NOTES

Hi there! I know this is going to sound really weird, but I think flames are funny when I get them (not saying that I want any of you to be flamed, because I know how hurtful they can be). I mean, 90% of reviewers love your story, then you get one or two that really hate and it rip it to pieces. Do those people even have lives? So make a joke out of flames. Don't delete them. Laugh at how pitiful the reviewer that left it was.

And that, my friends, is my inspirational message. Carry on.

DISCLAIMER

Me: I got Draco again…

Draco: You got flamed, you loser. How could you possibly own Harry Potter? J.K.R. never gets flamed.

Me: Exactly!

Holly

Chapter Seventeen – The Sun, the Sea, and the Russian Government

I love the Brocklehurst family. Really, I do. I'm not being sarcastic at all. I'll even give it to Duncan that he's awesome, too. Summer, summer, summer! I love it!

As soon as Mandy and I dumped our school things in her room, where I would be sleeping on a nice little couch, she dragged me to her back yard and shoved me in the pool.

I swam to the edge and glared. "My clothes are still on, you imbecile!"

"Are they?" she taunted. "I didn't notice!" With that, she hopped in, too.

"Now you've gotten yourself wet, too," I giggled. Mandy splashed me.

"No, I've gotten everything else dry!" she shouted.

I stared at her, splashing back. "What? That makes less than no sense, Mandy!"

She tapped her chin. "If you and I are wet, we're the very exclusive group of people that are wet and in our clothes. So we're the cool people. Everyone else is uncool."

"Whatever you say," I muttered, climbing out of the water. I started ringing out my hair.

"Don't dry off! You'll be uncool!" Mandy backstroked around for a while. I found myself a towel and dried off for the most part. I left myself a little damp for her sake.

I submitted into sitting at the edge of the pool and dangling my legs in the water.

"Hey, this is a random question, but isn't Quirrell, like, dead?" Mandy asked as she switched to the breaststroke.

"Yeah, Harry sort of killed him," I shrugged.

Mandy stopped in the middle of the water, wide-eyed. "What?"

"It's complicated," I began. "But it sounds like Quirrell couldn't take Harry touching him, what with my wonderful grandfather underneath that turban."

"What?" she repeated, splashing towards me. "You-Know-Who was under that turban?"

I rolled my eyes. "Didn't I already tell you this?"

"No!" she shouted.

"Oh," I said, "my bad."

"Your bad my ass," she muttered angrily. "Now move over so I can get out."

"Can you get out somewhere else, Mandy?" I groaned, but moved nonetheless.

As Mandy dried herself, I wandered around. Mrs. Brocklehurst kept everything tidy and picturesque. Stone lined the edges of the pool and made up a small patio with a picnic table. I wondered if she got inspiration from Better Homes and Gardens or something.

"Hey, Holly," Mandy said. "What do you want to do now?"

I grinned at her. "I don't know. We've only been on vacation for, what, an hour or two. Don't tell me you're bored."

Mandy shrugged innocently. "I'm always bored. I'm one of those people that need constant stimulation to function properly in life."

I shook my head at her. "Isn't that—"

"A medical condition?" she interjected. "Yes."

"I see," I muttered.

"But, really. What can we do now?" she pressed, tossing her towel at me.

I threw it back. "I don't know. Write a letter to the Russian government?"

"That's a good idea!" she shouted, running into her house. I stared after her.

Danny then came out, followed by Duncan, both in swimwear. I blinked.

"What's Mandy up to?" Duncan asked. "She seemed rabid…"

"I can't swear on this, but I think she's going to try and get herself arrested," I shrugged. "But I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

Duncan snorted. "She's definitely your sister, Danny." He clapped him on the shoulder. I went inside, up to Mandy's room. She sat at her desk, scribbling away at some parchment.

"Don't tell me you used my idea," I said, peering over her shoulder.

"Of course I am," she grinned. "You're a treasure trove of excellent ideas. Here, read this."

I took the letter from her and read it aloud. "'Dear Russian Government, you're sexy. Love, Daniel G. Brocklehurst.' Oh God."

Mandy smiled wider. "Good huh? I don't want to get in trouble over this, but Danny's life is expendable."

"Of course. What's the 'G' stand for?" I handed the letter back to her.

