Chapter 13
"Do you have it?"
"Yes. It's in my pocket."
"Nervous?"
"Are you?"
"A little."
"Don't be. After all, Harry and Hermione aren't."
Even to her own ears, Cho sounded less than confident and her sarcasm had indeed become considerably weakened. Her fingers twitched slightly and she shoved her hands into the pockets of her cloak to keep Ron from seeing them in such an erratic and blatant sign of her tenseness. The uneasiness and uncertainty both had experienced before the very first time they'd walked into the dining hall as a "couple" was nothing compared to this. Ron's own fingers were constantly flexing and clenching and unclenching, as though they were longing to fidget with something, yet devoid of anything to fiddle with.
So he impulsively reached for her own hands, pulling them out of their warm refuge in her cloak and began to rub them with his own, muttering about her being cold.
"I'm all right," she argued, slightly startled, but also guiltily enjoying the sensation of his fingers beginning to trace circles on her hands, soothingly massaging them.
He mumbled something else that she didn't catch and he continued to knead her hands, seeming to be only half conscious that he was doing so; she was as grateful for the distraction as he was. It kept him from having nothing to do with his hands and relaxed her… a bit. The dark night sky was free from clouds, signifying that snow wouldn't be expected that night, and allowing them all a clear view of the heavens, which reminded Cho, with a pang of guilt, that she still had her Astronomy essay to attend to. The large bonfire that had been built up with various spells and charms to keep it burning well into the night was right in front of them, crackling merrily and reaching violently into the air with its fiery flames, like a wild animal on a leash.
Checkered picnic tablecloths were spread all around the fire, charmed with a warming spell, and thus far the only people occupying any were Cho, Ron, and some Hufflepuff who was intently reading a book, pausing every now and then to push her horn-rimmed glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.
All three jumped and looked up at the sudden sound of feet crunching through the snow. Cho and Ron relaxed as the other girl closed her book promptly with a snap and stood up to go and greet the new arrival, evidently her boyfriend as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and led him towards the spot she'd saved for him. More footsteps soon followed. Now Cho and Ron were the only ones squinting in the darkness to make out who was approaching the fire.
"Bonnie!" called Cho, relaxing slightly as she recognized her friend.
"Enjoying your massage?" the Head Girl inquired, raising an eyebrow and smiling as both the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor blushed and pulled their hands away from each other. "No need to stop on my account; I was just saying a quick hello before going to claim a tablecloth before all the other ones are taken."
"I owe you," Cho said, smiling.
"Think nothing of it," Bonnie replied with a wink.
"Here they come," Ron muttered, giving Cho a gentle nudge and turning paler.
She turned in the direction he jerked his head towards and her lips became firmer set together as Harry and Hermione came traipsing down the sloped ground to the fire, the latter looking curious and excited, and Harry looking a bit bored, but otherwise thrilled.
"Curtain call, Ron," she murmured under her breath, standing up and holding out a hand to help him up.
"Right," he nodded, composing himself.
Putting on what she hoped was a kind and unsuspicious expression, Cho took Ron's hand, leaving her purse on the tablecloth to reserve it, and walked over to their victims, who'd chosen a spot on the other side of the bonfire.
"Hi, Harry, Hermione," she began, smiling. "The two of you look well."
"Thanks, erm, hi," replied Hermione.
"Hello," Harry greeted stiffly, slightly raising an eyebrow.
"Nice night, isn't it?" Cho commented, looking up.
"Beautiful," sighed Hermione, following the Ravenclaw's gaze.
"It's… nice," Harry added, seeming as though he wasn't sure of what else to say.
"Yeah." Ron managed, slightly at a loss for eloquent words.
"So, why are you two here over Christmas break?" asked Cho cheerfully.
"Well, um, my parents are taking sort of a second honeymoon as a Christmas gift to each other, and, obviously, I just don't tie into the plans," explained Hermione awkwardly.
"My family just doesn't want me home," Harry said flatly.
"How about the two of you?" Hermione asked.
"I… my mum's got a bad cold, and she didn't want me to catch it by going home for the holidays," Ron lied quickly. Sure, it was true that his mother was slightly ill, but it wasn't quite true that she'd wanted him to stay at school just for that reason.
"I thought it'd be nice to stay with Ron," supplemented Cho.
"Oh. That's nice," responded Hermione politely. Harry, however, began to eye them suspiciously, which didn't go unnoticed.
