This is becoming a bit repetitive, thought Hermione to herself, as she sat with Ron and Harry, while Harry told them about yet another strange thing that had happened to him. When he had collapsed, he had had some kind of dream, where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had received news which pleased him. Apparently Wormtail, who had been there, had made some kind of "blunder" which had been solved by someone dying
But that hadn't been what Harry was focusing on. He had headed to Dumbledore's office, which Hermione had been pleased with. Just before he had been let in, he had overheard a argument between Crouch, Moody and Dumbledore about the disappearances of Crouch and Bertha Jorkins. While they went to the place where Crouch had disappeared, Harry had been left alone in the office and found a pensieve, a kind of basin where you could store and rewatch memories. He, being Harry Potter, decided to investigate what it was and ended up watching two memories of different trials on different days. The first was Karkaroff's trial where he had given names to the Ministry in exchange for his release. The second was the trail of Ludo Bagman, of all people, who had been convicted of leaking Ministry secrets to the Death Eaters, not knowing that the person he was talking to was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's spy. What was most extraordinary was one of the people Karkaroff named as a Death Eater: Snape
Hermione was sitting with her head in her hands, thinking over everything they knew and trying to make sence of all of it. She was barely paying attention to Ron and Harry's conversation
"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" said Ron
Hermione assumed that Harry nodded
"And he trusts Snape?" Ron said. "He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?"
"Yes" said Harry
"Rita Skeeter" she said to herself
"How can you be worrying about her now?" said Ron incredulously
"I'm not worrying about her" said Hermione, speaking for the first time in at least ten minutes "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?" said Ron
Hermione shrugged
"And Fudge reckons Madame Maxime attacked Crouch?" said Ron
"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 "Mind you, she's definitely got giant blood, and she doesn't want to admit it-"
"Of course she doesn't" Hermione snapped "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"
She glanced at her watch and started
"We haven't done any practicing!" she said "We were going to do the Impediment Curse! We'll have to really get down to it tomorrow! Come on, Harry, you need to get some sleep"
The days went on, and nothing particularly unusual happened in the castle. Harry practiced defensive spells in the unused classroom Professor McGonagall had let them use, tired of walking in on them all over the school. Harry seemed bothered that she and Ron didn't have time to revise for the end of year examinations, and brought it up just as he was perfecting the Impediment Curse
"Don't worry about it" Hermione had replied "at least we'll get top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We'd never have found out about all these hexes in class"
"Good training for when we're all Aurors" said Ron brightly, using the Impediment Curse to stop a wasp mid-air
As they entered June, the atmosphere in the school became electric and excited. Harry had mastered a lot of useful curses and jinxes. He had also learnt the four-point spell, which worked similarly to a compass. They had started on the shield charm, but Hermione was still able to break it down relatively easily
"You're still doing really well, though" she said "Some of these are bound to come in handy"
"Come and look at this" said Ron, who was looking out of the window "What's Malfoy doing?"
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle was standing by a tree that Hermione, Ron and Harry sometimes did homework under. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be playing lookout, and Malfoy looked like he was talking into his hand
"He looks like he's using a walkie-talkie" said Harry
"He can't be" said Hermione "I've told you, those sorts of things don't work around Hogwarts. Come on, Harry, let's try that Shield Charm again"
Breakfast on June the twenty fourth was incredibly noisy. Harry looked nervous, but he looked better than he had before the other two tasks. A owl swooped over to deliver the morning's Daily Prophet. Hermione looked at the front page and spat out her drink
HARRY POTTER "DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"
The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School.
Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.
"He might even be pretending" said one specialist "This could be a plea for attention"
The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public.
"Potter can speak Parseltongue" reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power"
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers" Similarly "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence"
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening.
"What?" said Harry and Ron
"Nothing" said Hermione quickly
She tried to put it in her bag, but Ron grabbed it
"No way. Not today. That old cow" he growled, staring at the headline
"What?" said Harry "Rita Skeeter again?"
"No" said Ron, also trying to push the paper out of sight
"It's about me, isn't it?" said Harry
"No" said Ron in the most unconvincing voice Hermione had ever heard
"Hey, Potter! Potter!" called Malfoy from the other side of the room "How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?"
"Let me see it" said Harry "Give it here"
Ron gave him the paper. Harry read the whole article with his eyebrows raised
“Gone off me a bit, hasn’t she?” he said carelessly when he had finished, folding up the paper
“How did she know your scar hurt in Divination?” Ron said
"There’s no way she was there, there’s no way she could’ve heard-"
“The window was open” said Harry “I opened it to breathe.”
