0549 Disbelief

Harry's mind reeled in utter disbelief as the reality of the situation sank in. The shock of being discovered by Professor Moody left him paralyzed, his body refusing to move from where he lay sprawled on the cold, damp ground.

Beside him, Hermione was no less terrified than him, perhaps even more so, because she realized that Professor Moody might not be as lenient as Professor Watson in letting them off the hook, especially since Moody seemed to be in a foul mood at the moment.

As Moody limped closer, his wooden leg thumping rhythmically against the earth, Harry's heart sank with the grim realization that there would be no escaping punishment this time. Moody came to a halt mere inches from where they lay, his imposing figure casting long shadows across their mud-streaked faces.

"Professor Moody--" Harry and Hermione stammered in unison as they scrambled to their feet, their voices trembling with barely contained panic.

Stripped of the protective embrace of the Invisibility Cloak, their mud-caked robes flapped in the biting wind, sending icy shivers down their spines.

If they continued to freeze like this, they would likely have to spend the night in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey. But then, to their immense relief, Professor Moody withdrew his wand from within his robes and aimed it at their shivering forms. A surge of blessed warmth washed over them, drying their soaked garments and chasing away the biting chill.

"Thank you--" Hermione managed to say, the tension draining from her shoulders as the welcoming heat worked its magic. Moody's unexpected act of compassion helped to soothe her frayed nerves.

"Not bad, Potter. That's quite an impressive Invisibility Cloak you've got there," Moody said with a rasping chuckle. "I reckon you've put it to good use, pulling off your fair share of mischief." His magical blue eye whirled with keen interest as it fixed on the silvery fabric of the cloak.

For a fleeting moment, Harry considered offering to lend the Invisibility Cloak to Professor Moody, thinking it might curry favor and potentially aid in unraveling the mystery surrounding Hermione's selection as a Triwizard champion. Of course, such generosity depended upon the crucial precondition that Moody wouldn't give him and Hermione detention tonight.

"Um, it was left to me by my father--" But Harry blurted out unconsciously with a slight tremor, showing his nervousness.

He would later adamantly deny to Hermione that his hesitation had nothing to do with concerns about Moody confiscating the cloak, though the thought had certainly crossed his mind more than once during those tense moments.

"Very interesting, very interesting indeed--" Moody muttered, his gaze never drifting from the Invisibility Cloak. "This is far from your ordinary Invisibility Cloak. I can sense the extraordinary magical aura it conceals. You see, I've always possessed a particular sensitivity to such things. It was through this gift, combined with my magical eye, that I managed to spot you two mischief-makers--"

Harry couldn't help but stare in undisguised wonder at Moody's vivid blue magical eye, amazed by its weird abilities. Throughout his time at Hogwarts, he had encountered only two individuals capable of penetrating the cloak's supposedly impenetrable protection - Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Watson. Now, standing before him in the cold night air, he had discovered a third.

Appearing to realize that his explanation might be difficult for the young students to fully grasp, Professor Moody quickly snapped back to the matter at hand. His scarred face broke into a wry grin as he addressed Harry and Hermione.

"No sense in us standing out here in the cold, now is there? Come on, you brave little adventurers, let's head inside."

'Brave?' Hermione and Harry exchanged incredulous looks, hardly believing their ears. Of all the ways they had expected Moody to describe their late-night adventures and eavesdropping on the professors, 'brave' was certainly not among them.

But Moody paid no heed to their bewilderment, beckoning for them to follow as he led the way up the marble staircase. Once inside the entrance hall, he turned left, guiding them down a seldom-used corridor.

Though the wailing wind still found its way into the castle through glassless windows, the guttering torches lining the walls provided a bit of warmth, a welcome relief from the bone-chilling cold of the grounds.

Professor Moody scanned their surroundings with a wary eye, his magical orb whirling at a dizzying pace within its socket. The erratic movement left Hermione feeling vaguely nauseous.

"Wouldn't want to make the same mistake as Snape and Karkaroff, now would I?" Moody said with a knowing smirk, taking note of Hermione's uncomfortable expression. But hearing this, both Hermione and Harry felt a pang of unease. After all, they had indeed been caught eavesdropping on what was clearly meant to be a private conversation between professors.

"Like I said--" Moody's laugh came out as a dry, rasping sound that seemed to scrape against the stone walls, making the torches flutter. "I've got to hand it to you two for your sheer guts. The truth, though Dumbledore might not want me saying it, is that you just faced off against a pair of right dangerous schemers. You held your own, and that's no small feat. Looks like my constant preaching about vigilance hasn't been a complete waste after all!"

Harry, while unsure of the reasoning behind Moody's unique perspective, found himself in complete agreement with Moody's scathing assessment of Snape. He couldn't help but flash a sheepish grin in response.

Giving their shoulders a gruff pat, Moody pressed on, "Right then, enough chit-chat. I'd wager you got an earful of their little plot, am I right? Out with it, tell me everything you heard. Who wants to start?

Miss Granger, perhaps you should take the lead. Minerva hasn't stopped singing praises about that brilliant mind of yours. I doubt a single word escaped your notice, did it?"

