Percy Jackson and the Triwizard Tournament (Goblet of Fire)

Chapter 53: Barty Crouch Jr.

The lunacy in Mad-Eye Moody's eyes were more clear now than ever, "Imagine how he'll reward me, when he finds I have done it for him. I give you to him - the thing he needed above all to regenerate - and then I killed you for him. I will be honored above all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter... closer than a son... The Dark Lord and I have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers... very disappointing indeed. And both of us had the pleasure... the very great pleasure... of killing our fathers, to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"

"You're mad!" Harry shouted, backing away from the lunatic professor. In the corner of his eye, the Foe-Glass began gleam, showing silhouettes of different, undecipherable faces.

"Mad, am I?" Moody began to raise his wand, giving one last wicked cackle, "We'll see about that!"

"Stupefy!" the door to Moody's office was blasted to pieces as the blinding red light flew towards him. Dumbledore stormed inside, quickly follower by McGonagall and Snape.

Harry stared at Mad-Eye Moody's limp body on the floor, "Moody... How could it have been-"

"Because it's not Moody at all..." Harry looked up to find Annabeth standing beside the door frame, the arch being all that remained after Dumbledore blasted it to smithereens.

Behind her he spotted Percy, Thalia, and Nico just entering the room. The Son of Hades crouched down over the body, flipping it over to observe "Not-So-Moody's" face.

Annabeth rested a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Harry nodded, but his face was still quite pale.

She smiled weakly back at him. Meanwhile, Dumbledore turned to Snape and McGonagall, "Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens, and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."

The two professors left.

Percy frowned, noticing a faint gleam from inside one of the pockets in "Not-So-Moody's" jacket. He bent down and retrieved a set of keys, holding them up in the air curiously.

Nico's eyes widened with recognition, his eyes darting from the key chain towards the chest in the corner of the room, "By the Gods... Could he-"

"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore replied for him, his arm outstretched as Percy handed him the keys. Then, the headmaster walked towards the chest.

And with a faint 'click,' the chest opened.

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It took seven tries before the Headmaster opened the chest to a rather horrific magical compartment.

The demigods and Harry both knelt forward, looking inside the contents of the chest. There was a ten foot deep pit inside the chest, and lying on the very bottom was a very thin and starved-looking Professor Moody. Only without his magical eye and wooden leg.

"It seems you were right, Ms. Chase," Dumbledore turned towards her, "Not that I had any doubt."

The Daughter of Athena nodded with satisfaction, taking one last pitiful glance back at the trunk.

Nico swiftly dropped himself into the trunk, joining the prisoner at the bottom of the massive, dark pit. Then, he grabbed hold of Moody's wrist and the two shadow-traveled away.

The Son of Hades promptly tumbled out of the wall besides them, landing back into Moody's office. The real Moody collapsed onto the floor. Thalia ran over, helping Nico support the wizard's weight by the two demigods swinging an arm over each of their shoulders.