“You were at the top of North Tower!” Hermione said “Your voice couldn’t have carried all the way down to the grounds!”
“Well, you’re the one who’s supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging!” said Harry “You tell me how she did it!” “I’ve been trying!” said Hermione “But I... but...”
She froze. Bugging
“Are you all right?” said Ron
“Yes” said Hermione vaguely. She held her hand up in an imitation of Malfoy from a few days ago. That could work. That could work!
“I’ve had an idea” she said slowly “I think I know... because then no one would be able to see... even Moody... and she’d have been able to get onto the window ledge... but she’s not allowed... she’s definitely not allowed... I think we’ve got her! Just give me two seconds in the library - just to make sure!”
She grabbed her bag and headed off towards the library
“Oi!” Ron yelled “We’ve got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes!"
Hermione ignored him. This was much more important
She was just leaving the Great Hall when she heard Ginny from behind her
"Hey! Hey! Hermione!"
Hermione glanced behind her. Ginny was storming towards her, looking furious
"Have you seen this garbage?" she exclaimed, slapping the Daily Prophet she was holding
"Take a look at my expression and answer that question for yourself"
Ginny looked at Hermione and a smile grew on her face
"You've got an idea, haven’t you?" she said eagerly "that's your I've got an idea face"
"Yup" said Hermione determinly "and I need to check it out in the library. Coming?"
"Of course" said Ginny "anything to get out of exam revision"
"Okay, what's your idea?" asked Ginny after a while
"I've been thinking for ages about how she keeps getting all these quotes from people, often without their knowledge, and often in places she couldn't have been"
"Like when you were talking to darling Viktor?" asked Ginny innocently
"Well, yes, that's one instance" said Hermione, going slightly pink "and now, with this article. The Divination classroom is over seven floors high. How could she have snuck up seven floors without anyone noticing, even Moody, who can see through Invisibility Cloaks?"
"How?" said Ginny eagerly
"Well, I know with me and Viktor at least, that we were the only people there" she said "at least, the only human people"
"Excuse me?" said Ginny "all people are human"
"Not all people, not all the time" said Hermione "don't you remember? Viktor took a beetle out of my hair"
"So what? What are you-" Ginny's eyes widened as the penny dropped "you think she's an Animagus?"
"It's the only thing that fits!" cried Hermione triumphantly "no one would pay attention to something as insignificant as an insect. And it explained why Moody couldn't see her. It's not like she was hiding inside or under something, she literally was the beetle. I've got it! I've beaten her!"
"Look at you, all pleased with yourself" said Ginny fondly
They reached the library and Ginny grinned
"Why, hello, Vicky!"
Hermione started. Viktor was sitting at a desk, his head burried in a book. He looked up and smiled
"Hello, Herm-own-ninny" he said "Hello, Ginny. Didn't you haff a test?"
"Yep, in about seven minutes" she said quickly, running down an aisle "I'll be able to get there on time if I run. There's something I need to check first"
"What are you checking anyway?" said Ginny "it seems like you've got it all worked out"
"Got all vot vorked out?" asked Viktor
As Ginny briefly explained, Hermione headed to the place she remembered leaving the records last year. Fortunately, no one else had taken it out all year, so it was still there. She took it off the shelf and ran back
"I need to check if she's registered or not" said Hermione, putting the massive book onto Viktor's desk with a thump "if she is, she hasn't technically done much wrong, except go on Hogwarts grounds-"
"And spy on people" said Ginny "and publish things without people's consent"
"Okay, she has done quite a lot wrong" said Hermione "but nothing she could get badly convicted for, but if she isn't registered..."
"She could go to Azkaban for that" finished Ginny "for ages!"
"Exactly" said Hermione, grinning
She finally found the page she was looking for. The list of Animagi in the last century was still only seven people long. Minerva McGonagall, the last name on the list, was written in neat, small scrawl, but...
"She's not there" breathed Ginny
"She's an unregistered Animagi" Hermione gasped "she'd do almost anything to stop that getting out"
The two girls stared at each other, before they both burst out laughing. Hermione gave Ginny and a very bemused looking Viktor each a hug in turn. Ginny did a funny little victory dance, the wide grin still on her face
"We've got her!" cried Hermione gleefully, almost crying with laughter "we've got her!"