Revelations and Romance

Revelations and Romance chapter 23/25

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23: Panic

May 29th

Ron was enjoying his revision on Sunday. 'This is much better,' he said happily. 'This potion would make Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stick together if they just touched each other. All we have to do is double the number of beetle eyes.' Hermione's suggestion of working out how to use potions to affect people they didn't like had changed the way Harry and Ron viewed their revision.

'And we could just use the same idea as for Snape, Switching their pumpkin juice. This was a brilliant idea, Hermione!' said Harry.

Hermione didn't look quite convinced that she'd done the right thing. 'I'd rather you weren't learning uses for ones with errors.'

'Well, at least you've convinced them that revising can be fun,' Ginny told her.

'I'm going to ask Fred and George if they're revising this way,' said Ron, standing up.

'If they are, will you stop doing it?' Ginny asked him.

'No, it's the only way I can stay interested in lists of potions.' Hermione watched as he walked over to where the twins and Lee were sitting, shaking her head as he went.

'Don't be like that,' Ginny told her. 'You've got him revising and enjoying it.'

Ron returned a few minutes later. 'They did think about this way of revising, but they kept coming up with ideas for Wizard Wheezes. That's where they got the idea of starting a joke-shop.'

'Did you ask where they got the money for it, though?'

'Yes, but they wouldn't tell me. Maybe they're blackmailing Malfoy.'

'Don't say that in front of any teachers,' warned Hermione. 'It's very easy to believe.'

'You don't think they are, do you?' Ginny asked her.

'No, I don't. Maybe I've got more faith in your brothers than you have,' Hermione answered, glancing at Harry.

'Maybe you don't know them as well,' said Ron, grinning at her.

'You don't really think they'd risk starting their shop by breaking the law, do you? They might lose everything if they did that.'

'True, they wouldn't risk that,' said Ginny, 'unless they were sure Malfoy wouldn't tell anyone about the blackmail.'

'It's nice to know these two are so willing to give their brothers the benefit of the doubt, isn't it?' Harry said to Hermione. She grinned. He added, 'Though I suppose you could try asking Malfoy.'

'Yeah, if he denied it, we'd know it was true,' said Ron. 'I wonder if anything I know about him would be worth blackmailing him about?'

'Ron, no!' Hermione said, a worried look on her face. 'You mustn't.'

'I'd like to get his father back for the diary,' said Ginny darkly. 'But Fudge believes everything he says, so he'd never do anything about him.'

'When the Aurors arrest him for being a Death Eater, he'll have a hard time talking his way out of that,' said Harry.

'Mr Dunsmuir already knows he is, but he doesn't have proof,' she said sadly. 'I wish Fudge believed what you said last year.'

'So do I,' said Harry. 'I suppose he is just scared, and not in league with You-Know-Who.'

'Never mind that, what can we use a Draught of Peace for?' Ron asked him. 'We can't do anything about Fudge.'

'I suppose not. We don't want to reduce Snape's anxiety, though.'

They continued revising for the rest of Sunday.

*

At lunchtime on Monday, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came over to the Gryffindor table. Matteo was following them, as if suspicious of the other three.

'Enjoying your last term at Hogwarts, Potter?' Malfoy asked.

Harry ignored him, despite wondering why he'd asked.

'See, you probably don't know this, but people aren't allowed to stay on if they get too few O.W.Ls. So you won't be back next year. Even the Mudblood'll be lucky to get enough when we've got proper examiners, they won't show any favouritism.'

Ron leapt to his feet, and Seamus, sitting next to him, grabbed him before he could hit Malfoy. Harry, Hermione and Ginny were all glaring at the three Slytherins.

'That's all you can do, isn't it? You can't think of anything to say, all you can do is threaten to hit -- ow!' Malfoy spun round to see who'd hit him in the shoulder.

'You could try to stop being an idiot!' snapped Matteo. He'd waited to see what Malfoy was going to say to the Gryffindors.

'You're not on their side?' Malfoy asked, rubbing his shoulder where Matteo had punched him.

'I'm not on yours, either! It's lunch. Go and eat.'

'You're not a Prefect. You can't order me.'

'Nor are you now, and I just did.'

Malfoy looked at Harry and his friends, who were grinning at this exchange, then turned to Crabbe and Goyle to tell them, 'This isn't getting me anywhere, let's get something to eat.' He, Crabbe and Goyle went over to the Slytherin table.

