When Hermione awoke the next day it took her several seconds to remember where she was. She opened her eyes and found that Ginny was almost changed. She grinned when she saw that Hermione was awake
"So" Hermione said "Harry is coming today"
She was very glad to see that Ginny blushed as she nodded. She had been very taken with Harry since her first year
"Yes" she said quietly. She sighed "I wish I knew why Harry doesn't like me"
"Well, what have you said to him?" Hermione asked
"Well... not... much..." said Ginny slowly. Hermione raised her eyebrows "or anything... at all..."
"Well maybe you should start by actually saying something to him" laughed Hermione. Ginny stuck out her tongue. Hermione grinned
Hermione and Ginny spent the morning playing wizards chess, and Ron came downstairs just after lunch
"What have you been doing?" Hermione asked
"Sleeping" said Ron "What? Mum says we have to get up early tomorrow to get to the Quidditch World Cup, so I think I should have a lie in"
"Until one o' clock?" said Ginny. Ron grinned sheepishly
Ron glanced at the Daily Prophet on the table and his eyes widened in shock
"Hermione!" he said hoarsely "Hermione! Look at this!"
Hermione got up and walked over to the table, Ginny behind her. She looked at the Daily Prophet and froze. On the front was a large black and white picture of Sirius Black. Sirius was Harry's godfather, who had been imprisoned twelve years ago for murders he didn't commit. Hermione, Ron and Harry, as well as Professor Dumbledore and their ex Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Lupin, were the only people who knew that Sirius had been framed by Peter Pettigrew, one of his ex best friends. It was thanks to Hermione and Harry that Sirius was barely able to escape with his life at the end of last year, and Hermione cared about what happened to him almost as much as Harry did
Hermione's eyes turned to the report underneath the large picture:
NEW EVIDENCE COULD LEAD TO BLACK CAPTURE
Shocking new evidence provided by wizards abroad has lead the discovery that Sirius Black may be hidden in Africa! Wizarding authorities have been alerted and are now conducting a large scale manhunt
"We are very close to catching Black" says head of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour "One of our top Auror's, Kingsley Shacklebolt, has been able to work out his movements, and we have been able to corner him. We should have him by the end of the month"
This statement had been received with delight by the wizarding community
"I was very glad to hear this" said Severus Snape, 34, the Potions professor at Hogwarts School "we will all be able to sleep at night knowing that Black is about to be handed back to the Dementors"
Sirius Black, convicted death eater, was imprisoned twelve years ago for the murder of twelve muggles and one wizard...
It then went on about what Sirius was framed for. Hermione and Ron exchanged horrified glances, before turning back to the article. Hermione felt hatred bubbling through her, directed at Snape. Snape was well aware that Sirius was innocent, but as him and Sirius had argued at school, Snape had tried to get Sirius back into Azkaban
"It would be good if Sirius Black was caught, don't you think?" said Ginny, turning to Hermione. Hermione had never told Ginny that Sirius was innocent, as the last time she had said it she'd got questions about her sanity
"Yes... It would be great..." she said in a stained voice, before going back to the chess game, trying to act naturally and not betray the panic raising inside her
Just like the day before, Hermione, Ron and Ginny went outside to play Quidditch. This time, Hermione spotted Crookshanks, who was hissing and spitting wildly, chasing a gnome, a creature that looked like a tiny little ugly man, who was only a few inches high, with a shrivelled head that looked too big for him and large bony feet
Hermione watched Ron and Ginny play Quidditch for a while, before getting bored and pulling out An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe again. She only looked up when she heard Ron's voice above her
"Oh no! I'm late! I told Harry I'd get him at five!"
Hermione looked up. Ron was staring at his watch. He landed before racing down the lawn towards the house. Ginny watched Ron with an amused expression on her face, before landing as well
"Harry should be here soon" said Ginny "should we go back inside?"
