Harry watched McGonagall walk Cho
out of the Great Hall, presumably to McGonagall's office. Harry watched
her anxiously. She looked back at one point with that same sad expression
she had on her face earlier.
This can't be Sirius' fault, thought
Harry. It's impossible. Sirius is on our side.
"Si--" Hermione began, and then
she realized that Draco was still within hearing range. "Snuffles must
have been framed," she said in a low voice. "There's no other explanation."
Ron didn't look so sure. "You have
to admit it doesn't look too good, Hermione. The timing's too perfect."
"I don't believe in coincidences
either, Ron," said Harry. "But I know that you trust . . Snuffles . . as
much as I do. Hermione's right; someone framed him."
"What's all this you're blabbering
about?" Draco blurted out.
So much for being tolerable, thought
Harry. He was about to retort with another remark when he heard a familiar
voice.
"Mind if I sit here?" They turned
around and saw Lindsay McCourt looking solemnly at them. "I have information,"
she said.
Harry said, "Sure Lindsay." She
sat down.
"My dad's the detective that the
ministry sent down to investigate. It all points to a magical attack. Cho's
parents are in the hospital at Hogsmeade and they've got the best security
there. They're unconscious though. I'm sorry," she said.
"How do you think she'll respond
to the news?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Not well," said Lindsay solemnly.
"It's hard to be rational when it hits, literally, so close to home. Plus,
no one has any idea which of You-Know-Who's goons did it."
"Or maybe it wasn't one of his goons,"
Ron blurted out. Heads turned towards him. "Well, there's a possibility,"
he said sheepishly.
"A small one," said Hermione. "It's
always Voldemort." These days everyone used the name, especially because
they were encouraged to.
Harry saw that the conversation
was running thin and that it was almost time to leave for the next class,
Potions. "Thanks for your help, Lindsay," he said glumly.
"Sure," she said and she left. Soon
everybody at the table got up and lef the table.
Draco caught up with Harry and started
talking to him in low tones. "I'm not dumb you know. This Snuffles guy
was their secret-keeper, and you know this guy. Sounds like you recommended
him, actually. If you get carried away playing the hero, it eventually
catches up with you."
"Shut up, Malfoy."
"I'm not done gloating. You see,
you didn't deserve that girl in the first place. What was that you were
saying about going out with her? Looks like you're out of the race."
"And you're in? That's a joke."
"Is it? If I ask Snape for a love
potion, he'll ask 'How much do you need?'"
Harry was red in the face and his
fists were clenched. "Harry," said Hermione placatingly. Harry looked at
her. "We'll be late for class," she said. Harry left reluctantly, knowing
that this time Malfoy had the last word.
It was difficult for Harry to concentrate
throughout potions. While Snape was warning them at the start of class
about the hazardous chemicals they would be working with, thoughts of finding
Sirius and trying to make things right with Cho kept racing through his
mind.
"Potter!" Snape's voice snapped.
Harry snapped to attention. "Yes?"
"What was I talking about just now?"
he snapped.
"You were talking about the hazards
of adding too much cowbane to a mixture with saffron and soapwort." Harry
had vaguely seen the ingredients that Snape had on his desk, and he was
relieved that he had done a lot of reading over the summer, so that he
could impress Cho. She would like it if he got better grades.
Snape was caught off-guard. "Yes,
that's right. Or what will happen?"
"The cauldron would probably explode,"
said Harry unsurely.
"Ah," Snape began. "So the great
Harry Potter finally decides to apply himself. I knew your parents; they
were brilliant, you know. Head Boy and Head Girl. I saw your potential
since the beginning, and I watched you waste it. Do you know how much energy
and time I've wasted on students who now work for people with half their
brainpower? Though you've obviously showed courage outside of class, I
was beginning to think you too were a coward on the academic battlefield."
Snape saw that everybody was looking at him. "Get back to work, all of
you," he snapped, and he returned to pacing around the room.
"I'm not going to repeat the life
of my parents," Harry said quietly to Ron and Hermione. "They loved me,
but I'm still an orphan. I'd rather be alone all my life than have my child
experience the same thing."
Ron and Hermione stared at him,
obviously not knowing what to say.
"We have to find Sirius and see
what he knows," continued Harry while they were chopping up saffron.
"You have to tell Cho that Sirius
couldn't have done it," said Ron in a low voice.
"Find Sirius first," Hermione whispered.
"Then tell Cho what you know."
As soon as he was done with classes,
Harry rushed to his room and wrote a letter to Sirius.
Sirius,
Where are
you? Cho's parents were attacked. Can you meet me as soon as possible at
the cave? You have to tell me all you know.
Harry
He gave it to Hedwig, and Hedwig
flew off. That night, Harry received a response.
Harry,
I don't know anything. I left the night that I became their secret keeper
and right now I'm checking up on the old crowd at Arabella Figg's house.
Lupin and Mundungus Fletcher are here, too. I can be at the cave tonight,
but I honestly don't know. I didn't betray them, Harry. You know that I
wouldn't. It hurts that you don't trust me, but I guess it's better for
you to be paranoid. I should be at the cave by 9 o'clock. Those poor parents.
I hope they're still alive.
Sirius
Harry read it, handed it to his
friends, and dashed up to his room to find his invisibility cloak so he
could sneak into Hogsmeade. The cloak was not there. Harry couldn't believe
it. He raced back down to the common room and went up to Ron and Hermione.
"Did any of you take it?"
"Take what?" Hermione asked.
"My invisibility cloak," he said
in a low voice. "It's gone."
Ron and Hermione shook their heads.
The cloak had been stolen.
Harry decided to go anyway. He quietly
found the statue of the old hag, tapped it on the nose, and left without
being spotted. Eventually, Harry got to the cave and found that Sirius
was waiting in his dog form.
Sirius transformed into his human
form. "I had nothing to do with it, Harry,." he said firmly.