Everytime Albus passed a Slytherin in the corridor, they would do an impersonation of him being hit by a tree amidst a gale of laughter. "Ignore them" said Rose, for what felt like the one millionth time that week.
"Seriously, you'd think it would be old by now" scowled Howard. Dana just glared. Albus just sighed. He didn't really mind the tree impersonation, he was more worried about what Malfoy had in store for him. Rose noticed his far off look. "You're not thinking about Malfoy again, are you? Seriously Al, forget it. He's probably trying to make you do something so you get into trouble. My dad told me all about the Malfoy's and by the looks of it Scorpio is just like his dad." Albus knew there was more to it though. Malfoy was up to something and he was going to find out what. Albus saw Dana staring at Rose incredulously. Clearly she thought Malfoy was up to something too. Suddenly Albus was struck with a sudden thought. "Dana! I know how to get your voice back!" Howard, Rose and especially Dana, were all looking at Albus strangely. "I'll explain later" he muttered as Malfoy came around the corner.
"So we'll use Polyjuice Potion to get Dana's voice back." said Albus excitedly during their Charms lesson.
"That's a very good idea Al, but there are two problems with it. First, Scorpio won't give Dana her voice back just because Crabbe and Goyle are bullying him into it and second the recipe to a Polyjuice Potion is in the restricted section. Which teacher is going to give us permission for that kind of book? It's not like we have Gilderoy Lockhart here who would be stupid enough to that!" said Rose recalling, just like Albus, the time their parents had taken Polyjuice Potion.
"Crabbe and Goyle aren't going to bully Malfoy into letting Dana speak. Malfoy is!" Dana and Rose looked confused. Howard, however, had an excited look on his face. You mean you're going to become Malfoy? That would totally freak him out!" Albus grinned.
"Yes! And Rose and Howard can be Crabbe and Goyle!" Rose looked faintly disgusted.
"Why do I have to be a boy?"
"Because Dana still won't be able to speak and even though Crabbe and Goyle don't have the mental capacity to form sentences, they still grunt. A lack of grunting from Dana's behalf would convince Malfoy something was up." Rose looked grossed out. Howard was looking excited and Dana was looking a bit put out. I want to come too! She wrote furiously. Before Albus could reply Professor Flitwick came bustling over. "Let me see you four raise levitate your feathers."
Rose's feather rose three inches off the table; so did Dana's (though it wobbled slightly because her lack of voice made the spell weaker). Albus' feather jut twitched and Howard's began smoking.
"Yes. Homework, Potter and Longbottom and Dana you should really go to Madam Pomfrey about your voice." Professor Flitwick squeaked. At first the teachers had thought Dana's lack of speech was down to her being shy but after a few weeks they thought she had swallowed a silencing potion and were insisting she see Madam Pomfrey. Dana grimaced and then nodded. Then Professor Flitwick walked away and before Albus could open his mouth Rose hissed "It's Wingardium LeviOsa, boys! Not LeviosA! Really! And we still need a permission slip to get the book" snapped Rose as Albus opened his mouth to continue their conversation. Later, in their dormitories Howard said to Albus "Honestly sometimes I just can't stand Rose! It's LeviOsa not LeviosA! Seriously! She needs to sort out her priorities!" Albus grinned to himself. Rose was acting just like Aunt Hermione and Howard just like Uncle Ron! Albus quickly lost his grin when Howard said "But Rose is right. How the hell are we going to get that book?"
"I don't know..." he said "I just don't know."
Harry sat up and groaned. His head throbbed and his ears were ringing. He looked around but couldn't see the others at all! He stood up quickly and almost collapsed onto the floor again from the dizziness in his head. Harry quickly thanked the Heavens that Lily and Hugo were safe at their grandparents house. Slowly he trudged through the wreckage that was Hermione and Ron's living room. Half the wall was missing and furniture was upturned. It reminded Harry of Slughorn's house when he hadn't wanted to come and teach at Hogwarts. Except, it wasn't real that time. This was real. Harry saw flaming red hair by the couch and quickly went to see who it was. His heart dropped when it was only Ron, who was groaning and getting up slowly.
"What happened?" he asked groggily.
"Dunno" said Harry looking around for Ginny.
"Where are the girls?" asked Ron frantically.
"Harry? Ron?" Harry's heart leapt. Ginny.
He raced over to the source of her voice, closley followed by Ron. His heart rate slowed when he saw she was alright but then picked up again when he saw Hermione, the bottom part of her body covered by a bookshelf, not moving.
