Revelations and Romance

11: Parents and Paranoia

January 24th

Monday's last lesson was Herbology. Hannah came over to talk to Hermione while they were repotting some Phobophyte plants. 'I haven't tried giving any detentions yet, but I've hinted to Susan and Megan that I might do soon if they don't stop. They probably know about the five detentions you gave your two gossipers, so they can worry themselves about the number I'd give them.'

Hermione grinned at her.

'It's that badger emblem you have,' said Ron. 'Never trap a badger in a corner, it'll attack you.'

'While Gryffindors pounce on gossipers like lions?' asked Hannah.

'I suppose that means that Slytherins sneak around like snakes, then,' said Harry. 'That one definitely fits them.'

'This analogy is getting out of hand,' said Hermione. 'So the Ravenclaws peck your eyes out?'

Hannah smiled and went back to the table she and Ernie were working at.

*

After dinner, while they were doing their homework, Ginny paused while writing her Transfiguration essay, and asked the others what they were studying in Transfiguration. They told her about the snakes, and she grimaced. 'You'll be making Basilisks next,' she said.

'I don't think so!' said Ron. 'McGonagall would never risk telling Hermione to make a Basilisk.'

'Why me?' Hermione asked.

'Yours would be alive, and it would be able to really attack. Mine wouldn't be quite right.'

Hermione smiled, 'That must be one of the strangest compliments I've ever had.'

*

The trio had a free period at the end of Tuesday. Ron asked Harry, 'How serious were you on Ginny's birthday, about her?'

'I was serious about not doing anything while You-Know-Who is a threat.'

'I know, you told us that weeks ago. But if he does stop being a threat, as you said, what then?'

'Then I was serious. I don't suppose we'd do anything that you two haven't already done. I know you're being the protective older brother, but it's a bit hypocritical. It wouldn't bother you if I was serious about another girl in her year, like Olwen, would it?'

Ron said, 'I suppose not. You were happy for us when we told you we were sleeping together.'

'We ought to be pleased for the two of you, if you and Ginny start sleeping together, too,' said Hermione.

'When she's sixteen!'

'Harry's already said that. I suppose if you're so worried about it, we'd better not do any more either, until your birthday. That's a pity.'

Ron frowned at her. 'That's not funny!'

'I thought it was,' said Harry, grinning.

*

On Wednesday morning, during their breakfast, an owl arrived with a letter for Hermione. 'From your parents?' asked Harry. She nodded, and opened the letter to read it through quickly, then smiled.

'Good news?' asked Ron.

'They want to come and watch the next Quidditch match. They know I won't be in it, but they'd like to see what a game is like. I hope it's all right for them to do that.'

'I'm sure they can,' said Ron. 'They just need to Apparate to Hogsmeade and walk here.'

She frowned at him. 'Oh -- sorry. They can't Apparate, can they?' he said, suddenly realising.

'No, and it'll take them ages to get here by car. I'll ask McGonagall if it's possible to get them here by Portkey instead.'

'Why not use Floo powder?' asked Ginny. 'I'm sure they could use that. Dad can probably get their house put on the network for long enough.'

'They could, if the house had a fireplace.'

'Doesn't it get really cold at this time of year?' asked Ginny, concerned about this. Ron was frowning.

Hermione tried to explain central heating to them, helped by occasional comments from Harry. Ron and Ginny got the basic idea.

'So that's why you thought of a Portkey,' said Ron. 'There's no other easy way they can get here.'

'They just want to watch a Quidditch match you aren't even playing in?' asked Harry.

'They want to see the school, too, as they've never been here, and meet my teachers. I suppose that should be possible,' said Hermione. 'And I can't use magic at home, so they would like to see me doing some.' She grinned. 'There's also someone else they want to meet.'

'Oh, no!' groaned Ron.

Harry laughed. 'I'm sure they won't be that bad.'

'Dad already gave them a bad impression of wizards, when he started fighting Malfoy's dad.'

'That's why I want them to meet you. They need to meet some nice normal wizards,' Hermione reminded Ron.

'I can see why you think that,' said Ginny. 'I remember that fight. But what's Ron got to do with nice and normal?'

'Huh, first Harry, then you!' grumbled Ron.

'Did you say that, then?' Ginny asked Harry, who nodded.

'He said it at Christmas,' said Hermione. She added quietly, 'At about the same time as Ron proposed.'

'Do your parents know about that?' asked Ginny.

'I didn't tell them. Since I only said "maybe", I decided not to.'

The trio's first lesson was Herbology. By now, all the snow had melted, and the path to the greenhouses was surrounded by mud.

