* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART THREE
The Eighth Year
Chapter 41: A Trip to the Daily Prophet
By the end of the day, Draco, Harry, Theo and Neville were more irritated about the newspaper than they had been that morning. Through talking about it during the day and finding out how annoyed other eighth years were, their annoyance grew, and the moment the final bell rang at 4.30 pm, they left the school and apparated to Diagon Alley.
They felt like celebrities as they made their way through Diagon Alley, and they had to keep their heads down so that they weren't recognised. Sometimes Harry and Neville forgot that they were war heroes. Still, Draco and Theo would never forget that to the rest of the wizarding world; they were famous for being the children of Death Eaters. When they finally reached the offices of the Daily Prophet, they marched in with their heads held high and were gaped at by the scrawny mousy haired receptionist at the desk.
"We're here to talk to the editor," Harry said firmly. The woman merely nodded and hurried up a set of stairs.
The office was dingy and dark with lots of little cubicles which people were gaping out of at the moment. The air smelled old and musty, and the tapping of typewriters could be heard over every other sound in the room.
The receptionist reappeared but had lost the ability to speak as she motioned for them to go up the stairs she had just rushed up.
They felt like they had accomplished something as they followed her into a small office where the editor of the Daily Prophet sat with his feet on his desk. He was absentmindedly throwing a small quaffle through a golden hoop and watching it soar back to him. He only looked a few years older than them, and he was wearing expensive robes and red-rimmed glasses with jewels encrusted onto them. According to the nameplate on his desk, his name was 'Sebastian Harrington'.
"Harry Potter," Harrington said in awe when they walked into the room with Harry at the front of the group, "What an honour it is."
"You won't be saying that in a minute," Harry said darkly as he leant against the wall of the small office.
Harrington just smiled oddly at him. His eyes looked too big for his face, and his dark brown hair was long and tied back into a ponytail.
"We've come here to demand a reprint," Harry began.
Draco then took over, "Your article this morning barely mentioned Tracey Davis. She died too, you know?"
"It wouldn't have sold," Harrington said, "No one cares about a half-blood Slytherin girl from an unimportant family who fell in love with a hero. It's boring!"
"It doesn't matter if it's boring. It's the truth!" Theo exclaimed angrily.
Harrington rolled his eyes, "The truth doesn't sell papers, darling, drama does."
"You have four of the most influential names in the wizarding world standing in front of you," Neville said dangerously, "We can seriously affect business if we had a reason to."
"Are you threatening me? Ooh, it's dramatic!" Harrington said as he gave them all an annoying grin.
"Reprint the article and talk about Tracey," Theo said as he stood close to the desk and looked down on Harrington with a glare that would make Harry run for the hills.
"Can't, it's out, it can't be changed, that's the news, baby!" Harrington said carelessly, but this didn't faze Draco or Harry. They had a plan.
The other two just didn't know about it yet.
"Okay," Harry said simply, "Fine, we tried," he sighed.
Draco nodded, "Yeah, guess that's all we can do. Come on, guys."
Theo and Neville knew something was up as they followed their friends from the room; they wouldn't have given up that easily if they didn't have a plan B.
"So..." Neville said when they were out on the street, which was now considerably emptier since most of the shops had shut for the night, "What are we going to do?"
Draco and Harry made eye contact, and Harry grinned mischievously, oh they had a plan, alright.
When the boys got back from Diagon Alley, they told the girls that they had tried and failed to get a reprint. They were disappointed, but they understood. That week was stressful because the article was always in their minds which meant that Dean and Tracey were too. They had eventually received a final date for their family planning week; it would now take place starting on Monday. Throughout the week, tensions grew within the group around the love triangle that had sprung up between Neville, Hannah and Susan.
"Have you spoken to her?" Harry asked Neville curiously.
Neville frowned and looked up from his Herbology diary, "Who?"
"Hannah, obviously," Harry said in disbelief, "Have you spoken to her since you broke up?"
