Chapter 8: Good News & Surprises


Harry stared at the hem of Professor Snape's cloak; he was only 2 feet away from him, at
best. He tried desperately to smash himself against the wall, hiding from the view of Snape
and the rest of the Order. 

"I found her," Snape repeated, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Severus, come inside here at once! Don't stand there with the door open, the children could
overhear..." The voice of Molly Weasley rang out from across the room, her reprimanding tone
equal to that which she used if Ron, George, or Fred was in trouble. Ron looked at Harry and
grinned; Harry could tell that Ron was thoroughly enjoying Snape's reprimand.

"Please enter, Severus, as this is a secret society, Molly is right, we should not be overheard by those
outside," Dumbledore stated formally. Snape's smirk disappeared slightly at being criticized like a child
by two adults. He strode into the room haughtily, his cloak billowing out behind him, and his foot
tripping over Ron's gangly leg as he lie in the hallway. Snape fell, coming dangerously close to falling
face-first onto the tile in the kitchen, but managing to grab the doorframe and stop himself. He wheeled 
around to face Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. Ron had gone completely pale. 

"I... we were... I just... waiting for dinner..." he stuttered, backing away and pressing himself against the
wall. Snape turned and entered the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley stood up fuming and stomped angrily to the door.

"Ronald Weasley! What are you doing here? Get upstairs, all of you!" Meekly, they nodded, climbing the stairs
quickly. They returned to Ron and Harry's room. 

"Guess that wasn't such a good idea," muttered Harry.

"I TOLD you it was spying," Hermione said in an all-knowing voice. Harry sighed without responding and fell
onto his bed. He picked up his Hogwart's letter and noticed that there were still several papers inside that
he had not read yet; in his haste to prevent Ron and Hermione's argument, he had not looked through the entire
envelope. Curiously, he pulled them out.

Dear Mr. Potter,

As the head of the Gryffindor house, I am pleased to offer you the 
opportunity to be the captain of our Quidditch team. As I know you 
are in many N.E.W.T. classes this year, this may be too much of a
burden, but I hope that you will accept this honor. You are the best
candidate for the position. On another note, your acceptance into 
Professor Snape's Potions class was a special exception; I have 
promised him that you will get the highest possible marks this year.
Good luck with this school year,

Professor McGonagall

Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, gaping. They were involved in an intense discussion about Snape's apparently
important discovery, trying to figure out exactly who "she" was. Taking his letter and sitting down on the floor,
he leaned back against his bed facing the wall. He grinned. Captain of the team! He could hardly believe it. He
should have figured that McGonagall would have been the one to get him into Potions of course; she knew he needed
it to be an Auror. Still smiling, he pulled out the second letter. He gasped as a shiny metal badge fell out along
with the parchment. With trembling hands, he picked it up, not daring to believe what he thought it was. "Prefect"
was inscribed across the front. He frowned; this had to be a mistake! Ron and Hermione were both still prefects
this year, their letters had said so. How could he be one too? Quickly, he took out the letter and began to read:

Dear Mr. Potter,

As you know, Lord Voldemort has returned and is still at large.
Given the present circumstances, I have chosen two more prefects
from each grade level, a boy and a girl, to help keep Hogwarts
more safe. As I will be telling all of the prefects at the start
of the school year, any suspicious activity should be reported to
me or to a staff member immediately. Enjoy the remainder of your
summer break.

Professor Dumbledore

Harry was so happy he wanted to cry. He was a prefect! He was the Quidditch captain! And he had gotten into all
of the classes he needed to be an Auror! What else could possibly happen that would make him happier than he was
right now, he thought to himself, grinning. Picking up his prefect badge off the ground, he raised himself up
off the floor and turned to face Ron and Hermione, planning to tell them the great news. However, the sight he 
saw shocked him. 

Ron and Hermione stood in a passionate embrace, lips touching, arms wrapped around one another. Harry's mouth 
dropped open as he stood silently staring at his two best friends.

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Voleta Voile awoke after a long night. Sleepily, she reached for the wine bottle next to her bed, attempting to
drink off this morning's hangover. She had taken up muggle drinking soon after leaving the wizarding community;
she found it to be an excellent escape from her problems as it helped her forget everything she had left behind.
Little did she know she was about to be reminded. 

Getting out of bed, Voleta glanced at the clock. Nearly 11:00, she thought to herself. I love Saturdays,
the laziness, the TV, no work at all...  She put on her robe and walked down the hall to her small kitchenette,
grabbing a box of cereal. Just then she heard a sudden "pop!" behind her. She spun around.

"Who's there?" she whispered fearfully. "Hello?"

"Ms. Fleur, do not be alarmed," a voice said. Voleta gasped and her blood turned to ice.

"My name is Voleta Voile!" she squealed. "Voleta!" Apprehensively, she left the small room and entered her sitting
room to find a man in a dark blue star-studded robe sitting on her sofa. "Wha-What are you doing here?" she asked.
The man smiled, surveying her over his half-moon glasses, his gray beard falling across his robes. 

"Please, Adele, sit down. We must talk." Dumbledore said to her seriously.

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