'This isn't going to give my parents a good impression,' said Hermione. 'I hope it's drier when they come here.'

*

After lunch, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had a free period, and caught up with some homework.

'I talked to Professor McGonagall at lunchtime,' said Hermione. 'She's going to ask Professor Dumbledore, but she doesn't think there's any problem about getting my parents here. But I've got to see Professor Flitwick to learn a new Charm first.'

'Why?' asked Harry.

'To counter the spells on Hogwarts that make it look like an old ruin to Muggles. If they're going to come here, they should see the real school, not that ruin.'

'I forgot about that,' said Ron.

'You did know that Hermione's Muggle-born, didn't you?' Ginny asked Ron with a grin.

'I just forget sometimes what that means!'

Following the free period, Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the DADA classroom together. McCardle taught them about the background of the three Unforgivable Curses, which were many centuries old, and of their being ruled illegal in the sixteenth century by the first Minister of Magic. She then gave the class further practice in resisting the Imperius curse. For Harry, that just meant one test to make sure the notes from the previous year were correct. He was still able to resist it completely. Ron and Hermione were still having trouble resisting it, though.

In the common room after class, Ron was worrying about his failure to resist the curse.

'I couldn't either,' said Hermione consolingly. 'Most of the class can't.'

'Harry can. Why can't I?'

'It's just as well he can, since You-Know-Who used it on him last year! Do you realise, he's used all three of the Unforgivable Curses on Harry now?'

Ron's jaw dropped, and Ginny looked shocked. 'Really? I didn't know about that!' she said. She'd avoided responding to Ron's difficulties with the Imperius curse.

'He's famous for surviving the killing curse as a baby,' said Ron. 'And last year he resisted Imperius and survived Cruciatus. I didn't think about what that meant.'

'You're being very quiet, Harry,' said Hermione. 'Does it bother you, talking about the curses like this?'

'No, it doesn't really. I hope McCardle isn't going to test us on resisting Cruciatus next, though. I couldn't resist that, and I still remember what it's like,' Harry replied.

There was a pause, then Ginny asked, 'Does anyone want a more cheerful subject?'

'Yes, please,' said Harry.

'OK. Fred and George told me earlier that Hufflepuff's Quidditch training sessions are on Wednesdays, and they've gone to spy on them, to see if they're any good.'

'That's interesting. I wonder what they've found so far?' said Ron. 'It's almost time for dinner anyway, let's go and ask them.'

Fred and George were at dinner, but didn't want to talk about the Hufflepuffs with the whole house present. Angelina told the team, including the reserve players, to meet in the Transfiguration classroom after dinner.

*

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny joined the other players to hear what the twins had to say.

Angelina started the meeting. 'I was going to leave this until tomorrow's training session, but you might want to think about this. We already knew that three of the Slytherins, including their captain, have crashed trying to fly while spinning their brooms like Hermione, and so have two of the Ravenclaws. And you all know that the twins crashed into each other, and Harry almost fell off his broom while trying that trick. OK, Fred.'

'We just thought the Hufflepuffs were too scared to even try it,' said Fred. 'But we were watching them train today, and they have tried it. Instead of spinning the broom as fast as Hermione did, they spin it only slowly.'

'So they're learning to do it slowly and, for all we know, they're gradually going to practise spinning faster,' said George. 'Maybe it's just as well we're playing them before any other team does.'

'Can they all do it?' asked Dean.

Fred said, 'We saw all three of their Chasers spinning their brooms.'

'Tactically, I think that's the best position to use that trick,' said Angelina. 'It doesn't make sense for a Keeper or Seeker to do it, and I don't think there's much point in Beaters doing it, either. It's the Chasers who have to mislead the opposing Keeper.'

'Should we practise it tomorrow, then?' asked Alicia.

'Let's see how training goes. I'd like us to practise it, even though I didn't want to try it before. Now that we know Hermione's not the only one who can do it, it sounds more appealing.'

The meeting ended, and the group headed up to their common room.

'You've started something,' Harry said to Hermione.

'Do you think reserve Chasers have to learn that trick too?' asked Ginny.

'Not all of them,' said Ron, looking at Hermione and smiling.

*

Following Thursday's Transfiguration lesson, Hermione waited behind to talk to Professor McGonagall, and then joined the two boys to go downstairs to lunch. 'Dumbledore says it is OK for them to come here, and I can get the Portkey from him in our DADA lesson.' She was smiling as she said this. 'I'll ask Flitwick about the Charm this afternoon.'

'You'd better eat a hearty meal,' Harry told Ron.

