Chapter 19-
"So that's why she was so upset," Ron thought aloud. Seamus nodded.
"What exactly happened?" Harry asked seriously.
"Well, Lavender's parents and my own have always been friends, ever since I started Hogwarts. They were out with a few friends. Not really in a public place. I guess a bunch of Death Eaters appeared out of nowhere; started firing spells. Lavender's mum got hit bad; so did me dad. Remember, he's a muggle. Not one bloody clue what was going on. He got hit first. Me mum survived; so did Lavender's dad. But three of their friends died."
"This is awful," Harry said. "But...why did Lavender explode at us and Malfoy? She accused us of not doing anything about it and said it was all Malfoy's fault," Harry said, puzzled.
"Well, no offense, Harry, but it does seem like you get all the inside information. She probably thought you knew about it," Seamus pointed out. "But I know it wasn't your fault," he added.
"What about Malfoy?" Ron asked suspiciously. "Why did she say it was his fault?"
"Well, technically it was Malfoy's fault," Seamus said.
"You mean...?" Harry began.
"Lucius," Seamus said.
"I knew they couldn't be trusted. How could Hermione be so naive? He's such an arse," Harry fumed. "No good. Just no good," he mumbled as he stalked away, Ron behind him.
Draco and Hermione were still walking around outside when Harry and Ron found them. Hermione noticed the familiar posture Harry's shoulders held.
"What's wrong?" she asked, frowning. Harry ignored her, his eyes focused on Malfoy's.
"You," he spat.
"What?" Draco asked uncertainly.
"I knew all along Malfoys can't be trusted. You'll never change. I bet you knew about it, too, didn't you? He tell you his plans? You fake a story of abuse to seem innocent? I know, you've changed, right?" he asked sarcastically.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked. "How dare you accuse him of lying?" she said, getting angry. She looked at Ron. He looked more sad than angry. What was going on?
"Lucius killed Lavender's mum and Seamus's dad," Ron said quietly.
"What?" Hermione gasped. Draco looked just as shocked.
"Don't look so surprised. You knew it was going to happen," Harry accused. Draco shook his head.
"No...I...I swear I didn't know," he insisted. Hermione looked at him with widened eyes.
"But how could you not have? You live with your father; you must have overheard something," she said.
"You don't trust me?" Draco asked.
"Draco, it's not that---," Hermione said, but Draco cut her off.
"I can't believe this. I've never been able to trust anyone in my life. I put all of it in you and you just turn around and act like it's nothing."
"Your father killed two people!" Hermione cried.
"Five," Harry correct, scowling.
"Five? Five people! How can I just overlook that?" she asked.
"By realizing it was my father who killed them, not me," Draco answered. He turned and walked away.
Hermione put her head down, covering her face.
"It's alright Hermione. Things will work out," Ron said sadly. They went back into the castle to talk about everything that had been happening.
"What does it all mean?" Hermione asked. It was easy to hear the exasperation in her voice. Voldemort was ruining Hogwarts. Voldemort was ruining Hogwarts! Hermione thought.
"That's it!" she cried aloud. Ron and Harry looked at her, puzzled.
"What's 'it'?" Harry asked.
"Voldemort's ruining Hogwarts!"
"Am I the only one who's confused?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry answered.
"Before the Death Eaters attacked, what was Hogwarts like?" Hermione challenged.
"Ummm...normal?" Harry said shrugging.
"Exactly. Everyone was getting along fine. Draco and I had become friends. After that, the House fighting started to end. Then what? Four students are kidnapped, bringing chaos back into the school. Houses aren't friendly with each other anymore. This goes on for awhile and then...Death Eaters attach. 'Coincidentally', they kill the parents of two Gryffindors. Knowing Gryffindors will automatically accuse Slytherin, causing more tension in the school, targeting Draco specifically! This causes a fight between Draco and I, breaking the original tie between Gryffindor and Slytherin!" Hermione had said this so quickly, all Harry and Ron could do was stare at her. Obviously, she had made a conclusion; they just hadn't caught it yet.
"What the heck did you just say?"! Ron exclaimed.
"What was it, that old saying? 'United we stand, divided we fall'," she said as an answer.
"Isn't that a slogan of America?" Harry asked, confused.
"I don't know, that's not the point," she said hurriedly.
"Hermione, what exactly is the point?" Ron asked. "My train of thought is still boarding at the station."
"The point is that Voldemort is making Hogwarts fall apart so that when he starts the battle, we won't be able to fight back. Get it?" And finally, it clicked with the boys.
"And we're stepping right into the trap," Harry sighed.
"We've got to do something," Hermione said. "Once the school realizes it, we can cooperate with each other, get organized; get prepared."
"It's gonna happen soon," Harry said. "I can feel it. Voldemort knows his plan's working."
