"You know I'm not hiding anything, Moody!" Evan seemed to be nearing the end of his patience, speaking in a low, sinister voice. "Didn't you search my office yourself?"
Moody's face contorted, squeezing out a smile. "It's an Auror's prerogative, Snape; Dumbledore instructed me to keep a close watch."
"Dumbledore trusts me!" Snape retorted through gritted teeth. "I don't believe he ordered you to search my office!"
"Of course, Dumbledore trusts you," Moody growled. "He's a very trusting man and always believes in giving people second chances. But I believe some stains can't be washed away, Snape, never. You know what I mean, don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Snape replied slowly, suddenly realizing something. His face became even more grim. "It's you?!"
"Yes, it's me!" Moody nodded, looking provocatively at Snape.
"Hmph!" Snape snorted coldly, convinced that Moody had recently invaded his office.
In the next moment, he violently grabbed his left arm with his right hand, as if he were suddenly in excruciating pain. When Evan mentioned Voldemort, the Dark Mark on his arm hurt. Evan's eyebrows twitched for a moment. Could Keresis affect the Dark Mark, or was Snape merely experiencing psychological distress? Constantly touching his Dark Mark was not a good sign.
Seeing this, Moody burst into laughter. "Go back to sleep, Snape."
"You have no right to dictate where I go!" Snape hissed, releasing his arm as if annoyed. "I have just as much right to patrol this school at night as you do!"
"Then go ahead and make your rounds!" Moody said, his voice filled with menace. "I always knew that one day I'd encounter you in a dark corridor, grab you, and send you where you belong."
"Good, I look forward to that day; let's see if you've got what it takes!" Snape said viciously, turning and descending the stairs, his expression terribly grim. "Mason, Granger, you two, come with me!"
"I have something to discuss with them, Snape!" Moody said gruffly. "I'll escort them to Professor McGonagall and let her handle this."
"Enough!" Snape growled loudly. "They were wandering around the castle in violation of school rules, possibly related to the theft from my office, and I'm taking them to see the Headmaster."
"That's fine!" Moody shouted after him, louder than Snape. "I'll accompany you, and I'd love to inform the Headmaster about how quick you were to suspect Evan Mason and Hermione Granger of breaking into your office when you know it wasn't them at all. Dumbledore would be very interested in knowing who's up to no good with his students, and I'd be eager to find out what you're concealing in your office that no one else knows about."
He limped a few steps toward Snape, the torchlight casting eerie shadows on his twisted and broken face, making his scars and the gaping hole in his nose appear deeper and more dreadful than ever.
Snape and Moody locked eyes for a moment, neither moving nor speaking. For an instant, Evan thought Snape might draw his wand and confront Moody. However, Snape slowly lowered his hands.
"I'd like to go back to bed," he said suddenly.
"That's the most sensible idea you've had tonight," Moody remarked. "Well, Filch, can I have that golden egg?"
"No way!" Filch replied, clutching the golden egg firmly, as if it were his first-born son. "Professor Moody, this is evidence that Peeves the Ghost stole something!"
"He stole it from a champion, and it belongs to that champion," Moody asserted. "Bring it here quickly."
Snape ignored the matter completely, not even acknowledging Evan or Hermione, and walked briskly down the stairs without a word. His body trembled with anger, and what had transpired that night was a disgrace he could not easily let go of. With Evan's understanding of him, he knew that Snape would never forget it.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Give me the golden egg!" Moody said forcefully, repeating himself. Filch hesitated, then handed Moody the golden egg while making smacking noises at Mrs. Noris. The cat looked around blankly, glanced briefly toward Harry and Ron before following its master down the hall.
"Come on, dear!" Filch muttered in a low voice. "We don't need that golden egg. We'll go to Dumbledore first thing in the morning and tell him what Peeves did."
A door slammed shut, and now only Moody, Evan, and Hermione stared at each other in disbelief.
"It's really dangerous, isn't it?" Evan said as he struggled down the stairs and sat helplessly on the first step. Evan breathed a sigh of relief and gave Keresys a stern look. Luckily, Snape was a bit wary of Moody's identity; otherwise, this evening could have turned out badly. Seeing Snape's horrible expression when he left, he must have loathed Moody.
"Well, you two can come out!" Keresys said as he turned his head.
"Who are you talking to, Professor?" Hermione asked, surprised to see Harry and Ron appear in the middle of the stairs.