'He's not a condemned man!' Hermione said indignantly. 'My parents aren't nearly as scary as Snape!'

'I haven't slept with Snape's daughter,' Ron pointed out.

'They don't hate you, or anything like that,' said Hermione. 'There's really nothing to be scared of.'

At the end of the afternoon's Charms lesson, Hermione waited behind again, telling the boys to go on to Quidditch practice without her. She caught up with them as they were making their way through the mud to the Quidditch pitch.

'That was easy,' she said. 'Now I should be able to protect my parents from the anti-Muggle spells on the castle.'

'You sound very happy,' said Harry. 'This is like your life's resolution to combine the Muggle and wizarding worlds in your life, isn't it?'

She nodded. 'Yes, I suppose it is. I'm just glad they're finally going to be able to come to Hogwarts and see what we do here.'

'What, all the things that you two do?' asked Harry, widening his eyes to look innocent.

'You know what I meant!'

'That's what's worrying me!' he joked.

After changing into their Quidditch clothes, the team gathered outside. Angelina told them she wanted the first hour's practice to be the same as the previous week's training, but this time it would be the team versus the reserves. The reserves now had a Keeper, Paloma Monahan. There was still no reserve Seeker; Angelina said that she was planning to hold Seeker trials the week after the Hufflepuff game. She added, 'Hermione, we need to practise against a team that uses that spinning technique, so I'd like you to use it during this game.'

The game went well, with Harry catching and releasing the Snitch several times. The reserve team performed well, almost as well as the main team. Just over an hour after they'd started, Angelina called a halt to the game.

'All right, let's try spinning slowly,' she said. 'Hermione, can you demonstrate it again, slowly?'

Hermione obliged by flying her broom in a circle while slowly spinning it around an axis that passed along the handle.

'A circle?' asked Harry in surprise. 'Show-off!'

Hermione shrugged, but she was smiling. She repeated her advice to concentrate on something and fly towards it, without forgetting the other players in the air.

Angelina tried spinning slowly, and managed to avoid crashing, though she didn't manage to fly at a constant height, as she'd intended. Katie and Alicia also tried, and did as well as Angelina.

'Do you want us to try as well?' asked Ginny.

'Yes, I'd like to find out who can do it.'

Ginny and Ian both tried it, and each succeeded in doing it as well as the current Chasers.

'That's pretty good,' said Angelina happily. 'I don't want to push you until you crash, so we'll stop for today.'

They changed back into their school clothes and waited in the Great Hall for their dinners. Hermione used the time to make notes of what her parents ought to see at Hogwarts. Harry watched her happily writing the list. When they returned to the common room after dinner, she was still thinking of things and adding them to the list. Crookshanks had been waiting for her, and jumped onto her lap.

'Oh, I was going to ask you something last week, and I forgot about it,' Ginny said to Harry.

'What was it?' he asked.

'We did Basilisks in DADA, and Owen and Olwen were asking me about the Chamber of Secrets. I said there's probably a rotting Basilisk corpse in it.'

Hermione winced.

'I'd never thought about that,' said Harry, pulling a face. 'I suppose nobody could get rid of it, if they can't open the Chamber.'

'So it's ... it's still there?' said Ron. 'I suppose it must be. I wish you hadn't mentioned it. I'm going to have nightmares now.'

'I had nightmares while it was alive,' Ginny reminded him sharply.

'Sorry.'

'That's the other thing I wondered about -- why is it only Harry who can open the Chamber? You were there when he opened it, weren't you? Didn't you see how he did it?' she asked Ron.

'I know how he did it, but you have to be a Parselmouth to open it.'

Ginny frowned. 'I didn't remember that. How did you know you were a Parselmouth, Harry?'

'I didn't. After the duelling club, when I told the snake not to attack Justin, Ron and Hermione told me I was -- and so was Salazar Slytherin.'

'I remember the whole school talking about that, but how did you two find out to start with?'

Ron explained how they'd heard Harry hissing at the snake, and how they'd had to tell him that he wasn't talking in English.

Ginny was still frowning. 'When did he do that?'

'You remember, Malfoy cast a spell which made a snake appear, and it was going to attack Justin, and I told it to leave him,' said Harry.

'Yes, I remember you telling it that. But when did you hiss at it?'

Ron looked nervously at his sister. Hermione, who had been half-listening while writing out her list, put her quill down and looked at Ginny too. Harry had closed his eyes, and was resting his head on one hand.

'Why are you looking worried?' asked Ginny, puzzled.

'Don't tell anyone you heard me talk to the snake in English,' said Harry, opening his eyes again. 'Because I didn't, apparently. I hissed at it in Parseltongue without even realising.'

