Emma Potter

109: Part of the Second Task

"I need the map" whispered Harry to me in potions, I raised an eyebrow "why?"

"Please?"

I agreed but I swear I did not know he was going to use it for the egg.

"You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!" saidHermione indignantly. 

"Keep your voice down!" said Harry crossly. "I just need to —sort of fine-tune it, all right?" 

We were sitting at the very back of thePotions class with a table to ourselves. We were supposed to be brewing poisons. 

"Just forget the egg for a minute, all right?" Harry hissed as Professor Snape passed us. "I'm trying to tell you about Snape andMoody. . . ." 

This class was an ideal cover for a private conversation, as everyone was having far too much fun to pay them any attention. Harryhad been recounting his adventures of the previous night in whispered installments for the last half hour. 

"Snape said Moody's searched his office as well?" Ron whispered, as I stopped him for burning himself "What . . . d'you reckon Moody's here to keep an eye on Snape aswell as Karkaroff?" 

"Well, I dunno if that's what Dumbledore asked him to do, buthe's definitely doing it," said Harry, waving his wand without paying much attention, so that his cauldron bubbled and frothed. 

"Careful" I hissed "the book says--"

"Moody said Dumbledore only lets Snape stayhere because he's giving him a second chance or something. . . ." 

"What?" said Ron, his eyes widening. "Harry . . . maybe Moody thinksSnape put your name in the Goblet of Fire!" 

"Oh Ron," I said, shaking my head sceptically, "wethought Snape was trying to kill Harry before, and it turned out hewas saving Harry's life, remember?" I read the instructions; leave to simmer. . . I was thinking . . . it was true that Snape had saved his lifeonce, but the odd thing was, Snape definitely loathed him, just ashe'd loathed our father when they had been at school together.Snape loved taking points from Harry, and had certainly never missed an opportunity to give him punishments, or even to suggestthat he should be suspended from the school. 

"I don't care what Moody says," Hermione went on. "Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin,even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so whyshouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit —" 

"— evil," said Ron promptly. "Come on, Hermione, why are allthese Dark wizard catchers searching his office, then?" 

"Why has Mr. Crouch been pretending to be ill?" said Hermione, ignoring Ron. "It's a bit funny, isn't it, that he can't manage tocome to the Yule Ball, but he can get up here in the middle of thenight when he wants to?" 

"You just don't like Crouch because of that elf, Winky," saidRon, sending a cushion soaring into the window. 

"You just want to think Snape's up to something," said Hermione. 

"I just want to know what Snape did with his first chance, if he'son his second one," said Harry grimly. I sighed. 

Obedient to Sirius's wish of hearing about anything odd at Hogwarts, Harry sent him a letter by brown owl that night, explainingall about Mr. Crouch breaking into Snape's office, and Moody andSnape's conversation. Well, I made him. 

Then Harry turned his attention in earnest tothe most urgent problem facing him: how to survive underwaterfor an hour on the twenty-fourth of February.Ron quite liked the idea of using the Summoning Charmagain — I had explained about Aqua-Lungs, and Ron couldn't see why Harry shouldn't Summon one from the nearest Muggletown. I squashed this plan by pointing out that, in the unlikely event that Harry managed to learn how to operate an AquaLung within the set limit of an hour, he was sure to be disqualifiedfor breaking the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy — it wastoo much to hope that no Muggles would spot an Aqua-Lungzooming across the countryside to Hogwarts.