𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒-ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣❥

𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐏 𝟐𝟒

"Can't wait to see what Umbridge thinks of you going public," said Dean, sounding awestruck at dinner on Monday night.

Seamus was shoveling down large amounts of chicken and ham pie on Dean's other side, but Harry knew he was listening.

"It's the right thing to do, Harry," said Neville, who was sitting opposite him. He was rather pale, but went on in a low voice, "It must have been . . . tough . . . talking about it. . . . Was it?"

"Yeah," mumbled Harry, "but people have got to know what Voldemort's capable of, haven't they?"

"Whats he talking about?" Emily turned to Hermione. Her and Harry haven't even spoke, Emily could tell that Harry had been avoiding her, even in the common room he would go to bed when she came back.

"He didn't tell you? Well," Hermione lowered her voice "We met up with Rita Skeeter and Harry told her everything about the night in the graveyard. Now she's going to put it on Linda's fathers paper."

"Nice." Emily nodded.

Seamus looked up, but when he caught Emily's eye he looked quickly back at his plate again.

After a while Dean, Seamus, and Neville departed for the common room, leaving Emily, Harry and Hermione at the table waiting for Ron, who had not yet had dinner because of Quidditch practice.

Cho Chang walked into the hall with her friend Marietta.

Harry's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, but she did not look over at the Gryffindor table and sat down with her back to him.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you," said Hermione brightly, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table, " Did you tell her? And Emily did you ask Theo the questions?"

"Excuse me, I'm going to speak with Minerva." Emily awkwardly said, she got up and walked over to hall towards Minerva and leaned on the table talking to her.

"Er . . . well. . ." said Harry, pulling a dish of rhubarb crumble toward him and helping himself to seconds, "I didn't explain anything."

And he told her what had happened in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

". . . so then," he finished several minutes later, as the final bit of crumble disappeared, "she jumps up, right, and says 'I'll see you around, Harry,' and runs out of the place!" He put down his spoon and looked at Hermione. "And I'm just trying to do what's best for Emily! I mean, what was all that about? What was going on?"

Hermione glanced over at the back of Cho's head and sighed. "Oh, Harry," she said sadly. " You've got no clue have you? Honestly."

"Me?" said Harry, outraged. "One minute we were getting on fine, next minute she was telling me that Roger Davies asked her out, and how she used to go and snog Cedric in that stupid tea
shop, then I hear someone say Emily's happier with Theo, so I wanted her to be her happiest. how was I supposed to feel about that?"

"Well, you see," said Hermione, with the patient air of one explaining that one plus one equals two to an overemotional toddler, "Ans you're very lucky I'm not ragging your hair out right now. But people are going to say that Emily's happier with Theo because they don't like you two together"

"But, but," spluttered Harry, "but I want her to be happy don't I? And if that's not me with then so be it!"

"Honestly Harry" said Hermione, still with that maddeningly patient air. "You should've sat down, explained to Cho about why you didn't kiss her and why you won't date her. But instead you just went and told the girl you live that you and her aren't together anymore. You worry my sometimes Harry," Hermione added as an afterthought.