Chapter XXIV
Harry ran towards the source of the scream, nearly losing his footing as he skid, trying to turn the corner at full speed. He saw Daphne, standing over a body, next to a floating and unresponsive ghost – Sir Nicholas, Gryffindor House's spirit in residence.
"Daphne, are you all right?" Hearing his voice, she practically leaped into his arms, holding him tightly.
"Harry! I found them like this. There was someone else, but they were wearing a hood and I didn't see their face." She squeezed him tightly, seeking comfort. "Oh Merlin, it could have been me!"
"It's all right, just calm down. Do you know what's wrong with them?" Disentangling himself from the Slytherin girl, he knelt down next to the body, recognizing Justin Finch-Fletchley, the muggleborn Hufflepuff. Harry could see his chest rising and failing, so he was alive, at least.
"What could be doing this? I've never heard of a ghost being affected by magic like this."
Harry stood and held his arms out, allowing Daphne to gratefully return to his embrace. "I don't know. Whatever it is, though, it's dangerous. We should find a teacher right away."
She nodded, wiping her eyes once more, and the two set off to find some help.
Justin's petrification had the younger years very concerned. Yule break had, thankfully, finally arrived though, bringing a welcome distraction despite the attack on the well-liked Hufflepuff. Older students focused on their exams, and younger students on getting home for the holidays.
Harry was at breakfast, sitting with Luna who was deeply focused on constructing a log cabin made out of sausage links, with maple syrup providing the adhesive. The Great Hall was crowded, and he smiled and nodded in response to Susan's wave. Daphne, at the Slytherin table, sat focused on her food. She hadn't taken her brush with the Heir of Slytherin well, but insisted on continuing her lessons with him.
He kept glancing at the large window that allowed owls entrance to the Great Hall, hoping Hedwig would return today with a reply from Sam. Despite his relocation to Germany, he still responded to often to letters that Harry sent, offering advice and ideas for Harry's late-night training sessions in the Forbidden Forest.
The elaborate design that Luna had built crumbled, the sausages sliding around her plate in pools of syrup, but the girl didn't seem at all bothered, grabbing her fork and spearing one to take a bite. He couldn't help but chuckle at the delight she exhibited over the simplest things.
Owls poured into the Great Hall, drawing his attention upwards. 'No sign of Hedwig,' he thought glumly. Well, maybe Sam would be back for Christmas? Harry turned back to his food, not noticing both Susan and Daphne take one glance at the headline of the Prophet and immediately march towards him.
"Good morning, Susan!"
"Hi, Luna. Harry, I think you need to see this." She handed over her copy of the paper, while Daphne stood beside her clutching her own copy.
Harry looked down at the headline of the proffered paper, grabbing onto it with both hands as he saw what the top story was.
Harry Potter's Horrifying Home History
by Rita Skeeter
After a great deal of investigation, this reporter is sad to bring to light another part of the seemingly nonstop tragedy that one of our national heroes has endured in his short life. My research led me to a tidy house just outside of muggle London, the house where Harry Potter grew up.
Now, many of my esteemed readers might say that merely being raised by muggles, without magic, is trying enough, but no one could imagine the horrors that these four walls concealed. For the muggles that raised young Harry not only were incapable of protecting him from magical dangers, they in fact were an even greater threat themselves to the young child.
That's right, dear readers: confirmed through the use of compulsion charms, this reporter uncovered the sordid details of Harry's tortured upbringing – and I don't use that term loosely. Starvation and beatings were regular occurrences in this muggle home. Harry – rumored to be heir to a considerable fortune contained in the Potter estate – lived in a tiny storage closet beneath his relatives' staircase, from which he was only released to act as a servant in ways that would make a house elf cringe...
The article continued, but Harry pushed it away. He saw the attached photo of the letters, 'Harry's room', that he had carved into the wood paneling of the cupboard interior and felt sick. All of the memories of his life before Norm and Diane rushed to the surface, and the openness of the Great Hall made him feel naked and exposed.
