DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Hermione waved to Ernie as they passed through the main gates to Hogwarts. Ginny and Neville were walking beside her, and there was a loose line of D.A. members extending behind them.
Ginny kept telling herself that everything was fine, and that this would be worth it. Really, the events of last night and this morning had provided enough of a distraction that she wasn't even terribly nervous about what she'd have to do once they got to Zonko's. Hermione had seemed rather unconcerned at first, but she seemed to be thinking about it more now.
"So, Ginny," she said trying to sound conversational, "Fred and George aren't going to do anything...er... improper with these things, right?"
"No, I don't think so. Fred and George are mostly harmless—" Ginny paused as Neville choked and glared at her. "They are! They're just curious, really. They were kicked out of Zonko's over the summer. The shopkeeper told them he didn't want them stealing ideas."
"Isn't that what you're doing, though?"
"No!" Ginny said defensively. "They'd never get to see them otherwise. They don't see the point in copying other people's ideas. They prefer coming up with their own."
"Well, I haven't seen anyone else selling portable swamps," Neville added with a smile.
When they got to Hogsmeade, Hermione forced everyone to check the town out first, before running off to the joke shop. Various groups were assigned some tasks before they split up. There would be at least two people in the Three Broomsticks at all times, and another two who were to remain at the joke shop until it had calmed down. Finally, with a sigh, Hermione and Hannah agreed that everyone could split up.
The result was less like splitting and more like migration. Most of the students headed off to Zonko's straight away, and Hermione resignedly followed Neville and Ginny.
There was already a line of students there when the three of them arrived. As they stood in line, Ginny pulled a bag of sweets out of one pocket and dumped them into another. Neville asked what she was doing, but she simply shook her head at him. They were too close to the door already and she didn't want anyone to hear her explaining it.
Not long afterward, the three of them walked out of the shop (instead of being thrown out, as Hermione had feared) with smiles on their faces. This was partly because of the fun of trying things no one else had even seen, but mostly because of the final taffy they'd been allowed to try. They had been ensured that it should wear off in only a minute or two, though Neville still had his horns. In contrast, several of the sweets hadn't seemed to work very well at all on Ginny.
While Hermione and Neville were still smiling broadly, her face had dropped to something that looked quite a bit more concerned.
"Yours wore off already?" Neville asked. His voice sounded disappointed, but he looked quite happy about it. Ginny's smile returned, but it wasn't from any taffy.
"Of course not," she said happily. "I never ate mine." She pulled out a handful of sweets from one of her pockets. "I told you I was going to take them. I didn't get them all, unfortunately, but I did get two of that one that braided your hair. They were certain it would work on me."
"Well done, I suppose," Hermione said, sounding only slightly disapproving. "Should we send them off to the twins then?" Ginny was putting them back into a pouch which she then put in a pocket inside her robes. "No," she said, "I'll send them off with a bit of a note. I'll do it tonight. I'm sure Harry will let me send Hedwig."
Back at Hogwarts, Harry and the remainder of the D.A. had just started leading the rest of the students to Hogsmeade. As he walked he saw the Aurors watching them, and felt quite useless. With the Aurors around it seemed like he was merely playing at their jobs. He wondered if they were laughing to themselves about the children trying to protect each other. What could they really do, if Voldemort would choose to attack? Perhaps this was pointless.
Looking back at the others, it seemed they were thinking the same thing. Harry shrugged and tried to forget about it. They were doing the job Dumbledore had assigned them. At least he'd be able to relax.
Upon arriving at Hogsmeade, most of the students immediately made for Zonko's. Harry didn't care as much as he normally would have about the new pranks. Part of him wanted to just go back to the castle. Instead he decided upon finding a quiet corner of the Three Broomsticks. He walked away from Cho without a word, and disappeared into the crowd.
Finding a nice quiet table was easier than he expected. It was in a dim corner of the room. No one else was sitting near it. Harry had quietly brought a butterbeer back to it and was relaxing in the quiet before the pub filled with boisterous students.
He knew (or at least hoped) that Ginny would be looking for him, and when he heard laughing and shouting outside the door he hoped it would be her trailing Ron and Hermione. When the door opened, instead of his three friends, it was a rather large group of students. They didn't seem to notice him immediately and Harry looked away hoping they wouldn't decide to join him.
As some of the students walked off to scavenge chairs from other, less crowded tables, one of them saw Harry. "He is here!" he shouted back to one of the tables. Harry dropped his head into his hands, and was about to leave when he heard the one thing that could make him stay.
"Harry! There you are!" Ginny shouted as she raced across the room. She'd wanted to hug him but she became suddenly conscious of the large group of students nearby. She stopped in front of him abruptly. "Er... Hi," she said with an awkward smile.
Ron and Hermione hurried over to him, as Neville and Luna Lovegood followed them. "What were you doing?" Hermione asked him as if it hadn't been obvious.
"Enjoying the silence," he responded with a shrug. Even as he said that, a second group of students walked through the door. Harry turned to watch them sit down. Standing in the middle of them was Justin Finch-Fletchley. He froze when he saw Harry sitting in the corner.
"No," he said loudly as he backed away from the table his friends were sitting at. "I'll come back when he's not here. I've had enough of him." They tried to convince him to ignore Harry and sit down, but it only irritated him more. "Are you on his side, now? You believe what he sent Hannah and Ernie to tell you all instead of me?"
Ginny was glaring at Justin angrily and seemed about to have a go at him when Hermione stopped her and walked over to Justin. "Calm down, Justin. Harry's not doing anything. He just wants to relax."
"I don't care, Hermione," he said testily as if her own name were an insult. "I see how it works now, and I'm not going to be his lackey. If he can't be honest with me, then I'm not wasting my time with him and his little club." Hermione tried to protest, but Justin didn't let her talk. "Come on, Hermione. Crabbe's arm was broken exactly where Harry's was, the day after he broke it! Now he wants us to think it was some conspiracy to—" he gestured wildly "—I don't know what it was supposed to do."
Hermione walked up to him and spoke in a low voice, "Not here, Justin. Not now."
"Oh! That's right, I'm supposed to keep quiet, aren't I?" he said as his face reddened. "I'm not supposed to let anyone else know what I saw, right? Keep it a secret. Don't want anyone else to find out what Potter's been up to, right?" He walked past Hermione and looked directly at Harry. "He's getting to be more of a problem than he's worth. Someone had to stand up to him. He's getting out of control."
