Already in a state of shock from believing Cedric had been dead, Marnie couldn't bring herself to say or do anything more as chaos formed around her. Members of the Ministry that had been present, along with Fudge and Dumbledore called for Cedric to be taken to the Hospital Wing immediately. Judging by the expressions that many of them exchanged as Cedric was lifted off the ground, no one knew what to say or think. Amos and Anne were absolutely beside themselves, their faces pale with a mixture of relief but fear that Cedric was still horribly hurt. They were quickly helped to their feet by workers and told to head to the Hospital Wing themselves, leaving Marnie alone on the ground for a minute or so.

What had Harry witnessed that caused him to believe that Cedric was dead? And speaking of Harry, where had he gone? At one point, he had been by Cedric's side and when Marnie finally came to her senses enough to look around, she didn't spot him anywhere on the scene. However, there was a hand offering to help her up, and the hand belonged to Lee.

Besides him, Fred and George appeared worried as well, similar to everyone else around them, they had no idea what was going on.

"He was dead," she whispered to Lee as he pulled her up, "he was dead, I felt it. He was so cold."

"He's alright, Marnie," Lee said with a slight frown, trying to keep his tone steady and reassuring for her sake, "he'll be fine. Madam Pomfrey will take care of him."

"His feet, did you see his feet?" Marnie continued leaning into him to keep herself standing. "The socks...Ellie's socks they were...Ellie's socks..."

It seemed she could only repeat "Ellie's socks" over and over to process something in her mind, but it only reminded Fred that Eleanor was nowhere to be seen. Surely, Eleanor would have been right at Cedric's side like Marnie had been if she believed one of her dearest friends was severely injured or hurt. A painful knot twisted in Fred's stomach as he took another look around the stands, where students were all holding onto one another in attempts of comforting each other, while the professors were prefects to get students back to their respective common rooms as soon as possible.

With Marnie in no condition to assist him, Fred started looking around to see if he could find Professor Moody, after all, he had been the last person known to see her. But amongst the professors, he was nowhere to be seen either. Noting Professor Dumbledore in the distance, walking up to the castle with Fudge at his side, Fred left George's side to run after them. He called after the headmaster until the group of adults stopped and faced him with bewildered looks.

"Professor Dumbledore," Fred breathed, "something is wrong. Ellie's been missing before the final task started. No one has been able to find her. Professor Moody was the last one with her, but I can't find him to ask...she wouldn't have missed this task. She wouldn't have, I know it! And if Cedric were hurt, she would have been right there beside him just like Marnie was."

The last time Fred had felt such a panic stir in his chest had been back at the Quidditch World Cup, knowing that Death Eaters had been around, while being left in charge of making sure everyone in the group was alright. He remembered that feeling of dread when Eleanor pointed out that Ron, Hermione, and Harry had been separated during all of the chaos, and while she had been there to reassure him and the others that they were going to be fine, she wasn't there to comfort him.

Fudge appeared confused, or rather, he looked as though they couldn't be bothered to deal with another situation on top of what they were already facing. However, the look on Dumbledore's face said quite the opposite, it was as if he knew something that no one else did. There was a twinkle in his eye, not one of humour or delight, but more along the lines of him making a connection in his mind that he hadn't before.

"I understand your concern, Mr Weasley," he said calmly, "allow me to escort our guests to the castle and I will see that Ms Ross found safe and sound. Be sure to escort Ms Saxon to the Hospital Wing, I'd like Madam Pomfrey to provide something to ease her mind."

It didn't sound like enough in Fred's mind, he was fully prepared to tell Dumbledore that his guests could wait because a missing student, more importantly, Fred's missing girlfriend was far more important. But he knew that Marnie was in a terrible state of mind and Eleanor would have been the one to escort her to the Hospital Wing. With no other choice, he allowed the adults to head to the castle, leaving him behind until George, Lee, and Marnie caught up with him.

"Come on," he said to the other three, "Professor Dumbledore wants Marnie to head to the Hospital Wing, make sure she's alright."

And while Fred placed on a brave face for everyone around him once more, George was able to see right through it as he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder with a comforting squeeze.

"Ellie's going to be fine too."

