Ada spent the rest of breakfast grumbling about Dumbledore losing his status while Freddie sipped her tea, quietly agreeing with her. Personally she couldn't bring herself to care that much about it – it was clear Dumbledore wasn't bothered by it and would continue doing the right thing, trying to spread the word about the Dark Lord to as many people as he could.
"I just can't believe your government would do that!" Ada said angrily, dabbing her face with a napkin after she had finished eating her eggs.
"Are you really that surprised?" Freddie asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. "I told you how Fudge felt about all this the night it happened. You've seen the papers – or what's not in the papers. People don't want to believe it."
"But it's Dumbledore. He's one of the greatest wizards who's ever lived, how can everyone just turn their backs on him?"
"Not everyone is," Freddie assured her, patting the back of her hand. She cast a glance around the room, but it was still empty. Madam Rosmerta had gone to the back for a moment. "That's what the Order is all about, Ada. People who believe the truth and want to do something about it. And of course there are others who believe it, but they're scared to speak out, scared to go against Fudge. That's another thing – if you want to get a job at the Ministry, you can't be so open about your support for Dumbledore. Not if you want to keep your job there."
"I understand," she said with a nod, but she still looked upset.
"I know it's frustrating, trust me. I don't talk about it at work either," Freddie said, shaking her head. "Master Hawkins outright forbade the interns from asking me any questions about what happened at the Triwizard Tournament, but I've overheard a few of them saying it can't be true. When they don't know I'm listening, there are some of them who think that Dumbledore's off his rocker. I wish I could correct them, if they'd seen what I'd seen that night..." She clenched her fist, thinking of the way Snape's Mark had burned, the pain he had been in as he fought through it. "But I can't, I can't speak openly about it, not there."
"Has Fudge interfered at St Mungo's?"
"I don't know," Freddie admitted. "But if he hasn't, it's only a matter of time, isn't it?"
"What about your Potions Master, what does she think?"
"She's on our side. She believed me when I told her what happened the night Diggory died. She remembers what it was like, back when...well, the first time."
"Do you?" Ada asked curiously. "Remember? You were only 6 or 7, right?"
"I was 7, yeah," she said softly. "I remember some but-"
The door opened suddenly and a pair of older witches came in, chatting merrily as they wiped their shoes on the mat. Madam Rosmerta called out a greeting from the back and told them to sit wherever they like and she'd be with them in the moment.
"We should talk about this somewhere else," Freddie muttered to Ada, quickly digging in her purse for her money pouch. "Are you finished eating?"
"Yes, I'm done. Are we going to Diagon Alley now?"
"Why don't we drop your trunk off at home and we can talk there for a moment before we go. I can answer your question and, well...there's some things I wanted to tell you, things I couldn't put in a letter," she said and Ada quickly nodded her agreement. Freddie left a few coins on the table for their meals, called out a farewell to Madam Rosmerta, then she led the way outside with Ada and Ziggy following her. It was still raining, a little harder than before, and Ziggy balked in the doorway, his fur puffed out.
"Don't worry, Zigzag, we're not going out in it, we're going home," she told him. At the word 'home' Ziggy's ears perked up and he leapt gracefully onto her shoulder. He butted his face against her cheek, purring loudly, and Freddie chuckled.
"Take my arm, we can do Side-Along Apparition to get there," she said, extending her arm to Ada.
"It won't be too much for you, with my broom and trunk and everything?" her friend asked worriedly.
"Hmm, it shouldn't be but – oh I know! Here, you can put them in my bag," she said. She opened her purse which had an Undetectable Extension Charm on it and took the broomstick first, pushing it in handle-first. "This is a gorgeous broomstick, by the way, I meant to tell you that."
"Merci. It's from a famous broommaker in Sorseille, Madam Lefebre. She makes the most beautiful brooms in all of France, very sturdy and easy to handle."
"Vœu d'étoile," Freddie said, reading the name aloud. "What does that mean, 'Shooting Star'?"
"Close," Ada said with a grin. "It's Wishing Star. Not bad though, it's not a phrase that's come up in our letters. Your pronunciation is still hilarious, though."
"Tu peux pas tous les battre," she said with a shrug and winked. "You can nitpick my accent later. Let's get your trunk in here and get out of this bloody rain."
"Allons-y," she replied cheerfully, shoving her trunk into Freddie's enhanced bag then taking her arm. "Ready when you are."