It took Harry several days to get used to his strange new freedom.
“Of course it would. I've never had freedom like this before,” Harry said.
Never before had he been able to get up whenever he wanted or eat whatever he fancied.
"I do hope that you're eating healthily," Hermione said.
"I most likely am, to a point. I mean, knowing that Dudley is the way he is from eating whatever would probably put me off of doing that," Harry said.
He could even go wherever he liked, as long as it was in Diagon Alley, and as this long cobbled street was packed with the most fascinating wizarding shops in the world,
“I wonder if you would think that if you visited other places,” Luna said. “I know that the wizarding shops in Greece are definitely better than those here in England.”
“Well, hopefully, I will be given a chance to travel, then,” Harry said.
Harry felt no desire to break his word to Fudge and stray back into the Muggle world.
Harry ate breakfast each morning in the Leaky Cauldron, where he liked watching the other guests:
“The Leaky Cauldron probably gets a lot of them,” Hermione said.
“And some of who it gets are rather interesting to see,” Cedric said.
funny little witches from the country, up for a day’s shopping; venerable-looking wizards arguing over the latest article in Transfiguration Today; wild-looking warlocks, raucous dwarfs and, once, what looked suspiciously like a hag, who ordered a plate of raw liver from behind a thick woollen balaclava.
“Then it probably was a hag,” Cedric said. “Especially since I don't know of anyone other than them eating a plate of raw liver.”
After breakfast Harry would go out into the back yard, take out his wand, tap the third brick from the left above the dustbin, and stand back as the archway into Diagon Alley opened in the wall.
Harry spent the long sunny days exploring the shops and eating under the brightly coloured umbrellas outside cafes,
“I wonder how long it took for people to get used to you being there,” Luna said.
where his fellow diners were showing each other their purchases (“it’s a lunascope, old boy – no more messing around with moon charts, see?”)
“That sounds like it would be interesting to have,” Hermione said.
or else discussing the case of Sirius Black (“personally, I won’t let any of the children out alone until he’s back in Azkaban”).
“I wonder what they'll do if he doesn't end up being caught soon,” Harry said.
Harry didn’t have to do his homework under the blankets by torchlight any more;
“I can either do it in my room, or I can do it wherever I have lunch at,” Harry said.
now he could sit in the bright sunshine outside Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour, finishing all his essays with occasional help from Florean Fortescue himself,
“If what I've heard about him is true, he does that for any student who asks,” Cedric said. “I've heard of others being helped by him when doing their homework, when the place isn't too busy.”
who, apart from knowing a great deal about medieval witch-burnings, gave Harry free sundaes every half hour.
“However, I think the last thing is purely because it's you,” Cedric said, “since I've never heard of anyone being given free sundaes every half hour.”
Once Harry had refilled his money bag with gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts from his vault at Gringotts, he needed to exercise a lot of self-control not to spend the whole lot at once.
“Yeah, I can see how hard that would be, when you've got a lot of money, and don't have anyone there to keep watch of you so that you don't go spending it all,” Cedric said.
“You know, that I've thought about it, how much exactly is the room your staying in,” Hermione said. “I mean, I doubt you staying there for free.”
“You never know, he could be. That, or the Minister is paying for the room,” Cedric said. “You know, as a way to make it easier for Tom to watch him.”
“True,” Hermione said.
He had to keep reminding himself that he had five years to go at Hogwarts,
“If I'm right about how a trust vault works, it refills itself to whatever set amount is supposed to be in there once a year,” Cedric said.
"But it's not like my book self would know that," Harry said.
and how it would feel to ask the Dursleys for money for spellbooks, to stop himself buying a handsome set of solid gold Gobstones (a wizarding game rather like marbles, in which the stones squirted a nasty-smelling liquid into the other player’s face when they lost a point).
“I don't think that would really hurt you all that much, but I haven't heard you playing that game all that much, either,” Luna said
He was sorely tempted, too, by the perfect, moving model of the galaxy in a large glass ball, which would have meant he never had to take another Astronomy lesson.
“You still would, actually, since it mandatory for the first five years,” Cedric said.
But the thing that tested Harry’s resolution most appeared in his favourite shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies, a week after he’d arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.
“Has to be a new broom, has to be,” Cedric said. “That's the only thing that would gain your attention, that I can think of. Of course, I could be wrong.”
“I doubt it,” Hermione said. “While the store sounds like the perfect place for Quidditch things, I don't imagine they have a lot in there that would catch your attention.”
“I can't really say if that's true or not, since I've never been there,” Harry said.
“I have, and, while it does hold interesting things, the brooms are the best parts of it,” Cedric said. “Unless your a huge fan of collectibles.”
Curious to know what the crowd in the shop was staring at, Harry edged his way inside and squeezed in amongst the excited witches and wizards until he glimpsed a newly erected podium on which was mounted the most magnificent broom he had ever seen in his life.
“I have to wonder what it looks like,” Cedric said.
“Just come out ... prototype ...” a square-jawed wizard was telling his companion.
“A very new broom, then,” Hermione said.
“It’s the fastest broom in the world, isn’t it, Dad?” squeaked a boy younger than Harry, who was swinging off his father’s arm.
“It might be here,” Cedric said. “I don't know about elsewhere. Most broom companies are not international.”
“Irish International Side’s just put in an order for seven of these beauties!” the proprietor of the shop told the crowd. “And they’re favourites for the World Cup!”
“The broom must be good then,” Luna said.
“Your probably going to want it pretty badly,” Hermione said, looking at Harry. “At least, your book self is.”
A large witch in front of Harry moved, and he was able to read the sign next to the broom:
THE FIREBOLT
“Interesting name,” Cedric said. “They must be a new company, though, cause I don't think I've ever heard of them.”
This state-of-the-art racing broom sports a streamlined, super-fine handle of ash, treated with a diamond-hard polish and hand-numbered with its own registration number.
“Nice,” Harry said.
Each individually selected birch twig in the broomtail has been honed to aerodynamic perfection, giving the Firebolt unsurpassable balance and pinpoint precision.
“Sounds like a good broom for a Seeker to have,” Cedric said.
The Firebolt has an acceleration of 150 miles an hour in ten seconds and incorporates an unbreakable braking charm. Price on request.
“Basically, costs so much there's no way for anyone not rich to get one,” Hermione said.
“Also means that Malfoy can't make his father buy one for the entire team,” Cedric said. “It would probably be too much for him to get seven of them, and it would mean less money to bribe people with.”
There were some scowls at that.
“I wish that there was some way of making sure he was punished,” Hermione said wistfully.
“So long as he's close to the Minister, that's going to be impossible,” Cedric said.
Price on request ... Harry didn’t like to think how much gold the Firebolt would cost.
“I don't think anyone would,” Luna said.
He had never wanted anything so much in his whole life – but he had never lost a Quidditch match on his Nimbus Two Thousand,
“So why waste money on another broom when the one you have already is good enough,” Luna said.
“Yeah, that's probably what I'm thinking,” Harry said.
and what was the point in emptying his Gringotts vault for the Firebolt, when he had a very good broom already? Harry didn’t ask for the price, but he returned, almost every day after that, just to look at the Firebolt.
“I have to wonder, though, what they would do if they learned that Harry Potter was interested in the broom,” Cedric said.
“You know, you'd probably get it at a slightly reduced price, without even having to ask, if you showed interest in it,” Hermione said.
“Yeah, you'd just probably have to promise to do an endorsement for them,” Luna said. “They'd probably sell more brooms faster that way as well, and the price would go down a bit because of that.”
There were, however, things that Harry needed to buy. He went to the apothecary to replenish his store of Potions’ ingredients, and as his school robes were now several inches too short in the arm and leg, he visited Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions and bought new ones. Most important of all, he had to buy his new school books, which would include those for his two new subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
“Knew he'd chose the subjects that would seem the easiest,” Cedric muttered. Harry wondered what Divination was about.
