Some time had passed since the conversation in the cave.
Moody had made no other moves at the school.
He dutifully handled the business of the Academic Affairs Office.
During this time, Hogwarts.
Had almost turned into one enormous party filled with foreign flair.
Douglas was in his office.
He poured himself a glass of Firewhisky and sat behind his desk.
Spread out on the desk was a second-year student's Defense Against Dark Magic assignment.
In crooked handwriting, it explained in detail how to use a Tickling Charm to deal with a hungry Nundu.
Douglas felt a faint throbbing in his temples.
He was just about to pick up his quill and write a large "T" on this imaginative assignment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone hammered on the office door with a deafening racket.
The force sounded less like knocking and more like a Troll trying to tear the door off.
"Come in."
Douglas sighed helplessly.
The door flew open, and an enormous figure squeezed in like a whirlwind.
Hagrid.
His large, hairy face was full of unease and apprehension, and he clutched a letter tightly in his hand.
The envelope was made of thick parchment, its wax seal stamped with a clear emblem of a fire-breathing dragon.
It was from Romania.
Douglas's gaze slowly shifted from the letter to Hagrid.
He raised an eyebrow.
Hagrid had made himself unusually presentable today.
"Hagrid."
Douglas leaned back in his chair and looked at him with a smile.
"That outfit of yours..."
There was a hint of teasing in his voice.
"Don't tell me you're planning to invite Madame Maxime into the Forbidden Forest and give her an early peek at one of the tournament's surprises?"
Hagrid's face instantly turned liver-red.
It was even redder than the wax seal on the letter in