Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry McGonagall - Chapter 19 - Suspicions
Although Harry hadn't attacked Malfoy in the Slytherin common room, that didn't stop him from being angry and glaring at the Death Nibbler every time he saw him. When Draco noticed this, he glared back, but didn't do anything to him.
"That coward doesn't have the guts to say what he thinks to our faces," Harry muttered after Draco and his goons walked off to class after they'd traded glares.
"Of course not," said Hermione. "He knows you'd kill him."
"Creevey taught him how easy it is for anyone to beat him up," added Padma. "Too bad his black eye healed," she added. "He looked much better with it.
"In any case, Harry," said Hermione, "You've got to drop it. Stop glaring at him."
"But he said…"
"He said he's not the Heir of Slytherin. He's just a pathetic little boy who can't keep his mouth shut," interrupted Hermione, "and is not worth our interest."
"Fine," Harry agreed, and resolved not to glare at Draco anymore while Hermione was watching.
-
The next month went by quickly, and January turned into February. On the first of the month, right after one of their study group meetings, Ginny, who had seemed back to normal after the holidays, said, "Don't forget about our bet this Saturday, Harry."
He grinned at her. "Don't worry. I'll be ready to take those five knuts from you after I catch the Snitch."
She defiantly looked him in the eyes. "In your dreams, McGonagall. I'll expect full payment before I go to the party in Gryffindor tower after I catch the Snitch."
"I agree," said Harry with a slight grin. "If you catch the Snitch, it will be in your dreams."
"We'll see about that," she said smugly before turning around and leaving C.A.R.E. headquarters. Harry chuckled to himself and pulled out his Game Boy, leaving Harry with Hermione and Padma, who were working on homework.
-
Harry worked exceptionally hard during the Quidditch practices that week because he really wanted to prove he was the better Seeker. It wasn't a grudge match - he was friends with Ginny and that would stay the same no matter who got the Snitch - but he just wanted to win and knew that she did, too. Neither one of them was going to be easy on the other during the game, and he was actually looking forward to the match.
On the day before the game, Michelle, the Ravenclaw captain, asked him to stay for a minute after practice, so Harry had Hermione leave without him.
"Harry," the seventh-year girl said. "You've been really working hard this week."
He blushed at her praise. "I just really want to win tomorrow's game."
"I heard a rumor that you've got a bet going with the other Seeker," she said with a smirk.
He swallowed as his ears turned pink. "Um, well…"
"…and that you made the bet before either of you were on the teams. Harry," she said, sounding amused, "I'd hate for you to lose the bet, so make sure you don't."
"I will," he promised.
"Good. Now, get changed so I can escort you to the common room to make sure you don't attack all the muggle-borns on the way. Then you can get a good night's sleep tonight because I want you ready to catch the Snitch tomorrow." Harry obeyed, but had to admit that he was getting sick of the restrictions placed on him.
"Aye, aye, captain," he said with a mock salute as he turned toward the changing room. He heard Michelle chuckle as he entered.
-
Harry reentered the castle, with Michelle about ten feet behind him because she liked to give him his privacy as well and figured that she wasn't disobeying the rules as long as she could see him. He soon noticed Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle in the hallway.
"McGonagall," Draco sneered, "I'm surprised to see you walking anywhere without your filthy mudblood."
Gritting his teeth was Harry's only physical reaction to the bigot, even though he was already mad at him. He continued walking.
"I'm talking to you, you son-of-a-squib!" Anyone looking in Harry's eyes at that moment could tell that he was not in a mood to be trifled with. However, Draco ran up behind him and grabbed his left shoulder from behind to turn him around while his bodyguards were trying to catch up. "You'd better learn to respect your sup…"
BAM! At that moment, Harry lost his temper completely, for the first time in years. He clenched his fists and turned around, ramming his right fist into Draco's nose. There was a cracking noise as his head snapped back. Harry couldn't help but feel satisfaction as blood began flowing freely down Draco's eyes filled with tears. "You hit me," he mumbled.
"Harry, stop!" yelled Michelle, who was now running toward them.
"And I'll hit you again," growled Harry, ignoring Michelle as his left fist made contact with the arrogant brat's stomach. Draco gasped for breath as Harry rammed into him, wrestling his helpless, crying opponent to the ground. He began punching Draco's already bloody face in. He was sick of that idiot's constant belittling of people simply because his parents were evil wizards, and wanted to teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget.
Crabbe and Goyle had finally caught up, but were stopped from grabbing Harry from behind by Michelle while she was screaming for Harry to stop.
Suddenly, a small but authoritative voice shouted, "Stop! All of you!"
Everyone stopped at Professor Flitwick's command. Goyle immediately declared, "McGonagall here attacked Draco for no reason." Crabbe nodded in agreement.
