Harry kept remembering Dumbledore's words and Jeanne's expression when he asked her if the Holy Grail existed. In the depths of Harry's soul, he knew that the answer to this question could not only affect the lives of the three of them, but also all of humanity.
The first days after the Christmas holidays were completely bewildering, as Rita Skeeter had struck a blow. Harry could have easily dealt with an article about himself. If Rita had written an article about Jeanne, he would have asked the cuckoo how much longer Rita had to live. But Skeeter had acted in the most wicked way possible, writing the most malicious article about Hagrid. Because of this article, Hagrid stopped teaching Care of Magical Creatures, and Professor Grubbly-Plank replaced him in the teaching position. Only the Slytherins, led by Malfoy and his cronies, occasionally laughed and made hurtful remarks about Hagrid. It was even more disgusting for Harry to see them in the text of their interview, full of lies.
"Where did you get the idea that Hagrid 'can't stand'?" Harry pointed at Crabbe. "What nonsense is written about him? When did his worm bite him? Worms don't even have teeth!" Crabbe chuckled smugly.
"I hope they'll finally kick out this idiot," Malfoy sneered. "Imagine, a half-giant! I thought he accidentally drank a bottle of 'Firewhisky' when he was a child... That will make the fathers and mothers worried: what if this monster eats their children... ha-ha-ha..."
A powerful blow almost knocked Malfoy out, but by a miracle, Crabbe and Goyle managed to prevent his face from meeting Jeanne's foot, and they themselves escaped in fright. Jeanne raised her fist in the air with a grimace and flicked her finger against her chin.
Yet, something didn't add up in this whole affair, and the friends were troubled by the mystery of how Skeeter found out about it all.
"Maybe she overheard his conversation at the ball with Madam Maxime?" Hermione suggested. "She wasn't in the park," Ron replied. "They don't let her onto school grounds. Hagrid says Dumbledore forbade it... Maybe she has an invisibility cloak?" Harry suggested. He took a piece of chicken from a pot, angrily threw it onto his plate, causing splatters to fly in all directions. "She hid in the bushes and eavesdropped, without shame."
"How are you and Ron?" Hermione remarked.
"Maybe she used Transfiguration?" Jeanne suggested.
Hermione snorted in response, but the look she gave Ron and Harry indicated that she wasn't ruling out that possibility.
Unfortunately, Hagrid wouldn't open up to them when they came to visit him, and they couldn't support him emotionally. All they could do was persistently knock on the door of his cabin, shouting to be let in, but it was all in vain.
In mid-January, the kids went to Hogsmeade to relax and unwind. Hagrid wasn't at their favorite pub, "The Three Broomsticks," either. But they did meet Ludovic Bagman there, surrounded by many goblins. Leaving his companions, Ludovic approached the kids, and from their conversation, Harry learned a few things: Barty Crouch had disappeared and hadn't been seen for two weeks; Berta Jorkins, who disappeared during the summer, hadn't been found. Quietly, Bagman shared his thoughts with Harry about a mysterious conspiracy surrounding his and Jeanne's participation in the Tournament and even offered his help in passing the Tournament tasks, which Harry declined. It wouldn't be right for him to negotiate with the judges. Lastly, Bagman asked Harry about his progress in solving the egg riddle. But soon after the dragon task, Harry gave up all attempts to solve the riddle. He didn't even understand Cedric's hint to open the egg under water in the prefects' bathroom. So now all Harry could do was weakly lie, saying that he was about to solve the riddle. He just needed to double-check something... Hermione snorted disbelievingly in response. Nothing could be hidden from her. Only Jeanne stood with an extremely pensive expression.
- What are you thinking about? - Ron asked her.
- Remember, we saw Krum swimming in the lake on the way here?
- That... - Ron, judging by his face, barely held back from bursting into angry swears against the Quidditch player he had recently loved. During the Christmas holidays, Harry found a tiny pen under Ron's bed, clearly torn off from a Krum figurine based on its color.
- So what? - Ron angrily asked. - Let him drown in the lake, what do I care?
- This. - Jeanne answered impartially. - I think he has already figured out everything and knows what the new task will be. It seems he didn't swim there by chance, right Harry? You definitely know why he decided to take a dip there, don't you?
She subtly winked at Harry. He looked into her eyes and became completely flustered. Jeanne noticed his confusion. Her face smoothly transformed from slight hope to absolute disappointment, and then subtly approached something hinting at the burning anger inside her. Seeing her expression, even Ludovic Bagman tried to shrink in size, so as not to give himself away in front of her. An awkward pause ensued. Everything around froze, and it seemed to Harry that time itself had stopped, frightened by the possible consequences.
