Hermione Jane Granger

How are you today?

I wasn't actually sure whether to write to you today, or if you'd rather not be reminded if you're busy and not thinking about Harry too much. But I didn't want you to think I'm ignoring you, either.

Did I tell you that Hydra talked to me a little while back about how best to acknowledge Harry's birthday? She said she and Justin had been thinking of maybe a candle-lighting or something, you know, a quiet sort of reflection. Solemn, not anything too flashy. But we got to talking about it and it just didn't seem.... I mean, you're in New London and so's Justin still, and everyone's busy and the Longbottoms have their own family to mourn, and it's a blue moon so Mr Lupin was feeling really very awful and so was Luna, and Sirius--well, I could tell Sirius either wanted to run off and remember Harry in his own way, or preferred to focus on Mr Lupin, and so it seemed like as much as we all wanted to do something, no one felt quite ready, either. Certainly not ready enough to organise anything. So in the end we thought, best leave it for now and let everyone observe on our own, and perhaps we'll find the right way to honour him at the one-year anniversary mark. Or his birthday next year. Or something like that.

Still, it seems as though someone ought to make some kind of statement. Maybe I should have asked them to put something on the wireless. Or maybe I'll think of the right words later. Though it's silly to expect they'll come today, when they haven't come in all this time.

Anyway.

Remind me again of your timetable for the next week? We've got a huge warehouse to wake up over the next several days and I ought to check in occasionally, but I can break free if I plan round your schedule. I'd like it if we could spend it not in the castle, either, just the two of us somewhere, maybe. That was good, last time.

Well, I should get back to it, we've set up a brewing lab here on site as part of our attempt to move things out of Hogwarts in preparation for next term. There's talk it might become a permanent installation, too, a sort of...St M's healing research outpost, or something like that.

But I wanted to say--that I'm thinking about you today, especially. And I miss him, too, and that I hope you're all right, or as all right as you can be.

How is everything at Hogwarts today?

You should probably know that whatever Justin and Hydra told Sirius (or didn't? I can't tell, I just know he wrote to them), sent him on a tear last night. So I think it's pretty much what we thought, Daphne. Draco and I could sort of hear him and Mr Lupin; I'm sure Mr Snape and Tonks probably heard bits of it, too, though we were in the library researching, so we were closer.

Anyway. I can't imagine they're both back to normal but maybe at least neither of them is melting a cauldron or anything.

Daphne, could you get anything out of Crouch, as to what exactly went wrong? (I'm not including Draco on this so you can talk about it and not have to worry about him just going on and on about what a slick git he is, and I won't tell him anything if you don't want me to.)

I was thinking about Hydra, though, and how she doesn't like to talk about things, because--well, I'm the same way. And I know for me, I just need to be left alone, and I know most people in the Order prefer to push until someone gets over the worst. But it doesn't always work that way. So I hope people are running interference for her, if that's what she needs.

Hey, how was your boys' get-together at the safehouse?

Bea gave us all Valentines and somehow got Kreacher to make cupcakes. Then she got frosting in her hair.

It was quite an exciting day.

Harry, how are the trips with Finnigan and Patil going?

I've been thinking about it, a little, and it seems to me that if Draco's idea is to make them think they answer to you, then the best way is probably to do things that they want to do and make them feel important, rather more like allies than like they're servants. If you want them to come to you before anyone else like Professor Dolohov, then they have to like you and trust you.

I mean, if it's going well, then that's one thing. But I have a feeling Draco's approach may make them eventually wind up resenting you rather than looking to you as a benevolent leader. Before that happens, you might consider ways to curry their favour. I mean, not that you would kiss their arses, obviously, just...make them your mates.

Mr Lupin suggested that maybe reading the journals, and seeing everyone expressing their love and concern, would help how I feel. And of course Harry was worried about us, and I saw what you said. And Justin was kind, only I just don't know what to say in return, so I was just going to let it stand. (I noticed you hadn't replied, either, probably for the same reasons.)

Only there was this message from Jeremy Stretton and...oh, it wasn't condolences or checking to ask if I was all right or anything. Which was fine. I'm not--I mean, I don't want to talk about how I feel. I don't think you do, either do you?

But he offered me Mr Nott's wand.

Seriously.

Mr Nott's wand.

I told him to burn it.


Have you decided what you're going to do? Will you try to go back, and tell them it was all my doing? I wouldn't blame you if you did, you know. That's what I told Hydra to tell them.

I just--can't think beyond the next few minutes at a time. Brewing for Mr Lupin helped. I bet you felt better raiding the Ministry than anything else, too.

You don't have to reply. If you blame me for getting us caught, or for you having to ruin your life, I understand.

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.

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.

I just had to tell someone: You know how Mr Snape asked me to come with him this morning after breakfast? It was because he wanted me to try my hand at brewing Mr Lupin's Wolfsbane potion.

I was ever so nervous. And I didn't do very well at all. Of course, Mr Snape just said his own first attempt was worse but I'm sure he's just being kind. Anyway, he's going to have me brew it again tomorrow. Well, he's going to brew it and I'm supposed to brew alongside him, following what he does. (I'm not sure why he didn't do that in the first place, it would have been so much less frightening.)

Oh, and he liked his present, too.

I didn't want to say out in front of everyone, because I don't think he wants Mr Lupin to know just yet that he's teaching me to brew his potion, and because I didn't want to hurt Pansy's feelings, you know.

Draco, you went and talked to him, didn't you, about your plan? Was he really helpful?

Anyway, I've got to read over the notes again tonight but I thought also, I'd mention that you should talk about Miss Morgansen at the next reading meeting. Tell people, I mean. So they'll know how the fake one's being written.

Or do you think you'll be able to keep holding those, with this competition going on? Oh, and you know anything that anyone needs to help with that, just say so.

Sorry that took so long!

You can all come in. Cedric has more questions but we'll have to sneak back when we're done.

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.