"Nope," Neville said, "I tried to talk to her, but I got about three words in before a door was slammed in my face."
"I understand why she feels betrayed," Harry admitted, "If I broke up with Daphne and she slept with Draco a few hours later, I'd be pissed off too. But I reckon I'd understand that it was my fault...I'd feel like I forced her into his arms."
"Do you think that's how Hannah feels?" Neville asked Harry.
"No, I don't think she blames herself at all," Harry admitted, "I think that's the problem. I think she feels like she's the one in the right, but you can't shout insults like that and say 'it's over' and not expect the bloke to really think it is over..."
"Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks like that," Neville said with a sigh.
"I think she blames Susan instead of you, though," Harry said with a frown, "She called Susan a slut, and that pissed me off. Why should Susan be blamed and called a slut because she's the girl? It takes two to tango."
"I agree. If Hannah's going to blame us, she has to blame us both equally," Neville said quietly.
"Are you and Susan together?" Harry asked as his curiosity got the better of him.
Neville shook his head, "No... don't get me wrong; I get on great with Suse. We tried our hand at dating in sixth year, and it didn't work. That's why nothing happened between us during the war."
"Would have been like me trying to date Hermione," Harry said with a frown knitting its way onto his forehead.
"Exactly," Neville said, "And Susan knows that. Hence why she's a bit off at the moment, she feels like men only use her and I haven't exactly done anything to disprove that."
"At least you feel guilty about it," Harry said as he bit his lip, "I feel guilty too, for Hermione and I in the war...I feel like I took something from her that should have been reserved for someone special."
"Yeah," Neville sighed, "I know that feeling too."
"Kindred spirits, Neville," Harry said as he pushed himself to his feet and gripped Neville's shoulder, "That's what we are."
"Whatever you say," Neville said. He was partly amused but mostly exasperated as Harry disappeared upstairs to his dorm room.
"You've got to be careful that you don't lead Susan on."
"Why?" Neville asked slowly.
Ginny had just fallen into step next to him as he walked towards the library. She glanced around the empty halls and said, "Because it's obvious she still has feelings for you, it pretty much has been since the war."
"I know, and I like her too," Neville admitted, "I won't lie about there being a connection there, but I don't want to ruin another friendship. I'm taking a step back from dating for a while."
"That's fine, but make sure she knows that," Ginny said.
"Since when did you get involved in it anyway?" Neville asked. He was somewhat irritated by the fact that she was poking her nose into it.
Ginny shrugged, "Someone overheard something, and I overheard it from them, alright? Just make sure you don't go breaking any more hearts here, Neville."
"I'm not exactly the heart-breaking type, Gin," Neville pointed out.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, "I wouldn't be so sure of that. You are a war hero now, a hot war hero who could break a lot of hearts."
"I'm still the same person, hot or not," Neville assured her, "Did I break your heart?"
Ginny snorted, "No, only one guy has ever done that, and he happens to be the saviour of our world."
Neville smiled ruefully, "Go figure."
Ginny shrugged again, "Promise me you'll stop being a dick, and I'll leave you alone about."
Neville had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at his friend, "Hannah pissed me off, and I won't be getting back together with her. I saw a darker side to her, and I didn't like it."
"And Susan?"
"She's one of my closest friends," Neville said with a frown, "And I love her to bits. She's been there for me since before Hogwarts. I don't want to lose her and dating her...well, if it ended badly, I could, and I don't know if I could handle that."
"A noble excuse," Ginny smiled, "You're right; you haven't changed."
"And neither have you," Neville chuckled, "You're still a meddlesome pain in my arse."
Ginny grinned at him, "Good to know that I'm still doing my job then," she teased as she slipped into a secret passage.
"Hannah, just let me explain-"
"There is nothing to explain, Susan," Hannah snapped at the redheaded girl.
"Yes, there is," Susan said quickly, "Neville and I aren't-"
"-aren't together, I know," Hannah said bitterly, "So you screwed my boyfriend, but you don't care about him enough to date him. You ruined everything for what, sex?"
