They took a minute to wash their faces and steel their nerve.

Harry knew the Hogwarts rumor mill all too well – in first year, the whole school had shunned him when he and his friends nearly lost Gryffindor the House Cup for being out past curfew. Of course, he and his friends were the one who had one it back, but it had been enough to make his life difficult for a while. In his second year, nobody would talk to him because they had thought he was the Heir of Slytherin, the one releasing the basilisk on all the Muggle borns. Of course, they'd been wrong, but again, the suspicions was still more than enough to make his life difficult. In fourth year, when he'd been entered in the TriWizard tournament, nearly the whole school turned his back on him – the "Potter Stinks" badges flashed through his memory, and he scowled.

And that was just the serious stuff. Rumors were always flying about him and his friends...his sanity, or lack thereof...him and Cho, him and Hermione...of course, Rita Skeeter had been no help, nor the Daily Prophet.

He shook his head. He was used to it by now – he shouldn't let it get to him. By now, half the school trusted him implicitly, and the other half thought he was a menace...

"Come to think of it," he realized, "That probably goes for the wizarding world at large."

"Ready?" Ron asked, determinedly upbeat. He had just finished carefully mussing up his Quidditch hair. Harry grinned.

"Ready."

They went down the common room, where Hermione was waiting for them. Her head was stuck in a book, as usual, but it seemed to Harry that she was looking through the book more than reading it. He wondered how often she hid this way.

"Ready to go?" Ron asked.

"Hmm? Of course!" she said, closing the book, and tucking it under her arm, "Just catching up on some light reading."

"A Nastily Exhausting Survey of Wizarding History, W.E.A. Edition," Ron recited, tilting his head to read the cover, "Hermione, one of these days I'm going to buy you a real book. You know, with people, and a story?"

"History is all [I]about[/I] people and stories," she said, with a flip of her bushy brunette hair.

"No, I mean something that I'd actually be caught dead reading."

"Oh, you mean like that 'Martin the Mad Muggle' nonsense? That's light enough," she said with a snort, "I'm not sure that comic books count as 'reading,' Ron."

"Graphic novel," he muttered under his breath so only Harry could hear. Harry smiled. He knew they were partly performing for his benefit – striving for a bit of normalcy, and he appreciated it.

When they arrived at the Great Hall and stepped inside, the whole school was abuzz. The Slytherin table was divided into two distinct groups – the ones who didn't want to risk getting beat up, and the ones sitting next to Malfoy, which included Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bullstrode, and few others whose names Harry didn't know. The Ravenclaw table, which was across from them, kept shooting nasty looks at them and muttering murderously under their breaths. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were totally jumbled, forming tight knots of excited whispering scattered up and down the tables.

"Hi, Harry!" shouted Colin Creevey from the other end of the Gryffindor table, waving happily, his brother Dennis by his side.

All conversation ceased, and Harry felt the sudden heat of about four hundred eyes on him. He felt Hermione take a step backwards to his left.

"Smile," he muttered without moving his lips. He waved broadly, "Hello, Colin."

"Hi, Harry!" he repeated, ecstatically aware that he had publicly confirmed their friendship for all to see, "Want to eat with us?"

"Oh," Harry said, scanning the table, "Well, I...promised Ginny and Neville..."

But he was saved from further excuses as the entire Gryffindor Quiddtich team surrounded him and his friends.

"You can eat with us," Katie said, "We'll watch your back. Besides, we already know the story."

"Thanks," Harry said.

They all found a spot, and piping hot, fresh food appeared on their plates.

"Mm," Ron remarked casually, "Roast beef tonight!"

"Hermione," Ginny said cautiously, "Are you—"

"No need to worry," Hermione said with a bracing grin, "I'm fine. Top hole."

"– going to have any?" Ginny said, and Harry noticed that she was passing around the potatoes.

"Oh," Hermione said, blushing furiously, "Yes, please...thanks, Ginny."

"Sorry," Ginny said fretfully, "I didn't mean to—"

"No, that's alright—"

"I just didn't—"

"If I hear one more apology tonight," Harry said, shaking his head and grinning.

"You're right, I'm sorry!" Ginny said, her eyes wide.

There was a pause as they all looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

"Let's just try to relax," Harry said, feeling his shoulders release just a bit.

"Harry," Sloper said, tapping him on the shoulder.

Harry turned around to see that a queue had formed, stretching down the table, of people waiting to speak to them. At the forefront was Zacharias Smith and the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"Oh," Hermione said quietly.

"Great," Harry thought to himself, "Just relax. Right."

"You feel like seeing people, Harry?" Jack said sternly, his arms folded across his chest.

"No!" Harry said hastily, blushing, "I mean, yes, it's fine!"

Andrew Kirke glared up at Zacharias suspiciously, "'Cause we can hold 'em off if you like—"

"No!" Harry shouted, "Err...no thank you. You two...go eat something."