“This means we won't be seeing what the other three subjects are like,” Hermione said, frowning.
“But you'll have knowledge on whether or not you want to take these two this time around,” Cedric pointed out.
“True,” Hermione said.
“Plus, I have the feeling that, since your taking them, it'll have at least a mention about them, like when your during homework,” Harry said. “You can find out then if you end up liking any of the other electives when that happens.”
“It won't give me a detailed description, though,” Hermione said. “And I have the feeling that Ron'll complain a lot if I even try to get on the subject at all.”
“That's probably true,” Luna said. “But, perhaps, you'll get lucky.”
Harry got a surprise as he looked in at the bookshop window. Instead of the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs, there was a large iron cage behind the glass which held about a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters.
“That's the book that Hagrid got you. It must be the text for one of the classes,” Hermione said.
“Probably Care of Magical Creatures,” Harry said, before paling and looking at Hermione.
“What teacher would be careless enough to have to make us have book that'll bite you?” Harry asked.
“I don't know,” Hermione said.
“I know that he teacher now is Professor Kettleburn, but, from the sounds of it, and the fact that there's a new book to get, I have the feeling that he's retiring soon, and whoever his replacement is was the one to assign the book,” Cedric said.
Luna made a small sound, thinking about something. “With what you did in the previous book,” she began, “it's possible that it had the effect of allowing Hagrid to be able to do more than just be a gamekeeper.”
“You mean that you think that Hagrid is the new teacher,” Hermione said. Luna nodded.
“Besides the fact that he probably knows about more magical creatures than anyone else, I can see him assigning this book for the class, especially since there probably is a way to read it without being bitten and chewed on, as well as the fact that Hagrid wouldn't think they were dangerous, but probably funny.”
“True,” Cedric said. “It would make sense coming from him. I mean, he named a vicious, three headed dog Fluffy. Having people get books that would bite you, and assume that they'd be able to calm it down enough to read it would be something he'd do.”
“So, there's a possiblilty that Hagrid's going to get a better job, thanks to what happened in the previous book,” Harry said. “I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I mean, as Luna said, he probably knows more about magical creatures than anyone, so he'd be a good teacher for that kind of subject. However, when you look at his track record towards 'harmless' creatures, you've got Fluffy, Aragog, and Norbert, none of them really being harmless.”
“Well, we'll be able to see what he plans in the book,” Hermione said. “If he actually teaches us good things, then we won't have to worry about whether or not to take the class. However, if he tries to have a single dangerous creature there, I am not going to be taking the class.”
“As much as I like Hagrid, I have to agree on that sentiment,” Harry said. “I won't take it either if he tried to bring in his idea of 'harmless' creatures to the class.”
“Of course, this all depends on whether we're right or not,” Hermione said.
“True,” Harry said.
Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and snapping aggressively.
“Why didn't they tie them up, or even use a freezing charm on them?” Hermione said.
“Don't know,” Cedric said.
“Because it would be common sense and logical to do so,” Luna said.
Harry pulled his booklist out of his pocket and consulted it for the first time.
“You mean you hadn't done so before,” Hermione said disapprovingly.
“Hey, I was getting used to my new freedom, as well as finishing my homework,” Harry said, shrugging.
“I just thought that you would've done a quick glance at it before,” Hermione said.
“Apparently, I didn't,” Harry said.
The Monster Book of Monsters was listed as the set book for Care of Magical Creatures. Now Harry understood why Hagrid had said it would come in useful.
“I can definitely see how useful it is,” Harry said. “I don't have to buy it, and worry about how to keep it from attacking me.”
“And I'm sure that the person responsible for getting the books will be extremely happy to know that you don't need one,” Cedric said.
He felt relieved; he had been wondering whether Hagrid wanted help with some terrifying new pet.
“I would have, very politely, of course, said no,” Harry said.
As Harry entered Flourish and Blotts, the manager came hurrying towards him.
“That's interesting,” Hermione said.
“He must be the person responsible for getting the books,” Cedric said. “He probably headed towards Harry to find out if he needed one or not.”
“Hogwarts?” he said abruptly. “Come to get your new books?”
“That doesn't seem like he's asking if Harry needs one,” Luna said.
“Yes,” said Harry. “I need –“
“Get out of the way,” said the manager impatiently, brushing Harry aside.
“How rude,” Hermione said, scowling lightly at his bad manners.
“Well, since he's probably had to deal with the Monster Books a lot, I think it's reasonable that he'd be irritated at the moment,” Cedric said. “I mean, I not only does he have to hand them out for the third years, such as yourself, but he also has to do it for the upper years as well.”
“Oh, right,” Hermione said, blushing lightly. “I forgot about the upper years.”
He drew on a pair of very thick gloves, picked up a large, knobbly walking stick and proceeded towards the door of the Monster Books’ cage.
“It seems that pretty much every student who entered there needed one,” Luna said.
“Is the subject that popular?” Hermione asked.
“I guess so. I mean, I can see why people would want to take it – it's interesting to see the different types of creatures there are, after all,” Cedric said. “I know I'm taking it this coming year; of course, the fact that I'm going to be taught by Professor Kettleburn means that I won't have to worry a lot about how Hagrid teaches it – or, rather, I won't have to worry about it for another two years, if Hagrid is indeed going to be the professor over the class.”
“Hang on,” said Harry quickly,
“Before he could open the cage,” Luna added in, think that it should have been in there to begin with.
“I’ve already got one of those.”
“Have you?” A look of enormous relief spread over the manager’s face.
“Seems you were right,” Harry said to Cedric.
“Thank heavens for that, I’ve been bitten five times already this morning –“
“Ouch,” Hermione said.
A loud ripping noise rent the air; two of the Monster Books had seized a third and were pulling it apart.
“Now, this is where you get out your wand and immobolize the books before binding them so that they can't bite each other,” Hermione said, shaking her head.
“Stop it! Stop it!” cried the manager, poking the walking stick through the bars and knocking the books apart.
“I think, come the next book, Hagrid will have placed a different, less violent book on the list, because I have the feeling that the owner will never want to stock them again,” Cedric said.
“I’m never stocking them again, never! It’s been bedlam!”
“I wonder if your the first person he's complained to about them,” Luna said.
“I thought we’d seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility –“
“That doesn't make sense for a book,” Hermione said, frowning.
“cost a fortune, and we never found them ...”
“If they never found them, then it was probably a scam,” Hermione said. “Especially because invisible doesn't mean non-corporeal. Even if they couldn't see them, chances are that they'd bump into them.”
“Well, is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Now that I know I'm not going to be bitten again, how can I help you,” Hermione said, mincing the guys words.
“That's probably what he's actually thinking,” Cedric said.
“Yes,” said Harry, looking down his booklist. “I need Unfogging the Future, by Cassandra Vablatsky.”
Oh Harry thought. Divination has to do with the figuring out the future. He figured that book had to do with Divination, since his other classes were already known enough by him to know that they didn't have to do with the future.
“Ah, starting Divination, are you?” said the manager, stripping off his gloves and leading Harry into the back of the shop, where there was a corner devoted to fortune-telling.
“Must not be a popular subject,” Hermione said.
“I don't believe it is,” Cedric said.
A small table was stacked with volumes such as Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself against Shocks and Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul.
“Here you are,” said the manager, who had climbed a set of steps to take down a thick, black-bound book. “Unfogging the Future. Very good guide to all your basic fortune-telling methods – palmistry, crystal balls, bird entrails ...”
“Bird entrails?” Hermione said, going a bit green. “Ew.”
“I think that right there says that the subjects not worth taking,” Harry said, looking a bit green himself.
But Harry wasn’t listening.
“I wish I was,” Harry said. “Then I could ask which books are required for one of the other three – well, two, since I don't think I would care to take Muggle Studies, since I live with Muggles – courses.”