"Is this true, Miss Hamilton?" he asked Michelle.
"Malfoy was trying to provoke him, and grabbed his shoulder, but, er, well…Harry did actually attack first," she admitted with her head down. Harry could tell she didn't like saying it, but she was telling the truth.
"Mr. McGonagall, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Harry got up, his rage forgotten as he straightened himself out. He cringed as he noticed Draco's blood on his clothes and hands. He glanced down as his crying opponent. Malfoy's nose was obviously broken and bent at a strange angle and he had two black eyes. His cheeks were cut and bruised. "Um, you know how he is, professor. He was…"
"Did you throw the first punch?" demanded Flitwick, looking him straight in the eyes.
Harry didn't feel a legilimency probe, but still knew that his head of house could easily guess what had happened. He'd truly lost his temper. That didn't happen often, but it had now. Harry realized that he'd wanted an excuse to beat Draco to a pulp ever since he'd wished Hermione dead. He hung his head down. "I did, sir," he admitted.
The petite professor seemed to sigh in relief. Harry supposed that he was relieved that he didn't have to call his pupil a liar. "Very well. Fifty points from Ravenclaw, and five detentions. You will also not be allowed to participate in tomorrow's Quidditch game." Harry heard the gasp behind him and finally noticed his captain looking at him in disappointment. "Fighting, be it magical or muggle dueling, is not tolerated in this school. I'm very disappointed in you, and I'm sure the headmistress will be as well. Return to the common room. I'll let you know when you will be serving your detentions later today." Harry noticed the grins on Crabbe and Goyle's faces while Flitwick levitated Malfoy toward the hospital wing.
Harry had taken two steps when he heard Michelle yell at him. "Harry, how could you get into a fight the day before a game!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!!! I thought you cared about our team!" Keeping his head down, he listened to his captain berating him, knowing that he deserved it. Even so, he had to admit that he'd enjoyed bashing Malfoy's head into the floor. "Are you even listening to me?"
Harry looked up at his red-faced captain. She looked scary. "Of course I am, Michelle." He took a deep breath. "You're right; I messed up, big time. I'm sorry."
"Good," she said, her expression grim, "Because if you ever do something like this again, I'll have to kick you off the team."
-
It was a subdued Harry that entered the Ravenclaw common room after giving `Al' the password. Michelle was right behind him, and called out, "All members of the Quidditch team, I need to talk to you, now."
Most of them were in the room, and the few that weren't were quickly located. "Harry," said Hermione before Michelle started talking. She was looking at her best friend's appearance with a concerned expression. "What happened?"
He sighed. "I…"
"That's what this meeting is about," interrupted Michelle. "Mr. McGonagall decided that he enjoyed muggle dueling more than Quidditch. He got in a fight and now he's not allowed to play in tomorrow's game. Chang, you'll be Seeker."
Cho blinked in surprise. "Er, sure. That's fine."
"Who'd you fight?" asked one member, while another asked, "Did you win?" Hermione was just staring at her best friend in shock.
The captain sighed. "Fine, if you must know, he beat the crap out of the Malfoy boy, but that's not the point."
"That stinking Slytherin. Good one, Harry!" said Sean Bradley, one of the Chasers.
"That was not a good one!" said Hermione, glaring at Harry.
"It most certainly was not!" agreed Michelle. "I've already told him that if anything like this happens again, he'll be off the team." She looked at the others. "That goes for all of you." She turned to the reserve Seeker. "Chang, I'm sure you'll do a fine job. Now, everyone make sure to get a good night sleep." She got up and walked away without sparing a glance at Harry. The others left Harry and Hermione alone after either scolding or congratulating Harry for his fight.
"So, that's Draco's blood on you?" she asked after a moment. He nodded grimly. "What happened?"
"I ran across him on the way back from practice. He started going on about mudbloods and squibs."
"You shouldn't pay attention to that rubbish!" she declared in her most bossy voice. "You know better than that."
"I know, and I did ignore him. I walked right past them, but then he chased after me and grabbed my shoulder. I spun around and punched him. I think I broke his nose."
"I see," she said. "That's when you were caught?"
He put his head down. "Um, not quite. You see, I was really mad and I sort of punched him again and tackled him to the ground and started, well, beating on him…"
"How could you?" she asked, appalled at her friend's use of violence.
"I lost my temper," he snapped, causing Hermione to flinch. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just lost control. I don't know why. I just couldn't stop. I…"
"This isn't about whatever he said today, Harry, and we both know it." Hermione sighed. "It's about what he said last month. Don't deny it. Both Padma and I have noticed how you've been glaring at each other since then. You've wanted to do this for awhile."
"Hermione, I…"
"I understand. It's part of the male philosophy. I just hope you've gotten it out of your system, now."
"I have," he said with a small grin.