"I didn't ruin anything," Susan said tearfully, "You ruined everything, Hannah! You knew I had feelings for Neville, but you didn't even ask me how I felt when you started dating him!"
Hannah scoffed.
"You barely spoke to him during the war," Susan said hotly, "You weren't part of his council, were you? That was me, Ginny, Seamus and Lilly. I had feelings for him then, and you knew that. You knew I had feelings for him when we got back, but as soon as he showed any interest in you, you jumped at the chance!"
Hannah rolled her eyes, "You snooze, you lose Susie."
Susan shook her head in disbelief, "Just for the record; he was my boyfriend first. I dated him in sixth year, and also, for the record? It's your fault. You screwed it up, not me! I didn't ruin your relationship; you did that all by yourself! Do you know what he said to me, Hannah? He said he didn't feel bad about sleeping with me because he knew that no matter how long he thought about it or how many nights he slept on it, he would never get back together with you. He said he would never be with someone who makes him pick between them and the guy he thinks of as a brother."
Tears spilt out of Hannah's eyes, "Why are you telling me this, Susan, to punish me even more?"
"I'm telling you because you have to drop this stupid delusion that you and Neville are going to run back into each other's arms and that everything will be okay!" Susan said as tears formed in her eyes, "Because that's not going to happen, Hannah. And no, I'm not going to get together with Neville because, in his eyes, I'm worthless. I'm nothing more than a girl to sleep with when he feels bad and laugh with when he feels lonely. He'll never love me, and he'll never respect me. What you and Neville had is over, but at least you had that, Hannah. At least you had his love and his respect."
Hannah's eyes darkened as she stared at the girl, "You'll never have that from anyone Susan and do you know why? It's because you're a slut!" she practically spat.
"Well, frankly, you never deserved Neville," Susan said as tears spilt from her eyes, "He's not just Neville anymore. He's a famous war hero, ever since he killed that snake. It's not like he's the bumbling fool who was happy to go to the Yule Ball with Ginny Weasley since he couldn't find anyone else!"
"I know he's a war hero," Hannah said hotly, "Why do you think I found him so hot recently? I fail to see how that means I don't deserve him, my father is a pureblood, and he is on the Wizengamot!"
"Starting to sound a little like Draco Malfoy there, Hannah," Susan said wickedly, "You better watch that. I wonder what your father will say when he finds out that you and the golden hero he was hoping would propose to you, broke up."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
The icy cold voice belonged to none other than the topic of their argument, Neville Longbottom. Susan and Hannah spun around speechlessly.
"Your father was hoping that I would propose to you because I'm a war hero?" Neville hissed angrily.
Hannah's face paled, "Well, it has increased your value and status in the Wizarding world, Neville-"
"Shut up!" Neville snapped, "You disgust me! You both disgust me! I can't believe you are fighting about me like this. Frankly, I don't want to date either of you! Susan, you are one of my oldest friends, and you have been since I was a kid. I'm not going to put that in jeopardy for anything, regardless of how you feel, and I'm sorry that I feel that way. And as for you, Hannah, I'm pretty sure you would have fitted into Slytherin pretty well with all of the lying and sneaking you've been doing. I don't want to talk to either of you at the moment!"
Before either girl could say anything, Neville had stalked upstairs straight into the dorm that Harry and Draco shared. Draco was out at training with the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team, but Harry was working alone at his desk when Neville stormed in and slammed the door behind him.
Harry jumped at the loud noise, "Merlin Neville! What the hell was that for?"
Neville groaned in frustration, "Have you ever had women try to sleep with you or date you because you're the bloody fantastic Harry Potter who saved the entire fucking world?"
"Uh yeah," Harry said with a frown, "All the time. Are you hitting on me?"
"No," Neville snapped, he didn't have a sense of humour at the moment, "I just overheard Hannah and Susan arguing over me! They basically both made out that they were attracted to me because I'm Neville Longbottom, the guy who killed the fucking snake!"
