Early the next morning, Harry quietly told everyone what had happened the night before over breakfast.
"So," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead, her brows drawn together, "it wasn't Mr. Crouch who attacked Cedric?"
"When Dumbledore questioned Cedric in the Headmaster's Office, Cedric said so himself. Mr. Crouch wasn't the one who hit him with a Stunning Spell," Harry said with a firm nod. "Besides, Mr. Crouch was extremely weak at the time."
"Then what was so important that Mr. Crouch told you?" Hermione pressed.
"I told you, Crouch was barely making sense," Harry explained. "He kept saying he had to warn Dumbledore. He also mentioned Bertha Jorkins to Cedric, said something terrible had happened to her, and kept blaming himself. He said it was all his fault. Mr. Crouch was clearly in a terrible state of mind."
"Let Dumbledore and Moody handle it," Jerry suggested, gently stirring the porridge in his bowl. "The final task of the Triwizard Tournament is coming up. Harry, you should focus on preparing for that. Once the tournament's over, it'll all be behind us!"
"But Jerry, we still don't know who put your names in the Goblet of Fire, or why," Hermione argued.
"And once the tournament's over and everything's settled, it won't matter who put our names in!"
Something about Jerry's words didn't sit right with Hermione.
The next morning, the owl that carried letters between Sirius and Harry flew into the Great Hall. It beat its wings and landed squarely on Harry's shoulder. Sirius had undoubtedly heard about Crouch.
Harry tore the letter open, eager to hear what Sirius thought of Mr. Crouch's appearance the night before last. Instead, he found Sirius's tone unusually stern.
Harry, do you think this is a game? Going into the Forbidden Forest late at night is risking