Harry Potter 04 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hermione looked up at him, shocked. ‘Known it fer years, Harry. Knew he was out there, bidin’ his time. It had ter happen. Well, now it has, an’ we’ll jus’ have ter get on with it. We’ll fight. Migh’ be able ter stop him before he gets a good hold. That’s Dumbledore’s plan, anyway. Great man, Dumbledore. S’long as we’ve got him, I’m not too worried.’
    Hagrid raised his bushy eyebrows at the disbelieving expressions on their faces.
    ‘No good sittin’ worryin’ abou’ it,’ he said. ‘What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does. Dumbledore told me wha’ you did, Harry.’
    Hagrid’s chest swelled as he looked at Harry. ‘Yeh did as much as yer father would’ve done, an’ I can’ give yeh no higher praise than that.’
    Harry smiled back at him. It was the first time he’d smiled in days.
    ‘What’s Dumbledore asked you to do, Hagrid?’ he asked. ‘He sent Professor McGonagall to ask you and Madame Maxime to meet him … that night.’
    ‘Got a little job fer me over the summer,’ said Hagrid. ‘Secret, though. I’m not s’posed ter talk abou’ it, not even ter you lot. Olympe – Madame Maxime ter you – might be comin’ with me. I think she will. Think I got her persuaded.’
    ‘Is it to do with Voldemort?’
    Hagrid flinched at the sound of the name.
    ‘Migh’ be,’ he said evasively. ‘Now … who’d like ter come an’ visit the las’ Skrewt with me? I was jokin’ – jokin’!’ he added hastily, seeing the looks on their faces.
    *
    It was with a heavy heart that Harry packed his trunk up in the dormitory, on the night before his return to Privet Drive. He was dreading the Leaving Feast, which was usually a cause for celebration, when the winner of the Inter-House Championship would be announced. He had avoided being in the Great Hall when it was full ever since he had left the hospital wing, preferring to eat when it was nearly empty, to avoid the stares of his fellow students.
    When he, Ron and Hermione entered the Hall, they saw at once that the usual decorations were missing. The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning house’s colours for the Leaving Feast. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers’ table. Harry knew instantly that they were there as a mark of respect for Cedric.
    The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table, his wooden leg and his magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. Harry couldn’t blame him; Moody’s fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroff’s chair was empty. Harry wondered, as he sat down with the other Gryffindors, where Karkaroff was now; whether Voldemort had caught up with him.
    Madame Maxime was still there. She was sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape. His eyes lingered on Harry for a moment as Harry looked at him. His expression was difficult to read. He looked as sour and unpleasant as ever. Harry continued to watch him, long after Snape had looked away.
    What was it that Snape had done on Dumbledore’s orders, the night that Voldemort had returned? And why … why … was Dumbledore so convinced that Snape was truly on their side? He had been their spy, Dumbledore had said so in the Pensieve. Snape had turned spy against Voldemort, ‘at great personal risk’. Was that the job he had taken up again? Had he made contact with the Death Eaters, perhaps? Pretended that he had never really gone over to Dumbledore, that he had been, like Voldemort himself, biding his time?
    Harry’s musings were ended by Professor Dumbledore, who stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy than it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet.
    ‘The end,’ said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, ‘of another year.’
    He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had got to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.
    ‘There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight,’ said Dumbledore, ‘but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here’ – he gestured towards the Hufflepuffs – ‘enjoying our Feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand,