How It All Goes Down
Padfoot Returns
- Harry gets a letter from Sirius saying that he'll be in Hogsmeade that weekend.
- Harry is looking forward to seeing Sirius, though he's concerned about his godfather's safety.
- In Potions class, the Slytherins are all chattering excitedly about this week's issue of Witch Weekly.
- It's got an article from Rita Skeeter about Harry, who's supposedly pining after Hermione.
- But (according to the article) Hermione has set her sights on Viktor Krum.
- The article mentions that Viktor has invited Hermione to stay with him over the summer in Bulgaria.
- Ron hisses: "I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you out to be some sort of – of scarlet woman!" (27.21).
- Hermione laughs this off.
- But she's confused about how Rita Skeeter knew about Viktor's invitation.
- Snape finds the newspaper, mocks Harry, Ron, and Hermione for their "tangled love lives" (27.42), and punishes the three of them for talking in class.
- So Harry continues to fantasize about killing Professor Snape.
- Professor Snape threatens Harry with Veritaserum – "a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets" (27.58).
- Professor Snape is sure that Harry is the one who broke into his office the other night.
- So that relationship continues to be strained.
- Professor Karkaroff suddenly interrupts Potions class.
- He insists on hanging around waiting for Professor Snape's class to end so he can talk to him.
- Again, Professor Karkaroff shows him something on his arm.
- Professor Snape snarls, "Put it away!" (27.75).
- He then sends Harry (who had been dawdling to hear their conversation) out of the room.
- The next day, the trio goes to Hogsmeade.
- They bring some food for Sirius.
- They find Sirius in his dog form.
- Sirius (or Padfoot, as he's known when he is in dog shape) leads them to a cave.
- In the cave, the trio sees Buckbeak, the hippogriff (a creature they encounter in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).
- Sirius turns back into human shape.
- He pulls out some newspaper clippings that show Mr. Crouch in bad condition at St. Mungo's Hospital.
- But how could Crouch be ill enough to be hospitalized if he was at Hogwarts just the other night?
- Hermione thinks Mr. Crouch is getting "his comeuppance for sacking Winky" (27.101).
- Ron laughs, but Sirius does think this is a significant piece of information – he just can't figure out why.
- Sirius tells the trio that it was Crouch who "gave the order for [Sirius] to be sent to Azkaban [the wizard prison] – without a trial" (27.142).
- Mr. Crouch is a powerfully ambitious wizard who made a name for himself fighting Voldemort.
- And when Mr. Crouch's own son "was caught with a group of Death Eaters" (27.151), Mr. Crouch didn't hesitate to send him to prison too.
- Mr. Crouch's son died in Azkaban about a year after getting put away.
- But Mr. Crouch's popularity died with his son: "once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic toward the son and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray" (27.168).
- But it doesn't make sense for Mr. Crouch to search Professor Snape's office in secret.
- Ron still thinks that Professor Snape must be involved with the Death Eaters somehow.
- Sirius adds, "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters" (27.182).
- Sirius wants Ron to ask Percy about Mr. Crouch.
- He also wants to know if there are any leads on the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins.
- Sirius warns Harry to be careful; he won't be safe while the tournament is going on.
- Ron wonders if Percy would turn on his family if they stood in the way of his career, the way Mr. Crouch turned on his own son.