Saturday, 7 October
9:48 p.m.
The meeting went extremely well! No one called Harry a lunatic, everyone eventually signed my contract, Cedric was only brought up once but we handled it, and all right, we were briefly distracted by Luna Lovegood going off on a tangent about Hellopats or something, but other than that everything ran very smoothly.
The pub was a bit dodgy and…er, dirty, I suppose…but I don't believe we were seen or heard by anyone who would tell Umbridge about it, so that's what's important. Harry was just a tad surprised by the number of people who showed up at first, but he got over it. It was such a great turn-out! Everyone Ron and I spoke to came, as well as a few people who must have heard about it from the others. They seem like a good bunch…except for Cho's snooty friend, who made it clear that she didn't want to be there very much, that Zacharias boy, who was downright rude, and Luna and her Halopeths or whatever they were. The twins came, as well as Lee and the Gryffindor Quidditch girls, Dean, Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Colin, Dennis, Neville, Ginny and Michael and his friends, Cho, Ernie, Justin, Hannah, and Susan Bones, whom I'd never really talked to before today. Hannah said she'd mentioned it to her and Susan had seemed very interested. She seems nice, and I guess her aunt was the woman who was fair to Harry during his trial at the Ministry.
I started out by talking to everyone since Harry was a bit unsure of himself, and I got a very good reaction from everyone until I said the V-word.
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL too, I bet?" said Michael.
"Of course I do, but more than that, I want to be properly trained in defense because…" I took a deep breath and said warily, "Lord Voldemort is back."
You'd think I'd said, "Lord Voldemort is over there by the bar sipping martinis." Everyone panicked; Cho's friend spilled her drink all over herself, a few people looked around anxiously, and Neville had a brief coughing spasm which I think was his attempt at concealing a yelp.
"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" interrupted Zacharias rather rudely. I tried to intervene, but Harry actually handled it brilliantly.
"I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you won't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone," Harry said simply.
I felt like bursting into applause. But then Zacharias had to go and bring up Cedric, and I could see Harry start to lose his temper and Cho's eyes start watering. Harry glared at me as if it was all my fault. I tried to get the meeting back on track.
"Is is true you can produce a Patronus?" Susan Bones interrupted. Harry flushed but then told her he could. This prompted a barrage of questions regarding Harry's various achievements and near-death experiences, which I was afraid might make him angry. But I think he was rather pleased with everyone's admiration, even if he was a bit embarrassed. Zacharias spoke up and started being difficult again, but Ron shut him up quite nicely and then the twins threatened him with a terrifying-looking device which I don't even want to know about. It was a rather nice gesture by the twins, though, even if it was misguided.
Despite several interruptions and one very long-winded speech from Ernie, we finally decided to meet once a week. It might have to change each week to accommodate three different Quidditch practice schedules, Prefect's meetings, and everyone else's commitments, but we'll figure that out later. We're still unsure about where to meet, but everyone promised to think about it.
Then I tried to appear casual and took out the charmed piece of parchment. "I think everybody should write their name down," I said, "just so we know who was here. But I also think that we ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge about what we're doing."
I thought it was well said…I told everyone that signing meant that they couldn't tell Umbridge about our group, I just happened to leave out what exactly will happen to them if they do. Hopefully everyone can be trusted, although I'm a bit wary about the three people I mentioned before. But…well, I suppose that although Luna's a bit off, she's not the type to go blabbing to Umbridge. And Zacharias and Marietta both signed without putting up a fight, so it should be okay.
After everyone had signed, it was as if there was an unspoken agreement that the meeting was over, and we left it that we'd somehow manage to get a message round to everyone about the meeting time and place. Getting messages out is something I'll have to think about, too. It's a bit suspicious if I have to go sneaking around to different tables in the Great Hall all the time.
Ron, Harry, and I left the Hog's Head and went out into Hogsmeade. I needed a new quill, so we headed to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop,
"Well, I think that went quite well," I said, feeling content with the way the meeting turned out.
"That Zacharias bloke's a wart," Ron said, glowering. I couldn't help but agree with him; Zacharias was extremely rude to Harry.
"He overheard me talking to Ernie and Hannah at the Hufflepuff table and he seemed really interested in coming, so what could I say?" I said apologetically, more to Harry than Ron. "But the more people the better, really – I mean, Michael Corner and his friends wouldn't have come if he hadn't been going out with Ginny - "
Ron nearly choked on his Butterbeer and stopped in his tracks. "What?!"
Rolling my eyes, I explained about Michael and Ginny. I knew that he had no idea, but I don't think Ginny really cares if he knows or not, she just hasn't told him because she figured he'd take it badly (which he did). I thought if I mentioned it casually he wouldn't go ballistic, but apparently I was wrong. He immediately voiced his dislike for Michael and incredulously proclaimed that he thought Ginny fancied Harry.
I sighed and patiently set him straight, all the while somewhat hoping that Harry was paying some attention, seeing as he probably never realized that Ginny gave up on him long ago. Harry was in a reverie (possibly due to the fact that Cho made a point of making eyes at him at every possible moment during the meeting, and then took an eternity in the Hog's Head to fasten her bag when everyone else was leaving) but then snapped out of it for a moment when I mentioned that Ginny had given up on him.
"So that's why she talks now?" Harry said slowly. "She never used to talk in front of me."
Bravo, Harry.
"Exactly," I said, picking out a quill. Ron continued harping on about Ginny and Michael as we left, and I took the opportunity to say to Harry in a low voice, "And talking about Michael and Ginny, what about Cho and you?"
Harry turned beet red. "What do you mean?" he asked quickly.
I smiled. "Well, she couldn't keep her eyes off you, could she?"
Harry looked as if I'd just handed him a hundred galleons.
"What do we know about this Corner character, anyways?" Ron continued ranting. "He's in Ravenclaw, for heaven's sake, and he's in our year! Our year! He's a whole year older than Ginny! Robbing the cradle, that's what he's doing…" he continued to chunter on about Michael in the same way he often does about Viktor.
That must be why he's always hounding me about Viktor…he acted the very same way about Michael because he's protective of his sister…that's all it is, he just thinks of me as a sister, too and that's why he's always questioning me about Viktor and such. It's not as if he's jealous or anything. Now I feel foolish about that argument after the Yule Ball. It wasn't because Ron wanted to go with me, he was just being protective.
Well, that's a relief.
10:34 p.m.
Why doesn't it feel like a relief?
10:42 p.m.
What about the bracelet, then?
10:48 p.m.
Oh, why am I kidding myself? Parvati and Lavender can see it, and I think Ginny can see it, and the twins always tease us, and even Tonks, who only saw us once or twice a week, knew it.
I can even admit it to myself…I don't…feel the same way about Harry that I do about Ron…and perhaps…sometimes…he's not so bad, and I…maybe…fancy him, just a tiny bit.
And maybe Lavender and Parvati are right…maybe Ron feels the same way…even if he doesn't realize it.
Too bad he's a completely oblivious, immature prat with the emotional competency of a two-year-old and will never figure it out.
