Chapter 2 - Acquittal
(a/n: As if the summary wasn't enough of a hint, Harry is going to be very out-of-character throughout the story. Just thought I would warn you ahead of time. Though, it can't really be considered OOC, if his actions are based on his need to... um, getting ahead of myself, that will all come later! Nothing really happens in this chapter to advance the plot, it's sort of a filler-chapter. This was originally going to be even longer, but I stopped here so it wouldn't seem to run on forever. Thank you for the reviews! I didn't expect anybody to review, but, come Sunday morning, I find 10 reviews! I was very pleasantly surprised, Thanks! I guess you guys won't allow me to ignore updating for weeks at a time, eh?:D)
It had been three hours since Harry and Sirius had burst into the Great Hall, and neither of them, nor Professor Dumbledore, had left the small chamber in the back of the room. They were all tired, yet Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were not at all sleepy – how could they be, when they would be able to talk to Harry for the first time in over a month? While they were waiting for Harry to show up, Ginny had insisted that Ron and Hermione tell her about Harry's connection to Sirius. Initially, Ron refused to tell her, saying "It's not my story to tell – if Harry wants you to know, then he'll tell you himself." Ginny couldn't help but doubt that Harry would tell her anything – he never did, why should he start now? After being pestered by Ginny for half an hour, Ron finally relented, and told her everything he knew, with Hermione taking over after the point in the story when Pettigrew cursed Ron. Ginny didn't interrupt once through the whole account, though she was in tears when Hermione told her that Harry could have finally escaped the Dursley's, if only Pettigrew hadn't escaped.
"Why didn't you tell me befoer?" Ginny asked of Ron. "It's not as though I can't keep a secret, I never told anybody about those love letters –..."
"Ginny!" Ron hissed through clenched teeth, his ears turning crimson, "THAT is why I never tell you anything! You've got a big mouth!"
Hermione's interest was piqued by their conversation. "Love letters? Who were you writing love letters to?" She gave him a funny-looking smile.
Ron ignored her, as he retaliated against Ginny by singing his personal favorite piece of poetry: "His eyes are as green as a fresh- pickled toad..." he sang out in a high-pitched voice. It was Ginny's turn to redden, and she would have kicked Ron hard, had he not stopped singing abruptly. The doors to the Great Hall had opened again, this time by a much larger entourage. They were led by none other than Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, and he was accompanied by a host of aurors, Ministry workers, and –
"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?" Ron yelled out. Ron was pointing at Rita Skeeter, the infamous Daily Prophet journalist. The whole procession stopped for a moment, startled by his outburst, then decided to ignore him and made a beeline for the chamber at the end of the hall. Rita Skeeter alone left the group and made her way toward the three Gryffindors.
"Hello again, Reginald." Rita Skeeter greeted Ron, with a voice dripping with insincere pleasantry. Ginny giggled when Ron turned red in the face and refused her proffered hand.
"My name is Ron." he said, not bothering to cover the hostility in her voice.
"I thought we had an agreement, Ms. Skeeter?" Hermione said, also clearly angry. Ginny looked at Hermione, then at Rita Skeeter.
"Great, more surprises," Ginny thought. "It figures, I guess. The same people that associate with Werewolves, Giants, and murderers would somehow be linked to a professional liar, too." Her thoughts were interrupted when Rita Skeeter began to talk again.
"I haven't forgotten. In fact, I think we should rediscuss the terms of our agreement sometime, hm? I've got some ideas that may be more to my liking. And yours," she said, adding the last bit after seeing that Hermione was preparing to let loose with a scathing diatribe.
"I'll be expecting your owl in the morning, then." Hermione relented.
"And who is this? Another admirer of Harry's, no doubt?" Rita turned to Ginny. Ginny felt a tinge of heat rushing to her cheeks. Rita Skeeter smirked, then made her way to the back of the room. Ginny would have sighed with relief, but an even more unpleasant person greeted them.
"What do you three think you're doing up? You should be in bed by now. Five points from Gryffindor for each of you." Now that Harry was back, it seemed that Professor Snape decided that it was okay to terrorize Gryffindors again. None of them moved. "Perhaps you didn't hear me tell you that you need to go back to your Dormitories. Maybe a detention will help to unstuff your ears." Ron groaned audibly next to Ginny, but was too tired to let his temper get the best of him. "You will see me tomorrow after class so that I can arrange your punishments. Goodnight," he said with a sneer.