"What?" Hermione blurted out, taken aback by Professor Moody's brazen request to recount the overheard conversation.

While it was hardly surprising that Moody would be keen to learn the details of Snape and Karkaroff's conversation, something about his approach felt vaguely...unsettling to Hermione.

"You're a sharp one, Miss Granger. Why do you think I let those two slippery eels off the hook just now?" Moody said gruffly. "Snape and Karkaroff, they're masters of twisting the truth, weaving lies so convincing you'd swear they were gospel. But Dumbledore, he's always trying to see the best in folks. Without hard evidence to back us up, they'd just spin more tales and pull the wool over our eyes!"

Understanding dawned in Harry's eyes as the pieces fell into place, his earlier confusion melting away in the face of Moody's explanation.

Hermione found herself caught in an internal struggle, her mind racing as the torchlight cast flickering shadows across her face.

If it had been Professor Watson making this request, she would have shared the information without a moment's hesitation. But Professor Moody... The situation felt different, charged with an underlying tension she couldn't quite explain.

Yes, he had proven himself to be an exceptional Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, currently taking the bold step of teaching them to resist the Unforgivable Curses despite the risk of prosecution. His dedication and willingness to take such risks had earned him the admiration of many young wizards. Yet their personal interactions with him had been limited at best, limited to classroom encounters where his intensity often left students both impressed and slightly scared.

As Hermione wavered, uncertain of how to proceed, she caught sight of Harry's urgent gaze boring into her from the corner of her eye.

"Sirius thinks Moody is trustworthy--" The unspoken message in Harry's eyes was clear, and Hermione understood.

"Actually--" Hermione began, taking a steadying breath as she made her decision. Looking directly at Moody, she continued, "We didn't overhear Professor Snape and the Durmstrang Headmaster hatching any wicked plots. You see, it's like this-- Professor Snape mentioned that his office, or rather, his storeroom--"

A faint blush crept into Hermione's cheeks as memories of her own secret visit to Snape's store cupboard rose to the forefront of her mind.

"--was broken into on the very night that the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations arrived at Hogwarts. He discovered that powdered bicorn horn and Boomslang skin had gone missing. Considering yours and Professor Watson's Halloween night speculations in the room behind the Great Hall, Professor Snape seems to suspect that Karkaroff might be the culprit--"

True to Moody's earlier statement, Hermione recounted the conversation verbatim, her extraordinary memory allowing her to relay the dialogue with near perfect accuracy.

She quickly summarized the key points of their exchange, right up until the moment when Karkaroff attempted to coax Snape into helping him contact Professor Watson to find information about the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, only for Snape to be cut off before he could voice a response.

Having finished her account, both Hermione and Harry focused Professor Moody with expectant stares, eager to hear the insights of such an experienced Auror.

If Hermione was being entirely honest, she hadn't detected any glaring flaws in Snape's demeanor throughout the night. Perhaps the most significant point of debate lay in the fact that he had agreed to meet with the Durmstrang headmaster in the first place.

However, Professor Moody seemed to have a different perspective on the situation. His expression turned serious, his vibrant blue magical eye frozen in place, as though seized by some unseen force.

"Let me get this straight. Snape reckons someone's been brewing Polyjuice Potion, and he's already brought this to the attention of Dumbledore and Watson?"

Hermione initially nodded in affirmation, only to quickly shake her head a moment later. "Karkaroff leveled that accusation against him, but... Professor Snape never actually confirmed or denied it…he…he didn't give any answer."

She spoke tentatively, her gaze fixed upon Professor Moody with an inexplicable sense of unease taking root within her. For the briefest of moments, she could have sworn she detected a flicker of fear in Moody's face, but no sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she dismissed it as a trick of the light.

'What could possibly strike fear into the heart of a person like him? it must surely have been a illusion of her overactive imagination.'

Harry, meanwhile, watched Moody with bated breath, silently hoping that he would unearth some damning evidence that would land Snape in hot water.

"Karkaroff believes that Dumbledore or Watson put Snape up to this, that they sent him to investigate. Ha! What a load of codswallop... If they genuinely suspected Karkaroff of using Polyjuice Potion, they wouldn't be sending Snape as a messenger."

'Did Snape actually tell Dumbledore and Watson that someone in the castle was secretly brewing Polyjuice Potion? And if so, why had they seemingly failed to take any decisive action?'

Moody fell into a prolonged silence, his brow furrowed in deep contemplation, leaving Harry and Hermione to fidget uncomfortably in the face of his pensive demeanor. It was only when they finally mustered the courage to speak up to remind him, that he seemed to return to the present moment. 

"No need to fret, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter. I'm quite alright, and you have my thanks," Moody assured them, his spirits appearing to have lifted.

"The intelligence you've provided is precious, absolutely crucial-- Now, I want you two to hurry back to your dormitories. Leave Snape and Karkaroff to me. I'll be keeping a very close eye on their every move--"

His piece said, Moody sent Harry and Hermione on their way with a gruff nod of dismissal, his magical eye whirled with renewed purpose as he watched their retreating forms disappear down the torch-lit corridor.

*******************************

For More Chapters; patreon.com/FicFrenzy