By breakfast the next day, the post owls had arrived. Hermione looked up eagerly; she seemed to be expecting something.
"Percy wouldn't have answered the letter yet," said Ron. "We only sent Hedwig yesterday."
"No, it's not that," said Hermione. "I've taken out a subscription to the Daily Prophet. I'm getting sick of finding everything out from the Slytherins."
"Good thinking!" said Harry, also looking up at the owls. "Hey, Hermione, I think you're in luck-"
A gray owl was soaring down toward Hermione.
"It hasn't got a newspaper, though," she said, looking disappointed. "It's-"
But to her bewilderment, the gray owl landed in front of her plate, closely followed by four barn owls, a brown owl, and a tawny, then followed by Lun, who dropped off a letter to Estella.
"How many subscriptions did you take out?" said Harry, seizing Hermione's goblet before it was knocked over by the cluster of owls, all of whom were trying to deliver their own letter first.
"What on earth-?" Hermione said, taking the letter from the gray owl, opening it, and starting to read. "Oh really!" she sputtered, going rather red.
"What's up?" said Ron.
"It's-oh how ridiculous-"
She thrust the letter toward Harry and Estella, who saw that it was not handwritten but composed from pasted letters that seemed to have been cut out of the Daily Prophet.
You are a WiCked giRl. Harry PoTTer deserves BetteR. What did EstellA ever do to you? GO back wherE you cAMe from mUGGle.
"They're all like it!" said Hermione desperately, opening one letter after another. "'Harry Potter can do much better than the likes of you...you call yourself Estella's best friend-PLEASE. You deserve to be boiled in frog spawn' Ouch!"
She had opened the last envelope, and yellowish-green liquid smelling strongly of petrol gushed over her hands, which began to erupt in large boils.
"Undiluted bubotuber pus!" said Ron, picking up the envelope gingerly and sniffing it.
"Ow!" said Hermione, tears starting in her eyes as she tried to rub the pus off her hands with a napkin, but her fingers were so thickly covered in painful sores that it looked as though she was wearing a pair of thick, knobbly gloves.
"You'd better get up to the hospital wing," said Harry as owls around Hermione took flight. "We'll tell Professor Sprout where you've gone."
The three watched as another cluster of owls swooped down, dropping off at least seven letters in front of Estella.
Harry quickly snatched them, "You're not opening that!"
"Didn't plan to," she laughed as she tucked the letter from her dad away. It was more than likely a response about Rita Skeeter.
Hermione didn't turn up for Herbology, so Estella had gone by the hospital wing for both her free periods until Hermione forced her to go to their Care of Magical Creatures class, saying she'd meet up with them towards the end of class.
As she walked down with Harry and Ron, she saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle descending the stone steps of the castle. Pansy was whispering and giggling behind them with her gang of Slytherins. Catching sight of Harry, Pansy called, "Potter, you haven't split up with your girlfriend?"
Harry ignored her while Estella muttered a silent hex that would result in pus-filled pimples scattered across her face that night. No one messed with her best friend and got away with it.
Hagrid, who had told them last lesson that they had finished with unicorns, was waiting for them outside his cabin with a fresh supply of open crates at his feet. Inside were a number of fluffy black creatures with snouts. Their front paws were curiously flat, like spades, and they were blinking up at the class, looking politely puzzled at all the attention.
"These're nifflers," said Hagrid, when the class had gathered around. "Yeh find 'em down mines mostly. They like sparkly stuff. There yeh go, look."
One of the nifflers had suddenly leaped up and attempted to bite Pansy's watch off her wrist. She shrieked and jumped backward.
"Useful little treasure detectors," said Hagrid happily. "Thought we'd have some fun with 'em today. See over there?" He pointed at the large patch of freshly turned earth Estella had watched him digging from the Owlery window. "I've buried some gold coins. I've got a prize fer whoever picks the niffler that digs up most. Just take off all yer valuables, an choose a niffler, and get ready ter set 'em loose."
Estella took off her rings and bracelet and stuffed it in her pocket, before picking up a niffler. It put its long snout in Estella's ear and sniffed enthusiastically. It was really quite cuddly.
"Hang on," said Hagrid, looking down into the crate, "there's a spare niffler here...who's missin'? Where's Hermione?"
"She had to go to the hospital wing," said Ron.
"We'll explain later," Harry muttered; Pansy was listening.
It was easily the most fun they had ever had in Care of Magical Creatures. The nifflers dived in and out of the patch of earth as though it were water, each scurrying back to the student who had released it and spitting gold into their hands. Ron's was particularly efficient; it had soon filled his lap with coins.
"Can you buy these as pets, Hagrid?" he asked excitedly as his niffler dived back into the soil, splattering his robes.
"Yer mum wouldn't be too happy, Ron," said Hagrid, grinning. "They wreck houses, nifflers. I reckon they've got the lot now," he added, pacing around the patch of earth while the nifflers continued to dive. "I only buried a hundred coins. Oh, there y're, Hermione."
Hermione was walking toward them across the lawn. Her hands were very heavily bandaged, and she looked miserable. Pansy was watching her beadily.
"Well, let's check to see how yeh've done!" said Hagrid. "Count yeh coins! And there's no point in trying to steal any, Goyle," he added, his beetle-black eyes narrowed. "It's leprechaun gold. Vanishes after a few hours."
Goyle emptied his pockets, looking extremely sulky. It turned out that Ron's niffler had been the most successful, so Hagrid gave him an enormous slab of Honeydukes chocolate for a prize. The bell rang across the grounds for lunch; the rest of the class set off back to the castle, but Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Estella stayed behind to help Hagrid put the nifflers back in their boxes.
"What yeh done ter your hands, Hermione?" said Hagrid, looking concerned.
Hermione told him about the hate mail she'd received that morning and the envelope full of bubotuber pus.
"Aaah, don't worry," said Hagrid gently, looking down at her. "I got some o' those letters and all after Rita Skeeter wrote about me mum."
"No!" said Hermione, looking shocked.
"Yeah," said Hagrid, heaving the niffler crates over by his cabin wall. "They're jus' nutters, Hermione. Don't open 'em if yeh get anymore. Chuck 'em straight in the fire."
"You missed a really good lesson," Harry told Hermione as they headed back toward the castle; Estella and Harry were discreetly holding hands. "They're good, nifflers, aren't they, guys?"
"They're so adorable!" added Estella.
Ron, however, was frowning at the chocolate Hagrid had given him. He looked thoroughly put out about something.
"What's the matter?" said Harry. "Wrong flavor?"
"No," said Ron shortly. "Why didn't you tell me about the gold?"
"What gold?" said Harry.
"The gold I gave you at the Quidditch World Cup," said Ron. "The leprechaun gold I gave you for my Omnioculars. In the Top Box. Why didn't you tell me it disappeared?"
Harry had to think for a moment before he realized what Ron was talking about. Everyone knew money was a touchy subject for Ron; even if Harry did notice, Estella didn't think he'd tell him.
"Oh..." he said, the memory coming back to him. "I dunno...I never noticed it had gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn't I?"
They climbed the steps into the entrance hall and went into the Great Hall for lunch.
"Must be nice," Ron said abruptly when they had sat down and started serving themselves roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. "To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing."
"Listen, I had other stuff on my mind that night!" said Harry impatiently. "We all did, remember?"
"I didn't know leprechaun gold vanished," Ron muttered. "I thought I was paying you back. You shouldn't have given me that Chudley Cannon hat for Christmas."
"Forget it, all right?" said Harry.
Ron speared a roast on the end of his fork, glaring at it. Then he said, "I hate being poor."
Harry, Estella, and Hermione looked at each other. Neither of them really knew what to say.
*******
Within the days leading up to the third task, the workload for all fourth years had gotten heavier. Ron and Hermione set off to go to bed while Estella remained in the common room, determined to finish her Transfiguration essay. She was so enthused in the essay she didn't hear the portrait door open and jumped as she felt a kiss press against her cheek.
"Harry?" Estella turned around. "You scared me!"
Harry's appearance was quite disheveled as he climbed over the couch and sat down next to her, pulling her into a passionate, and much-needed, kiss, which Estella gladly returned.
Pulling back, Estella leaned her forehead against his, "What's wrong? You look-"
Harry then informed her of the events that had just transpired regarding Mr. Crouch either attacking Viktor or somebody else attacking both of them.
"Well then, it must've been Crouch-"
"We'll talk about this tomorrow," said Harry as he stared into her gray eyes. "Right now, I just want to be with you."
Estella sat her Transfiguration essay on the coffee table and kissed him. Their kiss deepened as Estella moved onto his lap, her legs straddling his waist as they engaged in an intimate snogging session in the empty common room. Harry's hands tangled themselves in her hair as he gently pulled back on it and trailed kisses down her neck and to the swell of her breast, inciting a light moan from Estella and a groan from Harry. Estella grinned and reconnected their lips, her hand resting on his chest and the other.
It wasn't until around one in the morning that their snogging session ended, and they went their separate ways into their dorms.
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