"Good. Did you get any other punishments than being banned from the game?"
"Of course. It was Flitwick that caught me. He wasn't happy. He took fifty points and said I'm gonna get five detentions."
"Wow. That does seem a bit harsh."
"He did have to levitate Malfoy to the hospital wing. He was crying the whole way," Harry said as a grin began to form on his lips.
"You're impossible," said Hermione, as she was quite obviously trying to avoid laughing at the Slytherin's expense. "At least one good thing came of this."
"What's that?" he asked, confused.
Hermione said, "I noticed that you're not blushing around our captain now," with a smirk.
At that point, Padma approached them and asked what had happened. She was more amused at the idea of Malfoy crying the whole way to the hospital wing than anything else. It didn't escape her notice that Harry had no injuries from the `fight.'
He'd just changed out of his robes when the door opened, revealing a very upset headmistress. Her lips were thinner than he'd ever seen them. Harry gulped.
"Mr. McGonagall," she said, her voice deceptively calm, "come with me."
With one last helpless glance at his friends, Harry got up and walked toward his aunt. They went on in silence until they reached an unused classroom. She put silencing charms around them before rounding on her great-nephew. "Harry, how could you!?!"
"Aunt Minnie, I…"
"Are you trying to make people think you're the Heir of Slytherin? There are already people who suspect you, and now you violently assault that pampered prat! Perhaps you've forgotten, but his father is on the board of governors."
"Wouldn't fighting him prove the opposite; that I can't stand purebloods who…"
"Silence. Draco Malfoy suffered a broken nose, a cracked rib, and numerous bruises while you weren't hurt at all. This is just what certain people need to prove that you are a danger to the school. I don't care what that idiot said to you. This is inexcusable!"
Harry put his head down. "Yes, ma'am."
"Now, I am going to tell your parents and I can promise you that your mother won't be very pleased with you, either."
Harry looked alarmed. "No, you don't have to tell mom. I…"
"It's standard procedure to keep parents informed of major rule infractions, such as this, Harry. I'd have to tell them even if I didn't want to." She then took a deep breath. "Harry, I know what Draco is, and unofficially agree that he does deserve to be beaten up, but you've got to learn to control your temper." She grinned. "Violence doesn't solve anything. I thought you were taught to prank people who deserve it in such a way that you don't get caught. Brawling doesn't discourage bad behavior nearly as much as public humiliation."
Grinning, Harry said, "But he was humiliated. He was crying like a baby while being rescued by a half-blood." He snorted softly. "I proved that a muggle could easily get the best of him."
"Be that as it may," Aunt Minnie said, once more looking stern, "your punishment stands. I shall do my best to defend this fight as boys-being-boys, and try to make Lucius look like an idiot for getting involved." Harry chuckled. "I suggest you return to your dormitory and think about how to better manage your anger during your detentions. I would expect your parents will call you later tonight."
-
Minerva was right; Harry's mom did call him on the mirror, and was very displeased with him. When he later talked to his sister, Brianna, she was glad Harry had beaten up Draco but disappointed he wouldn't be playing in the next day's game. She also mentioned that Jeremy Lightfellow had finished his jail sentence for cheating at the American baseball games and had started working at a shop in Little Salem where his family had seen him. He said he was now staying far away from muggle sports.
-
The next day, while Harry was diligently cleaning the Charms classroom for Professor Flitwick, Hermione and most of the school were watching the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The Ravenclaw head of house had decided that Harry would serve his detentions cleaning that classroom every Saturday until the five detentions were up.
"And Roger Davies has just gotten another lucky shot past Wood, making the score 100 to 40, in favor of Ravenclaw!" announced Lee Jordan, who was sitting next to Headmistress McGonagall.
Hermione, who was in uniform on the sidelines while watching the starting team play, muttered to another reserve player, "Why does that Gryffindor get to announce all the games? He's clearly biased for his own house, and that was not a lucky shot. Davies is simply a better Chaser than Wood is a Keeper."
Before any response could be made, Lee announced, "It looks like Ginny Weasley has seen the Snitch, or else it's another feint. She's darting toward the other side of the pitch with a determined expression. I think she's really seen it. Chang must agree with me, because she's hot on Weasley's trail. Weasley is reaching out her hand; so is Chang. What? Weasley dives straight down about ten feet and grabs something while Chang is looking around. Does she? Yes! Ginny Weasley has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins 190 to 100!"
Hermione muttered, "Harry would've gotten it," while the Gryffindor team began celebrating.
-
Harry arrived back at his common room to a depressed crowd of people, some of whom began glaring at him. He'd been escorted by Professor Flitwick, who simply left him at the door.
He swallowed lightly and walked up to Hermione and Padma. "So, um, I take it the game didn't go so well."