"Been talking with Malfoy, have you?" Ron asked.
"Malfoy probably hates him because he sees him as competition," Justin sneered back. "You had nothing to do with all the dead Muggles at King's Cross, right? 'Course not. There was just a bloody big lightning bolt on the barrier. Tell us again how Cedric died and you couldn't do anything to stop it."
"Shut up, Justin," Harry growled.
"And I hear that your godfather died trying to get you out of some mess you started." Harry stood and pushed his chair aside. Unfazed, Justin continued, "You have a habit of having people around you die, but it's always You-Know-Who, isn't it?"
"I think that's quite enough, for me," Harry said in a cold emotionless voice. He walked stiffly past Justin and out the door. Everyone was silent for a short moment as Justin's expression changed from one of anger to triumph.
Ginny, Ron, and Hermione quickly walked out of the pub after Harry with Neville jogging after them, but when they got outside they didn't see Harry. "He couldn't have gotten far..." Hermione said as she peered around the street.
"Wouldn't have to," Ron said as he rubbed his forehead. "He brought his cloak. I told him that it was a bad idea in case we needed to find him, but he did it anyway."
"He just wanted to relax," Ginny said as she looked back at the door to the Three Broomsticks. "What was Justin thinking?" She turned back to Hermione and shrugged. "He'll show up again. He probably just went somewhere to be left alone."
"Well, we need to find him," Hermione said. "I don't know what made Justin do that, but I just don't feel right not knowing where Harry is."
"Should we split into pairs and search for him?" Neville asked. Hermione was still looking around for any sign of which direction Harry might have gone.
"No, there's too many places he could have gone. We'll have to search individually. Neville, see if you can find him on the path back to the castle. Ron, you check the Hog's Head. I'll go this way, Ginny, you go that way." The four of them split up with Neville following Ginny for a while until he had to turn off the road and walk toward Hogwarts.
Ginny stopped once she was alone, and looked around her. He could be anywhere, simply sitting in a corner, and no one would ever notice him. He wouldn't gone back to the castle. Harry wouldn't just run away. He was probably somewhere in plain sight, or at least, it would be plain sight if you could see through an Invisibility Cloak.
Ginny realized how hopeless it was to even try to find him. He'd used the Cloak enough that he'd know how and where to hide. She'd tried to tell Hermione. If Harry didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. He'd show up. She knew it, but at the same time she knew she'd feel better once he had. "Where did you go, Harry?" she whispered to herself.
"Behind you," came an answering whisper so close to her ear that she shrieked and and leapt away. It had been Harry. She turned to look in the direction of the whisper expecting to see empty space, but instead saw a very somber young wizard with bright green eyes.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the street?" Ginny asked as her heart tried to slow to its normal rhythm. Harry gave her a weak smile and shrugged.
"Following you."
Ginny wasn't sure what that meant. Harry explained as he walked down the street. "I wanted to wait until Neville left. I was waiting right outside the door." He paused as he looked down at the ground. "I used to get to talk to you all the time. Now it's different." Ginny smiled and tentatively reached for his hand.
Harry's heart raced as he walked down the high road. He couldn't explain it. It's not like it was that much, but suddenly the world seemed to be moving slower than normal, and he couldn't even remember anything that had happened earlier. He pointed across the street, "Zonko's! I think a few laughs are just what I need." Ginny stopped, but Harry still had her hand and he was tugging her toward the shop.
"Er... Harry, I don't know—" she protested.
With one last tug he pulled her into the shop. There were only a couple of students in the shop, but Harry quickly let go of Ginny's hand as she turned to walk away from him. The shopkeeper noticed him immediately.
"Why, it's Harry Potter! How nice to see you. We hoped you'd be coming around. We have some new taffies that we've saved for you." The man behind the counter pulled out a small cloth bag and tossed it to Harry. "Feel free to give them a try and tell us what you think."
Harry thanked him and turned to show them to Ginny, but she wasn't there. She was stooping over a trunk of various trick inks. He went to show her but she acted uninterested. "I was here with Neville and Ron earlier," she said before standing to look at teacup that claimed it would turn to a spider when you added tea.
He continued to look around the shop, but Ginny mostly kept to one wall. Eventually he found a small book called the Procrastinator's Pocketbook. It had a page for every day of the year. When you wrote a note about something needing to be done or started, it would move it to another page, giving you all the extra time you needed.
"That's brilliant," Harry laughed. "I should get this for Hermione. Come take a look at this." Ginny stopped for a moment before quickly walking over to Harry with her head down. Harry picked up the sample Pocketbook and the quill that were out for customers to give it a try. He wrote on the page for the 17th of May:
Write Defense Against the Dark Arts Essay.
He handed the book to Ginny, who watched as the ink faded and then scrawled across the page for the 18th of May in exactly the same script. With a start, she snapped the book closed and dropped it back on the pile of other Pocketbooks. "I— I don't much like books that write for themselves, Harry."
"Oh. Right." Harry felt quite embarrassed as he put the quill down where he'd taken it from. The sound of the dropping book had drawn the attention of the shopkeeper, however.
"Ahh. The Procrastinating Pocketbooks are quite popular with the fifth and seventh-years," he announced. "There are also the—" The man paused as his eyebrows slowly raised. "Well, welcome back..." he said as he looked at Ginny, who had taken an interest in some toads which looked to be made of stone. "Miss...Weasley, is it?" he said loudly, causing another older wizard to poke his head through a doorway nearby. "I am correct? You are Ginny Weasley?"
Ginny stood up and looked at the shopkeeper strangely. The other wizard walked out toward Harry. "Ahh, Miss Weasley. You've returned!" Ginny was beginning to look a little uncomfortable. "I'm terribly sorry I didn't recognize you when you were here earlier. It was quite busy, you understand. I was quite surprised to hear that the Pumpkin Plaiting Taffy didn't work at all on you."
Ginny was inching away from the man. "Yes, well, these things do happen. As it happens I've never even felt dizzy after a whiff of your Fainting Flowers either."
"Ohhh, how unfortunate," the man said smoothly, though Harry was beginning to doubt his sincerity. "Why don't you let us try and make it up to you. Zonko's does work quite hard at making products to please our customers. Trevor," he said to the wizard at the counter, "would you fetch our latest creation?"
The man turned and walked off toward a door behind the counter. He opened the door to a dark, empty room filled with a number of long robes and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry blinked and stepped forward. "Justin?" he called out. He turned to Ginny who seemed as surprised as he was. "Has he been here all this time?"
