Harry's eyes darted around the room as he tried to consider his options. At the moment, he was in an otherwise empty classroom with who appeared to be Professor Moody but the Marauder's Map insisted was Barty Crouch. He had considered running, but felt certain that if he did Moody/Crouch would know that he suspected something. Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down a little. 'Maybe he doesn't suspect that I know' Harry thought, 'So if I just play along and act dumb maybe I can get out of this in one piece.' All the same, he let his right hand drift down to his pocket where his wand was.

"Well, well, well... what are we going to do now Mr Potter?" the fake Moody asked. The man had been staring at Harry since a few minutes before class ended, and Harry knew without a doubt that his magical eye had not looked away since. 'Moody' was leaning against his desk grinning at him in a way that made Harry very uncomfortable. Moody/Crouch didn't seem to have his wand out, a fact that gave Harry a little comfort.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir." Harry answered, hoping that the man just wanted to talk to him about school or the tournament. Instead, he responded to Harry's statement by beginning to laugh.

"Oh but I think you do Mr Potter, I think you do indeed." the professor replied, still laughing. Harry's hopes for getting out of the situation without a confrontation were rapidly dropping, but he still clung to the belief that his best course of action was to keep pretending to not know what was going on.

"Professor Moody, is this about my homework?" Harry asked. Moody/Crouch shook his head a little, and Harry noticed that the man's wand was now laying on the desk just inches from the impostor's hand. Harry frowned, wondering how he had missed that before.

"You and I both know that it isn't about homework." the grinning professor answered, clearly enjoying the game that they were playing.

"Maybe the tournament then?" Harry suggested, now fairly certain that this would not end well. He was almost positive that he could not beat the real Mad Eye Moody in a fight, but could he beat this impostor? Harry wasn't sure and didn't really look forward to finding out. His best option, he had decided, was to stall as long as possible and hope someone came in the room. Perhaps that would enable him to get out of the classroom, but he suspected that unless it was another professor that any person entering the room might just become another victim.

"Ah yes, the tournament. I do hope you are enjoying yourself in it. After all, I did have to go through quite a bit of trouble to get you in to it." he admitted, his face now taking on a proud look. "Dumbledore thought he was so smart with the Goblet of Fire and his damned enchantments. But he's not as smart as he likes to think he is, is he? After all, I am supposed to be one of his best friends and he doesn't suspect a thing."

"So it was you who put my name in the cup. But why?" Harry asked, careful not to reveal that he knew the man in front of him was not Professor Moody.

"Of course it was. And it is not my or your place to know why the master requests the things he does." Moody/Crouch answered. Harry froze at the man's response, was the 'master' he mentioned Voldemort? And if so why did Voldemort want him in the tournament in the first place?

"Your master?" Harry asked uncertainly, needing to know but fearing the answer.

"The Dark Lord, Mr Potter." Harry gulped and nodded as his fears were confirmed.

"But why Professor Moody? You were an Auror, one of the best." Harry said, still trying to keep the conversation going as long as possible. So far he had not even heard a sound from the other side of the door and he knew that it would be almost an hour until the next class came in. He remembered that the Charms classroom was next door and hoped that maybe someone would accidentally open the wrong door, but the next round of classes should be starting in the next few minutes so his hopes were quickly diminishing.

"Still playing that game, are you? Drop it. We both know that I am not Alastor Moody." Harry knew that it would be stupid to continue acting like the man in front of him really was Moody, so he merely nodded.

"Fine then, Mr Crouch."

"See now? Isn't that better. I was warned about that bloody map of yours, and when I saw you looking at it during class I knew you had figured out that I am not who I claim to be. I think you might remember who warned me about the map, Wormtail sends his regards." At the mention of the traitor Peter Pettigrew Harry's grip on his wand tightened. Crouch must have seen his hand twitch because in an instant he had his wand in his hand, though he was still not pointing it in Harry's direction.

"But why? You are a respected part of the Ministry, why would you do this?" Harry asked, slowly bringing his wand out of his pocket so he would have it ready in case of an attack. Crouch noticed him doing this, of course, but made no move to stop him.

