9. Hogwarts: Information?
Hermione noticed a tall, dark skinned girl nudge Romilda when she and Ginny walked into the Great Hall for dinner. Romilda’s friend, Frances Curling, was only an inch or so shorter than Harry. Everyone called her Frankie. Romilda whispered something to her other friend - chunky and brown-haired Thomasina Tuck. The three girls gleefully watched Hermione and Ginny approach. Despite her headache, which the hangover potion she’d made for herself and Ginny had not completely cured, Hermione sensed trouble.
‘You’re obviously not giving your boyfriend what he wants, Ginny,’ announced Romilda. Frankie and Tommy giggled.
‘Peeping Potter,’ continued Romilda, holding up a copy of the Evening Prophet, the main headline of which she had just proclaimed loudly. The photograph of Harry was the one snapped outside the Hogs Head in October; he looked startled and rather angry. It was the most recent photograph the Prophet had and they used it regularly. Ginny was likely to rise to Romilda’s baiting and explode. Hermione prepared herself to intervene.
The students surrounding Romilda and her cronies fell nervously silent as the Head Girl and the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain approached. One or two of them even moved their hands towards their wands. Looking at the Evening Prophet’s front cover which Romilda was smugly displaying to them, Hermione saw a smaller headline underneath the main one. It read “Spellfire and Explosions as Aurors Raid Several Sites.” She glanced at Ginny, whose worried expression showed that she’d seen the more important headline, too.
Romilda turned the paper over and read the article gleefully, obviously misunderstanding the look of concern on their faces. ‘At dawn this morning, Harry Potter burst into my bedroom and dragged me from my bed. I always sleep naked, said attractive eighteen-year-old Pansy Parkinson…’
‘Well there’s the first mistake, in the very first sentence,’ snarled Hermione. ‘Pansy, attractive!’
Ginny sniggered.
‘Aren’t you worried about what your boyfriend was up to?’ said Romilda, surprised at Ginny’s reaction.
‘He’s an Auror,’ Ginny snapped sarcastically, ‘He will have to deal with a lot of nasty, horrible, things. Hauling a naked slapper out of bed when he’s on a raid won’t be the worst of them. I couldn’t care if it was Pansy, or even you.’
Hermione groaned. Ginny was trying to pick a fight, too. Fortunately, Romilda had missed Ginny’s final insult; she’d stopped listening at the word “raid,” when she’d given a tinkling, dismissive, laugh. Frankie had heard, but fortunately Romilda was ignoring her friend.
‘Raid,’ Romilda interrupted, talking over the end of Ginny’s sentence, ‘he wasn’t on one of the raids, you stupid little girl, he had an exam, like my Neville. You ought to be worried about what he was doing in Pansy’s bedroom.’
‘An exam?’ Ginny snorted dismissively. ‘Is that what Nev told you?’
Hermione knew that usually there wasn’t much new news in the Evening Prophet, but they had known about the dawn raids. She should have ordered a copy, just for today.
How could she get one? The Hogsmeade visit was over and the newsagents in Hogsmeade would now be closed, so sending an owl order wouldn’t work. Hermione craned her neck, trying to read the paper, but Romilda was holding it at an angle, ensuring that she couldn’t.
What would Ron do? Hermione wondered. That was easy: he’d make up a reason to confiscate the paper from Romilda. But”that was an abuse of power. It was wrong, she was Head Girl, she couldn’t do that, could she? No!
However, she realised Romilda and Ginny were both snarling and hissing, squaring up for a fight. She needed to do something.
‘How many dawn raids were there?’ Hermione asked as politely as she could, well aware that a hush had fallen across the table. Everyone was trying to listen.
Startled, Romilda scanned the bottom of the page. ‘Five, each involved two squads of Aurors,’ she read.
‘Then that’s wrong, too,’ Hermione told Romilda, forcing herself to keep her voice polite. Perhaps, she thought, she could persuade Romilda to share the paper if she explained. At least Neville’s so-called “girlfriend” had, for the moment, turned her attention away from Ginny.
