The Third Task was about to begin, and the clamor in the stands rose like the incoming tide, each wave louder than the last.
Sirius's voice still echoed across the center of the grounds, adding the final flourish to this grand event, now redefined as the "opening ceremony of the World Magic Expo."
The crowd's attention was fixed firmly on the grandstand, fired up by those grand words-
"New Era," "cooperation," "future"
-that set them ablaze.
No one noticed a tall, limping figure in the shadows behind the Gryffindor student stands, silently approaching his prey like a patient old wolf.
Mad-Eye Moody stopped behind Harry Potter.
"Potter."
Moody kept his voice extremely low, his gravelly tones cutting through the din.
"Hmm?
Professor Moody?"
Douglas, playing Harry, tensed inwardly, but kept his reaction perfectly under control.
He turned around, his face showing just the right amount of confusion and bewilderment for a fourteen-year-old boy who had been interrupted.
"Come with me. There's an urgent task."
Moody's magical eye spun around, surveying their surroundings as though watching out for every speck of dust in the air.
"A task? Now?"
There was a trace of reluctance in Harry's voice.
"But the competition's about to start, Professor."
"It's precisely because the competition's about to start that we need you."
Moody's tone brooked no argument.
"This isn't a request, Potter. It's an order."
He leaned closer, using his body to block any glances that might come their way.
"There's been a minor accident. An official from the Sweden Ministry of Magic had a malfunction with his Portkey."
"A malfunction?"
"Yes, the coordinates shifted. He was supposed to arrive in the VIP tent over there, but he ended up being transported into the Forbidden Forest."
An impatient urgency ran through Moody's voice.
"We have to get