"Has who been here?"
"Justin! He's in that closet!"
Ginny felt exceptionally uncomfortable. What was Harry trying to do? Judging by the look on the older wizards face, it certainly wasn't working. She leaned her head toward Harry. "What are you going on about, Harry?"
As Trevor returned to the counter, the older wizard peered at Harry over his spectacles. "That is a storage closet, Mr. Potter." Then, turning to Trevor who was holding a bundle of cloth, he continued, "Trevor, was—er— anyone in the closet?" Trevor hardly needed to answer.
"What was that, sir? Someone in the closet? I couldn't fit a Boggart in there. You feeling alright?"
"I'm fine, thank you, and you are quite correct. Now, Miss Weasley, please let me show you our newest item. It's a set of trick robes. I'm sure you'll find them most interesting."
The room around Harry was getting hazy. He heard Ginny say, "No, you don't have to do that," but her voice was muffled as if he had covered his ears with heavy woolen socks. As he looked around the room, he realized he could see shadows moving.
"Oh, but I insist," the man said as he advanced on Ginny. "Now, hand me your robes and you can give it a try."
Ginny was already backing away. "We should really be going. We should find Ron and Hermione. Come on, Harry," She looked to him, but he didn't seem to see her. He seemed to be looking all around the room as if he were blind.
"Harry!" Ginny shouted, finally getting his attention. "Harry, what's wrong?" Harry blinked a couple times and looked at her.
"Justin. He's being chased by... by..."
"Mr. Potter, are you feeling ill? Perhaps you should sit down. Miss Weasley here will try on the robes and we'll get you some Pepper Up Potion." Ginny ignored him and pulled Harry toward the door, as they stumbled into the street, they could hear the shopkeeper calling from the door, "Good day, then. I look forward to seeing you again, Miss Weasley!"
Ginny pulled out her wand and looked intently at Harry. "It's another vision, isn't it?" Harry nodded slowly. "You saw Justin?" Another nod. "Is he— Is he still—" Harry nodded.
"He's still alive. I think he's trying to go back to the castle." Without any hesitation Ginny pointed her wand into the sky and sent up a brilliant shower of red sparks.
The display drew a crowd of students and inhabitants, and it didn't take long before a number of Aurors had joined the crowd as well. For a moment, an older Auror who seemed to be the most senior of those there began scolding the students for calling him needlessly, but his attitude changed when he realized that several students where crouched around Harry, who had taken a seat on a nearby bench.
"It's too late," he told them. "He's already been attacked. He was still moving. I think he's still alive. He can't be far from the main gate." The last thing Harry had seen was Justin falling to the ground, he'd been clutching at his own neck and trying to crawl toward the castle.
With a nod, several of the Aurors Disapparated. The older Auror asked Harry many questions, but gave up when he realized that Harry honestly didn't know who had done it, or why. The crowd was starting to disperse when a pair of Aurors Apparated nearby and ran to the senior Auror.
They whispered between each other, looking over at Harry occasionally. Even as close as they were, the students could only hear what the leader what saying. "Just him?...And how many are there?... Alright... We'll have to take them back... No, I don't see how Dumbledore will keep this quiet... And get Shacklebolt out here."
Both of the Aurors Disapparated again. The remaining Auror turned to Harry and the students around him. "You're the D.A. Council?" Several of the students nodded. "Well, we need to gather everyone up. All students are to return to the castle as quickly as we can manage. Gather everyone right here. Everyone goes together."
Hermione separated the D.A. members into small groups and sent them out to fetch any students who hadn't come to investigate the sparks. It didn't take long before all the students had been gathered and counted. They were short only six people. One was Justin. Neville hadn't returned but the Aurors said that he was already back at the castle. There was a Ravenclaw third-year who'd went back after receiving an owl at the Three Broomsticks, a pair of Hufflepuffs who had already returned and a single Slytherin who had left almost immediately after discovering that Zonko's had run out of samples of their new taffies.
They walked back as a group, surrounded by a number of Aurors. Not far from the main gate, they saw five Aurors who were searching the ground around one particular area. Apparently that was where Justin had been attacked.
The students filed by silently and didn't talk openly until they were safe inside Hogwarts castle again. They didn't have much time, though. Professor McGonagall was standing sternly in the center of the Hall. As students walked past her, she stopped some of them to say something. As soon as Harry and his friends got near her, she stopped them too.
"There will be a prefects meeting at precisely five o'clock. You will meet in the Transfiguration classroom. I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. Prefects only. The Headmaster will address the rest of the students at the evening meal."
Harry spent most of the time between then and the meeting trying to explain what he'd seen.
"It has to be the Death Eaters, doesn't it? All of the visions have been about things they're doing," Hermione had argued. "Maybe it has nothing to do with Voldemort, and you're seeing things that some Death Eater is doing?"
Harry tried to explain how these visions had been different. "When I see Voldemort its usually pretty clear. It feels like I'm right there. These last visions were... cloudy, and weak. I don't know why. Maybe it is a Death Eater, but Voldemort is the one controlling it."
"But why would the Death Eaters attack Justin?" Ron asked.
Harry shrugged. "Why would anyone attack Justin?"
"Harry," she said cautiously, "he did say some pretty nasty things to you."
"Right, but who would attack him because of that? Ginny looked about ready to, but you ruined that chance. Look, we counted up the students. They were all there. Who else would know?"
"Well, there were other people in the pub, Ron," Hermione said.
"And how would they get past the Aurors?" Ron challenged her.
"Maybe they were invisible like Harry was."
"Justin wasn't running from something he couldn't see," Harry said with finality. "You three need to go to your meeting. McGonagall sounded pretty serious."
Ron, Hermione and Ginny reluctantly stood and walked off through the portrait hole. Harry sat for a while in the common room. It didn't make sense. It had to be Voldemort. Who else would do it? Who else could? It seemed more like whoever was doing this trying to help him, however misguided their actions.
Who knew just where he'd broken his arm? Who had seen that and been at the pub to hear Justin? Who could get past the Aurors and not be noticed running away? None of the answers matched up, and the visions were different. He wasn't seeing Voldemort. He knew it. His scar hadn't even twinged since Voldemort had spoken to him after he'd become Claire's godfather.