'It's not just Grocyn you argue with, then,' said Ginny.

'No. Harry's right, it makes more sense to be friends, and have a go at Death Eater types like Draco. Of course, he says that he's had second thoughts, and he isn't interested any more in becoming a Death Eater. Hands up everyone who believes him ... yeah, that's what I thought.'

Harry laughed. 'I am a Prefect, however, and for acting like that towards Malfoy ...' Matteo looked shocked. '... I'm just sorry we're not allowed to give points.'

'You could ask a teacher to give some,' Matteo suggested with a smile. 'I hope you get more O.W.Ls than him, all of you.'

'Thanks.'

'I'm just being selfish. He's betting people he gets more O.W.Ls than you do. If he beats you by one, he gets what they bet. If he beats you by two, he gets twice that, and so on. It's the same in reverse, and I bet a hundred Galleons on you, so the more you beat him by, the happier I'll be.'

Harry was surprised. Ron, Hermione and Ginny laughed. Hermione said, 'Now you've got two reasons to revise. Imagine Malfoy's face when he finds out how much he's got to pay out!'

'A hundred Galleons on me?' asked Harry weakly. 'Are you sure you want to do that?'

'I already did. See you later, Ginny.' Matteo went over to the Slytherin table too.

'What are you two up to later?' Ron demanded.

'I share two subjects with the Slytherins, remember?' Ginny answered wearily. 'It'd be none of your business if it was something else, anyway.'

'Oh. Right. That's OK, then.'

*

There was a Prefects' meeting at lunchtime on Tuesday, as it was the last day of May. When Harry and Hermione got there, they noticed that Ernie was there without Hannah. The meeting itself was routine. As the three fifth-years were walking to their next lessons, Hermione asked Ernie, 'Is Hannah ill? She's never missed a meeting before, has she?'

'She went to the hospital wing to get a Calming Draught.'

'Ron needed one of those,' said Harry. 'He fell asleep after it.'

'Hannah probably did too, then. She's got O.W.Ls and Prefect duties, like us, and she's also got big family problems. She's not talking to them any more, and that's not doing her any good.'

'What's wrong?' Hermione asked.

'I probably shouldn't say. It's been building up since last year, though. She'd just about been coping until Ginny's announcement this morning.'

'What announcement?' Harry asked.

'I thought you'd know. She saw us at break, and took Justin off to tell him that when he was Petrified in the second year, she did it.'

'I don't think she meant him to tell everyone! Even the twins don't know.'

'You did know!' Ernie said accusingly.

'I rescued her, remember? I was there when You-Know-Who was boasting of how easy it was to control her. It wasn't her fault, she just feels guilty. She's been telling everyone she hurt. Can you ask Justin not to tell anyone else?'

'It really wasn't her fault?'

'It wasn't,' said Hermione firmly. 'I forgave her three years ago.'

'Oh, of course, she Petrified you too.' Ernie walked along in silence for a while, deep in thought. Then he said, 'Hannah's Muggle-born, you know. She was worried all the time the Heir was attacking people, in case she'd be next.'

'I didn't know she was Muggle-born,' said Harry. 'I remember her talking to you when you thought I was the Heir -- she was defending me. So she was in danger, you weren't, and she was the one defending me?'

'Yes. Odd, isn't it? When Justin told us, Hannah was really shocked -- we don't really know Ginny, apart from watching her Quidditch trial, but she seems nice ...'

'She is,' said Harry positively. 'I probably shouldn't tell you that Malfoy's dad planted something on her to help You-Know-Who control her. We can't prove it, as he reminded me.'

Ernie made a disgusted sound. 'Malfoys again. I'll tell Justin not to tell anyone else. I won't tell him it was the Malfoys, though, or Hannah. I'll tell her what you said about Ginny -- it'll help her get over the shock.'

'I suppose so, yes. We've got the exams next week, nobody needs shocks.'

'I wonder why Ginny told him today?' Hermione said. 'She knows we've got the O.W.Ls next week. I suppose she just couldn't stand keeping it a secret any longer.'

They had reached the History of Magic classroom. 'What am I doing here?' Ernie asked. 'I got sidetracked -- I'll see you later.' He hurried back down the way they'd come.

'This could really go badly wrong for Ginny,' Hermione said as they entered the classroom to wait for the others. 'If Justin's already told people, who might they have told by now?'

