Harry had no idea how long a bath he would need to work out the secret of the golden egg, he decided to do it at night, when he would be able to take as much time as he wanted. Reluctant though he was to accept more favors from Cedric, he also decided to use the prefects’ bathroom; far fewer people were allowed in there, so it was much less likely that he would be disturbed.

Harry planned his excursion carefully, because he had been caught out of bed and out-of-bounds by Filch the caretaker in the middle of the night once before, and had no desire to repeat the experience. The Invisibility Cloak would, of course, be essential, and as an added precaution, Harry thought he would take the Marauders Map, which, next to the cloak, was the most useful aid to rule-breaking Harry owned. The map showed the whole of Hogwarts, including its many shortcuts and secret passageways and, most important of all, it revealed the people inside the castle as minuscule, labeled dots, moving around the corridors, so that Harry would be forewarned if somebody was approaching the bathroom.

On Thursday night, Harry sneaked up to bed, put on the cloak, crept back downstairs, and, just as he had done on the night when Hagrid had shown him the dragons, waited for the portrait hole to open. This time it was Ron who waited outside to give the Fat Lady the password ("banana fritters"), “Good luck,” Ron muttered, climbing into the room as Harry crept out past him.

It was awkward moving under the cloak tonight, because Harry had the heavy egg under one arm and the map held in front of his nose with the other. However, the moonlit corridors were empty and silent, and by checking the map at strategic intervals, Harry was able to ensure that he wouldn't run into anyone he wanted to avoid. When he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, he located the right door, leaned close to it, and muttered the password, “Pine fresh,” just as Cedric had told him.

The door creaked open. Harry slipped inside, bolted the door behind him, and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking around.

His immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pools edges, each with a differently colored Jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored.

Harry moved forward, looking around, his footsteps echoing off the walls. Magnificent though the bathroom was - and quite keen though he was to try out a few of those taps - now he was here he couldn't quite suppress the feeling that Cedric might have been having him on. How on earth was this supposed to help solve the mystery of the egg? Nevertheless, he put one of the Huffy towels, the cloak, the map, and the egg at the side of the swimming-pool-sized bath, then knelt down and turned on a few of the taps.

He could tell at once that they carried different sorts of bubble bath mixed with the water, though it wasn't bubble bath as Harry had ever experienced it. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; another poured ice-white foam so thick that Harry thought it would have supported his weight if he'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. Harry amused himself for awhile turning the taps on and off, particularly enjoying the effect of one whose jet bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs. Then, when the deep pool was full of hot water, foam, and bubbles, which took a very short time considering its size, Harry turned off all the taps, pulled off his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown, and slid into the water.

It was so deep that his feet barely touched the bottom, and he actually did a couple of lengths before swimming back to the side and treading water, staring at the egg. Highly enjoyable though it was to swim in hot and foamy water with clouds of different-colored steam wafting all around him, no stroke of brilliance came to him, no sudden burst of understanding.

Harry stretched out his arms, lifted the egg in his wet hands, and opened it. The wailing, screeching sound filled the bathroom, echoing and reverberating off the marble walls, but it sounded just as incomprehensible as ever, if not more so with all the echoes. He snapped it shut again, worried that the sound would attract Filch, wondering whether that hadn't been Cedric's plan - and then, making him jump so badly that he dropped the egg, which clattered away across the bathroom floor, someone spoke.

“I'd try putting it in the water, if I were you.”

Harry had swallowed a considerable amount of bubbles in shock. He stood up, sputtering, and saw the ghost of a very glum-looking girl sitting cross-legged on top of one of the taps. It was Moaning Myrtle, who was usually to be heard sobbing in the S-bend of a toilet three floors below.

“Myrtle!” Harry said in outrage, “I'm - I'm not wearing anything!”

The foam was so dense that this hardly mattered, but he had a nasty feeling that Myrtle had been spying on him from out of one of the taps ever since he had arrived.

“I closed my eyes when you got in,” she said, blinking at him through her thick spectacles. “You haven't been to see me for ages.”

“Yeah…well…” said Harry, bending his knees slightly, just to make absolutely sure Myrtle couldn't see anything but his head, “I'm not supposed to come into your bathroom, am I? It's a girls’ one.”

“You didn't used to care,” said Myrtle miserably. “You used to be in there all the time.”

This was true, though only because Harry, Ron, and Hermione had found Myrtle's out-of-order toilets a convenient place to brew Polyjuice Potion in secret - a forbidden potion that had turned him and Ron into living replicas of Crabbe and Goyle for an hour, so that they could sneak into the Slytherin common room.

“I got told off for going in there.” said Harry, which was half-true; Percy had once caught him coming out of Myrtles bathroom. “I thought I'd better not come back after that.”

“Oh…I see…” said Myrtle, picking at a spot on her chin in a morose sort of way. “Well…anyway…I'd try the egg in the water. That's what Cedric Diggory did.”

“Have you been spying on him too?” said Harry indignantly. “What d'you do, sneak up here in the evenings to watch the prefects take baths?”

“Sometimes,” said Myrtle, rather slyly, “but I've never come out to speak to anyone before.”

“I'm honored,” said Harry darkly. “You keep your eyes shut!”

He made sure Myrtle had her glasses well covered before hoisting himself out of the bath, wrapping the towel firmly around his waist, and going to retrieve the egg. Once he was back in the water, Myrtle peered through her fingers and said, “Go on, then…open it under the water!”