They all turned and trekked back to Gryffindor Tower. "Maybe we should just go to sleep. We'll be able to see Harry in the morning," Hermione offered. Ginny didn't want to miss Harry, but was suddenly feeling lethargic. Ron seemed to consider this, and then conceded with a nod. He turned up the stairway to the boy's dormitories and disappeared.
Hermione and Ginny had turned up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. At the door to the Fourth Year Girls dormitory, Ginny paused, then said, "Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"I'm... I'm glad he's back."
"...Yeah, me too. Goodnight." And with that, Hermione was gone.
*****
Ginny woke up a little earlier than she usually did the next morning. She was simultaneously excited and apprehensive over seeing Harry. She was always excited to see Harry, though she was apprehensive this morning because she was afraid of hearing about what he went through over the past month – after all, he had been through some pretty nightmarish ordeals before, and they usually happened within the relative safety of Hogwarts Castle. After idly making her bed tidier, she brushed her teeth twice, spent ten minutes more on taming her hair than usual, and put on her nicest school robes. She wanted to look her best this morning; she figured that after weeks of – whatever it was that he had been doing, Harry would probably be more appreciative of seeing a pretty girl. She blushed self- consciously as she examined her appearance in the mirror.
"It's thirteen minutes after seven, dear. Who are you trying to impress at this hour?" the mirror inquired.
Ginny's face turned an even darker shade of red. "What makes you think I'm trying to impress someone?"
"You wouldn't be preening in front of the mirror if you weren't planning on making an impression." Understanding seemed to dawn on the mirror, as it paused, and then said, "Oh, I see. Harry Potter?"
"Who told you?"
"Every mirror in the school knows, I'm sure."
Ginny mentally slapped herself for being so obvious that even a mirror could comprehend her actions.
"It's not... that bad, really. We all think it's rather... sweet."
"Oh, that's great, now I'm getting the sympathy of the schools mirrors. I'm out of here," Ginny thought to herself. She groaned in exasperation, then left the bathroom. She was planning on going down to the common room and waiting until he showed up, but when she got there, she saw that Ron and Hermione had beaten her there – and neither of them looked very happy. In fact, Ron was outright fuming over something.
"What happened?" Ginny asked upon reaching the common room.
"What the hell is the matter with him?" Ron ignored her question and continued to fume.
"I'm sure he's just tired, Ron. Give him some time." Hermione tried to sound placating, but failed as the worry and doubt made her voice sound tinny.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ginny was almost shouting.
"Lower your voice, do you want to wake up the whole tower?" Ron said, then finally explained himself. "I saw Harry this morning –..."
"What did he say? Was he alright?" Ginny interrupted, then felt the familiar rush of heat in her face when she realized how obvious she sounded.
"I'm not going to say, if you keep interrupting!" He waited for her to say something, then, when he was satisfied, continued. "I saw Harry. Do you know what he was doing? HE WAS PACKING! He had already taken most of his things out of the dormitory. I asked him what he was doing, and the only thing he told me was, 'I've been assigned to new sleeping quarters.' That was it, no 'How have you been?', no 'Did they find a replacement Seeker while I was gone?' Absolutely NOTHING!" Ron was the one who was shouting now, and looking very red in the face. "I tried to get him to talk, Ginny, I really did. I didn't lose my temper with him, I just tried to talk. The last thing he told me was, 'I'm extraordinarily busy right now, Ron. I'll talk to you when I have the time. If you'll excuse me, I have to catch up on my studies.' I swear, he sounded just like Percy. I followed him down the stairs, but he just disappeared under the Invisibility Cloak." Ron finally let out his breath, then flopped into a chair by the fireplace, looking like he had been running all morning. Ginny could commiserate – she suddenly felt as tired as he looked. She was silent for a minute, then finally voiced the sole thought that occupied her mind.
"It's not fair."
"What's not fair, Ginny?" Hermione asked, though she was fairly certain that she already knew.
"I wanted to talk to him. I wanted him to include me. I just... wanted him to treat me the way he treats you... I would've settled for that right now."
Hermione gave her that sympathetic look that she was really starting to hate. Ron, crass brother that he was, said, "Well, you've got your wish. Now, he's going to treat everybody the way he treats you."