"Oh, our Chasers, Beaters and Keeper were at the top of their game," she said blandly.
"I take it Ginny got the Snitch, then?"
Padma said, "That stupid Cho followed Ginny around instead of looking for the Snitch. If you hadn't…"
"I'm sorry I'm not a good enough Seeker!" said Cho, who had been nearby and obviously overheard their conversation. She burst into tears and ran downstairs to her dorm. Padma paled.
"Good going," commented Harry.
"Sorry," she said.
"Tell Cho that," said Hermione, "not us."
"I will," she replied. Her face suddenly got mischievous. "But first, I found out the full name of Madam Grubbly's fiancé."
"Was he at the game?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Casper Plank was there, sitting next to her and holding her hand."
"Casper?" repeated Harry. "You mean like the ghost?"
"What ghost?" asked Padma. "Is that one of the Hogwarts ghost's names?"
"No," said Hermione with a small smile. "He's a character from a muggle cartoon on the tele."
"Oh," she replied. Harry knew that they'd previously told their pureblood friend about television, although he didn't think he'd ever get used to the TV being referred to as the tele.
"I wonder when they're going to get married," Hermione said.
"I hope it's soon," Padma replied dreamily. "I wonder what they'll wear."
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the `girl talk' that was beginning, Harry got up and announced, "I'm gonna go to headquarters." He figured that a few hours with his Game Boy would cheer him up.
"I'll escort you," said Hermione, reminding him of his restriction. "I'll do some reading."
-
Harry soon found himself deeply immersed in a game - Hermione was immersed in a book - when the door to Hagrid's old hut opened. He paused his small entertainment system and looked up to see Ginny Weasley looking at him. In her hand was the same book that she'd had with her so frequently. Harry believed that it was a diary. She looked cheerful, but a bit surprised to see him.
"Hi, Ginny," said Hermione. "Could you watch Harry and make sure he doesn't attack all the students?" she asked sarcastically. "I have got to get to the library."
"Sure," replied Ginny with a grin, and Hermione marked her place in the book she was reading and headed toward the door.
When the door closed, Harry said, "Hi, Ginny. I guess I owe you five knuts."
"That's right," she said with a smile.
"Too bad I got in that fight yesterday. Things would've turned out differently, but that's the way it is."
Her expression hardened a bit. "So, you think that if you'd been Seeker that Gryffindor would've lost."
He grinned while he reached into his pocket. "Of course, but our bet wasn't about who was playing, so you won fair and square." Seeing her anger at being told that he would've beaten her gave Harry an idea of how he could keep his money. "I know that I'll beat you in the final game, assuming Gryffindor makes it there."
"You mean, assuming Ravenclaw gets there," she corrected him. "Gryffindor is now ahead of all the houses, including yours. Now, if it were a contest of who spends the most time in the library, I'm sure Ravenclaw would win. But this is Quidditch…"
"Where we're gonna kick Slytherin's butt in April and then slaughter Gryffindor in the June."
"Care to put your money where your mouth is?" she asked confidently.
"Another wager," he commented with a smile. "Sure."
"Then double or nothing. Gryffindor will get the cup."
"You're on. That cup will look good in Flitwick's office."
"Too bad it won't get there," she said, reaching out her hand to shake Harry's.
He took her hand and they shook. Harry asked, "If somehow it's neither team, then what?"
"Then, you owe me the original five knuts," she said before walking over to the boom box and starting some music. "You don't mind a little background music, do you?"
"No," he answered, while unpausing his game. Ginny sat down at the other table and started happily writing in her diary. He found it a bit strange that at times she'd react to what she was writing as though she were surprised, amused, or even upset, but didn't comment on it.
-
About a week later, Harry woke up a half-hour before he normally would. The reason for this was that his name was being called out by a female voice that was very familiar to him. He picked up his glasses and then grabbed the mirror he had been keeping on his nightstand every evening since his aunt had told him to call her if he heard the strange, murderous voice that had led him to the Chamber of Secrets victims.
"What is it, Brianna?" he asked groggily.
"My, my, aren't you a grouch this morning?" she said with a smirk.
"Why are you calling, now, anyway? Isn't it like twelve thirty a.m. at home?"
"Incredible. You can actually do math in the morning. You truly are talented."
"Ha, ha. What is it?"
"I just wanted to be the first to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day, and find out what you're giving Hermione."
Harry tried his best to keep his cheeks from turning pink, but to no avail. "For your information, I am giving Hermione, as well as my other female friends like Padma, a friendship Valentine like I did last year," he hissed angrily as he left the room, hoping that his dorm mates hadn't already been woken up. "And I'm sure she'll probably do the same for me. Of course, I'm sure Bobby will send you a dozen roses…"
"Shut up, Harry."