Harry lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface and opened it…and this time, it did not wail. A gurgling song was coming out of it, a song whose words he couldnt distinguish through the water.

“You need to put your head under too,” said Myrtle, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying bossing him around. “Go on!”

Harry took a great breath and slid under the surface - and now, sitting on the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath, he heard a chorus of eerie voices singing to him from the open egg in his hands:

“Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you re searching, ponder this:
Wove taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour-- the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it wont come back”

Harry let himself float back upward and broke the bubbly surface, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

“Hear it?” said Myrtle.

“Yeah…'Come seek us where our voices sound…’ and if I need persuading…hang on, I need to listen again.…”

He sank back beneath the water. It took three more underwater renditions of the egg's song before Harry had it memorized; then he trod water for a while, thinking hard, while Myrtle sat and watched him.

“I've got to go and look for people who can't use their voices above the ground.…” he said slowly. “Er…who could that be?”

“Slow, aren't you?”

He had never seen Moaning Myrtle so cheerful, apart from the day when a dose of PolyJuice Potion had given Hermione the hairy face and tail of a cat. Harry stared around the bathroom, thinking…if the voices could only be heard underwater, then it made sense for them to belong to underwater creatures. He ran this theory past Myrtle, who smirked at him.

“Well, thats what Diggory thought,” she said. “He lay there talking to himself for ages about it. Ages and ages…nearly all the bubbles had gone.…”

“Underwater…” Harry said slowly. “Myrtle…what lives in the lake, apart from the giant squid?”

“Oh all sorts,” she said. “I sometimes go down there…sometimes don't have any choice, if someone flushes my toilet when I'm not expecting it.…”

Trying not to think about Moaning Myrtle zooming down a pipe to the lake with the contents of a toilet. Harry said, “Well, does anything in there have a human voice? Hang on -”

Harry's eyes had fallen on the picture of the snoozing mermaid on the wall.

“Myrtle, there aren't merpeople in there, are there?”

“Oooh, very good,” she said, her thick glasses twinkling, “it took Diggory much longer than that! And that was with her awake too” - Myrtle jerked her head toward the mermaid with an expression of great dislike on her glum face - “giggling and showing off and flashing her fins.…”

“Thats it, isn't it?” said Harry excitedly. “The second task's to go and find the merpeople in the lake and…and…”

But he suddenly realized what he was saying, and he felt the excitement drain out of him as though someone had just pulled a plug in his stomach. He wasn't a very good swimmer; he'd never had much practice. Dudley had had lessons in his youth, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, no doubt hoping that Harry would drown one day, hadn't bothered to give him any. A couple of lengths of this bath were all very well, but that lake was very large, and very deep…and merpeople would surely live right at the bottom.…

“Myrtle,” Harry said slowly, “how am I supposed to breathe?”

At this, Myrtle's eyes filled with sudden tears again.

“Tactless!” she muttered, groping in her robes for a handkerchief.

“What's tactless?” said Harry, bewildered.

“Talking about breathing in front of me!” she said shrilly, and her voice echoed loudly around the bathroom. “When I can't…when I haven't…not for ages…”

She buried her face in her handkerchief and sniffed loudly. Harry remembered how touchy Myrtle had always been about being dead, but none of the other ghosts he knew made such a fuss about it.

“Sorry,” he said impatiently. “I didn't mean - I just forgot…”

“Oh yes, very easy to forget Myrtle's dead,” said Myrtle, gulping, looking at him out of swollen eyes. “Nobody missed me even when I was alive. Took them hours and hours to find my body - I know, I was sitting there waiting for them. Olive Hornby came into the bathroom - Are you in here again, sulking, Myrtle?’ she said, ‘because Professor Dippet asked me to look for you -’ And then she saw my body…ooooh, she didn't forget it until her dying day, I made sure of that…followed her around and reminded her, I did. I remember at her brother's wedding -”

But Harry wasn't listening; he was thinking about the merpeople's song again. “We've taken what you II sorely miss.” That sounded as though they were going to steal something of his, something he had to get back. What were they going to take?

“-and then, of course, she went to the Ministry of Magic to stop me stalking her, so I had to come back here and live in my toilet.”

“Good,” said Harry vaguely. “Well, I'm a lot further on than I was.…Shut your eyes again, will you? I'm getting out.”

He retrieved the egg from the bottom of the bath, climbed out, dried himself, and pulled on his pajamas and dressing gown again.

“Will you come and visit me in my bathroom again sometime?” Moaning Myrtle asked mournfully as Harry picked up the Invisibility Cloak.

“Er…I'll try,” Harry said, though privately thinking the only way he'd be visiting Myrtle's bathroom again was if every other toilet in the castle got blocked. “See you. Myrtle…thanks for your help.”

“Bye, ‘bye,” she said gloomily, and as Harry put on the Invisibllity Cloak he saw her zoom back up the tap.

Out in the dark corridor, Harry examined the Marauders Map to check that the coast was still clear. Yes, the dots belonging to Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, were safely in their office…nothing else seemed to be moving apart from Peeves, though he was bouncing around the trophy room on the floor above.…Harry had taken his first step back toward Gryffindor Tower when something else on the map caught his eye…something distinctly odd.

Peeves was not the only thing that was moving. A single dot was flitting around a room in the bottom left-hand corner - Snape's office. But the dot wasn't labeled “Severus Snape"…it was Bartemius Crouch.

