Annabeth Chase the Triwizard Champion

Chapter Thirty Two

"Like a man," Annabeth said immediately. "Deep voice, dry, low pitch."

"Just like at the Quidditch World cup!" Hermione exclaimed, turning to Harry and Ron. "Whoever cast the Dark Mark that night sounded just like that!"

"It would make sense if it was the same person," Harry said slowly. "They've been trying to mess everything up all year!"

"We have to talk to Moody," Hermione said. "It's lunch now, he'll be available."

The three of them gathered their bags.

"I'm coming."

Harry looked up at Annabeth. She was shifting to the edge of the bed, setting her feet on the floor. He did a mental count in his head, and sure enough—

"Just where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomfrey burst out of her office and rushed over, trying to push Annabeth back.

"Out of here," Annabeth said, clearly resisting.

"You got a concussion—"

"Which you healed in about ten minutes! I've been here all night and half the day. I don't think I'm going to drop dead if I leave. If I do, I'll come back. Happy?"

Harry didn't think he had ever met anyone with a glare scarier than Annabeth's. Madam Pomfrey only lasted five seconds before she grudgingly relented and stormed back into her office, as if she couldn't stand the thought of a newly healed person leaving.

***

"Did you find him? Mr. Crouch?"

Annabeth hung back as Harry asked his question immediately after the door had closed. They were in an empty classroom in a hallway off the Entrance Hall, Moody leaning on the desk in the front. Ron and Hermione stayed next to Harry, but Annabeth kept close to the door. She didn't trust Moody, and she definitely didn't want to be closer to him than she had to be.

"No." Moody took a big drink out of the flask he always had on him.

Harry glanced at Annabeth for a second, then asked, "did you use the map?"

Map? How would a map help a person find someone? Then Annabeth remembered— duh— this was magic they were talking about. Maybe instead of a map of a place, it showed someone to something they were looking for. Or maybe it was of a place, and the people who were there were marked with their locations.

"Of course," Moody said, drinking again. "Took a leaf out of your book, Potter. Summoned it from my office into the forest. He wasn't anywhere on there."

"So he did disapparate?" Ron said.

"You can't disapparate on the grounds, Ron!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "There are other ways he could have disappeared, aren't there, Professor?"

"You're another one who might think about a career as an auror," Moody said to Hermione. "Mind works the right way, Granger."

Hermione flushed, obviously proud of herself.

"Well, he wasn't invisible," Harry said. "The map shows invisible people. He must've left the grounds, then."

"He was taken from the grounds," Annabeth corrected. "Whoever I dueled last night wasn't there to help Crouch. He seemed terrified of them."

"Yeah, they could've— could've pulled him onto a broom and flew off with them, couldn't they?" Ron said, looking at Moody for approval. "So, d'you reckon he's somewhere in Hogsmeade?"

"No kidnapper in their right mind would hide in a village like Hogsmeade," Annabeth said. "It's in plain sight, but it's small, which means everyone knows each other, and they would have noticed if something was off."