Harry apparated home around 4:00am and sat down in the library writing his report for the Ministry while everything was fresh in his mind.  Harry thought about his Envoy position and wondered if it was what he really felt like doing.  The first meetings with the Giants were great, but Harry realized this was because he already knew Duram and liked him.  The meeting with Nathan had gone well, but Harry realized this was because they had R.J. in common. 

Nothing else about his Envoy position had been enjoyable; he hated the meeting with Dementors, other than learning that they communicate telepathically.  The meeting with the Goblins went well enough, but since Goblins and wizards already had a good working relationship, it was boring and seemed like a political Ministry task.

After Harry was attacked during his first attempt Mr. Weasley had made sure Harry understood that he could resign from his Envoy position at any time.  Harry was sure that Mrs. Weasley was putting pressure on the Minister to make sure Harry knew he could quit if he wanted.  Harry had been considering resigning for some time, but really wanted to complete the meeting with the vampires and now that was done he decided to resign.  This would be the first time he ever quit something and it didn't feel good.

Hermione woke to find Harry asleep in a chair in their library.  She walked up quietly and stroked his head.  Instantly Harry's eyes were open and when he realized who was next to him he smiled. "Hey.  I told you this would go ok."

"Are you going to be worth anything at Quidditch practice today?" Hermione asked.

"Probably not, Kristi will probably kick my butt."

"Are you sure it will be kicking?" Hermione asked with a wink as she left to get ready for school.

Harry actually did pretty good at practice and didn't draw any comments from his teammates. He made an appointment to see the Minister on Monday.  Arriving right on time, he surprisingly wasn't nervous at all.  "Ah Harry.  Good to see you," Mr. Weasley greeted him warmly.

"You too Mr. Weasley." Harry shook the man's hand.

Mr. Weasley gave him an appraising look and said, "I take it this is official business?  You don't normal stand so stiff."

Harry chuckled, "Why is it that everyone always reads me like a book?  Yes sir, it is official.  I've been thinking hard and would like to resign as Envoy.  I know that you…"

Harry was cut off by Mr. Weasley saying, "Thank Merlin!"  Harry was shocked. "Everyone that knew about the attack has been on my back to fire you.  They couldn't believe the Ministry would ever put you into a situation where you could get hurt after all you've done for the wizarding world.  Frankly, I didn't know how much longer I could take the pressure.  Molly threatened to quit cooking for me."

Harry laughed but quickly saw Mr. Weasley didn't and knew the man was serious. "Why didn't you just do it then?"

"How could I?  You were doing great and I thought you liked it.  The Giants love you and we have gotten great communication with them now.  Nathan has the highest respect for you and we are slowly building trust there.  The information in your report on the dementors has given us some ideas there as well.  How could I fire you?"

"I did like parts.  I liked seeing Duram.  I even think I could like Nathan and am thinking about meeting him at a pub sometime.  Not sure about the dementor though.  But, I don't like that it's my job to see them.  I'll see Duram and Nathan again, just because I want to," Harry said relieved.

"Well, that's settled.  I officially accept your resignation and appreciate all you've done.  I promise to never offer you another position in the Ministry again," Mr. Weasley said extending his hand.

Harry shook it and said, "But, if you need me to do anything off the books, don't worry about asking and I promise to tell you no if I really don't want to."

"Deal," the Minister said and then added, "Now maybe I'll get some real food tonight."

Harry left feeling much better about everything in general.

The next Quidditch match was against Bulgaria, still the best team in the league.  Harry became nervous and irritable the week of the match.  Hermione was busy at school, so Ron, Parvati, Sirius and Kelly went with him to the match, which was held in Bulgaria.

The French team was treated with respect by the crowd but the noise was deafening when Bulgaria was announced and especially when Viktor came out. 