Harry stared at the dot. Mr. Crouch was supposed to be too ill to go to work or to come to the Yule Ball - so what was he doing, sneaking into Hogwarts at one o'clock in the morning? Harry watched closely as the dot moved around and around the room, pausing here and there.…

Harry hesitated, thinking…and then his curiosity got the better of him. He turned and set off in the opposite direction toward the nearest staircase. He was going to see what Crouch was up to.

Harry walked down the stairs as quietly as possible, though the faces in some of the portraits still turned curiously at the squeak of a floorboard, the rustle of his pajamas. He crept along the corridor below, pushed aside a tapestry about halfway along, and proceeded down a narrower staircase, a shortcut that would take him down two floors. He kept glancing down at the map, wondering…It just didn't seem in character, somehow, for correct, law-abiding Mr. Crouch to be sneaking around somebody else's office this late at night.…

And then, halfway down the staircase, not thinking about what he was doing, not concentrating on anything but the peculiar behavior of Mr. Crouch, Harry's leg suddenly sank right through the trick step Neville always forgot to jump. He gave an ungainly wobble, and the golden egg, still damp from the bath, slipped from under his arm. He lurched forward to try and catch it, but too late; the egg fell down the long staircase with a bang as loud as a bass drum on every step - the Invisibility Cloak slipped - Harry snatched at it, and the Marauder's Map fluttered out of his hand and slid down six stairs, where, sunk in the step to above his knee, he couldn't reach it.

The golden egg fell through the tapestry at the bottom of the staircase, burst open, and began wailing loudly in the corridor below. Harry pulled out his wand and struggled to touch the Marauder's Map, to wipe it blank, but it was too far away to reach -

Pulling the cloak back over himself Harry straightened up, listening hard with his eyes screwed up with fear…and, almost immediately -

“PEEVES!”

It was the unmistakable hunting cry of Filch the caretaker. Harry could hear his rapid, shuffling footsteps coming nearer and nearer, his wheezy voice raised in fury.

“What's this racket? Wake up the whole castle, will you? I'll have you, Peeves, I'll have you, you'll…and what is this?”

Filch's footsteps halted; there was a clink of metal on metal and the wailing stopped - Filch had picked up the egg and closed it. Harry stood very still, one leg still Jammed tightly in the magical step, listening. Any moment now, Filch was going to pull aside the tapestry, expecting to see Peeves…and there would be no Peeves…but if he came up the stairs, he would spot the Marauder's Map…and Invisibility Cloak or not, the map would show “Harry Potter” standing exactly where he was.

“Egg?” Filch said quietly at the foot of the stairs. “My sweet!” - Mrs. Norris was obviously with him - “This is a Triwizard clue! This belongs to a school champion!”

Harry felt sick; his heart was hammering very fast -

“PEEVES!” Filch roared gleefully. “You've been stealing!”

He ripped back the tapestry below, and Harry saw his horrible, pouchy face and bulging, pale eyes staring up the dark and (to Filch) deserted staircase.

“Hiding, are you?” he said softly. “I'm coming to get you, Peeves.…You've gone and stolen a Triwizard clue, Peeves.…Dumbledore'll have you out of here for this, you filthy, pilfering poltergeist.…”

Filch started to climb the stairs, his scrawny, dust-colored cat at his heels. Mrs. Morris's lamp-like eyes, so very like her masters, were fixed directly upon Harry. He had had occasion before now to wonder whether the Invisibility Cloak worked on cats.…Sick with apprehension, he watched Filch drawing nearer and nearer in his old flannel dressing gown - he tried desperately to pull his trapped leg free, but it merely sank a few more inches - any second now, Filch was going to spot the map or walk right into him -

“Filch? Whats going on?”

Filch stopped a few steps below Harry and turned. At the foot of the stairs stood the only person who could make Harry's situation worse: Snape. He was wearing a long gray nightshirt and he looked livid.

“Its Peeves, Professor,” Filch whispered malevolently. “He threw this egg down the stairs.”

Snape climbed up the stairs quickly and stopped beside Filch. Harry gritted his teeth, convinced his loudly thumping heart would give him away at any second.…

“Peeves?” said Snape softly, staring at the egg in Filch's hands. “But Peeves couldn't get into my office.…”

“This egg was in your office. Professor?”

“Of course not,” Snape snapped. “I heard banging and wailing -”

“Yes, Professor, that was the egg -”

“- I was coming to investigate -”

“- Peeves threw it. Professor -”

“- and when I passed my office, I saw that the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody has been searching it!”

But Peeves couldn't -”

“I know he couldn't, Filch!” Snape snapped again. “I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break!” Snape looked up the stairs, straight through Harry, and then down into the corridor below. “I want you to come and help me search for the intruder, Filch.”

“I - yes, Professor - but -”

Filch looked yearningly up the stairs, right through Harry, who could see that he was very reluctant to forgo the chance of cornering Peeves. Go, Harry pleaded with him silently, go with Snape…go…Mrs. Norris was peering around Filch's legs.…Harry had the distinct impression that she could smell him.…Why had he filled that bath with so much perfumed foam?

“The thing is, Professor,” said Filch plaintively, “the headmaster will have to listen to me this time. Peeves has been stealing from a student, it might be my chance to get him thrown out of the castle once and for all -”

“Filch, I don't give a damn about that wretched poltergeist; it's my office that's -”

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

Snape stopped talking very abruptly. He and Filch both looked down at the foot of the stairs. Harry saw Mad-Eye Moody limp into sight through the narrow gap between their heads. Moody was wearing his old traveling cloak over his nightshirt and leaning on his staff as usual.