"I guess I gave you too much credit then. I am not my father, Mr Potter. My name is Barty Crouch Junior." the man who still looked like Professor Moody admitted. Harry had never even heard of Barty Crouch Jr, and the confusion must have been evident in his expression because Crouch Jr began talking again. "I take it you don't know of me then. I was and remain to this day a faithful servant of the Dark Lord. After his disappearance that bastard Karkaroff sold me out to save his own ass and I was thrown in Azkaban by my own father. He will pay for that and his other crimes against me."

"How did you get out?" Harry asked, seeing a good way to keep the man talking.

"My mother convinced my father to sneak me out of Azkaban and let her take my place. After that I was kept as a prisoner in my own home until this summer." Crouch Jr explained. "But now I am free to serve my lord once again, which brings me back to my original question: What am I going to do with you? Unfortunately the Dark Lord wants you alive, if he did not I would have murdered you the first opportunity I got. And there have been so many good opportunities. Do you know how hard it was for me to restrain myself from casting the killing curse at you when you least suspected it? Or perhaps not to kill you right away, but to make you suffer first? It would have been glorious, but the honor of killing you is not mine. The Dark Lord wishes to do that himself."

"Your 'Dark Lord' is nothing more than a spirit." Harry replied, braver than he actually felt. The class next door had already started by now so the chances that any one would walk through the door were extremely thin.

"Is he now? I would suggest you don't talk about things you obviously know nothing about." As Crouch answered Harry suddenly remembered the dream he had during the summer in which Voldemort had become a hideous but small creature that looked like a deformed baby. He had been surrounded by Wormtail and an unknown man that Harry was beginning to believe was Barty Crouch Jr. It would make sense, although Harry wondered briefly what it meant that he was having accurate visions about Voldemort that he pushed from his mind to focus on the situation at hand.

"Why are you doing this, what is your plan?" Harry demanded as part of his mind was screaming at him that the conversation was nearing its end and he needed to prepare for a fight.

"Neither of us are worthy enough to know the Dark Lord's plans. I suppose I will just have to Obvliviate you and continue with our little game. It really is a shame I can't just kill you now. Oh well." Crouch Jr said with an exaggerated look of sadness. For a moment the two stared at each other, not moving, waiting to see what the other would do. The both had their wands in their hands, ready to cast the first spell. In the end it was Barty Crouch Jr who began the battle.

"Obliviate!" the Death Eater yelled as a burst of magic flew at his student. Harry reacted by diving out of the way and landing on the ground hard. Seeing Crouch Jr's foot and stump from under the table, Harry cast the Jelly Legs curse at him and began rolling under the table away from the professor not even bothering to watch if the spell hit him or not. It must have because he heard Crouch Jr growl and dispel the curse as Harry continued to try and distance himself from the impostor.

"A lucky shot, Potter. But first year spells aren't going to beat me." Crouch Jr taunted. Harry knew he was right, he was stupid to have used such a simple spell when he knew others that would have caused much more damage. This was not going to be like his mock duels with Daphne where he could get away with using minor spells. If he wanted to make it through this in one piece he was going to have to be more aggressive. Crouch Jr had not moved from his original position by his desk and Harry hoped that he would not know exactly where he was in the room since he was hidden under the tables.

"Come out now and this will be a lot easier on you." Crouch Jr advised. "Otherwise I may have to hurt you before Obliviating you."

Harry was kneeling now, ready to jump up and cast a spell. Deciding on the Reducto curse, Harry took a breath and leapt out from behind the table. Unfortunately Crouch Jr had seemed to know exactly where he was and had shouted "Inficio!" before he could even raise his wand. The spell produced a disgusting yellow light which flew towards Harry's head. Desperate to avoid being hit by the curse Harry once again dove to the floor, abandoning his plan to attack Crouch Jr. Behind him, the wall where the spell hit began to bubble and melt as if it had been hit by acid.

"You can't hide from me, Potter!" Crouch Jr continued to mock him. Harry moved to a different spot, still hidden under the tables, and tried the tactic again. Just like before, Crouch Jr seemed to know exactly where he was and sent a curse his way to prevent him from attacking. 'It's like he can see right through the tables.' Harry thought as he dodged the spell. 'Of course! He can see through the tables because of the magic eye!' he realized, figuring out why he was at a disadvantage. He was going to have to change strategies. Harry knew that as soon as Crouch Jr saw him get up he would cast some spell at him, meaning that if he timed it right he could dodge and have a split second where he could fire a spell and Crouch Jr would be vulnerable.