Had Claire been at Hogsmeade? Harry felt the guilt wash through him. He'd been so concerned about Crabbe and Justing that he had completely forgotten about her. There wasn't anything to worry about now. He'd have heard if anything had happened to her. However it didn't do much to lighten the guilt he felt about completely forgetting her.
Ginny would know more. He just had to wait for the prefects to return from their meeting.
It didn't take too long before they did return. All of them looked somber and almost tired. Several other students had been loitering in the common room waiting for them to return, but the prefects refused to say anything, and simply announced that Dumbledore would be speaking to them before dinner that night.
The rest of the students took this with a little annoyance, but none of them wanted to start a fight over it, so they milled around the Tower waiting for the time when they would leave for the Great Hall.
Ron, Hermione and Ginny joined Harry at one of the small tables. Neville and Seamus walked over to stand by them. After a stretch of awkward silence, Harry finally spoke up, though too low a voice for anyone beyond the table to hear.
"Is there anything I might want to know before dinner?"
Ron and Hermione shared a look. Hermione glanced over toward Seamus before answering.
"Yes, it seems there is a hippogriff living in the forest. Dumbledore thinks it—"
"A hippogriff?" Harry said, interrupting her. "What does this have to do with Justing being attacked by—"
"Dumbledore says it attacked Justin," Hermione finished quickly. "There was one that escaped a few years back. I'm certain you remember it."
"Yeah," Harry said in an even voice. "Large thing, wings, beak?"
Hermione frowned slightly. "Right. That's the one. Well Dumbledore says they think Justin upset it and it attacked him. Hagrid's agreed to try and find it."
Harry stared intently at Ron and Hermione. Why had Dumbledore said that? They all had to know that Justin wasn't attacked by some hippogriff. "And Dumbledore's certain about it?"
"That's just what he'd told the Daily Prophet," Ron added with a nod.
So that was it, Harry thought. Dumbledore knew what was happening, but he was trying to keep it a secret, just like he was trying to keep everything about Claire a secret. The only question was whether he was trying to protect Harry or Hogwarts itself.
Harry didn't press them with any more questions. He decided to simply wait to hear what Dumbledore had to say and speak with his friends when they could find someplace a little more private.
He wasn't the only one who had been eager to hear what Dumbledore would say. When they walked into the Great Hall, Harry was a little disturbed by the atmosphere. Instead of large groups of students laughing and talking, they were simply sitting quietly, watching the head table where Dumbledore, all four heads of house and a number of other professors were sitting. It was the most professors he'd seen at dinner since the Opening Feast.
He sat down near the middle of the Gryffindor table. The rest of his friends sat down around him and they joined the rest of the students in their silent wait as the last of the students trickled in from the Entrance Hall.
Complete silence fell across the Hall as Dumbledore finally rose. Harry listed as Dumbledore told the students just what Ron and Hermione had told him. He explained that Justin had been attacked by a wild hippogriff. Harry was relieved to discover that Justin hadn't died, and was only mildly injured.
"For those of you wishing to see him, I'm afraid you've lost your chance. Mr. Finch-Fletchley has just been transferred to his home where he'll be treated by one of his aunts. With luck he'll return in a week or so."
Murmurs rippled through the Hall as students quickly whispered amongst themselves about the news. Dumbledore kept talking, but Harry wasn't listening. He was mostly talking about the need for the students to stay out of the forest, and what the students should do if they saw the hippogriff. Of course, there was no hippogriff, and if Harry ever saw one, he felt pretty certain that he'd be okay.
What was going on? He'd come to Hogwarts and the attacks stopped. Now, they were starting again, and with two in less than a week.
"Finally, one of our third year Ravenclaws has left." Harry's attention snapped back to Dumbledore. "Her parents have both taken ill and she has volunteered to return home to help nurse them back to health." Harry tried to hide his relief. It couldn't be Claire. It was just some other student. "It has been an eventful day, and I'm certain you are all hungry, so let's not wait another moment." He clapped his hands, and various dishes began popping into place on the tables.
Across the table, Ginny was still looking worried. Harry wanted to ask why, but he thought it might look a little too suspicious. Luckily, Ron had no such problems.
"What is it, Ginny?" he asked. "It wasn't your new friend, was it?" He didn't sound like he actually cared.
"No," Ginny said as she shot a frown at Ron. "I think it was one of her friends."
"It's a tragedy," Ron said sarcastically.
"Shut up, Ron," Ginny said without even looking at him.
"Actually, it probably is," he mumbled to Harry as he reached for a pitcher. "That means they'll probably be walking around together next Hogsmeade weekend."
"Well you don't have to worry, Ron," Ginny said sourly. "She can't come to Hogsmeade. Her parents never signed her permission paper."
Harry caught the brief glance Ginny gave him as she said that. Had she known about that before the Hogsmeade trip? The better question, however, was why Harry hadn't. He didn't understand exactly why he felt as if he'd let Claire down. Perhaps it was the similarity to his own third year.
"Tell her I know how it feels," Harry said, attempting to sound casual.
"You could tell her yourself," Ginny suggested. "It would probably be more comforting coming from you."
"I can't," Harry replied as his mind quickly decided on a plan. "I have some research to do in the library."
"Nice one, Harry," Ron said. "For a moment I thought you'd end up listening to some girl whine about how she forgot to have her parents sign the paper. Or maybe they didn't want to," Ron continued, pointing a spoon at Ginny, "in which case, I should thank them."
Ginny scowled at her brother. "If you don't shut up, you just might get the chance."
Ginny hadn't said anything else about Claire for the rest of the meal, but he was fairly certain that she had understood his suggestion, even if she didn't realize what he had planned. Just as he hoped, as they got up to leave, Ginny turned and walked toward the Ravenclaw table.
"Please tell me you're going to talk to Luna, and not that third-year you were pitying," Ron groaned as she walked away.
"Sod off, Ron," Ginny called back to him. "I don't need your permission."
Harry just smiled and shook his head. Ginny could be a little surprising sometimes. Ron just frowned and walked off with Harry and Hermione. Harry didn't know how long it might take for Ginny to get Claire to meet him. Without any verbal plan, he just had to trust that Ginny would finish it up for him. For now the best thing he could do was to head back to the common room. She'd know to find him there.
Before they'd even reached the stairs, they were stopped and pulled aside by Hannah Abbott. They followed her down a short corridor where she started talking quickly and looking over her shoulder.
"This evening, before dinner, I saw Justin," she whispered. "He wasn't attacked by a hippogriff."
