The twins showed up the next morning when Harry was explaining to Hermione what had happened. By an amazing coincidence, he had just gotten to the part of the story where the twins were approaching the Goblet when they appeared.
"Allow us to take the story from here, Harry." Harry turned around to see the twins with long, white beards that looked remarkably similar to Dumbledore's.
"You see, we first tried to figure out how far away the age line was. With careful observation and investigation, we found out exactly where the age line extended," said Fred.
"In other words, you saw the chalk outline on the ground?" asked Hermione, smirking.
"Why yes we did, my fair maiden. It was a good five meters around the cup, well out of reach of our Arm Extenders," explained George.
"But we tried them anyways. We flicked the parchment with our names towards the Goblet."
"A most perfect toss, mind you, it was sailing straight towards that flaming cup..."
"When the fire suddenly burned twice as tall and the parchment was incinerated."
"So we had to resort to our original plan. The Aging potions."
"Which worked brilliantly, mind you..."
"Until you stepped past the line?" Hermione spoke up, again.
"No, my dear Hermione, that's not right at all!" said George, beaming.
"For once, the smartest witch of our generation is quite incorrect," said Fred, with an equally bright smile.
"We were flung across the Great Hall before we even managed to put a foot over the line."
"After which we began growing these beards."
"Which, I have to say, is attracting much more attention from the ladies," said Fred, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I dare say, who knew all these girls preferred the mature look?" Both the twins laughed and ran off to tell their story to other people in the Gryffindor common room.
Back in her serious expression, Hermione asked, "So where were you when all this happened?"
Harry replied, "Down the hall, behind a suit of armour. When they got thrown back, a bunch of teachers started moving towards the Great Hall. They've got some kind of system to alert the staff. I was worried about Moody the most- you remember what he did to the twins last time, right?" Hermione nodded.
"Well, I looked for his dot specifically. It stayed in his office. Mr. Crouch came instead."
"Wait, the head of International Cooperations?"
"Yeah, but when I saw the dot step into the hallway, I set off the distraction. I was expecting to see Crouch, but I saw Moody instead."
Hermione's eyes widened. "What? You're sure about that?"
"Yeah, I looked back at the map just to be sure. Mr. Crouch was impersonating Moody for some reason. Moody was still in his office."
"But why would he have to disguise himself? He has every right to be here, doesn't he? He could have just showed up in person..."
"I'm not sure, but I found out from Professor McGonagall later that Mr. Crouch was supposed to be at a meeting with the Headmasters of all three schools that night."
"Maybe the map was wrong?" Hermione suggested doubtfully.
"It's never been wrong before. It could tell where Peter Pettigrew was even though he was in his rat form."
They sat in silence, pondering what to do. Finally, Hermione said half-heartedly, "I think we might have to do what Professor Flitwick said never to do."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean we'll have to confront him directly about it."
Harry served only one night of detention with Professor McGonagall for his part in the twins' attempt at sneaking their names into the Goblet of Fire. During that time, his mind was whirling over the possibility of trying to stand face to face with Moody. That man was scary. Even with the little bit of duelling training he was getting with Hermione, he knew he'd be completely outclassed by someone who'd made it his career to take down dark wizards. What if he had to duel Moody alone? He wouldn't even survive the first hit! Even if he did, that crazy eye of his would track him as he tried to run away. The prospect of actually confronting Moody was getting crazier and crazier.
Hermione was the one who brought him back down to earth. "We don't have to duel him, you silly. We just have to ask him a few questions. Maybe when the other staff are around. All you really have to do is a tiny bit of Legilimency to see if he's lying or not," she explained. "Although it probably wouldn't hurt to have our wands in hand and ready to cast a Protego though," she added.
They decided it would be safest if they talked to Moody during breakfast, while most of the other staff members were present. Dumbledore's presence alone might make all the difference. They would ask a simple question regarding that particular night, and Harry would concentrate on some surface Legilimency to see if Moody was lying. Of course, someone as paranoid as Moody would undoubtedly have some of the strongest Occlumency shields, but Harry just hoped he'd still be able to detect deception through them.
The next morning, they had a short, light breakfast. Glancing at the map, they made sure it was Moody sitting at the table instead of Crouch. Nodding to each other, they got up from the bench and approached the staff table. Harry gripped his wand in his pocket, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. Hermione had her wand up her left sleeve, fingering the handle with her right hand as they approached. Moody took a swig from his hip-flask as they approached. He eyed the two students that stood in front of him, one eye on each. It was extremely unnerving how he did that.
"Got your hands on your wands already, eh? I'm glad somebody's taking my lessons to heart," he guffawed in a low, throaty growl. The rest of the staff table turned to stare at Harry and Hermione as he said that.
"Planning on attacking a Professor, Potter?" snarled Snape. "Your current fame just isn't enough for you, is it? You just have to find a way to get your name into that Goblet..."
"Please, Severus. Mr. Potter has yet to state his intentions," Dumbledore told the Potions professor.
"Is this about what you told me the night you aided the twins? I can assure you..." McGonagall began.
Harry was unprepared for the sudden flurry of questions and accusations from the staff table. It made him a little more nervous, but when Hermione squeezed his arm, it firmed his resolve. "Professor Moody, I'd just like to ask you a few questions," he stated, looking at Moody directly.
"Ask away, my boy." Moody gave a mean grin, while the rest of the staff suddenly quieted down and watched with keen interest.
"Where were you when the twins set off the alarms around the Goblet?"
"In my office, of course," came the reply. Harry knew that was the truth, but decided to test the mental waters anyways. He pushed lightly with his Legilimency.
"Were you alone at the time?"
"Of course I was," came his answer. Harry felt a mental flicker coming from Moody. Harry never imagined how easy it would be to detect lies on someone like Moody. Trying his luck, he pushed a little deeper, and received a few images. Moody was sitting at his desk, looking at an empty room. He hadn't seen anyone, but... something felt off.
"Are you sure?" The moment he asked the question, the images in Moody's mind focused on the various dark detectors Moody had strewn about the room. Half of them were broken, and the other half seemed to be going off. Suddenly, Harry heard an unfamiliar voice boom within Moody's mindscape, "You must be alone in your office every night." The images of the dark detectors faded instantly.
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