Moody’s magical eye quivered as it rested on Hermione. “You’re another one who might think about a career as an Auror,” he told her. “Mind works the right way, Granger.”

Hermione flushed pink with pleasure.

“Well, he wasn’t invisible,” said Harry. “The map shows invisible people. He must’ve left the grounds, then.”

“But under his own steam?” said Hermione eagerly, “or because someone made him?”

“Yeah, someone could’ve—could’ve pulled him onto a broom and flown off with him, couldn’t they?” said Ron quickly, looking hopefully at Moody as if he too wanted to be told he had the makings of an Auror.

“We can’t rule out kidnap,” growled Moody.

“So,” said Ron, “d’you reckon he’s somewhere in Hogsmeade?”

“Could be anywhere,” said Moody, shaking his head. “Only thing we know for sure is that he’s not here.”

He yawned widely, so that his scars stretched, and his lopsided mouth revealed a number of missing teeth. Then he said, “Now, Dumbledore’s told me you three fancy yourselves as investigators, but there’s nothing you can do for Crouch. The Ministry’ll be looking for him now, Dumbledore’s notified them. Potter, you just keep your mind on the third task.”

“What?” said Harry. “Oh yeah . . . ”

He hadn’t given the maze a single thought since he’d left it with Krum the previous night.

“Should be right up your street, this one,” said Moody, looking up at Harry and scratching his scarred and stubbly chin. “From what Dumbledore’s said, you’ve managed to get through stuff like this plenty of times. Broke your way through a series of obstacles guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone in your first year, didn’t you?”

“We helped,” Ron said quickly. “Me and Hermione helped.”

Moody grinned.

“Well, help him practice for this one, and I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t win,” said Moody. “In the meantime . . . constant vigilance, Potter. Constant vigilance.” He took another long draw from his hip flask, and his magical eye swiveled onto the window. The topmost sail of the Durmstrang ship was visible through it.

“You two,” counseled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and Hermione, “you stick close to Potter, all right? I’m keeping an eye on things, but all the same . . . you can never have too many eyes out.”

• • •

Sirius sent their owl back the very next morning. It fluttered down beside Harry at the same moment that a tawny owl landed in front of Hermione, clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in its beak. She took the newspaper, scanned the first few pages, said, “Ha! She hasn’t got wind of Crouch!” then joined Ron and Harry in reading what Sirius had to say on the mysterious events of the night before last.