"…and serenade you. He'll probably show up anytime now and throw a rock at your window…"
"Be quiet!"
"…but it'll break mom and dad's window by mistake, and then he'll sing Weird Al's song, `One More Minute' for all the neighbors to hear." Harry was, of course, referring to a song that expressed deep loathing instead of love.
"He will not!" she screamed.
"Oh? What song does he sing to you?"
"Goodbye!" Brianna exclaimed. "I'll bet Hermione sends you a romantic valentine."
Before Harry could respond, his little sister had deactivated her mirror, having successfully woken him up early. He stood up from the chair he'd occupied, deciding to shower early since he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.
-
Harry was reading one of his textbooks in the common room when Hermione came up from her dorm. She smiled and walked straight to him. For some reason, Harry felt a bit nervous about what Brianna had suggested, although he'd never admit it to his annoying sister.
"Um, Happy Valentine's Day," he decided to say when she approached him. He was surprised that her ears turned pink. He didn't notice that his did the same.
"Oh, er, same to you, Harry," she replied while examining her shoes. "Should we, er, go to breakfast?"
"Okay."
Together, they made their way to the Great Hall and sat down across from each other. Wordlessly, Harry began scooping scrambled eggs and bacon onto his plate. He was halfway through his meal when Hermione's owl, Rowena, landed in front of him with a muggle-style envelope. She held out her leg and Harry took the letter. As he did so, he noticed Hermione looking at him while failing to notice a small box that had fallen when he untied the letter. When she noticed him looking at her, her cheeks turned pink and she looked straight down at her plate. He suddenly felt nervous about opening the envelope. However, he knew that he couldn't put it off forever, so he gave the owl a piece of bacon so she would fly away, and pulled a muggle card out of the envelope.
The front of the card had a picture of a cat and dog that each had part of a glove in their mouths like they were playing tug-of-war with it, except that they'd gotten it to the point where their mouths were touching. Harry felt himself blush as he opened the card. Printed inside was the message:
`The best friendships can't be explained.
Happy Valentine's Day!'
Written in Hermione's familiar neat script was:
`I can't tell you how much your friendship means to me, Harry. You are truly the most important person in the world to me, and I don't know what I'd do without you.
Love from, Hermione'
He looked up at his best friend, who was once again staring at him, and smiled. "Thanks, Hermione. You mean a lot to me, too." At that moment, Hedwig flew in with a scroll tied to her leg. "It's about time, girl." Hedwig glared at him before hooting indignantly, turning her back toward him and lifting her leg toward Hermione. Harry had sent his other valentines with a school owl, but somehow felt that the one for his best friend should be brought by Hedwig. He'd informed his owl that she was delivering the most important one. He'd never be able to explain why he didn't like the idea of Hedwig flying to Hermione with half-a-dozen scrolls and treating her as the first of many deliveries.
"Thank you, Hedwig," Harry's best friend said before untying the scroll and giving her a piece of bacon. She unrolled Harry's magical Valentine. It had a wizarding photo of an owl and a kitten. The feline had a ball of string while the bird had the end of that string in its claw. They would move around the parchment playing their little game. It said:
`We've talked a lot, laughed a lot, and shared a lot. I'm so glad I have a friend like you in my life.
Happy Valentine's Day!'
Harry's message was:
`The above message says it all a lot better than I could. You are a great friend - my best friend, Hermione.
Harry'
"Thanks," said Hermione, smiling at him.
However, Harry wasn't smiling. While she was reading her valentine from him, he'd found a small wrapped package on the table that had his name on it written in Hermione's handwriting. He opened it to find a small box of chocolate mints. He was touched that she'd given him something, but more than that, he was upset with himself for not getting her anything. He racked his brain to try to think of something to give her.
"Oh," said Harry with a forced smile. "Thanks for this present. Um, I…forgot to bring your present to the owlry when I gave the scroll to Hedwig. I'll get it to you later."
She looked concerned. "Harry, it's alright if you didn't get me a present…"
"Of course I did," he interrupted. "You're my best friend. I wouldn't be like that." He looked around, trying to change the subject. "Madam Grubbly isn't here."
Hermione glanced at the staff table. "You're right." She grinned. "I'll bet she's spending Valentine's Day with Mr. Plank."
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Either that or she's sick."
"Harry," she said a bit sharply, "that's not very nice."
"I wasn't wishing she was ill. I just said it's a possible explanation."
"Sorry," replied Hermione. "Anyway, like I said, it's alright if you don't have a gift for me."
"But I do," he lied, "and you'll have it at the end of the day."
"Alright. I think right now, though, we've got to get to Quidditch practice," she replied, reminding him that Michelle had started having Sunday morning practices in addition to the Saturday practices because he was in detention for the next three Saturdays.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, hoping he could think of something soon.