Harry bit his lip as he surveyed his best friend, "Shit Neville...that sucks."
"Am I going to have to deal with this for my whole life?" Neville asked angrily, "Am I always going to have to be careful in relationships to make sure people aren't with me for fame or money?"
"Not exactly," Harry replied honestly, "I mean, it doesn't mean you can't have relationships. But you might have to be careful that people aren't after glory, yeah..."
"So yes then, I'll always have to watch my back!" Neville snapped.
"No," Harry said firmly, "Because people tried that with me, Neville. People tried to slip me love potions to get me to sleep with them. You'd have thought that I would never trust a woman, but Daphne was so blunt with me that I knew she didn't give a shit about my fame. And that will happen for you too. Look, Neville, I know that this really sucks, but it just proves that Hannah wasn't right for you."
Neville groaned as he fell onto Draco's bed with a thump, "Being a famous war hero is overrated."
"Tell me about it," Harry muttered.
"Suse, what's wrong?" Harry asked gently.
Susan jumped and wiped her eyes, "Nothing, sorry. I thought I was alone down here."
"I was just on my way back from the kitchens," Harry said as he waved a tub of ice cream in front of the redhead, "Ginny's been in our tower quite a lot with Blaise. She came down to the common room craving ice cream, and I fancied a wander. Why are you sitting down here alone?"
Susan was sitting in a small alcove close to the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room. She shrugged as Harry slipped in next to her, opened the tub of ice cream and handed her a spoon, "I wanted to be somewhere comfortable, close to where I used to feel happy."
"The Hufflepuff common room," Harry said knowingly, "Do you want some ice cream?"
Susan shook her head, and Harry nudged her in the ribs, "Are you sure? It's cookie dough flavour."
Susan smiled slightly and dug her spoon into the tub, "Alright, I'll have a couple of spoonful's."
"What's going on with you?" Harry asked her conversationally, "Is it still what happened or..."
"It's Hannah," Susan sighed, "And Neville."
"What about them?" Harry asked. He figured that pretending that he didn't know what had happened was easier as he dug his spoon into the ice cream tub.
"Hannah called me a slut," Susan frowned, "Which isn't anything new. She asked why I slept with Neville, then didn't even get together with him afterwards, and I told her the truth...because the truth is that as much as I care about Neville, he'll never view me in that way. He proved as much when he overheard us and said we both disgusted him for arguing over him..."
Harry frowned. He felt incredibly stuck in the middle here, "He likes you as a friend. I know that much."
"Yeah, I know that much too," Susan said irritably, "But Hannah got two things from Neville. She got love and respect. All I got, all I ever get, is darkness and bitterness..."
"Neville does respect you, Suse," Harry said softly, "And he doesn't think you're a slut. I mean, you've slept with what, three guys."
"Four," Susan replied miserably.
"How is that massively different to anyone else?" Harry asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's probably higher than everyone else's number. What's yours?" Susan said miserably.
"Three," Harry replied, "Not far off of yours. It's not just about numbers anyway; it's about circumstance. I haven't slept with three random girls. I've slept with three people that I loved."
Susan rested her head against the wall, "I lost my virginity to Theo. I didn't love him, I thought I did, but it was infatuation. Then there was Neville, and I did love him, but he never loved me back."
Harry put an arm around her shoulder.
"During the war there was Wayne. That was just a way to pass the time," Susan shook her head at her own stupidity, "And then Viktor, definitely not love."
"It's really not that bad, Suse," Harry said supportively, "I lost my virginity to Ginny, which I feel bad about because I always forgot that she was a year younger than me. Then I slept with my best friend and nearly fucked up everything about our friendship by doing so. Don't beat yourself up about it."
Susan frowned, "So you don't think I'm a slut?"
"I don't, just like I don't think Ginny or Daphne is," Harry shrugged, "I know what people say about Ginny, and we both know what everyone said about Daphne. I hate the word, I really do, and I hate girls like Hannah, Sally and Annie, who demean other girls."
