Harry Potter 04 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry, slowly. ‘But … are you saying Karkaroff put my name in the Goblet? Because if he did, he’s a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me competing.’
    ‘We know he’s a good actor,’ said Sirius, ‘because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free, didn’t he? Now, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet , Harry –’
    ‘You and the rest of the world,’ said Harry bitterly.
    ‘– and, reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman’s article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm,’ Sirius said hastily, seeing Harry about to speak, ‘but I don’t think so, somehow. I think someone tried to stop him getting to Hogwarts. I think someone knew their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one’s going to look into it too closely, Mad-Eye’s heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had.’
    ‘So … what are you saying?’ said Harry slowly. ‘Karkaroff’s trying to kill me? But – why?’
    Sirius hesitated.
    ‘I’ve been hearing some very strange things,’ he said slowly.‘The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn’t they? Someone set off the Dark Mark … and then – did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who’s gone missing?’
    ‘Bertha Jorkins?’ said Harry.
    ‘Exactly … she disappeared in Albania, and that’s definitely where Voldemort was rumoured to be last … and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn’t she?’
    ‘Yeah, but … it’s not very likely she’d have walked straight into Voldemort, is it?’ said Harry.
    ‘Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins,’ said Sirius grimly. ‘She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It’s not a good combination, Harry. I’d say she’d be very easy to lure into a trap.’
    ‘So … so Voldemort could have found out about the Tournament?’ said Harry. ‘Is that what you mean? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Sirius slowly, ‘I just don’t know … Karkaroff doesn’t strike me as the type who’d go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that Goblet did it for a reason, and I can’t help thinking the Tournament would be a very good way to attack you, and make it look like an accident.’
    ‘Looks like a really good plan from where I’m standing,’ said Harry bleakly. ‘They’ll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff.’
    ‘Right – these dragons,’ said Sirius, speaking very quickly now. ‘There’s a way, Harry. Don’t be tempted to try a Stunning Spell – dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner. You need about half-a-dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon –’
    ‘Yeah, I know, I just saw,’ said Harry.
    ‘But you can do it alone,’ said Sirius. ‘There is a way, and a simple spell’s all you need. Just –’
    But Harry held up a hand to silence him, his heart suddenly pounding as though it would burst. He could hear footsteps coming down the spiral staircase behind him.
    ‘Go!’ he hissed at Sirius. ‘ Go! There’s someone coming!’
    Harry scrambled to his feet, hiding the fire – if someone saw Sirius’ face within the walls of Hogwarts, they would raise an almighty uproar – the Ministry would get dragged in – he, Harry, would be questioned about Sirius’ whereabouts –
    Harry heard a tiny pop in the fire behind him, and knew Sirius had gone – he watched the bottom of the spiral staircase – who had decided to go for a stroll at one o’clock in the morning, and stopped Sirius telling him how to get past a dragon?
    It was Ron. Dressed in his maroon paisley pyjamas, Ron stopped dead facing Harry across the room, and looked around.
    ‘Who were you talking to?’ he said.
    ‘What’s that got to do with you?’ Harry snarled. ‘What are you doing down here at this time of night?’
    ‘I just wondered where you –’ Ron broke off, shrugging. ‘Nothing. I’m going back to bed.’
    ‘Just thought you’d come nosing around, did you?’ Harry shouted. He knew that