Between Thought and Reality

Chapter 18

"I take it that you didn't give Mrs Baird permission to print your letter, judging by your bitter expression," Tom said as he fell into step with him on their way out of the Great Hall to go to classes. It was Wednesday, and they had no shared classes that day, but that didn't stop Tom from accompanying Harry on his way to double Charms.

"You're quite right," Harry muttered, staring ahead while he quietly fumed that Ruby Baird had all but painted a target on Harry's back. There would probably be more than a few witches and wizards who would take exception to what Harry had so confidently written in his letter that now landed in just about every magical household thanks to Baird's forthrightness.

"If you mention this to your magical relatives, they might be able to do something about it. You are, after all, still just a minor," Tom said in a soft voice as he leaned a bit closer to Harry.

Harry blinked a few times in surprise before he looked up at Tom. "That's a good point. I'll write Fleamont a letter, since he knows Baird personally." Harry wasn't sure what could be accomplished this way, but even just Fleamont telling Ruby Baird off was better than nothing, he supposed.

"Shouldn't you be heading to your own class?" Harry asked as they reached the Charms classroom where Dollie Woodward, their professor and Head of Hufflepuff House, stood waiting in the doorway for her students.

"Yes, I suppose I'd better hurry, since I've got Transfiguration and I don't want to give Dumbledore anymore reasons to disapprove of me and my actions," Tom said with a bit of a grimace. Harry nodded in agreement and waved at him as Tom turned around to head to his own class.

"I think it was very brave," Myrtle said as she sat down beside Harry while all the other students found their own seats around them. "What you said in that letter. It needed to be said for a long time."

Harry shrugged, neither agreeing or disagreeing. He stood by what he'd said, that wasn't the problem. He just hadn't wanted to publicize it in such a way at this point in time. Changing people's perception of muggleborns, or rather squib descendants, was something best done slowly, over a longer period of time. Even Harry and his usual Gryffindor impulsiveness could understand that much. But Ruby Baird had now forced the issue, which would most likely cause many more people to protest those progressive ideas than otherwise might have happened.

Woodward spent the first hour lecturing on stuff Harry already knew so he took the time to write a short letter to Fleamont about what had been happening at Hogwarts so far. He didn't want the letter to be nothing but a complaint, since that might make it seem like Harry only wanted to use Fleamont to fix his problems for him. Nothing could be further from the truth, since Harry genuinely loved the contact he now had with his former grandfather. So he talked about the duel he'd won, what spells he'd used, and about the DA meeting this past weekend and how much of a success that had been. And near the end of the letter he made some mention about being very surprised that Baird had published his letter like that, since he'd never given her permission to do so. There, that should be enough to hopefully get Fleamont to have some strong words with Baird.

Their next class was Transfiguration, and Harry wasn't looking forward to it. So far Dumbledore ignored him since Harry's little outburst in his office, following the DA that past Saturday, and Harry sincerely hoped Dumbledore would continue to do so for the rest of Harry's Hogwarts career.

Thankfully, Dumbledore didn't pay Harry any attention during their class and they practiced more vanishing charms. By the end of the class, as students put away their books, Myrtle pulled Petunia the rubber boa from her robe pocket since the poor snake had been hidden away in there for three hours straight. Just as Harry and Myrtle pushed their chairs into place behind their desks and got ready to leave, Dumbledore suddenly appeared behind Myrtle.