His eyes had fallen on another book, which was among a display on a small table: Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming.
“Oh, I wouldn’t read that if I were you,” said the assistant lightly, looking to see what Harry was staring at. “You’ll start seeing death omens everywhere, it’s enough to frighten anyone to death.”
“I wonder what it is that's caught my attention?” Harry said.
But Harry continued to stare at the front cover of the book; it showed a black dog large as a bear, with gleaming eyes. It looked oddly familiar …
“Oh, that,” Harry said, while Cedric and Luna looked at him wide eyed.
“What?” he asked warily.
“If what's on the cover is what you think you saw, then it's not good,” Cedric said.
“What is it? Why would it be bad?” Harry asked.
“If it's what's on the book, then what you saw was the Grim, which is the omen of death,” Luna said. “Everyone who sees one will die within twenty-four hours.”
“Which crosses out it being what Harry saw,” Hermione said. “Because he's still alive, and it's been a few days since that happened.”
“But, he did brush up against death rather closely,” Luna said. “It could actually be that it'll just haunt him until he dies.”
“I won't argue against that, though we have no way to know for sure that it was the Grim,” Hermione said. “Until we get actual proof that it is, we shouldn't assume on any account.” She looked towards Harry at that last bit.
“Hey, I can't control what my book self does,” he said.
“I know, which means that there's a chance that your thoughts are going to be very morbid,” Hermione said, groaning.
The assistant pressed Unfogging the Future into Harry’s hands.
“That's one way of getting your attention,” Luna said.
“Anything else?” he said.
“Yes,” said Harry, tearing his eyes away from the dog’s and dazedly consulting his booklist. “Er – I need Intermediate Transfiguration and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three.”
“Like I mentioned before, you'll be asked to get a new Standard Book of Spell each year, so you should just buy one for each year in your first year,” Cedric said.
“Is that what you did?” Hermione asked.
“Yeah,” Cedric admitted. “My mother said that I should get all the books that she knew would still be on the list from when she was there. Something about how the professors rarely change the way they teach, and the fact that there isn't a reason to change to different books because the way they've been teaching has been good enough to continue in such a way.”
Harry emerged from Flourish and Blotts ten minutes later with his new books under his arms, and made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron, hardly noticing where he was going and bumping into several people.
Hermione sighed.
“Seems your brooding is going to be starting earlier than I actually thought it would,” she said.
“Hey, I'm not brooding yet,” Harry said.
“Your about to start though,” Hermione said. He had no answer to that.
He tramped up the stairs to his room, went inside and tipped his books onto his bed. Somebody had been in to tidy; the windows were open and sun was pouring inside.
“I'd say check to make sure that nothings been taken, but somehow, I'd imagine that there's something there to make sure that nothing get stolen,” Hermione said.
“Yes, I do believe there are charms that keep thieves from taking things,” Cedric said.
Harry could hear the buses rolling by in the unseen Muggle street behind him, and the sound of the invisible crowd below in Diagon Alley. He caught sight of himself in the mirror over the basin.
“I wonder what you look like at the moment,” Luna muttered. “Do you look panicked? Did the color drain from your face? Was there something of note in your appearance?”
“It can’t have been a death omen,” he told his reflection defiantly.
“I was panicking when I saw that thing in Magnolia Crescent. It was probably just a stray dog ...”
“That's probably true,” Luna said. “From what I know about the grim, a bus appearing out of no where wouldn't scare it, especially since the person they're haunting is the only one who can see it. I suppose that I should have thought about this before as well, since I kind of forgot about it.”
“So, that's a point against it having been a grim,” Hermione said. Luna nodded.
He raised his hand automatically and tried to make his hair lie flat.
“Why you do that, I don't know,” Hermione said. “You've already made it clear that you can't tame it.”
“You’re fighting a losing battle there, dear,” said his mirror in a wheezy voice.
“Apparently, even the mirror knows that it's not worth doing,” Luna said. “So, why do you do it?”
“I don't know,” Harry said. “A nervous habit, I guess.”
As the days slipped by, Harry started looking wherever he went for a sign of Ron or Hermione.
“Is it the last week of summer?” Hermione said. “Remember, that's when Ron said he'd be there, and, from the sounds of it, I was planning on meeting up with him.” Then, she had a thought. “Have you sent Hedwig out to tell us about what happened?”
“I don't think so,” Harry said. “I probably don't want to send her so far out to you, that, or I just kind of forgot about writing, since I know that your not in the country.”
“Well, I never actually said when I'd be back,” Hermione said. “For all you know, if you mentioned that you were staying at the Leaky Cauldron, I would say that I'd be there the next day. I'm sure that my parents wouldn't mind me staying there with you, after all.”
“Wouldn't you rather stay with your parents. I mean, you're barely seeing them outside of summer lately,” Harry said.
Hermione was about to say something, then stopped, thinking about it. It was kind of true, in a way. She was at the school for almost nine months in a year, a full nine months if she stayed there for winter holiday, as she did in the last book. She only had the three months of summer vacation to see her parents for sure.
“Your right,” Hermione said. “I would want to stay with my parents. At least, for two of those weeks that your there. I can still come and stay there with you during the last week, or a few days of the last week.”
Harry reluctantly nodded. While he was glad to be away from his relatives – mostly because there was no friendly feelings between them, therefore being away from them was the best – Harry doubted that it was like that with Hermione, so to hear her willing to not want to spend time with her family was both nice and troubling. Who knew just how far apart they'd become if she continued on that vein.
Plenty of Hogwarts students were arriving in Diagon Alley now, with the start of term so near.
“Is leaving it to the last minute the usual deal with the students?” Hermione asked.
“Mostly,” Cedric said. “While, for some, it's because they were out of the country, most just prefer to enjoy their holidays without taking time to do school related shopping.”
Harry met Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, his fellow Gryffindors, in Quality Quidditch Supplies, where they, too, were ogling the Firebolt;
“Any Quidditch fan would do that,” Cedric said.
he also ran into the real Neville Longbottom,
“I like how they say that,” Harry said. “ 'the real Neville Longbottom'. It's funny sounding.”
a round-faced, forgetful boy, outside Flourish and Blotts. Harry didn’t stop to chat;
“Why not?” Hermione said. “You impersonated him, after all. The least you could do is say hello.”
“I'm sure I have a good reason not to,” Harry said.
Neville appeared to have mislaid his booklist, and was being told off by his very formidable-looking grandmother.
“See, I've got a good reason,” Harry said. “I'm sure Neville's said something about her that makes me reluctant to interrupt her and say hello.”
“I wouldn't doubt that,” Cedric said, before Hermione could. “From what I've heard about her, she can be one intimidating woman, despite her age. I think it's what happened to her family that makes her that way.”
"What happened to her family?" Hermione asked, interested.
"I don't know," Cedric said. "I just know that something did happen, which is why she's raising Neville."
Harry hoped she never found out that he’d pretended to be Neville while on the run from the Ministry of Magic.
“She's probably wouldn't mind,” Cedric said. “I mean, you are famous, and, using Neville's name would say that you think of him as a friend, which is something anyone would want, and would probably make her proud of he grandson.”
Harry woke on the last day of the holidays, thinking that he would at least meet Ron and Hermione tomorrow, on the Hogwarts Express.
“Your going to find us today, then, since there's no reason why we wouldn't bump into each other before today, what with you looking for us and we most likely were looking for you as well,” Hermione said. “At the very least, Ron would probably know that your there, because of where his father works. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone who works at the Ministry knew where you are at the moment.”
“That's probably true,” Cedric said. “I wouldn't be surprised if the Minister used it for good publicity for himself, a way of saying they're keeping you safe.”
“But why be worried about keeping me safe over everyone else?” Harry asked.
“Because of who you are,” Cedric said. “As the Boy-Who-Lived, your a symbol to people, one that they would want to keep safe. People would probably get on the Minister's case if he didn't attempt to keep you safe.”
