𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒-ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣❥

𝐆𝐎𝐅 𝟐𝟖

"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" Ron whispered.

Everything Harry and Emily had seen in the Pensieve, nearly everything Dumbledore had told and shown them afterward, they had now shared with Ron and Hermione - and, of course, with Sirius and Eric, to whom Emily and Harry had sent an owl the moment he had left Dumbledore's office.

Emily, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat up late in the common room once again that night, talking it all over until they understood what Dumbledore had meant about a head becoming so full of thoughts that it would have been a relief to siphon them off.

Ron stared into the common room fire. Harry thought he saw Ron shiver slightly, even though the evening was warm.

"And he trusts Snape?" Ron said. "He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?"

"Yes," said Emily.

Hermione had not spoken for ten minutes. She was sitting with her forehead in her hands, staring at her knees. Emily thought she too looked as though she could have done with a Pensieve.

"Rita Skeeter," she muttered finally.
"How can you be worrying about her now?" said Ron, in utter disbelief.
"I'm not worrying about her," Hermione said to her knees. "I'm just thinking. . . remember what she said to me in the Three Broomsticks? 'I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl. ' This is what she meant, isn't it? She reported his trial, she knew he'd passed information to the Death Eaters. And Winky too, remember . . .'Ludo Bagman's a bad wizard.' Mr. Crouch would have been furious he got off, he would have talked about it at home."

"Yeah, but Bagman didn't pass information on purpose, did he?" Hermione shrugged.

"And Fudge reckons Madame Maxime attacked Crouch?" Ron said, turning back to Emily and Harry.

"Yeah," said Harry, "but he's only saying that because Crouch disappeared near the Beauxbatons carriage."

"We never thought of her, did we?" said Ron slowly. "Mind you, she's definitely got giant blood, and she doesn't want to admit it-"

"Of course she doesn't," said Hermione sharply, looking up. "Look what happened to Hagrid when Rita found out about his mother. Look at Fudge, jumping to conclusions about her, just because she's part giant. Who needs that sort of prejudice? I'd probably say I had big bones if I knew that's what I'd get for telling the truth."

Hermione looked at her watch. "We haven't done any practicing!" she said, looking shocked. "We were going to do the Impediment Curse! We'll have to really get down to it tomorrow! Come on. Harry, Emily, you need to get some sleep."

Harry and Ron went slowly upstairs to their dormitory but Emily kept Hermione back.

"Everything okay?" She asked as Emily held Hermione's hands "You're my best friend right? You wouldn't tell anyone?" Emily asked.

"Em, you're scaring me now but yes." Hermione said looking dead into Emily's eyes.

"It's Theo. He's being weird. Even Ron and Draco had to say something."
"Why was he being weird?"

"In divinations I went after Harry but he stopped by grabbing my wrist. But it wasn't like a nice grab it hurt, he told me to stop chasing after Harry or something. That's when Ron shouted but Theo ignored him so Draco had to say something." Emily said quite fast so it took Hermione a minute for the information to sink in.

"He likes you Em, we thought you knew." Hermione gave her best friend a funny look "What? No. Me and Theo have been friends since first year, he doesn't like me." Emily scoffed.