-
Despite Padma's apology for what she'd said, Cho Chang had seemed a bit depressed since Ginny had beaten her in their last game. Michelle had managed to talk her out of quitting the reserve team, but her behavior was a bit strange. She'd act depressed and uninterested until their practice game began, and then she'd concentrate more than she ever had before. Harry noticed that she was marking him a lot less than she used to in practices, and had actually improved. He was still better, and beat her to the Snitch more often than not, but she was making it more of a challenge.
Because of this, not to mention that she was able to go to the Saturday practices while he was in detention, he had to concentrate too much on Quidditch to think of a gift for Hermione. All the girls on the team had thanked him for the `friend' valentines he'd sent them with a school owl, and Hermione noted happily that hers was of higher value than the ones he'd given the others.
When they'd gotten back to the common room, Penelope, Padma and Luna also thanked him for their valentines. Luna commented, "My daddy also sent me a valentine, but his also had a gift - a bouquet of dandelions. They keep the Jervonians away."
To Harry's astonishment, he saw that she was indeed holding a jar with at least two dozen yellow dandelions. He wasn't sure where her father had found them in February, but he supposed that it had been a mild winter and a few wildflowers were already growing in the forest near headquarters. That gave him an idea. "That's great, Luna," he said. "I've got to go. Um, since I can't be alone, Luna, could you come with me?"
"Of course, Harry. I'll protect you from the nargles."
They hurried out of Ravenclaw tower and to Professor Sprout's office, where he got her to give him a vase. They then went outside the school, quickly making their way toward C.A.R.E. headquarters. When they were near Hagrid's old hut, Harry said, "Hermione gave me a small gift for Valentine's Day, and, um, I didn't get her anything. I thought I'd pick some flowers out of the forest for her."
"Oh," she replied nonchalantly, "The grufpents must have stopped you from realizing that you feel differently about Hermione than the rest of your friends."
"I don't," he began. "Okay, she's my best friend, but that doesn't mean…I just think it would be rude not to give her a present in return for hers."
"I guess the grufpents are still hard at work. I'm sure they'll leave you within the next year."
He blinked and shook his head in disbelief. He decided that arguing with her was pointless. He walked toward a group of yellow flowers that he thought looked nice and carefully transplanted them into the vase, saying, "Don't tell Hermione that I hadn't gotten her these before today."
"If you want, Harry."
-
Half an hour later, Harry was in a private corner of Ravenclaw Tower presenting Hermione with a vase of flowers. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"These are beautiful, Harry. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said, grinning at his success.
"However," she said slyly, "I know that you just picked them today."
"I didn't…"
"Please, don't lie to me, Harry." She took a deep breath. "I surprised you with a gift, and being the wonderful guy you are, you decided to give me one in return. Thank you."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I admit it." He sighed. "Next year, I'll get you a gift for Valentine's Day; I promise."
She smiled at him. "I'll hold you to that. Happy Valentine's Day," she said before kissing him on the cheek and walking straight to the girls' dorm without looking back.
Harry stood there for about five minutes with his hand over the spot on his cheek that Hermione had kissed. "It's just a friendly kiss like mom gives me," he muttered to himself before walking to his own dorm.
-
The next day, things were back to normal between Harry and Hermione, convincing him that he was right about Hermione's kiss meaning nothing. At breakfast, Aunt Minnie stood up to make an interesting announcement.
"Good morning, everyone," she said with a grin. "It is my pleasure to inform you that something wonderful happened yesterday. Madam Grubbly got married to a man named Mr. Plank. Some of you may have noticed him accompanying her to Quidditch games lately. She is no longer living at the castle, but will be here every weekday from seven a.m. until three p.m. That will give her plenty of time to attend to her grounds-keeping responsibilities. By the way, she should now be referred to as Madam Grubbly-Plank." During the speech, Harry noticed that Madam Grubbly-Plank wasn't there. He was slightly amused at how almost every girl in the Great Hall began talking while almost all the boys went back to their pancakes and sausage. As an afterthought, Minerva added, "She will be back from her honeymoon next week."
-
The next few weeks went by quickly, and it was now Saturday, March sixth, the day of Harry's last detention, which also happened to be the day of the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin game. He was truly getting tired of spending his Saturday mornings cleaning the Charms classroom. He really wanted to be out their jeering the Slytherins - `cheering the Hufflepuffs,' he corrected himself as he used a broom for the unnatural purpose of removing dirt from the floor.
Professor Flitwick was sitting at his desk grading parchments, glancing up at Harry every few minutes to make sure he was working. During his first week, he'd asked why he couldn't just scourgify the floor. Professor Flitwick had informed him that this was supposed to be punishment to discourage `brawling like a muggle' not Charms practice. Harry would never admit to anyone that he was pleased to find out that he had indeed broken Malfoy's nose, and was further pleased that Draco had not said one word to him since the `fight.' He had to admit that he at least respected the fact that his head of house wasn't claiming that magic didn't clean as good as elbow grease, which Filch had always asserted.