After the initial greeting between the two top seekers, the game was very aggressive and fast, which was normal when these two teams played.  Both Harry and Viktor fell for and gave some very good feints. Viktor had missed his first chance to grab the snitch but just barely.  The French team wasn't playing their best but kept the score close.  Close enough that getting the snitch would make all the difference.  When the snitch did come out again, Viktor and Harry both saw it and were off in pursuit.  As usual, there were many swerves and dives but both seekers were staying on course.  Harry was just about to try a grab when the snitch gave the slightest of curves and Viktor was able to grab it.  Bulgaria had won again.  As expected between the two friends, Viktor came over and talked to Harry for a minute before joining the Bulgarian celebration. 

While taking his shower, Harry thought he heard some mumbling from Jacque, a chaser on the team but didn't pay any attention. While he was getting dressed, he heard it again and caught part of it. "If our damn seeker would only catch the thing."  Harry realized Jacque was complaining about Harry not getting the snitch.  This annoyed him but he felt the same way.  Why couldn't he beat Krum?  Only twice in all their meetings had he gotten the snitch before Viktor.  Harry continued getting dressed, trying to ignore Jacque's mumbling when he heard a loud crash and turned to see Jacque flat on his back with Kristi standing near him.

"Shut your trap Jacque.  If Harry weren't here we wouldn't have made the playoffs the last three years.  I didn't hear you crying when we were only winning a few matches each year," Kristi was yelling.  Everyone else stayed away.

"Maybe you and he should be practicing Quidditch in your time off instead of playing the it couple," Jacque spat back.

Before Kristi could say anything else, the coach stepped in and began yelling at them.  Kristi went back to her area and Jacque kept quiet.  Harry just finished getting dressed in silence and waited for the team to get ready and went to meet the press.  His interview with the reporter was quick and he basically said how disappointed he was that he lost and how he thought Viktor was such a good player.  His friends came over and could tell he was in a bad mood so they kept their comments brief.

Kristi came over looking very angry and wanted to talk to Harry.  The two of them went off for a minute and then Harry came back by himself. He started to say something but Sirius suggested they go to Harry's to talk since there were so many people around.

Hermione was home when they all arrived and the first thing she heard was Sirius asking what was going on with Kristi.  "She's just mad about something that happened in the locker room," Harry said.

Ron asked why Kristi looked so mad after the match.

"Oh, after the match Jacque was saying that it was my fault we couldn't beat Bulgaria and that he wished I spent more time practicing," Harry said, not really wanting to get into this.

Ron asked. "So, what happened?"

Harry answered, "Kristi decked him, right there in the locker room."  Everybody exclaimed. "No way

"The coach had to break them up," Harry added. "It's true that I can't beat Viktor.  I need to practice more," Harry said.

"You've beat him twice," Ron added.

"Yeah, only twice and one of those was a lucky curve of the snitch," Harry exclaimed.

"Krum's the best player in the league and has been for five years.  Nobody has beaten him.  They had a string of four undefeated seasons until you beat them last year," Ron stated.

"I just wish I could beat him when it counted.  And, I don't care what Jacque says.  I mean I never say two words to that guy so I could care less.  Let's talk about something else, like Ron getting married or Ron's Quidditch career," Harry said.

Slowly, this changed the subject and they talked for a while about Ron's team.  Ron hadn't gotten to start for them yet but had been doing better in practices.  The league Ron was in played about twice as many matches as the national leagues so there was a good chance Ron would get to play before long.

After everyone left, Hermione kept trying to get more information about Kristi out of Harry but he kept changing the subject.  He hadn't wanted to tell anyone about their breakup yet.

Later that week, there was a picture of Kristi and a rich Italian playboy in the Daily Prophet and an article about them being out after the match and spending some time together on his yacht. 

Harry could see Hermione get very uncomfortable when she read it and look up at him with hurt in her eyes.  Harry just said, "It's her isn't it?"

Hermione nodded her head and said, "Yes, I'm sorry."