‘At full strength, the Auror Office was only about forty people,’ Hermione said. ‘They lost about half of them last year, they’re severely understaffed. Ten squads would be thirty Aurors. Even if Harry, Ron and all of the other trainees, and even Mr Robards, went on the raids, that’s only twenty-four.’
‘Hit Wizards,’ Ginny reminded her. Hermione’s brain accelerated to top speed.
‘Five raids,’ she calculated, ‘they probably sent one trainee on each raid, and supplemented the squads with Hit Wizards. Was anyone hurt?’
Hermione’s hands were now twitching as she desperately tried to stop herself from snatching the newspaper. She tried to regain control of her emotions. Ron must be all right. If he wasn’t, she’d have heard. Harry, too. Nevertheless, she could feel the “always in control” Head Girl façade she had so carefully maintained since the beginning of term starting to crack. Ginny was watching her, a look of concern on her face.
If those two boys had only listened to her! she thought angrily. They should be safe here at school with her, not off risking their lives somewhere. They should have taken their final year exams properly, but they had ignored her advice and now they needed her. Ron needed her, and she wasn’t there for him.
Romilda looked from Hermione to Ginny in astonishment. Perhaps if I beg, Hermione thought wildly, she might let me see the paper.
‘There was an explosion and spellfire at the Birmingham Office of Smith and Son Publishing,’ read Romilda.
‘Ron!’ Hermione squealed. This was too much for her. She dashed forwards and tried to snatch the paper from Romilda, who held it high above her head. Ginny took one look at Romilda’s smug expression and pulled out her wand.
‘Please,’ Hermione begged. Romilda was so surprised by the anguished entreaty that, with a shocked expression, she wordlessly handed over the paper. Hermione pushed forwards and hastily spread the paper out on the table. She beckoned urgently to Ginny. For a moment, she thought that Ginny was going to hex Romilda anyway. Hermione decided to ignore the altercation, reading the article was more important. Ginny lowered her wand with a regretful snarl.
‘Do you really believe that Neville was sent on a raid?’ Romilda asked curiously. Hermione clenched her fists, maddened by the girl’s obvious lack of concern, but simply continued reading.
‘Of course he was, you ignorant tart,’ Ginny snapped as she pushed Romilda aside.
‘May I?’ Ginny asked, pulling the front page from the newspaper. Hermione let her. Harry always made the front page. Hermione knew that she’d find the article dealing with Ron’s raid hidden inside somewhere. She was right, it was on page six.
‘What…’ Romilda began, colouring angrily, but Ginny interrupted.
‘Neville’s an Auror, so he was on one of the raids,’ Ginny said with certainty. ‘They all were, Harry, Ron, Susan and Terry, too.’
‘No injuries,’ Hermione announced in relief as she quickly finished the article. Perhaps now she should try to stop the argument between Ginny and Romilda. ‘Mr Ezekiel Smith was taken in for questioning,’ she told them.
‘Pansy’s Dad “was taken from his Pontefract home in handcuffs.” No one was hurt,’ Ginny announced. She’d been quickly scanning through a different article. ‘Poor Harry, he always gets the headlines for the wrong reasons.’
‘What about Neville?’ Romilda asked. She had finally been infected by some of the anxiety Hermione and Ginny were displaying.
‘Where was he?’ asked Ginny angrily. ‘Do you even know?’
‘He said that his exam was in Wales.’
He dropped you a hint, but you didn’t pick it up, thought Hermione. She wondered how much Neville was telling Romilda. Not as much as Ron and Harry told them, she hoped. She scanned another article.
‘Found it,’ she announced. ‘He was in Pwllheli. “Four individuals were taken into custody at a Smith and Sons warehouse. The Auror Office has refused to give any details. A scar-faced youth claiming to be an Auror forcibly ejected a Prophet reporter from the building and illegally confiscated his camera.”’
‘Well done, Nev.’ Ginny grinned.