Ron crossed his arms. "I could have told you that without seeing him."
Ron's comment was answered with an annoyed look. "I heard the Aurors whispering about it. Dumbledore's trying to keep it quiet. That's why Justin is going home, not to St. Mungo's. The Aurors were arguing with Dumbledore about Harry."
Harry's expression didn't change. It really wasn't even worth his attention. People had been arguing about him for years, and seldom saw fit to even let him know.
"They want to know what happened after they left the meeting. No one is telling them now, though McGonagall must know, and she tells Dumbledore everything. The Aurors want to know how Harry knew that Justin had been attacked before anyone else did."
"I've told them how I know," Harry growled. "And why don't they just ask Justin what happened at the meeting?"
"Right, well that's the problem," she said with another look down the corridor. "Justin... He can't tell them, they—"
"How many bloody times do I have to say that I'm not some Lord you lot have to worship?" Harry hissed.
"I know, Harry," Hannah said looking a little frightened. "You don't understand. Justin can't speak. He's been... silenced —maybe permanently. And there's a scar."
Harry clutched Hannah's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "A scar? A mark? Like a lightning bolt?" Hannah's face was reddening, probably out of fear of Harry's reaction. "Where was it?" After forcing herself to take a deep breath, Hannah answered.
"His neck. It cuts across his throat."
Next to Harry, Ron was rubbing his eyes. "Bad news," he said quietly. "Crabbe has a scar across the same arm you broke, and now Justin has a scar across his neck after we try to get him to keep quiet."
Hannah ran off shortly afterward, leaving Ron, Harry and Hermione to walk to Gryffindor Tower. The situation wasn't any different than it had been before, they'd simply answered the question of whether the attacks were related. It really didn't change any of his plans. People could no more accuse him of this attack than they could the last. Still, he knew he should be prepared for anything.
When he got back he relaxed on the couch and opened his Potions text. On any other Saturday night, it would be rather strange to see anyone opening a book to study, but the common room was uncommonly solemn that night, and there were several students who had pulled out books or essays. Even Ron didn't seem to be in the mood for games.
It didn't take long for Ginny to return to the common room. As she walked over to where Harry and Ron were sitting she pulled a small thick book from her bag.
"Are you still going to the Library, Harry?"
Harry looked up at her. "I guess," he replied. "But I don't really want to be the only one there. It would just be an opportunity for everyone to blame me for anything bad that might happen."
"Oh, I'm sure you won't be," Ginny assured him. "You wouldn't mind returning this one, then?"
Harry grabbed the book and stuffed it into his own bag with his Potions text. He made an excuse to do it right then instead of waiting and said goodbye to all of them. He walked briskly toward the Library, waiting to find an empty hallway where he could check the Map.
A quick look revealed exactly what he was hoping for: Claire was sitting (or standing) in one corner of the abandoned office near the library. He walked even faster, hoping to keep her from sitting alone too long.
When he reached the office he quickly slipped into the room and closed the door, resulting in a quick shriek from Claire as she realized she wasn't alone.
"Ginny isn't coming back?" Claire asked uncomfortably.
"Err... I don't think so," Harry answered. He hadn't wanted to make her uncomfortable.
Claire just sat in the corner and looked at him strangely. "She said you wanted to talk to me about something?"
"Yeah, I guess. You weren't at Hogsmeade."
"How clever of you to notice," she said with a bitter laugh, "Of course, you are the amazing Gryffindor Seeker, aren't you? But then, you didn't notice that I'm not in the Defense Association either, so maybe Ravenclaw still has a shot at the cup."
"I didn't get to go to Hogsmeade my entire third year," Harry explained. Claire's face softened a little but she still stared at him. Harry continued, trying to avoid the parts that didn't sound so cheerful. "I ran away from my Muggle relatives' home and no one else would sign the paper to say I could go."
"But you go now," Claire prompted.
"It just took a while for my godfather to realize what had happened. After that, everything was fine."
She stared at the dusty floor between her feet. "Well, you didn't have a worthless godfather like I do, did you? If I knew who mine was, I'd tell him about the Hogsmeade trips. Actually I wouldn't," she said as she looked up. "I'd rather try out every single hex I know on him than beg him to do a single favor for me."
Harry cringed at the emotion in her voice. "Still, there might be something—"
"It won't work," Claire replied in a dejected voice. "I've already asked Dumbledore. Twice. He could sign it himself, but he won't. He was quite clear: No Hogsmeade visits until I get permission from my parent or godfather." With a little scuffling, she stood and brushed the dust from her legs. "So, for me, that means I'll never go to Hogsmeade."
"Perhaps, but I might be able to get you into the D.A." Harry didn't know how it could work, but if he could do one, he should be able to do the other. To his surprise, Claire's face lit up.
"Really?" she said as she looked at him suspiciously. "And how could you do that? McGonagall was just as stubborn as Dumbledore."
"Well, I am the leader," Harry said with a smile, "and I just happen to know quite a few of the Council members."
"But how—"
Harry stopped her and simply smiled. "It'll probably involve some broken rules, so let's just see whether I'm able to do it, first. Then I'll try to find a way of not telling you how I did it."
"The others warned me about you," Claire said as she walked over to the window. "They said you enjoyed breaking rules and doing things you're not supposed to. You never get in trouble. Everyone else does, though. Am I going to get in trouble for this?"
"How could you?" Harry said lightly. "You're not doing anything." This finally got her to smile and she seemed to relax a little more. As they continued talking, Harry could feel her mood lightening. From the way she spoke about it, it was obvious that she didn't really believe that Harry would be able to do anything to help her. She seemed to think he had said it just to cheer her up.
"Harry, can I ask you a serious question?"
"Alright," he replied, taken a little of guard by the sudden change in mood.
"The Hufflepuff who was attacked... He wasn't attacked by a hippogriff was he?" Harry looked at her wondering how much of the truth he should tell her.
"No. He wasn't."
"Why do think he was attacked?"
Harry decided that he needed to be honest with her, even if it was only to make himself feel better. "Because of me. We think Justin was attacked because of an argument we had. Someone wants everyone to think I've been doing this."
"Someone?" Claire asked with a questioning gaze. "You mean the Death Eaters and... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Harry simply nodded. "What if... What if it wasn't about you at all? What if it was just supposed to be a distraction for something else?"
"It could be," Harry said in a low voice. It wasn't the first time he'd thought of it, but there were no more answers there than anywhere else. No matter what other purpose Voldemort might have, Harry needed to try and stop the attacks at Hogwarts. Claire nodded as if she understood.