'She's not going to have to get her nerve up to tell the twins, then,' said Harry. 'That could be one bright spot.'

'Suppose someone tells the Slytherins?'

'It'd make Matteo even more sure she should be in Slytherin, won't it?'

'It's not funny. Poor Ginny. Poor Hannah, too. I knew she was Muggle-born, but didn't realise she'd been so worried.'

'I don't think we should tell Ron until we talk to Ginny.'

'No, he'd just be upset.'

As the day ended with a free period for the fifth-years, it was hard not to mention Justin, but Harry and Hermione waited until Ginny sat down. She was smiling, but her smile faltered when she saw the two Prefects' expressions.

'What's wrong?'

'Did you remember to ask Justin not to tell anyone what you'd told him?' Harry asked.

Ginny's hand flew to her mouth. 'No! I forgot! Who's he told?'

'What's he told them about, anyway?' Ron asked.

Harry explained what Ernie had said. 'We've no idea how many people he told, or how many they might have told.'

'Ginny, you've got to stop confessing!' Ron said despairingly.

'On the other hand, maybe you won't have to decide how to tell the twins,' suggested Hermione.

'Oh, no. Oh, no. I wonder if any of the teachers know? It's only supposed to be Dumbledore and McGonagall that know,' said Ginny. Her smile had now gone altogether, and she looked almost ready to cry. Harry held her hand.

'How did Justin react?' Hermione asked.

'He was really shocked, much more like Colin than you or your parents were. I've told everyone except Nick and Penny now. I wonder how they'll react.'

'Justin was attacked at the same time as Nick. I wonder if he'd tell him,' Harry commented. 'Why did you choose this week, though?'

'You mean, because of the O.W.Ls? I was going to tell him after them. I've been thinking about it for a while, and it was getting too much.'

'You should have told us you were going to tell him,' said Hermione. 'We'd have been with you for support then.'

'I didn't want to. Then I'd have to do it, I couldn't change my mind at the last moment. Anyway, I was in the library for my free period this morning, and when I came out, the Hufflepuffs were passing, so I asked Justin to wait, and I told him.' Ginny looked down at her bag. 'It was really awful timing, wasn't it? I should have told him and Colin right after telling Hermione's parents. That went all right.'

They got on with their revision, although Harry noticed that Ginny kept reading the same page of her book. When they went down to dinner, they saw Ernie and Hannah waiting outside the Great Hall. Ginny hung back as the others greeted the two Hufflepuffs.

'Are you feeling better, Hannah?' Hermione asked. The other girl nodded.

'I spoke to Justin. He'd told six people in our house, but promised not to tell anyone else,' said Ernie. He beckoned Ginny closer. 'He must have been too shocked to hear everything you told him, because he missed the fact you were under You-Know-Who's influence.'

'We've asked the other six not to say anything about it, too,' said Hannah. 'They haven't told anyone else.'

'Thanks,' said Harry. 'We were worrying about any Slytherins finding out.'

*

'No duelling lesson today,' said Harry as they ate breakfast on Wednesday. 'Just McCardle's normal DADA revision.'

'Are you going to join us on Friday, then?' Ron asked.

'I doubt it,' said Hermione. 'We'd only really be able to watch.'

'They could all attack you at once,' suggested Ginny. 'Do you think you could handle that?'

'No,' said Harry.

'We did manage to block two attacks in a row from McGonagall and Flitwick last week, though,' said Hermione. 'It would be interesting to try with an easy curse.'

'I suppose we could ask McCardle this afternoon,' said Harry. 'Yes, it'd be interesting to know.'

They ate quietly for a while, then Ginny said, 'I'll tell you this in advance for a change -- I'm going to see if I can find Nick and tell him what I did.'

'Ginny, do you have to do this?' pleaded Ron. 'Please don't. Hermione and her parents are still the only ones who forgave you.'

'I can't forget about it, so all I can do is try to feel better by telling them all.'

Ron appealed to Hermione, 'Please stop her. You're the only one she might listen to.'

'I didn't listen to her three years ago,' said Ginny quietly. 'I didn't even give her a chance to say anything.'

'That wasn't your doing, though. It's up to you, Ginny,' said Hermione. 'Are you hoping if you tell us all, it'll make you better at concentrating in your exams?'

'Yes,' Ginny admitted. 'I didn't have exams just after I did it, but the last two years, I've always had some problems. I keep seeing bits of what I did, when I'm supposed to be writing about History of Magic or whatever.'