“Oh,” Harry said.
He got up, dressed, went for a last look at the Firebolt, and was just wondering where he’d have lunch, when someone yelled his name and he turned.
“Harry! HARRY!”
“I think either one or both of us found you,” Hermione said.
They were there, both of them,
“It was both of you,” Harry said.
sitting outside Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour, Ron looking incredibly freckly, Hermione very brown,
“Your descriptions of them are rather nice,” Cedric said, chuckling a bit, while Hermione frowned at hers. While tanning a bit was okay, she didn't really care for it all that much, preferring to read over it. Based on the evidence given, her mother probably dragged her to one of the beaches a lot.
both waving frantically at him.
“Finally!” said Ron,
“We were probably looking for you as well,” Hermione said.
grinning at Harry as he sat down. “We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you’d left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin’s, and –“
“Apparently, it didn't occur to him that you might have gotten your things earlier,” Hermione said.
“Did both of you only return just one day before school's supposed to start?” Harry asked.
“Seems that way,” Hermione said, a bit of a frown on her face. “I wonder why we didn't return sooner.”
“Well, I can honestly say that, for the Weasleys, they probably wanted to spend as much time as possible with the eldest Weasley child,” Cedric said. “They don't really see them that often, in a while family sense, anyway.”
“I wonder if that's all there is to it,” Luna mused. “I mean, somehow, I don't think Ginny went to anyone for help against what she went through in the previous book. Even if she didn't know what she was doing, I doubt she doesn't have nightmares about it. Plus, it is something that should be talked about, yet doesn't seem like it is, otherwise there would probably be rumors about Riddle being Voldemort, and a half-blood, which would probably see him losing some of his followers.”
“That is true,” Cedric said.
“So, basically, they wasted money for a trip over actually making sure their daughter didn't suffer any side effects from being mind-raped by Riddle,” Hermione said. “Wouldn't they want to make sure that there daughter is all right?”
“I would imagine so, but it doesn't seem to be that way,” Harry said.
“Unless there was another deciding factor in the decision,” Luna murmured.
“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.
“Well, the Weasleys are known to be one of the biggest known light families here in Britain – it's a part of the reason why they're not really liked by people like the Malfoys, because they're good people. However, because they're known as that, they're also known to follow Dumbledore's instructions if he tells them to do something,” Luna said. “I'm wondering if, for some reason, Dumbledore didn't want it known what really happened.”
“I suppose, but then, why would he want that?” Harry asked. No one had an answer.
“I got all my school stuff last week,” Harry explained. “And how come you know I’m staying at the Leaky Cauldron?”
“Are you really asked that?” Hermione said. “You know that Mr. Weasley works at the ministry.”
“I probably didn't think it would get around, at least, not until Cedric hear mentioned that it probably would,” Harry said.
“Dad,” said Ron simply.
Mr. Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, would of course have heard the whole story of what had happened to Aunt Marge.
“That's probably true as well,” Cedric said.
“Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?” said Hermione in a very serious voice.
“Do you think it was done on purpose” Harry asked her. “I mean, that's what it seems your saying, that I did it on purpose.”
“I don't know what my book self is thinking, Harry,” Hermione said. “I just know that I, myself, know that it wasn't done on purpose. Also, unlike how my book self seems to be, between what happened when we got of the train in the first book, as well as what you said when we got of the train in the previous book, I actually do notice the obvious animosity between you and your relative. Even if it was done on purpose, then it would have been deserved.”
“Thanks,” Harry said. “For not think I'd do it on purpose in a hypothetical situations where you didn't read about it.”
“Welcome,” Hermione said.
“I didn’t mean to,” said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter.
“Why is he laughing?” Harry asked. “It's not exactly funny.”
“I just – lost control.”
“You know, I think that hearing that will either surprise them, of go over their head, because I get a feeling that they probably think you did it with your wand, since it's very rare for a person to do accidental magic after a year of school, much less two,” Cedric said.
“It’s not funny, Ron,” said Hermione sharply. “Honestly, I’m amazed Harry wasn’t expelled.”
“Yeah, that definitely does seem like it did,” Hermione said. “I would know that the ministry can't punish a person when it's accidental magic used, since it's probably written in a book somewhere.”
“Yeah, probably,” Cedric said.
“So am I,” admitted Harry.
“I probably should read up on the laws, this way I don't make mistakes,” Harry said. “And also so I don't end up becoming morbid when it comes to things like this.”
“Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested.” He looked at Ron. “Your dad doesn’t know why Fudge let me off, does he?”
“I know, I know,” Harry said, raising his hands up to forestall Cedric and Hermione from telling him, as the two had just opened their mouths to repeat, once again, what was already said before.
“Probably ’cause it’s you, isn’t it?” shrugged Ron, still chuckling.
“Wouldn't he know that accidental magic can't be punished?” Hermione asked.
“Yes,” Cedric said. “His father would have told him. But then, the you in the book, and probably him as well, seem to believe that Harry hear used his wand.”
“Right,” Hermione said.
“Famous Harry Potter and all that.”
“I wonder how he sounded when he said that,” Luna said.
“Why?” Harry asked.
“Well, sometimes, when he talked about you during my visits to the Weasley house, it was with a mixture of envy and jealousy,” Luna said. “I wonder if, perhaps, knowing you now got rid of that jealousy.”
“Well, I'm not there, so I can't exactly say if he was jealous or not,” Harry said. “Plus, it did say that he was still chuckling before that, so he might have just been saying it, without any negative emotions.”
“I’d hate to see what the Ministry’d do to me if I blew up an aunt.”
“They wouldn't do anything to him, because he'd probably be dead already,” Luna said. “His mother would've killed him, after all.”
“Mind you, they’d have to dig me up first, because Mum would’ve killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening.”
“Hopefully that'll let you know that you don't have anything to worry about, unless, of course, it's not just Hermione and Ron who think that you used a wand,” Cedric said.
“We’re staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, too! So you can come to King’s Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione’s there as well!”
It makes sense,” Hermione said. “No point in going home when we'll just be back in London the very next day, after all. It saves a trip doing it this way.”
Hermione nodded, beaming. “Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things.”
“They probably couldn't stay to actually see me off,” Hermione said, noticing Harry's frown. “They do have work, after all, and besides, I doubt the Leaky Cauldron is suitable for Muggles to stay there.”
“True,” Cedric said. “I don't think it is.”
“Excellent!” said Harry happily.
“I must be happy that we get to spend time together,” Harry said.
“So, have you got all your new books and stuff?”
“Probably,” Hermione said.
“Look at this,” said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and opening it.
“Must be his new wand,” Harry said.
“Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we’ve got all our books” – he pointed at a large bag under his chair. “What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two.”
“They went in at the same time,” Luna said.
“Seems that way,” Hermione said. “That must be why my parents decided to let me stay, because the Weasleys were.”
“That, or they talked your parents into it,” Luna said.
“What’s all that, Hermione?” Harry asked, pointing at not one, but three, bulging bags in the chair next to her.
“How come you have three bags? At most, you should only have two. I mean, you only have three more books to get over what Ron and I needed.”
“I probably got some extra books for the subjects that sounded more interesting than others,” Hermione said. “Either that, or I just got more books for all of the new subjects in general.”
“Oh,” Harry said.
“Well, I’m taking more new subjects than you, aren’t I?” said Hermione. “Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies –“
“Why are you taking Muggle Studies?” Cedric asked. “As a Muggleborn, there's no need for you to take it.”
“But it would be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view,” Hermione said.
“Hermione, the Muggle Studies subject is mostly a way to have wizards fit into the Muggle world more,” Luna said. “Truth be told, I would think that the class would actually be a mandatory one for all pure-bloods to take, as it would help us learn more about you. Also, considering the fact that you've been in the wizarding world for two year, I think it would be safe to say that you already know how wizards think of Muggles. Some, like Mr. Weasley, think they're fascinating, others, like the Malfoys, think they're animals, but mostly all don't really hold Muggles all that high up. I know I don't at the moment, because I haven't actually been taught to. There just...there.”