She wasn't expecting what Harry said next.  "It's ok.  She told me she was going to do it. I just didn't know when it would hit the papers. She said she knew I wouldn't be seen in public with another witch while people thought we were together."  Hermione looked shocked. "We've actually been broken up since after I got out of the hospital," Harry added.

"That long and you didn't tell me," Hermione said angrily, wondering how Harry kept this from her for so long.

"Can't blame her really," Harry said sounding dejected. "I mean even I thought things are pretty safe now that Voldemort is gone, it looks like other dark things don't want me around either.  She's got better things to do than to worry about me."

Hermione couldn't believe it and kept telling Harry to go talk to her and that maybe it could still work out.

"She made it really clear that if I do anything dangerous, she doesn't want to care about me any more than she already does.  There's not much to talk about," Harry said.

"Would you have given up the Envoy position or the Unspeakables for her?" Hermione asked.

"I gave up being an envoy since I didn't really like it, but that's not the point.  Would you give up going to school or being a doctor just because someone you were dating wanted you to?"  Harry asked but already knew the answer.  "For you to be with someone, they'd have to accept you and your desires.  There's no way you would put up with someone telling you to change your career just because they couldn't handle it.  Even if I give up everything I do that she considers dangerous, there are still people who don't like me and I'll be a target.  She's not used to that."

Hermione agreed but said that with some time, maybe Kristi would come around.  Harry knew it was too late for that.  "How did you keep this from me for so long?  You're usually really bad at hiding things," Hermione asked.  "And, I've seen you leave on dates."

Harry chuckled.  "I would either just go to Muggle London or Paris and walk around.  It was kind of nice actually.  No one bothered me and I could sit at cafés and just think or read.  Sometimes I would just apparate up to my bedroom."  Harry could see the stunned look in her eyes and they almost popped out when he added, "I've even been here for some of your study groups.  The hardest part was summoning books from the library without getting caught."

"You did that!  There had been a couple times I thought I was going completely crazy because I knew I had just seen a book in there and then when I went back it was gone," Hermione said still amazed he pulled it off.  She got a serious look on her face and said, "You could have told me you know.  I would have understood you wanted to be alone."

Harry looked sad as well.  "I know Hermione.  You have enough to worry about with school and your own boyfriend that I didn't want to add to it.  You've done more for me than anyone in the world and I just keep piling it on.  I handled this, I'm fine." Harry gave her a smile.

"I should yell at you, and I may still do that sometime, but not tonight," she said hugging him tight.  "So does this mean you're going to start dating again?"

"I'm not actively looking.  It will do me good to be single for a while.  There are parts I'll miss of course," he said raising his eyebrows, "but it's best.  Maybe I'll go to some of the celebrations and just have fun."

"You should do that, but I doubt you will," Hermione said squeezing him.

The next week, Harry had to put up with all of the comments from people about how they were sorry or that she wasn't very nice. Harry knew these weren't true.  He couldn't fault Kristi's reason for not wanting to be with him and she went out in public with a wizard to make everyone think it was her fault they broke up. 

Something finally got his mind off of it when he got a message at the office one morning that he should go to Ron's store in Hogsmeade immediately.  When he arrived, it looked like the place had been hit by a tornado.  All the shelves were knocked down and the windows were broken.  Harry went in and saw Sirius.  "Sirius.  What happened?"

"Ron said it was like this when he came in this morning.  He's really mad," Sirius said.

Just Ron came out yelling, "When I get my hands on him, I'll"


"Ron," Harry yelled.  "Watch what you say in front of the authorities," Harry nodded towards Sirius who just shook his head.

"Did Sirius tell you about the note?" Ron asked and Harry shook his head.  Ron reached into his pocked at pulled out a note that said 'Tell the showoff to give us what we want.'

"Malfoy," was all Harry said.

"Who else?" Ron questioned. 

Sirius came back over and asked, "What do you think about the note?"

He and Ron explained about Malfoy wanting to make a deal with Harry to get the spell to restore magic and that they all agreed this was Malfoy's work.