"Harry," Susan's voice quivered, having finished the article in Daphne's paper, "Is this true?"
He tried to calm himself, but his breath was coming quickly, and he felt the stares of the other students searing into him.
"Harry?" He was hyperventilating now, no matter how hard he tried, he didn't feel like he could breathe...
"Harry, are you all right?" He needed to get away, somewhere that people couldn't stare, somewhere safe where he could be alone...
"Maybe we should get Madam Pomfrey?"
Luna abruptly stood from her seat next to Harry, grabbing his hand and leading him towards the doors. "Pardon us, this area seems to have a high concentration of wrackspurts at the moment. Harry needs to leave before they manage to infest his brain."
The tiny girl led the larger boy along by his hand, her steady gait a stark contrast to his stuttered steps. Michael Corner, a Third Year, snorted as they passed. "Loony's not who I'd pick for mind healing after something like this."
Harry's teeth bared and he rounded on Corner, eyes bursting into emerald luminescence before Luna once more latched onto his hand and continued pulling him towards the exit, whispering soothing words. The pair, with almost every eye in the Great Hall watching, pushed open the doors and left breakfast. As soon as they were gone, it was like a silencing charm had been dispelled, and an explosion of whispers and comments erupted.
Susan and Daphne, after watching Luna lead Harry away, both collapsed into seats at the Ravenclaw table. "I never would have imagined."
Susan glanced over to the other girl. "He's not living with them any longer. I met his new mother in Diagon over the summer."
"That's good. I'm glad he got away from them." Daphne shifted her gaze back to the Slytherin table, where most of the students were looking like this article was a holiday present that had come early. 'To their parents, it likely is,' she mused. "Is he going to sit with you on the Express?"
"With Harry, you never know. Sometimes he does, sometimes he spends time with his housemates. He always stops by, even if he doesn't spend the trip with us."
"Okay. Well, I should go make sure I have everything. Happy Yule, Susan."
"Same to you, Daphne."
"Here, sit down."
Harry plopped onto the shore of the Black Lake, while Luna remained standing. She started to dig around in her cloak, eventually coming up with two pieces of toast. Tearing a chunk out of one, she balled it up and tossed it into the water.
"Try it, it's fun!"
Harry looked at Luna, then at the bread, not seeing the connection, while she continued to throw pieces into the lake.
"You should have let me shut Corner's big mouth." He grumbled, tearing a chunk out of his slice and throwing it as far as he could.
"To what end, Harry? If you try to attack everyone who says something unpleasant, all that will happen is you'll end up expelled and then I won't have any friends left."
He sighed, knowing she was right, but wanting to focus on something besides his personal life being splashed all over the front page of the Prophet. "Are you excited for the holidays?"
"Very much so! Daddy and I are taking a trip to Crete to discuss the disturbing rise of heliopath sightings with the Merpeople there."
Like always, Harry took her words at face value. "Seems like fun. What do your parents do for work?"
"Daddy runs the Quibbler. It's a weekly magazine that focuses on magizoology and cutting edge research. The only wizarding publication free of Ministerial interference!" She finished proudly.
"Sounds loads better than the Prophet. And your mum?"
Luna tossed the last of her slice of bread into the lake, and reached out for the remainder of Harry's. "She was an arithmancer with the Department of Mysteries, until she died in an accident four years ago."
"I'm sorry, Luna." He remembered their talk about thestrals, and made the logical leap as to what must have happened.
"Ohhh, I don't think my arms are strong enough! Look, the bread's coming right back to us!" Sure enough, the gentle lapping of water on the shore was pushing their floating projectiles back towards them.
Harry made a halfhearted gesture towards the bread and a wave of water rose, carrying the pieces out to the center of the lake. A few moments later, several tentacles broke the surface, snagging the small snacks to Luna's delight.
He looked over at her, taking in her unrestrained joy, and felt some of the tension from that morning ease.
"Come on, let's go get ready to board the Express."
Harry and Luna sat in a compartment with Neville and Hermione, discussing holiday plans and speculating about the recent petrifications. No one brought up that morning's article in the Prophet.