"Right. Just holler if you need us."

Zacharias stepped forward.

"Zack, hi, sorry about that, they're just a little—"

Zacharias put one hand on Harry's shoulder, and grasped Harry's hand into a firm handshake with the other. He took a deep breath through his nose, and drew himself up to full height. Harry felt a speech coming on.

"I just wanted to let you know, Harry," he said pompously, so that everyone could hear him, "That Hufflepuff is with you. And as Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, I promise to you, we are going to flatten Slytherin at the end of the year!"

He clapped Harry jovially on the shoulder again, "Not that we're going to go easy on you, now!" The Hufflepuff Quidditch team laughed dutifully.

"Err – thanks," Harry said. Ron was laughing also, but Harry had the feeling it was more "at you" laughter than the "with you" sort...Harry felt like he'd just shaken hands with a young Gilderoy Lockhart.

He glanced up at the teacher's table, and saw that Professor McGonagall was eyeing him sternly, giving a slight shake of her head. Hagrid looked very uncomfortable for Harry, but altogether, the teachers were pretty helpless...what could they do? Demand that the students stop talking to Harry and eat? It was an unspoken agreement at Hogwarts that during meals, the professors and students pretty much kept to themselves, coming and going when they pleased, and chatting with each other. Meal time at Hogwarts was viewed as both the students' and the teachers' opportunity to relax, and for years, they'd been cordially ignoring one another, unless there were certain announcements or someone was causing trouble, of course. But they were going to have to say something eventually...this was getting out of hand.

Zacharias's eyes moved to Hermione, and Harry was appalled to see that he actually knelt on one knee and took her hand in his.

"Hermione," he said tenderly, "How are you? Alright?"

"[I]I'm fine[/I]" she hissed quietly through her fixed smile, "And unless you are proposing marriage, [I]do[/I] stand up, won't you?"

Zacharias looked a bit taken aback. Ginny was biting her knuckles to keep from laughing.

"Just – err...well, good! Excellent," he said, regaining his composure, "Just wanted to make sure you were alright. You know," he said confidentially, "You can always count on Hufflepuff to come to your aid."

"Thank you," she said, sounding quite like Professor McGonagall, "I'll keep it in mind."

"Sorry 'bout him," said the Hufflepuff Beater who had helped them earlier, leaning in to whisper in Harry's ear, "He's means well, an' all. We think being made captain went a bit to his head."

"It's fine," Harry said despondently – the line was getting even longer.

Luna Lovegood drifted down the line, cutting in front of everyone else. To Harry's horror, she had tied her Ravenclaw tie around her head.

"Hello," she said dreamily to Harry, pointing at the tie on her head, "I suppose I'm the Ravenclaw delegate."

Ron eyed Luna cautiously, and reached across the table as though to take Hermione's hand. She smacked it away, red-faced. Luna walked over to Hermione, unshouldering her bag.

"I heard you were attacked, and figured you might need some more luck."

She upended the bag onto the table, and shook it. Out poured two rusty horseshoes, three trolls, a four-leaf clover in a small plastic box, two vividly pink live rabbits ("They're actually slippers I transfigured..."), a string of garlic, a pocket Sneakoscope, a circle of protection on a silver chain, two amulets, a shiny bronze Knut, and for some inexplicable reason, a sock.

"Thank you, Luna," Hermione said determinedly, "I'm sure it'll come in handy." Harry thought she might die of embarrassment, but not before Ginny died from laughter.

"Just remember," Luna said, raising a finger and smiling benignly, "Stamp on their instep to break the metatarsal, and thrust upwards into their nose with the heel of your hand! Want me to show you? Stand up, Harry—"

"NO! Err, no," Hermione said hastily, saving Harry from at worst, a painful death, and at best, a broken foot, "You...You can show me at the meeting tonight."

"Oh!" she said, clapping her hands, "You saw my flier!"

"Huh?"

"For the Snorkack Aid Society! Are you joining?"

Hermione elected to ignore this, "Actually, I meant the [I]other[/I] meeting," she said meaningfully.

"Gobstones?"

"Just check your pockets later," Hermione said exasperatedly.

"Oh, alright," Luna said, with her implacable calm. She blew Ron a kiss across the table.

"That's for luck," she said with a wink.

She smiled at Neville who was eyeing her furtively across the table. She stood on the bench, put one knee down on the table, leaned precariously over the mashed potatoes, and kissed Neville on the cheek.

"And that's for you."

She hopped nimbly down from the table, and seemed to float, rather than walk back to the Ravenclaw table, and Harry was surprised to find that he, like the other boys at the table, felt compelled to watch her go.

Hermione muttered something under her breath that Harry didn't quite catch.

"No, she's not," Ginny said cheerfully, "Just a bit dotty, is all."

"You seem awfully happy," Ron said, scowling and wiping his cheek.

