After the duel with Lysander Lestrange, Hermione noticed that the other Slytherins were treating her differently; the older Slytherins were more wary around her, and there was an element of deference and respect that hadn't been there before. Hermione felt almost indignant at the change – had they not noticed she was incredibly powerful and awesome before all of this? She'd sent them all custom messenger snakes, but no, apparently she was required to win a duel to prove herself to them all.
Wizard customs were tosh, Hermione decided huffily. She would learn them and abide by them, but she would leap at the chance to do away with many of them once she got the chance.
In addition to the looks she was getting, gossip filled the hallways of the school – luckily, not gossip about her. Rumors of the possible goblin rebellion had leaked into the press, and Hermione didn't discourage them. Her staff at the Daily Prophet had taken to criticizing the Ministry at every turn with a savage delight Hermione hadn't expected, and there was an element of satisfaction in overhearing her classmates blaming the Ministry for messing things up instead of blaming the goblins.
The House Elves, too, seemed to know of the potential for a goblin revolt – or revolution, as they thought of it.
"Tolly is worried," Tolly told her anxiously, wringing her hands on her tea towel. "The goblinses, they is doing more better magic now, but they is still needing lots of practice! They is ready to fight for any reason, it is seeming, and I is worrying many of them is wanting to be dying a glorious goblin martyr death at the first opportunity that is coming along."
"The goblins haven't asked us for a formal alliance," Neemey added, purple eyes glinting at Hermione, holding a hint of malice. "Not that we would agree to one – but individuals might be compelled to interfere as they like."
The thought of the goblins allying with the House Elves genuinely hadn't occurred to Hermione, and once she'd thought of it, she wondered why it hadn't occurred to her. She'd linked the goblins up with the House Elves; it was only natural that the goblins might ask their kin to support them in their fight.
Maybe it was because the thought of House Elves fighting was somewhat absurd, Hermione mused. Even though she knew that House Elves had magic, all she could bring to mind was images of the tiny elves hurling teacups and apples at looming, faceless opponents. Which would be very distracting during a battle, but perhaps not the most effective way to fight.
Lockhart used the rumbles of rebellion to enthusiastically go over goblin rebellions again. This time, though, he made it hypothetical: if they were the goblins, he challenged, where would they attack? What would the revolt look like? What would come of Gringotts?
It was a very odd lesson, one that involved the entire class getting involved, taking turns drawing on a giant diagram of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley that Lockhart had conjured onto the chalk board. Many of the people in the class thought the goblins would attack the small wizarding community that had been the site of the one goblin's death, while others thought the goblins would move more decisively, taking over Galleon Alley behind the bank and then gradually fighting their way forward.
Hermione wasn't sure what she thought of it all. Even armed with rods, an all-out war in the streets hardly seemed like it'd be productive. What were the goblins even aiming for? If it was equal rights as people, maybe attacking places and being taken seriously as a threat was the best option. Society overall was enforced by a threat of violence, wasn't it? Women had to fight for the right to vote – it hadn't just been given to them. Some sort of fight to be legally recognized and valued made sense, even as the idea filled Hermione with dread, but Hermione wasn't sure what that would look like. The idea of goblins marching in the streets in a regiment was too absurd for her to seriously consider, but she didn't know what other form it might take.
After hearing about little other than the goblin rebellion rumblings for days, there was finally an indication that the Daily Prophet was going to lay off the issue, when Hermione received a short note from one of her writers one evening at dinner:
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Ms. Granger,
The story about that tea breaks tomorrow. It's going to cause ripples, and Sherrie's working closely with Madame Bones and the Aurors to make sure everything happens simultaneously. I expect the story will break tomorrow, and the next day's edition will cover all the arrests made as a result of it.
Thanks for the lead on this. Like you implied, there might be an Order of Merlin in all this, but I'm more glad to bring out the truth.
Yours,
Rita Skeeter
.
The note was penned in turquoise ink and signed in purple ink with a giant, loopy signature, and Hermione gnawed her lip, folding the note up and slipping it into her robes.
"Everything okay?" Blaise asked. "You got real pale there for a second."
"I'm fine." Hermione hesitated. "…let's make sure we get to breakfast early tomorrow morning, though."
The Daily Prophet arrived with the daily mail each day. Getting to breakfast early wouldn't help Hermione read the issue sooner, but rather meant that by the time owls filled the room, she'd nearly finished eating. She hastily gulped down the last of her pumpkin juice right before a soaring owl dropped the paper into her lap, and with anxious trepidation, Hermione pushed her plate back and pulled up the paper to read.
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EXCLUSIVE EXPOSÉ!
QUEEN ANNE'S TEA SCANDAL ROCKS SOCIETY!
Evidence of a plot to kill off purebloods exposed!