'But you're top in all your classes,' said Harry. 'You must be managing all right.'

'Yes, but I'm sure I could do better, even though I do always pass. I have to try to do better this year, to convince myself I can do it. Next year, if I can't, I won't get good enough O.W.Ls.' She grinned wryly. 'I don't want to end up having to work for the twins.'

Ron frowned. 'All right, if you're sure this is something you have to do. I wish you didn't, though.'

'Do you want us to go with you to find Nick?' Harry asked her.

'I'd rather do it by myself, thanks,' she answered, smiling at him. 'But it's nice of you to offer.'

*

Harry, Ron and Hermione got on with more revision in their free period after lunch. After a while, Ginny came into the common room with a relieved smile, and sat beside Harry. 'Nick says he remembers Riddle, and he forgives me. He believed me when I said I was possessed.'

'Oh, good,' said Hermione. 'So, does that mean you can concentrate now?'

'I think so. I'm going to tell Penelope if I see her in the holidays.' Ginny took a book and some parchment from her bag. 'That'll be everyone, then.'

'That's something to celebrate, then,' Ron said, grinning at Hermione.

'Oh, please! Not again!' sighed Harry.

Ron ignored him. 'How do you feel about that?' he asked Hermione.

'Let's see how we feel after Dark Arts.'

In the DADA lesson, they revised the creatures they'd studied with Lupin. McCardle was reassured by how well they remembered all of them. 'As this is the last lesson before your O.W.Ls, apart from Friday's duelling lesson, I'm glad to see that your revision has been going well.'

Harry, Ron and Hermione hung back after the lesson. Harry asked her, 'We don't have our duelling lesson this week, and we wondered if we should join the others.'

Ron explained Ginny's suggestion that Harry and Hermione could face several opponents each.

'It's an interesting idea -- I would like to know how you well you cope with it. However, the answer is no, as I feel that it would upset the other pupils in their last lesson before the exams. You may as well spend the time revising.'

'Oh, of course,' said Hermione.

The three of them returned to the common room. Hermione covered a yawn and said, 'I'm sorry, Ron, I feel too tired to "celebrate" with you.'

'OK,' said Ron resignedly.

'Great,' said Harry. 'I'll have people to talk to.'

*

The players were anxious as they prepared for Thursday's Quidditch practice. Harry, Alicia and Dean were nervous in case they didn't play well enough, making Angelina replace them for the final. Dennis, Ginny and Paloma were nervous in case they had to play their first real game in front of everyone in the final. All six understood why Angelina was so concerned, but it didn't stop them being nervous. The rest of the team knew that Harry, when he was concentrating, was the best Seeker in the school, and were hoping that Dennis wasn't going to be in the final. Dennis seemed to be hoping that more than anyone else.

Following the practice game, Angelina gathered the players together. 'I think you three know how you played today. Alicia, you're in the final. I'm glad I don't have to replace you in your last game.'

Alicia's sigh of relief was audible. 'Thanks!'

'It wasn't my doing, it was your playing that kept you your place. Harry, you're in too.'

Harry smiled, and noticed that Dennis now looked more relieved than Harry felt.

'Dean, I'm sorry, but we can't afford a Keeper whose mind is on his exams. Paloma, you're going to be in the final.'

Dean looked resigned. He'd obviously been expecting that. Paloma looked more nervous than before.

The team returned to the castle and dinner. 'I'm glad you're in,' Ginny told Harry. 'And I'm just as glad that I'm not!'

'You did all right in the trials,' he reminded her. 'You'd have been OK in the final, too.'

*

Ron paused while eating porridge at breakfast on Friday. 'I just realised,' he said, his spoon halfway to his mouth, 'this is the last day we're revising in class, isn't it?'

'Yes,' said Hermione.

'Hogsmeade tomorrow, to take your mind off it,' said Ginny happily.

'That just means that Fred and George will be buying everything in Zonko's, ready for the end of their N.E.W.Ts,' Ron prophesied darkly, glancing along the table to where the twins were quietly discussing something with Lee. 'They've got to be up to something ...'

'... they're breathing,' his sister finished for him.

'I was going to say that they're being too quiet.'

'Never mind,' said Harry. 'It's our last Potions class before the O.W.Ls. So either we get an Outstanding grade and Snape has to admit we're good at Potions ...'

'... fat chance.'

'... or we won't have to be taught by him ever again.'

