A/n: Now I know why JKR puts in those Quidditch chapters: when
you have NO CLUE what to do with the middle part of the story, you just write
about the world's coolest sport! Glad you enjoyed that last chapter…it was fun
to write ~_~ I hope you like this one too…in any event, I can always use a piece
of your guys' minds…and I will leave my hat out for reviews! ~Jerry
Hermione got a second reply from The Daily Prophet on
Sunday morning, dragged in by a hawk, which meant that someone paid extra to get
the letter delivered on time. Harry was working on that Potions essay when she
approached him, looking incredibly…well, not exactly excited. More like
disappointed. She thrust the letter at Harry, and he read:
Dear Ms Granger:
Once again, on behalf of The Daily Prophet I would like
to thank you for your letter concerning Ms Rowling's newest book, Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. We have verified your facts, that the
publisher of this book is a Muggle institution.
However, upon contacting the Ministry for Magic, we have found
that already wizards who specialize in Muggle secrecy laws have proofed this
book. They have told us that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is
targeted for young Muggle children, and that it will be targeted as a fiction.
Ms Rowling has changed around the facts just enough so that no Muggle will
suspect anything – if she stays true to her biography, which has already been
written and documented in Muggle files. If not, she will face lifetime
imprisonment in Azkaban.
We will be running a story about your findings tomorrow and
request that you comment on the manner, as you were the one who found all this
out. Also, if you really were Harry's friend, would you mind getting a comment
from him too?
Cheers,
Langston Hearst
Managing Editor
"Should we say anything?" Hermione asked. Harry.
Harry shrugged. "Dunno," he said.
"Yeah you do."
Harry put down his quill. "Yeah, all right. What are you going
to say?"
This time Hermione shrugged.
They stared at each other, lost in thought.
"All right," Harry said, just as Hermione said, "Okay." They
laughed.
"You go first," Harry told Hermione.
"Okay…I'm going to say that I hope Ms Rowling sticks to her
story, for your sake as well as her own." Hermione blushed, for she didn't
consider herself very good at that sort of thing.
"Sounds good," Harry said encouragingly.
"Thank you…what about your own comment?"
"Oh…I'll say something to the effect that I hope she doesn't get
the facts terribly backward, like that Sveeter woman."
"Yeah, good call. I mean, I'm sure she'll be changing around
names and stuff, but if she makes Hagrid look bad, I'll never let her hear the
end of it."
Harry smiled.
Hermione wrote a quick reply on the back of the paper, putting
in Harry's and her comments, and she sent the hawk on its way.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Harry held up his parchment. "Potions essay," he
said.
"Oh I already finished mine."
"I know."
They were silent.
"Well, see you," Hermione said at last.
"Bye," Harry answered, turning back to his essay. To himself, he
wondered why that moment was so awkward.
*
As promised, The Daily Prophet printed their article,
doing justice for both sides of the story, which was a relief to Harry and
Hermione. In fact, their friend Langston Hearst wrote the article, which made
Harry wonder if The Daily Prophet was shaping up at last in terms of not
being slanted and hiring the right people.
Still, the article didn't seem to satisfy Hermione.
"They don't really mention a whole lot, do they?" she asked. "I
mean, yeah, they say that the book is for Muggle kids and that what is happening
is totally legal, but, if I wasn't looking, I'd've missed the entire
article."
Harry looked down at it. She was right; it was just another
simple brief on the front page, which puzzled Harry.
"I don't see what's wrong with it, Hermione," Harry said. "I
mean, yes, it's short, but it's fair."
"Yeah," Ron chipped in. "So I wouldn't bother them anymore,
okay?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "I still don't like it," she said. "I
mean, the whole thing is fishy."
Harry looked back down at the article. Nothing seemed fishy to
him. He looked back at Hermione and shrugged.
"Well, you'd think someone aside from us would care that the
book is written for Muggles!" she exclaimed.
Hermione turned to Dean Thomas, who was reading his own copy of
The Daily Prophet.
"Hey Dean," she called out.
Dean looked up. "Yeah?"
"What do you make of that book on Harry?"
Dean gave her a blank look. "What book?"
"You know, the one that they mention on the front
page."
"Oh yeah. The one you were looking at a few days ago? I never
read that paper, since they were still delivering to my home."
"They mention it again today. Front page."
Dean skimmed the front page. "Where?"
"Just at the bottom. It's a little brief."
Dean flipped to the bottom. "There's no brief here," he said,
sounding puzzled. "It's just a continuation of that tariff story from last
week."
Thanks for reading!
:throws out hat, hoping to fill it
w/reviews: