lend him much credibility.

"He was kidnapped by Dumbledore," was Luna's reply as she glared at the Champion's tent as she shook with suppressed rage and fear. She had known something was going to go wrong, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. This was why being a seer was such a curse. That and people tended to blame seers for not doing enough, or if they did and someone died, then they tended to put it on the person who predicted the tragedy.

"How do you know that, young lady?" the elder woman asked with a lifting of her eyebrow.

"It is only logical, since that was the last person we saw him talking to. I believe Harry has become too compliant around the Headmaster," the little blonde answered as she stared at the arena.

"Oh dear," Hermione said, wringing her hands with worry. She just knew that Harry's overconfidence would get him in trouble, but she really hoped that the Headmaster wouldn't put someone in danger just to continue with his plans. She fretted and worried as she stared at the dragon that someone would have to fight. Really, dragons, what were they thinking?

"Can you five at least tell me why I'm here?" Bones asked, wanting to get whatever it was out of the way.

Just then the crowd cheered as Cedric entered the arena. The twins were very glad they had let the other teen know what to expect. As the first champion took on his dragon, Harry's friends were telling Amelia why she was brought in. They laid out what they had had planned and let her know the Harry had the evidence. With each word her anger grew, she made subtle gestures to the Aurors she brought with her and had them spread out throughout the stadium. She wanted to make sure that they were in key positions to capture the culprits.

Waters was writing notes in his legal pad. He was going to make sure that his client was covered. That and with this new development there could finally be a case against Dumbledore.

After relaying what they knew about Harry's plan, they all settled down and watched the champions compete as they all fretted over Harry's disappearance. What would happen if he were forced to compete? What if he was wrong and lost his magic if he didn't? Hopefully he was right and the person who set him up would lose theirs.

Sirius wanted to go and asked about his missing godson, but he needed to stick with Crouch Jr. If things went wrong, he would be needed to make sure the man was taken down fast. He did notice the Aurors moving around him, still he was going to do Harry proud, and play his part.

Now came the time Harry would have been there, and when no one came from the tent the crowd started to murmur. Suddenly there he was, laying in the ring, looking like he was asleep. No one noticed the Headmaster wave his wand.

Harry's POV

After a second, Harry started, and still laying on the ground he looked around. Seeing the dragon, his eyes widened, and he flared his golden shield up and stood. Boy was he pissed. He knew he couldn't trust that old man, but since the professor hadn't done anything since the first day, he let his guard down. So yeah, he was mad at himself and the old bastard.

'How the bloody hell did he get past the sensors?' he barked into his head. The warning system should have prevented a kidnapping.

"You were hit on the head with a charmed staff. It did not show on the sensors until it was too late," Spock answered as the red alert started its warning.

'Find a way to tune them to pick up on any flare of malevolent magic,' the frustrated teen commanded as flames circled his shield.

"Make it so," Picard barked, and Harry could hear the crew scrabbling to follow the orders. Then he tuned them out and paid attention to what was happening around him.

The crowd screamed as the dragon blasted the dome with fire. When the flames disappeared, there was an unharmed Harry standing with his arms folded and glaring at the old man. He waved his hand to his throat and started talking. "You're a fucking bastard, Dumbledore. I told you that I wasn't going to fucking compete. And look, I'm bloody well not. I'm going to stand here and make sure that the whole audience knows what you, and your fucking pet Death Eater, has done to me," he threatened as the dragon started gnawing on the golden dome.

Scrapping noises were heard as the beast tried to eat him. She was getting more and more frustrated as her teeth started to hurt from the shocks the dome was giving her. She blasted the dome again with fire, but it would not relent.

"I was going to do this in the background, but you've pushed my hand. First a few people need spankings," Harry said with a smirk as he held up his hand and summoned the Polyjuice potion from the fake Moody. The flask flew to him and he lifted and smelled. "Polyjuice," he said with a sneer as he dumped it on the ground, so it couldn't be taken back.

Amelia cringed as evidence was wasted, she only hoped that there was residue in the flask. She would have to talk to Harry about not doing such things in the future.

Barty Jr. stood and lifted his wand and cursed the teen, but it splashed harmlessly on the golden shield. Sirius quickly lifted his wand and wrapped the man in chains, while the Aurors converged. He was ever so glad that he was in disguise. The last thing they needed was for the magical coppers to be distracted with 'You-Know-Who's-Righthand-Man'. He couldn't wait until his name was cleared. When the Auror asked who he was, he told him that he was just a bystander trying to do his duty for the Ministry and gave them a fake name. The cop took him at his word and levitated the fake Moody to the back of the stands, where he couldn't hurt anyone, and waited for the Bones to tell him who was next.

The prisoner was screaming that his master would win, and they would never hold him. Waters made sure to write that tidbit down.

"That person, you will find, is Bartemius Crouch Junior," the boy in the ring stated, making many adults and one sandy-haired boy, gasp with shock or denial. Bones was looking at the captured man, with a critical eye. "I know he is supposed to be dead, but I have proof. I will only show Madam Bones and my lawyer. It does make one wonder how he got out to prison though. Doesn't it, Mr. Crouch?" he sneered at the little man who was trying to hide under the Judges Table.

Sirius was happy to bind that man discretely. He hid his wand in his sleeve and did the spell wordlessly. He hated Crouch with every fiber of his being. If it were not for Senior, he wouldn't have spent a day in Azkaban. He rejoiced that now they could question the man and get him to confess that the unjustly accused man never stood trial. Then he could take Harry and hide in Muggle London, like the boy wanted.

Now the dragon was using its claws to try and break the shield. Huge swipe of her paws rebounded off the dome. Many cringed, because it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.

"You will find the really Moody in a trunk in the DADA office. Me and my friend Dobby have been making sure that he survived the ordeal. We'd've let you know sooner, but the man insisted that we somehow out the imposter first. He was part of the plan that we hatched here today. Now though, I have to wonder how his longtime friend, Albus Dumbledore, didn't know he was not who he appeared to be," the boy, whose dome was being chewed and clawed on, stated. He looked at the dragon and sighed, he made sure to ask Scotty if the ward was strong and got the reply that it was at 95%. So, the dragon wasn't doing much damage.

The crowd turned as one and looked at the Headmaster, who just sat serenely as if nothing was happening. He was fingering his wand like the wanted nothing more than to shut the boy up, but past experience led him to believe that only the Unforgivables would penetrate that golden dome of his. His only recourse was to make sure that nothing implicated him. He knew that he had done nothing wrong. He had no idea that the imposter was in the castle. Sure, Alastor was acting a bit odd, but that was usual for the paranoid man. "Harry, my boy, you must stop telling these people things that only the DMLE should know," he tried to reason with the child.

"That's what you think, is it? You shouldn't have fucking kidnapped me, arsehole. Besides, people have a right to know that they were in danger. They have the right to know that you are hiding things from them. Now, let's see who else was hiding things," Harry stated as he put a finger to his temple and broadcasted the memory of the night he ran, from the time Snape found him until he disappeared at the gate.

This time Amelia captured the Potions Master, who was trying to slink away. She put suppressor cuffs on him and frog-marched him back to her people.

The whole while the greasy man glared at the boy hero. He knew he should have run this morning. Blast Dumbledore and Potter. He missed his opportunity by mere hours. Now he could only hope that Albus could get him off again.

The Head of the DMLE then turned and waited for what else the boy had up his sleeve. So far everything the teen stated was something she could work with. She was really hoping that he had more. Though she just knew Dumbledore would talk his way out of trouble, she could finally put his pet Death Eater in Azkaban.

"This," he pulled the vial from his pocket, "is an experimental potion, and judging from what the man said when I accidently took it I'm sure that it is, or should be, illegal." He held it up and everyone could see it was green goo, just like in the memory. "This is what caused my memory loss. The Bloody Baron, before he moved on, told me it's an Unforgivable in a bottle." Then Harry let them see his talk with the ghost, making the crowd boo and jeer at the greasy git. Not that many liked him to begin with.

Finally, Harry showed them what the Headmaster had done to him since he returned. The mind-rape, the attempts to control him and finally the last encounter were all there for everyone to see. The other two schools weren't sure what to make of it. Karkaroff didn't see anything he, himself, wouldn't do, but Madam Maxime was appalled at what the teen had been through. Once more the headmaster tried to intervene, but Harry ignored the old man. Yeah, he was still pissed that he was having to do this while a great big lizard was trying to eat him.

Because he kidnapped the boy to bring him here, Amelia also bound the old man. She didn't think it would stick, but she could at least bring him in for questioning. She knew he could use the excuse that he was trying to prevent the boy from losing his magic, or worse dying.

All this time, the dragon was doing it's very best to get passed the dome. Fire, teeth, and claws weren't working. It was about to start digging up the ground in hopes to get under it.

"Will you stop?!" Harry hissed at the large lizard. "Can't you see I'm not going to harm you or your eggs?" he said more gently, seeing that it had stopped at his command. "Go back to your nest. I'm leaving." And with that, while the dome was still in place, he left the arena, without even looking at the prize.

That's when the screaming started.