"Listen," Cho started, lowering her voice and leaning in so that only the four of them could hear, "I know this year hasn't started as well as any of us would have liked."
Ron had become comfortable enough to stifle a snort.
"But that doesn't mean we can't all be friends. Ron and I would like to apologize for anything we might've done to make you two angry," she reasoned, crossing her fingers behind her back as she spoke.
"Well, it's really all our fault, actually, I suppose," stammered Hermione uncomfortably, obviously not expecting such a turn in the conversation. "I—we're sorry, too."
"Yeah," Harry added half-heartedly, looking as though he was only agreeing with his girlfriend because he felt an obligation to.
"I suppose we'll see you around, then, all right? 'Bye!" grinned Cho before walking away, pulling Ron with her.
"'Bye," answered Hermione, frowning slightly.
"We'll try again later once the food arrives," muttered Cho once they were out of earshot.
"Right," gulped Ron, still feeling out of sorts.
She led him back to their tablecloth, feeling her heart hammering away in her chest. They would need to step carefully, lest they give themselves away and ruin the entire plan. It would be difficult, but worth it.
"In the meantime, just relax. Everything will be just fine," she assured more to herself than to him in what she hoped was a confident voice, as her hands began to shake again.
"Cold?" he asked, rubbing her hands once more.
"Well, I—" she paused, carefully thinking over her situation. "I suppose it is a bit chilly…" she said finally, restraining a smile as he began to rub a bit faster.
"That went quite well, considering," Ron shrugged after a few moments of silence.
"I suppose we caught them a bit off guard, didn't we?" laughed Cho, careful to keep her voice low as she spoke. "I doubt we came off as the least conspicuous people in the world."
"I still don't see how we're going to pull this off." Ron shook his head.
"Oh, ye of little faith," she smirked, rolling her eyes. "We'll pull it off, you'll see. In the meantime, we need to think over the sketchy bits of our plan."
"Ah, but I thought the mastermind would have already thought of everything," he teased, placing a hand under his chin thoughtfully.
"I would have, if only I hadn't any homework to do," she retorted with a scoff.
"If my memory serves me correctly, I thought you didn't finish it," he argued in an accusing tone.
"The stars are beautiful tonight," she responded vaguely, with a malicious smile.
"Don't try to avoid it, Cho, you didn't finish your Astronomy homework."
"And you're beginning to sound like Hermione."
"The sky really is very clear; I wonder where all those clouds we saw earlier went," he continued, turning his attention to the heavens as well.
"Besides, we've already had this discussion, remember? Out on the Quidditch field the other night when we thought of everything," she pointed out, lying down on her back on the blanket and bringing her knees up in a sit-up position before she crossed her arms contentedly; Ron had let go of her hands sometime in the middle of their conversation.
"Mm, the thoughts of Ron Weasley and Cho Chang on backstabbers, school troubles, and life in general. We could really write a book on the things we've talked about," he mused, plopping down beside her in a similar position.
She snorted, saying, "Somehow, I have a feeling that it wouldn't sell as well unless we offered advice on dealing with these things in addition to our own personal experiences."
"Nah," he replied. "Besides, who would want to read it?"
"Dunno, but avid admirers of Harry most definitely would be after our blood if we published something criticizing him in the manner that we would."
"Especially if we use all the choice words we'd like to."
"Exactly."
"They'd probably turn on Hermione, though, wouldn't they? I mean, they could just as easily argue that there's no proof that she didn't kiss him first, and she's already had some bad publicity a few years back with Rita Skeeter."
"Oh yeah, that whole Victor Krum love triangle rubbish. The only thing I can't believe is that people would be daft enough to believe that article."
"My mum included."
"Your mum incl—oh. Sorry," she apologized quickly.
"Don't worry about it. She thought so highly of Harry, there just wasn't any possibility that she'd take the chance of not believing it and 'allowing' him to be hurt," he sighed, putting his hands behind his head.
"She doesn't still…? I mean, you've told her, right?"
He sighed heavily again as he muttered, "I couldn't really bring myself to, you know? She's just always worrying about us all, fussing over whether we eat enough, how well we're doing, and telling her that would just add one more thing to her list of worries. I think she'd be torn over whether or not to believe that Harry's not quite as honest as she fancies him to be."
"He proved that himself, to us, at least."
Cho shook her head disapprovingly.
