Madam Pomfrey double checked Cedric and made sure he was stable, before turning her attention to Harry. Once she'd established Harry was fine, just a bit battered and bruised, she dismissed the two Professors and Lucius.
"Mr Potter will be perfectly fine," She assured them. "As will the others. Now, if you don't mind, I need to see to my patients."
Severus gave Harry a reluctant glance, before turning to leave with Lucius. Thinking Moody was right behind them, the two men set off towards the stairs. However, what they didn't realise was that Moody hadn't left the hospital wing, and the moment they were out of sight, he hurried over to Harry's bedside.
"Get up," Moody ordered Harry. "You have to come with me."
"Why?" Harry asked, glancing around for any sign of Madam Pomfrey but finding that she'd disappeared.
"I know who tried to kill you," Moody answered. "You're not safe here. Let's go to my office, and we can speak to Dumbledore."
Curious to see who Moody had pegged as the culprit, Harry hopped out of bed and headed off towards the door with the Defence Professor.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomfrey called, emerging from her office.
"Harry's coming with me," Moody answered. "He's fit to leave, isn't he?"
"He is, but I would have thought Professor Dumbledore would be wanting to speak to him," Madam Pomfrey replied.
"He can do that in my office," Moody replied with a shrug as he pulled open the door. "Come on Harry, let's go."
Leaving Madam Pomfrey to get back to the students that really needed her, Harry and Moody exited the hospital wing. As they headed to Moody's office, Harry tried to get him to share his thoughts, but the former Auror was remaining secretive. Clearly his naturally suspicious nature was in play, and he wasn't risking sharing his thoughts out in the open where anyone could hear.
"Take a seat, Harry," Moody said as they entered the office.
Harry sat down in front of the Professors desk, as he set about making a cup of tea. He'd already decided that Moody wasn't going to speak until he was ready, so he didn't see the point in pushing him. Instead he waited until Moody had handed him his cup of tea and taken his own seat before he asked again what Moody knew.
"I've always known who entered you into the tournament," Moody said casually as he sipped his tea.
"What?" Harry looked at the Professor in shock. "But why haven't you said anything before now?"
"Why would I want to do that?" Moody questioned with a sly smirk. "It would spoil all my plans."
"All your plans?" Harry questioned, spluttering on his tea. "What's going on Professor?"
Chuckling, Moody got to his feet and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "Ah, so naïve, Harry. In fact everyone in this stupid school is so believing. Even Dumbledore didn't recognise things aren't as they seem."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked warily as he put his tea down on the desk and reached into his pocket for his wand.
"I don't think so," Moody said, summoning Harry's wand before he could lay his hands on it. Another flick of Moody's wand had Harry tied to the chair. "Now that's better. Where was I?"
"You were grandstanding," Harry muttered. Even as he was struggling against his bindings he knew it was useless, he was at Moody's mercy and all he could do was try and stall him and hope help arrived before he was a goner.
"Not grandstanding, explaining," Moody corrected. Pausing his face broke out into a wide smile. "Ah, here comes the change. This will explain a few things."
Harry opened his mouth to try and keep Moody talking, but before he could speak the man in front of him started to change appearance. The one-legged, fairly stout wizard, began to grow taller, his face started to thin out and he started to get younger. Within a couple of minutes, Moody had disappeared and in his place was a wizard with dark hair and a manic grin.
"Surprise," He called.
"Who the hell are you?" Harry spat. It didn't take a genius to work out that someone had been posing as Moody for the last year, and that someone had been the one responsible for his entry into the Triwizard Tournament.
The wizard opened his mouth to answer, but at the moment the door to the office burst open and Severus rushed into the room, closely followed by Dumbledore. Taking one look at the scene, Severus blasted the dark haired wizard off his feet, knocking him into a wall and freed Harry from his bindings. Slowly entering the room, Dumbledore stepped in front of the dazed wizard on the floor and plucked Moody and Harry's wands from his hands.
"Barty," He said quietly as he shook his head.
"Barty? Crouch's son?" Harry asked with a frown. "I thought he was dead."
"So did I," Severus said, looking at the man with narrowed eyes. "I heard he died in Azkaban."
"I thought so too," Dumbledore said as he restrained the younger wizard and used magic to bring him back to full alertness. "How are you alive Barty?"
"Ask dear old Dad," Barty spat. "He sprung me from Azkaban and kept me prisoner at home for all these years."
"How did you escape if your father has been keeping you locked up?" Dumbledore asked.
"The old fool let me go to the quidditch world cup," Barty said with a mocking laugh. "He thought sticking my under an invisibility spell and having his pathetic elf watching over me would keep me in line. When The Dark Lord caused a stir, I slipped away from Winky and escaped."
"You went back to Voldemort?" Dumbledore questioned.
"No, I didn't know where he was, and he never called me," Barty replied with a snarl, his anger clear for them all to see. "Instead, I decided to prove I could be useful to him. I decided to kill Harry Potter for him."
"How did you know to pose as Alastor Moody?" Dumbledore queried with a frown.