"Thank you, Professor!" Harry said breathlessly. With Ron's help, he freed his leg from the tricky step and climbed to the top step. The step instantly returned to normal, as if it had never changed.
"Harry, Ron, what are you two doing here?" Hermione asked.
"We're trying to figure out the clue to the golden egg!" Ron whispered. "And why are you and Evan back so late?"
"We've been working on something important too!" Hermione said. "So, do you guys know the secret of the golden egg?"
"Of course," Ron looked at Moody but didn't elaborate.
"Well, boy!" Keresis suddenly said, his magical eyes spinning madly. "I'm not interested in your little secrets. Sneaking outside in the middle of the night isn't going to give you any inspiration. Take your golden egg and hurry back to bed. Remember, don't lose it again!"
"Professor, I want to talk to you alone!" Evan whispered, wanting to know what Keresys was up to.
"Sure, you can come to my office tomorrow morning. Now go back to bed!" Keresis replied. Evan nodded, noticing that his expression was a little unnatural. As expected, Snape's magic had injured him, and he was struggling to endure it.
"Professor, what about our punishment, Evan and mine?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"There's no need for punishment; you don't want me to punish all four of you, do you?" Keresys asked, flashing a scary smile.
"Of course not!" Hermione said hastily.
"That's settled then. Good night, guys!" He stood up, climbed the stairs laboriously, and disappeared from view.
"He's a nice guy, despite his appearance, isn't he?"
A few minutes later, the four of them walked down the familiar path toward the Gryffindor tower.
"Professor Moody did help us, but I can't help but find him suspicious," Evan said contemplatively, reflecting on the night's events. "So many strange things happened tonight. What was Professor Moody really looking for in Snape's office?"
"It could be some kind of contraband related to dark magic, remember?" Harry joined in the analysis with a hint of excitement in his tone. "Snape mentioned that Professor Moody searched his office. Moody must have suspected there was something in there."
"Are you suggesting that Snape is hiding contraband in his office?" Ron asked. "Moody isn't just keeping an eye on Karkaroff; he's also keeping an eye on Snape?"
"That's the idea. That's why Professor Moody broke into Snape's office tonight to search for the contraband," Harry suggested. "Moody mentioned that Dumbledore gave Snape a second chance for something he did in the past."
It made sense; if Moody hadn't been impersonating Keresys, he might have been successful.
"Maybe Moody thinks Snape put my name in the Goblet of Fire!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes wide open.
"Oh, Ron, it couldn't have been Snape!" Hermione shook her head skeptically. "He's had plenty of opportunities to get us into trouble over the past few years. Remember, the last time we thought Snape was trying to harm Harry, we later found out he was trying to protect him."
There was a moment of silence; it was true, Snape wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble if he wanted to harm them. Besides, there was no motive to harm Ron. If he had to target someone in the room, Harry would have been his first choice over Ron. Everyone knew Snape had a complex relationship with Harry. He had saved Harry's life, but at the same time, he harbored as much resentment toward Harry as he did toward Harry's father when they were at school together. Snape liked to deduct points from Harry and never missed an opportunity to punish him, even offering to expel him from school.
"I appreciate Moody helping us, but I can't help but find him suspicious," Hermione continued. "Dumbledore isn't foolish. Look at Hagrid and Professor Lupin, for instance. Many people wouldn't work for them, although Snape was a bit of a bad influence."
"Well, let's consider something else," Ron said, shaking his head and giving up on figuring out why Moody was searching Snape's office. "Do you guys know about Carysius Slytherin and Barty Crouch? I saw their names on the Marauder's Map tonight."
"What?!" Evan looked up, surprised, at Ron. "You saw Keresys and Barty Crouch?!"
"Yeah, I had the Marauder's Map with me, and their names briefly appeared on the map before disappearing. I was the only one who saw them," Ron explained how he had seen the two names tonight.
Evan listened while he contemplated. Keresys' name was enchanted and would not be marked on the Marauder's Map. Evan had already verified this, but since Ron saw his name on the map, it meant that the magic Snape had left behind had worked. That powerful spell was most likely a hybrid. It broke Keresys' disguises and injured him so badly that he had to flee in his original form. If he had maintained Moody's appearance, he could have stayed in Snape's office and taunted Snape, just as he did earlier. That made sense, but what was Barty Crouch doing in Keresys' office?