He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered. . . ."
"He reckons he duelled with You-Know-Who. . . ."
"Come off it. . . ."
"Who does he think he's kidding?"
"Pur-lease . . ."
"What I don't get," said Harry in a shaking voice, laying down hisknife and fork "is why they all believed the story two months ago whenDumbledore told them. . . ."
"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," said Hermionegrimly. "Oh, let's get out of here."
"Come on Ron," said Percy
Ron looked sadly at hishalf-finished apple pie but followed suit. People stared at them all theway out of the Hall.
"What d'you mean, you're not sure they believed Dumbledore?"Harry asked Hermione when they reached the first-floor landing.
"Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened,"said Hermione quietly. "You arrived back in the middle of the lawnclutching Cedric's dead body. . . . None of us saw what happened inthe maze. . . . We just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-know who had come back and killed Cedric and fought you."
"Which is the truth!" said Harry loudly.
"I know it is, Harry, so will you please stop biting my head off?"said Hermione wearily. "It's just that before the truth could sink in,everyone went home for the summer, where they spent two monthsreading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!"
"Ahe's right," said Percy. "Many people are doubting Dumbledore. Remember Lupin, I agree my godfather is a good teacher but he can pose a risk as a werewolf. And mad eye?"
"Well he was a nutcase but he did teach us something," said Ron
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," said Hermione, before the Fat Ladycould ask. The portrait swung open to reveal the hole behind and thefour of them scrambled back through it.
The common room was almost empty; nearly everyone was stilldown at dinner. Crookshanks uncoiled himself from an armchair andtrotted to meet them, purring loudly, and when Harry, Percy, Ron, andHermione took their three favourite chairs at the fireside he leaptlightly into Harry's lap and curled up there like a furry gingercushion
"How can Dumbledore have let this happen?" Hermione cried suddenly, making Harry and Ron jump; Crookshanks leapt off her, looking affronted. She pounded the arms of her chair in a fury so that bitsof stuffing leaked out of the holes. "How can he let that terriblewoman teach us? And in our O.W.L. year too!"
"Well, we've never had great Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we?" said Harry. "You know what it's like, Hagrid told us,nobody wants the job, they say it's jinxed."
"Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us domagic! What's Dumbledore playing at?" argued Percy
"And she's trying to get people to spy for her," said Ron darkly. "Remember when she said she wanted us to come and tell her if we hearanyone saying You-Know-Who's back?"
"Of course she's here to spy on us all, that's obvious, why else wouldFudge have wanted her to come?" snapped Hermione.
"Don't start arguing again," said Harry wearily, as Ron opened hismouth to retaliate. "Can't we just . . . Let's just do that homework, getit out of the way. . . ."
They collected their schoolbags from a corner and returned to thechairs by the fire. People were coming back from dinner now.
"Shall we do Snape's stuff first?" said Ron, dipping his quill intohis ink. " 'The properties . . . of moonstone . . . and its uses . . . in potion-making . . .' " he muttered, writing the words across the top of hisparchment as he spoke them. "There." He underlined the title, thenlooked up expectantly at Hermione and Percy.
"So what are the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making?"
Percy ignored him but Hermione was not listening; she was squinting over into the farcorner of the room, where Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were now sitting at the centre of a knot of innocent-looking first years, all of whom were chewing something that seemed to have come out of a large paper bag that Fred was holding.
"No, I'm sorry, they've gone too far," she said, standing up andlooking positively furious. "Come on, Ron."
"I — what?" said Ron, plainly playing for time. "No — come on,Hermione — we can't tell them off for giving out sweets. . . ."
"You know perfectly well that those are bits of Nosebleed Nougator — or Puking Pastilles or —"
"Fever fudge?" Percy added
"Fainting Fancies?" Harry suggested quietly.
One by one, the first years were slumping unconscious in their seats; Most of the people watching were laughing; Hermione, however, marched directly over to where Fred and George now stood with clipboards, closely observing the unconscious first years. Ron rose halfway out of his chair, hovered uncertainly for a moment or two, then muttered to Harry, "She's got it under control," before sinking as low in his chair as his lanky frame permitted
"That's enough!" Hermione said forcefully to Fred and George,both of whom looked up in mild surprise.
"Yeah, you're right," said George, nodding, "this dosage looksstrong enough, doesn't it?"
"I told you this morning, you can't test your rubbish on students!"
"We're paying them!" said Fred indignantly.
"I don't care, it could be dangerous!"
"Rubbish," said Fred.
"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine!" said Lee reassuringly as hewalked from the first year to the first year, inserting purple sweets into theiropen mouths.
"Yeah, look, they're coming round now," said George.
Several looked so shocked to find themselves lying on the floor or dangling off their chairs.
"Feel all right?" said George kindly to a small dark-haired girl lying at his feet.
"I-I think so," she said shakily.
"Excellent," said Fred happily, but the next second Hermione had snatched both his clipboard and the paper bag of Fainting Fanciesfrom his hands.
"It is NOT excellent!" Hermione said.
" 'Course it is, they're alive, aren't they?" said Fred angrily.
"You can't do this, what if you made one of them really ill?"
"We're not going to make them ill, we've already tested them all onourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same —"
"If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to —"
"Put us in detention?" said Fred in an I'd-like-to-see-you-try-it voice.
"Make us write lines?" said George, smirking.
Onlookers all over the room were laughing. Hermione drew herselfup to her full height; her eyes were narrowed and her bushy hairseemed to crackle with electricity.
"No," she said, her voice quivering with anger, "but I will write toyour mother."
"You wouldn't," said George, horrified, taking a step back from her.
"Oh, yes, I would," said Hermione grimly. "I can't stop you eating them yourselves, but you're not giving them to first years."
Fred and George looked thunderstruck. With one last threatening look, he stalked back to his chair by the fire. Hermione thrust Fred's clipboard and the bag of Fancies back into his arms and stalked back to her chair by the fire.
"Thank you for your support, Ron," Hermione said acidly.
"You handled it fine by yourself," Ron mumbled.
Hermione stared down at her blank piece of parchment for a few seconds, then said "Oh, it's no good, I can't concentrate now. I'm going to bed."
She wrenched her bag open, and pulled out two misshapen woolly objects, placed them carefully on a table by the fireplace, covered them with a few screwed-up bits of parchment and a broken quill, and stood back to admire the effect.
"What is the name of Merlin are you doing?" said Ron.
"They're hats for house-elves," she said briskly, now stuffing her books back into her bag. "I did them over the summer. I'm a really slow knitter without magic, but now I'm back at school I should be able to make lots more."
"You're leaving out hats for the house-elves?" said Ron slowly. "And you're covering them up with rubbish first?"
"Yes," said Hermione defiantly, swinging her bag onto her back.
"That's not on," said Ron angrily. "You're trying to trick them into picking up the hats. You're setting them free when they might not want to be free."
"Of course they want to be free!" said Hermione at once, though her face was turning pink. "Don't you dare touch those hats, Ron!"
"I don't it," said Percy. "You're not going to send one to my house elf are you Hermione?"
She left. Ron waited until she had disappeared through the door tothe girls' dormitories, then cleared the rubbish off the woolly hats.
"They should at least see what they're picking up," he said firmly."Anyway . . ." He rolled up the parchment on which he had writtenthe title of Snape's essay. "There's no point trying to finish this now, Ican't do it without Hermione, I haven't got a clue what you're supposed to do with moonstones, have you?"
Harry shook his head a bought boys turned to Percy expectantly. He rolled his eyes and handed him his homework.
"Just copy my homework," said Percy indignantly. "I'm going to bed."