"That was easy," Barty laughed. "I'd heard the Minister discussing his appointment with Lucius Malfoy. It was easy to find Moody, overpower him and keep him locked up while I posed as him. And no-one had a clue, not even the people he was supposedly friends with."
Dumbledore shook his head, ashamed to admit Barty was right. For a year, he'd treat the imposter like his old friend, but never once realised he wasn't the real Alastor Moody.
"So what happened Crouch?" Severus asked as Dumbledore internally scolded himself for not recognising the imposter. "When the tournament was announced, you saw an opportunity?"
"Precisely," Barty replied with a smile. "See Severus, deep down you've still got potential to be dark. It's just a shame you're no more than Dumbledore's lap dog these days."
"Shut up and tell us what happened," Severus snarled.
"It was all fairly easy, I just entered Harry's name under a fourth school," Barty said. "As expected, his name came out of the goblet and then I just had to sit back and wait for him to mess up. I admit, he's more resourceful than I'd thought, I never thought he would survive two tasks unscathed."
"So you thought you'd make sure he didn't survive the third," Dumbledore concluded.
"I tried, but the bugger has more lives than a cat," Barty snarled, glaring at Harry. "As I sent each of the champions into the maze, I enchanted them so they would eliminate Harry. Just in case that failed, I'd enchanted the cup earlier so if he somehow survived the other three, he would be killed by the cup."
"But it didn't work," Severus said with a smug smile. "He overpowered Krum and the Delacour girl, and convinced Diggory to take the cup. You failed, so you had to come up with a fresh way to kill him. What were you going to do, bore him to death with your monologue about how ingenious you'd been?"
"I was just going to kill him," Barty answered. "And I would have had the chance if you hadn't interrupted. How did you know where he was anyway, last I saw you Severus, you were rushing off with Lucius Malfoy."
"We went back to The Great Hall," Severus answered. "Lucius re-joined the other judges, including your father and I went back to the hospital wing with Dumbledore and the parents of the other champions. Madam Pomfrey told us you'd taken Harry."
"And you were suspicious of me?" Barty asked Dumbledore, raising a sceptical eyebrow at the old man. "But you trusted me."
"I did," Dumbledore replied with a nod. "But your actions made no sense. There was no reason for you to take Harry out of the hospital wing."
"I should have just killed him there and then," Barty snarled. "Bugger the consequences."
"It's too late for that now," Dumbledore remarked. "You've been caught, and you're going straight back to Azkaban. Although before we leave, I want to know what you've done with the real Alastor Moody."
"Not telling," Barty taunted, giving Dumbledore a smirk before he resolutely shut his mouth and refused to open it again.
Dumbledore ranted and raved at Barty, until Severus pointed out that the real Moody couldn't be too far away. Barty had clearly been using polyjuice potion to impersonate the real Moody, and to do that for so long it meant he had to have regular contact with the real Moody to keep topped up on ingredients. As such, logic dictated the real Moody was likely in school somewhere, probably close by to the Defence offices.
A quick search of the office, actually revealed the whereabouts of the real Moody. Dumbledore found him trapped in an enchanted chest, which Barty kept locked in the corner of the office. Dumbledore promised to free the real Moody, before turning back to Severus and Harry.
"Severus, take the imposter back to my office," Dumbledore ordered. "Once I've freed the real Alastor, I'll grab Fudge, Barty senior and the other judges and join you in my office."
"Can I head down to the Great Hall?" Harry asked. "I want to see my friends."
"You'll see them shortly," Dumbledore said. "For now, I want you to return to the hospital wing. Molly and Arthur are waiting there for you, and I'll send Mr Weasley and Miss Granger up to see you. Until everything's settled, I'd rather you stayed somewhere I knew you were safe. But don't worry, you won't miss tonight's fest, hopefully no-one will."
While Dumbledore turned back to deal with the trapped Moody, Severus hauled Barty to his feet and yanked him out of the office. Harry followed after his father, even though the pair couldn't really talk since they weren't alone. After leaving the Defence office, they walked together until they reached the floor the hospital wing was on.
"Can you manage to get back to the hospital wing on your own?" Severus checked.
"I'll be fine," Harry replied.
"Good," Severus said with a nod. "I'm going to go and make sure this scumbag gets what he deserves."
"I'm sure you will," Harry said with a smirk as he set off towards the hospital wing.
He knew somehow his father would get Barty Crouch Jr to his grandfather, it was just a shame he would miss the entire thing. Instead, he had to go and play nice with the Weasleys while he waited for an opportunity to speak to Hermione and Draco and tell them everything that had happened.
C.O.T.D.
Lucius was rather stunned when Dumbledore entered the Great Hall and pulled the Minister for Magic, several members of staff and the judges to one side to reveal he knew who'd put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. However, he wouldn't be drawn on the subject in front of the students, who were gathered in the room awaiting a final announcement on the winner of the tournament. Instead, he quickly addressed the students, informing them that snacks would be served and for the time being they were to remain in the Great Hall. He then quietly spoke to Hermione and Ron, giving them permission to go and see Harry in the hospital wing, before ushering a select few people out of the Great Hall and up towards his office.