Susan smiled, "So you're a feminist, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm a fucking feminist," Harry grinned, "I love strong women. Both in and out of the bedroom."
Susan laughed loudly, and Harry chuckled, "That's better than the crying."
She smiled, "I guess it just sucks, you know? Being single when all of your friends are loved up."
"Yeah, I get that," Harry said honestly, "But loads of people love you, and I've got buckets of respect for you. You're one of the bravest, most bad arse girls I know."
Susan laughed weakly, "Thanks for the self-esteem boost, Harry."
Harry smiled, "Hey, it's the truth, Susan. You're fantastic, and I'm sorry that Neville doesn't see that. But someone else will, trust me."
"You took forever."
"I found a stray along the way," Harry joked as he walked back into the common room with Susan, "And she ate half of your ice cream."
"Boy trouble?" Ginny asked Susan with a slight smile.
"And girl trouble," Susan sighed.
"Well, then I guess I forgive you," Ginny joked.
Susan smiled weakly and then glanced at Harry as she stepped onto the staircase to the girl's dorms, "Thanks for the pep talk Harry," she said as she disappeared upstairs.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at her ex as he sat down next to her on the sofa, "Pep talk?"
"You know what's going on with Neville, Hannah and Susan, don't you?" Harry asked as he handed her a spoon and the ice cream tub.
"Hannah broke up with Neville, who then slept with Susan," Ginny said with a wave of the spoon, "And they were arguing about him, so he told them both to fuck off. Yep, the whole school heard about it."
"Well, Susan has feelings for Neville, but she thinks he doesn't respect her. She kept calling herself a slut which pisses me off," Harry said irritably, "Why do girls have to hurt each other like that? Why do they have to bring each other down with horrible names?"
"Because they are petty bitches," Ginny shrugged, "I've been called a slut a good few times."
Harry shook his head in disbelief, "Idiots."
"I have slept with a lot of guys for a 17-year-old," Ginny said with a shrug.
"So four is a lot now, is it?" Harry asked.
"Five," Ginny corrected him.
"Five," Harry frowned, "There was Michael, Dean, me and Neville."
"And now Blaise," Ginny said with an amused smile.
"Shit yeah," Harry chuckled, "I forgot about Blaise."
Ginny snorted in amusement, "People talk, and I know they do. I was in fourth year when I lost my virginity; people talk about that kind of shit."
"Do you know what? I've just had this conversation with Susan, and who cares? Who cares how many people you sleep with? As long as you use protection, don't get any diseases and don't get pregnant, who fucking cares?" Harry asked with a roll of his eyes.
Ginny chuckled.
"And women need to stop disrespecting each other," Harry added with a shake of his head, "They get enough of that from men."
Ginny smiled slightly, "You're a feminist now, yeah?"
"Yeah, I am," Harry said proudly, "And I'm fucking proud of it."
"Well, I appreciate your heroics, and I'm sure Susan does too," Ginny chuckled, "But you better disappear before your girlfriend finds you sharing ice cream with your ex."
"One more spoonful," Harry said. He stole a huge spoonful of her ice cream and got slapped as he darted up the stairs to his dorm room.
On Friday morning, everyone sat down to eat breakfast. An owl arrived with Hermione's Prophet, which she casually unrolled and glanced at the front page of. This casual glance caused her to choke on her pumpkin juice and spit it out over her breakfast.
"They did a reprint!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, and the others hurried over to look at the picture on the front page, which was now a picture of Dean and Tracey together at the Yule Ball.
"I thought you said..." Hermione said slowly, but then she shook her head, "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that the truth is out there," she smiled as she skimmed the article.
"Read it out loud," Daphne said from where she was sitting next to her friend.
Hermione smiled, "Sure," she said as she cleared her throat and got ready to read out the new article.
"A VALENTINE'S DAY TRAGEDY
(Reprint of edition from Monday the 23rd of Feb.)