‘No injuries at the other two raids,’ Hermione announced in relief. She calmed herself down and returned to her Head Girl tones. ‘One was “at the Somerset home of Mr Theodore Nott, son of convicted Death Eater Thornton Nott.” The other was “in Auchtertool, Fife, at a farm owned by Einar Rowle, brother of the Death Eater Thorfinn Rowle (deceased).”’
‘At least everyone’s okay.’ Ginny sighed. ‘We’ll find out what’s been happening eventually.’
‘You’re not seriously worried about Harry Potter, are you?’ Romilda sounded amused. Hermione rounded on her, but Ginny replied first.
‘You really are as stupid and self-centred as you appear to be, aren’t you?’ Ginny exploded. ‘Why does everyone assume he’ll be all right? Everyone seems to think that he’s indestructible or something. He’s not superhuman; he’s got scars enough to prove that. He’s just … Harry.’
Romilda laughed dismissively. Hermione rolled her eyes, once again wondering why Neville was going out with this silly girl.
‘The Ministry are trying to put them through a three year Auror training course in two years,’ Ginny snarled at Romilda. ‘One-and-a-half years if they can manage it. And they were also studying for their NEWT’s until last month. And they get sent on active missions, too. Of course, I’m worried! Aurors get killed. Hermione’s just told you that the Auror Office lost half of their staff last year! I worry about Harry. I worry about all of them. If you really care about Nev you should be worried about him, too.’
‘If I care,’ Romilda began, outraged. ‘If I care! How dare you! Everyone knows that you only started chasing after Harry when he got interesting, after he fought Y-y-you-Know-Who at the Ministry.’
Hermione realised things were starting to get out of hand again
‘The so-called “Lord Voldemort” was named Tom Riddle,’ Ginny snapped. ‘And he was a lying, cheating, evil, little sneak even when he was at Hogwarts. And for your information, I was at the Ministr,y too. So were Nev and Luna and Hermione! You have no idea about Harry and me, you daft bint, none at all.’
‘I know that you dressed like a slut at that Hogsmeade party, and that you and “The Chosen One” argued!’ Romilda spat vindictively. ‘And I know that your precious boyfriend is still moping about it!’
Ginny’s face fell; Romilda smirked triumphantly. Damn her, Hermione thought. She might as well shout “Bat-bogey me, now,” at the top of her lungs. Ginny was again reaching for her wand, she was going to oblige. I can’t let her do it, Hermione grabbed her friends wand arm. It took both hands and all her strength to stop Ginny from raising her wand.
‘Sit down, Romilda,’ Hermione ordered, ‘and be quiet or else.’
‘Hiding behind the Head Girl, are you?’ Romilda asked. Ginny struggled to free her wand hand from Hermione’s grip. Hermione was tempted to let go. One more word from you, Romilda, she thought and I will.
‘Miss Weasley, Miss Vane,’ the Headmistresses voice rang out from the top table. ‘Show some decorum, please. Five points, each, from Gryffindor. Now sit down or I will put you in detention … together!’
Romilda’s friends grabbed her arms and pulled her down into her seat.
‘Come on, Ginny,’ Hermione begged, dragging her furious friend away from Romilda, to the opposite end of the Gryffindor table. ‘I really don’t know what Neville see’s in her.’
‘She’s already let him see everything she’s got,’ Ginny spat. ‘I think that’s the attraction.’ She was seething and continued to struggle with Hermione.
‘Calm down, Ginny, and let’s eat.’ Hermione begged. ‘Don’t let her get to you. She doesn’t know anything.’
‘She bloody does,’ Ginny snapped. ‘Nev must have told her about the party! I’ll be writing to him tonight! Has Ron said anything to you?’
Hermione pulled Ginny down into a seat. ‘About Harry being upset?’ she asked. ‘No, not really.’
‘Not really!’ Ginny said angrily. ‘What the hell does that mean?’