"Hermione," moaned Ron.
Harry quickly whipped out his wand and lifted the bookshelf off Hermione and let it fall somewhere behind him. Ron knelt by Hermione's head and began to check her vital signs while Giny checked her legs for broken bones. Meanwhile Harry looked around at the destroyed living room. Hermione was fine, only unconcious. It seemed she had managed to use a cushioning charm before the bookshelf fell on her. Hermione gave a groan and slowly sat up, with Ron hovering by her elbow. Ginny joined Harry, who was now staring at the destroyed fireplace.
"You think-" she began
"Yes" he said curtly "Whoever caused that explosion came here by floo powder. It would have been easy. The fireplace passage was open because Hermione had just used it. The people who came in didn't even need to get the address. If they were watching the network they would have seen when to come. I'll bet you anything they were watching the network and I'll bet you anything it was Draco who came."
"Harry one person couldn't have done all this damage and knock out four wizards!" said Hermione, exasperated.
"She's right Harry" said Ginny quietly.
"I didn't say he didn't have help. Maybe he didn't even come, didn't want to get his hands dirty. Maybe he orchestrated the whole thing and made his cronies come out and do the dirty work for him."
"Harry that's absurd" Hermione whispered.
"I think he has a point" piped up Ron
"You do?" asked Harry shocked.
"Yeah" continued Ron, avoiding Hermione's glare "Yeah. He was right about Malfoy last time wasn't he. And this doesn't sound like it's beyond Malfoy."
"I'd like to remind you all that all the Death Eaters, apart from the Malfoys, are in jail because you, Harry, and you, Ron, put them there!" said Hermione irratibly.
"So?" asked Ron.
"So?" she screeched "So it mean Malfoy had no cronies!" Harry slumped to the florr. She was right. How could Malfoy had done it on his own? Ron, however, was shaking his head.
"No. Think about it. We never put Goyle in Azkaban. He had a kid-"
"Who's in school" hissed Hermione
"- and so does Malfoy" Ron continued as if there had been no interruption. As you said, Lucius isn't in Azkaban so he might've helped-"
"Yes yes and Narcissa too" said Hermione scathingly.
Ron shook his head again. "No not Narcissa. She doesn't like what Malfoy is doing. She wants us to stop. She isn't helping Draco on this one. But some of those Death Eaters had kids. Who are finished schoool" added Ron quickly as Hermione opened her mouth to argue. Harry was pacing the floor again as he realised Ron was right.
"If you two are so keen on believing its Malfoy, fine!" Harry grinned at Ron. Hermione was sounding just like her bossy old self.
All week Albus, Rose, Dana and Howard tried to come up with ways to get the restricted book.
"How about sneaking into the library at nigh with the invisibility cloak?" asked Howard for the sixth time that week.
"You can't" said Albus again "The book screams at you if you don't have permission to use it. Besides, after the last time, James isn't letting us use the invisibility cloak."
How about a summoning charm? wrote Dana.
Rose shook her head. "Even if we could do the charm the books have really strong protection. A summoning charms would probably make all the books scream at once." Albus let out a frustrated sigh. They were going around in circles.
There just had to be a way. He had asked James and his friend John, who happened to be Dana's brother, for any ideas but they had none. Dana had even tried asking Thompson and Ton, her twin brothers, who were big fans of the Weasly twins and who constantly were causing chaos, but they had no idea either.
"Geez Dana your family is just as big as my dad's!" exclaimed Rose. Soon they discovered that Rose had A sister in Ravenclaw and another brother in Gryffindor. Both were prefects.
"The Weasly family is definitely bigger" said Howard
"Only by one" retorted Rose
"Guys I've got it!" said said Albus before Howard could continue arguing with Rose.
"Got what?" asked Howard
"How to get that book! A prefect can give us permission to use it right? So Dana do you reckon your brother or sister might sign us a permission form for us?" Dana's eyes widened with excitement and she quickly wrote, Redrick might sign it. Belle definitely won't. She really likes sticking to rules and letting first years into the restricted section would be a big no for her. Redrick will give me a massive lecture on playing Quidditch. He thinks it's a dirty sport. he hates it when Thompson, Tom, John and I play. By the time he finishes his lecture, he'll forget what I wanted and tell me to run along. Besides whichever we ask, they will both pester me about my voice. They think I've told mum but I haven't and if mum finds out she will pull me out of school and send me to St Mungos.