When Dean Thomas (a war hero) and Tracey Davis imagined Valentine's Day, I am sure they imagined a happy affair, but sadly that was not to be. In a tragic incident, seven girls were kidnapped on Valentine's Day, taken from the village of Hogsmeade, where students from Hogwarts are permitted to visit on certain weekends.
Hermione Granger (war heroine), Daphne Greengrass (the girlfriend of Harry Potter), Hannah Abbott (a dueller for the light in the war), Susan Bones (also a dueller for the light), Sadie Cauldwell (the daughter of Septimus Cauldwell, the inventor of the sneakoscope) and Lillian Moon (another dueller for the light) were the other girls abducted with Tracey. My sources tell me that Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass were both tortured to reveal information that their long-term boyfriends, Harry Potter and Draco Black (formerly Malfoy), respectively, had discussed with them.
The people responsible for the ruthless attack were Death Eaters Evan Rosier and Walden MacNair. The entire attack was perpetrated by Dolores Umbridge (Former Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic), who was enraged that a particular group of students who had returned for an eighth year at Hogwarts to achieve their N.E.W.T's, intended to end corruption within the Ministry.
Those involved in the bid to make the Wizengamot legitimate once more were the heads of prominent families such as Neville Longbottom (war hero) and Theodore Nott (son of Alfred Nott, former governor of Hogwarts). Combined with Harry Potter and Draco Black, these families are practically wizarding royalty. Add in Ronald Weasley (war hero and the son of Arthur Weasley, one of the few wizarding officials within the Ministry pushing for reforms to end corruption), Susan Bones (niece of the first female head of the Wizengamot, Amelia Bones), Hannah Abbot (whose father Isaiah is a prominent wizarding official in the Wizengamot and the DMLE) and Daphne Greengrass (daughter of Cygnus Greengrass whose shipping business keeps the wizarding markets from London to Shanghai afloat) and you have a large group of powerful young witches and wizards who have the ideas needed to reform our country, and the power to enforce them.
Together with their close friend Dean and bounty hunter Percy Weasley (also co-founder and owner of 'WW Law Firm'), the group decided to find and save the girls. Disaster struck when the kidnapped girls were found in a cave deep below the mountains on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. A battle began that left five dead, Rosier, MaNair and Umbridge were among these five and Potter, Malfoy and Bones each received a 200 galleon fine for their use of the killing curse as justified by the Minister for Magic, who described it as, 'quick thinking defensive magic that saved many lives'. Unfortunately, amongst the chaos, Thomas and Davis were hit with killing curses, and their lives ended on the day that Thomas was planning to propose to Davies. The story is tragic, and our hearts and prayers here at the Prophet go out to both families. May both Dean Thomas and Tracey Davis rest in peace."
"Wow," Sadie said, in awe at how amazing the article was, "That's a big difference from 'we love Dean but don't even know Tracey's second name', isn't it?"
"Yeah," Hermione said, she was in shock too, but she was also frowning as if she was trying to figure out something very complicated in her head.
"What do you think made them change their mind?" Susan asked. Like Sadie, she was oblivious to what Daphne and Hermione were in the middle of figuring out.
"Which one of you bought the prophet?" Daphne asked with a small smile.
"None of them technically," Hermione said as she narrowed her eyes at the four boys.
"You are both correct," Harry said honestly, "So to speak."
"We both did," Draco said as he grinned at Harry, "Between us, we now co-own the prophet."
"So you control the news now?" Hermione asked in amusement, the corners of her mouth quirked up.
"Yep," Draco said smugly, "And our first action was to pass a law stating that the news must always be truthful."
"A law?" Susan laughed, "You realise you own a newspaper, not the Ministry, right?"
"Whatever," Harry said with a wave of his hand, "We passed a news law, and since we own the news, it must be obeyed, so it's the same thing."
"You own one newspaper, not the news," Susan chuckled as she shook her head in amusement.
"It's the most important one in Britain, though," Hermione reasoned, "What was your second action?"
"We sacked that idiot Harrington and appointed a new Editor-in-Chief," Harry answered.