"I don't blame you for not telling your mother, though. My own mother would be lucky to know anything about my life here at school."
"Why?" He was evidently surprised, and he abruptly turned his head to look at her.
"Because," she answered softly, glancing towards him, "she just… doesn't quite understand. Well, maybe she does, but it's not so easy to talk to her about these things."
Ron raised his eyebrows in inquiry, an expression of mild confusion on his face.
"Every single year she always asked me if I was sure that I wanted to come back to Hogwarts, telling me again and again that there were perfectly good schools that I could do foreign exchange with in China, and that my board would be all taken care of since so many of my relatives live there. She especially urged me last year, especially after, you know, Cedric died, and everything got so hectic with Harry."
He grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze as she took in a deep breath.
"Anyway, that's when I decided not to tell her everything anymore, after the whole mess with Harry and her constant badgering," she continued, holding on to his hand tightly. "I was surprised when she didn't ask me this year, and I suppose it's partly because I stopped telling her things. It's like when your parents keep something from you," she mentioned suddenly as the thought came to her.
"They hide facts from you every now and then, just to keep you from getting hurt. Well, that's pretty much what I do with my parents. Who says that we're the ones who need protecting, and not them?"
Cho gave a small bitter smile, turning her attention back to the stars.
"I can't seem to do that with my mum… sometimes I wonder if she dipped us all in a special batch of Veritaserum the moment we were born so that we'd never lie to her. Of course, that's not quite possible, considering the number of times Fred, George, and I've nicked food from the kitchen in the middle of the night and lied straight-faced about it the next morning. Of course, she always got us to confess after a while," joked Ron, feeling a sense of elation as she laughed, her face lighting up.
"Must be a motherly thing," she smiled, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "Even when we try to hide small things like sneaking food, they're always sharp enough to catch you, with your hand in the cookie jar."
"Or, rather, with the cookie jar half empty and your hand covered in little crumbs and chocolate."
"Exactly. You know, as far as I can recall, I don't believe we've ever had a cookie jar at home."
"Really?"
"Don't look so surprised, Ron. My mother may be able to entertain a party like no one's business, but she never makes any of the food. She just leaves it all to the house elves, and they're not very gifted with making sweets. They can bake, sauté, and whatnot, but I suppose they've never really been given the chance to make anything besides these delicate little hors d'oeuvres and gourmet meals."
"Just say the word and you can't do a single thing to stop my mother from baking up the largest batch of cookies and cakes you've ever seen in your entire life."
"Well, at any rate, I've already resolved to learn to cook for myself, although I probably wouldn't go so far as to try my hand at doing it without magic," she nodded resolutely.
"Once you've perfected the craft, you'll need to demonstrate your skills for me," he replied solemnly, contrasting his tone with a wide grin.
"Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, I'll see to it that you sit through my failures as well, so that you'll enjoy and, I daresay, appreciate my successes all the more."
"We'll see about that when the time comes," he shrugged, wrinkling his nose as he made a face.
"Hm," was the only reply she gave.
"So, when do you plan on getting around to finishing—"
"—Writing," Cho corrected.
"—writing your essay for Astronomy?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"It depends."
"On what?"
"If I get my way, which is highly unlikely, then I'll just not do it at all and keep relaxing for the rest of my Christmas break. If I want to actually graduate from Hogwarts and keep my parents from grounding me for the rest of my life, however, I'll have to take the road of morality and write it soon before the holidays are over," she stated nonchalantly, sighing heavily.
"And that's why you should've finished it as soon as classes were dismissed for the break," he smirked, wriggling over on the blanket as she reached over to slap him on the arm.
"Now you're going to make me feel guilty until I do it," she groaned, managing to hit his shoulder.
"That's the basic idea."
"Here's the food," she said suddenly, releasing his hand and sitting up as a line of house elves faithfully trudged down the slope of the lawn, carrying large wooden baskets.
"'Mione's not going to like this too much."
"Why? We've usually got excellent food, although I've never stayed here for Christmas before. Is it really that bad?" she queried, looking slightly concerned.
"No, it's not the food. It's the elves," he informed her, jerking his head towards the small creatures awkwardly making their way towards them.
"What about them?" she frowned. "Does she have some sort of prejudice against house elves?"
He shook his head and moaned, "Worse. She's a sort of house elf rights activist. Always complaining about how it's unjust slave labor and how they deserve wages and vacations like any regularly hired servants."