"I should go," she announced. Harry walked with her to the door and followed her out into the corridor. "Thanks for cheering me up. Cheering Charms just aren't the same." With a weak smile, she turned and walked away from the Library. Harry stood and watched, trying to formulate a plan for the next day. It really had to work. There was nothing Dumbledore could do to stop him, but Harry wasn't sure if it would be worth the consequences if he failed.
"Harry, what is going on with you and Ginny?"
Harry froze as panic shot through his body. He spun around to find Ron and Hermione just outside the door to the library, watching him. Ron looked rather upset. What did he know about him and Ginny? Who could have told him anything? What was there to even tell?
"I... er, well... It's not what it seems, Ron. It just sort of..." Harry stumbled trying to find some way of explaining exactly what was going on with him and Ginny. He looked to Hermione for help, and she seemed to be frantically trying to get him to stop talking. Harry looked back to Ron. "Er... what were you saying?"
"I know you sent a few owls back and forth over the summer and now you're friends and talk all the time. That's fine, but can't you at least keep away from her friends?"
Harry tried to keep the surprise off his face. Ron wasn't talking about Ginny at all. "Ron, we were just talking," Harry said in a calm voice. "I don't see what the problem is."
"Of course you don't," Ron said with an exasperated voice. "Hermione said she wanted to find you. You'd said you'd gone to the Library, but of course you hadn't. And what do we see when we're leaving? You, in the corridor chatting up some third-year."
"I was not chatting her up,"
"Right, you were just talking," Ron said as he rolled his eyes. "Couldn't you find someone a little older? There are loads of better girls our age?"
"Oh, really?" Hermione spoke up. "Who would that be?"
Ron stopped to look at her warily. "You're changing the subject," he told her. "This is about Harry."
"I'm aware of that," Hermione responded. "Who are these better girls he should be talking to?"
"Never mind. At least we found Harry. Can we go back now?"
"I have to return Ginny's book," Harry said quickly. Hermione offered to go with him, saying that she'd wanted to check out some books that night.
"Can't it wait? It's a Saturday." Ron complained.
Hermione smiled and looked at Ron. "Maybe I wanted to talk to Harry about his choice in girls."
"Fine," Ron said with a huff. "I'll see you back at the Tower."
"I figured that would work," Hermione mumbled as they watched Ron walk away.
Hermione followed Harry into the library and waited patiently as he dropped Ginny's book off on Madam Pince's desk. She gave Harry a disapproving look as he handed the book to her. As he turned away, Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him to one of the secluded tables in the corner.
"I really don't want to talk about my choice in girls," Harry whispered as Hermione flopped two large books in front of each of them, making it look like they were actually there to read.
"Neither do I," Hermione said, "though I am a bit curious why you're suddenly friends with the girl whose parents were attacked in one of your visions." She ignored the surprise on Harry's face. "Honestly, Harry. It's not that hard to figure out. There aren't that many girls at Hogwarts."
"So what's this about then?" Harry whispered as Madam Pince crossed behind Hermione. He quickly looked down and pretended to read the book. "Is it something about Justin?"
"In a way," Hermione whispered back. Harry started looking closer at the book in front of him. The book was opened to a chapter about various ancient forms of the Confundus Curse. When Pince had passed, he took a quick look at the cover. Printed across the weathered cover in very boring letters was: Mysteries of Mental Magic: A History of Curses of the Mind and Thoughts.
"Not this again," Harry groaned as he looked at Hermione.
"And why not?" Hermione asked defiantly. "You'll help Ron turn a biscuit into a dinner plate, but you'll not help me defend myself against an Unforgivable Curse?"
Harry frowned and tried to explain it to her. "It's not that I don't want to help. I don't know how. I don't know how I fight it. I just do."
"You must know how," she argued. "You nearly did it the very first time Crouch tried it on you. There must be something you do that makes it easier."
"Hermione, there are loads of things I can do that I don't understand." He jabbed at the scar on his forehead. "Do you know how this works? Do you know why I can feel when he's angry or happy? Do you think I know how to make that happen? Do you know why I can talk—" Harry stopped himself. He'd been about to tell her that he could talk to Voldemort. He had to relax. Even now he could feel his scar tingle. "Do you think I knew how I could talk to snakes?" Harry asked, thankful for the easy alternative. "I could write a book about the things I can do without understanding them."
"So there's nothing? You don't know anything that can help me?" She was looking quite desperate now. Harry struggled to remain relaxed.
"No, Hermione. I'm sorry. Loads of wizards can't fight it. Even powerful wizards like Crouch and Moody couldn't break it right away."
"Neville almost did. At least the others were able to put up some fight. I shattered that chair to splinters Harry."
"Relax, Hermione. It's not really something to use in a fight, is it? I can't think of any reason you'd ever have to deal with it." Harry's thoughts raced as he tried to make sure that he really couldn't. The Imperius Curse wasn't easy or all that quick to cast. It was only really good when you completely surprised your target.
"I've never had this much trouble with something. Why can't I be rubbish at something else. Why can't I struggle in History of Magic? Why does it have to be this, the one thing I can't practice and no one can teach me?"
"Quiet," snapped Madam Pince, making Harry and Hermione jump in surprise. "If you must use the library for whatever it is you children need to discuss so urgently, then at least show the courtesy of keeping your voices down." she hissed.
Hermione colored in embarrassment. Harry simply looked away. When Madam Pince had left the area, Hermione looked up.
"What if Justin was right? What if it's students who are doing this, and they're under the Imperius Curse?"
"Even if it was, you couldn't have attacked Crabbe or Justin," Harry said, hoping to be comforting.
Hermione closed the books and started packing them into her bag. "Maybe not, but what about next time, Harry?"
The next day Harry spent most of his morning thinking about his plan for that afternoon. He kept mostly to himself, a fact which seemed to worry Ginny and Hermione. By lunch time, he'd finished all his preparations and had happily joined in conversation over food.
Earlier that day, a notice had been posted in all of the common rooms announcing a Halloween Mask. Hermione explained that the Professors were probably trying to keep everyone in good spirits despite the attacks. There weren't many details included beyond the mention of a competition during the night with prizes going to the best magically themed costume.