"It is troubling, especially since Nearly-Headless-Nick was affected, but overall I don't think you should be too worried. Petrification, even an advanced form like this one, is curable. I've been helping Professor Sprout plant more mandrakes to ensure we'll have adequate supplies to cure anyone that's attacked."
"And you don't think it's at all unusual that everyone petrified has been muggleborn? I'm scared, regardless of whether or not petrification is curable." Hermione rubbed her arms as though a chill had run through the compartment.
Neville winced. "I've noticed. Sorry, Hermione, I wasn't trying to be insensitive."
"Shouldn't the Ministry be doing something?" Harry asked. Neville opened his mouth to respond, but Luna beat him to it.
"Oh no, they're far too occupied with combating the Rotfang Conspiracy to deal with this."
"Don't do it, Harry-" Neville warned, to no avail.
"What's the Rotfang Conspiracy?"
"Well..." Luna went on to describe an intricate plot hatched by powerful societal figures, intent on laying waste to the Ministry of Magic through a combination of heretofore unknown dark magic and gum disease. The explanation was... very thorough.
"And so, you can see that there just aren't Ministry resources to spare."
Harry looked queerly at Luna, as if trying to decide if she were joking or not. Taking in her completely sincere air, he simply nodded and leaned back in his seat. Hermione, meanwhile, sat open-mouthed in disbelief at the tale Luna had just spun.
"Hermione, are you going anywhere for Christmas?"
"No, my parents can't leave their business unattended too often, so we generally only travel once a year, during the summer. What about you, Harry?"
"We're staying put also, as far as I know. The trip to America had to have been pretty expensive, so I doubt Mum and Dad have any other trips planned so soon."
Since he brought up his family, Neville gave in to his curiosity. "You've mentioned your family a lot, but they obviously aren't the same people the Prophet wrote about today. How'd you get away from them?"
"The article was about my relatives. My real mum's sister and her husband. They were as unpleasant as you could imagine. But right after I was attacked at school in Year Four when I was nine years old, I met my current Mum and Dad. They took over guardianship formally over the summer."
"And they don't- I mean, they treat you well?"
"Absolutely! They're great parents. You guys don't need to worry about me."
Hermione smiled at the obvious affection in Harry's voice. "It would have been nice if the Prophet had mentioned that."
"It would have been nice if they found some actual news to report, instead of digging up things that happened years ago."
"Oh!" Hermione bounced in her seat. "Why don't we get together over the break, Harry? I know my parents would absolutely love to meet yours. It's pretty lonely for them, having a muggleborn child. No other parents to connect with and all that."
"Sure!" He grinned, knowing that Diane frequently expressed the same sentiment Hermione just alluded to. "Let me write down our number, just have your parents give mine a call." He dug out a quill and ink from his school bag, scribbling the phone number to Norm and Diane's flat on a scrap of parchment.
"Great! We'll set something up."
Harry smiled, excited to be back home, away from Hogwarts, from Lockhart, from the Prophet.
December 25, 1992
"Happy Christmas!"
Norm groaned, pulling a pillow over his face. "Wake up you two, it's time for presents!"
Diane sat up in bed, hesitantly sniffing the air. "Did you make breakfast?"
"I did." Harry leaned on their doorframe. "And it's going to get cold if you two don't hurry up!" From the kitchen, the screech of a tea kettle sounded. "Whoops, better take care of that!"
As he dashed away, Norm removed the pillow and looked over at Diane. "Quite a kid, isn't he?"
"He is. Come on, let's get moving. Don't forget that tomorrow we're meeting the Grangers."
"Ah, right."
"Don't make that face. I'm excited, it's not easy having no one to talk to about raising a magical child."
"I get that. I just wish it weren't on Boxing Day."
Diane pulled on her robe, tossing Norm's to him. "Quit complaining, you can laze about on Sunday to your heart's desire."
"Oh?" He grabbed her, pulling her back to bed. "Is that a promise?"
