Chapter 854: Unmasking the Truth
Chapter 854: Unmasking the Truth
The Night Stallion carriage came to a halt in front of the oak gates of the castle, and Fred, George, and Lee Jordan disembarked, holding their wands aloft to shield themselves from the rain as they curiously observed the students rushing into the castle in the downpour.
Albert casually helped a Hufflepuff girl who had tripped, and he entered the castle alongside the waiting Shana.
"I read in the newspaper that there was trouble at the Quidditch World Cup," Shana frowned, looking at the students pushing and screaming ahead of them.
"Yes, some unfortunate events took place," Albert said, gently tapping a water bomb thrown by a Peeves with his wand, turning it into a deflated balloon. "Now, be off, Peeves. No mischief here."
"Meddling brat!"
The Peeves floating above them made a rude gesture at Albert and cackled with glee. It then pulled out two more water bombs from nowhere and threw them into the densest part of the crowd before flying away, cackling madly amidst the students' screams.
"That Peeves is as mischievous as ever," Shana called out to the students drenched by the water bombs. "Get inside the Great Hall, don't crowd here."
"How did you do that?" A boy came up to Albert and asked.
"Do what?" Albert turned to look at the boy with light brown hair, speaking with a strong Irish accent.
"Get Peeves to listen to you."
Everyone knew that Peeves listened to no one except the Bloody Baron and Dumbledore.
"I didn't make him listen," Albert shook his head. "Let's go, the Sorting Ceremony should be starting soon."
The Great Hall looked much the same as before, adorned with decorations to welcome the new term's feast.
The house tables were already filled with chattering students, and Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had saved a seat for him. As Albert and Shana approached, the Weasley twins were discussing the Quidditch World Cup final with Angelina.
"I'm starving," Lee Jordan said, holding his cutlery and staring longingly at the golden dishes in front of him. "I wish they'd hurry up with the Sorting Ceremony."
"I was there when it all happened," said Alicia gloomily, recounting the riot at the World Cup. "Those hooded, masked evil wizards controlled four poor Muggles and set fires everywhere to cause chaos. All the tents in that area were burned down. I don't know what the Ministry of Magic was thinking, letting something like this happen, and they didn't even plan to compensate for the financial losses. My father was so angry that he sent a Howler to Fudge. He thinks it was the Ministry's fault. There were Ministry officials nearby, but no one stopped the riot, and in the end, they just let those guys go."
"I know something about this," George said, sharing what he knew. "Percy told me that a lot of wizards were lying about their financial losses to try and get money out of the Ministry. After the registration, the Ministry realized they'd have to pay a large amount of galleons in compensation, so they decided not to pay anything at all..."
George's voice was drowned out by a clap of thunder outside, and a forked lightning bolt streaked across the ceiling above their heads.
At the entrance of the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall led the first-year students inside. The newcomers were soaked from the rain and trembling from their previous journey across the lake. However, one student stood out from the rest, clad in Hagrid's moleskin coat and looking excited, as if he had just won a Quidditch match.
The new students stared wide-eyed at the shabby Sorting Hat on the stool in front of them.
When the Sorting Hat began to sing, everyone was stunned, and the usually noisy Great Hall gradually fell silent.
After an unfamiliar Sorting Hat song, the familiar Sorting Ceremony officially began.
It was a rather boring ceremony, but as a prefect, Albert had to take the time to memorize the new members of Gryffindor House. The boy in the Hagrid's cloak had earlier piqued Albert's curiosity as he recounted his story of being saved by a giant squid after falling into the lake.
"Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor doesn't seem to be here yet," George nudged Albert with his elbow, pointing to the empty seat among the staff.
"Maybe he's running late," Albert replied.
"That should be a rare occurrence."
"I wonder what grades we need to get into his N.E.W.T. classes?" Shana was still upset about only getting a 'Satisfactory' in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Most classes only require a 'Satisfactory' to advance," Angelina consoled, thinking that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this term would be surprised by the number of students in the N.E.W.T. class.
"I hope we get a powerful professor. What we learn in this subject entirely depends on the teacher's ability," Alicia thought the students' poor performance in Defense Against the Dark Arts was largely due to the quality of instruction. "If we get another professor like Lockhart, I don't think it matters whether we take the N.E.W.T. class or not."
"Don't worry, this term's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a formidable character, supposedly a retired Auror," said Lee Jordan, happily gnawing on a chicken leg as he shared the good news.
