He's alive, Blake thought, thankfully.
Gaunt, matted, one eye socket scarred.
Blake recalled Daphne's warning.
"Remember, there's a decent chance he's under the Imperius Curse - if that's the case, and he's injured and weak and Merlin knows what else, fix all of that if you can, and then remind him what the situation is - Moody's probably strong enough to fight it off - but if he's awake and under it, there's no point - trap him or incapacitate him for now."
After levitating the man's body up as gently as he could, Blake reversed the Stunning spell that Moody was under, before forcing the Invigoration Draught down his throat. He gently but quickly lowered the man down, before taking a few steps, his wand trained on Moody.
When Moody came to, Blake could tell he was under the Imperius Curse - he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Perhaps it was the calmness, the lack of distrust, or the blank stare - but Blake knew.
"Wake up, Alastor Moody. You're under the Imperius Curse. Agents of Voldemort attacked you, and placed you under it."
Moody groaned, clutching his head. Blake could see the colour return to his face, evidence of the potion working, and he continued.
"They kept you Stunned, weak, injured and starved, but you're not anymore - you're strong enough to fight it off! Fight it!"
Moody groaned again, before suddenly collapsing to the ground, and Blake rushed forward to check on him.
"Who - who are you?" Moody rasped, voice full of distrust, and Blake knew he'd been successful.
"Blake Renshaw. Fourth year. We know everything, Dumbledore knows, we have a plan, and we are very short on time. Can you walk?"
A pause. "I can walk."
Moody seemed to recognise him, and he slowly got to his feet.
"My eye…"
"The imposter has it," Blake said grimly.
"Barty Crouch Junior," Moody said, voice full of contempt and anger.
"Yeah," Blake said. "Dumbledore's keeping him occupied at the maze entrance right now. The moment Harry reaches the cup, Crouch is going to try to leave. We need to be back before that happens."
"Harry? Cup?"
"It's a long story - I'll explain on the way. For now, d'you think you can cast a Patronus? We need to get a message to Dumbledore."
"Aye," Moody growled. "I'm imagining sticking my face through Crouch's face. That'll be enough!"
"Uh… I'm pretty sure you need a memory for it, not imagination…"
Moody looked at him. "How old did you say you were?"
"Fourteen," Blake said, holding out his wand. "Here."
As Moody cast the Patronus, Blake explained what was happening.
"Pettigrew is probably the one waiting on the other side of the Portkey, with Voldemort - they're ready to revive him. We figured it out, and we - me, Harry and Dumbledore - decided it's best to control the situation around how he revives. Right now, Dumbledore's probably restraining Barty Crouch Jr as we speak. As soon as Voldemort's back, Harry's going to Patronus back to us, and Dumbledore and the Aurors and hopefully the Minister of Magic will go to that location, take out or capture as many Death Eaters as we can if they're there, and capture Pettigrew - but most of all, reveal his return to the entire country."
Moody stared at him as they ran towards the Quidditch field.
"Decent plan," he said. "For a fourth year."
/
As Blake had expected, there was a massive commotion in the crowd around the Third Task not at all related to the Tournament. He could see Dumbledore's figure arguing with Fudge and a man Blake recognised as Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Aurors.
Blake raised his wand.
"Periculum!" A massive burst of red sparks erupted in the sky, momentarily silencing the crowd.
Blake held his wand to his mouth, thinking of the Amplyifing Charm.
"Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody is with me now - the man pretending to be him now is Barty Crouch Jr, an escaped Death Eater!"
Before the crowd could speak, Blake continued quickly.
"It is imperative that no one panics - the offender's been restrained. Please continue to support the Champions, and let the Ministry and Professors handle this!"
"Thank you, Blake - and welcome back, Alastor, old friend," Dumbledore spoke. "Everyone else - please remain calm." The old man's words were spoken kindly, but everyone understood the firmness behind them. Not wanting to anger the greatest wizard alive, the crowd chose to settle for quiet whispering and muttering than a cacophony, and Blake and Moody made their way to Dumbledore and the other officials.
"It's you again?" Fudge asked, surprised at Blake's showing.
"Mad-Eye?" Scrimgeour asked, wand out, clearly cautious, before turning towards the incapacitated fake one on the floor. "Then this-"
"-is Barty Crouch Jr," Moody finished, attempting to lunge at the Death Eater, prompting Blake to restrain him.
"But how?" Fudge scrambled. "How can anyone escape Azkaban?"
"Sirius Black did," Dumbledore reminded him. "And besides, if I have a theory on how this happened, but first, we'll need to wait out the Polyjuice."
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Albus," Moody snapped. "You know it's me."
"The Moody I know wouldn't have-" Scrimgeour began. "Wait-"
"You understand now?" Moody said, growling. "I was at home, when this filthy little bugger and Pettigrew - yes, another thing - Pettigrew is alive, Albus! He must've-"
"What?" Fudge stammered. "So - so- Black's innocent?"
Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes, gripping his wand tightly.
"I see. It's all beginning to make sense now."
Fudge was crumbling.
"But - but why would Pettigrew, even if he was with You-Know-Who - join hands with Pettigrew to capture you, Mad-Eye? What benefit could that bring?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Blake spoke up, and all their eyes turned to him.
"Pettigrew's an outcast on both sides - he needs someone to protect him, and Barty Crouch Jr was one of his most loyal servants - as fanatical as Bellatrix Lestrange, some say. They both have something to gain by working together."
"Aye," Moody growled again, as they all turned towards where Harry was, seeing him inches away from the Cup, the crowd's cheering louder than ever before.
"Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore began, as Harry grabbed onto the Cup, disappearing immediately, "is attempting to return."
AN: If you would like to view up to 20 more bonus chapters on all my fics so far including this one, and would also like to support me, please visit my P@TR30N, at pa tr eon.com / GhidorahWriter (remove the spaces).
Thanks for reading and make sure ADD to your COLLECTION and VOTE with POWER STONES! Once we hit 150, I'll release a BONUS chapter!