Hermione's Diary

May

5/28/95

Late last night and early this morning, Harry told Ron and I of his run in with Mr. Crouch. He and the other champions had been summoned to the Quidditch field to be told about the third task. After it was over, Viktor had asked him if he could have a word with him. Harry agreed, so they walked to the edge of the Forbidden Forest for some privacy. According to Harry, it doesn't really matter what Krum said, just that while they were talking, Mr. Crouch appeared suddenly, stumbling out from behind a tree. He was talking madly to the surrounding trees, which he obviously thought were 'Weatherby'. On and on he talked, mentioning Bertha, Dumbledore, the Dark Lord, and mistakes he had supposedly made. Harry then left Viktor to go and get Professor Dumbledore. Several minutes later (it took so long due to the fact that Snape was in a questionable mood), they arrived back at the edge of the forest. But Mr. Crouch and Viktor were nowhere to be seen. After searching for a minute or two, they came across a pair of feet, which led them to the unconscious body of Viktor Krum. Once revived, Viktor told Professor Dumbledore and Harry that he was attacked by Mr. Crouch, who was still nowhere to be seen. Hagrid, who came hurrying out of his hut when called, was instructed by Professor Dumbledore to lead Harry to the castle, straight to Gryffindor Tower. That's when Harry met back up with Ron and I, who had been anxiously his return, on a cozy couch in the common room. There he told us what had happened, and so we stayed up late into the night, discussing the whereabouts of Mr. Crouch. Eventually, we got off to bed, but woke up not long later, since we traveled to the Owlery to send Sirius a letter. As we talked more about Mr. Crouch in the Owlery, we suddenly heard two recognized voices and pairs of footsteps. The twin brothers whispered hurriedly to each other, mentioning blackmail, before bursting through the door. Everbody, now quiet, stared at each other and asked questions. To my surprise, Ron plucked up enough Gryffindor nerve and courage to ask Fred and George who they were blackmailing. They didn't, however, reveal the answer. Instead, they simply smiled and left the Owlery, leaving us there to marvel over what we had heard. I've noticed that Ron is acting more brave and strong after the Yule Ball. Maybe he's trying to show me that he truly is determined. I have no idea, but I'm not sure I like this new Ron. He's not his old self as far as being laid-back and relaxed. Anyway, whatever Fred and George are doing can't be anything good. I'm scared to think of all the things they could be doing by Owl Post, one of the worst being blackmail. I hope that if they are blackmailing, it's for a very good reason. Oh, I hope they don't get found out.

5/31/95

Realizing that the Third Task is only a month away, I began a list of spells and jinxes that I thought would help Harry in the maze. We're starting with the simplest and most useful ones first, such as the Stunning Spell. Knocks a person unconscious, but can be reversed by a simple counter curse. Ron keeps complaining that his back hurts, since his sense of judgement is terrible; he falls on the ground when Stunned instead of the cushions that are meant to break his falls. Anyway, a few days ago, we visited Professor Moody to ask him if he ever found Mr. Crouch that night he went missing. He claimed he didn't, so we discussed ways that he could have escaped. Professor Moody complimented me when I named one of the many obvious answers; he suggested that I look into a career as an Auror. I was surprised, but not too much. I never really thought about my career in the future, but I suppose I should start. I am, of course, already halfway through my years at Hogwarts. I can't wait until next year; the new information I'll learn, the more books I can read, the new friends I'll meet, and the more memories I can make with the marvelous friends I already have. What a year that will be.