Her frown deepened as she argued, "But most elves refuse to work for wages; they like working, and it's almost as if you're doing them the favor instead of the other way around."
"Harry and I have been trying to tell her that since our fourth year, but she just won't listen. She just keeps going on and on about how selfish we are and how unfortunate the elves are," he muttered, keeping his eyes focused on the blanket.
"Good conversation topic," she noted, adding a quick word of thanks to the elf that handed her a wicker basket.
"Right, all you have to do is butter Hermione up with that, and then Harry will most likely warm up to you," he agreed with a nod before digging into the slice of meat pie that she handed to him on a golden plate.
"I just wonder how we're going to slip them the powder," she pondered, lowering her voice again.
"We can go over there as soon as we finish our food."
"Or we can go now."
"I still like my plan better."
"Fine," she replied, rolling her eyes. "We'll finish our food first and then we'll go talk to them. But they'd better still have some butterbeer left when we get over there."
"Don't worry so much," he gently chided. "If all else fails, we'll just bring some over there and ask them to help us finish ours."
…………………………
A few courses and a popper or two later, the two had finally worked up the courage to attempt their plan again.
"Now, remember, act friendly, and try to say a bit more than you did last time," instructed Cho, taking hold of his hand again as they crunched through the snow, blanket in hand.
"Got it," Ron affirmed, breathing in deeply.
"Hello, mind if we sit here?" she asked brightly, waving the blanket towards an unoccupied space beside Harry and Hermione.
"Oh, no, by all means, sit down," invited Hermione, returning the smile Cho gave her and waving towards the spot.
"Thanks. That was a rather nice picnic, wasn't it?" Cho remarked as she sat down.
"Yes, it was, although I didn't quite appreciate the manner in which it was brought to us," Hermione agreed, frowning slightly.
"I know. Imagine, those elves slaving away in the kitchens all day and then having to come out here in the cold, dressed only in their little tea towels," added Cho, shaking her head.
Ron shrugged and remained silent, despite the suggestive nudges Cho gave him.
"You'd really think they'd have more consideration for the elves. After all, they're already subjected to slave labor day in, and day out," continued Hermione, evidently surprised to have positive reinforcement for once.
Cho shook her head, saying, "Well, if they all really do enjoy work, which they say they do, I'm just not sure which way is right, to set them free and set our own minds at rest but make them miserable at the same time, or to keep them in captivity and make ourselves feel strangely at having them toil for us."
Harry seemed to have retained his suspicion for them, and, like Ron, he kept his silence, although most likely for different reasons.
"They've all been brainwashed, from generation to generation to believe that their only use in life is to work for wizards and witches. If you do research far back enough, I think you'll find that it probably all stemmed from some incident with an elf who was indebted to a wizard for something and had to pay it off by working for him all of his or her life and passing the task down to their children, and so on and so forth."
"Still, they're not all as maltreated nowadays as you may think, Hermione, although you do have a good point," spoke up Ron, shocking even Cho.
"It's the whole principle of the thing, Ron. We may speak of equality and justice, but the fact of the matter is that house elves just don't receive their fair share of things," disagreed Hermione, turning to fully face them.
"Correction, 'Mione, we may all talk about rights for everyone, but you're the only one, it seems, who's speaking so strongly on behalf of the elves, when they don't want or need a spokesperson. What about werewolves? Who speaks for them?" joined Harry, as though he had gotten some sort of signal from Ron's words to talk.
"Well, I thought all of us here did," Hermione replied. She gave a quick glance at Cho, however, and then fell silent.
"I hear there are potions nowadays to keep werewolves harmless during the full moon," Cho nodded, much to Hermione's relief.
"Maybe someone will finally discover a way to cure them. I'm surprised that they haven't already found a cure," Harry shrugged nonchalantly, looking as though he didn't quite care one way or another.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in a reproachful tone. "You know very well how complex the workings of a werewolf bite is. Let me explain to you again."
He rolled his eyes, a motion that was ignored by his girlfriend as she began to lecture in her usual knowledgeable, bossy manner.
Cho took this opportunity to give Ron another nudge, this one a bit more roughly than the other ones.
"What?" he muttered under his breath, keeping a watchful eye on Hermione and Harry.
"They're right there," she whispered, jerking her head in a direction.
"Yes, Hermione and Harry are right there, I know," frowned Ron, looking slightly bewildered.