She laughed, giving him a deep kiss, before patting his cheek affectionately. "And be sure that you shave tomorrow morning too, you're getting scratchy."
"Mum! Dad! Hurry up!"
Still chuckling, Diane disentangled herself from Norm and walked into the dining room, where Harry had laid out a full English breakfast. "Looks sinfully delicious, Harry. I'm lucky you only cook on special occasions, or I'd have to grease the doorframe to make it to work!"
"Oh hush. Where are we meeting the Grangers tomorrow?"
"They invited us over for lunch, so we'll be traveling to their home."
"Where do they live?"
"Hampstead." When Harry didn't show any signs of recognition, she continued. "It's another suburb of London, but north of the City."
"Sounds like a long ride on the Tube."
"Yes, but we'll take a cab from the station to their house, so feel free to eat til you burst today."
Harry grinned. "Does that mean that you made some treacle?"
"Wouldn't be Christmas without it, now would it? Settle down, you can't have any until after dinner." Norm finally emerged from the bedroom, sitting down and gratefully accepting a full plate from Harry.
"Looks great, kiddo, thanks. Did Diane talk to you yet about this summer?"
"Hadn't gotten to it yet, Norm."
"What's up?"
Norm dropped a spoonful of milk into his tea, and stirred while he responded. "We've been putting together wedding plans. Would you be all right as the ring bearer?"
"Absolutely!" Harry had an ear-to-ear smile on his face.
"Great! We also planned a family dinner before the rehearsal, so Diane's family could have a chance to get to know you. Probably should have done it sooner, but what with Hogwarts' schedule and all, the timing hasn't worked out."
"Okay..."
Diane reached over and squeezed Harry's hand. "Don't worry, they'll love you. They've heard all about you and can't wait to finally meet you."
"Speaking of, they haven't heard everything about you; does Hogwarts have a standard cover story to give to nonmagical people?"
Harry looked uncertain. "I don't know."
"It's fine, Harry," Diane said. "We'll ask the Grangers. I'm sure they've dealt with issues like this before."
"The other thing I wanted to mention is that we're planning to move after the wedding. Instead of taking a trip for our honeymoon, we're planning to put a down payment on a house. We'd like you to come along with us during this break and look at a few properties."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Wow! Would we have a yard? It'd be great if Hedwig had a place outside to relax and take in some fresh air. Oh! And what about a basement where I could practice magic? This is going to be brill!"
"Easy there, Harry," Diane cautioned. "I'm not sure we can afford all of that. But we want you to have some input, it's going to be your home, too."
"I can't wait!"
"Great. Now let's finish eating so you can get to your presents."
Harry had no objections to that, and started eating with gusto.
The next day, Harry and his family emerged from a black cab in front of a huge house. Three stories, on a large plot of land in a posh neighborhood, the three of them were rather intimidated by their surroundings.
"Thanks guv!" The cabbie said in response to Norm handing him several notes, the car zooming away without hesitation.
"Harry!" The door opened, and Hermione waved enthusiastically. "Happy Boxing Day!"
"Happy Boxing Day, Hermione! This my mum and dad, Norm and Diane."
Hermione was dressed in an expensive blouse and a fashionable skirt. "How do you do, please, come in." They entered the home, which was as elegant inside as it was out. "These are my parents, Drs. Dan and Emma Granger*."
"Hello there! Won't you come in? We've just set the table, you're right on time." Norm and Diane followed, a bit nervous at the lavish environment. Harry, having attended many events with Lockhart in the homes of the wizarding aristocracy, was more at ease.
"You have a lovely home." Diane started off.
"Thank you!" Emma responded. "Hermione tells us you live in Surrey?"
"That's right." Small talk continued over lunch, with Emma and Dan proving to be approachable and easy-going. When Dan broke out a bottle of wine afterwards, Hermione stood and motioned Harry to follow her.
They climbed the stairs up to what appeared to be a study with a twin-sized bed. "This is your room?"