"So that's why she was so upset," Ron thought aloud. Seamus nodded.
"What exactly happened?" Harry asked seriously.
"Well, Lavender's parents and my own have always been friends, ever since I started Hogwarts. They were out with a few friends. Not really in a public place. I guess a bunch of Death Eaters appeared out of nowhere; started firing spells. Lavender's mum got hit bad; so did me dad. Remember, he's a muggle. Not one bloody clue what was going on. He got hit first. Me mum survived; so did Lavender's dad. But three of their friends died."
"This is awful," Harry said. "But...why did Lavender explode at us and Malfoy? She accused us of not doing anything about it and said it was all Malfoy's fault," Harry said, puzzled.
"Well, no offense, Harry, but it does seem like you get all the inside information. She probably thought you knew about it," Seamus pointed out. "But I know it wasn't your fault," he added.
"What about Malfoy?" Ron asked suspiciously. "Why did she say it was his fault?"
"Well, technically it was Malfoy's fault," Seamus said.
"You mean...?" Harry began.
"Lucius," Seamus said.
"I knew they couldn't be trusted. How could Hermione be so naive? He's such an arse," Harry fumed. "No good. Just no good," he mumbled as he stalked away, Ron behind him.
Draco and Hermione were still walking around outside when Harry and Ron found them. Hermione noticed the familiar posture Harry's shoulders held.
"What's wrong?" she asked, frowning. Harry ignored her, his eyes focused on Malfoy's.
"You," he spat.
"What?" Draco asked uncertainly.
"I knew all along Malfoys can't be trusted. You'll never change. I bet you knew about it, too, didn't you? He tell you his plans? You fake a story of abuse to seem innocent? I know, you've changed, right?" he asked sarcastically.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked. "How dare you accuse him of lying?" she said, getting angry. She looked at Ron. He looked more sad than angry. What was going on?
"Lucius killed Lavender's mum and Seamus's dad," Ron said quietly.
"What?" Hermione gasped. Draco looked just as shocked.
"Don't look so surprised. You knew it was going to happen," Harry accused. Draco shook his head.
"No...I...I swear I didn't know," he insisted. Hermione looked at him with widened eyes.
"But how could you not have? You live with your father; you must have overheard something," she said.
"You don't trust me?" Draco asked.
"Draco, it's not that---," Hermione said, but Draco cut her off.
"I can't believe this. I've never been able to trust anyone in my life. I put all of it in you and you just turn around and act like it's nothing."
"Your father killed two people!" Hermione cried.
"Five," Harry correct, scowling.
"Five? Five people! How can I just overlook that?" she asked.
"By realizing it was my father who killed them, not me," Draco answered. He turned and walked away.
Hermione put her head down, covering her face.
"It's alright Hermione. Things will work out," Ron said sadly. They went back into the castle to talk about everything that had been happening.
"What does it all mean?" Hermione asked. It was easy to hear the exasperation in her voice. Voldemort was ruining Hogwarts. Voldemort was ruining Hogwarts! Hermione thought.
"That's it!" she cried aloud. Ron and Harry looked at her, puzzled.
"What's 'it'?" Harry asked.
"Voldemort's ruining Hogwarts!"
"Am I the only one who's confused?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry answered.
"Before the Death Eaters attacked, what was Hogwarts like?" Hermione challenged.
"Ummm...normal?" Harry said shrugging.
"Exactly. Everyone was getting along fine. Draco and I had become friends. After that, the House fighting started to end. Then what? Four students are kidnapped, bringing chaos back into the school. Houses aren't friendly with each other anymore. This goes on for awhile and then...Death Eaters attach. 'Coincidentally', they kill the parents of two Gryffindors. Knowing Gryffindors will automatically accuse Slytherin, causing more tension in the school, targeting Draco specifically! This causes a fight between Draco and I, breaking the original tie between Gryffindor and Slytherin!" Hermione had said this so quickly, all Harry and Ron could do was stare at her. Obviously, she had made a conclusion; they just hadn't caught it yet.
"What the heck did you just say?"! Ron exclaimed.
"What was it, that old saying? 'United we stand, divided we fall'," she said as an answer.
"Isn't that a slogan of America?" Harry asked, confused.
"I don't know, that's not the point," she said hurriedly.
"Hermione, what exactly is the point?" Ron asked. "My train of thought is still boarding at the station."
"The point is that Voldemort is making Hogwarts fall apart so that when he starts the battle, we won't be able to fight back. Get it?" And finally, it clicked with the boys.
"And we're stepping right into the trap," Harry sighed.
"We've got to do something," Hermione said. "Once the school realizes it, we can cooperate with each other, get organized; get prepared."
"It's gonna happen soon," Harry said. "I can feel it. Voldemort knows his plan's working."
