Sagres had, in the end, been careless.
He could have chosen a more cautious method or a safer opportunity to test his suspicions, but he hadn't.
Barty's frank confession had lulled him into a false sense of security.
When Sagres asked for the Marauder's Map, it was practically an open declaration that he was already suspicious and intended to investigate.
Yet Barty neither refused nor tried to evade the request. Instead, he readily agreed, behaving with such openness that there seemed to be nothing suspicious about him.
It was precisely this flawless composure that unknowingly led Sagres into his trap.
Barty's complete lack of hesitation had misled him, causing Sagres to subconsciously interpret his straightforward response as proof of a clear conscience.
As a result, his tightly wound nerves quietly relaxed, and the probe that followed became little more than a perfunctory attempt to see whether anything would turn up.
Deep down, he had already concluded that the investigation would probably lead nowhere, so he had not even chosen a location where the situation would be easier to control.
"Constant vigilance."
That was Alastor Moody's lifelong motto, yet Sagres had stumbled over this most basic principle while facing the fake Moody.
There was a sharp irony in that.
Indeed, ever since the beginning of term, every detail of the fake Moody's disguise had been perfect. His extreme remarks, his neurotic behaviour, his undisguised hatred of Death Eaters, even his tone of voice and the way he walked had all been impeccable.
The disguise had been so flawless that even Dumbledore had failed to see through it.
But ultimately, the situation had reached this point because Sagres himself had not been thorough enough.
So rather than saying he was furious because Barty had deceived him and abducted Harry, it would be more accurate to say that he was furious with himself for being careless.
And anger directed at oneself was often even harder to endure than hatred for an enemy...
"Professor McGonagall! Mad-Eye... he's really gone mad!"
The moment Ron saw Professor McGonagall, he shrieked as though he had finally found a lifeline, his face ashen.
"Alastor?"
Dumbledore strode forward, his gaze behind his half-moon spectacles as sharp as an eagle's.
"Calm down, Mr Weasley. Tell me exactly what happened."
The old Headmaster's expression was solemn, and an almost tangible sense of danger seemed to radiate from him.
At that moment, everyone around him truly understood why Dumbledore was regarded as the greatest wizard of the century, and why he was the one person Voldemort feared above all others.
"It's Moody!" Ron swallowed hard, his voice trembling with fear. "He suddenly attacked all the students... He used an Exploding Charm, and... and even the Killing Curse!"
Professor McGonagall gasped, instinctively raising a hand to cover her mouth.
Snape's expression darkened terribly. His thin lips were pressed into a tight line, and he said nothing.
"He took Harry! Right in front of us..."
Hermione stumbled forward. Her face was still smeared with ash, and her bushy brown hair clung messily to her forehead.
"Please, Professor Dumbledore," she pleaded, her voice choked with tears. "We have to save Harry immediately!"
At that moment, Karkaroff strode over, dragging Krum along with him, his goatee trembling with anger.
"Dumbledore! You owe us an explanation! Something like this happened during the Triwizard Tournament, and Krum was nearly..."
"Enough, Igor!"
Madame Maxime's commanding voice rang out.
"Now is not the time for accusations."
She turned towards the anxious Hermione, her voice softening slightly.
"Child, you said Alastor Moody took Harry Potter?"
Hermione nodded quickly.
"What exactly is he planning to do?" Thunderbird frowned upon hearing this.
Fleur Delacour stepped out from behind Madame Maxime, her beautiful face still pale with fear.
"The dragon he released almost hurt Gabrielle!"
More and more students gathered around them, and whispers began spreading through the crowd.
"That magical eye... it was terrifying," a girl from Castelobruxo interjected fearfully. "It kept spinning around, like... like it was searching for prey..."
The professors and headmasters hurried to calm the shaken students, trying to piece together the truth from their fragmented accounts.
Students from the various schools instinctively gathered together, looking around warily with their wands gripped tightly in their hands.
Everyone gathered around Sagres, only to find him standing with one palm open, frowning at the bloodstained ear resting in his hand.
"Sagres, what exactly is going on?"
Professor McGonagall was the first to ask, her voice trembling slightly. "Alastor... why would he..."
She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Alastor Moody, the battle-hardened former Auror, was actually responsible for this chaos?
She shook her head in disbelief. If the testimonies of so many students had not all pointed to Moody, she would never have believed something so absurd.
"Everyone, we've been deceived."
Sagres looked around at the pale-faced professors and said calmly, "Barty Crouch Sr. had long since fallen under Voldemort's Imperius Curse, and has now met with misfortune. As for the 'Moody' who has been teaching at Hogwarts..."
He weighed the severed ear in his hand.
"He should be Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise."
"Barty Crouch Jr.?" Karkaroff frowned. "Didn't he die years ago? In Azkaban?"
"Judging by the current situation..." Sagres paused briefly before shaking his head. "There was obviously more to his 'death' than we knew."
Snape's pupils suddenly contracted as he immediately thought of the potion ingredients that had been stolen from his storeroom.
"Polyjuice Potion?"
"Very likely," Sagres replied with a slight nod.
"What makes you so certain that Moody is an impostor?" asked the Headmistress of Uagadou. "What exposed him?"
"Just now, I mentioned Barclay, the master alchemist Moody recommended to me several years ago, but I deliberately called him Furlongken instead. He gave himself away, but in doing so, I also gave myself away."
His gaze fell on the sleeve of his wizarding robes.
"He probably saw through his magical eye that I had drawn my wand from my sleeve. The moment he realised what I was doing, he made his decision and attacked."
"Is Barty Crouch Jr. really that powerful?" Thunderbird asked with a frown. "I mean, with your strength, how could he..."
Sagres shook his head.
"I was careless. And he's extremely clever. First, he used the students to restrict my movements. Then he accurately located and destroyed the magical nodes of the duelling monument, releasing the magical creatures to create chaos. Finally, he took Potter away in the confusion."
"Merlin!"
Professor Flitwick suddenly cried out, covering his face with both hands.
"He discussed the protective magic of the floating arena with me just today. I told him where the nodes were..."
The diminutive Charms professor's eyes widened, his face filled with regret.
"This isn't your fault, Professor Flitwick."
Sagres's voice remained calm.
"All of us were deceived by him."
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