"As co-owners of the prophet, do you know everything that goes into it before it's published?" Hermione asked with a smirk.
Harry frowned, "No... we just give them funding and make them change things we don't like...why?"
Hermione grinned as she turned to page six of the paper and turned it around to show the boys, "It's this year's '10 Most Wondrous Wizards and Witches list' and look who's at the top of it."
"What?" Theo exclaimed indignantly, "Number five?"
"Number two!" Draco said loudly, glaring at the paper.
"Number three!" Harry snorted, "I saved the wizarding world. I should have beaten Draco at least!"
"Number one!" Neville said slowly as he gaped at his picture, which was smiling at him from the paper, "Number one? Seriously?"
"Everybody loves a shy, unexpected hero Neville," Susan teased. Hannah shot a dirty look at her former best friend, but if Susan saw it, she ignored it.
"Whose number four?" Sadie asked as she craned her head to look at the list. She couldn't quite see it because of where she was sitting.
"Viktor Krum," Hermione replied through a mouthful of toast.
Susan snorted, and Hermione asked, "What happened with you two? You seemed to hit it off!"
Susan shook her head, "It didn't work out. He trains from 5 am till midnight six days a week. He said it to me straight that he didn't want a girlfriend; he just wanted fun. I've had enough of being someone's fun when they're having a bad time," her eyes flickered towards Neville, who glanced down guiltily.
"You'll find someone who wants to date you, Susan," Daphne said with a smile, "And when you do, the flings won't mean anything anymore, and you'll be glad you waited for a decent guy to come along," she grinned at Harry who smiled broadly back.
"I hope you're right," Susan said simply as she looked back down at her breakfast.
Lilly walked by the table on her way to Hannah, "Ooh, the list is out. Is Ron on there?"
Hermione swallowed her toast and glanced down, "Yep, number nine. Are you two back together?"
Lilly scoffed, "No. He was there for me through everything that happened, and don't get me wrong, that was sweet of him. But he slept with somebody else, and I don't think I'll ever be able to trust him again because of that."
Hannah shot Neville a glare and said loudly, "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."
"Hannah, if all you are going to do is make petty comments loudly, then I'd appreciate it if you sat at the Hufflepuff table," Neville said irritably, "It isn't going to change my mind. It's just annoying."
Hannah looked affronted and embarrassed as she got to her feet and stalked from the hall.
Lilly sighed and glanced at Neville, "She's having a tough time with this, you know."
"I know," Neville said in an undertone, "But this isn't the same as what Ron did to you, Lil. Ron slept with someone else because you two argued, but you were still together. Hannah threw some disgusting insults around and then broke up with me. I knew I wasn't going to get back together with her when I slept with Susan."
"And I get that," Lilly said honestly, "But you lot are all so close, and Hannah is feeling isolated. Without me, she doesn't have anyone else, Neville. I'm not picking sides. I've known you and Hannah both since first year. I don't want to lose either of you."
"Alright," Neville said with a nod, "So long as you don't flit between us and gossip."
Lilly snorted in amusement as she slung her bag over her back, "Do I look like the kind of person who gossips?'" she asked simply as she walked out of the hall after Hannah.
Neville sighed as he glanced away from her, "This has really ripped Lil and me apart."
"Well, it's ripped Hannah away from us," Susan said as she shoved her food around on her plate, "I knew there was a nasty side to her, but I didn't realise it would come out in force. She's my best friend, though; she's my Ron, you know Harry?"
"I get it," Harry said honestly.
"So what would you do in this situation?" Susan asked with a sigh.
"If I had slept with my best friend's girlfriend, you mean?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, "Because I practically did that in the war."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "You make it sound worse than it was. Ron and I weren't together; we had never been together. We just had feelings for each other."
"All the same," Harry said as he turned back to Susan, "I told Ron what had happened. He punched me in the face, we didn't talk for a while, and then things were okay again after a couple of weeks."