“Pajama party, is it?” he growled up the stairs.

“Professor Snape and I heard noises, Professor,” said Filch at once. “Peeves the Poltergeist, throwing things around as usual - and then Professor Snape discovered that someone had broken into his off -”

“Shut up!” Snape hissed to Filch.

Moody took a step closer to the foot of the stairs. Harry saw Moody's magical eye travel over Snape, and then, unmistakably, onto himself.

Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. Moody could see through Invisibility Cloaks…he alone could see the full strangeness of the scene:

Snape in his nightshirt, Filch clutching the egg, and he, Harry, trapped in the stairs behind them. Moody's lopsided gash of a mouth opened in surprise. For a few seconds, he and Harry stared straight into each other's eyes. Then Moody closed his mouth and turned his blue eye upon Snape again.

“Did I hear that correctly, Snape?” he asked slowly. “Someone broke into your office?”

“It is unimportant,” said Snape coldly. “On the contrary,” growled Moody, “it is very important. Who'd want to break into your office?”

“A student, I daresay,” said Snape. Harry could see a vein flickering horribly on Snape's greasy temple. “It has happened before. Potion ingredients have gone missing from my private store cupboard…students attempting illicit mixtures, no doubt.…”

“Reckon they were after potion ingredients, eh?” said Moody. “Not hiding anything else in your office, are you?”

Harry saw the edge of Snape's sallow face turn a nasty brick color, the vein in his temple pulsing more rapidly.

“You know I'm hiding nothing, Moody,” he said in a soft and dangerous voice, “as you've searched my office pretty thoroughly yourself.”

Moody's face twisted into a smile. “Auror's privilege, Snape. Dumbledore told me to keep an eye -”

“Dumbledore happens to trust me,” said Snape through clenched teeth. “I refuse to believe that he gave you orders to search my office!”

“Course Dumbledore trusts you,” growled Moody. “Hes a trusting man, isn't he? Believes in second chances. But me - I say there are spots that don't come off, Snape. Spots that never come off, d'you know what I mean?”

Snape suddenly did something very strange. He seized his left forearm convulsively with his right hand, as though something on it had hurt him.

Moody laughed. “Get back to bed, Snape.”

“You don't have the authority to send me anywhere!” Snape hissed, letting go of his arm as though angry with himself. “I have as much right to prowl this school after dark as you do!”

“Prowl away,” said Moody, but his voice was full of menace. “I look forward to meeting you in a dark corridor some time.…You've dropped something, by the way.…”

With a stab of horror. Harry saw Moody point at the Marauders Map, still lying on the staircase six steps below him. As Snape and Filch both turned to look at it, Harry threw caution to the winds; he raised his arms under the cloak and waved furiously at Moody to attract his attention, mouthing “It's mine! Mine!”

Snape had reached out for it, a horrible expression of dawning comprehension on his face -

“Accio Parchment!”

The map flew up into the air, slipped through Snape's outstretched fingers, and soared down the stairs into Moody's hand.

“My mistake,” Moody said calmly. “It's mine - must've dropped it earlier -”

But Snape's black eyes were darting from the egg in Filch's arms to the map in Moody's hand, and Harry could tell he was putting two and two together, as only Snape could.…

“Potter,” he said quietly.

“What's that?” said Moody calmly, folding up the map and pocketing it.

“Potter!” Snape snarled, and he actually turned his head and stared right at the place where Harry was, as though he could suddenly see him. “That egg is Potters egg. That piece of parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before, I recognize it! Potter is here! Potter, in his Invisibility Cloak!”

Snape stretched out his hands like a blind man and began to move up the stairs; Harry could have sworn his over-large nostrils were dilating, trying to sniff Harry out - trapped. Harry leaned backward, trying to avoid Snape's fingertips, but any moment now -

“There's nothing there, Snape!” barked Moody, “but I'll be happy to tell the headmaster how quickly your mind jumped to Harry Potter!”

“Meaning what?” Snape turned again to look at Moody, his hands still outstretched, inches from Harry's chest.

“Meaning that Dumbledore's very interested to know who's got it in for that boy!” said Moody, limping nearer still to the foot of the stairs. “And so am I, Snape…very interested.…” The torchlight flickered across his mangled face, so that the scars, and the chunk missing from his nose, looked deeper and darker than ever.

Snape was looking down at Moody, and Harry couldn't see the expression on his face. For a moment, nobody moved or said anything. Then Snape slowly lowered his hands.

“I merely thought,” said Snape, in a voice of forced calm, “that if Potter was wandering around after hours again…it's an unfortunate habit of his…he should be stopped. For - for his own safety.”

“Ah, I see,” said Moody softly. “Got Potter's best interests at heart, have you?”

There was a pause. Snape and Moody were still staring at each other, Mrs. Norris gave a loud meow, still peering around Filch's legs, looking for the source of Harry's bubble-bath smell.

“I think I will go back to bed,” Snape said curtly.

“Best idea you've had all night,” said Moody. “Now, Filch, if you'll just give me that egg -”

“No!” said Filch, clutching the egg as though it were his firstborn son. “Professor Moody, this is evidence of Peeves’ treachery!”

“It's the property of the champion he stole it from,” said Moody. Hand it over, now.”

Snape swept downstairs and passed Moody without another word. Filch made a chirruping noise to Mrs. Norris, who stared blankly at Harry for a few more seconds before turning and following her master. Still breathing very fast. Harry heard Snape walking away down the corridor; Filch handed Moody the egg and disappeared from view too, muttering to Mrs. Norris. “Never mind. my sweet…we'll see Dumbledore in the morning…tell him what Peeves was up to.…”

A door slammed. Harry was left staring down at Moody, who placed his staff on the bottommost stair and started to climb laboriously toward him, a dull clunk on every other step.

“Close shave. Potter,” he muttered.

“Yeah…I - er…thanks,” said Harry weakly.

“What is this thing?” said Moody, drawing the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and unfolding it.

“Map of Hogwarts,” said Harry, hoping Moody was going to pull him out of the staircase soon; his leg was really hurting him.

“Merlins beard,” Moody whispered, staring at the map, his magical eye going haywire. “This…this is some map. Potter!”

“Yeah, its…quite useful,” Harry said. His eyes were starting to water from the pain. “Er - Professor Moody, d'you think you could help me -?”

“What? Oh! Yes…yes, of course.…”

Moody took hold of Harry's arms and pulled; Harry's leg came free of the trick step, and he climbed onto the one above it. Moody was still gazing at the map.

“Potter…” he said slowly, “you didn't happen, by any chance, to see who broke into Snape's office, did you? On this map, I mean?”

“Er…yeah, I did…” Harry admitted. “It was Mr. Crouch.”

Moody's magical eye whizzed over the entire surface of the map. He looked suddenly alarmed.

“Crouch?” he said. “You're - you're sure. Potter?”

“Positive,” said Harry.

“Well, he's not here anymore,” said Moody, his eye still whizzing over the map. “Crouch…that's very - very interesting.…”

He said nothing for almost a minute, still staring at the map. Harry could tell that this news meant something to Moody and very much wanted to know what it was. He wondered whether he dared ask. Moody scared him slightly…yet Moody had just helped him avoid an awful lot of trouble.…

“Er…Professor Moody…why d'you reckon Mr. Crouch wanted to look around Snape's office?”

Moody's magical eye left the map and fixed, quivering, upon Harry. It was a penetrating glare, and Harry had the impression that Moody was sizing him up, wondering whether to answer or not, or how much to tell him.

“Put it this way. Potter,” Moody muttered finally, “they say old Mad-Eye's obsessed with catching Dark wizards…but I'm nothing - nothing - compared to Barty Crouch.”

He continued to stare at the map. Harry was burning to know more.

“Professor Moody?” he said again. “D'you think…could this have anything to do with…maybe Mr. Crouch thinks there's something going on.…”

“Like what?” said Moody sharply.

Harry wondered how much he dare say. He didn't want Moody to guess that he had a source of information outside Hogwarts; that might lead to tricky questions about Sirius.

“I don't know,” Harry muttered, “odd stuffs been happening lately, hasn't it? It's been in the Daily Prophet…the Dark Mark at the World Cup, and the Death Eaters and everything.…”

Both of Moody's mismatched eyes widened.

“You're a sharp boy. Potter,” he said. His magical eye roved back to the Marauder's Map. “Crouch could be thinking along those lines,” he said slowly. “Very possible…there have been some funny rumors flying around lately - helped along by Rita Skeeter, of course. It's making a lot of people nervous, I reckon.” A grim smile twisted his lopsided mouth. “Oh if there's one thing I hate,” he muttered, more to himself than to Harry, and his magical eye was fixed on the left-hand corner of the map, “its a Death Eater who walked free.…”

Harry stared at him. Could Moody possibly mean what Harry thought he meant?

“And now I want to ask you a question. Potter,” said Moody in a more businesslike tone.

Harry's heart sank; he had thought this was coming. Moody was going to ask where he had got this map, which was a very dubious magical object - and the story of how it had fallen into his hands incriminated not only him, but his own father, Fred and George Weasley, and Professor Lupin, their last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Moody waved the map in front of Harry, who braced himself-

“Can I borrow this?”

“Oh!” said Harry.

He was very fond of his map, but on the other hand, he was extremely relieved that Moody wasn't asking where he'd got it, and there was no doubt that he owed Moody a favor.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Good boy,” growled Moody. “I can make good use of this…this might be exactly what I've been looking for.…Right, bed, Potter, come on, now.…”

They climbed to the top of the stairs together, Moody still examining the map as though it was a treasure the like of which he had never seen before. They walked in silence to the door of Moody's office, where he stopped and looked up at Harry.

“You ever thought of a career as an Auror, Potter?”

“No,” said Harry, taken aback.

“You want to consider it,” said Moody, nodding and looking at Harry thoughtfully. “Yes, indeed…and incidentally…I'm guessing you werent Just taking that egg for a walk tonight?”

“Er - no,” said Harry, grinning. “I've been working out the clue.”

Moody winked at him, his magical eye going haywire again. “Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas, Potter….See you in the morning.…”

He went back into his office, staring down at the Marauders Map again, and closed the door behind him.

Harry walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, lost in thought about Snape, and Crouch, and what it all meant.…Why was Crouch pretending to be ill, if he could manage to get to Hogwarts when he wanted to? What did he think Snape was concealing in his office?