The common room had been filled with students trying to come up with costume ideas. Harry, of course, had been ignoring them. He'd had better things to do at the time, but now he finally had time to try and think of something. After hearing some of the other students ideas, he decided that he might not even try to win the contest. He'd won enough contests, and he wasn't sure if there was any prize worth a pair of tails for a few days.
Now that he'd started joining in, Ron started pressuring him to share his ideas for a costume. Harry hadn't even spent a single minute trying to think of costumes. After only a few tries, Ron gave up and tried to convince Hermione that she should go as a lion. She was even less cooperative than Harry had been.
Immediately after lunch, Harry returned to the common room with his friends, then quickly slipped out while they weren't looking. With any luck, Dumbledore would stay in his office. Harry had checked the map when he left the Tower, but he'd noticed that the Headmaster was a difficult person to keep track of.
He gave the password to the gargoyles, and found the stairs were already raised to the door. He bounded up the stairs, hoping that he hadn't missed Dumbledore leaving his office. He reached the door, gave it two sharp raps, and listened for a response.
"Come in," Dumbledore said from inside the office. Harry released the breath he'd been holding in, and pushed the door open.
"Good afternoon, Harry," Dumbledore said with a touch of curiosity. "Is there something I can help you with? Costume ideas, perhaps?"
"No, thank you," Harry replied politely. "I was just walking by and thought you should know that we'll be adding another D.A. member."
"I see. Isn't this a matter for the Council and Professor McGonagall?"
"I suppose. I just figured you'd be interested," Harry replied conversationally. "I'll be off then. Professor McGonagall is in her office, is she?" Harry stood up and started walking to the door.
"Harry, who is the student in question?" Dumbledore's voice sounded concerned and confused. Harry smiled to himself. He'd been trying as hard as he could to not use the Occlumency he'd learned. It had worked.
"Oh, she's a Ravenclaw. A third-year, I think," Harry said as he opened the door. "Her name is Claire Goldwater. She's met with you." Harry was a little shocked when the door handle wrenched out of his grip and the door shut itself tightly.
"Why do you want Miss Goldwater to join the Defense Association?" the Headmaster asked. He was standing in front of his desk, now, and looking quite serious.
"It wasn't my idea. She wants to join," Harry replied in a firm voice. He had to force himself to continue. He knew that it could work, but it wasn't easy facing Albus Dumbledore.
"I was very serious when I said that she should not know you are her godfather."
"She doesn't know," Harry countered. "At least, I haven't told her. She said she wanted to join. I'm just doing my job as her godfather. Her father is dead, her mother cannot sign the papers, and she said you were unwilling to sign them. That leaves her only one option."
"There are very good reasons why I did not want Miss Goldwater to join the Defense Association. They are not so different from the reasons that you were not told about your godfather your third year."
Harry strode toward Dumbledore, heart pounding. "Right, and that turned out pretty well, didn't it?" For a moment, Harry thought he detected a hint of surprise. "If her parents were still alive and fine, she'd already have joined the D.A."
Dumbledore turned to face one of his shelves of silver, spinning instruments. He made a tiny adjustment to one of them, then watched it thoughtfully. "It is within my power to forbid this," he said evenly.
"I figured it was," Harry replied. "If you won't let her join, then it just saves me a trip to McGonagall's office." Harry tossed a piece of parchment on Dumbledore's desk. "I suppose Claire should hand that to Filch herself, but considering the secrecy, perhaps I'll just give it to him for her. I'm sure his cabinet is more than secure enough for that information."
Dumbledore turned to look at the parchment. Harry already knew what it said; he'd written it himself. From where he stood he could still make out his own scrawled signature following the block of script saying Claire could leave on Hogsmeade weekends. With his mouth drawn into a line, Dumbledore picked up the parchment and rolled it up neatly.
"Very well, Harry," Dumbledore said in a low voice. "If someone else were to sign these permission forms, would that be satisfactory?" Harry nodded silently. "There are just two conditions," Dumbledore said as he sat down at his desk and pulled out two pieces of fresh parchment. Harry tried to look defiant as he watched a pair of quills leap onto the parchment and begin scratching out new copies of the permission forms.
"I cannot do this immediately," Dumbledore said. He ignored Harry's plaintive look and continued. "If we do this, it should be done properly. I will need to speak to Miss Goldwater." Harry nodded his agreement. "I will also need you to remain quiet about this. I don't expect Miss Goldwater will, but it is important that this appears to come from me, and not you." Harry agreed to that as well.
"I hope that is all," the Headmaster said with a frown. "Good day, Harry. I have much to do and think about."
Harry walked out of Dumbledore's office and slowly climbed down the stairs on wobbly legs. What had he just done? Had he just coerced his own Headmaster into doing what he wanted? It had worked, but Harry felt as if he'd done something horribly wrong. And yet, at the same time, he felt the slight thrill of success.
When he got back to Gryffindor Tower, he still had not conquered the excitement he'd felt at having his plan work so flawlessly. He tried to look as if nothing had happened, but it was harder than he'd expected.
"Where have you been?" Ron asked as Harry tried to sit down on the couch.
"I had some things I had to do," Harry answered cryptically.
"I don't suppose they had anything to do with a Halloween costume?"
Harry gave Ron and odd look. "No. I don't think I'm all that concerned about finding a costume. I'm pretty certain I'll be able to think of something before Halloween."
"You're not even going to try and win the contest?" Ron asked, crestfallen.
Hermione made an annoyed noise. "Not everyone is dressing up just to win some contest, Ron. Some people are doing it just for fun."
"You're just saying that because you haven't come up with any good ideas," Ron said with a mocking smile.
"For your information I've already thought of a few good ideas," Hermione replied. "I just don't feel the need to have to compete against everyone else. Why don't you bug Ginny? She hasn't said anything."
"Oh, I already know what costume I want," Ginny said without looking up from a copy of the Quibbler, "but it's not going to be easy to get and I doubt Mum and Dad would help." She let out a resigned sigh. "I'll work it out. There's still plenty of time."
"What is it? Maybe one of us can help?" Ron offered. A smile spread across Ginny's lips.
"I think it'll be best if I keep it a secret, thanks."
"You've thought of something then, have you?" Harry asked Ron as Hermione and Ginny returned to their reading.
"Yeah, I think so. I have an idea, but I need a little bit of help," Ron explained. "With a little help from Bill or Fred and George, it'll be brilliant.
Ginny sprung from her chair and stared at Ron with an almost manic grin. "Of course. How could I forget so quickly?" Without another word she grabbed her bag and dashed out of the portrait hole.