Harry decided to try his plan and jumped to his feet. As expected Crouch Jr had already fired a spell at him, the same yellow one from last time. Harry turned to the side to avoid the curse and yelled "Accio Magic Eyeball!" Immediately Crouch Jr's magic eyeball and the harness that kept it strapped to his face flew off of him and soared towards Harry. Crouch Jr roared in anger as they eye was ripped from his face. Now, instead of having the advantage he was at a disadvantage because he only had one working eye.

"I will make you suffer for that, boy!" Crouch Jr screamed. Harry kept up the attack, firing off the first spell that came to mind he shouted "Expelliarmus!" but Crouch Jr was able to sidestep the disarming spell and cast a blasting hex at Harry which caught him in the shoulder sending him spinning down to the floor. The shoulder felt sore and Harry knew he would be in pain later but there was no time to think about it now. Harry sent off a Reducto which died harmlessly as Crouch Jr raised a shield to protect himself. Knowing that his spells probably could not break through the older man's shield, Harry yelled "Accio desk!" and the desk that Crouch Jr had been standing in front of quickly slid towards Harry. This tactic caught Crouch Jr off guard and sent him toppling backwards over the desk.

The Death Eater quickly got back on his feet and sent another blasting hex, but at the last moment Harry was able to raise a shield which was just able to stop the spell. The shield did not however have enough power behind it to stop Crouch Jr's follow up spell, a bone breaking curse which hit Harry in the left arm just below the shoulder. Harry screamed in pain as he dropped the shield spell and tried to move towards cover. His left arm now hung uselessly at his side. Harry knew he needed time to catch his breath and grinned as a spell he had learned for the first task but never had to use came to mind.

Crouch Jr was now moving around the room in order to get a better shot at Harry and was completely surprised when he saw the teenager transfigure a chair into a wolf that growled angrily and leapt at him. Before he could defend himself the wolf was on him with its claws and teeth tearing into his flesh. The wolf's teeth were digging painfully into his shoulder when he managed to cast a severing charm at its head, killing it and forcing it to revert to its previous shape. As he got back to his feet Harry walked towards him and screamed "Bombarda!". The force of the spell hit Crouch Jr in the chest and sent him flying into the wall where the impact broke the wood paneling. Crouch Jr was casting a new spell as soon as he hit the ground. This time Harry raised a shield to block the yellow acid spell which Crouch Jr seemed to be so fond of. The spell struck his shield and fizzled out harmlessly.

Barty Crouch Jr was shocked, he had clearly underestimated the boy and the power he was capable of putting behind his spells. There was no way a fourth year student should be able to shield against his spells, and yet Harry Potter could do it. Growling in pain and frustration, Crouch Jr rose to his feet and yelled "Crucio!" Harry shouted "Protego!" in response, remembering at the last moment that it was not possible to shield against the torture curse but by then it was too late. As the spell hit him Harry felt like every inch of his body was being stabbed by burning knives dipped in poison. His screams of pain echoed loudly through the classroom, bringing a smile of pleasure to Crouch Jr's face. The Death Eater ended the spell long enough to taunt Harry.

"Perhaps I should drive you insane like we did to the Longbottoms. That wouldn't technically be breaking my master's command now would it?" he asked as Harry writhed in pain below him. Crouch Jr laughed and then recast the spell, enjoying the screams of pain he was causing. Neither of them knew that Harry's screams would end up saving him.

Next door Professor Flitwick was teaching Charms to a group of second year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. The class was progressing normally until about ten minutes into the class when the professor and all of the students froze at the sound of someone screaming out in pain next door. Without a word to the students Professor Flitwick was out of the room with his wand in hand and racing to the adjacent class. When he threw open the door he was shocked to see one of his colleagues casting the Unforgivable Cruciatus curse on a student.

