Taboo

Hermione didn't receive anything else that week, other than her subscription to the Daily Prophet. The week whizzed by, students complaining about the colossal amount of homework they were given.

"I've got two essays and I have to practice Vanishing spells," moaned Ron. "And I have to read this chapter about Inferi still."

"Don't forget, Quidditch tryouts are today before dinner," added Harry, as the three of them frantically scribbled sentences for Slughorn's essay about Polyjuice Potion. They had gotten up early to catch up on homework.

"There," said Harry, scrawling a conclusion. "I'm done."

"Let's go eat, I'm hungry," said Ron, as his stomach gave a particularly loud growl.

They entered the Great Hall and sat down at their usual spot just as the owl arrived. A small tawny owl landed in front of Hermione with the Daily Prophet. She put a Knut inside the pouch on its leg and it took off again. She scanned the front page and frowned.

"What's the matter?" asked Harry, noticing her expression.

"Stan Shunpike's been arrested," she said, pushing the paper towards him.

"Stan Shunpike?" said Ron, stunned. "What for?"

"They think he's a Death Eater," said Harry, briefly reading the article. "What a bunch of rubbish." He threw it aside.

Ron's reply was cut off by the arrival of another owl. It held a bunch of forget-me-nots, fresh with morning dew in its beak. Dropping the flowers on Hermione's plate, it flew away.

"Brilliant," said Ron, looking up expectantly, but no other owls landed.

"There's no note," said Harry, examining the flowers. "What does it mean?"

"Weird," commented Ron.

"Forget-me-nots," whispered Hermione, a feeling of dread forming in her stomach.

"What?"

"Harry, I think someone's trying to send me a message," she said. She had no doubt who these were from.

"Er, what message? I don't see--"

"Harry, these flowers are called forget-me-nots--"

"So?" interrupted Ron. "They're just a bunch of flowers. I personally think the last--"

"--which means that someone is trying to remind me about something," she concluded, ignoring Ron's comment.

"That's what Rememberalls are for," muttered Ron grumpily. Folding up the note she returned to the dormitory.

---

During lunch, both Ron and Hermione seemed to have lost their appetites. Ron had turned slightly green, and was now pushing bits of potato around on his plate.

"You'll be fine, Ron," said Harry reassuringly. "You should eat something though. Here, have some of the casserole." He spooned it onto Ron's plate. Ron nodded and looked as if he would vomit if he opened his mouth. "How come you're not eating anything, Hermione?"

"Oh...I'm just not very hungry," said Hermione, who had been staring down ate her empty plate.

"Does this have something to do with S.P.E.W.?" Harry raised his eyebrows at her, smirking slightly.

"No, it doesn't," she snapped crossly. "There's really no point in just sitting here. I think I'll go to the library for a bit."

"Aren't you going to watch the tryouts?" said Harry, taken aback by the tone of her voice.

"I don't think so," said Hermione. "Professor Vector gave us loads of homework. And I want to see if I can find anything about horcruxes. Well, good luck then. I'll see you at dinner." She stood up to leave.

"See you," called Harry, noticing that she sounded a little nervous, but not sure why. He glanced over at Ron, who had merely moved his food around his plate to make it seem like he'd eaten some. Harry sighed. "Come on then. We've still got an hour before tryouts, so why don't we go down to the pitch to warm up?"

Ron stood up slowly, as if moving in slow motion. "I don't think this is a good idea, Harry," he said in a low voice. "I don't know what I was thinking...I'm not good enough to make the team."

"Sure you are," said Harry encouragingly, as he escorted Ron out of the Great Hall. "Let's go grab out brooms. You can have a go on mine if you like," he offered, desperately trying to get Ron in a better mood.

"Yeah, okay," said Ron grudgingly, though he did sound marginally more cheerful.