"Albert, which classes are you planning to take for N.E.W.T. level?" Shana asked, turning to Albert, who was focused on his meal.
"The initial five, plus Ancient Runes and Arithmancy," Albert replied after swallowing a mouthful of pork chop and taking a gulp of pumpkin juice.
"We're taking the same courses," Shana said.
"By the way, we haven't congratulated you on winning two world-class awards yet." Angelina raised her goblet towards Albert.
"And a third-level Order of Merlin," Shana added, raising her goblet as well.
"Counting them all, you've already won four major championships," Alicia also raised her goblet. "Maybe you'll add another Triwizard Championship to that this year."
"Your achievements should be recorded in 'Hogwarts: A History' for future students to admire," Fred and George raised their goblets as well.
"To our genius," Lee Jordan toasted.
Just then, a deafening clap of thunder sounded outside, and the doors of the Great Hall were flung open.
A strange man appeared in the entrance, immediately capturing everyone's attention.
A forked lightning bolt streaked across the ceiling, illuminating the stranger's face. He was a scarred veteran, his face still bearing the marks of war, giving him a particularly ferocious appearance. But what was most unsettling about this man were his eyes.
Yes, his fake eye.
The stranger had a fake eye that moved up and down, left and right, which was rather disconcerting to behold.
"I think I understand now why they call him Mad-Eye," Fred muttered under his breath.
"Indeed, it suits him," Lee Jordan nodded in agreement. "Maybe this term we'll learn something useful."
"What do you think?"
George was asking if Mad-Eye Moody was the real deal.
"I don't know, but that eye must have some special ability," Albert said, intrigued as he studied Moody. He wondered how he could 'borrow' the magical eye for research. The ability to see through disguises, invisibility spells, and X-ray vision would be incredibly practical."
The rest seemed to be transfixed by the stranger's appearance, their gazes fixed on him.
Moody was unfazed by the reactions he provoked and strode directly to Dumbledore, greeting him like an old friend with a handshake. The two exchanged a few quiet words, and at Dumbledore's gesture, Moody took a seat to his right.
Dumbledore cheerfully introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to everyone, but aside from him and Hagrid, almost no one applauded the new professor.
Moody paid no heed to this, pulling over a platter of sausages and using a small knife from his pocket to skewer them, as if the tableware was coated in poison.
Years of being an Auror had cultivated Moody's habit of instinctively scanning the Great Hall with his magical eye.
"I wonder what he's drinking?"
A slight smirk tugged at the corners of Albert's mouth as he noticed Moody pulling out a curved flask from his travel cloak and taking a hearty swig from it.
"Definitely not pumpkin juice," Fred stated with certainty.
"I agree, doesn't look like pumpkin juice to me either," George quickly chimed in.
"Of course, it's not pumpkin juice." Lee Jordan exchanged glances with his friends, all of them finding Moody's behavior rather suspicious.
If one were unaware, it would be natural to assume the curved flask contained alcohol. However, the four of them were suspecting Moody's identity, which cast doubt on the contents of the flask.
"What are you guys talking about?" Angelina was perplexed by their conversation.
"Well!" Dumbledore beamed at the students, "I have a few announcements to make."
No one was truly interested in the headmaster's notices, as they were mostly the same every year: Filch's list of prohibited items, the prohibition against entering the Forbidden Forest, and the ban on first through third-year students from visiting Hogsmeade Village.
"I also regret to inform you that there will be no Quidditch games held this year." Dumbledore continued after the clamor had died down, "However, I am delighted to announce that the Triwizard Tournament will be hosted at Hogwarts this year. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their carefully selected competitors, and the champion selection ceremony will take place on Halloween..."
Only a minority of students had prior knowledge that the school would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament, and upon hearing that "in addition to bringing honor to their school, the individual champion would also receive a thousand galleons in prize money," quite a few students' eyes lit up with greed, their faces clearly displaying their thoughts: "I want to participate."
Who could resist an opportunity to gain both honor and wealth? The Great Hall soon buzzed with whispers as countless students fantasized about becoming Hogwarts' champion.
"I know you are all eager for Hogwarts to win the Triwizard Cup," Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "We have worked diligently this summer to ensure that no champion will be in mortal danger. However, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed that only students above the age of seventeen are eligible to enter. The tasks are still extremely challenging and dangerous, and despite our precautions, it would be impossible for students below the sixth or seventh year to cope."