"Oh, lighten up, Ron," Ginny said, "You have to admit, it's all a bit ridiculous. Not—" she interrupted herself, with an anxious glance at Hermione, "You know, not that what happened is ridiculous, just..."

"I know," Hermione said, shaking her head, "Maybe 'surreal' is the word?"

"Well, we're glad we're keeping you so well entertained," Harry said with a wry grin.

Neville was rubbing his cheek, and grinning like an idiot at Ron.

"That did just happen, right?" he asked in a timorous voice, "I didn't imagine it?"

"Harry."

Harry turned from Neville grinning broadly, and came face to face to Cho Chang, and several other Ravenclaws. The smile slid off his face like runny eggs. Cho was still wearing her shin guards, and a few sticky strands of hair were stuck to her forehead – they must have had the pitch just before dinner.

"Oh. Hi," he muttered.

Cho flushed a slight pink, and suddenly said, "I'm Quidditch Captain. For Ravenclaw. I don't know if you knew or not..."

"Good for you!" Harry said, and he realized with a bit of panic that he might have sounded sarcastic, "No, I mean it...that's...I'm really happy for you."

"Look, Harry..." she sighed. "I don't mean to bother you. This is really serious, or I wouldn't have come over. The whole school's in a flap about it," she said, "I still...I don't like to see you or any of your friends get hurt. I was really upset when I heard about it."

Harry felt something hard and tight loosen in his chest. Maybe he didn't have to ignore Cho Chang for the rest of his life.

"Bet she cried," Ron barely uttered, so Cho couldn't hear him, "Always does."

"He's a detestable snake in the grass," Cho said firmly, her eyes flashing, "Malfoy, I mean. And the now the whole school knows it."

"It wasn't exactly a secret," Ginny said coolly.

"I just wanted to let you know that we're also going to win against Slytherin. And I still want to be in the D.A...And..." she trailed off, "I guess that's it."

"Okay," Harry said lamely, "Thanks...that's really nice." He cringed – that was horribly inadequate. Why, oh why did he have to sound like an idiot every time Cho tried to talk to him? He didn't even like her anymore, and he still made a fool of himself.

"Hermione," Cho continued, "If you need anything—"

"I know," Hermione said, "But I'm fine. You don't need to worry, really."

"Okay, thanks for stopping by!" Ginny said, and Harry detected a slight edge beneath the cheerfulness. As oddly as his friends were acting, it was nice to know that so many people wanted to protect him.

Cho gave her a funny look, and walked back over to the Ravenclaw table.

"This is impossible," Harry said, pushing away his fork, "We might as well go back to the common room. If we're hungry later, we can go tickle the pear."

"Where are you going, Harry?" Colin asked eagerly from down the table, as Harry stood.

"I think...I'm just going to go for a walk," he said. After all, if he couldn't exactly say "I'd like the common room to myself, please."

"Can I come, too?"

Harry pretended that he hadn't heard, and worked his way through the small crowd, nodding politely, and forcing himself to grin. Just as he was about to reach the door, his way was blocked by Derrick Bole, a Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch Team.

Instantly, as though they'd sprung up like mushrooms, he was surrounded by three Quidditch teams, and half the D.A. What seemed like half the school stood up and hurried over to watch the action. Harry groaned inwardly, and wished dearly that one could Apparate on Hogwarts grounds so he could just zap himself straight to bed.

Derrick eyed them all nervously.

"I don't want trouble," he said.

"You've got it," Jack Sloper said, rolling up his sleeves. Harry anxiously gave him an elbow in the arm. "Ow! Sorry, Harry."

Derrick scowled, and spat on the stone floor before saying, "Look. I just want to say that it was Malfoy that did what he did, and not Slytherin House. So call off your attack dogs."

"They're not my attack dogs," Harry said angrily, "I didn't ask for any of this! If you're having a rough time of it, then blame Malfoy."

"I do," Derrick said, "I'm just saying, I don't want to have to look over my shoulder in the hallways because Draco Malfoy is an idiot."

"I can't help what other people do," Harry said, rubbing his forehead.

"You sure don't seem to mind it, though," Derrick said with a sneer, "Walking around like the Minister of Magic—"

"Excuse me," said Professor McGonagall, and all of the students jumped, and parted to allow her through, "I couldn't help but wonder what was so fascinating over here that half the school had to come and look."

Abashed, most of the crowd slunk back to their seats.

"Potter. Bole. Is there a problem here?" she asked, with an arched eyebrow.

"No," Derrick said rudely.

"No what?"

"Pr'fessor."

"Good then. I see my concerns were unfounded. Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley...Hagrid asked me to remind you about your detention. You may meet him at the Gamekeeper's cottage," she said, folding her hands regally.

"Detention!" cried Ron, "What've we done now?"

"Okay," Harry interrupted eagerly, "Thank you, Professor."

"Thanks, Professor," Hermione added.

Grateful beyond words, Harry left the room as fast as he could, Ron and Hermione half-jogging to keep up.