'But I heard you! Oh, no. No!'

Harry took her hand. 'I can do it because You-Know-Who gave me some magic along with this scar. I suppose that being possessed by Riddle is why you can do it.'

'I'm not going to tell anyone. Not even Mum and Dad.'

'Harry was unlucky,' said Hermione. 'Almost everyone in the school heard him speaking Parseltongue. Nobody except us knows about you, though.'

'It's not quite as bad, either, because there's no panic about the Chamber now,' said Ron. 'The monster's dead, too.' He grimaced. 'And rotting.'

'But if anyone knew, they might wonder how she became a Parselmouth. None of us want anyone to guess the true answer,' Hermione pointed out.

'Oh, right,' said Ron. 'It is a bit of a giveaway, isn't it?'

'I'm never going to be rid of him, am I?' Ginny asked.

'At least this isn't anything obvious. It might even be useful if you meet a snake or another Basilisk,' suggested Harry. 'You could look at it as a sort of compensation for what he put you through.'

*

At breakfast on Friday, Ron suddenly dropped his fork on his plate. 'I've just realised! I don't have a single lesson before lunch today!'

'Does that mean you won't get up before lunch time next Friday?' asked Harry.

Ginny giggled. 'I bet he doesn't.'

'No, I don't want to miss breakfast. Anyway, I've got DADA after Herbology, when Harry and Hermione can just relax.'

'Are the Hufflepuffs any good at duelling?' Ginny asked.

'I don't know. Seamus wasn't worried about them, but McCardle says he's underestimating them. Now he thinks she was in Hufflepuff, and is giving them extra training.'

'She wasn't in Hufflepuff,' said Ginny.

'How do you know?' asked Hermione.

'She told us in one of our lessons, when we were learning about the Unforgivable Curses. Maybe she wanted to convince us that she knew how to do them.'

'Don't leave us in suspense!' said Ron. 'Which house was she in?'

'It sounds as though she was in Slytherin,' said Hermione.

'You've got it,' said Ginny.

'Slytherin?' said Harry and Ron together.

'A Slytherin teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts?' said Harry. 'And using the Imperius Curse on pupils? How do we know she's not giving the class secret orders while she's doing it?'

'I'm sure she isn't, and she's good at DADA,' said Hermione. 'Remember Raine, not Malfoy and his friends. Not all Slytherins are like You-Know-Who.'

'I want a Gryffindor DADA teacher for at least half of my lessons,' Harry said with a grin.

Hermione waved her wand. 'Done!'

'Are you my fairy godmother?'

'No, I'm one of the good witches.'

'I suppose at least it means McCardle probably isn't biased towards the Hufflepuffs,' said Ron.

Harry gave Ron some more blocking practice in their first two free periods, and then went to join Hermione for Dumbledore's class.

Dumbledore was already in the classroom, as were the two target dummies. For this lesson, the two of them attacked the dummies for a while, then practised blocking against each other again. At the end of the lesson, Dumbledore gave them each five points, and another list of spells to learn for their next lesson.

'A note signed by Professor Dumbledore himself! We shouldn't have any trouble with the Restricted Section this time,' said Harry, as they walked down to the Great Hall.

Hermione was looking at the spell names. 'I'm trying to guess what some of these do. If my guesses are right, these might be worse than Pyroderm.'

'Well, we both managed to block that OK today.'

'I suppose it isn't really surprising that the spells are getting nastier.'

'Just as long as we don't have to learn the Unforgivable Curses,' joked Harry.

Hermione looked at him.

'It was a joke!' he said.

'Last year, we were shown those Curses. I don't think even Crouch would have shown them to us if Dumbledore hadn't told him to.'

'You don't seriously think he's going to teach them to us? He wouldn't! We'd be sent to Azkaban if we ever used them!' exclaimed Harry.

'Maybe Aurors are still allowed to use them against Dark Wizards. Are you still thinking about becoming an Auror?' she asked.

'I suppose I am. I don't really know what sorts of jobs wizards do after leaving school. I just know what the Weasleys do -- working for the Ministry, or Gringotts, and Charlie looks after dragons. I don't know of any other jobs. Oh, and there's the twins' joke shop idea. And Oliver's playing Quidditch professionally -- I forgot you could do that. Hmm, and working in shops or on the Knight Bus.'

'Teaching at Hogwarts? You could be the first DADA teacher to last for more than a year! Or you could be a mediwizard.'

'That's an idea -- it would make a change from being a patient.'