Hearing Dumbledore's words, quite a few students immediately voiced angry protests, insisting that they wanted to participate in the champion selection, as if their mere participation guaranteed their selection as a champion.
However, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who had overheard these protests and complaints, struggled to hold back their laughter, finding the outraged protesters rather foolish.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Angelina asked, puzzled by their behavior.
"Stomachache."
"Stomachache?"
"There can only be one champion, and it's obvious who that will be." Alicia spoke with a meaningful glance at Albert.
"Ahem." Albert gestured for Alicia to be quiet, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to themselves.
And so, they understood.
There could only be one champion, and as long as Dumbledore wasn't out of his mind, Albert would undoubtedly be chosen as Hogwarts' champion.
Who could possibly compete with Albert? It was a done deal.
"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and will be staying with us for most of the school year." Dumbledore had to raise his voice to be heard over the din, "I know that during the visit of our foreign guests, you will all show them warmth and hospitality, and wholeheartedly support Hogwarts' champion."
Finally, Dumbledore ended the feast amidst the clamor, sending all the students back to their dormitories for the night.
"To be honest, I think the age restriction is unnecessary. A younger wizard wouldn't stand a chance anyway." Hagrid felt it was a bit of an overkill and would only make others unhappy, "I reckon those kids just want to enjoy the process of champion selection, and once they come to their senses, they'll realize that Hogwarts' champion will inevitably be Albert."
"Hagrid, the champion hasn't been chosen yet." Professor McGonagall reminded him, though she too believed that Albert was likely to be the chosen one.
"To be frank, I'm more concerned that the other schools will demand that Mr. Anderson be disqualified from the Triwizard Tournament." Professor Flitwick also felt that Albert's participation might be seen as unfair.
"Mr. Anderson is a student of Hogwarts, and it is perfectly reasonable for him to participate as the school's champion." Professor Sprout looked forward to seeing the other schools' reactions.
"It seems our school's champion has already been decided then." Moody, who had been conversing with Dumbledore, raised an eyebrow slightly.
As the professors shared their thoughts on the matter, Barty Jr. suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
However, what was even more foreboding was that someone was trying to unmask him.
"That Moody is definitely an imposter."
In their dormitory, the quartet discussed Moody's authenticity, all of them suspecting that the curved flask contained a complex potion.
In fact, the previous year, they had also suspected that Professor Lupin was Sirius in disguise, but as they had never seen Lupin drinking from a bottle, and Moody clearly had such a habit, their suspicions were now heightened.
"What do you think is his purpose for impersonating Moody and coming to the school?" George was the first to voice the question.
"His target is probably Harry." Fred speculated.
"Why?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Whenever something puzzling happens, it's always a safe bet to assume it's related to Harry. For example, this person might be here to murder Harry." Fred stated.
"Murder Harry? That would be the most idiotic plan I've ever heard." George shook his head, "Who in their right mind would attempt to murder Harry under Dumbledore's watch? That would be sheer stupidity."
"Perhaps, he'll find another way, like using the Triwizard Tournament to kill Harry." Fred suggested.
"But Albert will be the champion." George reminded him.
"What's your take on this?" Lee Jordan ignored the Weasley twins' pointless bickering.
"I'm not sure, but it's definitely related to Harry." Albert gently stroked Tom's head, his expression thoughtful, "If Moody is an imposter, then Harry is undoubtedly the target, and his plan must be connected to the Triwizard Tournament."
"Maybe he has a way to ensure Harry becomes a champion." Fred offered his theory.
"Can he make a prophecy?" George asked.
"Prophecies aren't infallible, but... well, I prophesied that I would become Hogwarts' champion, and it seems to be coming true." Albert had no intention of revealing Barty Jr.'s scheme just yet.
"So, you suspected that guy was fake from the start?" The trio was convinced that Albert's tone implied he had already determined the man was an imposter.
"We can't jump to conclusions without evidence, especially since he's an old friend of the headmaster." Albert cautioned them, "Perhaps, Dumbledore will realize something is amiss soon enough and uncover the reason behind this imposter's presence at Hogwarts."
"That's true, it is Dumbledore we're talking about. Sometimes, I even think the headmaster knows everything." The trio didn't believe that Dumbledore could be easily deceived either.
(End of Chapter)
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