The Reticulation, Part II

"Okay, Goyle," Blaise Zabini said importantly, "the Dark Lord has commanded us to summon all his loyal Death Eaters here to help train us in the true ways of the Dark Arts. Now, I'm going to dictate a letter to them and you'll write it. I'll then use a Duplication Spell on it and send them using the owls in the owlery. Ready?"

"Okay," Goyle said gruffly. "Can you remind me whether my wand arm is my right or left?"

"It's your right, you idiot!" Zabini said in exasperation. "Now, I want you to write 'This is a message for all Death Eaters. The Dark Lord has yet again escaped death by placing his essence inside the Reticulation of Hogwarts. He has thus taken over the school and will now use it as his new headquarters. Report to the castle immediately if loyalty to the Dark Lord means anything to you.' You got all that down?"

"How do you spell 'this?'" asked Goyle.

Harry was sitting hopelessly in McGonagall's office. He certainly wasn't the only one feeling despondent--Ron was pacing around and Ginny was looking forlornly out a window in a way that reminded Harry of an old painting he had once seen. Professor McGonagall was sitting silently at her desk, but Harry could tell she felt just as downhearted as any of them.

Hermione, on the other hand, though she certainly wasn't happy, didn't look that depressed either--she was reading Hogwarts: A History for the who-knows-what time. Eventually, she pulled out a piece of parchment and looked up.

"Harry," she called, "Ron, Ginny! I need some help with this essay."

"You're the great essay writer," Ron said darkly. "Why do you need our help?"

"It's very important," Hermione insisted. "If I don't get your help, why I--I may not get out of here. It could also help the rest of you get out of here as well."

Harry looked up, catching the hidden meaning, and walked over behind her. Ron, Ginny and Professor McGonagall followed. On the blank piece of parchment, Hermione wrote, "Ron say that this looks like a really hard essay." Ron looked confused, but Harry and Ginny gave him a look.

"Uh, wow," he said quickly. "That...essay looks really hard. Really, really hard."

"It's for History of Magic," Hermione explained briskly. "I figure as along as we're trapped in here I might as well get some work done." She then wrote on the paper, "Ask me if I'm out of my mind and point out we could die anyway."

"Are you out of your mind?!" he asked, clearly getting the hang of this. "We'll probably all end up dying anyway."

"And if we don't?" Hermione asked. Ron looked down at the paper to see what he should say, but Hermione didn't write anything.

"Because--because this is very serious," he said. "You just work too hard, Hermione."

"I think the essay's really good," Ginny said convincingly. "Besides, Hermione should be able to spend her time however she wishes." Ron, looking at the paper that only had two commands for him written on it, thought about this for a moment.

"Yeah, okay," Ron said eventually.

"What's the point of this essay?" Harry asked cryptically.

"The witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts," Hermione said aloud, as she wrote "I think I've discovered how Voldemort took over the Reticulation in the first place." Harry looked at those words for a moment and then got an idea.

"Here, let me help you with that part," he said reaching over her shoulder to pick up the quill. He then wrote on the paper, "How did he do it?" Hermione then took the quill from him and crossed out his part.

"I don't think that's very good, Harry," she said. "You're not exactly a brilliant essayist. This is what should go here." She then wrote, "It took me awhile to find it because I first read the chapter on the Reticulation and it didn't have anything, but now I've found something significant in another section."

"Here," Ginny said, reaching over Hermione to write "And what section is that?" on the parchment." In response, Hermione wrote seven words:

"The section on the Chamber of Secrets."