'I suppose there will be some careers advice next year, or the year after. There's books about it in the library, too, but I couldn't decide what sounded good. I bet even people like Ron don't know that much about what jobs there are. They'd have to suggest something based on our best subjects.'

'All your subjects are best subjects,' Harry pointed out. 'What are they going to advise you to do?'

Hermione smiled at him.

'Dudley's already had some careers advice at his school,' said Harry as they reached the Entrance Hall. 'They suggested he could get a job in a zoo.'

'As a keeper?'

'No, as an elephant's stand-in,' he grinned.

'Is he really that bad? I don't want to meet him and find out for myself, either!'

They sat next to Ron and Ginny at the Gryffindor table. Harry said, 'If things work out, I can stay with Sirius next year, and maybe visit the Weasleys too. That means I'll only have to see the Dursleys once more, when I collect whatever I left behind.' He put some food on a plate, and started eating it. 'Actually, I'm not sure that anything I didn't bring with me is worth seeing them again for.'

'That's a nice cheerful thought to carry you through Potions,' said Ron.

Their double Potions lesson was bearable. Snape had started sneering at the Gryffindors again, but didn't take any points from them.

'His anti-Malfoy attitude seems to be wearing off,' said Ron, as the three of them walked to the Herbology greenhouses for Harry and Hermione's last lesson of the day. 'And Malfoy's still a Prefect.'

'I wonder if the Slytherins and Ravenclaws are having combined DADA lessons?' said Harry, adjusting the headband after putting it back on. 'I don't suppose it would be just you and the Hufflepuffs.'

'Clever versus evil?' asked Ron. 'Maybe all the Ravenclaws are really good at duelling, and are embarrassing Malfoy.'

'You don't need a happy thought to get you through Herbology,' said Hermione. 'You like it, and Professor Sprout's fair to everyone.'

After their Herbology lesson, they returned to the castle.

'I wonder if we can watch the rest of you?' said Harry.

'That would be off-putting for them, though,' said Hermione. 'Anyway, I need to get some homework done.'

'And when are today's extra studies to happen? After dinner?'

'We're not addicted,' said Ron. 'We can miss a day without splitting up.'

'It's not a good idea anyway to go swimming in that bath too soon after a meal,' said Hermione.

'After this extra duelling, I think I might not be able to cope with anything energetic,' added Ron.

Harry, Hermione and Ginny did their homework together until dinner, and then went down to the Great Hall to find out how the duelling had gone. The other fifth-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs arrived a bit later. Ron sank into the chair next to Hermione, and rested his head in his hands.

'You look tired,' said Ginny, 'but did it go all right?'

'Very tired. Wasn't too bad.'

'You'd better tell us later, when you've recovered, then. Are you going to eat anything?'

'Food. Good idea.' He half-filled a plate with things he didn't have to reach too far for, and started eating slowly.

'Was it really that much worse than normal lessons, like last week's?' asked Harry. Ron nodded and kept eating.

Back in the common room, Ron slumped into his chair. 'Because we already know how we can cope with other Gryffindors, and the same for the Hufflepuffs, we had to cast a spell at each of them, and then block their spell, so McCardle could work out how we compare. And there are twelve of them, and only six of us.'

'So you had to work twice as hard as the Hufflepuffs?' asked Hermione.

'Yeah. Then she used the results to group us in threes again, mostly one Gryffindor and two Hufflepuffs. I was with Wayne Hopkins and Anthony Goldstein. They're at least as good as Seamus and Dean are, so I'm glad I got you to give me more practice, Harry. Blocking them was really exhausting.'

'How did Lavender and Parvati cope?' asked Hermione, with a smile.

Ron laughed. 'Oh, that was good. Every single Hufflepuff blocked their spells, and they didn't block more than a couple. Oh, and on our way there, Lavender was muttering to Parvati about Tuesday's detention, the one you gave her for spying on you. She's really going to have it in for you now.'

'She already does, how much worse can she get?' asked Harry.

'What about Neville?' asked Ginny.

'He actually seems to be getting better. He managed to block some of the spells, and only the two Prefects managed to block his.'

'Do Prefects have to be really good at this, then?' asked Ginny, smiling at Harry and Hermione.

'I suppose they just feel they have to live up to their position, or something. You remember, Percy was like that,' said Ron.

'Oh,' said Ginny. 'Do you think that means he can block that Aphasic spell then?'

'He probably can. You haven't learnt it anyway,' said Ron.

Hermione concentrated on her homework, while Ginny just grinned at her brother.

'You taught her it?' asked Ron in disbelief.

'It's not a harmful one,' said Harry. 'Why does it matter?'

'It matters because she already knows a spell that only two of the fifth years know!'