"Severus has the culprit in my office," Dumbledore explained. "Although, Minerva could you go to Alastor's office and see to him. He'll fill you in on what's happened, and I'll be there as soon as I can."
McGonagall didn't look happy to be excluded from the group, but she dutifully nodded her head and went off to see what was happening with Alastor Moody. The rest of the group headed up to Dumbledore's office, where they found Severus waiting for them with Barty Crouch Jr strapped to a chair. The second he saw his son, Barty Crouch senior tried to back out of the room, but Dumbledore had blocked the way to the door.
"You're staying, Barty," Dumbledore said. "I think you've got some explaining to do."
"Take a seat, Dad," Barty sneered. "You can tell them how you smuggled me out of Azkaban and let Mum rot in my place."
"She was already dying," Crouch whispered, slumping down into a chair. "What happened to you killed her, I was just making sure she died happy, knowing you weren't stuck in that place for the rest of your life."
"Let me get this straight, are you confessing to breaking a prisoner out of Azkaban?" Fudge asked his long-time colleague.
"I am," Crouch answered with a nod, surrendering his wand when Fudge asked for it.
"Maybe we can get cells next to one another, won't that be a treat," Barty sneered sarcastically.
"I'm starting to form a picture in my head, but will someone please fill in the blanks," Lucius said.
Dumbledore and Severus quickly told the story of how Barty Crouch had been posing as Alastor Moody and how he'd entered Harry into the tournament. Once the explanation of what had been happening had taken place, they began to talk about what would happen next. After a few minutes it was decided that Fudge and Lucius would accompany the two Crouches back to the Ministry and they would be dealt with there.
"We'll be back this evening for the celebration feast," Fudge told Dumbledore. "You might want to wait to announce the overall champion until then."
"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "It'll also give me a chance to make sure all the champions will feel up to attending the feast."
While Fudge and Dumbledore were discussing the feast, Severus managed to pull Lucius to one side and the pair managed to have a whispered conversation of their own, where it was decided that Lucius would get Crouch Jr away from the Ministry and to Voldemort. The Dark Lord needed to deal with him, and they both eager to see what happened to the man who'd tried to kill his grandson.
The elder Crouch stood up to leave without a fuss, but despite being restrained his son didn't go quite as easily. Luckily Lucius was able to step in and assist the Minister in getting him back to the Ministry, which gave him the perfect opportunity to swipe Crouch's wand from the Minster's robes. When they arrived at the Ministry they were in Fudge's office and Crouch Jr was immediately tied to a chair and he continued to rant and rave about his capture.
"I think you need to go and get the Aurors, Lucius," Fudge said with a sigh. "I'll stay with the prisoners."
Lucius nodded and slipped out of the Minister's office. However, instead of leaving the outer office, he merely locked the door and turned back to the inner office. Cracking the door back open, he slipped Crouch's wand through the crack and sent a stunning spell at Fudge. The second the Minister fell to the ground, Lucius rushed into the room and grabbed his wand.
"Don't move," He ordered Crouch Senior, who'd gotten to his feet when Fudge collapsed.
"What are you doing Lucius?" Crouch cried.
"Making sure justice is served," Lucius answered, pointing Fudge's wand at Crouch. "Avada Kedavra!"
"Ha," Barty cried triumphantly. "I always knew you were a good man, Lucius. I've always said you were loyal to the Dark Lord."
"Yes, I am," Lucius replied as he wiped his fingerprints off Fudge's wand and dropped it back down beside his prone body. "And that's why I'm taking you to see him."
"Excellent," Barty said with a grin. "Untie me then."
Using Crouch's wand, he untied Barty. However, before the younger wizard had a chance to revel in his freedom, Lucius had pulled his own wand out and froze him on the spot.
"What are you doing?" Barty cried, trying in vain to move.
"Taking you to The Dark Lord for your punishment," Lucius answered as he mentally checked everything was in place.
Lucius's plan was to return, go to the Aurors and come back to find Crouch dead and Fudge stunned. Any investigation should reveal that Crouch overpowered Fudge, got back his wand and stunned him. He'd then freed his son, who'd stolen Fudge's wand, killed his father and escaped yet again. Satisfied that everything was in place, Lucius grabbed hold of Barty and flooed them to The Leaky Cauldron, before instantly carrying on to the manor before anyone at the pub had the chance to spot them. The additional trip to The Leaky Cauldron would throw the Aurors off the scent, as they'd then not be able to trace a further floo connection to the manor from a public connection.
Ten minutes later, Lucius returned to Fudge's office and carried out the rest of his plan. Heading to the Auror department, he quickly found an Auror, Kingsley Shackelbolt, and informed him of what had happened. Kingsley grabbed a young female Auror with bright bubble-gum pink hair, and the pair headed back to Fudge's office with Lucius. Once there, they'd found the scene Lucius had set up and as expected, they'd reached the conclusions he'd wanted them to.
As far as the Ministry was concerned, Barty Crouch had escaped after killing his father. They had no idea he was in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, waiting for The Dark Lord to take his retribution on him.