Hermione turned pale, and reprimanded Ron, though he had voiced her exact thoughts. "That wasn't funny, Ron."
Ron looked her straight in the eyes for a long moment. "I'm not laughing." Ron's uncharacteristic solemnity passed the instant he processed everything Ginny had said and actually looked at her. "What are you all dressed up for?... Ginny, please! I've told you before, I don't want you trying to lure Harry in with your... er... 'girly charms,' even if he is being a prat right now."
Ginny couldn't help but laugh, and Hermione responded the way she always did whenever Ron did something stupid.
"Honestly."
*****
By the time they got down to the Great Hall, most of the school had already started on breakfast. The code of silence that had ruled mealtimes in the past month was finally lifted, as everybody was talking about the mysterious circumstances of Harry Potter's return the previous night.
"How do you think he was able to do magic without his wand?"
"He actually DEFENDED Sirius Black! And Dumbledore didn't stop him!"
"Did you see how he had that guy with the silver hand at knife point? Who was that?"
Most of the conversations sounded the same. Everybody glanced expectantly at the entrance to the hall whenever a student walked in, hoping to catch a glimpse of Famous Harry Potter, and turned back to their own conversations when he failed to make an appearance.
Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were assaulted with questions from their fellow Gryffindor's when they sat down, none of which they could answer. The inquisition only ended when the owls flew into the Great Hall to deliver the mail.
"Look at Hedwig!" Ron had just spotted Hedwig, flying... right out of the Hall? "Come on, let's follow her, she'll lead us right to Harry!"
Ron would have ran after the owl right then, had Hermione not just received her issue of the Daily Prophet. "Ron! RON! Fudge acquitted Sirius!"
Ginny almost fell out of her seat when she tried to get a closer look at the newspaper. There, right on the front page, was a picture of Sirius Black talking to Cornelius Fudge, while some auror's had bound Pettigrew and Malfoy, and were leading them out of the picture. Harry and Professor Dumbledore were in the background and off to the side, talking to some Ministry workers. The headline read: MINISTER OF MAGIC ACQUITS SIRIUS BLACK, HARRY POTTER RETURNS.
The noise level in the Great Hall, only moments prior no louder than a whisper, exploded into a veritable din.
(a/n: As if the summary wasn't enough of a hint, Harry is going to be very out-of-character throughout the story. Just thought I would warn you ahead of time. Though, it can't really be considered OOC, if his actions are based on his need to... um, getting ahead of myself, that will all come later! Nothing really happens in this chapter to advance the plot, it's sort of a filler-chapter. This was originally going to be even longer, but I stopped here so it wouldn't seem to run on forever. Thank you for the reviews! I didn't expect anybody to review, but, come Sunday morning, I find 10 reviews! I was very pleasantly surprised, Thanks! I guess you guys won't allow me to ignore updating for weeks at a time, eh?:D)
It had been three hours since Harry and Sirius had burst into the Great Hall, and neither of them, nor Professor Dumbledore, had left the small chamber in the back of the room. They were all tired, yet Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were not at all sleepy – how could they be, when they would be able to talk to Harry for the first time in over a month? While they were waiting for Harry to show up, Ginny had insisted that Ron and Hermione tell her about Harry's connection to Sirius. Initially, Ron refused to tell her, saying "It's not my story to tell – if Harry wants you to know, then he'll tell you himself." Ginny couldn't help but doubt that Harry would tell her anything – he never did, why should he start now? After being pestered by Ginny for half an hour, Ron finally relented, and told her everything he knew, with Hermione taking over after the point in the story when Pettigrew cursed Ron. Ginny didn't interrupt once through the whole account, though she was in tears when Hermione told her that Harry could have finally escaped the Dursley's, if only Pettigrew hadn't escaped.
"Why didn't you tell me befoer?" Ginny asked of Ron. "It's not as though I can't keep a secret, I never told anybody about those love letters –..."
"Ginny!" Ron hissed through clenched teeth, his ears turning crimson, "THAT is why I never tell you anything! You've got a big mouth!"
Hermione's interest was piqued by their conversation. "Love letters? Who were you writing love letters to?" She gave him a funny-looking smile.
Ron ignored her, as he retaliated against Ginny by singing his personal favorite piece of poetry: "His eyes are as green as a fresh- pickled toad..." he sang out in a high-pitched voice. It was Ginny's turn to redden, and she would have kicked Ron hard, had he not stopped singing abruptly. The doors to the Great Hall had opened again, this time by a much larger entourage. They were led by none other than Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, and he was accompanied by a host of aurors, Ministry workers, and –
"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?" Ron yelled out. Ron was pointing at Rita Skeeter, the infamous Daily Prophet journalist. The whole procession stopped for a moment, startled by his outburst, then decided to ignore him and made a beeline for the chamber at the end of the hall. Rita Skeeter alone left the group and made her way toward the three Gryffindors.
"Hello again, Reginald." Rita Skeeter greeted Ron, with a voice dripping with insincere pleasantry. Ginny giggled when Ron turned red in the face and refused her proffered hand.
"My name is Ron." he said, not bothering to cover the hostility in her voice.
"I thought we had an agreement, Ms. Skeeter?" Hermione said, also clearly angry. Ginny looked at Hermione, then at Rita Skeeter.
"Great, more surprises," Ginny thought. "It figures, I guess. The same people that associate with Werewolves, Giants, and murderers would somehow be linked to a professional liar, too." Her thoughts were interrupted when Rita Skeeter began to talk again.
"I haven't forgotten. In fact, I think we should rediscuss the terms of our agreement sometime, hm? I've got some ideas that may be more to my liking. And yours," she said, adding the last bit after seeing that Hermione was preparing to let loose with a scathing diatribe.
"I'll be expecting your owl in the morning, then." Hermione relented.
"And who is this? Another admirer of Harry's, no doubt?" Rita turned to Ginny. Ginny felt a tinge of heat rushing to her cheeks. Rita Skeeter smirked, then made her way to the back of the room. Ginny would have sighed with relief, but an even more unpleasant person greeted them.
"What do you three think you're doing up? You should be in bed by now. Five points from Gryffindor for each of you." Now that Harry was back, it seemed that Professor Snape decided that it was okay to terrorize Gryffindors again. None of them moved. "Perhaps you didn't hear me tell you that you need to go back to your Dormitories. Maybe a detention will help to unstuff your ears." Ron groaned audibly next to Ginny, but was too tired to let his temper get the best of him. "You will see me tomorrow after class so that I can arrange your punishments. Goodnight," he said with a sneer.
They all turned and trekked back to Gryffindor Tower. "Maybe we should just go to sleep. We'll be able to see Harry in the morning," Hermione offered. Ginny didn't want to miss Harry, but was suddenly feeling lethargic. Ron seemed to consider this, and then conceded with a nod. He turned up the stairway to the boy's dormitories and disappeared.
Hermione and Ginny had turned up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. At the door to the Fourth Year Girls dormitory, Ginny paused, then said, "Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"I'm... I'm glad he's back."
"...Yeah, me too. Goodnight." And with that, Hermione was gone.
*****
Ginny woke up a little earlier than she usually did the next morning. She was simultaneously excited and apprehensive over seeing Harry. She was always excited to see Harry, though she was apprehensive this morning because she was afraid of hearing about what he went through over the past month – after all, he had been through some pretty nightmarish ordeals before, and they usually happened within the relative safety of Hogwarts Castle. After idly making her bed tidier, she brushed her teeth twice, spent ten minutes more on taming her hair than usual, and put on her nicest school robes. She wanted to look her best this morning; she figured that after weeks of – whatever it was that he had been doing, Harry would probably be more appreciative of seeing a pretty girl. She blushed self- consciously as she examined her appearance in the mirror.
"It's thirteen minutes after seven, dear. Who are you trying to impress at this hour?" the mirror inquired.
Ginny's face turned an even darker shade of red. "What makes you think I'm trying to impress someone?"
"You wouldn't be preening in front of the mirror if you weren't planning on making an impression." Understanding seemed to dawn on the mirror, as it paused, and then said, "Oh, I see. Harry Potter?"
"Who told you?"
"Every mirror in the school knows, I'm sure."
Ginny mentally slapped herself for being so obvious that even a mirror could comprehend her actions.
"It's not... that bad, really. We all think it's rather... sweet."
"Oh, that's great, now I'm getting the sympathy of the schools mirrors. I'm out of here," Ginny thought to herself. She groaned in exasperation, then left the bathroom. She was planning on going down to the common room and waiting until he showed up, but when she got there, she saw that Ron and Hermione had beaten her there – and neither of them looked very happy. In fact, Ron was outright fuming over something.