"Yes. What's that face about?" Harry tried and failed to stop smiling, seeing wall-to-wall bookshelves, one of them even obscuring half of the room's large window.
"It's very... you, Hermione."
"Oh, stop it. Listen, I didn't want to bring this up in front of my parents, or yours." She was serious, no trace of joking around on her face. "Do you subscribe to the Prophet?"
"No, definitely not." The less he saw of that paper, the better.
"I figured as much. You need to see what they've been writing since we left Hogwarts, though." Hermione removed a key from around her neck and opened a locked drawer at her desk. "I've been saving them so my parents wouldn't see. I told them it's for a class project." She removed a pile of perhaps a dozen articles that had been clipped from the newspaper and handed them to Harry.
He looked down at the first. 'More Details About the Muggle Monsters', the headline read. "Hermione, I don't want to see thi-"
"They're not all about you, Harry. It's important."
He sighed, continuing to flip through them. It looked like there had been three or four more articles about the Dursleys since the term at Hogwarts had ended. He flipped to the next in line, from Christmas eve, and stopped.
Potter Protectors Mete Out Vigilante Justice to Violent Muggles. The article detailed how a Magic Reversal Squad was summoned too late to detain any of the wizards that apparently had attended a lynching on Privet Drive, where Vernon was killed and Dudley left in critical condition at a muggle hospital. The article went to great pains to assure its readers that no wizards – aurors or those in the mob – were injured by his relatives.
"My god."
Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "Keep going."
Minister Fudge Suspends Investigation into Muggle-baiting Incident in London.
Potter Preservation Plan Passed: New Investigative Division to Monitor Muggleborn Home Treatment.
Shocking Expose: Muggleborns Found in Rank, Rancid Hovel. Are Any Magical Children Safe with Muggles?
Harry looked up at Hermione with wide eyes. "They're not even going to look for who killed the Dursleys?"
"No. The Minister said it was a crime of passion, and that their resources should go into making sure there 'aren't any other Harry Potters sleeping in cupboards.'"
"This is-, I can't believe it. It's nuts!"
"That last one – it's about the Creevey's. You know Colin, the First Year that was petrified? His father is a milkman, they live in a two bedroom flat in Nottingham. Apparently his younger brother has also shown accidental magic. Their family's not that well off, but the article makes it sound they're destitute and living on the streets!" She clenched her fists, frustrated tears coming to her eyes. "I'm worried they're going to show up here."
"It'll be okay, Hermione." He said, still stunned by the extreme revelations. Uncle Vernon dead, Dudley in the hospital. 'What happened to Aunt Petunia?' he wondered. "What about the Conservative faction? They can't have gone along with this."
Hermione looked impressed. "You've been studying. Most of them voted against it, but a lot abstained."
"This is bad."
"Now you see why you needed to know." She took the articles back from him, locking them in her desk. "What are we going to do?"
Harry leaned against her desk, trying to come up with something. "I'll talk to Lockhart. Maybe he and I can make some sort of public statement in opposition to this."
Hermione nodded. "That might change some minds, cool the hysteria some. I never thought something like this could happen..."
"You should stay away from America, then." When Hermione looked at him, question on her lips, he went on. "Over there they take muggleborns away from their families as soon as they show signs of magic."
"That's barbaric!"
"We should get back downstairs. Thanks for telling me, Hermione."
The two of them returned to their parents, both shaken and disturbed.
January 3, 1993
"Please, stay here, you don't need to get off the train."
"But, why? We always see you off on the platform." Harry and his family were on the Tube, nearly to King's Crossing.
"It's just-, well, weren't you going to meet with the realtor to make an offer on that place in Bexley?"
"You liked that one, huh?"
"Yes!" Harry's knuckles turned white as he gripped his bookbag. "That house was great. You shouldn't let it slip away."
Diane touched his shoulder, his tense posture clearly apparent. "Are you okay, Harry?"
"I'm fine, Mum." The doors chimed, announcing the stop. "I love you, Mum, love you, Dad. I can't wait for this summer!" Harry hugged them both, and darted out of the train, running at full speed for the hidden entrance.