Hermione agreed, and the two of them walked back to the house. The house seemed very empty, as Percy was upstairs and Mr Weasley, Fred, George and Ron had gone to get Harry. They had decided that more people needed to go as Harry's aunt and uncle really hated magic and might cause trouble
Hermione and Ginny waited in the kitchen with Mrs Weasley and all three of them jumped when they heard voices. Mrs Weasley left in the direction of the lounge
"Remember to talk to him" Hermione hissed as they followed
They could only hear what people were saying when they were very close to the lounge
"That's not the point!" Mr. Weasley was saying "You wait until I tell your mother-"
"Tell me what?" said Mrs Weasley suspiciously "Oh hello, Harry, dear. Tell me what, Arthur?"
Hermione and Ginny entered the lounge and saw Harry standing with all the Weasley's. Messy haired as always, round glasses framing bright green eyes, his fringe currently hiding his lightning bolt scar. They both smiled at Harry when he spotted them, who grinned. Hermione saw Ginny blush and elbowed her, shaking her head slightly
"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley said in a dangerously quiet voice
"It's nothing, Molly" said Mr. Weasley "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them-"
"What have they done this time?" Mrs. Weasley snapped "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes-"
"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione, sensing an argument about to happen
"He knows where he's sleeping" said Ron blankly "in my room, he slept there last-"
"We can all go" said Hermione
"Oh" said Ron, his mouth going wide "Right"
"Yeah, we'll come too" said George hopefully
"You stay where you are!" said Mrs. Weasley
Ron and Harry joined Hermione and Ginny and the four of them set off up a flight of steps
"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked
Ron and Ginny both laughed again
"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room" said Ron "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that..."
Hermione elbowed Ginny behind Harry and mouthed talk
"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things" said Ginny "We thought they just liked the noise"
Harry grinned, and Ginny beamed before turning to Hermione, who smiled and gave her a thumbs up
"Only, most of the stuff - well, all of it, really - was a bit dangerous" said Ron "and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burned all the order forms... She's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected"
"And then there was this big row" said Ginny "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke shop"
Percy's door opened and Percy looked out, looking very annoyed
"Hi, Percy" said Harry
"Oh hello, Harry" said Percy "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, you know - I've got a report to finish for the office - and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs"
"We're not thundering" Ron grumbled "We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic" "What are you working on?" asked Harry
"A report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation" said Percy "We're trying to standardize cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin - leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year-"
"That'll change the world, that report will" said Ron sarcastically "Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks"
"You might sneer, Ron" Percy snapped "but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger-"
"Yeah, yeah, all right" said Ron in a bored voice. Percy slammed the door
Ron's room was right at the top of the house. Walking into it was rather like walking into a fireplace as everything, from the wallpaper to the bedspreads was orange, and Hermione could guess why. Ron's favourite Quidditch team, unlike his sister, was the Chudley Cannons and unfortunately their team colour was bright orange. There was a tank with a large frog in it on one off the windowsills, and a cage containing Ron's tiny owl was on the other, which was twittering away madly at the sight of four new companions
"Shut up, Pig" said Ron "Fred and George are in here with us, because Bill and Charlie are in their room. Percy gets to keep his room all to himself because he's got to work"
"Er - why are you calling that owl Pig?" Harry asked Ron
"Because he's being stupid" said Ginny "Its proper name is Pigwidgeon"
"Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all" said Ron "Ginny named him" he added "She reckons it's sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me too, come to that"
Hermione knew him too well to take the last statement seriously. Ron had complained all the time about how boring his pet rat Scabbers was, yet he didn't talk to Hermione for weeks when he thought that Crookshanks had eaten him. Ron seemed to remember that too, as he grinned sheepishly at Hermione, which she took to be an apology. Hermione rolled her eyes
"Where's Crookshanks?" Harry asked
"Out in the garden, I expect" Hermione said, turning her attention back to Harry "He likes chasing gnomes. He's never seen any before"
"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry
"Enjoying it?" said Ron exasperatedly "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr. Crouch... as I was saying to Mr. Crouch... Mr. Crouch is of the opinion... Mr. Crouch was telling me... They'll be announcing their engagement any day now"
"Have you had a good summer, Harry?" said Hermione "Did you get our food parcels and everything?"
