CHAPTER EIGHT: Harry
CHAPTER EIGHT: Harry

Ron and Harry sat on opposite sides of a table in the Gryffindor common room a mass of divination notes, charts, and texts scattered about them.

"Do you really think we'll have to know this stuff for the O.W.Ls?" Ron said with a touch of desperation.

"Dunno," Harry replied, "Too soon to say, I think. I guess it's too late to switch to another course of study and still hope to pass an O.W.L. in it."

Ron snorted, "Trust me, if we did nothing in Divination from now until Spring we'd still do better on the Divination O.W.L. than we would on Arithmancy. Although, you'd have a decent shot at Muggle Studies. You ought to think about switching."

"No thanks," said Harry glumly. The muggle world was not something he liked to spend much time thinking about since, for him, the muggle world meant Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley and their hideous bully of a son, his cousin Dudley. The Dursleys had applied themselves to making Harry miserable with a singular devotion. After all the things that happened last year, spending a summer with them had been particularly difficult. No, it was better to focus on his studies... no bad memories there. He picked up a star chart.

"So, how can we remember the stuff about Mars... I've got a premonition that Trelawney will be devoting some focus to the red planet this year." he said in his best misty-voiced imitation of the Divination Teacher whom he, Ron, and not a few others considered 90% smoke and mirror and 10% real talent (at best).

Ron snorted but was prevented from comment by Hermione bursting through the portrait hole and rushing over to them.

"I've got it, I've got it!"

"Got what? Can you begin at the beginning for once?" Ron said, exasperated.

Hermione shot him a look, but was clearly too excited by whatever it was she had "got" to let him draw her into a quarrel. Instead she sat down and leaned forward speaking in a low voice.

"I figured out who... or rather what Isabel Clay is. Although I still have no idea why she's here." Hermione paused, breathlessly, surveying Ron and Harry with some satisfaction.

"Well?" Harry asked impatiently.

"I was just in the library," Hermione said (as Ron mouthed "where else?"), "Madam Clay was there, too. I see her there a lot browsing books and such. Well, she was reading Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles and I swear she was practically biting her fist not to laugh out loud. Now, I know some of the stuff in there is a bit, well, inaccurate, but I never found it funny."

"Hermione," Ron said trying to sound patient, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"I'm getting there! Honestly, Ron- Anyway, It just sort of hit me. The only people who find that book amusing are, well, muggle-borns and muggles."

"So you're saying the big discovery is that she is muggle born?" Harry asked confused.

"No!' Hermione said impatiently, leaning in and lowering her voice still further to whisper, "She's a muggle!"

Ron looked skeptical. Harry scowled and said, "Here? Why? That doesn't fit."

"Yes it does, Harry! Think about it! We all agree she's clearly British but she knows nothing about Hogwarts," here she held up her hand to stop Ron's protest, "I know you thought maybe she went to school somewhere else. If she did, why doesn't she seem to know anything about potions? Really, why would she bother observing so many classes or studying in the library? Have you noticed that the only classes she hasn't been to more than once are Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Okay, I see your point," Harry conceded, "And it would explain some other stuff like why she didn't gawp at my scar or know who I was. But why would she be here? And why all the secrecy?"

"Well the secrecy is obvious," Hermione said looking around, "Dumbledore doesn't want Malfoy's father and some of the other Slytherin parents to get wind of what he's up to."

"Which is?" Ron asked, sarcastically.

"That I don't know. I'm more convinced than ever, though, that Dumbledore has her here because she can help somehow against Vol- Voldemort."

Ron winced slightly at the use of Voldemort's name but said nothing. Harry was impressed. He'd never heard Hermione say Voldemort's name. But he was still confused. With a great deal of luck, some help, and a powerful wand, not to mention magical ability he had barely escaped Voldemort with his life. What chance did a muggle have against the most powerful Dark Wizard in a century?

"I don't know Hermione, I mean, you could be right but I still think it's a bit of a leap," Harry said after a moment.

"I agree with Harry." Ron said, "Lots of people find that book funny... at least people with a sense of humor."

Hermione shot Ron a poisonous look. Harry forestalled any response by voicing his other concern, "Besides, if wizards like Dumbledore and the entire ministry can't stop Voldemort what could a muggle do?"

"Yeah," Ron said furrowing his brow, " even IF she is a muggle, how could a muggle help?"

"That's an excellent question," Hermione said with a determined look, "I bet the answer is interesting."

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