Even Hermione looked up to try and figure out what had just happened. Ron seemed the most confused of all of them. When she returned a half hour later, she gave no explanation for her sudden exit, and refused to even meet Harry's gaze.
Sooner than he'd realized, the time for dinner approached. Harry followed his friends down to the Great Hall. As they entered the Hall, Professor McGonagall strode toward them with a stern look on her face. She handed two rolls of parchment to Ginny and Hermione. As they took them she glared at them.
"Do either of you know anything about this?"
Both of the girls returned confused looks at McGonagall, then each other.
"No," Ginny said cautiously. "Is something wrong with the D.A.?"
McGonagall pursed her lips. "No. I suppose not." She turned and walked off toward the Hufflepuff table, handing similar scrolls to Hannah and Ernie.
Ginny and Hermione frantically opened their rolls. Hermione seemed to read hers twice, not looking any less confused. Ginny was beaming.
"Do we have a quick verdict?" she whispered to Hermione. Harry looked around the Hall and watched as Hannah shrugged and nodded. Both Ginny and Hermione nodded back. With a faint tilt of her head, Hannah pointed them toward Cho who was standing at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Next to her, stood Claire, with a hopeful look in her eyes.
Hermione nodded discretely to Cho, and Cho simply turned and went to find a seat. Harry was a little confused about what he'd just seen, and it seemed that Claire felt pretty much the same way. She watched Cho walk away, then slowly followed her.
Harry walked with his friends to the table and sat down. Instead of reaching for any food, Ron seemed to stare at all of them as if he were waiting for someone to say something. When no one did, he spoke up for himself.
"Does anyone want to explain what just happened?"
Harry turned toward Ron and gave him a confused shrug. With a frown, Hermione reached into her pocket and slid the roll of parchment McGonagall had given her toward Ron. Ron picked it up and read through it quickly.
"What's this all about?" Ron asked as he read through the note. "It says that Dumbledore's given her permission to join. I thought we needed a parent's permission."
"A parent or guardian," Ginny corrected him. "Her parents were, er... in a bit of an accident. Dumbledore is her guardian."
Ron tossed the parchment back to Hermione. "Alright then, why was everyone acting so odd?"
"Not here, Ron," Hermione said curtly. Ron looked more than a little annoyed and violently stabbed a slice of roast beef while shaking his head. Harry felt better knowing that at least he wouldn't have to deal with this over dinner. However, he scolded himself for not thinking of how this would work out. He'd figured it wouldn't have been quite so much of an issue as it was. Harry tried to enjoy his dinner, but it was oddly quiet.
They all finished earlier than they normally would have, and by silent agreement, they all left while most other students were still eating. As soon as they left the Great Hall, Hermione turned to look at Harry.
"Did you have anything to do with this, Harry?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. In truth, he was fairly certain he knew what she meant, but it would be best if he explained as little as possible. Before Hermione could clarify for him, he saw someone dart toward him, and before he could even pull his wand out of his pocket they'd almost knocked him to the ground.
"Thank you, Harry!" Claire shouted as she crushed him with her slender arms. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you." While Harry was still in shock, she hopped to her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're brilliant." Just as quickly as she'd attacked him, she'd let go and was running up the stairs.
After Harry regained his balance, Hermione cleared her throat. "That is what I mean, Harry," she said with an accusing glare. "You did this, didn't you. You did something so she could join the D.A."
"She's the new D.A. member?" Ron asked with an irritated tone. "Is that what you were doing this afternoon?"
"He did more than that," someone said from behind Harry. He turned to see who it was and saw Cho smiling and walking toward them. "McGonagall told me to tell her that Dumbledore signed her permission forms for Hogsmeade weekends as well."
Ginny said nothing, but couldn't hide the smile on her face. Cho mimicked her smile as she turned to Harry. "How'd you do it, Harry? She's pleaded with Dumbledore to sign those forms for months. She even begged me to talk to him about it. He wouldn't even talk to me, but you spend... about how long?" Cho gestured toward Ron.
"Oh, a good ten minutes, I'd say," Ron said offhand.
"You spend a good ten minutes and he does everything you ask," Cho's voice started to sound a little annoyed. "Do you still have to take the N.E.W.T.s or are you all set now?"
Only Ginny was still smiling, and Harry started to feel a little defensive. He forced himself not to sound angry. "I reminded him of my third year. I can be pretty persuasive when I want to."
"I'm sure you can," Cho responded.
Ginny's voice seemed to slice through the tension which had been slowly building. "If he found a way to help her out, we should all be happy for her. If he doesn't want to tell us how he did it, then that's fine with me. If you didn't want her to join, you didn't have to agree to it."
"I do want her to join," Cho replied. "I just want to know what he said to convince Dumbledore. And don't pretend like you had no part in this." Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but Hermione stopped her.
"Ginny's right. He'd tell us if he wanted to, or if he could," she added with a quick glance. "There are lots of other questions, but I don't think this is the place to discuss them. We should leave before everyone else finishes dinner."
Cho agreed, but the suspicious look on her face didn't leave as they walked to the top of the stairs. At the next corridor, she turned and walked away without a word. Harry and his friends walked silently back to the Tower. The common room was empty when they walked in.
When they'd checked that no one was hiding anywhere, Harry sat down on the couch and Ginny flopped into a nearby chair and smiled at Harry. "That was really nice of you to do that."
"Sure, it was great," Ron agreed sarcastically. "I can't wait to have her following us everywhere. I'd rather have Colin and Denis following us."
"You've never even met her, Ron. She's really quite nice."
Ron didn't respond, and instead took a seat at a table as far from Ginny as he could. When Hermione went up to her dormitory to fetch her books, Ginny leaned towards Harry and whispered, "So, how did you do it?"
Harry checked over his shoulder, then whispered back to her, "I signed her forms and gave them to Dumbledore."
Ginny looked a little confused for a moment, before her eyes widened and she stared at Harry in something akin to awe. "You mean you—" She cut herself short and her lips curled into a beautiful smile before she covered it with her hands.
Ginny's laugh echoed through the room, drawing Ron's attention. He scowled at the two of them, then returned to the copy of the Daily Prophet he'd been reading.
Author's Notes:
I hear that lots of people liked the postcards from Chapter 12 (right?). If you found that amusing, you should enjoy another bit of similarly adolescent fun in the next chapter. Of course I ruin it in the end, but... well, I have my reasons.