Trying to carefully choose his words, so as not to provoke the rage within Jeanne to burst forth and tear him apart, Harry replied, quickly as he could:
- Oh, who doesn't know that we'll have to swim in the lake?
At that moment, Jeanne's expression changed to a more favorable one. Everyone around breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their tasks and conversations. Ron wiped the sweat from his face as if he had just answered their friend's question.
- So, you have a plan of action, I assume? - Bagman asked Harry. Instead of answering, Harry only choked on his saliva and quickly mumbled something unintelligible. In reality, he didn't know what he would do in the lake. Even the words about the lake escaped him without him knowing what he was saying and what the essence of the task really was. The inquisitive gaze of the unblinking amber eyes, as if trying to penetrate deep into his soul, quickly led Harry to one thought.
- Oh, I'm sure I've nearly solved this task. We... at Hogwarts, we have a big library... and there are many different interesting books there...
At that moment, as if in reaction to his words, a few goblins at the nearest table covered their eyes with their hands.
- I'm sure I've found the recipe for an interesting potion that will help me... - Harry tried to come up with an excuse.
At that moment, Hermione couldn't bear it anymore and joined the club of goblins covering their eyes. She knew how skilled Harry was in Potion-making and understood that if he brewed anything for the Tournament, his participation in the second task would end before it even began.
- ...or I will turn to Professor Sprout... I've heard there are a couple of plants that will definitely help me... I read that such plants exist...
- Excellent! - Bagman replied, smiling brightly again. - I bet on your victory!
Harry didn't see any optimism in his eyes.
As they left the Three Broomsticks, the kids ran into Rita Skeeter. As always, with her loyal photographer, she was clearly in a good mood and was ready to write a fresh article filled with negativity about each of them.
- How about an interview, Harry? Tell me about Hagrid, you know him well. What's behind that mountain of muscles? And your unbelievable friendship? What's behind it? Is he a replacement for your father?
Hermione jumped up, gripping the mug like a grenade in her hand.
"You vile woman!" she said through clenched teeth. "Anything and anyone is good enough for your disgraceful articles. Even Ludo Bagman..."
"Sit down, silly girl, and don't speak of things you don't know," Skeeter said coldly, looking at Hermione with icy contempt. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair stand on end. Although you don't need that..." she added, glancing at Hermione's pile of hair.
"Harry, Ron, let's get out of here," Hermione called. The trio walked towards the door, with the whole pub watching them. At the threshold, Harry turned around. Quick-Quotes Quill Skeeter was quickly scurrying across a piece of parchment. The friends stepped out onto the street and hurried towards the castle.
"Now she will write about you too," Ron said apprehensively.
"Let her try! I'll show her what a 'silly girl' I am," Hermione trembled with anger. "I'll find a way to get back at her. First about Harry, then about Hagrid..."
"Don't anger Rita Skeeter," Ron warned. "She won't forget it..."
"I'm not afraid of her. My parents are not wizards, they don't read The Prophet, so I won't hide."
Hermione walked so fast that Harry and Ron could barely keep up with her. Only once in Harry's memory had she been this angry. When she slapped Malfoy. "And Hagrid won't be afraid of her anymore. He found out why! Why are you both dragging along? Hurry up!"
And Hermione ran as fast as she could towards the castle gates, with two winged boars on the pillars, straight to Hagrid's hut. Harry and Ron followed closely behind her.
The curtains on the windows of the gamekeeper's cabin were still drawn, and Fang's barks could be heard from inside. Knocking on the door, Hermione shouted,
"Hagrid! Hagrid, open up! You're home, aren't you? Whether your giant mother is here or not. Forget that Skeeter. Open up, Hagrid, it's...". The door swung open. "Well, here you are, it's been a while now..." Hermione trailed off.
Instead of Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore stood in the doorway.
"Good afternoon," he greeted cheerfully.
"We were looking for Hagrid," Hermione mumbled.
"I thought so," Dumbledore said, twinkling his eyes merrily. "Will you come in?"
"We'll come in... I guess," Hermione agreed.
The trio spent the rest of the day with Hagrid and, together with Professor Dumbledore, comforted him. At the end of their conversation, Hagrid asked Harry about his progress with the dragon's egg.
"Wonderful!"
Hagrid's tear-streaked face broke into a smile.
"That's my boy! Show 'em all, Harry, show 'em! Be the winner."