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody had dealt with plenty of dangerous criminals ranging from deranged witches and wizards to Death Eaters during his career as an Auror, and while he believed he was well-versed to handle most situations, the longer he remained in the presence of Eleanor Ross, he was unsure of how to handle the odd ramblings of a teenaged girl.

From her questioning if a boy named Cedric was wearing her socks to rambling on about becoming a drug-sniffing hound if her internship fell through, Moody could only sit in silence and listen until Eleanor would fall quiet, meaning she was falling asleep. He would tell her to remain awake, only for her to start off with a completely different topic and if he tried to redirect the conversation, she would ignore it completely.

And he was uncomfortable with how often she would tell him that he smelled before sneezing violently.

He reminded her that she wouldn't smell like fresh roses if she had been trapped in the trunk for as long as he had been. Half of the time unable to think clearly since he had been put under the Imperius Curse many times. But he couldn't bring himself to be too gruff with her, especially when she vomited again, a clear sign that she wasn't doing any better.

"Just hold on a little longer, lass," he said, "you'll be alright- "

Before Eleanor could respond the two of them were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps with an added clunking sound that seemed to echo in the trunk. They could only peer up in the darkness where the wee bit of light came through where they heard two voices going back forth. One of them definitely belonged to Barty Crouch Jr as his fake Moody voice rang out clearly and the other voice belonged to-

"Harry?" Eleanor whispered. "What is Harry doing here? Harry? Harry, listen, there are a few things you should know..."

"He can't hear you- "

"Well, of course, he can't if you're going to talk over me!"

Moody didn't respond, attempting to listen to the conversation overhead to figure out what was going on.

"I told you, Harry ... I told you. If there's one thing, I hate more than any other, it's a Death Eater who walked free. They turned their backs on my master when he needed them most. I expected him to punish them. I expected him to torture them. Tell me he hurt them, Harry ...Tell me he told them that I, I alone remained faithful ... prepared to risk everything to deliver to him the one thing he wanted above all ... you."

"You didn't ... it – it can't be you ..."

"Who put your name in the Goblet of Fire, under the name of a different school? I did. Who frightened off every person I thought might try to hurt you or prevent you winning the Tournament? I did. Who nudged Hagrid into showing you the dragons? I did. Who helped you see the only way you could beat the dragon? I did."

Suddenly, Eleanor gasped loudly causing Moody to jump, only to hear her laugh quietly to herself seconds later.

"Oh wait, I already knew all that information."

"It hasn't been easy, Harry, guiding you through these tasks without arousing suspicion. I have had to use every ounce of cunning I possess, so that my hand would not be detectable in your success. Dumbledore would have been very suspicious if you had managed everything too easily. As long as you got into that maze, preferably with a decent head start – then, I knew, I would have a chance of getting rid of the other champions and leaving your way clear. But I also had to contend against your stupidity. The second task ... that was when I was most afraid we would fail. I was keeping watch on you, Potter. I knew you hadn't worked out the egg's clue, so I had to give you another hint – "

"You didn't, Cedric gave me the clue – "

"Who told Cedric to open it underwater? I did. I trusted that he would pass the information on to you. Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Potter. I was sure Cedric would want to repay you for telling him about the dragons, and so he did. But even then, Potter, even then you seemed likely to fail. I was watching all the time ... all those hours in the library- "

"Cedric," Moody repeated, "that's the one you've been going on about...the one wearing your socks?"

"Yes, they're waterproof."

"I didn't...never mind..."

"The Dark Lord didn't manage to kill you, Potter, and he so wanted to. Imagine how he will reward me when he finds I have done it for him. I gave you to him – the thing he needed above all to regenerate – and then I killed you for him. I will be honoured beyond 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. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. 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! You're mad!"

"Mad, am I? We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him – and now – I conquer you!"

"Stupefy!"

The sound of a small explosion made the trunk rattle, leaving Moody uneasy until he heard the sound of multiple footsteps entering the area. Voices started to speak, and Moody could recognise Dumbledore's voice, although it wasn't the usual gentle approach but rather a tone Moody had become accustomed to during the time of war. It was cold, full of anger and sharp to the ears.

"This is not Alastor Moody," Dumbledore spoke to Harry, "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight...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."