‘Ron said that Harry was a bit down for a couple of weeks after the DA party,’ Hermione explained hastily, quailing under Ginny’s anger. ‘But he’s been fine since the Quidditch game, since he decided to tell you…’
Ginny glared at her. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’
‘It was just a few flippant comments from Ron about Harry moping, and it was weeks ago,’ she protested. Why was Ginny being so unfair? ‘You get at least three long letters from Harry every week, Ginny,’ she said crossly. ‘I only get one short one from Ron, two if I’m really lucky. I assumed that Harry had told you.’
Ginny sadly shook her head; her anger ebbing away as quickly as it had risen. ‘Getting lots of letters from him is great, but sometimes I need to see his face. You know what he’s like for pretending that everything is all right when it isn’t.’
‘You’re right,’ Hermione agreed, as her friend revealed the reason for her concern. ‘Sorry, Ginny, I do know what Harry’s like. I’ll tell you next time Ron mentions anything. We need to compare notes more, don’t we?’
‘If I can’t see him, I can’t tell if he’s upset about something and not telling me. He can hide stuff in letters, Hermione. Next time you hear anything from Ron, tell me, and I’ll do the same for you, I promise. Ron…’ Ginny hesitated. ‘Harry’s told me a lot about Ron, too, I know why his letters are so short. I promised Harry that I wouldn’t tell you.’
‘You did what?’ Hermione hissed. ‘Why?’
‘Harry’s trying to shield Ron from your temper, Hermione. He knows what you’re like about schoolwork and responsibility,’ Ginny sighed. ‘I’m going to tell you anyway. But first you must promise not to tell Ron.’
Hermione glared at Ginny, willing her to speak, but the redhead simply waited silently for an answer.
‘I promise,’ Hermione sighed and gave a reluctant nod.
‘Ron isn’t working as hard as the others in Auror training. Harry stays at home, working and swotting, but Ron goes out a lot.’
‘What, where, why?’ Hermione panicked. ‘Is he ... has he … is there someone else?’
‘Yes.’ Ginny grinned mischievously while nodding. ‘George. He’s helping George in the shop. He’s there so often that he’s relying on Harry to help him through the Auror exams, and he’s so busy that he’s simply scribbling short letters to you. He’s been trying to persuade Harry to write to me less often so that you won’t get suspicious. He worries about what you think of him, he doesn’t want to disappoint you.’
‘Then why isn’t he working?’ Hermione snapped. ‘He’s the one who wanted to be an Auror.’
‘The shop is in trouble, Hermione, serious trouble. George needs help, and Ron is the only one who can give it.’
‘But they were doing so well, before…’
‘Before the war,’ Ginny finished the sentence. ‘Yes, they were, but not as a joke shop.’
‘What?’
‘Ron’s been through the books, he’s told Harry. He’s told George, too, but George won’t listen, because the joke shop was Fred’s idea and George doesn’t want to disappoint Fred.’ Ginny paused for breath.
‘Apparently they’ve never made very much money from the jokes; they were only making a couple of sickles from the skiving snackboxes. Our Headmistress isn’t as easy going as Dumbledore, and you’re not helping by announcing a ban on Weasley products. They simply aren’t selling so much. The fireworks made them money, but it was the defensive items that were the money spinners. They made their money from Shield Cloaks and Decoy Detonators and stuff like that.’
George is concentrating on rebuilding the joke shop business, he’s re-employed all five members of staff they had before the Death Eaters closed them down. Ron knows that the business can’t afford it. The shop was destroyed. George has received compensation, but he’s frittering it away paying his staff to manufacture stuff that just isn’t selling. Ron’s really worried about what might happen to George if the business goes bust.’
‘He’s working hard to get the business back on track. He’s jeopardising a career as an Auror to help George. He’ll never be able to persuade George to let the business collapse, because “it’s Fred’s legacy”. Harry reckons that Ron should quit the Auror Office to go and help George full time, but he won’t. You know how pig-headed Ron can be.’
‘It’s not pig-headedness,’ Hermione said defensively. ‘He’s caring and considerate and he doesn’t like letting people down.’
‘He’s really got you, hasn’t he?’ Ginny laughed. ‘But, he’s trying to do two jobs and both of them are more than full time.’
