Sirius wants to meet Harry in Hogsmeade, and Rita Skeeter writes another article, this time targeting Hermione and making her look like a fame-chasing heartbreaker for dating Viktor Krum. Hermione acts like she isn’t bothered, but she wants to find out how Rita Skeeter is listening in on these conversations around Hogwarts. During Potions class, Snape privately warns Harry to stay out of his office and stop stealing ingredients from his personal store; otherwise, he might have to dose Harry with Truth Potion, Veritaserum. Karkaroff stops by Potions and shows Snape “something on his inner forearm” and tells him that it’s “never been this clear” (209), but Snape doesn’t want to talk about it. Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to the outskirts of Hogsmeade and meet Sirius. Sirius shows them The Daily Prophet, which reports that Mr. Crouch hasn’t been seen in months and is reported to be very ill. Harry doesn’t understand how Mr. Crouch could be sneaking around Hogwarts if he’s sick, and they tell Sirius that Mr. Crouch never showed up in the Top Box to watch the Quidditch World Cup. Sirius explains that Mr. Crouch used to be the Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, and he was the one who sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial.