Dear Mum and Dad,
Rita Skeeter set up an interview with Hagrid during a lesson. We're afraid she was going to find out that the skrewts were bred illegally or something. But Ron says that the worst that could happen is Hagrid being forced to get rid of the skrewts, since he's been in loads of trouble before and never been sacked. He's got a point, but I'd feel better if he hadn't agreed to that interview.
Hermione visited the kitchens, and then dragged me and Ron there. Dobby works at Hogwarts now! Professor Dumbledore gave him and Winky jobs. Dobby's being payed a galleon a week and gets one day off a month, but Winky isn't because she finds that insulting. Even Dobby says that while he likes freedom he doesn't want too much.
Hermione hopes that the other elves will see how happy Dobby is want that too, but considering how Winky is reacting to freedom, I wouldn't count on it.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
If that Skeeter woman writes a line about Hagrid, I'll...
Ron's right. No matter what she says, he won't end up fired.
After all that crap she wrote about...
Good for Dobby. I thought it might be difficult for him to find a job now that he's free. I'm glad he ended up at Hogwarts. But I don't think the rest of the house-elves will be too keen on freedom. Dobby's the exception not the rule.
Good luck figuring out the clue.
Be careful, Harry.
Love,
Dad and Mum
Dear Mum and Dad,
Merry Christmas! The yule ball went ok, I guess, but a lot has happened today. Hermione went with Victor Krum. Ron was not happy, and it led to a fight, but that's the least of what happened today.
Percy was here in place of Mr. Crouch. He's his personal assistant now. Apparently, Mr. Crouch is ill. Percy says it's from overwork. Have you heard anything about that, Dad?
After a while, Ron and I went for a walk. We overheard Snape and Karkaroff talking; they're on first name terms, which is strange considering Karkaroff was a Death Eater. He seemed really worried about something, and Snape told him that he could flee if he wanted to, but he himself was remaining at Hogwarts. We don't know what that's all about.
Then we heard Hagrid talking to Madam Maxime. We tried not to, but there was no way to leave because Fleur Delacour and her date were in the way. Hagrid admitted to being a half giant; his mother was one. Madame Maxime was very insulted when he said that she was one too; although if Hagrid is one, she definitely is. Of course, it doesn't matter to us.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
I don't know what's up with Crouch. I haven't heard anything at the Ministry, but as far as I know, he's never taken a day off work in his life, so the fact he is now is a little weird.
I don't know what was up with Snape and Karkaroff either, but it's probably nothing good.
Whether Karkaroff goes to Professor Snape or not does not implicate him in anything. For all we know, Dumbledore told him to keep an eye on Karkaroff.
Anyway, I didn't know that Hagrid was half giant, but I guessed. What other explanation would there be? The point is that it doesn't really make a difference.
That's the truth. But I hope no one else finds out about it because most of the wizarding world won't agree.
Well, maybe the wizarding world should learn to stop being so discriminating.
Too true.
Merry Christmas, Harry!
Love,
Dad and Mum
Dear Mum and Dad,
HAVE YOU SEEN THAT SKEETER WOMAN'S ARTICLE ABOUT HAGRID?!
She must have been so mad that he didn't give her terrible stuff about me during their interview that she went hunting for something to get him back! But how did she know? He didn't even tell us about it; he never would have told her. And Hagrid said Dumbledore banned her from the grounds.
Hagrid is shut up in his cabin and won't answer the door. Another professor has taken over the Care of Magical Creatures lesson, and it better be temporary!
Harry
Dear Harry,
Yes, we saw Skeeter's article. Your mother is writing Dumbledore right now to tell him exactly what she thinks about it. I have no idea how Skeeter found out about Hagrid, but I hope it's something illegal, and that she'll be caught. Hagrid will be back. He can't stay in his cabin forever.
Keep us informed,
Dad
Dear Mum and Dad,
We went to Hogsmeade today. Ludo Bagman was there. He was with some goblins at first. He told me that they were looking for Mr. Crouch. He's stopped coming to work and is sending instructions in by owl.
Mr. Bagman was talking to me because he wanted to offer advice on my golden egg. I refused. It felt a lot like cheating accepting help from a judge, especially since he told me he hadn't offered help to Cedric. He said he'd taken a liking to me and as I'm the youngest champion that didn't volunteer he's willing to help me. But, as I said, I refused.
Anyway, we met Rita Skeeter there as well. She was searching for a story about Ludo Bagman, hoping there was some kind of scandal in why he was with the goblins. I shouted at her a bit, but Hermione insulted her. Ron's afraid she'll dig up something on Hermione, but she isn't. She was furious and led us to Hagrid's house. She was shouting and banging on the door when it was opened by Dumbledore.
Apparently, Mum wasn't the only person who wrote him in favor of Hagrid. We were able to persuade Hagrid to come back, so he'll be back on Monday.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
I'm so glad Hagrid's coming back to work! Good for him; he shouldn't let that Skeeter cow get to him.
I can't imagine why goblins will be looking for Barty Crouch.
And good for you to refuse help from Mr. Bagman. He shouldn't be offering help, especially since he knows what's coming.
Have you figured out the clue yet, Harry? The second task is coming up fast.
Let us know what's coming, and good luck. We know you'll do well.
Be careful,
Love,
Mum and Dad
Dear Mum and Dad,
I was out last night with the Marauder's Map and the invisibility cloak when I saw Barty Crouch moving around in Snape's office. He's too ill to come to the Yule ball, but he can sneak around Hogwarts and one in the morning? My curiosity got the best of me, and I headed down to try and found out. I didn't get to the office. Instead I overheard a conversation between Snape and Moody. Snape knew that someone had been searching his office because the door was open. He said it was probably a student attempting illegal potions, but Moody asked if he was hiding anything else. Snape said that Moody had searched his office before and found nothing, and Moody said it was an aurors privilege. He mentioned something about Dumbledore asking him to keep an eye . . . but Snape interrupted. They both agree that Dumbledore trusts Snape. However, Moody said that he (Moody) believed there were some marks that never came off, and Snape clutched his left forearm. It was strange. Anyway, they eventually left.
What was all that about?
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
What in the world were you doing out of bed at one in the morning?!
Never mind about that, I agree with Harry. That was an interesting conversation if I ever heard one. Why is it that so many people are searching Snape's office?
Why is Moody searching Professor Snape's office?! I agree with him; there's no way that Dumbledore would tell Moody to search his office!
Oh, come one, he's Moody; he'd have searched all the offices in the place. But Barty Crouch…
Shouldn't be dragging himself up to Hogwarts for NO reason if he's ill. And if he's not, why is he not coming to work? There's something fishy going on with him.
We can agree on that. We don't really know what to make of that conversation, as you can probably tell.
Have you figured out the egg's clue yet? The task isn't far away.
Good luck, and be careful, Harry.
Love,
Mum and Dad