‘Poor Ron,’ Hermione said with a sigh. ‘Tell him you’ve told me, then I’ll be able to let him know that it’s okay.’
‘I can’t,’ Ginny replied. ‘Ron made Harry promise not to tell anyone, not even me. I don’t know anything I’ve just told you, so you certainly don’t, sorry. Ron does miss you, you know. He doesn’t know it, but the other trainees have a sweepstake on how often he says “I wish Hermione was here”. The record is thirteen.’
‘Thirteen times in one week?’ Hermione smiled happily. Ron was working hard, trying to help his brother, and he missed her. It would be nice if he wrote more often, but at least now she knew why he didn’t.
‘Thirteen times in one day,’ Ginny grinned. Hermione’s heart leapt. Then she remembered her midnight excursion with Ginny. She’d risked being caught out of bounds as Head Girl; she had risked a detention.
‘Why didn’t you tell me last night,’ she asked, suddenly annoyed, ‘when I was so depressed about Ron?’
‘It’s another thing that I promised Harry I wouldn’t tell you,’ Ginny admitted. ‘Ron still doesn’t know about the sweepstake and Harry was sure that you’d tell him if you found out. But if you’re going to tell me what Ron says about Harry I can’t keep things like that secret, can I? I’ll write and tell Harry that I’ve broken my promise.’
‘Don’t,’ Hermione advised, mollified. ‘I won’t say anything to Ron, I promise.’ She began planning. ‘I can surprise him with it when I see him and you can confess the next time you actually meet Harry. If you choose your moment he’ll forgive you instantly. I watched you and Harry over the summer. You know exactly how to make him do anything for you.’
‘I thought I did,’ Ginny replied, ‘but after Hogsmeade I’m not so sure.’
‘You overdid it,’ Hermione told her.
Ginny nodded. ‘I know, I didn’t mean to, I just…’
‘…Had a wardrobe malfunction?’ Hermione asked.
Ginny laughed. ‘I’ll tell Harry that.’
Hermione smiled. ‘They get teased a lot, you know, all three of them,’ she added, trying to make peace.
‘Teased?’ Ginny asked.
‘They get ribbed about us, about having schoolgirls for girlfriends,’ Hermione told her friend. ‘At least two of the Aurors give them a hard time about it.’
‘Harry mentioned that, when we were outside the school gates, but we had more important things to talk about. Do you know which two Aurors?’ Ginny asked.
Hermione shrugged. ‘Ron hasn’t told me. He thinks it’s funny.’
‘Harry probably doesn’t,’ Ginny said. ‘That’s why he won’t have mentioned it in his letters.’
What else didn’t Ginny know about Harry? Hermione wondered.
‘Do you know that Harry regularly gets invited to all sorts of Ministry functions and private parties?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ confirmed Ginny.
‘Do you know that all invitations are to Mr H J Potter and guest?’
‘He’s told me that, too. But he doesn’t even go unless Kingsley asks personally,’ said Ginny. ‘That’s only happened twice. Kingsley only insisted that he take a guest the first time. After that the Minister decided that it would be best to let Harry go alone.’
‘Ron didn’t tell me that.’ Hermione was curious. ‘Who did Harry take?’
‘Andromeda Tonks, but she had to bring Teddy, too.’ Ginny grinned. ‘Four month old babies don’t care whether it’s a private formal dinner or not. They cry and fill their nappies when they want to.’
‘Andromeda Tonks?’ Hermione was surprised.
‘Harry sees ‘Dromeda and Teddy at least twice a week,’ Ginny said. ‘When I found out, I wrote to her to ask how Harry’s coping. She’s turning into another of Harry’s many “more mature” conquests. She and Mum should start a club for older Potter fans. “He’s a wonderful godfather to Teddy and he’ll make a great Dad one day”, Mrs Tonks told me when she wrote back. She also says that he’s a “Keeper”.’
Hermione laughed, then glanced up at the top table and lowered her voice. ‘I think that our Headmistress would join that club, too, provided that she could do it anonymously.’
