Harry Potter 04 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

lemon?’ he tried tentatively.
    The gargoyle did not move.
    ‘OK,’ said Harry, staring at it. ‘Pear drop. Er – Liquorice wand. Fizzing Whizzbee. Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum. Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans … oh no, he doesn’t like them, does he? … Oh, just open, can’t you?’ he said angrily. ‘I really need to see him, it’s urgent!’
    The gargoyle remained immovable.
    Harry kicked it, achieving nothing but an excruciating pain in his big toe.
    ‘Chocolate Frog!’ he yelled angrily, standing on one leg. ‘Sugar quill! Cockroach cluster!’
    The gargoyle sprang to life, and jumped aside. Harry blinked.
    ‘ Cockroach cluster?’ he said, amazed. ‘I was only joking …’
    He hurried through the gap in the walls, and stepped onto the foot of a spiral stone staircase, which moved slowly upwards as the doors closed behind him, taking him up to a polished oak door with a brass door-knocker.
    He could hear voices from inside the office. He stepped off the moving staircase and hesitated, listening.
    ‘Dumbledore, I’m afraid I don’t see the connection, don’t see it at all!’ It was the voice of the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. ‘Ludo says Bertha’s perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we’ve no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch’s!’
    ‘And what do you think’s happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?’ said Moody’s growling voice.
    ‘I see two possibilities, Alastor,’ said Fudge. ‘Either Crouch has finally cracked – more than likely, I’m sure you’ll agree, given his personal history – lost his mind, and gone wandering off somewhere –’
    ‘He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case, Cornelius,’ said Dumbledore calmly.
    ‘Or else – well …’ Fudge sounded embarrassed. ‘Well, I’ll reserve judgement until after I’ve seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is ?’
    ‘I consider her to be a very able Headmistress – and an excellent dancer,’ said Dumbledore quietly.
    ‘Dumbledore, come!’ said Fudge angrily. ‘Don’t you think you might be prejudiced in her favour because of Hagrid? They don’t all turn out harmless – if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with that monster fixation he’s got –’
    ‘I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid,’ said Dumbledore, just as calmly. ‘I think it possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius.’
    ‘Can we wrap up this discussion?’ growled Moody.
    ‘Yes, yes, let’s go down into the grounds, then,’ said Cornelius impatiently.
    ‘No, it’s not that,’ said Moody, ‘it’s just that Potter wants a word with you, Dumbledore. He’s just outside the door.’

 
     
— CHAPTER THIRTY —
     
The Pensieve
    The door of the office opened.
    ‘Hello, Potter,’ said Moody. ‘Come in, then.’
    Harry walked inside. He had been inside Dumbledore’s office once before; it was a very beautiful, circular room, lined with pictures of previous Headmasters and mistresses of Hogwarts, all of whom were fast asleep, their chests rising and falling gently.
    Cornelius Fudge was standing beside Dumbledore’s desk, wearing his usual pinstriped cloak and holding his lime-green bowler hat.
    ‘Harry!’ said Fudge jovially, moving forwards. ‘How are you?’
    ‘Fine,’ Harry lied.
    ‘We were just talking about the night when Mr Crouch turned up in the grounds,’ said Fudge. ‘It was you who found him, was it not?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Harry. Then, feeling it was pointless to pretend that he hadn’t overheard what they had been saying, he added, ‘I didn’t see Madame Maxime anywhere, though, and she’d have a job hiding, wouldn’t she?’
    Dumbledore smiled at Harry behind Fudge’s back, his eyes twinkling.
    ‘Yes, well,’ said Fudge, looking embarrassed, ‘we’re about to go for a short walk in the grounds, Harry, if you’ll excuse us … perhaps if you just go back to your class –’
    ‘I wanted to talk to you, Professor,’ Harry said quickly, looking at Dumbledore, who gave him a swift, searching look.
    ‘Wait here for me, Harry,’ he said. ‘Our examination of the grounds will not take long.’
    They trooped out in silence past him, and closed the door. After a minute or so, Harry heard the clunks of Moody’s wooden leg