'You can't be sure of that,' said Ginny. 'You only really know about the other Gryffindors.'

'True. I suppose Ernie and Hannah might have got that far. They were grouped with Neville, since he can't be blocked by anyone else.'

'Who did Lavender and Parvati get grouped with?' asked Harry.

'They were together with Susan Bones. None of them seemed to be very good at it.'

'They're three of the four that Raine passed our warning on to,' said Harry, grinning.

'We haven't seen much of Raine recently,' said Hermione.

Ginny sighed. 'She told me that Balfour threatened to tell Snape if he caught her "fraternising" with Gryffindors again.'

'Oh, that's ridiculous!' said Ron. 'I wonder what Snape would do anyway?'

'Maybe he'd kick her out of Slytherin, and she could be in a nicer house,' suggested Harry.

'He'd probably write to her parents, and she'd get a Howler back,' said Ron, who hadn't forgotten the result of flying the car to Hogwarts.

'I don't think two Aurors would mind her having friends outside Slytherin,' said Ginny. 'They'd probably just laugh, and send her a normal letter saying to keep on being friends.'

'So why is she worried about Balfour's threat? He can't kick her off the Quidditch team, she's not on it. She's never going to be on it either, if they keep having an all-male team,' said Harry. 'He can't really do anything about her. Would Snape bother to give her a detention, or take points away? Malfoy's detentions are already making his house look bad, he won't want to make it worse.'

'I'll ask her next time I talk to her,' said Ginny. 'But we were talking about Ron's lesson. Did anything else happen?'

Ron thought for a moment. 'That's about it, I think. Oh, except that we all got lists of spells to learn for the next lesson. I overheard Lavender talking to Seamus about her list, and it's only got one spell on it -- Tarantallegra.'

'That's one that Malfoy used on me in the duelling club,' said Harry.

'I think they only got that one because McCardle's fed up with them casting the same curse all the time.'

'I wonder how good Hannah and Ernie are?' said Hermione. 'Do you think McCardle would tell us if we asked her next lesson?'

Harry shrugged and looked at the spell list Dumbledore had given them. 'I can't even guess at these. Gravicrus? Serusamba? Morsmordre?'

'What?!' asked Hermione. 'I didn't see that one! You're right, it's here. That's not a duelling spell -- is it?'

'I'm sure I recognise it, but I can't remember what it does.'

'That's the spell Crouch cast at the World Cup to create the Dark Mark. Why would Dumbledore want us to learn that?'

'Maybe he's under the Imperius curse, and you're being trained to become Death Eaters,' suggested Ron.

'That's not funny!' said Harry.

'No detentions for you!' said Hermione.

'I don't think it's very funny either,' said Ginny, 'but I still don't understand why not having a detention is a punishment.'

'I want a real reason for learning it, not a silly joke. He'd better not be under the Imperius curse!' said Harry.

'I'm sure he can't be,' said Hermione. 'You can resist it, and we're learning to. He must be able to resist it.'

'I hope that's true.'

Ginny leant forward and poked her brother in the stomach, making him yelp. 'What's all this business about no detentions? It doesn't make sense.'

'Don't do that! It's just a joke from Christmas. It ... well, I suppose you had to be there at the time. It'd take a while to explain -- I'm not going to try.'

'Oh, OK.'

'Nullsenti?' said Harry, going back to the list. 'Dracocorpus? Is that one that kills people called Draco?'

'Well worth learning, then,' said Ron with a grin.

'You said you knew what some of these did,' Harry said to Hermione. 'What are they?'

'I was only guessing, apart from Morsmordre,' she said, shaking her head. 'I don't actually know -- we'll have to look them up to be sure.'

Ginny leant over to look at Harry's list. 'Lapiform -- that sounds like stones. Do you think that's like a Basilisk, Petrifying the target?'

'Ginny, you've got to get over that. You can't let it rule your whole life,' said Ron.

'It's not very easy to get over it. Do you realise, if Percy and Penny ever get married, I'll have attacked my sister-in-law with a Basilisk? That's going to be hard to forget -- and I can't even apologise to her without telling her and Percy it was me.'

'If Hermione ever says "yes" to me, you'll have two sisters-in-law,' said Ron with a grin.

'You know that I've already forgiven you, whether I say "yes" to Ron or not,' said Hermione.

'I know,' said Ginny. 'That's very nice of you. When I was little, I always wanted to have a sister, but then I got older and realised there weren't going to be any more in our family. Then I realised that with six brothers, I could have six sisters-in-law, and that might be as good.'

Hermione smiled at her.