"Moody! Unhand him!" the small professor yelled, causing Crouch Jr to look up in surprise. When Crouch Jr saw the other professor he knew his plans to simply Obliviate Potter were ruined. Angry that he had been discovered, the Death Eater turned and tried to cast the torture curse on the tiny Charms professor. But what Crouch Jr had forgotten was that despite his small stature Professor Flitwick was a former dueling champion and a wizard that should not ever be underestimated. The incantation had not even finished leaving Crouch Jr's lips when Flitwick began moving with a speed that must have somehow been magically enhanced. The small wizard leapt from table to table, closing the distance between them and dodging every spell that the impostor who still looked like Mad Eye Moody cast. The whole time Professor Flitwick was running, jumping, and dodging curses he kept his wand moving in quick but precise movements silently casting a variety of spells.

Harry's pain had subsided enough for him to look up at the duel that was now going on. Crouch Jr was immediately forced on the defensive by the sheer number of spells being cast by the Charms professor. From his point of view it seemed as though Flitwick was casting one or two spells every second, most of which Crouch Jr was able to raise a shield against but still a few were able to penetrate his defenses. One spell set the impostors pants leg on fire while another caused his face to break out in boils. It seemed that Flitwick's strategy was to cast so many spells that his opponent had no choice but to keep his shield raised, putting him permanently on the defensive. Slowly Crouch Jr's shield was beginning to break under the constant onslaught and he knew that he would have no choice but to flee.

Crouch Jr dropped his shield and began to run towards the exit. While he did he yelled out "Incendio!" several times and was able to start a number of fires as the wooden tables and chairs burned. Flitwick's attention dropped for a second as he began casting Aguamenti, producing huge jets of water that put out the fires. In the short time that took Crouch Jr was out the door and running down the halls towards the exit. Professor Flitwick took a quick glance at Harry who was still lying on the floor groaning in pain but obviously alive before running back out the door. The Charms professor softly cursed as he walked out of the classroom, knowing that the other man had been able to escape. Looking out the window he could clearly see Professor Moody running towards the edge of the wards and away from Hogwarts. Flitwick decided there was little else that could be done about it now and went back inside to check on Harry.

"Mr Potter, I know you are in a lot of pain right now but I need to know what spells you were hit by." Professor Flitwick said once he had reached Harry, who was now sitting up and leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath.

"Other than the two Crucio's, he hit my shoulder pretty hard with something and caught my arm with a bone breaking hex. That's all." Harry explained. "Professor Flitwick, I know it looked like him but that was not Professor Moody. He said his name was Barty Crouch Jr and he must have been taking Polyjuice Potion to make him look like Moody. The real Moody is up in the office somewhere, probably being kept as a prisoner somehow."

Professor Flitwick's mouth opened in shock at Harry's explanation. He knew that Barty Crouch Jr was supposed to have died years ago in Azkaban, but if he was right then perhaps the real Alastor Moody was in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office and would be able to corroberate the story.

"Can you stand, Harry?" the small professor asked. Harry nodded and slowly got to his feet, shaking a bit as he did. After a few moments he felt confident enough to walk and the two headed towards the office. Once inside they looked around but did not see any sign of Mad Eye Moody. "Step aside, Harry" Flitwick commanded as his eyes fell on a large trunk shoved into the corner. A blue burst of magic leapt from Flitwick's wand and the trunk's many locks began to open. As the final lock clicked the lid opened and they both went over to look inside. Harry was surprised to see that the space inside the trunk was huge, many times bigger than it should have been without magic. And laying at the bottom of the trunk was the real Mad Eye Moody. He looked weak and malnourished, but other than that uninjured.

"Filius? Is that you?" the true Moody asked and began to stand up.

"Wonderful to see you again, Alastor" Professor Flitwick answered. "If I lowered a ladder could you climb up?"

"Aye, I believe I could. Just get me out of here."

Professor Flitwick nodded and conjured a long rope ladder. With Harry's help they tied one end to the heavy desk in the middle of the room and threw the other end down inside the trunk. A few minutes and some colorful swearing complaining about only having one good leg later and Moody was out of the trunk and sitting down in an office chair.

"Both of you need to get to the Hospital wing." Flitwick noted while transfiguring a quill into a crutch for Moody to use. "And I'm sure Albus is going to have a load of questions."

"No doubt about that, Filius." Professor Moody agreed. He then nodded in Harry's direction and asked "Why's he here?"

