"Feigning death?"
Moody's mind clearly still hadn't fully recovered from his long confinement.
"Then... what about Barty Crouch Jr.? Where is he?"
"He thought you were dead."
Bill's voice was ice-cold, without a trace of warmth.
"Before that, he used Polyjuice Potion to take your appearance and spent an entire term as the Academic Affairs Office Deputy Director at Hogwarts."
Those words struck like lightning, cleaving through Moody's muddled thoughts.
His face instantly turned livid. He seized Bill's robes, towering fury blazing in his one intact eye.
"What did you say?! You knew all along?!"
He roared, nearly spraying spit into Bill's face.
"You knew he was an impostor, and you let him stay at the school? Near Harry Potter?!"
"Do you know how many times he cast the Memory Charm on me all this time... even Albus was fooled by him."
"We had to do it, Alastor."
Bill's gaze never wavered. He looked straight into Moody's furious eye, his tone firm.
"He was the Dark Lord's most important pawn. We couldn't alert him. We needed him to think victory was assured, then take down both him and his plans when he was feeling most triumphant."
"What about Albus, then?!"
Moody bellowed. He didn't believe Dumbledore would agree to such an insane plan.
"Did he know?! Did he agree to you risking Potter's life too?!"
"This was a... covert operation with a higher priority."
Bill answered vaguely, deftly leaving Dumbledore out of it.
"Sometimes, certain necessary sacrifices and risks are unavoidable for the sake of ultimate victory. We couldn't let the headmaster bear responsibility if a covert operation like this failed."
Moody stared fixedly at him, breathing heavily, madness and fury waging a fierce battle in his eye.
Only after a long while did he release his grip, his whole