Harry had switched to the mop and was half-way done with the floor when he heard a voice he'd hoped never to hear again.
"Let me rip you! Let me kill this time!"
Harry dropped the mop in surprise.
"Mr. McGonagall, is there something wrong?" asked Flitwick, who'd obviously heard the mop hit the floor.
"Yes. I need to call my aunt," he answered, pulling the little mirror out of his pocket. "Minerva McGonagall."
A few seconds later, his aunt's image appeared on his mirror as the background noise of clapping and booing came through the mirror. "Yes, Harry. You're supposed to be in detention."
"I am," he said, "but that thing we discussed before just happened."
Her image paled slightly. "You mean you heard…"
"Exactly," he interrupted. He didn't want Flitwick to know about the voice he was hearing.
"I'll be right there."
"What about the game?" Harry asked.
"It's over. Higgs from Slytherin just caught the Snitch as you called. They just managed to win - 180 to 170. Madam Hooch was actually giving penalties to Slytherins. I'm glad we had our little talk." She then shook her head. "Anyway, that's enough chit chat. I'll be at the Charms classroom in a minute, so stay there with Professor Flitwick."
-
True to her word, the door was hoisted open by the headmistress exactly sixty seconds after their call ended. "Harry, come with me." She looked to Flitwick. "He'll continue his detention in a few minutes, Filius, if that's alright."
"Actually, Minerva," the teacher replied, "He's done enough today. His detentions are officially over."
Harry said, "Thanks," and walked out of the room toward his aunt. "Can you still hear it?" she asked, once no one could overhear.
"Not right now, but I did just before you came. It was coming from this direction." He walked quickly, but his aunt managed to keep up.
"Die!"
"I hear it again. This way!" He went down a flight of stairs and they continued following until they came across the prone form of Alicia Spinnet, a muggle-born girl on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She was holding a compact and had obviously been in the process of checking her make-up when for some unknown reason she fell backwards, petrified like the others. She was near the library entrance.
"Anozzer victim - and Mizter McGonagall is at zee scene yet again," came a voice from behind them.
Aunt Minnie turned toward her Potions teacher with a furious expression. "For your information, Professor LaVelle, Harry has been in detention with Professor Flitwick since breakfast, and I have just picked him up from there. He has not been alone all morning so it would have not been possible for him to have done this."
Harry noticed that the Potions mistress looked frightened. "Professor, may I ask what you're doing here?"
"Harry!" scolded Minerva. She then looked back at the teacher. "I do wonder why you're so determined to pin this on my nephew, Sharon."
Harry could swear he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes as she said, "I, I'm not. It's juzt that I zaw him pointing hiz wand at zat cat…"
"Which has already been explained," said Minerva pointedly.
Professor LaVelle seemed to whither for a moment before saying, "I've got to go. I have a potion that needz tending." She then turned around and left quickly.
Without a word, Aunt Minnie pointed her wand at Alicia and began to levitate her to the hospital wing, with Harry walking behind her.
"Harry," she said as they were walking, "the staff and I have discussed what would happen if there were another attack. The other students will be informed soon, but there's no reason not to tell you now."
"Okay," he said, not knowing how to respond.
"Quidditch will be cancelled and a new curfew will be placed. After dinner, students will be escorted to either their common rooms or the library. Two hours later, the students in the library will be escorted to their common rooms."
"What about headquarters?" he asked.
"On Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons I will be willing to escort members of C.A.R.E. to your cabin and return to escort you to dinner, provided that you agree to stay there until I return. Similarly, members of other clubs will have that same privilege on those days."
"At least we can keep our study group."
"Also, all students will be escorted to and from their classes by a professor."
"It sounds like everybody's being watched like me, now," said Harry grimly.
"I'm afraid so," she said. "If there is another attack, I'll have no choice but to close the school."
"Really?" asked Harry. "That would be awful."
"Yes. Lucius Malfoy has been trying to convince the board that these attacks are my fault. One of my friends on the board of governors has told me that he wants me removed as headmistress."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "I know that he has something to do with this. Remember what his house elf was…" Harry grinned. "How about if we keep him otherwise occupied?"
"What do you mean?" asked Minerva, stopping to look at her nephew's evil grin.
"Anyone who saw poor Tribly can see that Mr. Malfoy is disobeying the law. He beats her badly. If he were busy dealing with Ministry charges of house-elf abuse, he wouldn't have time to get you sacked."
"A stain like that on his reputation might even get him taken off the board of governors," Aunt Minnie added with a grin.