Lying to Hagrid was not the same as lying to others. Throughout the evening at the castle, Harry had Hagrid's bearded, happy face in his eyes, believing in Harry's victory. The unsolved mystery of the egg weighed heavily on his heart: it was foolish to be angry at Cedric, he would try to use his advice tomorrow.
On the closest Thursday night, Harry finally went to the prefects' bathroom. He prepared thoroughly for the outing, not wanting to be caught by Filch. He didn't want the caretaker to know about his unauthorized walks around the castle. A stubborn part of him insisted on telling Jeanne about the upcoming excursion, so they went to the prefects' bathroom together. Harry even thought to cover Jeanne with his father's invisibility cloak, realizing how convenient it was that she was so small. Furthermore, Jeanne constantly reminded Harry that one wrong move and he would discover what a freshly laid road feels like under an asphalt paver.
Upon arriving at the prefects' bathroom, Jeanne sat on the edge of the pool and placed the dragon eggs they had obtained during the first task next to her. Taking off her shoes, she lifted her feet above the water and playfully splashed Harry with a smile. Harry descended into the pool and opened a few taps to add more water. As they noticed, some of the taps released colorful foam along with the water. Harry swam across the pool in different directions several times, then swam to the edge and took one of the dragon eggs. He opened it, but neither he nor Jeanne detected anything interesting in its sounds. Surprisingly, Myrtle the Moaning Myrtle helped them – as it turned out, she had been observing the visitors to the prefects' bathroom since their arrival, trying not to interfere. She suggested to Harry to open the egg underwater, which he obediently did. Unexpectedly, the horrendous screech and howl transformed into a pleasant melody, and as Harry submerged his head in the water, he discerned the words of a song.
Having deciphered the riddle of the golden egg, Harry and Jeanne returned to the Gryffindor Tower. Glancing briefly at the Marauder's Map along the way, Harry suddenly stopped when he saw recently missing Barty Crouch pacing by Snape's office.
"We should tell the headmaster about this," Jeanne noted. "At the first convenient opportunity. And I think Professor Snape wouldn't mind knowing who occasionally visits his office."
"But how do we tell them?" Harry asked, when they returned to the Gryffindor common room. "So, I've got this Map where all of this can be seen? Last year..."
"Do you seriously think your Map is something special? Or that everyone around is so clueless and knows nothing? Dumbledore definitely has to know about this map and its capabilities! If we tell him, he'll explain everything to Professor Snape, and we won't have to talk about the map."
Harry pondered for a moment.
"When should we go tell him?"
"Let's wait until morning. Barty Crouch is unlikely to go far in that time."
The next morning, Harry was startled awake by a severe knocking on the wall, causing pieces of plaster to fall on him. He knew exactly whose handiwork it was and didn't keep himself waiting, fearing that in the next moment those strong girl hands would punch through the wall and drag him by his feet in his pajamas all the way to the headmaster's office.
Five minutes, or maybe even less, they were already standing in front of Dumbledore in his office. Jeanne held the Marauder's Map in her hands, showing the headmaster the now labeled Moody's office, where two names were clearly visible – Barty Crouch and Moody. Dumbledore stared at the Map for a couple of seconds, contemplating the story they had just told him about Barty Crouch's nocturnal adventures. Soon, the Potions professor himself arrived at the headmaster's office.
- Good morning, Severus, - Dumbledore addressed him.
- You wanted to see me, professor? - Snape asked.
- Yes.
- Is it related to our students? - Snape politely inquired, his gaze quickly scanning Harry from top to bottom.
- Partly. You see, Severus, our students are extremely observant. They just told me that while lingering in the Gryffindor common room last night, they saw an uninvited guest in your office using this map - the director nodded towards the Marauder's Map - his name is Barty Crouch.
Snape approached Jeanne and abruptly snatched the map from her hands. Running his eyes across the entire map, he became furious.
- Of course! How could I not have guessed it right away! So this is the silly parchment that played tricks on me last year! Professor, this thing is undoubtedly...
- This map has been examined by Professor Lupin and is completely safe, - Dumbledore interrupted Snape. - There is not a trace of dark magic in it. Furthermore, it is absolutely honest, although it does not show everything that is in the castle and on its grounds.
Snape continued to study the map. His face clearly revealed the workings of his mind.
- But what could Barty Crouch be doing in Moody's class?
- It's possible that Barty Crouch stopped by to seek his advice, that's all. But I believe we will find out everything during the day. We will keep an eye on our dear friend's office to find out everything personally. And until then - Dumbledore smiled kindly at Harry - the map will stay with me.