Ginny’s face creased into a smile and she gave a rich, deep chuckle. ‘It’s not as well kept a secret as Minnie the Moggy likes to think.’
‘Minnie the Moggy!’ Hermione was shocked at such disrespect.
‘Not so loud,’ Ginny hissed. ‘You must have heard that name before.’ Hermione shook her head.
‘But loads of people use it!’ Ginny sounded amazed.
Deciding not to comment on the Headmistress’s nickname, she lowered her voice. ‘Did you know that girls regularly approach Harry at work, and sometimes even in the street, to ask him out? And that he gets sent a love potion at least once a week?’
‘No … well … sort of … yes,’ Ginny replied thoughtfully. ‘He’s made a few jokes about that in his letters. But he’s never mentioned how frequent it was. It gets him down, doesn’t it?’
‘Yes, it really annoys Ron, too,’ said Hermione. ‘He’s very touchy about love potions, you know.’
‘With good reason,’ said Ginny. The two girls glared down the table at Romilda.
‘Ron often shouts at girls who pester Harry. He’s even made a few of them cry.’
‘Leave him alone, you little tart,’ Ginny growled, mimicking her youngest brother, ‘he’s going out with my sister.’
‘That’s about right,’ Hermione laughed. ‘Ron says that Harry hardly ever goes to Diagon Alley. He walks through Muggle London from the Ministry to Grimmauld Place and stays there most nights, working and studying.’
‘I wish that we knew what had been happening today,’ said Ginny. ‘I don’t suppose that Romilda will let us read her Evening Prophet now.’
‘Not likely,’ Hermione agreed.
‘You’re Head Girl, you could just confiscate it from her.’
‘I can’t, not without a good reason,’ Hermione said, suppressing a smile and wondering if all of the Weasleys thought like Ron.
‘I could plant some banned Weasley products on her,’ Ginny offered.
‘No, Ginny, I won’t do it.’ Hermione folded her arms and firmly reminded herself that, tempting though it was, such an act would be an abuse of her position. ‘Anyway, you shouldn’t have any “banned products” to plant on her because they are banned!’
‘Oops.’ Ginny pulled a panicky face before grinning. ‘Am I in trouble, Madam Head Girl?’
‘You should be,’ Hermione started, but gave up. She didn’t want to fight Ginny, though her friend could be as insufferable as Ron sometimes. ‘Oh, forget it. There’s no way to get a paper now.’
‘You’ll have to subscribe to the Evening Prophet, too,’ Ginny suggested.
‘No, most of the time there’s not much of a difference from the morning paper,’ Hermione told her. ‘Anyway, why should I get two papers. You could take out a subscription.’
‘Can’t afford it,’ Ginny grinned cheerfully. ‘Not unless I cancel my subscriptions to Quidditch Today, Quidditch Weekly and The Quibbler.’
‘The Quibbler!’ Hermione snorted. Ginny could be annoying sometimes. ‘And why get two different Quidditch…’ she began.
‘”Today” is best for match analysis, “Weekly” is best for equipment reviews,’ interrupted Ginny. ‘The Quibbler is always good for a laugh. Nothing is more important than Quidditch and the Quibbler, Hermione. Nothing except Harry, of course.’
With a sigh, Hermione acknowledged to herself that this was another discussion that she’d never win.
‘You’ll just have to wait until I get the Sunday Prophet tomorrow morning,’ she told Ginny. ‘And I’m not going to let you read it over my shoulder. You can wait until I’ve finished.’
‘You don’t even look at the back pages. You could give me those to read. I need to see the match reports.’
‘Are they more important than the headlines?’
Ginny grinned, ‘Usually, yes, but you’re right, not tomorrow they’re not. I want to find out what’s been happening to the boys. They should be off duty by now. I wonder what they’re doing?’
Aurors and Schoolgirls by Northumbrian
Chapter Notes: The girls are desperate for news. Exactly how desperate?
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks (in alphabetical order) to Amelíe, Andrea, Apurva and Natalie for their comments, corrections and input. Please review. Constructive criticism is always gratefully received.