Thanks to a series of outrageous moves by Albert, the news that Professor Moody had helped Albert put his name into the Goblet of Fire spread among the girls at Hogwarts as though it had grown wings. Nothing stirred students' curiosity and imagination more than gossip, and all sorts of bizarre rumors even reached the professors' ears.
That afternoon, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office, Professor Moody was once again smashing things around to vent his anger. Just moments ago, someone had actually come to ask whether the rumor was true, and several girls had even thanked him for putting Albert's name into the Goblet of Fire.
Yes, on his way back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office, Professor Moody had actually run into a crowd that surrounded him and questioned him about it. Everyone believed Professor Moody had thwarted a conspiracy by the other schools to prevent Hogwarts from winning the championship.
Now, most of the students in the entire castle believed he had helped that Mudblood throw his name into the Goblet of Fire. No matter how vehemently Moody denied it, he could not change their perception. The stifled humiliation and fury felt as though someone had stuffed a lump of foul-smelling mud into his mouth and forced him to swallow it, making Moody want to vomit.
"Kill him. I have to kill that stinking Mudblood!" Barty Crouch Jr. kept muttering the same words. Anger, humiliation, and hatred brewed in his heart, and Professor Moody's terrifying face grew even more twisted and vicious. Before killing him, Barty Crouch Jr. intended to torture that Mudblood mercilessly with the Cruciatus Curse.
However, Barty Crouch Jr. had no idea that someone had set him up again.
His mingled shock and rage put Albert, who was on a