Just as Moody was starting to question if they would notice the trunk, he started to hear the rustling of the locks, leaving him to sign heavily in relief. It appeared his own personalised hell was coming to an end, and it also meant that he and Eleanor were going to be helped.

"Alright, lass, get ready to get out of here."

Unfortunately, he wasn't met with an answer, not even one of Eleanor's ramblings.

In the meantime, Harry felt nauseous with all the turn of events that plagued him in one evening, from witnessing Cedric's murder to learning that Professor Moody had been a disguised Death Eater attempting to set him up for death, he didn't wish to witness any more surprises. However, Dumbledore believed it was important that he remained and learned of everything, rather than travelling to the Hospital Wing as Professor McGonagall had advised earlier. He stood next to Dumbledore as the headmaster started to open a series of locks within a trunk.

When the seventh key was placed in and turned, the trunk opened to reveal another compartment that was different from the rest as it appeared to be an underground room of sorts. His eyes first settled on a bare man, rather starved-looking peering right back up at them. Harry could see the missing limb where his wooden leg would have been if it had not been taken and used by the imposter Moody. Along with the man's missing eye remained a hollow socket. His hair was cut awkwardly, leaving horrible patches and the smell that emitted from the trunk was nothing pleasant.

Dumbledore climbed in but before he could tend to Moody the man spoke, his voice familiar to Harry's ears.

"Don't worry about me! Help the girl!"

Harry had grabbed the cloak off the imposter Moody and went to throw it down to the real Moody, only to see Dumbledore pulling Eleanor into view.

"Ellie!"

She was removed from the trunk first, remaining unconscious much to Harry's worry. Why had the fake Moody gone after her? His question remained unanswered as she was placed down behind Dumbledore for a moment, just as the fake Moody's body began to jolt around on the floor.

Before Harry's very eyes, the face of the man on the floor began to change. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole, and started to shrink. The long mane of grizzled grey hair was withdrawing into the scalp, and turning the colour of straw. Suddenly, with a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.

Harry saw a man lying before him, pale-skinned, slightly freckled, with a mop of fair hair. He knew who he was. He had seen him in Dumbledore's Pensieve, had watched him being led away from court by the Dementors, trying to convince Mr Crouch that he was innocent ... but he was lined around the eyes now, and looked much older ...

There were hurried footsteps outside in the corridor. Snape had returned with Winky at his heels. Professor McGonagall was right behind them.

"Crouch!" Snape said, stopping dead in the doorway. "Barty Crouch!"

"Good heavens," Professor McGonagall's eyes had fallen on Crouch's body before she noticed Eleanor on the ground behind Dumbledore.

Filthy, dishevelled, Winky peered around Snape's legs. Her mouth opened wide, and she let out a piercing shriek. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?"

She flung herself forwards onto the young man's chest. "You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed master's son!"

"He is simply Stunned, Winky," Dumbledore explained briefly, "Step aside, please. Minerva, see to it that Ms Ross makes it to the Hospital Wing, immediately. There are many waiting to hear word on her whereabouts. I trust that you can calm their nerves and run things accordingly while I deal with matters here. And once Madam Pomfrey has tended to Ms Ross, may you send her here to tend to Alastor Moody. Severus, you have the Potion?"

The night was not getting any better for Margaret, even after Remus had sent a letter to Hogwarts, specifically to Dumbledore to ask if Eleanor was fairing well at the castle. She had been pacing the floors, any sound alerting her with the hope that it was a response, only to leave her disappointed when it wasn't. Remus was doing no better and was losing the little bit of patience he had been holding onto. Eventually, he figured the best thing to do was actually apparate to Hogsmeade and make his way to the castle himself. Surely Dumbledore would understand his reasoning once he explained matters.

Grabbing his cloak, he informed Margaret where he was going and she eagerly nodded, agreeing with his idea. He grabbed the handle of the door, only to find someone standing on the other side of the threshold. Margaret jumped in fright, not expecting anyone to arrive on their doorstep, let alone a stranger of a woman.

Her hair was wet, although there had been no rain in the recent days and while there had been no smile on her face initially, as soon as she looked directly at Remus, a soft grin developed.

"Nixie?!"

"Hello, Remus."