"He was fighting someone Polyjuiced to look like you when I found him. He was being held under the Cruciatus at the time. Harry claims that the man said he was Barty Crouch Jr."

Moody nodded and looked at Harry, evaluating him. "Are you OK, lad?"

"I'll be fine, Professor." Harry assured him. "I landed a few hits on him, too. Your magic eye should still be lying in the classroom somewhere." Moody began to laugh at Harry's response.

"Good job. Let's go get patched up." Moody suggested and the three men began walking towards the infirmary. Professor Flitwick briefly stopped at his classroom to tell the confused students that class was dismissed early and to practice what they had been working on for the next class. Harry was walking a little stiffly, still feeling the effects of being held under the Cruciatus for so long. Professor Moody meanwhile was clearly weak but excited to be able to walk around after being trapped in a trunk for so long. When they finally reached the hospital wing ten minutes later both Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were waiting for them.

"It would appear that you three must have quite the story to tell." Professor Dumbledore noted with a small smile. "But first I am sure Madame Pomfrey would like to take a look at you." They all nodded and Harry and Moody were escorted to hospital beds while Professor Flitwick sat down in a chair explaining that he had not been struck by any spells. The healer began with Harry who was obviously still in pain.

"Madame Pomfrey, this isn't going to take long is it?" Harry asked as she began casting diagnostic spells. "I really need to get out of here and go talk to someone." The older witch frowned at her patient's desire to leave.

"Mr Potter you have a broken arm, a separated shoulder, and are still feeling the residual effects of exposure to the Cruciatus curse. Lay back down, you are not going anywhere for at least the next few hours. If your arm is as bad as I think it might be I will have to keep you overnight so we can it with Skelegrow." Harry groaned in disappointment that he would be stuck in the hospital, yet again, while he had other things he needed to do. Specifically he meant finding Daphne and making sure she was OK after that horrible article in the Daily Prophet. His only hope now was that she would hear he was hurt and come looking for him.

Harry glanced over to the other occupied bed in the room where Alastor Moody was talking to Professor Dumbledore. He assumed that Moody was explaining what had happened to him and why he spent the last few months locked in a trunk in his office. The twinkle was completely gone from Dumbledore's eyes and he clearly had a look of regret on his face. Eventually their conversation ended and Dumbledore headed over to his bed.

"Harry, do you think you feel up to explaining what happened today?" the Headmaster asked. Harry nodded and began telling him everything, beginning with his suspicions regarding Moody, seeing the wrong name on the Marauder's Map, his conversation with Barty Crouch Jr, and then their duel. The entire time Dumbledore listened silently and nodded in the appropriate places. When Harry's story was over the old Professor sat in his chair stroking his beard and thinking about what he had heard. "When you are feeling better I would like your permission to view the memory in my pensieve. Do you know what a pensieve is, Harry? No? It is a large bowl in which memories can be magically stored and relived. It helps me to organize my thoughts. You might also like to see a memory I have regarding Barty Crouch Jr's unmasking as a Death Eater and capture."

"I would like that sir, thank you." Harry answered.

"What is on your mind, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "Surely you aren't blaming yourself for Crouch Jr's escape, are you?" Harry lowered his eyes and nodded a little.

"I almost had him, sir. And then I messed up and forgot you can't block the Cruciatus curse. I knew that, but I didn't react quick enough." Harry explained.

"I am sure you did, Harry. I must say I am extremely pleased at how well you did, better than I could have ever hoped. You must not blame yourself for your hesitation. Conditioning yourself to dodge that curse on instinct takes experience, which you now have. Tell me, do you think that you will hesitate if you are ever in that situation again?"

"No. I think I learned my lesson." Harry answered.

"Exactly. Improvement is often quite painful, a fact the best of wizards learn early. Now I shall leave you to rest, unless there is anything else you require of me." Dumbledore said while rising out of his chair.

"Actually, if you see Daphne Greengrass could you ask her to come visit me? I would really appreciate it." Harry said, trying not to act a little embarrassed at his request.

"Of course, Harry. I have found that good company often helps the healing process." Dumbledore answered with a large knowing smile before turning and walking out the door leaving Harry alone.