"You like Quidditch?" asked Albus. Somehow Dana didn't strike him as the Quidditch type.
"Never mind that now!" said Rose. "I'll ask Belle for permission. She likes me." With that Rose left the others.
"How does she know Belle?" asked Howard
"Smart people always know other smart people" said Albus absently
"That doesn't make sense" said Howard. Dana wrote, Rose met Belle in the library. They got to talking and found kindred spirits in each other.
"Ah of course. The library!" Howard crowed. Very soon Rose returned with a little piece of paper from Belle. Dana looked shocked.
"She wouldn't sign it for me. She said it wasn't appropriate for me yet. She said that I should wait until I was in sixth year like her. So then I pretended that my homework needed signing from a prefect and I slipped this sheet on top and she signed it." Howard and Dana looked impressed. Albus was proud of his cousin.
"Why would your homework need signing though? Aren't you meant to be Miss Perfect?" asked Howard.
"Oh I just said that my cousin and his friend had distracted me from my work that day. She gave me a right lecture about boys then" grinned Rose. Dana fell about in silent laughter at the looks on Howard and Albus faces. Howard scowled at Rose. Stay away from Belle, boys. Next time she sees you, she will lecture you hard! Wrote Dana. Her writing was all shaky from laughter.
"What are we waiting for?" glared Howard "Let's get this book already."
"Right" said Rose "Albus you go and get the book-"
"Me? Why?" asked Albus
"Because, I can't go because Belle will see me and ask a lot of annoying questions, Dana can't go because she can't speak and Belle will probably see her and ask a lot of annoying questions and Howard can't go because Belle will ask a lot of annoying questions." Rose said in one breath.
"Hang on. Why will she ask a lot of annoying questions to me?" asked Howard.
"Because your dad is Professor Longbottom and she is failing Herbology. Oops. I shouldn't have said that" added Rose as Dana's eyes widened then grinned mischievously.
"Won't she ask me questions too? Either about distracting you from your work or about being the son of the boy who lived?" asked Albus
"No she won't lecture you unless Howard is with you, which is why you aren't going together and being the son of the boy who lived doesn't interest her. She thinks it's a scam."
"What! What about all those people who died? Fred! Tonks and Lupin! Colin Creevy! Lavender Brown!" yelled Albus
"She believes the battle happened and she believes Voldemort happened but she doesn't believe your dad's alive. She thinks he died when Voldemort killed him."
"So what am I?" asked Albus scathingly.
"Oh you're part of a cult of people who believe Harry is alive. She thinks they transifgured you at birth to look like Harry Potter" Rose said casually. Don't worry! The rest of the family don't believe Belle. There aren't a lot of people who believe Belle.
"But there are some?" asked Howard wonderingly "Yet they believe I'm Professor Longbottom's son, even though my mother is a mystery?"
"Oh Howard, of course people believe you! Professor Longbottom was a hero at the battle and everyone knows who your mother is! Luna!"
"What! How did you know. It's meant to be a secret!"
"Well Howard it isn't hard to guess!
"I look nothing like her!"
"Can we get this book please!" interrupted Albus. He couldn't stand when those two bickered. Albus didn't return until an hour later.
"You were wrong Rose! After I got the book Belle saw me and came over. She lectured me about how she thought my parents were really silly to believe Harry Potter was alive and that transfiguring me at birth to look like him was really bad. I said the I didn't look like him. Harry had a scar and glasses and his hair was way messier than mine. Then she went on to this lecture about insolent boys distracting girls from their work! Gosh Dana! How do you live with her?" No one was listening because they were all to busy poring over the book. Albus sighed and moved closer to see what was going on. "This potion is going to take a month to make. Do you think Professor Slughorn will lend me the ingredients we don't have access to?"
"Professor Slughorn will know what we are making as soon as we asked for lacewing flies and boomslang skin. And anyway he hasn't helped a student out since Tom Riddle asked about Horcruxes." said Albus.
"Okay we will have to steal then. I'd better do it because if you two get caught the teachers will think you're up to something. And Dana, you can't talk you're way out of it if you are caught. At least if I'm caught I can talk my way out of it."
"We can talk our way out of it too!" said Howard indignantly.
"No you can't! You're both shocking at improvisation" Rose watched with satisfaction as Howard tried to come up with a good retort.
"Just let her go" said Albus "She obviously wants to get into trouble. So let her!" Howard grinned as Rose glared at Albus. Then she turned and left for Professor Slughorn's potion storeroom.