“She's right,” Cedric said. “It should be mandatory, as well as taught by a Muggleborn, which, from what I've heard, it isn't. Also, you do realize that you sounded like Muggles were animals right then, don't you?”
Hermione thought about what she had said, only to realize that he was quite right. Having said something about studying them did make it sound as if she thought that they were animals. She frown as she mentally checked off that class as being one of the ones to take. Muggles were human beings, not meant to be studied like they were something else. She felt bad for having even thought that.
“What are you doing Muggle Studies for?” said Ron, rolling his eyes at Harry. “You’re Muggleborn! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!”
“But it’ll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view,” said Hermione earnestly.
“Didn't we already have this conversation,” Harry asked.
“Yes, we did,” Hermione said, still feeling bad for her words.
“Seems your answer didn't change,” Cedric said.
“Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?” asked Harry,
“That does sound like a valid question,” Cedric said.
while Ron sniggered. Hermione ignored them.
“I probably think your trying to make fun of me,” Hermione said.
“I’ve still got ten Galleons,” she said, checking her purse.
“My parents must've exchanged some of their money before leaving,” Hermione said.
“Are you parents rich?” Cedric asked.
“No. They're not begging for money, but we can't exactly be called rich,” Hermione said, turning to look at Harry. “Truthfully, I don't really need to share with you, as they do have enough money to get me through the school year, but, because I don't know exactly how much everything is going to cost, I accepted your offer back in the first book.”
“Hey,” Harry said, stopping her before she could say anything else. “I only offered because I'm not exactly comfortable being in charge of so much money. I still want to share with you.”
“Even knowing that I can afford things myself?” Hermione asked.
“Even then,” Harry said. She smiled at him as she said, “Okay.”
“It’s my birthday in September,”
“Your birthday is in September,” Harry said. “Why hasn't it been mentioned before? I mean, we've been at the school when your birthday passed, it couldn't said something about celebrating it, or even getting you a gift.”
“Maybe you do, and it's just not that important to mention,” Hermione said, shrugging. “I mean, technically, only your birthday has been mentioned at all in the books so far.”
“But the way you say it is as if it's the first time it's come up,” Harry argued. Hermione shrugged. In truth, other than her parents, her birthday wasn't something to make a big deal out of, since there was never any kind of celebration after the first and only attempt at a party that pretty much ended in tears. Kind of like Harry, her birthday was just another regular day out of the year, save for the fact that she'd get a gift – which, in truth, was pretty much the only thing different between her and Harry on that front.
“and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present.”
“That must be what the extra ten Galleons is,” Hermione said.
“How about a nice book?” said Ron innocently.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Hermione composedly.
“You saying no to getting a book?” Harry asked. Hermione just gave him a look.
“I really want an owl. I mean, Harry’s got Hedwig and you’ve got Errol –“
“He doesn't have Errol,” Cedric said. Errol's the family owl. Remember, his pet is Sacbbers the rat.”
“I don't think I mean that he owns him,” Hermione said. “I think I mean that he has the access to him. I basically think I want an owl that I have a sort of permanent access to. Having it as a pet would be nice, though.”
“I haven’t,” said Ron. “Errol’s a family owl. All I’ve got is Scabbers.” He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. “And I want to get him checked over,” he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. “I don’t think Egypt agreed with him.”
Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop to his whiskers.
“I wonder what's wrong with him,” Hermione said.
“Maybe his age is catching up to him,” Luna said. “He's been in the family for a while, after all, and I've never seen him do anything that would suggest that he was a magical rat, other than live longer than he should.”
“There are magical rats?” Hermione asked. Luna nodded.
“Yup,” she said.
“There’s a magical-creature shop just over there,” said Harry, who knew Diagon Alley very well by now.
“I would expect so,” Cedric said. “You've had three weeks to memorize it.”
“You can see if they’ve got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl.”
So they paid for their ice-creams and crossed the street to the Magical Menagerie.
“I take it that you want to see what kind of owl Hermione gets, as well as find out what's wrong with Scabbers,” Luna said.
“I guess,” Harry said, since he knew that there was another place to get owls in the Alley. It was the other place that he got Hedwig from, after all.
There wasn’t much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants of these cages were all squeaking, squawking, jabbering or hissing.
“I don't think I would be really all that comfortable working there,” Hermione said, frowning.
The witch behind the counter was already advising a wizard on the care of double-ended newts, so Harry, Ron and Hermione waited, examining the cages.
A pair of enormous purple toads sat gulping wetly and feasting on dead blowflies.
“Ew,” Hermione said.
A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was glittering near the window. Poisonous orange snails were oozing slowly up the side of their glass tank, and a fat white rabbit kept changing into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise.
Hermione let out a little giggle at that.
“Maybe that's where Muggle magicians get their little trick of pulling rabbits out of has, because they saw one doing something like that,” she said.
Then there were cats of every colour, a noisy cage of ravens, a basket of funny custard-coloured furballs that were humming loudly,
“What are those?” Hermione asked, slightly interested.
“I don't know,” Luna said. “I would need to actually see them in order to give it my best guess.”
and, on the counter, a vast cage of sleek black rats which were playing some sort of skipping game using their long bald tails.
“I take it those are magical rats,” Hermione said.
“Yes,” Luna said.
The double-ended-newt wizard left and Ron approached the counter.
“It’s my rat,” he told the witch. “He’s been a bit off-colour ever since I brought him back from Egypt.”
“Bang him on the counter,” said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black spectacles out of her pocket.
“I hope she doesn't mean that literally,” Harry said.
“I doubt it,” Cedric said.
Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the cage of his fellow rats, who stopped their skipping tricks and scuffled to the wire for a better look.
Like nearly everything Ron owned, Scabbers the rat was second-hand (he had once belonged to Ron’s brother Percy) and a bit battered.
“He probably looks horrible next to the rats in the cages,” Hermione said.
Next to the glossy rats in the cage, he looked especially woebegone.
“Hm,” said the witch, picking Scabbers up. “How old is this rat?”
“Dunno,” said Ron. “Quite old. He used to belong to my brother.”
“What powers does he have?” said the witch, examining Scabbers closely.
“Just an unnaturally long life,” Luna said.
“How long should he had lived, if he wasn't a magical rat?” Harry asked.
“He should only live about three years, possibly five if he's really taken care of,” Luna said. “I do know, however, that Percy had him long before he even went to school, and since he was at school for four years before Ron received him...”
“Then he should be dead before now,” Hermione finished.
“Exactly. Which is why I say his only power is having an unnatural long life,” Luna said.
“Er –“ said Ron. The truth was that Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace of interesting powers.
“I take it that Ron doesn't realize that he shouldn't still be alive,” Hermione said.
“No, he doesn't. I only know because I read about it,” Luna said.
“And Ron tends to only read if he has no choice about it,” Harry said.
“Exactly,” Luna said.
The witch’s eyes moved from Scabbers’s tattered left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly.
“He's seems to have been in a fight,” Cedric said.
“He’s been through the mill, this one,” she said.
“He was like that when Percy gave him to me,” said Ron defensively.
“An ordinary, common or garden rat like this can’t be expected to live longer than three years or so,” said the witch.
“Which mean, in her guess, that she suspects his problem is that he's going to die soon,” Harry said.
“Now, if you were looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of these ...”
She indicated the black rats, who promptly started skipping again. Ron muttered, “Show-offs.”
“You know, for all of the complaining he did in the first book, he does seem to care about Scabbers more than he lets on,” Harry said.
“Of course he does,” Luna said. “I didn't mention this before, but there is a reason why the rat went to him instead of one of the others.”
“Well, if you don’t want a replacement, you can try this Rat Tonic,” said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red bottle.