"I'm sure he'll have a good alibi, buy we'll talk to him.  You both have to promise not to do anything on your own.  His father may not have magic, but he probably still plays dirty business," Sirius said.

"We won't do anything until we come up with the perfect plan," Ron said with anger still showing in his face.

Harry offered to help clean up and stayed around helping with anything Ron needed. "This probably cost me a couple hundred galleons, not to mention the lost customers today," Ron said.

"I'm sorry about this Ron.  I thought you guys would stop getting hassled because of me," Harry said feeling bad again.

Cho was confused so they told her the story of Malfoy while they kept working.  Then she was still confused about what Malfoy wanted from Harry so they explained about all the Death Eaters losing their magic but Harry giving Snape back his.

Ron and Harry decided to try and figure out a way to get Malfoy back for this. They were convinced it was him.  At first, they thought about asking Sirius and Remus to help, but then decided on asking the twins for some of their special help. 

Before Harry left he asked Cho, "Did you happen to see Katie Bell lately?"  Cho looked confused but Harry noticed that Ron had started laughing.

"No, I haven't seen her in a long time, why?" Cho replied, making Harry feel much better.

"Um...never mind, the twins just mentioned something.  See you guys later," Harry said before going back to work.

Late the next week, Harry was called to Sirius' office.  When he got there and went in, Sirius got up and shut the door.  This didn't look good to Harry.  "I've got some good news and some bad news," Sirius stated.  "The good news is that with some help from Nathan, the vampire, we have identified a company that is smuggling illegal items. Mainly potions that can be used as drugs in the Muggle community. Lucius Malfoy is a majority owner of this company."

"That's great, you can put him away," Harry said instantly feeling happy.

"Maybe, but I'm not going to," Sirius said causing Harry's mood to drop. "It seems the second largest owner of the company is you."

Harry looked shocked. "Me, how can I own it?"

"Actually it was R.J., but now you.  You own part of a few companies that aren't very respectable."

"I've never gone through that stuff. I didn't know what was there," Harry said still shocked.

"I believe you and in court, you wouldn't get into any trouble.  However, in the press you would be slaughtered.  Everyone wants to see you make a mistake and they want to be the first to report it," Sirius hesitated.  "So, if I go after Malfoy, it will come out that you own part of the company and then the press will forget about Malfoy and focus on you."

"I'll deal with it Sirius, you've got to take Malfoy down," Harry demanded.

"No, I won't do that.  Malfoy would probably get off by saying he was just an investor and didn't know anything.  I wanted the publicity to help isolate him, but won't do that if you'll get pulled in.  What I want from you is to go to the Goblins and tell them you want out of every investment that could be publicly embarrassing.  Make sure they know to handle it quickly and quietly.  You're going to lose some money because they'll take a nice cut to do this but I need you to get out so this doesn't happen again."

"I'll do that right now.  I'm sorry Sirius, I just never knew.  If I hadn't fired Cho, she would have told me this by now," Harry said.

"That's ok. We can stop the smuggling, which is the important part.  I just wanted to squeeze Malfoy a bit more.  Now go see the Goblins.  Oh, wait a minute, there was one more bit of information Nathan gave us."  Harry waited anxiously.  "We're pretty sure that Draco Malfoy was the one who paid the vampires."

Harry thought for a second and something didn't seem right. "It doesn't make sense.  The vampires nearly killed me and Draco needs me to help his father.  I don't him paying to have me killed."

Sirius actually smiled and said, "You're starting to think things through quickly.  We think the vampires took Draco's money and information and then decided it was in their best interest to just kill you.  Most vampires don't like wizards much and if they really didn't want better relations, killing you is still a really good way to ensure that."

Harry sat there thinking and asked, "Who do you think is the bigger threat, Lucius or Draco?"

Sirius thought for a minute.  "I don't really think Lucius is that big of a threat anymore. He was protected by Voldemort, so he's kind of isolated now.  I've been hearing rumors that Draco has been dealing with Muggles and any other race, so I would say that the son is the bigger threat."