"What happened?" Ginny asked upon reaching the common room.
"What the hell is the matter with him?" Ron ignored her question and continued to fume.
"I'm sure he's just tired, Ron. Give him some time." Hermione tried to sound placating, but failed as the worry and doubt made her voice sound tinny.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ginny was almost shouting.
"Lower your voice, do you want to wake up the whole tower?" Ron said, then finally explained himself. "I saw Harry this morning –..."
"What did he say? Was he alright?" Ginny interrupted, then felt the familiar rush of heat in her face when she realized how obvious she sounded.
"I'm not going to say, if you keep interrupting!" He waited for her to say something, then, when he was satisfied, continued. "I saw Harry. Do you know what he was doing? HE WAS PACKING! He had already taken most of his things out of the dormitory. I asked him what he was doing, and the only thing he told me was, 'I've been assigned to new sleeping quarters.' That was it, no 'How have you been?', no 'Did they find a replacement Seeker while I was gone?' Absolutely NOTHING!" Ron was the one who was shouting now, and looking very red in the face. "I tried to get him to talk, Ginny, I really did. I didn't lose my temper with him, I just tried to talk. The last thing he told me was, 'I'm extraordinarily busy right now, Ron. I'll talk to you when I have the time. If you'll excuse me, I have to catch up on my studies.' I swear, he sounded just like Percy. I followed him down the stairs, but he just disappeared under the Invisibility Cloak." Ron finally let out his breath, then flopped into a chair by the fireplace, looking like he had been running all morning. Ginny could commiserate – she suddenly felt as tired as he looked. She was silent for a minute, then finally voiced the sole thought that occupied her mind.
"It's not fair."
"What's not fair, Ginny?" Hermione asked, though she was fairly certain that she already knew.
"I wanted to talk to him. I wanted him to include me. I just... wanted him to treat me the way he treats you... I would've settled for that right now."
Hermione gave her that sympathetic look that she was really starting to hate. Ron, crass brother that he was, said, "Well, you've got your wish. Now, he's going to treat everybody the way he treats you."
Hermione turned pale, and reprimanded Ron, though he had voiced her exact thoughts. "That wasn't funny, Ron."
Ron looked her straight in the eyes for a long moment. "I'm not laughing." Ron's uncharacteristic solemnity passed the instant he processed everything Ginny had said and actually looked at her. "What are you all dressed up for?... Ginny, please! I've told you before, I don't want you trying to lure Harry in with your... er... 'girly charms,' even if he is being a prat right now."
Ginny couldn't help but laugh, and Hermione responded the way she always did whenever Ron did something stupid.
"Honestly."
*****
By the time they got down to the Great Hall, most of the school had already started on breakfast. The code of silence that had ruled mealtimes in the past month was finally lifted, as everybody was talking about the mysterious circumstances of Harry Potter's return the previous night.
"How do you think he was able to do magic without his wand?"
"He actually DEFENDED Sirius Black! And Dumbledore didn't stop him!"
"Did you see how he had that guy with the silver hand at knife point? Who was that?"
Most of the conversations sounded the same. Everybody glanced expectantly at the entrance to the hall whenever a student walked in, hoping to catch a glimpse of Famous Harry Potter, and turned back to their own conversations when he failed to make an appearance.
Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were assaulted with questions from their fellow Gryffindor's when they sat down, none of which they could answer. The inquisition only ended when the owls flew into the Great Hall to deliver the mail.
"Look at Hedwig!" Ron had just spotted Hedwig, flying... right out of the Hall? "Come on, let's follow her, she'll lead us right to Harry!"
Ron would have ran after the owl right then, had Hermione not just received her issue of the Daily Prophet. "Ron! RON! Fudge acquitted Sirius!"
Ginny almost fell out of her seat when she tried to get a closer look at the newspaper. There, right on the front page, was a picture of Sirius Black talking to Cornelius Fudge, while some auror's had bound Pettigrew and Malfoy, and were leading them out of the picture. Harry and Professor Dumbledore were in the background and off to the side, talking to some Ministry workers. The headline read: MINISTER OF MAGIC ACQUITS SIRIUS BLACK, HARRY POTTER RETURNS.
The noise level in the Great Hall, only moments prior no louder than a whisper, exploded into a veritable din.