The next chapter will be posted on Friday. I am going away on a work trip for most of this week.
Harry wrote back to Sirius saying that he would be beside the common room fire at the time Sirius had suggested, and he, Hermione and I spent a long time going over plans for forcing any stragglers out of the common room on the night in question. If the worst came to the worst, we were going to drop a bag of Dungbombs, but we hoped we wouldn't have to resort to that — Filch would skin us alive.
Rita Skeeter had published her piece about the Triwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament as a highly coloured life story of Harry. Much of the front page had been given over to a picture of Harry; the article (continuing on pages two, six, and seven) had been all about Harry, the names of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all. Rita Skeeter had reported him saying an awful lot of things that he couldn't remember ever saying in his life.
I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now. . . . Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. . . . I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me. . . .
"I mean, honestly, what utter nonsense! Harry is the last person to cry about his dead parents, he's much stronger than that! The only thing that ever made him cry, at least to my knowledge, is the prospect of going back to the Dursley's after nearly being able to live somewhere else!" I said to Demelza as we read at dinner one evening.
"Somewhere else, where would that have been? I thought the Dursley's were his only living relatives?" she replied
"He has a godfather, but Dumbledore vetoed the move for some reason" I said. It was half true.
Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.
"I mean she's just taking the piss here. First of all, Colin fucking Creevey, a close friend?! That silly little fanboy is lucky to have any friends, let alone Harry!" I said savagely
"Ginny, don't be so rude!" Demelza scolded me
I raised an eyebrow at her
"Are you telling me you disagree?"
Demelza bit her lip
"Oh, well, alright, no" she said defeatedly, "but still, we're in the great hall, we don't need to risk him overhearing"
"Secondly, and I think she deserves Azkaban for this, I'm his fucking girlfriend, not Hermione! The only person he thinks is stunningly pretty is me, thank you very much!" I continued
"I wouldn't even call myself stunningly pretty" Hermione said as she sat down next to us. "I've never really cared much about my looks, you 2 are both far more attractive than me, I'll freely admit it. So don't worry Ginny, no offense taken to your last words"
"Cheers for the modesty" Demelza said
"It's not modesty mate, it's just the truth"
Remembering this conversation as I'm writing it here for you in 2024 is pretty funny. Why? Because it shows how inaccurate those films you made about us were. Joanne's books at least had the decency not to make Hermione out as some sort of goddess, when she isn't.
"Weasley, Granger, Robins"
We looked behind us. It was Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, the former of whom had spoken.
"I believe the three of you requested a meeting with us as well as Miss Matilda Wormwood"
We had, a couple weeks previously. We did so shortly after telling Matilda what she believed she was, but we were told that it would have to wait for a break in both Professors time, which didn't happen very often.
"Ah, yes we did" I said
"After dinner, please come with us" said Flitwick.
He led us to his office, where we sat down in front of his desk alongside Matilda, with himself and McGonagall behind it.
"So, what can we do for you four?" Flitwick asked
"We believe that I'm a superblood" said Matilda
McGonagall and Flitwick were taken aback.
"That is a very big claim to make Miss Wormwood" said Professor McGonagall. "Superbloods are very rare. What has caused you to come to that conclusion?"
"This has" Matilda replied, and she produced the book which described them.
McGonagall and Flitwick read the page thoroughly. There was silence for a while, then McGonagall said:
"Which one of you obtained this book, and how did you do it? This is only usually found in the restricted section"
"I got it by owl order Professor" said Hermione, thinking quickly "see, I'd suspected that something was different about Matilda ever since she started here, so I wanted to research rare blood types to see if I could find any answers, and it seems like I did. I let Matilda borrow the book after we first showed it to her"
"Such content is not something we usually allow students of your ages to consume, which is why it's in the restricted section, however, we cannot deny that that Miss Wormwood is a remarkable match to this description" said Flitwick. "Professor Dumbledore is more knowledgeable on the subject though, so I will call him now"
He stood up and sent a Patronus message to Dumbledore in the Great Hall. He arrived 5 minutes later.
"I assume you have summoned me here to discuss Miss Wormwood's rather different blood status" he said
"How did you-" Matilda began
"He's Dumbledore" I told her, emphasising the last word. "If there's one thing you must remember, it's that Dumbledore knows everything"
"You flatter me Miss Weasley. There are plenty of things I do not know, however, information on superbloods is not among them. I can confirm that Miss Wormwood is indeed one, and that as long as we continue with our current plan, there should be no cause for concern for anybody. In fact, I think that having a superblood in our lifetimes is a cause for celebration, not only due to their rarity and therefore, historical significance, but in any potential future conflict"
"What is this plan that you're referring to?" asked Matilda
"At the moment, you do not need to-" began McGonagall
"Minerva, I see no reason to keep it from her. In fact, it will probably give her even further motivation to succeed" interrupted Dumbledore.
"Very well. Filius?" McGonagall said
Flitwick turned directly to Matilda
"Miss Wormwood, do you remember how we previously discussed the potential to move you up to second year early?"
"Yes Professor" she replied
"Well, I can inform you now, that it is indeed our plan, should you pass the first year exams, which you will take in December, shortly before we break up for Christmas. How do you feel you are getting on with the work currently?"
"I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, but I am finding it almost tediously easy"
"That is not a surprise to me. On your last homework assignment I awarded you 120 percent. I presume you did something similar Minerva?"
McGonagall nodded
"Thank you" said Matilda "I appreciate your respect for my talents"
"We always give credit where credit is due at Hogwarts" said Dumbledore.
"What does this mean for the rest of us?" asked Demelza
"You will each earn 5 points to Gryffindor for bringing this matter to our attention" said McGonagall, looking at Demelza, Hermione and I. "Unless I am very much mistaken, none of you are superbloods, so I see no reason for any change to your status quo. Albus?"
Dumbledore nodded. "A pure blood, a half blood and a muggle born. All regular blood types, though Miss Granger has shown remarkable aptitude for someone common blooded"
"Unless there are any further questions, that will be all" said McGonagall
I chewed my lip briefly, wondering if I should tell McGonagall about Amy and her continued investigation into Karkaroff. I decided against it though, because if Amy was caught and discovered it was through me snitching, that would likely mark a permanent end to our friendship. As it stood, I was hopeful we could reconcile at some point, and I didn't want to end that possibility.
With everyone else joining me in my lack of further comment, we rose and left the room one by one.