Barty Crouch laughed manically as he pulled out a piece of parchment. He had to write and tell his Lord how the plan was going! He grabbed a quill and started writing. Master—

            Everything is going according to your master plan, my Lord! As you know, at the beginning of the year, I kidnapped that paranoid Auror Mad-Eye Moody, and locked him in his own chest, which I kept with me so I might use him as ingredients in the Polyjuice potion. I have been masquerading as him all year, teaching the children Defense Against the Dark Arts—after all, who knows more about the Dark Arts than I? It is fortunate, however, that Moody was so paranoid that he only drank from a hip flask. Had this not been the case, it would have been difficult to keep up the disguise, since Polyjuice wears off after an hour.

        Since I am teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, I am, of course, teaching Harry Potter, our enemy. Dumbledore asked me to teach his year about the Imperius, the Cruciatus, and the Killing Curse—about their history and about how to stop them. And Master, I must tell you, the Potter brat can break my Imperius curse. And I know, Master, that your curse is stronger than mine, but I thought I should warn you.

        I entered Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire under the name of a different school, as you told me to, and it worked! Not that I ever doubted you, Master. He is the fourth contestant. I tried to help him with the First task—getting a fake Golden egg away from a dragon—but he already knew about the task, even though it was supposed to be a secret, and he had a plan. He managed to get the egg the fastest, as well

        For the Second task,. Potter had to rescue "what you'll sorely miss" from the merpeople under the Hogwarts lake. In his case, it was the youngest Weasley boy. That family is full of traitors, all of them pureblood, but liking Mudbloods and worse—Muggles! I tried to help him on his way by placing a book in the hands of one of his dorm mates that contained the information to help him, but that boy! He was so full of pride or self-confidence he never asked for help. So then I spoke with McGonagall in the hearing of that wretched House Elf, Dobby. Vile creature that he is, he still picked up the hint. I asked McGonagall if the Potter boy would think to use gillyweed in order to breathe underwater. Dobby heard and, since he has been infatuated with "Harry Potter sir!" ever since the fool boy managed to trick Lucius Malfoy—how that happened I will never understand—into freeing the creature, Dobby stole into Snape's private stores and took gillyweed to give to Potter. Potter ate the gillyweed, but almost lost the task when his Gryffindor nature asserted itself and he insisted upon waiting until all the people were rescued. Since one of the people—that Beauxbatons girl, Fleur Delacour—didn't make it, he rescued her sister as well as the Weasley boy. However, apparently the judges—except for the one from Durmstrang, where the third contestant, Viktor Krum, is from—thought that this showed "moral fiber" and awarded him bonus points, even though he arrived last. He and Cedric Diggory—the other Hogwarts champion, a 7th year in Hufflepuff—were now tied for first place.

        Now it is time for the third task! I have already turned the Trophy into a Portkey, as per your instructions, Master, and now I am about to enter the maze to make Potter's path easier and the other's path harder. As soon as Potter touches the Trophy, he wins, but then he will lose! He will lose his life to you, after he donates his blood to help bring you back! Oh, glorious day that you are back full-strength, Master! Then you will send his dead body back as proof of your return! What should have been a happy day will change into one of extreme sorrow and fear, as the Wizarding World's champion, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, is killed by you, the scourge of the Wizarding world, Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! What triumph you must now be feeling, as the minute of your rise comes closer and closer! I cannot wait until Potter's dead body comes back and I can reveal myself, your most loyal Death Eater!

                                                            --Your eternal servant,

                                                              Barty Crouch Jr.

He signed his name with a flourish and attached it to his owl. He sent it to Lord Voldemort with a quick word, and stepped outside, ready to start his work. Barty loved his job.

***

A white owl fluttered to Lord Voldemort, mere seconds after Harry Potter had escaped. He grabbed it fiercely and yanked the letter off, muttering. He scanned the letter and let out a scream of rage. The Death Eaters around him wisely took a step back as he incinerated the owl. It was never wise to be the bearer of bad tidings. Voldemort turned to the Death Eaters, face blank with rage. "HE CAN RESIST THE IMPERIUS CURSE, AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME SOONER?!" It was a tragic case of delayed information. Had the letter only arrived a mere 15 minutes earlier, then Harry would not have escaped so easily.