'But even if Ron and Percy do get married, to you and Penny,' Ginny continued, 'it's not going to be quite the same -- it's not a very good way to start a relationship with your sisters-in-law, is it?'

'You and Hermione get on all right, though,' Harry pointed out. 'She's even teaching you spells that Ron doesn't know yet.'

Ginny grinned. 'That's true. Though I think I will have to tell Penny, one day.'

'With all of us along for moral support?' asked Harry.

'Yes, please. I think it would make it easier, especially with Hermione there.'

'Did Harry ever tell you that Riddle made you attack me just to keep Harry interested in finding the Chamber?' asked Hermione.

'No! I didn't know that. That makes it even worse. I thought you and Penny were just attacked at random because you were Muggle-borns. He deliberately targeted you, then? So Penny was just unlucky?'

Hermione nodded. 'I was lucky she was there though. I didn't have a mirror with me then. I carry one with me now, in case.'

'I hope you never need it. It was nice of you to teach me that spell, too.'

'I want to learn that Aphasic spell, just for self-defence against my sister,' said Ron.

'You already know how to block it,' said Harry. 'It's the one I've been using on you for blocking practice.'

'Good, then she's not such a threat to me.'

'You didn't tell me that,' pouted Ginny.

'Sorry, Ginny. I knew Ron was getting better at blocking, but I didn't know what spell Harry was using on him,' said Hermione. 'I thought it was still Rictusempra.'

*

Harry was deep in thought at breakfast on Saturday. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all tried talking to him, but he didn't even notice, and they gave up. They returned to the common room, and started to do some of their homework, with Crookshanks sitting on the arm of Hermione's chair, occasionally trying to grab her sleeve as she moved her arm back and forth.

Since Ginny was sitting beside Harry, she noticed that what he was writing didn't seem to be homework, and asked him about it. He didn't answer, so she grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop writing.

'What are you doing?' he asked.

'Have you heard anything anyone's said to you today?' she asked him in reply.

'Oh. Sorry, I was thinking.'

'We noticed,' said Hermione. 'Is something wrong?'

'Either something is very wrong, or everything's all right for a change.' He sighed. 'And I don't believe it's all right.'

'What does that mean?' asked Ginny.

'I'm just thinking back over the last four years. By this time in my first year, Quirrell had let a troll loose in the castle, and tried to kill me in my first Quidditch match. Oh, and I'd found the mirror that the Stone was going to be hidden in.'

'I don't think I heard about all that. Ron told me some of it.'

'Well, we can tell you later.' He moved his finger down the parchment he'd been writing on. 'You know a lot more about this next one.' Harry looked round to make sure nobody else was nearby, and continued in a quieter voice. 'The next year at this time, Riddle had possessed you, I'd heard the Basilisk and found out I was a Parselmouth, and Riddle had made you attack Colin, Justin and Nearly Headless Nick.' Ginny had winced a couple of times while he was saying that. 'I'm sorry, but I'm worried. This year just seems to be so normal, but I'm sure that You-Know-Who must be planning something.'

'Maybe he isn't. He wasn't in our third year,' said Hermione. 'Although Wormtail's escape was a big help to him later.'

'Yes. I'd learnt what Sirius was supposed to have done, he'd attacked the Fat Lady and I was learning to cast the Patronus.'

'And you'd lost your Nimbus and got the Firebolt from Sirius,' said Ron with a grin, looking at Hermione.

'The Patronus wasn't anything to do with Sirius or You-Know-Who, though,' said Hermione, ignoring Ron's attempt to tease her about the Firebolt.

'I know. Everyone was wrong about Sirius, too. Anyway, in our fourth year, by now I'd been forced to compete in the Tournament, we'd heard Snape and Karkaroff talking at the Yule Ball ...'

'A hundred and twenty-nine!' said Ginny and Hermione together.

'Are you two ever going to stop that?' asked Ron. 'I was hoping you had, when you didn't say anything about it after Ginny's joke about Crabbe and Goyle being each other's date.'

'When we forget where we're up to,' said Ginny.

'One hundred and thirty, then,' said Hermione.

'Sorry, Ron,' Harry said, grinning and not looking at all sorry. 'The point is, either You-Know-Who isn't planning to kill me this year ...'

'Good!' said Ginny.

'We can hope that's true,' said Hermione.

'Maybe he's giving you a break to do your O.W.Ls,' suggested Ron.

'With any luck, he's so embarrassed by the way you defeated him last time, he's given up on you,' Hermione added.

'I didn't really defeat him. He killed Cedric, didn't he?' Harry reminded them.

