Hermione Jane Granger

Why are boys such boys?



You would not BELIEVE the debate Draco has been having with me. Or rather, trying to have. He's not doing very well, I'm afraid.

Harry, I'm really glad you could leave Buckingham in time for the meeting yesterday. It was good to see you.

It was good to see everyone. It was just a little overwhelming, when so much has happened.

I've been thinking, maybe you could pretend to be interested in Voldemort's projects and so on, this summer, the same way some of the others have got close to Council members, and maybe that would help you figure out where his other Horcruxes are.

And then once we figure out where and what they are, we can destroy them.

Are you in your room?

I went with Sirius to Moddey today, to help with Potions. And Mrs L told me to go see Melli before we left.

The heartstrings that Charlie harvested, she'd turned them into wands. Brand new ones. And she let me try them all, all seven.

I remember when Terry and I got our first wands, neither one was perfect and we switched back and forth a bit before we decided which ones to keep. But this...

It's beautiful. She used vine wood and it's 11 ¾ inches and it just feels.... Sirius said the right wand is like an extension of your hand. And he's so right. It made me just want to start casting spells right and left.

Do you want to see? I mean, I know it's not the most important thing that's ever happened but I can't help feeling happy.

I asked Kreacher and he made some roast beef. With mash and gravy. I've brought you a plate.

Will you let me in?

I promise we don't have to talk.

All right, you can stop scowling at me. I wasn't going to tell you but I asked Ev for the key. She'll want it again at the weekend, though. Now, will you leave off?

....

So. Birthday tomorrow. Big one, too, right? Any particular plans? I imagine Daphs has something planned, she seems to be going out of her way to think of everything these days.

Is.... I mean, are you pleased with your arrangement with her? What I mean is, we seem to have loads of feigned relationships lately and it'd be, er, nice to think someone's actually enjoying themselves.

Are you two all right?

I know it's one thing to know that things could get deadly and another to see that they are getting deadly.

This is just the sort of thing you and Ron tried to prevent, Harry. You must be upset that it happened anyway.

I keep thinking about Dean and Mr Weasley. He'd be so disappointed at how this turned out.

I talked to him.

He's not going to quit but he's really cross with Sally-Anne and Ron and Pansy. And from what I can see, he's got every right to be.

He's calmer now but it's unfortunate we're back to school tomorrow because I'd like him to talk to you when he's not feeling so strained but that's not going to happen while we're at Hogwarts.

He--it's been hard for him this holiday. Harder than usual. And I didn't help matters but we're all right now, I think.

Anyway. At least he's seen that it's better to stay than go it alone.

Hydra came and found me and told me that she talked to Teddy Nott. She decided to try Sirius's idea, and convince him that I'm so atavistic that I can't think anything but the crudest thoughts, so fantasising about Professor Lestrange was about the limit of my imagination.

Anyway. She said she thinks she got him believing that part, although he seemed both smug to have been right about my pea-sized brain while simultaneously disappointed that I wasn't concealing something more nefarious.

But, the problem is, she doesn't think he's necessarily going to stop there. He wouldn't tell her what he plans, but he's going to try to make me do something humiliating before supper tomorrow.

And look. If whatever it is is at all tolerable, I think I should just do it. He's not going to be satisfied with anything less. He's just going to push and push until he gets what he wants.

Like with Hydra. She said he tried a different tactic today and instead of coming on so incredibly strong like before, today he was acting like a caricature of a gentleman. He even joked about how Justin used to carry her books for her and then he levitated them just out of her reach.

She said that when he compared me to an animal, she caught a sort of ... image, in his head. A memory. Like the time he cut me to see if my blood was red or brown. Only this was of a cat that he'd cut apart.

And then she said she could tell that he got--well, turned on. (Do you know what I mean?) She said she manipulated him pretty easily but she had that quiet calm she gets when she's really upset. (I think maybe we should make sure she's not completely alone when she's where he might go--because honestly, she shouldn't have to cope with Teddy on top of everything else she's going through right now.)

I'm not telling either of you this so that you can go and find him and invent an excuse to put him in the Hospital Wing. I just want you both to be prepared in case he does try something--and in case I do what he asks me to do, not to react out of proportion.

And Harry, that goes double for Draco. I don't know if maybe he's reacting this way because it's bringing up Dennis again, or what--I mean, maybe, I don't know, but whatever it is, he's been acting so oddly about the whole thing. I mean, this isn't really all that much more dangerous or horrible than loads of things we've done before but suddenly he's acting like I'm going to blunder the whole operation just because of Teddy's threats.

I'm not underestimating Teddy and if it's too awful, Harry, I'll just tell him I need your permission and you can tell him no.

But if it's even remotely something I can survive, without any lasting harm, then I think I should just go ahead and get it over with. It's not like he actually has any leverage, and in fact it's probably better to put him off the scent by making him think he's won this round.

Are you going flying tomorrow with the others?

Only, you didn't last week.

You know, if you tell your parents you're with Harry at Buckingham and he tells Broome and Professor Lestrange he's with you at Kensington or Malfoy Manor, that works for you, as well as for him. And you don't need to sit round yours all the time, then.

It's just that it doesn't have to all be for Harry, you know. You could do some things for yourself, too.

Didn't you enjoy Hydra's party?

All right, everyone. Here’s what happened:

Umbridge has been using Megan Jones as a little toady and errand girl only she’s been hexing her horribly over things that aren’t even her fault. And sometime this morning she must have cursed Megan so her hands would cramp, only it was a Dark spell and it starting slowly making all her muscles contract and spasm, so we had some discussion and decided that really, it didn’t matter if she were collaborating with Madam Umbridge, we needed to offer to help her. So we sent a message out on our coins and Sarah offered to hide the potion for Megan, so she could get it but wouldn’t be able to get us in trouble for it.

Only Megan found the potion and then instead of taking it, she stayed there to see if the person who put it there came back. And when Sarah did come back, Megan jumped out and grabbed her and screamed "you can't trap me, I'm loyal!" and they started to row, and I guess then Patil alerted Madam Umbridge and she came along and took them to her office. And the next thing we knew Sarah had put her emergency failsafe coin activation, so we all went on alert.

I think Madam Umbridge must have used the Cruciatus curse on her.

Harry made everyone create diversions and distractions while we came up with a plan to get Sarah away from Madam Umbridge, that’s when Fred & George set off the dragon firework. Madam Umbridge went to see and wound up being chased under a table. Meanwhile, Ron, Sally-Anne, Pansy and--and Draco Malfoy--met Harry at a spot near Umbridge's office waited for her to leave. Then they went and got Sarah. And you’ll probably not believe this but Draco had a plan, so Sally-Anne and Sarah switched their robes and we made Sally-Anne look like Sarah and Harry loaned her his invisibility cloak, and then Ron and Pansy took Sarah to the Shrieking Shack (and yes we know how to get there) and Sally-Anne and Draco pretended that he was chasing Sarah (Sally-Anne in disguise) out of the castle and the others on the Galleon got as many people to see as possible. You know that Ron and Pansy brought her to Doughty Conduit.

Once she was outside, Sally-Anne slipped under the invisibility cloak, left some robe bits and pieces and some blood from an animal, and ran back to the castle.

And that’s it, really. The Galleoneers helped each other come up with alibis, and Justin and Hydra have collected Megan to get her to the Healer and it's all settling back down now.

Oh, Harry destroyed Umbridge’s Floo.

Oh, and also, Draco Malfoy knows about the Institute.