"If you'll escort me to the owlry once we drop off Alicia, we can send an anonymous tip."
"That sounds like an excellent suggestion," she agreed.
"Also, if you'll escort me to Ravenclaw Tower, Hermione, Padma and I all have a new Animagus paper to give you."
"Excellent." She smiled at him. "I'm really proud of how seriously you're taking my offer. You're more than three-quarters through that book already."
He grinned. "We're highly motivated in this matter."
-
A few hours later, the tip to the Ministry had been sent and the students had been informed that new restrictions had been placed upon them. Hogwarts began to almost seem like a prison with everyone being escorted everywhere. Two days later, Brianna turned eleven, and when Harry called her to wish her a happy birthday, he had good news to share with her. He read an article from the Daily Prophet to her.
`C.A.R.E. Law Gets its First Test Case
By Anna Jesse
After receiving an anonymous tip, Ministry officials conducted a raid of Malfoy Manor, the home of the influential family of the same name. They found a half-dozen house-elves with various injuries, including bruises, broken bones and burns - none of which had been treated. When asked why they hadn't healed themselves, one of the elves named Tribly said, "Master is telling us to never be healing ourselves," before beginning to bash her head against a table, as she had obviously been ordered to do as punishment whenever she spoke ill of her family. All the elves were taken to St. Mungo's to have their injuries evaluated and treated.
According to the House-Elf Abuse Deterrent law (H.E.A.D.), on the first offense, the offender is fined 1,000 Galleons. For the second offense, the victimized elf is confiscated by the Ministry, to be given or sold to another family. On the third offense, all of the offender's elves are confiscated. Finally, on the fourth offense, the abuser loses his/her right to own house elves. This is the most severe penalty that an offender will face.
In the case of the Malfoy family, because several elves were found to be abused, Madam Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, is pushing that this be treated as both a first and second offense, so the penalty they'll be facing if found guilty will be 1,000 Galleon fine and the loss of all the victimized elves. In this case, that is every Malfoy house-elf, because all six have severe injuries.
The only question is whether the Ministry will actually enforce this law that was passed as a result of the group known as C.A.R.E. (Community Advancing the Rights of Elves) that formed about a year-and-a-half ago at Hogwarts. For more on C.A.R.E., see page five.'
"That's great!" exclaimed Brianna. "He should be quite busily bribing bigoted buffoons as we speak."
Harry smiled at his sister's tongue twister before saying, "Yeah, I guess so. Hopefully, he will have to pay some penalty for what he's done to elves. The main thing is that while he's busy dealing with that, he hopefully won't have time to try getting Aunt Minnie sacked."
"I hope so," she replied. "What did they say about C.A.R.E. on page five?"
"Oh, just a reprint of the article Mrs. Brocklehurst wrote last year. We have gotten some more members already since the paper came out this morning."
"That's good," said Brianna.
"Did you like my present?"
She made a face. "I do like the self-inking quills, but not the note you put in it."
With an innocent expression, Harry asked, "Why ever not?"
"I'm NOT going to use them to write love-letters to Bobby!"
"I guess," said Harry, "you only use muggle pens for that."
"What do you use for love-letters to Hermione?" she asked, causing him to blush.
"I don't write love-letters," said Harry.
"Where is Hermione, anyway?" Brianna asked.
"Oh, she's at the library, but should be back any minute. She told me to wish you a happy birthday."
"Indeed I did," the brunette in question said over Harry's shoulder, surprising him. "Happy birthday, Brianna."
"Thanks, Hermione," Brianna replied. "I guess you'll want to talk to Harry now, huh." The girl winked, causing both Hermione and Harry to blush.
"Actually, I do need to talk to Harry, but it's not about…"
"I understand. Bye," she said, grinning. The mirror deactivated.
"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" asked Harry as he put the mirror in his pocket.
"Two things, actually," she said. "First of all, have you noticed how Ginny Weasley gets after every attack?"
His eyes narrowed. "Well, she gets really withdrawn for a few days. I guess she's scared."
"I'm not sure if that's it entirely."
His eyes widened. "You think that she's involved in this?"
"I'm not sure, but I didn't see her at the game. When I asked her about it, she seemed to get scared for a moment before she insisted that she was there. She was practically yelling at me. I told her that I supposed I was mistaken, but I actually did look for her. She didn't sit with us or with her fellow Gryffindors, which is where she claimed she was. I think we should watch her more closely when we can. She is hiding something."
He took a deep breath. "I guess we can do that. I don't think it could hurt anything, but make sure not to look like we're spying."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"What was the other thing?"
"Oh, that." She pulled a page that looked like she'd torn it out of a book, something he'd never seen her do before. "I think that Slytherin's monster is a basilisk."
-
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
A/N The messages on the valentines were copied from Hallmark cards.
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