Megan, still breathing fast, listened as the footsteps died away. Moody then looked at Megan, his magical eye fixed on her. He then climbed slowly up the stairs, his stick and foot making thuds as he went.

"Close shave, eh Potter?" he asked in a low growl.

"... Yes. Thanks, sir..." Megan said sheepishly.

"What is this?" he asked, glancing at the map.

"Map of Hogwarts..." Megan said.

She hoped he would free her soon, her leg was getting painful.

"Merlin's beard, this is quite a map, Potter..." he said.

"Yes, it's... handy..." she said. "Er... professor... could I trouble you to...?"

He glanced at her and spotted her problem.

"Oh, right...of course. Hold on."

He caught her arm and lifted her out. She hopped onto the step above, while he kept gazing at the map.

"Thank you," she said, rubbing her thigh.

"Potter..." he said slowly. "You didn't happen to see who broke into Snape's office, did you? With this map?"

"... Well... actually, I did, yeah..." Megan said. "It was Mr Crouch..."

Moody stared at her.

"Crouch...?" he whispered. "You... you're sure?"

"... Yes." Megan said.

"Hmm... well, he's not here any more." Moody said, still looking at the map. "But Crouch... interesting."

Megan waited in silence. He clearly knew something she didn't, thanks to this news. And she wanted to know what, but wasn't sure whether she dared ask. He may have spared her a lot of trouble, but Moody scared her a little.

"... Professor...?" she finally said. "D'you... why do you think Mr Crouch was looking in Snape's office?"

Moody's magical eye fixed Megan a long moment, as though sizing her up, determining what she could take or not.

"Well, put it this way, kiddo..." Moody said. "They say old Mad-Eye's obsessed with Dark wizards, but it's nothing compared to Barty Crouch."

Megan hesitated, dying to know more.

"And... d'you think... this could... Mr Crouch thinks there's something going on..."

"Like what?" Moody asked sharply.

Megan thought carefully of what to say. She couldn't risk letting slip she had an outside source, which could lead to being asked tricky questions about Sirius.

"I don't know," she finally said. "But... I mean... odd things have been going on, lately, haven't they? Me being chosen by the Goblet of Fire... the Dark Mark... the Death Eaters..."

Moody's eyebrows lifted.

"Smart mind you got there, Potter," he said, his magical eye spinning up and down the Marauder's map again. "Crouch could be thinking something like that..." he went on slowly. "Possible... quite a few rumours have been going around, especially thanks to Rita Skeeter... Making lots of people nervous, I reckon..." His scarred lips thinned. "One thing I hate, is a Death Eater that walked free..." he growled.

Megan stared. Could he mean...?

"Now, I'd like to ask you something, Potter..."

Megan bit her lip. She had been expecting this. He would ask her about the map, and she would need to find an explanation that didn't involve revealing the implication of her father, professor Lupin, Sirius or Fred and George who had given her the map...

"Can I borrow this?" he asked.

Megan stared. She was very fond of the map and didn't like parting with it, but it was better than having to explain its provenance, and she did owe Moody a favour.

"... Okay..." she said.

"Thank you," he growled. "It might be exactly what I'm looking for... all right, come on, bed for you."

They climbed the stairs together, Moody gazing at the map like the eighth marvel of the world. Megan stayed silent, feeling awkward. Their footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, Moody seeming a little clumsy on his wooden leg in the stairs. Megan didn't know why it seemed odd, because she figured it was different using an actual foot than a piece of wood. Or maybe it was just Moody getting old, she figured. They paused in front of Moody's office.

"Ever considered being an Auror, Potter?" he asked.

Megan hadn't expected this at all.

"... No," she said, surprised.

To be honest, Megan hadn't yet given much thought to what she'd do after school.

"You might think about it." He said.

His eyes lowered to the egg in his large hand.

"I trust you weren't taking that egg for a walk?"

"... No," Megan said, an awkward smile on her lips. "I was working on the clue."

Moody let out a chuckle.

"Nothing like a good night time stroll to get some inspiration, eh?" he smiled, winking at her.

He handed her the large egg, and gave her a long, piercing look that made Megan uncomfortable.

"... Uh... sir?" she said hesitantly.

Moody seemed to realise what he was doing.

"Nothing. Nothing." he said gruffly.

He bid her good night and shut himself in his office. Megan walked back to Gryffindor Tower, thinking about Snape, Crouch, and what it all meant. If he could get into Hogwarts, why was Crouch acting ill...? What was he looking for from Snape? And Moody thought she ought to be an Auror... interesting, even if Megan had been more into an artistic career... part of her wasn't sure she wanted the kind of life an Auror lived. Always fighting, always risking their lives... she'd already given more than her fair share in that department in her opinion. When she got into her bed a few minutes later, she decided to see if all the others were as scarred before making it her career path.

"I thought you said you'd almost solved it!" Hermione chided.

"Keep it down!" Megan said. "I'm getting there, I just need to fine-tune it a bit."

They were in the back of the Charms classroom, which was ideal to talk, because no one was paying much attention. They were working on the Banishing Charm, the opposite of the Summoning Charm, practising on cushions. Megan was telling them about the previous night. Or trying.

"Just forget the egg for a minute, okay?" Megan said.

So she told them about Snape and Moody.

"Snape's office was searched by Moody too..?" Ron asked with interest as he sent a cushion across the room, hitting Seamus on the back of the head.

"D'you think Dumbledore wants to keep an eye on him as well...?" Hermione wondered.

"I don't know if he asked him to, but he's doing it," Megan said, frowning. "Moody says Dumbledore's only letting Snape stay here because he believes in second chances."

"Wait..." Ron said. "Hey, how about this: what if Snape put your name in, Megan!"

"I seriously doubt that, Ron," Harry said, as he sent his cushion across the room and just beside the box they were supposed to aim at. "Drat..." he muttered before continuing. "We thought he was trying to kill her before, remember? And he was really saving her life."

Yes, but that was because he owed her father... Megan remarked silently. Snape hated her as much as he had hated her father. It was true he had saved her, but she was pretty sure he'd take a Slug Spitting spell rather than do it again... although it was a bit of a leap to think he hated her enough to go this far...

"Well, anyway, if Dumbledore trusts him, he can't be that bad. I mean, look at Hagrid or professor Lupin. Snape may be a bit..."

"Evil," Ron said. "Then why are these Dark wizard catchers checking his office?"

"You just want to think Snape's up to something." Hermione said, sending her cushion landing neatly into the box.

"I'm not sure Crouch was looking for Dark magic," Harry said. "I'd like to know why he couldn't come to the Yule Ball and would then sneak around here in the middle of the night..."

"And if Snape is on his second chance," Megan said, "What was his first and why is this his second...?"

She waved her wand and her cushion landed gently on top of Hermione's.