“I wonder if that'll work,” Hermione said.
“Probably not,” Cedric said. “If Luna's right and his age is catching up to him, there's not much that can be done for him, other than make sure he's comfortable.”
“OK,” said Ron. “How much – OUCH!”
Ron buckled as something huge and orange came soaring from the top of the highest cage, landed on his head and then propelled itself, spitting madly, at Scabbers.
“Probably a cat, if it's going after Scabbers,” Hermione said.
“NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!” cried the witch, but Scabbers shot from between her hands like a bar of soap, landed splay-legged on the floor and then scarpered for the door.
“He's moving fast,” Hermione noted.
“Scabbers!” Ron shouted, haring out of the shop after him; Harry followed.
It took them nearly ten minutes to find Scabbers, who had taken refuge under a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ron stuffed the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging his head.
“That probably hurt him,” Cedric said.
“What was that?”
“It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger,” said Harry.
“I probably decided to continue looking for my owl,” Hermione said.
“Probably getting her owl.”
They made their way back up the crowded street to the Magical Menagerie. As they reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn’t carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous ginger cat.
“You bought the cat that attempted to scalp Ron and eat Scabbers,” Cedric said, shaking his head. “Somehow, I don't think this years going to be fight free for you two.”
“You bought that monster?” said Ron, his mouth hanging open.
“He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” said Hermione, glowing.
That was a matter of opinion, thought Harry. The cat’s ginger fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bow-legged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. Now that Scabbers was out of sight, however, the cat was purring contentedly in Hermione’s arms.
“I wonder if there's something about Scabbers that it wants, other than simply appearing to be a vulnerable and therefore easy target,” Luna said.
“Wouldn't he be able to smell where Scabbers is?” Harry asked.
“I would suspect so, unless he's a mix,” Luna said. “People have bred Kneazles with cats. While the intelligence and some of the senses are raised, the sense of smell is actually lowered.”
“I take it that Kneazles are some type of magical creature,” Hermione said. Luna and Cedric nodded their heads.
“Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!” said Ron.
“I doubt that it was on purpose, You were just in his way,” Hermione said, shrugging.
“He didn’t mean to, did you, Crookshanks?” said Hermione.
“And what about Scabbers?” said Ron, pointing at the lump in his chest pocket.
'Now, that is a valid question,” Harry said. “What about Scabbers?”
“I'll do my best to keep him away. So long as Ron keeps him in the your guy's dormitory, I don't see it being a huge problem,” Hermione said. “We'll just keep Crookshanks out of the boys dormitory.”
“I notice you say you won't be keeping the cat in your dorms,” Harry said.
“Crookshanks is bigger, and therefore less likely to be stepped on,” Hermione said. “Plus, since Scabbers needs to take it easy, having him stay in the boys dormitories would be the best for him.”
“He needs rest and relaxation! How’s he going to get it with that thing around?”
“That reminds me, you forgot your Rat Tonic,” said Hermione,
“You paid for his Rat Tonic?” Cedric asked. “He better say thank you, then. Either that, or mention something about paying you back.”
“I doubt he'll think about it, since he's got something else on his mind right now, and it really won't occur to him later,” Luna said. “Plus, if he thought about it, it's very possible that he would just get angry, and think you were making fun of him for not having a lot of money.”
“That's ridiculous,” Hermione said. “I would most likely just be nice to him to get it.”
slapping the small red bottle into Ron’s hand. “And stop worrying, Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours. What’s the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he’d been in there for ages: no one wanted him.”
“I doubt it was a case of no one wanting him,” Luna said. “It's very possible that Crookshanks was just waiting for the right person.”
“I wonder why,” said Ron sarcastically, as they set off towards the Leaky Cauldron.
They found Mr. Weasley sitting in the bar, reading the Daily Prophet.
“Harry!” he said, smiling as he looked up. “How are you?”
“Fine, thanks,” said Harry, as he, Ron and Hermione joined Mr. Weasley with all their shopping.
Mr. Weasley put down his paper, and Harry saw the now familiar picture of Sirius Black staring up at him.
“I must be seeing it around a lot if it's now familiar to me,” Harry said.
“I guess they haven't caught him yet,” Hermione said.
“They still haven’t caught him, then?” he asked.
“No,” said Mr. Weasley looking extremely grave. “They’ve pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far.”
“It a manhunt, with pretty much all wizards and Muggles looking for him,” Hermione said. “With that, how has he not been caught yet?”
“Who knows,” Cedric said.
“Would we get a reward if we caught him?” asked Ron. “It’d be good to get some more money –“
“Does he really think that he could catch Black, and live long enough to turn him in?” Cedric asked.
“It it was for more money, then probably,” Luna said.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” said Mr. Weasley,
“I get the feeling that there's no reward,” Hermione said. “Which is a shame, because it would probably motivate people more if there was money involved.”
who on closer inspection looked very strained.
'It probably scares him to think of Ron anywhere near the man,” Cedric said quietly.
“Black’s not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It’s the Azkaban guards who’ll get him back, you mark my words.”
At that moment Mrs. Weasley entered the bar, laden with shopping and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about to start their fifth year at Hogwarts, the newly elected Head Boy, Percy, and the Weasleys’ youngest child and only girl, Ginny.
“So, you and Ron were allowed to go off by yourselves,” Harry said.
“Seems that way. Either that, or they all just ended up meeting up with each other before entering, which is why that all seemed to be together,” Hermione said.
Ginny, who had always been very taken with Harry, seemed even more heartily embarrassed than usual when she saw him, perhaps because he had saved her life during their last term at Hogwarts. She went very red and muttered “hello” without looking at him.
“Great,” Harry said.
“I doubt she'll be like she was before,” Hermione said.
“But I also doubt that she'll realize that your not how your portrayed in books all that much,” Luna said. “I mean, she might begin to calm, but there wil probably be a part of her that will always believe you to be the Boy-Who-Lived, a super wizard.”
Percy, however, held out his hand solemnly as though he and Harry had never met and said, “Harry. How nice to see you.”
“Hello, Percy,” said Harry, trying not to laugh.
“I hope you’re well?” said Percy pompously, shaking hands. It was rather like being introduced to the mayor.
“Okay, what's up with him?” Harry asked.
“No idea,” Cedric said. “This is rather extreme, even for him.”
“Very well, thanks –“
“Harry!” said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. “Simply splendid to see you, old boy –“
“Marvellous,” said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry’s hand in turn. “Absolutely spiffing.”
The four cracked up.
“They sure know how to make people laugh,” Hermione said, laughing.
“I think they probably saw that you were trying not to laugh, and did that so that you could laugh without fear of confusing Percy,” Cedric said.
Percy scowled.
“That’s enough, now,” said Mrs. Weasley.
“What's wrong with them doing what they're doing. I mean, they're just making Harry laugh, which, I'm sure, is something that Harry enjoys doing,” Hermione said.
“I do,” Harry said.
“Mum!” said Fred, as though he’d only just spotted her, and seized her hand, too. “How really corking to see you –“
“Somehow, I don't think that Mrs. Weasley is going to like that,” Hermione said, while the others chuckled at the twins actions once more.
“I said, that’s enough,” said Mrs. Weasley, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. “Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you’ve heard our exciting news?” She pointed at the brand-new silver badge on Percy’s chest. “Second Head Boy in the family!” she said, swelling with pride.
“That's what she considers to be exciting news,” Hermione said. “I would have thought winner the lottery would be the exciting news.”
“Plus, with the way Percy is, it's not exactly a surprise that he would get it,” Cedric said. “It's kind of expected that he would, just like I suspect that Hermione here will get the prefect badge come your fifth year.”
“And last,” Fred muttered under his breath.
“I don’t doubt that,” said Mrs. Weasley, frowning suddenly. “I notice they haven’t made you two Prefects.”