And Moody thought he. Harry, ought to be an Auror! Interesting idea…but somehow. Harry thought, as he got quietly into his four-poster ten minutes later, the egg and the cloak now safely back in his trunk, he thought he'd like to check how scarred the rest of them were before he chose it as a career.

哈利不知道要洗多久的澡才能想出那只蛋的秘密，所以他决定晚上再洗。他决定在希琳菲的洗澡房里慢慢想，因为很少人能进到这里来，这样他就不怕被打扰了。尽管很不情愿，他还是放下架子，考虑考虑塞德里克的忠告。

　　上次他在半夜里起床，翻墙走出学校时，刚好被管理员费驰逮住了，他可不想再发生这类事情了。所以这一次，他准备得很充分，带上隐身衣会很有用的，再带上那张魔法地图，上面画着学校格局，而且还有很多小路、秘密出口，更重要的是，在走廊里走动的人随时都会用小点显示出来，这样一来，要是有人接近澡房，他马上就会知道了。

　　星期四晚上，哈利溜下床，披上隐身衣，溜下楼梯，就像那晚哈格力带他去看龙的动作一样。这次哈利让罗恩在外面等并给他一个暗号。“油炸香蕉馅饼”，“希望好运。”罗恩喃喃地说，爬进了那大房间，这时哈利刚好爬出来经过他旁边。

　　哈利手里拿着蛋，地图夹在鼻子前，再穿隐身衣走路，简直难受极了。好在走廊里洒满了月光，再加上有地图的帮助，哈利确信他不会撞上任何他不想看到的人。当走到波理斯的雕像时，他停下来，把身子贴在右边门上，轻轻地说了句“新奇的松树”。这句暗号是塞德里克告诉他的。

　　门吱呀一声开了，哈利溜进去，脱掉隐身衣，环顾四周。

　　他突然觉得能有这样一间洗澡间用的话，当一个班长还是不错的。房间里布满了点着蜡烛的吊灯。所有东西都是用大理石铺成的，连房子中间的浴池也是。池子周围装着一百只渡金的水龙头，每个水龙头都镶着不同颜色的宝石。泳池上面还有一块跳水板。又白又长的窗帘优雅地垂下来，墙上挂着一副金框的油画，上面画着一个睡在石头上的金发美人。

　　他放下金蛋、地图和隐身衣，向浴池走去。房子里回荡起一阵脚步声，他现在有点怀疑塞德里克在骗他，为什么叫他来洗澡呢？

　　这和金蛋有什么关系？可是，他还是被上一条毛巾，跪在水龙头下面，打开它们冲了起来。

　　哈利很快发现每个水龙头流出来的泡沫都是不一样的，而且他从来没见过这么神奇的泡沫。一只水龙头流出来的泡泡是蓝色的或粉红色的，大得像一个个足球；另一只水龙头吐出来的泡沫像雪球；第三只水龙头流出的则是漂着紫烟的水。当浴池里的水快满时，哈利关掉所有水龙头，脱掉睡衣和拖鞋，滑了过去。

　　浴池很深，他的脚几乎探不到底，哈利快活地游来游去。回到边上时，他盯着蛋，可是还是毫无头绪。

　　哈利伸手拿过那只蛋打开，那悠扬的声音马上溢满了整个房间。但这次声音似乎不像以前那么压抑了。他又把蛋合上，担心吵声会吵醒弗尔克。突然，他把蛋一扔，蛋僻哩啪啦地在地上滚起来。这时，他听到有人说话。

　　“如果我是你的话，我就会把蛋放在水里。”

　　哈利吓得呛了一口水，他定睛一看，只见呜咽的米特——一个郁郁寡欢，经常在厕所里哭鼻子的女鬼——正交叉着腿坐在其中一个水龙头上。

　　“米特，”他生气地喊道，“我什么也没穿呢。”

　　虽然池里的泡沫很多，可他还是觉得自己一进来时就被偷看了。

　　“你进来的时候我眼睛是闭着的。”她说，“只是你一直没有看见我罢了。”

　　“那好吧。”哈利稍稍地曲着腿，只露出头在水面，以防米特看见什么，“我不应该来这澡房的，是吗？这是女孩子用的。”

　　“你向来都在这里洗的，而且你从来没在意过。”米特讽刺地说。

　　这倒是真的。哈利。罗恩和荷米恩有一段时间曾在米特的厕所喷多利药水。

　　“是别人叫我到这来的。不过我以后不会再来了。”

　　“我明白了。”米特说，“不过，我宁愿把蛋放进水里试试看，像塞德里克做的那样。”

　　“你也偷看他了？你怎么了？天天躲在这里偷看班长洗澡吗？”

　　哈利生气地说。

　　“偶尔罢了，但我从没跟谁说过话。”

　　当哈利站起来时，他叫米特转过身去，然后用那条毛巾把自己裹得严严实实，再拿过那只蛋。

　　“把蛋打开，放进水里。”米特说。

　　哈利照做了。紧接着，他听到蛋发出来的声音。这次声音完全不同，汩汩，汩汩，伴随着一些歌词，但哈利听不清。

　　“你也要潜进水里去。”米特说。

　　哈利深吸一口气，把头没入水中。这次，他终于听清它唱什么了：“沿着声音来找我们吧，在岸上我们不能歌唱，我们会偷去你最想念的东西，一小时后你会发现，然后就要跟我们交换。