"I agree.  I never thought Lucius would have been much without Voldemort.  Is there anything we can do to stop them?" Harry asked.

"Not at the moment, since the tracks seem to be covered so well.  I'm glad you gave up the Envoy position, which will make it harder to pull you into something.  We'll figure something out, I promise." Sirius said very forcefully.

Harry left and went directly to Gringotts and then to the Head Goblin's desk.  Harry heard the old goblin say, "Yes", but then when he looked up and recognized Harry; he took on a much nicer tone. "Ah, Mr. Potter.  What can we do for you today?"

"Is there a place we could talk in private sir?" Harry asked and was quickly lead to an office and the door shut.

"Now, what assistance may we provide?"

"You're aware that when Miss Veganos left me her assets, there were many investments in companies," Harry said.

"Oh yes.  Miss Veganos was quite good at picking companies that would return above average sums."

"I imagine.  However, I've just learned that some of those investments may be embarrassing to me and to the Ministry," Harry said and the Goblin nodded, not looking surprised. "I would like to get out of those investments as soon as possible.  And, I would like it to be done quietly."

The goblin smiled, if you could call it that.  "Of course we can do that Mr. Potter.  The market for these companies is somewhat limited but we should be able to have you fully divested within a week.  You do understand that you may not get the highest market value since you are in such a rush?"

"Yes sir, I expected that.  I blame myself for not understanding what all was there in the beginning.  Will anyone be able to find out that I had investments in the companies?"

"No, we will handle all the details.  I'm afraid that after fees and the rush, you may only get seventy percent of the true value of the assets." The goblin looked happy.

"I understand sir.  Please send me a note after the sale with the final amount that was placed back into the vault.  I really appreciate your help in this."

"Anytime Mr. Potter.  We look forward to assisting you in the future."

Harry left and went home.  He was sitting around feeling bad about not knowing where his money was and for causing Sirius to miss out on punishing Lucius Malfoy when Hermione came home in a very good mood.

"Oh Harry!  You'll never guess what happened." Before Harry could ask what, Hermione continued.  "There was a special lecture today." Harry didn't look thrilled. "Guess who the speaker was?" Again, she gave no time to answer. "Dr. Stonham.  He actually came to school.  I got there early so I could sit up front." 'Of course.' Harry thought.  "Guess what happened? During his talk, he noticed me and stopped.  Then he actually said. "Good to see you again Miss Granger.  I understand you're doing very well here and I see you've taken some of my advice.  Keep up the good work".  He actually said that.  Can you believe it?"

"That's great Hermione.  Of course he would remember you," Harry hugged her and could tell how happy she was.

"The rest of my study group couldn't believe it.  They were so jealous," Hermione said.  "I can't thank you enough for taking me on that trip and letting me meet him."

"I think you thanked me a lot last time, remember," Harry said, causing Hermione to blush when she remembered kissing him.  "Was Mark impressed?"

"You know, he didn't seem too excited about it.  But I was," she said. "I'm having supper with him Saturday."

"You're getting pretty serious with him," Harry teased.

"Well he's nice," she said.

"And smart," Harry added.

"And cute."

"And smart," Harry said again.

"And smart," she said smiling.

"I told you so.  That's the most important thing to you," Harry said with a laugh.

"That's not true.  Look at Ron.  Not that Ron's stupid or anything...Oh, you know what I mean."

"I do know.  And, look how you and Ron turned out.  You'd never be happy with us mere average intelligent types," Harry joked, but firmly believing this to be true.

The next week, Harry got home late one night and Hermione told him he had a note from Gringotts.  He sat on the couch next to her and opened it and nearly choked.  "Bad news?" Hermione asked

"Um... no and yes," Harry responded confused. "I mean Sirius told me he wanted me to get out of some investments he found out I was in and the Goblins were handling it for me and this just shows how much cash I got for the investments.  And it shows that I only got 73% of the value because of their fees and things."

