Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!

That night, Hermione let a hidden Harry out of Gryffindor Tower while she herself entered casually. Once the portrait door had fallen shut, she made her way directly to her dorm, got into bed, shut the hangings around her, and pulled out the Marauders' Map that Harry had given to her earlier that evening.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she intoned clearly, tapping the parchment with her wand and watching as the map itself visualized. Using her finger to trace over the lines, she quickly found Harry's name and followed its path through the castle. She honestly didn't know whether this was a good idea or a bad one, but at the same time, did they even have anything else they could do?

Yes she'd been surprised to hear what Harry had told her, yes she'd been, and still was pretty hesitant about the entire thing, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that this really was something that had to be done. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe it would end horribly, but...they wouldn't know for sure until they actually tried. They were Gryffindors, after all.

So, with that in mind, Hermione kept her eyes fixed on Harry's name on the map, watching as he got closer to the dot labelled as 'Bartemius Crouch'...

Harry stood outside Moody's door, hesitating. Well, he supposed it technically wasn't Moody's door, but either way, he knew he had plenty of reasons to be hesitant about all of this. He knew he was the one who had decided to do this-no one had talked him into this, but...he really didn't know what he was supposed to expect. He had questions, sure, and Little Voldemort had told him to ask Barty, yeah, but how willing would they be to actually give him information?

Would Barty lie to him? Would Little Voldemort have told him to lie? And even if Little Voldemort wanted Barty to tell him the truth, would Barty choose otherwise? Would Barty choose to lie to him instead? Just how devoted was he to the Dark Lord? Little Voldemort clearly held him in high regard, but what did Barty think about his Lord?

He knocked.

Moody was the one to open the door, but Harry hadn't expected otherwise. Barty couldn't risk being seen as himself. Still, Harry was beckoned inside without a word, and directed into the man's private rooms. Harry sat down hesitantly, fighting the urge to look over his shoulder at Moody, who was moving around behind him. Harry had the feeling he was waiting for the Polyjuice Potion to run its course.

And sure enough, Harry heard pained grunting and gasping as the potion reached its time limit and Moody's voiced changed back to Barty's, presumably along with everything else. Harry wasn't actually looking, the man standing somewhere behind Harry's chair-probably on purpose.

Harry didn't mind. Watching someone's appearance change due to Polyjuice Potion was actually pretty disturbing. About as disturbing as drinking the potion, really, and Harry knew that from personal experience. It was uncomfortable and kind of painful too, he remembered.

When all he heard was panting, Harry hesitated slightly, then said, "You okay?"

"...Just fine, Potter."

"Alright." In silence, Harry waited, trying to be patient. He couldn't say whether Barty was doing it on purpose or not, but this felt like it was taking forever! It was actually making him feel a little unsettled.

After what felt like ages, Barty dropped down into the seat across the table from Harry. He didn't say anything at first, and just stared at Harry, who had to force himself to keep still and not squirm under the scrutiny. Even without Little Voldemort around, Barty seemed awfully intimidating on his own.

"What do you want to ask?"

Harry blinked, surprised. "How do you know I'm here to ask you something?"

"You have no other reason to be here."

"Oh." Okay, yeah, that was true.

"So, what do you want to ask?" Barty repeated.

A lot, actually, though now that he actually had the chance, Harry found himself struggling to think of even one question. Barty wasn't taking his eyes off of him, and it was somehow making him feel good and bad at the same time. He swallowed hard, not noticing how dry his mouth and throat were.

"What-what exactly are you guys after?"

Barty cocked his head slightly. "Are you asking me what the Dark's ultimate goal is?"

"Yeah."

"...Peace."

Harry blinked, actually caught off guard by the definitely unexpected answer. "Peace?" he echoed curiously. "But...how will you do that?"

"My Lord had many plans in motion for this, but frankly, when it comes down to it, the Light has more support than the Dark. And more support means more influence."

Harry frowned, a nagging thought making itself known in his mind. "Are you saying that the Light doesn't want peace?"

"Not quite," said Barty with a shake of his head, although a wry smirk appeared on his face, only unsettling Harry further. "The Light, or perhaps I should say Dumbledore, does want peace, but at the expense of others. He wants the peace for himself, and more than that, the glory."

"Glory?"

"Glory for ending the war all on his own for a second time. Glory for defeating a second Dark Lord all on his own. Glory for bringing peace to everyone for a second time, all on his own."

Harry didn't understand it, not entirely, but even then, the more he heard, the more he began to feel anger bubbling up inside him. But that anger wasn't directed at Barty. "If that's all true, and Dumbledore's after all of that himself, then-then why've I been put through all of this for all these years?"

"He does it because you are his scapegoat. He does it so no one will expect it. He does it because he thinks he can bend you to his will. He does it because he thinks you're too foolish to question it. He does it because he thinks he can get away with it. He does it, Potter, simply because he can."

Harry's brow furrowed as he frowned. This was what Dumbledore wanted? This was what he was planning? "What...what do you mean when you say I'm Dumbledore's scapegoat?"

"What do you think I mean by it?"

"That he's using me?"

Barry simply nodded. "Dumbledore is long past his prime and he knows it. Not many would believe him to be capable of defeating my Lord-not like he did Grindelwald back in the day. But you? You're a young wizard with near unlimited potential.You could defeat my Lord, and people would not only believe it, but support it too."

Suddenly, Harry understood, finally realizing what the man was getting at. "And if I'm gone, people will have no choice but to support Dumbledore again!"

"Or so my Lord believes, yes," said Barty with a lazy shrug.

"But that's crazy!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "And stupid! I know lots of students have died in this tournament before, and I know I'm younger than the others, but that isn't a guarantee that I'll die!"

Barty just looked at him calmly. "What makes you think this is the first time Dumbledore has attempted to kill you?"

That's it for now. Apologies for any mistakes. Some of you are aware of the eye and vision problems I've been having so while I think it should be fine, I may have missed things in my blind spots. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!