　　一小时过后，一切消失。

　　太迟的话，一切都不复存在。“

　　哈利听完后浮出水面，拨开贴在眼睛上面的头发，“听见它说什么了吧？”米特问道。

　　“是的，但我还要再听一遍。”说着，哈利再次潜进水里。

　　他又听了几遍，但没有马上浮出来，而是在水底下使劲想了一会儿。

　　“我要找一个在岸上不能说话的人。这个人是谁呢？”

　　“你也太慢了吧。”米特浮出水面。

　　哈利浮出水面，看到米特高兴的样子。他把眼光移到别处，继续思考着会是谁。忽然，他目光落在墙上的美人鱼身上，“对了。

　　就是人鱼。米特，可世上不是没有人鱼吗？“

　　“太棒了，上次迪格瑞想了很久才想出来。”

　　“一定是它，第二个任务就是去找湖里的人鱼。”哈利高兴极了。然而，当他一想到自己并不是个游泳好手时，哈利觉得好像被人往肚子上打了一拳。他几乎没有怎么练过游泳。小时候帕尤妮亚姨妈和维能姨丈因为怕他淹死，就没让他去学。在这浴池还可以勉强，但那湖可是又大又深的啊。而且人鱼又是住在湖底下的……

　　“米特，教教我该怎么在水里呼吸吧。”哈利说。

　　“你真会得罪人，居然跟我说呼吸。”米特说着哭起来了。

　　“对不起，我忘了你是……”

　　“那当然，我很容易被忘记的，我活着时也没人会想起我。淹死后他们也花了很长一段时间才找到我的尸体。我当时坐在这等他们——”

　　哈利没有心思往下听，他继续想着下面的歌词，“你丢失的东西在我们这”这句是什么意思呢？大概是说，它们会来偷东西吗？

　　它想偷什么呢？

　　“然后……所以我不得不住在厕所里——”米特喋喋不休。

　　“对，”哈利说，“我现在知道了……，嘿，转过身去好吗，我要上来了。”

　　“你以后还会来看我吗？”米特依依不舍地问道。

　　“我尽量吧。”哈利说着披上隐身衣。“谢谢你的帮助，再见。”

　　“再见。”

　　哈利又来到了走廊，他掏出地图，想看着走廊里是否还安全。

　　突然，他看见地图上有个点在移动。根据地图，他知道这是史纳皮的办公室。而且这个点显示出此人是巴地。克劳斯。

　　克劳斯不是病得上不了班吗？他在这里干吗？哈利看着那个点移来移去，这里停一下，那里停一下。

　　哈利决定探个究竟，他走下楼梯，摄手蹑脚地穿过走廊，然后又走下一段更窄的楼梯。他不停地注视着地图上的点，急切地想知道克劳斯半夜一点钟潜进别人办公室的原因。突然，哈利的脚踩空了，他一个趔趄，手里的金蛋滚了下来，哈利一看不妙，赶紧爬起来去追，可太迟了，蛋鸡鸣鸣地一级级滚下去。隐身衣在这时滑了下来，地图也飞了。

　　金蛋最后终于在地毯上停住，但它已经打开了，歌声回荡在整幢楼，哈利把隐身衣被上想要去拿地图，但他够不着，他竖着耳朵听着周围的动静，只听楼梯上响起了脚步声和叫喊声。“是皮维斯。”哈利想。不一会儿，皮维斯已站在他面前了。

　　“这是什么？吵得整幢楼的人都醒了。”他来到楼梯脚，这时弗尔克刚拿起金蛋把它合上。

　　“蛋？”弗尔克静静地说，“我的甜心，这可是一条重要线索呢。

　　它应该属于学校的冠军。“

　　哈利心想糟糕。他怀里像有只兔子在扑通扑通地跳。

　　“皮维斯，你躲在哪里？我马上就会找到你的，哈，你居然敢偷东西。丹伯多要把你开除出校了……”弗尔克开始上楼，后面跟着他那只灰色的猫。它两只绿色的眼睛盯着哈利，哈利吓得混身冒汗，不知道隐身衣对猫管不管用。

　　“弗尔克？怎么回事？”史纳皮出现了，他看上去很生气。哈利更紧张了，因为史纳皮的出现会把事情弄得更糟。

　　“是皮维斯，是他把蛋从楼梯上扔下来的。”弗尔克得意地告状说。

　　“皮维斯？但他进不了我的办公室的。”

　　“不，我是说，我听到响声，是那只蛋……是皮维斯把它扔下来的，我出来看看是怎么回事……”

　　“我的办公室只有那些会魔法的人才能打开。”史纳皮往楼梯上看了看，目光正好穿过哈利。然后，他又往走廊扫了一眼，“过来帮我找找小偷。”

　　“我？好的，教授，不过——”

　　弗尔克很不情愿地跟着教授上了楼，径直从哈利身边经过。

　　“快去吧，跟史纳皮教授上楼去吧。”哈利心里说。

　　“教授，”弗尔克悲哀地说，“校长这次会听我说的，皮维斯以前就偷过学生的东西，我觉得这次我有责任指证他。”

　　“弗尔克，我不会指责一个只是骚扰家宅的幽灵的，只不过我的办公室在哐哐哐地响罢了。”史纳皮突然停下来说。这时，哈利看见魔眼人莫迪进来了。

　　“什么事？开睡衣晚会吗？”莫迪冲着他们嚷道。

　　“教授，史纳皮教授和我听到响声。这是皮维斯搞的鬼，他从楼梯上扔东西下来。结果史纳皮教授发现有人闯进了他办公室里。”