"Gavin," she shrugged. "When we were little, he used to go around wanting to be called that."

I grinned. "I see."

Mandy's mouth twitched and her eyes glittered. "Are you about to grace me with another evil plan?"

"No, I just thought it would be funny to go call him Gavin," I said. "Not really evil, in my opinion."

She shook her head. "No, not quite. But still entertaining for two bored little girls."

"Touché," I muttered. Mandy tied the letter to the leg of an owl I hadn't seen before.

"That," she said, "is Danny's owl, Hermes. But he's secretly my best friend."

"I'm not your best friend?" I raised an eyebrow. Hermes flew out the window.

"He's my best male and non-human friend," she nodded.

"I can't believe you just did that," I muttered, staring after the owl as he faded from sight.

Mandy shrugged. "It's Danny's skin, not mine. Besides, nothing will come of it."

"If you say so," I sighed. "But you probably just jinxed that."

"I'm not bailing him out of jail," she groaned.

"Oh yeah," I laughed. "Daniel Gavin Brocklehurst: England's Most Wanted."

xXx

Okay, that plan didn't actually work. Danny got issued a warning by the police, but that's definitely his problem. He didn't find out that Mandy and I sent the letter, so we're good! I had a feeling that Duncan knew, though.

Surprisingly enough, Duncan let Danny, Mandy, and I come along to watch his tryout for the Tornadoes. He made us dress in all-blue, though, which might have been self-plugging.

We watched as all the men and women tried out, and I noticed that Duncan was very visibly the youngest one there. Mandy excitedly pointed out all of the famed Quidditch players, also giving us a long and drawn out history of the team.

"Roderick Plumpton!" she shouted. "Haven't you heard of the Plumpton Pass?"

"Yes, Mandy," Danny sighed. "You read about it after you stole my copy of Quidditch Through the Ages."

"But he invented the Plumpton Pass," she argued.

"Which was a complete and total accident," Danny pointed out.

Mandy glared at him. "The best things in the world are accidents. Take the microwave, for example."

"Only you would find the microwave to be one of the best things in the world," he muttered.

"Only you would bother arguing with me," she giggled. "Look, there's Duncan!"

Mandy pointed slightly below us as Duncan viscously hit a Bludger away from one of the already-recruited Chasers on the team. He looked generally frazzled, but the Ravenclaw Quidditch team knew him well enough to understand that he flourished under pressure.

"Murder them, Duncan!" Danny shouted.

Mandy grinned. "You're going to get removed, Danny."

"Removed?" he repeated. "Why?"

"Because you're being a nuisance," she said.

"And you have an outstanding criminal record," I added.

Danny glared at us with folded arms. He slumped back into his seat. "I didn't do it."

"That what they all say," I grinned.

"Yeah, Danny!" Mandy moved to sit on him and bounced in his lap. "Haven't you seen Muggle cop movies?"

"No," Danny snapped. "And stop bouncing on me, it's annoying!"

"My 'cute' overrides my 'annoying,'" she shrugged.

"You're not cute," Danny muttered.

"I am," she sighed.

"She is," I added. Danny glared at the two of us, but said nothing. We kept watching Duncan do what Duncan does, and I was impressed. I think. I mean, I certainly wasn't very well-versed in Quidditch, but I think Duncan could definitely be on the team. Making the Tornadoes was all he wanted, so we wanted it for him, too.

Eventually, the try outs ended. Duncan met us shakily outside of the Tornadoes pitch.

"How was it, mate?" Danny grinned.

Duncan smiled sheepishly. "Bloody terrifying," he breathed.

"But do you think you made the team?" Mandy piped up, shoving her brother out of the way.

"You were very good, Duncan," I added. "If you're not one of the two new Beaters, which is unlikely, you'll definitely be on the reserve team!"

Duncan nodded. "I did do well. I'm confident in how I played. I'm just… I think I'm dreaming right now."

Mandy slapped him. "If you felt that, you're awake and need to stop being so humble about it."

Duncan blinked, fingering his now-red cheek. "Yeah, I did pretty awesomely."

"Exactly!" I shouted. "When do you hear back?"

"Er… I hear back from either the manager or the coach in a few minutes… After they deliberate," he nodded.

"I think you made it," Danny said. "You're far too hard on yourself."

"Mandy has me convinced," he muttered.

A man graying hair and dark eyes came through the door and tapped Duncan on the shoulder. "Mr. Inglebee?"

Duncan turned to him, slightly pale. "Mr. Dixon."

Mr. Dixon grinned at Duncan. "Don't seem so afraid, boy. I'm telling you you've made the team!"

Duncan's face instantly lit up. "I did?"

"You did," the older man nodded. "Your performance was… Admirable."

"Admirable," Duncan repeated. "Thank you so much, sir." Mr. Dixon grinned at Duncan and nodded to each of us before he left.

"Duncan," Danny grinned.

Duncan looked about ready to start skipping around us in circles. "Yeah?"

"Duncan, you made it onto a professional Quidditch team!" Danny shouted.

"I know!" he yelled. He then took the opportunity to completely ruin both Mandy's and my hair.

"You'll still love us when you're famous and everything right?" Mandy grinned. She elbowed Duncan in the side.

"Absolutely," he nodded.

"And you won't get big-headed?" I added. "You'll always remain the Duncan Who-Knows-What-Your-Middle-Name-Is Inglebee that the Ravenclaw Quidditch team loves?"

Duncan scoffed. "Murder me if I do."

"Good," Danny nodded. "So you can keep your room at my house until you move into your own place somewhere."

"So you don't let arrogant people live with you?" Duncan concluded with a slight smirk.

"Exactly," Danny said.

Duncan grinned. "Sorry to be the one to tell you this, mate, but you're arrogant."

"I resent that," Danny muttered. Mandy and I snorted.

"You're only saying you do because you have some problems admitting your faults," Duncan shrugged, "Mr. Outstanding-Criminal-Record."

Danny glared at him. "I don't have a record; I just got a reprimand!"

Mandy grinned. "First a reprimand."

"Then a record," I added.

"And then jail," Duncan said.

Danny glared at us and I held back a grin. "I hate you. All of you," he sighed.

xXx

Closer to the end of vacation, I received a letter from a certain cousin of mine. Yes, you know the one. Harry James Potter.

The cat.

Hedwig had taken a liking to Leonardo, and I thought it was cute that they played together. I sat myself on a lawn chair and opened up the parchment.

Hi Holly,

I'm at Ron's house with his family. It's so much better than the Dursleys. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this house-elf that came to Privet Drive. He told me that you and I aren't supposed to go back to school. He said that there was "a plot to make terrible things happen at Hogwarts". He says we're too important to put in danger. I don't know what you want to do, but I'm going back to school.

Harry

"What's a house-elf?" I muttered.

"It's this little thing that is kind of a servant to a family," Danny said. He played with the straw in his iced tea.

"More like a slave," Mandy groaned. "The poor things punish themselves with pain if they do something that they think the family that they serve won't like."

"Masochistic little buggers," Duncan sighed. "It is a bit sad."

"Okay, okay," I interrupted. "So I know what a house-elf is. But why is one telling Harry that he and I can't go back to Hogwarts?"

Mandy shrugged. "More devious plots against you? Loads of Slytherin families have house-elves. Their 'young masters' might have told them to do it."

I nodded. "Alright, whatever. It's probably nothing, then."

"Just go back to school like a good little girl," Duncan shrugged.

Mandy narrowed her eyes at him. "Never say 'good little girl' again. Ever."

Duncan grinned. "Whatever you say, Mandy."

I took parchment and wrote out a reply.

Hey Harry,

What do you think I am, a Hufflepuff? Of course I'm going back to school. Mandy apparently thinks it one of the Slytherins – Malfreak, perhaps? – trying to scare us off. I wouldn't pay any attention to it.

See you at school,

Holly

"Insulting Hufflepuffs now?" Danny asked. "Aren't you friends with one?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but he's a bit—"

"Of a pussy?" Danny finished my sentence with a cocky grin.

I glared at him. "No, he's not a pussy, you obnoxious—"

"Piece of crap!" Mandy shouted, smiling.

"Will you stop finishing my sentences?" I snapped. "It's rather annoying!"

"Brocklehursts tend to do that," Duncan shrugged. "Be annoying, I mean."