Hermione had received a letter a few days into the summer holiday pleading for help, and she had assumed that Ron and possibly Hagrid had received similar letters. From what Hermione could tell, Harry's cousin Dudley had started dieting and Harry had been forced to join in, even though he never got enough to each at his aunt and uncle's anyway. It was thanks to this letter that Hermione had been able to persuade her parents to give Harry a large chocolate cake on his birthday, although they had only let her send sugar free snacks to him at the time
"Yeah, thanks a lot" said Harry "They saved my life, those cakes"
"And have you heard from-?" Ron began, but Hermione silenced him with a look. She guessed that he was about to say 'Sirius', and it would be a bad idea to ask in front of Ginny, who was now looking at Hermione and Ron very suspiciously indeed
"I think they've stopped arguing" said Hermione, not looking Ginny in the eye. She hated not telling things to Ginny "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"
"Yeah, all right" said Ron
When they reached the kitchen they found Mrs Weasley in a very bad move
"We're eating out in the garden" she said, aggressively pointing her wand at pots and pans "There's just not room for eleven people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables"
Hermione and Ginny took half the plates each and headed outside. Hermione wasn't surprised at all to find that Bill and Charlie weren't doing what they were supposed to do. Instead, they both had their wands out and they each had control of one of the two tables. They were both in the air, and Bill and Charlie seemed to be trying to knock the other's table out of the air. Fred and George were cheering, and Ginny started laughing. Just as Ron and Harry arrived on the scene, there was an almighty BANG and Bill knocked a leg off Charlie's table. A window several floors up opened and Percy's head appeared
"Will you keep it down?!" he roared
"Sorry, Perce" said Bill brightly "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"
"Very badly" Percy yelled, slamming the window shut. Bill and Charlie both directed their tables onto the ground, Bill fixing the broken one with a flick of his wand. Ginny and Hermione put the plates down as Bill conjured up a tablecloth from nowhere
Dinner was ready by about seven, and everyone sat around the tables was in high spirits. Percy was once again talking about work (Hermione wondered if he talked about anything else these days) and this time Hermione decided to listen
"I've told Mr. Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday" Percy was saying, presumably talking about the report "That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time, I mean, it's extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman-"
"I like Ludo" said Mr. Weasley "He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favour: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble - a lawnmower with unnatural powers - I smoothed the whole thing over"
"Oh Bagman's likable enough, of course" said Percy grumpily "but how he ever got to be Head of Department... when I compare him to Mr. Crouch! I can't see Mr. Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. You realize Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"
"Yes, I was asking Ludo about that" said Mr. Weasley, his eyebrows knitted "He says Bertha's gotten lost plenty of times before now - though I must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried..."
"Oh Bertha's hopeless, all right" said Percy "I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth... but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr. Crouch has been taking a personal interest, she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr. Crouch was quite fond of her - but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organize right after the World Cup"
Percy cleared his throat and raised his voice
"You know the one I'm talking about, Father" he said "The top-secret one"
Ron rolled his eyes
"He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is ever since he started work" he muttered "Probably an exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons"
Meanwhile, Mrs Weasley was arguing about Bill's choice of earring
"...with a horrible great fang on it. Really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?"
"Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure" said Bill
"And your hair's getting silly, dear" said Mrs. Weasley "I wish you'd let me give it a trim..."
"I like it" said Ginny "You're so old fashioned, Mum. Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's. He can tuck his hair in his belt"
Mrs Weasley looked simply horrified at the thought
It wasn't until dessert, when the sun had set and Mrs Weasley had had to light a few lamps, that Ron repeated his question he had said to Harry earlier
"So - have you heard from Sirius lately?" he said very quietly. Hermoine, who had been listening to Fred and George, turned to listen
"Yeah" said Harry, just as quietly "twice. He sounds okay. I wrote to him yesterday. He might write back while I'm here"
Hermione had been tempted to tell Harry about the Daily Prophet article, but if Harry said that he seemed fine, than they were probably just exaggerating as usual
"Look at the time" said Mrs. Weasley suddenly "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you - you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time"
"Wow - hope it does this time!" said Harry
"Well, I certainly don't" said Percy pompously "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days"
"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred, grinning
"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" said Percy "It was nothing personal!"
"It was" Hermione heard Fred whisper to Harry "We sent it"