Maurise did not answer immediately.
The most rational course of action right now would be to inform Dumbledore. At the end of the day, it was best to leave this matter in the hands of the Headmaster or Snape. He was merely a student acting as a temporary security guard; now that he had located the culprit, it was time to report his findings and wash his hands of it.
However, Maurise noticed that Moody's hand was resting casually but deliberately near his waist—the perfect position to draw his wand with maximum speed.
He had a strong premonition that the moment he turned his back, Moody would likely strike.
No, he would strike.
So, how should he proceed? It seemed he didn't have much of a choice.
"Well?" Moody broke the silence first, his voice resuming its falsely genial tone. "Are you unwilling, Mr. Black?"
Maurise offered a polite smile. "I would be more than happy to keep your secret, Professor."
"Excellent." Moody nodded in satisfaction. "I knew I could trust you, Maurise. Now hurry along. The ball is about to begin, and you must not forget you are expected to open the dance."
"Of course, Professor."
They both took a step forward simultaneously.
"Stupefy!"
Maurise slashed his wand with lightning speed. Since he had already confirmed the man was an imposter and a highly likely threat, there was no point in waiting to be attacked first.
Clearly, Moody shared the exact same sentiment.
In that same split second, Moody's wand was already leveled at Maurise.
The two spells collided in mid-air, detonating with a deafening boom and a blinding flash of light.
Maurise was forced back two steps by the shockwave. He had barely steadied himself and prepared to counterattack when—
"Imperio!"
Moody's incantation rang out, far faster than Maurise had anticipated.
It was the Imperius Curse.
Without any warning, a cold, viscous force slammed into Maurise's mind, feeling like a mass of slimy tentacles attempting to seize control of his consciousness.
'Ah, what a nostalgic feeling.'
Maurise immediately ceased all movement, his expression going entirely blank as he turned slowly to face Moody. He was acting, of course.
In reality, it had only taken him a single second to effortlessly snap the curse's hold on him. Even Voldemort's Imperius Curse couldn't control him; Moody stood absolutely no chance.
However, he was mildly surprised to find that Moody's Imperius Curse actually felt more potent than Tom Riddle's—though to be fair, that Tom had merely been a fragmented soul clinging to a diary.
Moody did not seem to see through Maurise's performance. He lowered his wand and began to approach slowly.
Maurise was in no rush to retaliate.
The distance between them closed to less than ten feet.
Moody's magical eye whizzed around, scrutinizing Maurise from head to toe. Perhaps out of an abundance of caution, he raised his wand once more, aiming it squarely at Maurise's forehead.
"Obli—"
He was clearly intending to erase Maurise's memory.
But Maurise had no intention of letting him finish the incantation.
The air behind Moody suddenly warped, and several jagged, bone-white spikes thrust out from the void, shooting silently and lethally toward the back of Moody's head.
Sensing the imminent danger, Moody forcefully choked back the Memory Charm and slashed his wand viciously behind him.
A wave of magic rippled from the tip of his wand, and the bone spikes instantly disintegrated into fine powder just inches from his skull.
The Bone-Shattering Curse.
Maurise recognized the magic immediately. During their previous duel, Moody had used this exact spell to counter his Bone Summoning. What he hadn't expected, however, was for the man's reaction time to be this exceptionally fast.
Whoever this imposter was, they were incredibly skilled.
A tense silence fell over the corridor. Only the pulverized remains of the bone spikes drifted slowly through the air like pale gray snow.
Maurise stared at Moody and asked flatly, "You are not the real Professor Moody, are you?"
Moody did not answer. He merely stared back in cold silence.
Maurise shook his head inwardly. That was practically a confession.
Well, the next step was simple: engage in a thoroughly satisfying duel.
"Kruk... Tak... Gûl." (Bone Calling)
With a thought, menacing bone armor rapidly began to encase his body and face. Since Moody was clearly willing to use the Unforgivable Curses, Maurise wasn't entirely sure if his bone armor could withstand the Killing Curse, but having it was certainly better than nothing.
Next up was...
"Umbr... Cloak... Keth!" (Shadow Veil)
Pitch-black mist erupted from him, instantly swallowing the surrounding corridor. This was his true trump card against Dark Magic. As long as the enemy lost their line of sight, even the most powerful Killing Curse in the world wouldn't be able to hit him.
However, just as the encroaching darkness was about to engulf him, Moody moved.
He didn't choose to fight back. Instead...
He turned and bolted.
This completely defied Maurise's expectations. 'He just ran? Just like that?!'
"Xul... Noth... Vras!" (The Fainting Curse)
"Qwa... Zinth... Oor!" (Wailing Curse.)
Maurise rapidly fired off a volley of curses, but Moody was moving astonishingly fast. Only a single Curse of Agony managed to graze the man's back. Yet, Moody seemed completely unaffected, his pace not slowing for even a fraction of a second.
To pursue, or not to pursue?
Maurise debated the options for a few seconds. Returning to report the incident was certainly the safer choice, but attempting to assassinate him and then simply running away?
He wasn't about to let that slide.
"Tin, keep up."
Maurise immediately broke into a sprint, giving chase.
Moody's speed was terrifyingly fast. That wooden leg should have been a massive hindrance, yet it seemed to have been enchanted; every time he planted it, he was propelled forward by a significant distance.
Maurise could barely manage to keep from being left behind.
'If only I could Apparate within the castle,' he thought in frustration.
They tore through corridor after corridor, heading straight for the castle's rear exit.
During the pursuit, Maurise pulled out a telepathic communication crystal ball and attempted to contact Fred.
A few seconds later, Fred's voice echoed in Maurise's mind.
"Thank goodness! I finally got a hold of you! Where are you?! I have to tell you, the ball has already started! Delacour is absolutely furious! You'd better have a very good excuse ready to apologize to her!"
"I will," Maurise replied telepathically. "Right now, I need you to find Dumbledore. Tell him to get to the rear exit of the castle immediately. Tell him to hurry."
"What? What do you mean? What are you—"
Before Fred could finish his sentence, Maurise abruptly severed the connection. There was no time to explain. He had already followed Moody out the back doors.
The biting winter wind immediately slapped against his face. They were now in the Clock Tower Courtyard.
Moody stood near the edge of the courtyard, the bridge leading away from Hogwarts directly behind him.
"I had planned to deal with you later," he said, his face a mask of cold fury. "But you just had to come running after me."
Maurise sensed the killing intent rolling off him.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A blinding flash of emerald green light tore through the night, hurtling straight for Maurise's chest.
But Maurise was fully prepared.
The moment Moody uttered the very first syllable, he had already initiated his evasive maneuver. The Killing Curse narrowly missed him, slamming into the stone wall behind him with a heavy thud.
"Kruk... Tak... Gûl!" (Bone Calling)
Maurise instantly launched his counterattack.
Over a dozen massive, jagged bone spikes erupted from the ground directly beneath Moody, snapping shut from all directions like a lethal jaw.
Moody slashed his wand, casting the Bone-Shattering Curse once again, and obliterated the bone cage into fragments.
Seeing this, Maurise did not panic. That had merely been a feint.