Harry used the time to think about all that had happened this morning. He wondered if it would have been better if he had simply run out of the classroom as soon as Crouch Jr asked him to stay after class but realized that would not have done much good because the impostor has already figured out that he knew something was wrong because of Wormtail's warning about the map. Crouch Jr would have come after him even if he had run, Harry was certain of that. Perhaps it was better to face that challenge head on.

Harry thought he had done OK in the duel; certain he had the advantage until his mistake in dealing with Crouch Jr's Crucio. He knew he would need to work on his spell variety and learning to put more energy behind his shields. Harry realized that the reason his shields dropped so quickly was because he had developed the bad habit of never putting his full strength behind them. He had never needed to when practicing against Daphne. 'I'll do better next time.' Harry vowed to himself.

He also now knew that Voldemort wanted him in the tournament but also wanted to be the one to kill him. The second part he could understand, but why would Voldemort order Crouch Jr to put his name in the Goblet of Fire? If all Voldemort wanted to do was kill him then that just seemed unnecessary. Harry felt as if by answering one question he had only stumbled on to another. He would have to be very careful from now on. Voldemort was still out there and now had at least two Death Eaters helping him. If there was a way for him to regain his body they would find it.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he saw the door open suddenly and Daphne rush in. After a quick glance around the room she spotted him and ran over to his bed where Harry sat up to meet her. Harry noticed her red eyes and guessed that she had been crying, although whether it was because of the article in the Daily Prophet attacking her or his current condition he did not know. Once she reached him Daphne wrapped her arms around Harry in a tight hug which he returned as best he could using his one good arm. For a few minutes neither of the spoke, but simply held each other. Both of them silently wished they had been able to do a better job protecting the other. Finally, Harry moved over far enough so that Daphne could sit on the bed with him.

"It's OK, Daphne. I'm going to be fine so don't worry about that. Are you OK?" Harry asked.

"I thought I was having a bad day and then you have to go and get yourself attacked. There are easier ways to make me feel better than just trying to have a worse day than me you know." Daphne said with the beginnings of a smile on her face. "You first, Harry. Tell me everything."

And so Harry did. As he repeated his tale Daphne's mind was in overdrive trying to piece together everything that Barty Crouch Jr had told him. Like Harry, she still could not figure out why the Dark Lord went to the trouble of putting Harry in the tournament to begin with. It just seemed like a pointless addition if the plan was merely to kill him. Daphne wanted to keep discussing it, but Harry had other ideas.

"I've told you my story, now I want to hear about you. Daphne, I'm sorry I got you into all of this. If it weren't for me the Daily Prophet wouldn't be writing those awful things about you and your family."

"It's not your fault, Harry." Daphne reminded him.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I'm sorry about your brother, I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it." Harry said, hoping to comfort her a little.

"There's no one else I would rather talk to about it. I was only seven years old when it happened. That morning David, Astoria, and I had been playing in a room on the third floor at our family home. There is this balcony that looked out over the porch and back yard and apparently someone had left the door to the balcony open. David went out on to the balcony and must have been climbing the railing. I didn't see him fall, and neither did Astoria, but we both heard him yell when he went over the top of the guardrails. By the time the healers got there it was too late, there are some things that even magic can't fix." Daphne said softly. At this Harry hugged her a little tighter and waited for her to continue.

"Remember the night we first met? You asked me what I saw in the Mirror of Erised and I wouldn't tell you? I saw my family, just like you did. I guess that might have been when I started to wonder if we might have more in common than I had thought."

"Thank you for telling me that, Daphne." Harry told her. "And I promise you that we will have our revenge against Rita Skeeter. She is going to wish she had never even heard the names Harry Potter or Daphne Greengrass." Daphne grinned at this and then leaned towards him and kissed him. When she leaned back a few seconds later he had a goofy looking smile on his face that made her laugh a little.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, Harry."

Author's Note:

Every time I thought about how Professor Flitwick would fight all I could think of was the Yoda fights from the Star Wars prequels. I wonder if my inspiration shows. Then again no one has called me out on beginning this in the fourth part of the story and including the words "new hope" in the title so... maybe not.

My take on Harry's strength at this point is that although he is probably now a match for most full grown wizards he is severely lacking in real battle experience. He lost to Crouch Jr not because he was too weak but because he wasn't used to fighting someone using Unforgivable or unblockable curses.