"I noticed," I muttered, folding my arms.

Three more owls swopped gracefully in front of us. Leonardo attacked them, so I had to pull him off of the smaller owl and set him on the ground.

"Oh, school letters," Danny said, uninterested. He opened his and grimaced. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" I asked, opening mine. Mandy pointed to the list of books.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

"The titles aren't very creative," I remarked. "It's always 'Blank with Blank'. Someone needs variety."

"What idiot would want us to read these?" Mandy sighed.

"Gilderoy Lockhart, huh?" Duncan said. "His books are rubbish, nothing to actually learn from."

"You've graduated already," Danny whined.

Duncan grinned deviously. "That's your problem, isn't it?"

"I think we should go to Diagon Alley today," Mandy sighed. "It's still morning, and there's nothing left to do."

"Stupid Wednesday," Danny muttered.

Mandy ran inside to get her dad, leaving me to watch Duncan and Danny glare at each other. Honestly, I didn't know how Danny had friends. He could be such a downer.

"Dad said we should floo to Diagon Alley," Mandy said, returning outside. She then looked at Danny. "And that you should stop being pessimistic."

Danny rolled his eyes. "What else is new?"

She sighed. "Will you just come on?"

We followed Mandy into the Brocklehurst's dining room. The first thing that caught my eyes was a large stone fireplace. One it was what looked like a ceramic urn. Mr. Brocklehurst took it down. To my surprise (and, I must admit, disgust), he opened it and stuck his hand in.

"This," he held up his hand, "is floo powder."

"I thought it was someone's grandmother's ashes," I muttered.

Mandy grinned. "Absolutely not, we have other urns for that."

"Of course," I giggled.

"Girls," Mr. Brocklehurst snapped. "Pay attention, please. I want everyone to go in pairs, as to not have an incident."

"I wanna hold Danny's hand!" Mandy shouted, giggling. He merely glared at her.

She pouted. "What's more awkward, clinging to your sister or your best friend?"

Danny swallowed. "Fine, whatever."

Mr. Brocklehurst raised his voice slightly. "So, for those of you who don't know how to go about this—"

"Holly," Mandy and Danny said. I grimaced.

"—you take a bit of the powder and scatter it in the flames. Then you hold very still, with your eyes closed, and say where you're going."

"And, no, you won't be charred to a crisp," Mandy added. "It's totally and completely safe."

Mr. Brocklehurst nodded. "That's right. Understand, Holly?"

I mock-saluted. "Yes! I think."

True to her word, Mandy held onto Danny's hand as they did exactly as Mr. Brocklehurst had told us. Well, it didn't look that bad, aside from the part where one is engulfed with flames. That part didn't look fun.

"Come on, Toto," Duncan said, clasping my shoulder. He scattered floo powder and shoved me in first. I glared as he followed me in, took me by the shoulder again, and shouted "Diagon Alley!"

And so began the fun of traveling by fireplace.

Now that I knew what toilet water feels like, I could barely watch as green flames circled around Duncan and I. I shielded my eyes with my hand and got a quick look at what lie beyond all the fireplaces.

Suddenly, I found myself sprawled on the floor, Duncan grasping my shirt sleeve. Ouch.

"I think we're here," I muttered, picking myself up.

"That's the bright side," Mandy shrugged. "We could be not-here. We could be… In Africa! I want to go to Africa!"

I laughed at her as she pranced around an irritated Danny in circles, going on and on about Africa. She wanted to see lions and elephants and giraffes…

Mr. and Mrs. Brocklehurst joined us soon after. "Everyone's here in one piece," the latter grinned. "Shall we be going, then?"

We wandered around for a while, getting the needed supplies. I noticed a few redheads running around frantically, much akin to headless chickens. One of them passed me, and I recognized him as Harry's friend, Ron. I caught his arm.

"What's got you so upset?" I asked.

"Nice greeting," he huffed. "We're looking for Harry."

"So you were supposed to meet here?" I concluded. Danny looked the Weasley up and down and made a slight face. I assumed it was that Quidditch rivalry again.

"Well, sort of," he mumbled. "We took the floo and he got lost."

I bit my lip, making a thinking noise. "He'll turn up. If not, he has eight more lives."