Squeezing his way through the crowd at Nine and Three Quarters, Harry hopped on board the Express as quickly as possible. Judging by the lack of empty compartments, the Tube had run a little late. He walked through the corridor, peeking in each compartment as he passed.
"We said no, Loony, go sit somewhere else!"
Harry hurried his way up the train towards the unfriendly voices he heard, jerking a compartment door open and escorting Luna out, his arm around her shoulders. He shot a dirty look at the First Year girls in the compartment as he walked out.
"Oh! Hello, Harry, how was your break?"
"It was all right Luna. How did your trip go?"
"No sign of heliopaths, but it was lovely diving in the Aegean Sea. Have you ever taken gillyweed, Harry?"
"No, I haven't."
"It's really quite a unique experience. I wish I were a fish animagus so I could sprout gills anytime I wanted."
"Let's find somewhere to sit, and you can tell me all about it, okay?"
"All right."
They continued up the train, peeking into compartments. Harry received many sympathetic glances, and one mocking grin from Draco Malfoy, before eventually coming across a compartment with his friends. Opening the door, the two stepped directly into an ongoing argument.
"But how could he? Don't you see how this is being used?"
"Hermione, my dad just wanted to make sure no other children get hurt. He isn't a bigot!" Hannah said in a defensive tone.
"What's going on?"
"Harry," Hermione looked relieved to see him. "Hannah's father voted for this horrid policy. You know, not every wizard lives in a mansion, either. It doesn't mean that they are abusive any more than a muggle in a small home is!"
"It was just an inspection!"
"On the front page of the newspaper!"
"Whoa, whoa." Neville stood up and stepped between the two girls. "Let's all take a breath. Hannah, Gran says that bill was only a few steps away from a Death Eater's dream. Especially in the current environment, it is really bad. And Hermione, Hannah's family aren't as bad as you think they are. Lord Abbott has defended muggleborns frequently over the years. I think he was being idealistic in his support for these inspections."
Hermione let out a frustrated scoff and sat back in her seat. "You can't understand. Muggles are this foreign concept to you, like talking about people overseas or something. They're exactly like you, just without magic. Real people, can't you see that?"
"We get it, Hermione. And we may be purebloods, but both Auntie and Madam Longbottom voted against this bill. Not every pureblood is against you." Susan remarked.
The frazzled Gryffindor let her hair fall over her eyes. "I know. I am so worried about my parents, though!" Luna set her bag down by the compartment door and sat down next to Hermione, hugging the older girl.
Neville ran his eyes around the compartment, taking in Hannah's hostile, crossed arms; Hermione softly crying while Luna held her; Susan sitting with her hands anxiously twisting together, and looked at Harry with a grimace. "Welcome back, mate. Hope you had a good holiday."
Dinner was nearly over when Lockhart finally stood up to leave. Harry quickly set aside his utensils and followed his professor out of the Great Hall.
"Harry! Welcome back, how was your break?"
"Not so great, Professor. I need to talk to you."
"Certainly, you know the way to my office."
The two walked up the stairs to the DADA classroom, Lockhart regaling Harry about the New Year's party that he had attended. Arriving at the classroom, Lockhart walked in and breezed right into his office without so much as an Unlocking Charm.
"Now, what's this about?"
"I want to gather up some people of influence and come out publicly against this Potter Preservation Plan, and try to get it repealed."
"Speak out against the PPP? No, I don't think so. Too controversial. Did you have any other ideas? I'm loving this brainstorming session, we should do this all the time!"
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "This isn't a brainstorming session. I need you to do this. Think about my parents; weren't they nice? They really liked you. Do they deserve to be presumed guilty just because they aren't wizards?"
"Oh Harry, relax. Those lovely muggles have no reason to fear. Certainly no one could accuse them of negligence."
"Okay," Harry switched gears. "You're a halfblood, right?"
"I am."
"So one of your parents is muggleborn."
"My father was, yes."