"73%!  That's a rip-off," Hermione exclaimed.

"And, that's with my discount for being a preferred customer, but I didn't have much choice. Sirius said he wanted me out as soon as possible, and so that no one found out."

"Found out what?  What was the problem with the investments?" Hermione asked.

"The other investor was Lucius Malfoy and at least two of the businesses were doing illegal smuggling.  Sirius didn't go after Malfoy because he knew my name would come out as an investor.  So, I asked the goblins to sell any that may be embarrassing."

"Oh.  So that's the bad news, what could be good?"

He handed her the note and said, "Remember, this is only 73% of what they were worth.  R.J. was really good with investments."

"Holy cricket!  I wonder how much she really had?" Hermione asked.

"Me too.  Maybe I'll find out before you get out of school and then I can give you a grant to go figure out some amazing medical thing.  You probably won't need that though since Dr. Stonham has taken a personal interest in your career."

"Oh, now wouldn't that be nice.  I'd love to work there," she said.

"That's too far away.  I'd have to move to Venice," Harry said not sounding very happy.

"You?  Why would you move there?"

"What?  You don't plan on being my roommate when you get a real job?" Harry said acting hurt.

"We can't be roommates forever?" Hermione stated.


"Why not?" Harry asked and Hermione couldn't tell if he was serious or not.  But, Harry had changed the subject with his next sentence so the comment was quickly forgotten so Hermione didn't bring it up.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you.  I'm having the study group over Saturday," Hermione said.


"I don't think I'll be around." Harry said quickly.

"Why?  They won't be too distracted by you."

"This will be the first time they've seen me since the breakup.  I don't want them to keep thinking I'm such a loser."

"They won't think that.  Nobody will think that."

"Of course they will.  Cho cheated on me with another guy.  Now everyone thinks Kristi dumped me for some rich guy.  That's what people think of me; that I'm some kind of loser who can't keep a girl happy.  I don't want to deal with it," Harry said before storming off.

True to his word, Harry wasn't around for the study group, much to the disappointment of most of the members.  He kept himself busy by either working, practicing Quidditch or plotting revenge on Malfoy with Ron.  Harry had been joining Ron, Fred and George to play Quidditch as often as they could get together.  Ron really wanted a shot at the starting keeper position and Harry would take any opportunity to fly around.

Ron was starting to really stress out about his upcoming marriage to Parvati and the twins weren't making it easy on him.  They kept pointing out that since he was a Quidditch player now that he may start getting witches throwing themselves at him.  Harry was surprised at how well Ron stood up to this.  Ron obviously really loved Parvati and kept telling the twins that other women didn't matter.  George really couldn't believe this but Fred let it go quicker than Harry expected.

At home, Hermione was stressing with her upcoming exams.  She was spending every waking moment studying with her study group or out with her boyfriend.  Harry learned quickly just to stay out of her way when she was in the castle.  Now that he didn't have to study, she had no patience for him interrupting her.

Ron and Harry were at their usual Thursday evening night out at the Leaky Cauldron when they heard a familiar, irritating voice. "Is this the only date you can get now Potter?"

Ron immediately stood up but Harry grabbed him. "I should kick you arse after what you did to my store Malfoy."

Malfoy looked smug and said, "I did read something about that.  Couldn't have been me though, I was at a party with many witnesses around."

"I'll get you back Malfoy.  I just haven't figured out how bad to make it yet," Ron spat.

"Oooh, I'm so scared Weasel.  What are you going to do, sick Potter on me?" Malfoy laughed.

"I'll just have to make sure my father, the Minister of Magic looks into any Ministry dealings with the companies your father owns.  What were some of those companies again Harry?"

Draco looked stunned and Harry spoke up, "You know Draco.  The ones that just had their smuggling operations shut down.  Now, who shut them down? Oh yes, my godfather."

Malfoy squirmed a bit but said, "If my father did own them, why didn't Black come after him?  You're just fishing Potter."