"What?" Ron breathed.

I shook my head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Two identical boys, older than us, slung their arms around Ron's shoulders. "Who's this?" one of them asked.

"Does ickle Ronniekinz have a lady-friend?" the other one snickered.

Ron blushed. "No, it's Harry's cousin."

"Oh, it's Hollykinz," the first one grinned. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ravenclaw. I'm Fred, he's George."

The second one looked at him. "I thought I was Fred."

The first shook his head. "No, no. I'm certain you're George."

"Oh," the second nodded, "maybe you're right."

"Right," I said timidly.

"Weasley, Weasley," Duncan nodded. At least he was being polite.

"Inglebee!" the one I thought was George shouted. "I heard you're playing Quidditch professionally now."

"I am," Duncan grinned. "And you're… Still in school. Hopefully."

"You never know," Fred shrugged. "We might as well go back to looking for Harry."

"Yeah," George nodded. "Dad and Percy would have a fit if we're gone for too long."

"Have you gotten books yet?" Ron asked. To that, I shook my head. "Then we'll meet you at Flourish and Blotts, okay?"

I nodded. "Sure, Ron. Just, uh, make sure Harry's alright first."

"He'll be fine," Fred drawled.

"It's not like he ended up in Africa or anything," George shrugged.

Mandy huffed. "I wanted to end up in Africa."

When we made our way to the bookstore, there was a massive crowd of people.

"What the… Oh, lucky us," Danny muttered darkly, gesturing to a sign.

GILDEROY LOCKHART

Will be singing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

Today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"Wonderful," Duncan sighed. "We've certainly picked a great day to come school shopping. I don't even need to be here."

"Then go and obsess over Quidditch stuff," Mandy snapped. "Get a new bat or something."

Duncan shrugged, but said nothing. We waited outside the store for the Weasleys and (hopefully) Harry. The entire clan eventually showed up, Harry and Hermione in tow. And, no, I don't find it strange that I hugged my cousin like I hadn't seen him in three years. I had a lot of lost family-bonding to make up for, you know.

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!" I giggled. Right, that's exactly why you want to meet him.

We shoved our way through the crowd after we grabbed our one-and-only non-Lockhart book. We found a redhead woman, who I assumed was Mrs. Weasley, patting her hair.

"Oh, there you are, good." She sounded breathless. Was I the only one not mystified by this Lockhart character? "We'll be able to see him in a minute… Oh! You must be Holly," she grinned warmly. "I'm Mrs. Weasley."

"It's nice to meet you," I smiled back. "Harry's mentioned you."

Some angry-looking photographer stepped on Ron numerous times and blamed it on him. Rude much?

Gilderoy Lockhart – I needed a demeaning nickname for him – looked up to see Ron, then Harry and I. "It can't be both Harry Potter and Holly Evans?"

The crowd parted as the man literally dove and dragged us to him by the arms. He slung one arm over each of our shoulders as the photographer clicked and clicked… And clicked.

"Nice big smiles, you two," the author grinned. "Together, the three of us are worth the front page!"

Gag me with a frigging spoon. I'd rather be doomed to eternity with Professor Snape that have to fake smile with this fake-looking man. Was it just me, or did anyone else notice how bottle-blonde he looked? He held us tighter after Harry tried to wiggle away.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!

"When young Harry and Holly here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, they only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present them now, free of charge —" The crowd applauded again.

"That's not quite what we came for," I muttered. Either he didn't hear me, or he didn't pay attention. I knew Harry heard, though, as his eyes darted to me with a teeny grin.

"They had no idea that they would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me," Lockhart continued, giving Harry and I a little shake. Harry's glasses fell.

Wait, what? I didn't want him. I'd much rather a pony.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

I coughed. This lunatic was qualified to be a teacher?

Harry and I had been weighed down with all of Lockhart's books before either of us could register what was happening. I noticed Harry hand his off to Ron's younger sister, claiming he'd buy his own. I smiled slightly at how cute that was.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter? And you, Evans?" Oh, that little annoyance.

"Shut up, Malfreak," I instantly snapped. I stood next to Harry, who had straightened to face Barbie.

"Famous Harry Potter and Holly Evans," he sneered, "can't even go into a bookshop without making front page."