She let out a short frustrated groan and hissed, "Not them, their drinks!"
"Their—oh!"
"Here, take it." She gave him the bag under the pretense of taking hold of his hand, taking nervous glances at their victims as she did so, even though Ron was already watching them like a hawk.
"I've already arranged for something with Bonnie to distract them when the time is ready, and you'll slip it into their butterbeers. Got it?" she murmured, leaning in close to his ear to speak. He smiled at her ingenuity; to any innocent spectator, it would look as though she was whispering more intimate things in his ear than she actually was.
He nodded in reply to her instructions.
"Good. Now remember, to be sure that no one can make testify against he two of us if something goes wrong, point your wand at the bag and say mescolare con butterbeers. Don't ask where I got the spell, just do it!" she waved away impatiently at the look on his face.
"All right," he agreed, leaning in turn to whisper in her ear, "but promise that if anything goes wrong, you and I will take the two of them straight to the hospital wing."
"I promise, but I won't agree that I'll like it," she hesitated, frowning slightly.
"I didn't ask you to," he replied with a shrug.
"Get ready, here comes our chance," Cho muttered as Hermione seemed to be winding down on her relatively short lecture, considering.
"…and that's why, to this very day, the problem of finding a cure for a werewolf bite still puzzles even the most capable and intelligent witches and wizards," she finished. Harry seemed to be fighting the temptation to fall asleep.
"Thank you for that, 'Mione," he yawned, stretching like he'd just woken up from a nap. Neither Cho nor Ron were sure which Harry was thanking Hermione for: finally bringing her speech to a close, or telling him everything he could ever possibly want to know about the complications of a werewolf bite. They were both assuming the former was the correct answer.
Cho glanced over at Bonnie, who was busily engaged in what appeared to be a very scathing scolding, involving two guilty-looking youths.
"Excuse me, please, I'll be right back," Cho dismissed herself apologetically, standing up and going to give Bonnie the signal.
"… absolutely unacceptable. You're not to lay a finger on those, do you hear me?" Bonnie scolded impressively, hands on her hips.
The two boys muttered words of repentance, then scampered off with an exasperated sigh and final nod from the Head Girl, giving them permission to take their leave.
"All right, there, Bonnie?" inquired Cho, watching the boys run back to their spot.
"Everything's ready. Just as soon as you're ready, we'll take action," Bonnie managed to grin back.
"I'm ready for the show to begin as soon as I sit down," winked Cho.
Giving her friend the thumbs-up, Bonnie walked away towards the edge of the lawn to prepare the entertainment.
"See? Back before you can miss me," Cho joked, seating herself beside Ron again.
"Well, I think Harry and I might turn in for the night," began Hermione, lifting her bottle of butterbeer to finish it off.
"Stay!" urged Cho quickly, feeling panic flutter in her stomach. "Bonnie has some sort of surprise she wants everyone to see before they go back up to the castle. That's what I went to see her about, but she wouldn't tell me what it is."
"I suppose we could stay for that," Harry consented, after exchanging a look with Hermione.
"Oh, look!" Cho exclaimed, pointing at the sky.
Both Hermione and Harry followed her finger and, as almost everyone else did, directed their gaze towards the massive display of fireworks that climbed the sky, exploding and crashing into each other when they'd reached their maximum altitude, a plethora of colors and shapes. In the deafening din and captivating attractiveness of the unexpected show, no one noticed Ron mutter under his breath and point his wand to something hidden inside his robes. By the time the explosions had ceased and the wind was beginning to carry away the leftover smoke, the deed had been done, and there were no witnesses except for Cho and himself that were any the wiser.
"That was beautiful, wasn't it?" said Hermione happily, smiling from ear to ear.
"Yeah, it was," concurred Cho. "Oh, and Bonnie wanted me to help her remind everyone to finish up their butterbeers before they go back up to the castle. When you've finished, put your bottles in your basket along with your blanket and be sure to drop the basket off in the Dining Hall when you get back."
"All right," Hermione assented, handing Harry his bottle and draining hers as he did.
Cho and Ron held their breaths as they put away their own things, watching carefully for any change.
Nothing… until they were making their way back to the castle.
"We had a lovely time, thank—hic!"
Hermione clamped her hand over her mouth in surprise as Harry began to stumble slightly, throwing out his arms and holding onto his girlfriend for support.
"It was very nice. Verrrrrry nice," Harry slurred, his eyes rolling back in his head slightly.