"What was his attitude towards muggles? What would he think of this bill, of the people that support it? Lockhart," Harry gripped the older man's shoulders. "How many of your fans are muggleborn or related to a muggleborn?"
"By Jove, the injustice!" Lockhart sprang to his feet. "You're absolutely right, Harry! I'm glad to have you here to remind me that heroes stand up for what's right, even in the face of controversy! Ol' Sluggy voted against it, I bet he'd be willing to rustle up a few personalities and some press. I'll firecall him right away!"
"Great, that's great, Professor."
March 5, 1993
"Daphne, thanks for meeting with me tonight."
"Sure, it's no problem. What's on your plate this weekend?" Harry and Lockhart had been making a series of public appearances on a weekly basis, speaking out in favor of 'individual rights', the spin that Slughorn had suggested would go over best with the Wizengamot. Daphne had been working with Harry regularly, prepping him for media appearances and drilling him on the background of his supporters and detractors.
"We're appearing with Lord Shafiq to introduce an adjustment that would place the inspections purely under the oversight of Madam Bones."
"She opposed the bill, it's a smart move to put her in charge of its execution."
"That's the thought."
"I have to say, I'm kind of enjoying seeing you get political." Daphne took in his trademark silver acromantula robes, well-manicured hair, and wire-rimmed glasses.
"Er, thanks. So, Lord Shafiq?"
Daphne held back a sigh, reaching into her schoolbag to pull out some reference materials. They spent an hour going over his biography, and adding in some personal additions to the draft of Harry's speech that Daphne thought would go over well.
"I think that's enough. Thanks again. I mean it."
"It's nothing, Harry." She packed up her things, glancing back at him. "Is Snape still on the warpath?"
Harry rolled his eyes. The Potions Professor had it out for Harry for months now, taking off points for imagined infractions and assigning detentions as often as he could get away with. "He is. Do you think the reason he's so upset because I'm lobbying against this bill?"
"It's possible. He runs in the same circles as the poorer pureblood supremacists. Plus, he's close to the Malfoys; he's Draco's godfather."
Harry barked a short laugh as they exited the classroom into the hallway. "That explains so much, actually."
"Doesn't it?" She grinned at him, her violet eyes sparkling in the torchlight. "Walk me back to the dungeons?"
"Okay, sure."
While Harry and Daphne strolled through Hogwarts, a long-brewing conflict was coming to a boil in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Everybody calm down!" Percy Weasley shouted, trying to restore order among the squabbling Lions.
"Why should we? We're the only ones that are in danger."
"Settle down! There haven't been any petrifications since before Yule. It's safe to say that the worst is over."
"How do we know that?" Dean Thomas asked. "They never caught who was doing it, and all of Hagrid's roosters were killed last weekend."
"Not to mention none of you have to worry about petrification or being taken away from your families," said a Fifth Year muggleborn.
"Nobody's been taken away from their parents, Roberts, quit being dramatic." snarked Cormac McLaggen.
"Yea?" Gary Roberts scoffed at the Third Year. "Even Harry Potter doesn't care about muggleborn families, he's too busy worrying about whether any of your lordly selves will lose any privilege while you're breaking our families apart!"
"The fact is," Randall Meyer, a Seventh Year muggleborn said, "Gryffindor has the highest proportion of muggleborns of any of the Houses. We expect more from you and the others. We're supposed to be your family, where are you now that we need you?"
Neville stood up. "For one thing, we're still students, too. But my grandmother fought hard against this bill. The Weasleys' father is a huge supporter of muggle protections. And Hannah Abbott's father has announced he is going to vote to repeal the Potter Preservation Plan. We're with you."
Seated on the steps leading to the girls' dormitories, Ginny Weasley stared thoughtfully at Neville.
Later that night, next to a particularly shiny suit of armor, Penelope Clearwater was discovered petrified.
A/N: One more chapter to go and 2nd year will be over. Buckle up, boys and girls!
*Oh, and I know it's stereotypical, but I'm lazy enough to use the fanon convention of Hermione's parents being named Daniel and Emma.