Dear Reader, the Daily Prophet, in investigating an odd quirk of fate at the direction of an anonymous tip-off, has discovered something truly monstrous: Queen Anne's Tea, considered a classic, delicate tea of the elite, contains horrifying ingredients that would not be out of place in an abortifacient potion! Our experts are certain that consuming just one cup would be enough to kill a baby in the womb.
"We were able to isolate no less than five separate ingredients, each of which on their own can be used to help prevent pregnancy," reported Gawain Rider, potions analyst and chemist for the Saint Mungo's Research and Cures Department. "This tea has pennyroil, rue, thistle, red raspberry leaves, and Queen Anne's Lace in it. I'm astonished nobody realized it before now, honestly. Are there no inspections the Ministry does on what's being sold in Diagon Alley?"
Queen Anne was the first queen of Great Britain on the throne after the Statute of Secrecy came into effect. Prior to this, the royal family had contact with the magical community. Throughout her life, Queen Anne became pregnant no fewer than 17 times, but she left no heirs behind.
"It's long been suspected that Queen Anne was either purposefully ending her pregnancies," said Sirena Churchill, magical historian, "or that a Catholic who was familiar with the magical community was helping Mary of Modena sabotage Queen Anne's chances of carrying to term."
The tea itself is a blend of muggle and magical ingredients that combine into a multilayered, delicate flavor with a hint of raspberry at the tip, one which has long been a favorite of the Sacred 28's upper crust. The discovery that this tea could be causing miscarriages among those who frequently enjoy it while entertaining has rocked the wizarding world.
"If you track the birth rates of purebloods, there's a significant upswell during the war with You-Know-Who," said Churchill. "This makes sense; people aren't having tea parties during a war. It's also possible there was a lull in production because of the war – workers dying, it suddenly behind hard to get the necessary herbs, supply line disruptions, and so on."
"After the war, however, there is a precipitous drop-off in births," Churchill emphasized. "Healers have long held the belief that exposure to Dark magic caused the sudden infertility. The discovery of something so simple as a tea, however – this discovery changes everything."
Even more, the Daily Prophet has strong reason to believe that this production of Queen Anne's Tea was no mere coincidence or tragic happenstance, but a nefarious plot done and carried out deliberately – one executed slowly over the course of years.
Needless to say, the Daily Prophet is working closely with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but as soon as the suspects are in custody, we'll break the rest of the story to you!
.
To the right of the article was a large, flashing notice:
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PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT
QUEEN ANNE'S TEA
Do NOT consume any of this tea!
Please dispose of it safely or
turn it in to the Ministry.
.
There was a picture of the container that the Queen Anne's Tea came in, identical to the ones Daphne's mother had sent along.
"Merlin and Morgana," Pansy breathed, her eyes wide. She looked up to meet Hermione's gaze, her own eyes wild. "This… this is mad."
"It is," Hermione said grimly.
All around them, gasps and conversation were starting to spread as those who took the Daily Prophet started sharing around the article with those around them. While news of the exposé spread, Hermione quietly explained to Viktor and his classmates what this meant, and why this was such a big deal within wizarding Britian. Once Viktor and his close friends were suitably horrified, they turned to their other classmates to attempt to translate the news.
Hermione watched the other students around her in the Great Hall, observing. It was interesting, noting the differences between the houses at the news. Within Slytherin and Ravenclaw, there was horror and anger and shock, from the 7th years down to the 1st years. But over in Gryffindor, very few people seemed to even notice or care about the news – it was like it was a general public safety recall of a product for them, Hermione mused; not the potential cause of a population gap for an entire generation.
The professors of Hogwarts all reacted differently as well. Professor Dumbledore looked very grave behind his half-moon glasses, the normal twinkle in his eye completely gone. Professor Snape had gone very pale before he had immediately begun conferring with Professor Vector in low tones. Professor Flitwick had squeaked very loudly and nearly toppled off his seat in shock, while Professor McGonagall's lips pressed tighter and tighter into a grim, narrow line. Professor Sprout began quietly crying, silent tears tracking down her cheeks, while Professor Lockhart did his best to comfort her.
Professor Moody's reaction was the most interesting – he stared down at the paper for a long time, not reacting save his magical eye whizzing about in his head, and Hermione was astonished to see a slow, grudging expression of respect and acknowledgement creep over his features, instead of one of anger or rage.
Maybe Moody didn't care about the Sacred 28 and their pureblood heirs, Hermione wondered. A significant amount of them had supported Voldemort, and Moody had caught a lot of Death Eaters as an Auror. Hermione knew he loathed those who got away with their acts during the war by claiming to be under the Imperius Curse, and she supposed Moody might feel like this was helping those people get their just desserts.
Still, Hermione thought; if this tea had been popular among Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, would Moody react differently?