“Considering the fact that only one of them could become prefect, and neither of them like to do something that the other one doesn't, it makes sense that they don't become prefects, doesn't it?” Cedric said.
“Yeah, it kind of does,” Hermione said.
“What do we want to be Prefects for?” said George, looking revolted at the very idea. “It’d take all the fun out of life.”
Ginny giggled.
“You want to set a better example to your sister!” snapped Mrs. Weasley.
“They are, kind of, good examples for her,” Luna said. “While they don't take rules seriously, they do know when it's a good idea to joke around, and when to be serious. They also know what's important as well; you can guarantee that, when it comes to what's right, they'll do exactly that.”
“Ginny’s got other brothers to set her an example, Mother,” said Percy loftily.
“Right now, the twins are really the only ones that I can honestly say Ginny should look up to,” Luna said. “I definitely believe that, out of all of her brothers, those two are the best role models for her.”
“I’m going up to change for dinner ...”
He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.
“We tried to shut him in a pyramid,” he told Harry. “But Mum spotted us.”
“That's too bad,” Luna said. “It might have done Percy some good to be shut up in a pyramid.”
Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlour and the seven Weasleys, Harry and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.
“Five courses,” Hermione said. “That's a lot.”
“How’re we getting to King’s Cross tomorrow, Dad?” asked Fred, as they tucked into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.
“The Ministry’s providing a couple of cars,” said Mr. Weasley.
“That's strange,” Cedric said. “The Ministry usually doesn't do that.”
“Unless, of course, it's because of who else is going with the Weasleys,” Hermione said. “If the Minister is serious about protecting Harry, it would continue to do so until he was on the train to Hogwarts.”
Everyone looked up at him.
“Why?” said Percy curiously.
“I guess he didn't hear the news as to why Harry was staying at the Leaky Cauldron,” Hermione said.
"I doubt any of them - other than Mr. and Mrs. Weasley - actually know why Harry is staying there," Cedric said. "I don't think that Mrs. Weasley would let her children know this, after all, and Mr. Weasley usually follows her lead."
“It’s because of you, Perce,” said George seriously. “And there’ll be little flags on the bonnets, with HB on them –“
“– for Humungous Bighead,” said Fred.
The four laughed at that.
Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.
“Is Mrs. Weasley without a funny bone in her,” Hermione said.
“No, she can find things funny,” Luna said. “However, considering that people are making fun of her precious little Percy, it makes sense that she wouldn't find it all that funny, like everyone else does.”
“Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?” Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.
“As if to prove that he is above his twin brothers and doesn't deem them worth paying attention too,” Hermione said, frowning.
“Well, as we haven’t got one any more,” said Mr. Weasley, “and as I work there, they’re doing me a favour ...”
His voice was casual, but Harry couldn’t help noticing that Mr. Weasley’s ears had gone red, just like Ron’s did when he was under pressure.
“Why is he trying to lie about it?” Hermione asked.
“I get the feeling that he's just trying not to put any unwanted attention on me,” Harry said.
“Good job, too,” said Mrs. Weasley briskly.
“I wonder if she's trying to take the attention off of Mr. Weasley,” Luna said.
“Do you realise how much luggage you’ve all got between you? A nice sight you’d be on the Muggle Underground ... You are all packed, aren’t you?”
“I doubt it,” Hermione said. “They've probably gotten too used to leaving it until the morning of the day they have to leave,”
“Ron hasn’t put all his new things in his trunk yet,” said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. “He’s dumped them on my bed.”
“You’d better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won’t have much time in the morning,” Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy.
“Percy really shouldn't tattle on his brothers,” Luna said. “It does nothing to help him endear himself to them.”
After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Ron and Percy were next door to Harry. He had just closed and locked his own trunk
“Seem you also didn't finish packing beforehand,” Hermione said.
“I don't doubt that you also needing to pack your things as well,” Harry said. “Which, now that I think about it, makes me wonder how your rooming. I mean, we know that Ron and Percy are sharing, and, most likely, Fred and George are as well. Do you think your sharing with Ginny?”
“Most likely,” Hermione said. “It would probably save money, and room so that someone else could stay there.”
when he heard angry voices through the wall, and went to see what was going on.
The door of number twelve was ajar and Percy was shouting.
“It was here, on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing –“
“Did he lose his Head Boy badge?” Cedric asked.
“Seems so,” Hermione said. “And it also seems that he's blaming Ron for losing it as well.”
“Well, if it was misplaced, then chances are that the twins could have easily nicked it without him realizing it,” Luna said. “And they're the most likely to do it, as well, since they would most likely use it to prank him.”
“I haven’t touched it, all right?” Ron roared back.
“What’s up?” said Harry.
“My Head Boy badge has gone,” said Percy, rounding on Harry.
“He better not start accusing me,” Harry said.
“So’s Scabbers’s Rat Tonic,” said Ron, throwing things out of his trunk to look. “I think I might’ve left it in the bar –“
“You’re not going anywhere till you’ve found my badge!” yelled Percy.
“It's not Ron's responsibility to keep track of your things, Percy,” Cedric said.
“I’ll get Scabbers’s stuff, I’m packed,” Harry said to Ron, and he went downstairs.
Harry was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when he heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlour.
“Wonder who's arguing,” Cedric said.
A second later, he recognised them as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s. He hesitated, not wanting them to know he’d heard them rowing, when the sound of his own name made him stop, then move closer to the parlour door.
“Eavesdropping, are you?” Hermione said. Harry shrugged.
“... makes no sense not to tell him,” Mr. Weasley was saying heatedly.
“Makes no sense not to tell who?” Harry asked. The other three looked at him, wondering how he didn't realize that there was really only one 'he' they could be taking about.
“Harry, there talking about you,” Hermione said. “Mr. Weasley is saying that it makes no sense not to tell you.”
“Oh,” Harry said, blushing lightly. “I guess I should have realized that.”
“I just wonder what being hidden from you,” Cedric said.
“Probably the fact that Black's after him,” Hermione said.
“Harry’s got a right to know. I’ve tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. He’s thirteen years old and –“
“And considering what I've been through already, it's better that I know whatever it is so that I can take precautions against it,” Harry said.
“Arthur, the truth would terrify him!” said Mrs. Weasley shrilly.
'Not really,” Harry said. “I don't really scare all that easily in these books, so I doubt my book self will get scared of whatever news it is that's being hidden from me.”
“Do you really want to send Harry back to school with that hanging over him? For heaven’s sake, he’s happy not knowing!”
“Um, what makes her think that I'm happy not knowing things,” Harry said. “I don't want to be ignorant, and I actually hate being lied to and not knowing something that I have a right to know.”
“She seem intent on coddling you like she does with her own kids,” Luna said.
“She doesn't really do them any favours by doing that,” Hermione said. “Her kids won't fully be prepared for the world because of that.”
“I don’t want to make him miserable, I want to put him on his guard!” retorted Mr. Weasley.
“That does make sense,” Hermione said. “When you look at your track record, you definitely need to be informed about whatever it is that there hiding from you so that you don't do anything that puts you in danger.”
“You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves – they’ve even ended up in the Forbidden Forest! But Harry mustn’t do that this year! When I think what could have happened to him that night he ran away from home! If the Knight Bus hadn’t picked him up, I’m prepared to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him.”
“They definitely think that Black's after you,” Hermione said.
“Okay,” Harry said. “And how do you figure that.”
“The fact that Mr. Weasley seems to be afraid that something bad would happen to you,” Hermione said. “Black escapes prison, and your put under protective detail, with the Minister himself making sure your safe. Mr. Weasley saying that you would probably be dead if you hadn't manage to summon the Knight Bus. It just makes sense that Black why this is happening."
"Which means that Harry being 'protected by the Ministry' isn't just because of who he is, but because they believe he's an actual target," Luna said.