"You might want to watch your mouth, Malfreak," I glared. "You might get a fat lip ne—"

"Leave them alone, they didn't want all that!" The little redhead was glaring right at Malfreak. I was surprised, even slightly proud.

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" he continued.

"And you still haven't found a hobby. Didn't we agree to find something constructive to do?" I sighed.

"Oh, it's you," Ron sighed. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry and Holly here, eh?" Maybe Malfreak did send Dobby after us in hopes of scaring us away. Loser.

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," he retorted. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

Ron started towards the blonde-bitch, but Harry and Hermione grabbed a hold of his jacket.

I glared at him "How dare you? You are no better than Ron here, no matter what blood-status or money has to say about it. What right do you have to insult an entire family like that when you don't even know them?"

"Evans, you're out of line," he snarled.

"Then, by all means, show me where your imaginary line of superiority is," I shot back.

"Ron!" I heard Mr. Weasley say before Barbie could open his trap again. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley." Daddy's sneer wasn't all that different from Barbie's. He looked like an overgrown Malfreak.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?"

I squirmed as he reached into Ron's sister's cauldron and pulled a second-hand book. I knew, if he was anything like his son, that he would rip on her for it. A grown man, taunting a little girl. The entire Malfoy family had done all wrong in my book.

"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

I opened my mouth, but felt two hands on either of my shoulders – Mandy and Harry. Mr. Weasley flushed.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.

"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his silver eyes wandering to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. They watched, unknowing of what was going on. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower."

Mr. Weasley himself had done what I hoped to do – lunged at A Malfoy. Instead of the son, he went for the father, knocking him into a bookshelf.

"Get him, Dad!" shouted Fred or George

Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"

The crowd in the store fell back, knocking more shelves over.

"Gentlemen, please — please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all—"

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up—"

Hagrid came toward us through flying books. He had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her with furious eyes.

"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.

As they left, I cast God-knows-what spell at Malfreak. His hair turned a shade of Weasley red – I liked that charm. Thankfully, he didn't notice it. I knew I'd get some retaliation at school for it, but, honestly, it was worth it.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, helping Mr. Weasley fix his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that — no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter — bad blood, that's what it is — come on now — let's get outta here."

Leaving the shop, I knew I was seething. The assistant looked like he wanted us to stay, but rethought that when he measured himself up to Hagrid. I walked beside Mandy, who shook slightly.

"That rat bastard," I muttered. "How dare they draw such lines between social classes? They're elitist self-absorbed, and they disgust me, Mandy. Can you believe them?"

Mandy sighed. "Honestly, I can. A lot of families are like that. Not saying I agree, but I don't know if it can be fixed."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course it can't; that's why we have whiney internet bloggers."

"A fine example to set for your children… brawling in public… what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought —" I heard Mrs. Weasley say to her husband. I gritted my teeth. Her family name was just insulted, and she cares about some idiot-gone-author-gone-teacher?

"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report — said it was all publicity —"

A publicity stunt. I sighed, trying to calm myself. The people in this world are horrible.

At the Leaky Cauldron, we said our goodbyes to the Weasley, Grangers, and Harry. Mr. Weasley was asking the Grangers about Muggle things, but stopped with the look on Mrs. Weasley's face. I took a bit of floo powder, and Mandy this time, and went back to the Brocklehurst home.

"Holly!" Danny shouted. "Leonardo's attacking a Ministry Owl." He then produced a letter, and an angry-looking Leonardo. The letter didn't contain anything pleasant, or perhaps even useful.

Dear Miss Evans,

We have received intelligence that a Colour Change Charm was used at Flourish and Blotts this afternoon at fourteen minutes past one in the presence of three Muggles.

As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school. (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).

We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.

Enjoy your holidays!

Yours sincerely,

Mafalda Hopkirk

IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE

Ministry of Magic

I sighed. "I guess I get to join Danny's Reprimand Club."

"Oh no," Mandy muttered. "That's obviously not good – associating with Danny is disastrous."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Oh well. No more magic for Holly."

Duncan and Danny were laughing at us a little ways away. "Good job, Toto!" Duncan shouted.

This was definitely the start of an interesting year.