　　弗尔克说。

　　莫迪走近楼梯，哈利看见他目光停在史纳皮身上，然后不偏不倚地落在自己身上。

　　哈利的心“咯噔”一声，想起莫迪能看穿隐身衣，他们俩对视了几分钟，莫迪嘴巴张得大大的。然后，他转身对史纳皮说：“是真的吗？有人闯进你办公室里了？”

　　“这并不值得大惊小怪。”史纳皮冷冷地说。

　　“不，恰好相反，这非常重要。是谁闯进办公室了。”

　　“我敢说只是一个学生，他想拿点禁药罢了，没别的。”史纳皮说。

　　“就这样简单吗？”莫迪说，“你在办公室里没有藏其他东西吗？”

　　“你知道我没有的。我的办公室早就被你搜遍了。”史纳皮眼看就要生气了。

　　莫迪笑着说：“这是我的权利，史纳皮，丹伯多吩咐我看着……”

　　“丹伯多很信任我，我不会相信是他叫你这么做的。”

　　“他当然信任你，他是个相信别人的人，可我——我说一定还有东西的，别的东西，你明白我的意思吗？”

　　史纳皮突然做了个很奇怪的动作。他用右手抓住左前臂，仿佛被人刺了一下。

　　莫迪又笑了：“回去睡吧，史纳皮。”

　　“你没权指挥我去哪。我也可以像你一样天黑后在学校里走来走去。”

　　“走开吧。”莫迪的语气充满威胁，“我等着在黑暗走廊撞见你的那一刻，顺便告诉你一声你掉了东西。”说着，莫迪把手指向那躺在地上的地图。

　　史纳皮和弗尔克顺着他手指方向看去。这时，哈利朝莫迪扬手，引他注意，嘴形告诉他：我的，那是我的。

　　莫迪会意了。可是史纳皮已经走过去把它拾起来了。莫迪念了句咒语，那地图就呼啸着从史纳皮手里飞到了莫迪手上。

　　“我弄错了，这是我的东西，一定是我早些时候把它丢在这了。”莫迪镇定地说。

　　但是史纳皮此时把蛋和地图联系起来，马上明白了。

　　“波特。”他平静地说。莫迪把纸折好放进口袋，同时问道：“你在说什么？”

　　“波特。这蛋是他的，纸也是他的，我以前看见过。他现在一定穿着隐身衣站在某个角落。”史纳皮吼道。接着，他一边走上楼梯，一边伸出双手在空气中摸着，想找到哈利。哈利把身子直往后靠，想躲过史纳皮的手指。就在这时，史纳皮喊道：“这里没有别的了。不过我很快就会告诉校长你的心偏向哈利·波特了。”

　　“你是什么意思？”

　　“我是说校长会很有兴趣知道是谁给哈利这些东西的。”

　　史纳皮的手终于放下来了，他强作镇定地说：“我是怕波特在这里瞎逛，他有这个坏习惯。为了他自身安全，他应该改掉这毛病。”

　　“噢，我明白了，你想利用哈利，是吗？”

　　他们瞪着对方都不说话了，最后史纳皮说：“我想我该回去睡觉了。

　　“这是你今晚最好的决定。现在，弗尔克，把那只蛋给我。”莫迪说。

　　“不，”弗尔克紧紧抱着那只蛋，像在抱着他自己的亲生儿子似的，“教授，这是皮维斯违背规则的证据。”

　　“这是属于冠军的，快给我。”

　　史纳皮没有再说什么，弗尔克极不情愿地把蛋交给莫迪，两人就离开了。

　　门砰地一声关上，哈利盯着莫迪，只见他朝自己走来。

　　“刚才真是惊险。”莫迪说。

　　“是，是的，谢谢你，莫迪教授。”哈利疲惫地说。

　　“这是什么？”莫迪打开地图问道。

　　“霍格瓦彻的地图。”

　　莫迪看着地图，慢慢地说：“你刚才有没有看见是谁闯进史纲皮的办公室？我是说，从地图上来看。”

　　“我看见了，是克劳斯先生。”

　　“克劳斯？你肯定是他吗？”

　　“我保证。”

　　“克劳斯！真有趣！”莫迪继续盯着地图。

　　“莫迪教授，你是不是觉得事情跟……也许克劳斯先生察觉有事发生。”

　　“例如什么呢？”莫迪尖锐地说。

　　哈利可不敢再说下去，他不想让莫迪发觉他知道霍格瓦彻以外的信息。要不然会给西里斯惹麻烦的。

　　“我不知道，但是已经有很多糟糕的事情发生了，不是吗？《先知日报》，黑色标志，世界杯，食尸者……”哈利喃喃自语。

　　“你很聪明。我再问你一个问题。”莫迪说。

　　哈利的心直往下沉。他想糟了，莫迪肯定是想问他地图从哪来。这可是牵涉一连串怪事的呢，可是，莫迪扬了扬地图说：“可以把他借给我吗？”

　　哈利悬着的心放下来，他松了一口气说：“可以。”然后莫迪带着他来到办公室门口，他把蛋还给哈利，说了声再见，两人就分开了。

　　哈利一路往回走，脑海还想着今晚发生的事，百思不得其解。

　　回到宿舍，哈利把蛋放进了皮箱里。

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