“It didn't occur probably because the reasons that you said before made sense. Harry would probably be protected anyway, so immediately assuming that Back was after him wouldn't really make sense,” Luna said.
“But he’s not dead, he’s fine, so what’s the point –“
“And that's only by luck,” Harry said. “I can't believe that she seems to think that, just because it didn't happen, means that I should stay ignorant of things. I mean, if I did that, sooner or later, my luck isn't going to be so good, and it could get someone hurt or killed because I didn't know things that I should have known.”
“Molly, they say Sirius Black’s mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that’s supposed to be impossible.”
“I have to wonder how he did it,” Cedric said.
“It’s been a month now, and no one’s seen hide nor hair of him, and I don’t care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we’re no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black’s after –“
“Is me,” Harry said.
“But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts.”
Harry began to chuckle, then laugh a bit hysterically at that.
“Does she have short term memory?” Harry asked, once he calmed down. “All one has to do is think about what happened the previous year to know that it's not true.”
“We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts.”
“Since it's not known on how he broke out of Azkaban, it definitely can't be assumed that he can't break into Hogwarts,” Cedric said.
“But no one’s really sure that Black’s after Harry –“
“Yeah, how do they know that Black's after me?” Harry asked. “There's got to be some evident towards it.”
There was a thud on wood, and Harry was sure Mr. Weasley had banged his fist on the table.
“Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn’t report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black’s been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: 'He’s at Hogwarts ... he’s at Hogwarts.' “
“There are many people at Hogwarts, though,” Harry said. “So, unless he's knows exactly how many years it's been since his imprisonment, then it doesn't mean that he's after me.”
“They're just assuming it's you because it would make sense that it's you he's after, since you did something to his master, or, rather, since your the cause of his master's disappearance,” Hermione said.
“Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power.”
“I doubt that,” Cedric said. “Unless he really did go insane, but then, I doubt he'd be able to escape if that was true.”
“Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he’s had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that ...”
There was a silence. Harry leant still closer to the door, desperate to hear more.
“Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you’re forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don’t think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore’s Headmaster.”
“That's not exactly true,” Harry said. “I mean, Dumbledore was headmaster when the stone adventure happened, and I was almost killed, and he was most likely reinstated long before we went to Lockhart's office in the previous book, so him being headmaster doesn't help me out all that much.”
“Well, in both cases, Dumbledore wasn't there when you did either of those adventures,” Hermione pointed out.
“True,” Harry said.
“I suppose he knows about all this?”
“If someone's after you, you can bet that he would know about it,” Cedric said. “There really isn't a way to hide the information from him.”
“Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed.”
“The Azkaban guards are going to be stationed at the school,” Hermione said. “Whose going to be protecting the prison, then?”
“Not happy? Why shouldn’t he be happy, if they’re there to catch Black?”
“Well, when you consider the way people talk about them, if makes sense that he wouldn't be happy,” Hermione said. “I mean, there's obviously something about them that scares people. I doubt there a good think to have around the school.”
“But if they catch Black,” Cedric began to point out.
“If Black can get past them while in prison, I doubt they'll be doing much good being around the school,” Hermione said. “He could probably get past them there as well.”
“Dumbledore isn’t fond of the Azkaban guards,” said Mr. Weasley heavily. “Nor am I, if it comes to that ... but when you’re dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you’d rather avoid.”
“I really wish I knew what was up with these guards,” Harry said. “Why would you rather avoid them? Why do people speak about them the way that they do?”
“I wish I could answer you,” Cedric said. “I've never really thought about it, though. Neither of my parents do anything that would require them to ever be in the presence of the Azkaban guards, so it's not something that is ever mentioned around the house. I just know what they're called, and the fact that they effect people badly.”
“Yeah, you mentioned their name when we were reading the previous chapter,” Hermione said.
“If they save Harry –“
“– then I will never say another word against them,” said Mr. Weasley wearily. “It’s late, Molly, we’d better go up ...”
“Better make sure they don't catch you,” Luna said.
Harry heard chairs move. As quietly as he could, he hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlour door opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told him that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were climbing the stairs.
“Well, that was a virtual downpour of information,” Hermione said.
“It was information that they should have just told me about, instead of having me find out because I was eavesdropping,” Harry said.
The bottle of Rat Tonic was lying under the table they had sat at earlier. Harry waited until he heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s bedroom door close, then headed back upstairs with the bottle.
“You must not want them to know that you heard,” Cedric said.
Fred and George were crouching in the shadows on the landing, heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling his and Ron’s room in the search for his badge.
“We’ve got it,” Fred whispered to Harry.
“Knew it was them,” Luna said, smiling.
“We’ve been improving it.”
The badge now read Bighead Boy.
“It's not really incorrect, either,” Cedric said. “He is male, and he does have a big head.”
There were a few snorts of laughter at his words.
Harry forced a laugh,
“Why would you have to force a – oh, wait never mind,” Hermione started to say, changing her mind as she remember what he'd just found out. His mind would obviously be more preoccupied about that than anything else.
went to give Ron the rat tonic, then shut himself in his room and lay down on his bed.
So Sirius Black was after him. That explained everything. Fudge had been lenient with him because he was so relieved to find him alive.
“You're not about to say it again, are you?” Harry asked Cedric and Hermione, both who'd opened their mouths at the same time.
“We probably should stop doing that,” Hermione said. “It's just a bit of an automatic response thing.”
He’d made Harry promise to stay in Diagon Alley, where there were plenty of wizards to keep an eye on him. And he was sending two Ministry cars to take them all to the station tomorrow, so that the Weasleys could look after Harry until he was on the train.
“And everything has been figured out,” Harry said. “To a point, at least. There's probably more that I don't know, but what's important is now known to me.”
Harry lay listening to the muffled shouting next door and wondered why he didn’t feel more scared.
“Knew I wouldn't get scared like Mrs. Weasley seemed to believe,” Harry muttered.
Sirius Black had murdered thirteen people with one curse; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley obviously thought Harry would be panic-stricken if he knew the truth.
“Shows that they don't really know you all that well,” Hermione said.
But Harry happened to agree whole-heartedly with Mrs. Weasley that the safest place on earth was wherever Albus Dumbledore happened to be.
“Now that makes more sense, since everything bad that's happened to me at Hogwarts has mostly happened when he wasn't there,” Harry said.
Didn’t people always say that Dumbledore was the only person Lord Voldemort had ever been afraid of? Surely Black, as Voldemort’s right-hand man, would be just as frightened of him?
“That would make sense,” Cedric said.
And then there were these Azkaban guards everyone kept talking about. They seemed to scare most people senseless, and if they were stationed all around the school, Black’s chances of getting inside seemed very remote.
“I guess it doesn't occur to me of the fact that, if he was able to get past them once, he could do so again,” Harry said.
No, all in all, the thing that bothered Harry most was the fact that his chances of visiting Hogsmeade now looked like zero.
“That's what bothers you the most, that you won't be able to visit Hogsmeade because of him,” Hermione said, a smile on her face as she shook her head at that.
“Maybe that's why your not so scared, because your irritated at the fact that you can't go to Hogsmeade,” Luna said.
Nobody would want Harry to leave the safety of the castle until Black was caught; in fact, Harry suspected his every move would be carefully watched until the danger had passed.
“If that happens, I am going to complain to Professor McGonagall about it,” Harry said.
He scowled at the dark ceiling. Did they think he couldn’t look after himself? He’d escaped Lord Voldemort three times, he wasn’t completely useless …
“It is a bit irritating to think that, even after everything I've done in the last two years, they'd still insist on treating me like a child,” Harry said.
Unbidden, the image of the beast in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent crossed his mind. What to do when you know the worst is coming ...
“Of course that does,” Hermione said, shaking her head with a sigh.
“I’m not going to be murdered,” Harry said out loud.
“That’s the spirit, dear,” said his mirror sleepily.
“That's the end of the chapter,” Luna said, handing the book over to Harry.