"I'm sure your father was the major owner.  The problem was I was the minor owner and if Sirius had taken down your father, he would have needed to come after me as well.  But, I've made sure that can't happen again.  I've sold all my interests in any company your father is a partner in so next time; Sirius won't have anything to slow him down."

"You're lying Potter, just like always.  Given any more thought to our business deal?  Things would be so much easier on everyone if you'd agree," Malfoy said.

"Harry would never deal with you Malfoy.  I don't care what happens to the store," Ron spat.

"If something else does happen to the store, we're coming after you.  You know that Sirius has a lot of experience evading the law, and he would be more than willing to bend the rules to get to you," Harry added.  "By the way, I'm sure you heard about Ron being on a professional Quidditch team now.  Why aren't you off buying your way onto a team?"

"There are more important things than Quidditch Potter.  You know that one day; I won't need you to get his magic back.  I was serious when I said that I'd do anything to get my father's magic back.  I guarantee you of that," Malfoy spat before turning to leave.

The two friends went back to their normal Thursday night bonding ritual and plotted revenge on Malfoy.

Harry was sitting with the twins watching the next Puddlemere game when there was a sickening crash and everyone in the stands gasped.  A streaking bludger had struck the Puddlemere keeper straight in the face.  The bludger had been obscured by a chaser, so the keeper never saw it coming.  He had fallen off his broom and was being attended to by medi-wizards.  Everyone in the stands could see a lot of blood as he was carried off.  Without a keeper, Puddlemere went down bad.

After the match, Ron's friends were waiting around for him when he came out looking very pale.  "Is the keeper going to be ok?" Harry asked.

Ron looked dazed and said, "They think so, but he'll be out for a while."

Harry could see Ron walking aimlessly. "Ron, are you ok?"

"I don't think so.  I'm going to be starting the next match," Ron answered.

The twins were ecstatic.  "Tell us Ron, how did you curse that bludger to take out your competition?"

Ron got angry because he had been hoping something would happen so he could play, but he never really wanted the other keeper to be hurt.   On the way out, Harry went and bought tickets for the remaining three matches for himself and Hermione.  He went back home with Ron and watched him break the news to Parvati when she got home from work.  She was very happy as well and also kidded him about jinxing the bludger.

The next week, Ron and Harry were finally ready to carry out their revenge on Draco Malfoy.  The plan changed many times, mainly because Ron wanted physical bodily harm inflicted on Malfoy and Harry only wanted public humiliation.  In the end, Ron gave in when Harry promised that bodily harm would be used the next time Malfoy did anything.

Sirius had informed Harry that Malfoy attended an illegal card game every month.  Large sums of money were getting bet at this game, which is what made it illegal.  At first, Harry asked Sirius why they just didn't raid the game and arrest everyone.  Sirius informed Harry that these kinds of card games go on all the time, and in fact, many people in the Ministry, including Sirius did the same types of thing so it was just ignored.

Harry and Ron promised Sirius that they wouldn't do anything illegal and Sirius gave them the dates and location where Malfoy's card game happened each month.  Using this information, Ron used his contacts (brothers) to devise something they felt would be appropriate for Malfoy.  After much trial and error and embarrassment on the test subjects (students looking for money), Fred and George finally had the perfect gift for the Slytherin.

Malfoy's card games followed a pattern that required Crabbe and Goyle to go out after about an hour to pick up sandwiches for all of the players.  When Ron heard this, he couldn't believe how lucky he and Harry were getting.  They always went to the Richmond Arms pub and picked up ten beef steak sandwiches before walking back to the card game.  Malfoy probably kept the same order since he knew Crabbe and Goyle would never remember anything if it changed.

Revenge took weeks of planning.  Ron had received the potion from his brothers, Harry had convinced Cho to help, and she spent a couple weeks befriending the cook and the waitress at the pub.  Harry had also talked Katie Bell into feeding some information to people she knew at the Daily Prophet.