"Girls are a bit more complicated than that," Daphne said with a slight smile, "Suse, you've said it yourself. Hannah can be petty and childish. All that you can do is apologise and hope things blow over. But you might have to accept that they never will."
Susan sighed again, "Yeah...you're right. Who else is on that list, Hermione?"
Hermione knew that Susan wanted to change the subject, and she understood why as she scanned the list again, "Wow, Percy is number eight! Although even I have to admit that the new look suited him..."
Harry shook his head in disbelief, and Draco made a face, "I'm worried about your affixation with Weasley's, Hermione."
Hermione rolled her eyes at this comment. Daphne was sitting next to her and had been leaning over her shoulder to read the paper, "Well, I'm not surprised at number six or seven," she said.
"Oliver Wood," Hermione agreed.
Daphne grinned, "For a Gryffindor, he isn't bad," she winked at Harry, who only chuckled.
"And seven is still Gilderoy Lockhart which is so predictable," Sadie said as she rolled her eyes, "I mean, he's been in St. Mungo's for long enough now.
"At least he's not number one anymore," Hermione pointed out
Daphne chuckled, "True," she said.
"You can't talk, Hermione. You fancied him like mad in 2nd year!"
"Oh, hush Harry!"
"Whose number ten?" Harry asked. He was quite intrigued by the list, even though it was a girly thing.
Hermione glanced at the list one last time, "Uh, Roger Davies," she said as Draco grabbed the paper from her hands and spread it out on the table in front of himself, Harry, Theo and Neville.
"Right," Draco said as he turned the page to the "Wondrous Witches" section, "Time to see what your ratings are."
"Daphne, you've been beaten to the top spot," Draco said with a smirk, "By my gorgeous Gryffindor herself."
Hermione gaped at him, "Seriously?"
"Really!" Harry said, "And Daph, you're number two."
"Number two dating a number three? Oh, I don't know about that, Harry," Daphne joked, but Harry only laughed.
"Sadie, you're number three," Theo said as he hi-fived his girlfriend.
Neville laughed, "Number four, Suse, if you're interested in that sort of stuff."
"Not bad," Susan said with a chuckle.
Harry chuckled, " Do you reckon Gin knows she's number five?"
"I know," Ginny said as she dropped down onto Blaise's lap, "I'm rethinking our relationship, Blaise. I mean, you're not even on the list. I'm way too good for you."
Blaise snorted, "Coming from the blood traitor."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "I could make comments on your Muggle and Muggle-bornstep-fathers."
"Who are both no longer in the picture," Blaise pointed out.
"Who your Mother still had children with,'" Ginny smirked, "So give up the pureblood act, you tosser."
Blaise smiled slightly, unbeknownst to Ginny, who had turned to look at her friends, "Did you see that Angelina made number six?"
"And number seven is Gabrielle," Harry said through a mouthful of toast.
"Fleur is number eight," Harry added after he had swallowed his mouthful. He whistled, "Oh, she is not going to like being beaten by her sister," he laughed as he imagined Fleur's reaction when she saw the list.
"Number nine is Cho Chang," Theo said, "I'd agree with that."
Sadie glared at him, "Theo," she said. Her tone was an unmistakable warning.
"I mean, I agree that she's number nine and you're number three because you're so much more amazing than her!" Theo said smoothly.
Sadie saw right through him; she gave him a wry smile, "Nice save," she said with a smirk.
Theo grinned, "I thought so myself, thank you, my dear."
"And last, but not least..." Draco said.
Harry added, "Drum roll please," which Neville provided.
"...is..." Draco said, "...Katie Bell!"
They laughed at the dramatics of it all, and they could see McGonagall smiling at the head table.
"So today we have learned," Daphne joked, "That Hermione and I are both too hot for our boyfriends."
They all laughed, and it felt amazing to laugh like that and feel happiness again. In a way, losing Dean and Tracey had made them cherish life. They realised just how short life could be, and they also appreciated just how lucky they were to live the lives they were leading.
* ~ TBC ~ *