The other person who escaped was Karkaroff.
As a former Death Eater, he had already sensed a strong reaction from the Dark Mark on his arm that night.
When Alaric and the others mentioned Voldemort's resurrection, he immediately believed it.
In the past few months, he had repeatedly felt abnormal sensations from the Dark Mark and had even discussed it several times with Professor Snape, who was also a former Death Eater.
Now, he couldn't think of any other reason for such a strong reaction from the Dark Mark, other than Voldemort's return.
So, he fled. Having betrayed so many of Voldemort's loyal followers, he dared not face them.
But Alaric suspected that he wouldn't go far because the Dark Lord had ways of tracking his enemies—especially those who had betrayed him.
The group made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
They searched everywhere, overturning boxes and cabinets, but found nothing.
"Is Alastor really hidden here?"
Some of the professors were skeptical. They had thoroughly searched the office but found no clues.
"I think you've overlooked something," Alaric said, looking at a large chest with seven locks in the office.
"Has that chest been checked?"
"Of course, it's just a regular chest," Hagrid replied. "It only contains some textbooks and magical tools."
"No, there's a mechanism inside," Alaric said as he approached the chest and began to examine it carefully.
After a while, he concluded, "You need a specific key to unlock the chest's secret."
"The key must be on Crouch," Snape said coldly, "so now we have no evidence to prove that the real Moody was impersonated."
"No, since we've found the mechanism, there must be a way to unlock it," Alaric replied confidently.
"Give me a few minutes."
He pointed his wand at the first keyhole and peered closely, as if trying to pick the lock.
But he wasn't picking an ordinary lock—even the most sophisticated Muggle bank vaults could be opened with a simple "Alohomora."
He was unlocking a complex magical lock, one that was intricately designed.
Without the proper key, even Dumbledore would struggle with it.
But for Alaric, this was a piece of cake.
A few minutes later, sparks flew from the tip of Alaric's wand and the keyhole, and then there was a click from the lock.
The first lock was open.
Alaric opened the chest again, and this time, it contained a pile of spellbooks.
"It doesn't seem like anyone's hiding in there," Fleur pointed out hesitantly.
"No, it's not right!" Hermione retorted. "This chest has seven locks. I think we need to unlock them all."
Quickly, Alaric moved on to the second lock.
Perhaps due to experience or having mastered the pattern of the magical lock, he opened the second lock in just over a minute.
This time, when they opened the chest, it no longer contained spellbooks but various broken mirrors, some parchment, quills, and a silver invisibility cloak.
The professors and other wizards watching were amazed as Alaric swiftly unlocked the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth locks, each time faster than the last.
However, each time they opened the chest, they found different items inside.
Finally, without even looking at the seventh lock, Alaric pointed his wand at the keyhole, and the seventh lock clicked open.
"Incredible!" Dumbledore gasped.
"You've completely mastered this type of magical lock and created a universal unlocking spell for it!"
"If you specialized in unlocking, every magical locksmith in the world would go mad," Snape said with a stiff expression, once again astounded by Alaric's abilities.
But Alaric, used to such praise, said nothing and simply lifted the lid of the chest.
The bottom of the chest revealed a deep pit, like a basement.
About three meters down, on the floor, lay a man, emaciated and seemingly asleep—it was the real Moody.
His wooden leg was missing, and his magical eye was gone, with the socket beneath his eyelid empty. His white hair was missing several tufts.
The sight of the real Moody lying at the bottom of the chest left everyone stunned.
This was enough evidence to prove that the previous Moody was an imposter—meaning the plot to resurrect Voldemort was indeed real.
Dumbledore climbed into the chest, landing lightly beside the sleeping Moody, and bent over to examine him.
"Stunned—under the Imperius Curse—extremely weak," he said.
"Of course, they needed to keep him alive.
Severus, please fetch a cloak—he's freezing.
We need to get him to Madam Pomfrey, but he's not in any immediate danger."
Snape complied. Dumbledore draped the cloak over Moody, covering him up, then climbed out of the chest.
Snape picked up a set of glass bottles from the desk—Alaric had taken them from the chest after unlocking the sixth lock.
He unscrewed the lid and poured the contents onto the office floor. A thick, viscous liquid spilled out.
"Polyjuice Potion, without a doubt," Snape said.
"So simple, yet so clever. Moody was notorious for only drinking from his private flask.
Naturally, the imposter needed to keep the real Moody close to continuously brew the potion.
Look at his hair... it's been cut repeatedly over the past year."
"So it was the imposter who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore sighed.
"He had been planning this all year. He was the one who suggested placing the Triwizard Cup in the maze, and finally, they succeeded...
We were indeed too careless... But Harry, thank goodness he's still alive."
He turned to Alaric and the two girls.
"I must thank you. You bravely rescued Harry from Voldemort and the Death Eaters tonight.
The courage you showed far exceeded my expectations.
Now, I ask you once more to demonstrate that courage. I ask you to tell us everything that happened. Harry, you too."
The room fell silent.
The younger students and other unrelated individuals were asked to leave the office, leaving only the Hogwarts professors, led by Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick, who had arrived as soon as they recovered.
Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, and Lupin were also present.
Additionally, Madam Bones, her secretary, and a few Aurors stayed.
Everyone gathered around Alaric and the others, quietly listening to their account—mostly led by Harry, as Alaric and the girls had "arrived late" and didn't witness everything.
As they recounted how Alaric used the Triwizard Cup's Portkey function to return to Hogwarts, a commotion and footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the door.
The door opened, revealing a familiar face to everyone.
Cornelius Fudge.
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