"Harry? Hermione? Are—are you all right?" asked Cho, pretending to be concerned while trying to keep a straight face.
"The lights… the lights," muttered Hermione. She giggled and then put on a falsely serious face, shaking Harry while yelling drunkenly, "The lights! The lights!"
"What lights? Maybe we should take you to the hospital wing," offered Ron, having the same difficulty as Cho with playing the part of a worried friend. He stuffed his fist into his mouth to stifle an enormous fit of laughter as Harry fell dizzily to the ground as soon as Hermione let go of his robes to join him in a rousing, off-key chorus of "God Save the Queen."
People who, initially, had only stopped to stare at the bizarre behavior of the two, now burst out in raucous laughter, marveling at how the pair had managed to get drunk under the supervision of their responsible Head Boy and Girl.
"Now, now, Hermione, surely you could wait until after the honeymoon to strangle Harry!" teased Marietta, surprising Cho with her boldness to speak to the people she'd betrayed the year before.
"Say, Potter, are you taking requests?" jeered a Ravenclaw boy.
Soon everyone had joined in on the baiting, which neither Hermione nor Harry seemed to notice as they both tried and failed to deal with one comment after the other; she simply resorted back to mumbling nonsense, while Harry took up making a complete fool of himself by doing impressions of Professor McGonagall.
"Have you ever even seen the woman with her hair down? I mean, honestly, you'd think her knickers were twisted so tight that her hair won't go down. You! Detention!" he yelled at the top of his voice in falsetto and pointing wildly at Ron before laughing loudly and obnoxiously.
"What is going on here? I demand to know!" bristled Bonnie, pushing her way through the small crowd gathered around Harry and Hermione.
"Don't be such a spoilsport, Bonnie," called the Head Boy after her.
"Oh, shut up, Derrick. I don't see you doing anything to help these two. Probably gave them the alcohol that's gotten them so drunk, if anything," she huffed, shooting him a sharp look.
"We don't know what happened, truly," shrugged Cho, forcing an expression of bewilderment onto her face as the livid Head Girl whipped around to face her.
"Well something happened! People don't just—" she stopped short as a series of loud cracks sounded through the air.
Silence prevailed for a few moments, except for Hermione and Harry's drunken ramblings, and then the crowd exploded in a simultaneous wave of laughter; even Bonnie had to stifle a giggle, but hadn't the composure to restrain a smile.
Swaying slightly in some imaginary wind on the ground, Harry and Hermione now had enormous antlers the size of baby elephants protruding from their heads in addition to bulbous scarlet noses that lit up every few seconds. It was only when they'd both tripped and gotten their antlers tangled together that Bonnie made any move to help them.
"Cho, Ron, help them up to the hospital wing while I get to the bottom of this," she instructed, before turning to face the crowd. "There's nothing to see anymore, now go up to your dormitories before one of the teachers come out here and assign us all detention. Go!" she barked, jabbing a finger in the direction of the castle.
Meanwhile, Cho and Ron had managed to lift the two makeshift reindeer to their feet.
"Do you need any help?" inquired Bonnie as soon as she'd seen everyone enter the castle.
"We're fine," protested Cho, shaking her head.
"Be careful," she warned over her shoulder as she jogged towards the castle herself.
As soon as the Head Girl was out of earshot, Cho whispered with a smirk, "What did you do?"
"A little bit of holiday magic," Ron shrugged back. He grinned impishly. "Just don't ask where I got the spell."
…………………………
A/N: Yes, once again, many apologies both for the lateness of this update and for any mistakes (any that you see, if you would kindly point them out to me, I would gladly correct), and all of you who reviewed and have been all throughout the story are absolutely wonderful and I don't deserve your kindness and loyalty. Not much to say here, except a Happy Belated Thanksgiving to my American reviewers. Also, before anyone asks, Cho talked with Bonnie about having some form of entertainment at the end of the picnic, but not about the plan, which explains the Head Girl's anger and surprise at finding Harry and Hermione drunk. More to come! Stick around and a new policy I now have: all review replies will from here on out be posted on my livejournal, the url for which can be found on my bio (just look on my profile and scroll down to the bottom of my bio). And if someone would please give me some feedback (if you had any trouble reading anything, if you like the new reply thing I have, if you actually got to read my replies) in an email or in their review, I'd be very much obliged. Thanks!
-Unicorn13