'But he wanted to kill you, to prove to his Death Eaters that you weren't invincible. He didn't manage that, did he?' asked Hermione.

'No. But I don't think that's going to stop him trying again. So I think he is planning something. I know I've never known what his plans were before, but at least I'd seen the clues. There aren't any clues this time -- unless teaching us the spell that produces the Death Mark is a clue.'

'I really don't think Dumbledore would be part of any such plan!' said Hermione. 'I know your parents and Sirius trusted Wormtail, and he betrayed them because he was scared of You-Know-Who, but everyone says Dumbledore is the only person You-Know-Who is scared of, so he's not going to betray you through fear, is he?'

'No. But why teach us that spell? So we can terrify people, the way we saw at the World Cup? Maybe so we can give ourselves the Dark Mark like the Death Eaters, so we can be controlled like them?'

'Snape's got that mark, but he's not under any control. I think it just calls them, it doesn't control them. Let's ask Dumbledore why he put it on our list.'

Ginny was looking alarmed. 'Snape is a Death Eater?'

'Not any more, he's a spy for Dumbledore instead,' Ron told her.

'He says he is. Maybe he's fooled Dumbledore, and is a double-agent for You-Know-Who. It could be why he's been turning against Malfoy, as a revenge for whatever he's been made to do,' said Harry. 'Or maybe the Dark Mark is part of a plan to get Death Eaters to come into a trap -- but why do we have to learn it? I'm sure Dumbledore can Apparate, so he can cast it and then just Apparate to somewhere safe. We can't do that.'

'Harry, you do trust Dumbledore, don't you? I know he didn't realise until after the third task that Moody was a fake, but he hasn't let you down at any other time, has he?' asked Hermione.

'I suppose I do. It's just ... I'm sure something's going on, and I don't know what it is, and it's making me uneasy, and suspicious. I just don't like it.'

'You're probably right that You-Know-Who is planning something, but I'm sure it can't involve Dumbledore helping him.'

'If it does, then You-Know-Who has won already,' said Ron.

'That's a really good way to cheer him up!' retorted Ginny.

*

Sunday morning passed quietly. Harry and Hermione had an end-of-month Prefects' meeting, but everything discussed in it was routine.

When the four went down to lunch, they saw Raine waiting in the Entrance Hall. She came over to them.

'Ginny, I need to tell you something.'

'Just me?' Ginny asked.

'Do you three know Sara Winter in our year?'

The other three shook their heads.

'Sara's in our year, in Ravenclaw. I'll catch up with you later,' Ginny told the others. 'What's Sara done now?'

Harry, Ron and Hermione went in and started their lunch. Ginny and Raine came in after a few minutes, and went to their house tables as usual.

'You look upset. What's happened?' asked Ron.

'Sara lives with her dad, because her mum's a Muggle and went crazy when she found out her dad was a wizard,' said Ginny.

'Recently?' asked Harry.

'No, when Sara was about four. Anyway, her dad was visiting her mum in the hospital where she's been ever since, and she suddenly attacked him. Apparently she learnt something called karate when she was young, and she hurt him quite badly with it. Sara told Raine that her mum's always been very quiet in there, and nobody expected her to hurt anyone.'

Hermione asked, 'Is he all right?'

'No. Sara's going to visit him in St Mungo's, and she's going to be away for a while. She's really upset.'

'I can see why,' said Harry. 'I suppose he's really the only parent she's got now, and if anything happens to him, what will she do?'

'I don't know. Raine knows her better than I do. Sara's got relatives on her mother's side who could look after her, but none of them know she's a witch.'

'The opposite of me,' said Harry. 'My aunt and uncle knew what I was, but I didn't. I hope her dad does get better.'

'I'll tell her if I see her -- oh! she's there, having some lunch before she goes!' Ginny hurried over to the Ravenclaw table.

'Ginny didn't even get herself any food,' said Ron. 'Too upset about her friend, I suppose.'

'I don't suppose,' Harry said slowly, 'that this could be part of Voldemort's plan?'

'Don't say his name! You've been good about that lately!' said Ron.

'Harry doesn't mind upsetting you, it's because of Ginny he stopped saying it,' Hermione pointed out. 'It must be love.'

'I forgot,' said Harry. 'I can just imagine him attacking a wizard who married a Muggle, though. I don't suppose Muggles are immune to the Imperius Curse.'

'Everything can't be part of an evil plan,' said Hermione.

'I know, but I didn't spot his other plans in time, and I'd like some warning this year, for a change.'

Harry sat thinking about the past clues, trying to think of anything similarly odd that had happened this year. He didn't talk to the others, and they didn't try to talk to him either.