'That's a nice thought,' said Ron, finally eating his spoonful of porridge.

'You aren't going to let that put you off doing your best in the exam, are you?' Hermione asked. Harry thought she sounded remarkably like Professor McGonagall.

Ron seemed to have the same idea. 'No, Professor.'

'We don't have any lessons until after lunch, anyway,' said Harry. 'Plenty of time to revise.'

'I'll check up on you after my Runes lesson, you know,' Hermione reminded them.

'Yes, Professor,' Harry said, grinning at her.

When Hermione returned to the common room after her lesson, the two boys reassured her that they had been revising, showing her how much of the books or their notes they'd reread. 'OK, I believe you. How do you think you'll do on your O.W.Ls?'

'Better than if you hadn't nagged us to revise,' admitted Harry.

'Yeah, lots better,' said Ron. 'Do you want to celebrate that?'

'What, now?' Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

'No, after dinner.'

'If you're good.'

'How will you know if I'm good until afterwards?'

Harry sighed. Hermione said, 'Sorry, Harry.'

'I think, after this last afternoon's revision, I'm going to have a long relaxing bath in the Prefects' bathroom.'

'Ginny will be lonely,' said Ron with a grin.

'Fine, you two can keep her company then,' Harry said, grinning back. 'You don't really want her to keep me company in there.'

'No, I don't!'

Snape seemed to go out of his way to insult the Gryffindors in the afternoon's Potions lesson. Perhaps fearing that the stress of exams would make Neville use accidental magic against him again, he criticised him only in passing, reserving most of his insults for Harry, who kept reminding himself it might be his last-ever lesson with Snape. Lavender also came in for several of his insults, almost reducing her to tears. He left his insult to Hermione to last, making Harry wonder if even Snape couldn't find anything at all to criticise about her. Snape eventually told her that over-eagerness to answer questions was a sign of insecurity, and it wouldn't help her in her O.W.Ls.

Once away from the castle, Lavender finally burst into tears, to be comforted by Parvati and Seamus.

'Another Calming Draught needed,' muttered Ron. 'Can you believe his insult to Hermione? He couldn't find anything to do with Potions to tell her off about, could he?'

Herbology was a more relaxed lesson, which Harry appreciated as a soothing antidote to Potions. Returning to the castle afterwards, he said, 'That's it! No more lessons until after we've got our O.W.L. results.'

'Not for you two,' said Ron. 'I've still got to go and be nasty to some Ravenclaws in Duelling.'

'Well, you can take out your feelings about Snape on them.'

'OK -- stop off and warn Madam Pomfrey there'll be some casualties, please.'

Harry laughed. He and Hermione continued up to the common room, where Ginny was already sitting and trying to encourage a sleepy Crookshanks to play.

'Well, I'll go and see if I can get into that bathroom now for a nice relaxing bath,' he said. He went up to his dorm and returned with a change of clothes in his bag. 'So I'll see you two later.'

There was nobody else in the Prefects' bathroom, allowing Harry to use it. He ran enough water into the bath to be able to submerge himself, undressed quickly and climbed in, stretching out and letting the feel of the water relax him. After a couple of minutes of just enjoying the bath, he remembered all the times that Hermione had taken Ron into the other Prefects' bathroom, and started to imagine what he and Ginny might be able to do there, once she was old enough. His daydreams had never been so specific before, and he was glad that Ron couldn't read his mind. After another moment's thought, he decided it was probably as well that Ginny couldn't, either.

After his long and relaxing bath, he dried himself slowly, dressed in the clean clothes he'd brought, and returned to the common room.

'Now I'm nice and relaxed,' he told Hermione and Ginny.

'I hope you didn't take anyone with you, like Hermione does,' Ginny teased. Harry covered his mouth and opened his eyes wide. 'Oh, Harry! You didn't!'

'You're right, I didn't,' he told her, 'but you thought so for a moment, didn't you?' She pulled a face at him. He added, 'You'd know if I had.' She blushed, having apparently guessed what he meant.

They met Ron again at dinner. 'I wish we'd been duelling the Slytherins,' he told them. 'I don't really dislike any of the Ravenclaws.'

'No casualties for Madam Pomfrey to heal, then?' Harry asked.

'Only Padma, and that was Parvati's fault. I don't think that's because they're supporting different teams in the final.'

Ginny asked, 'So now you've run out of lessons for this year?'

'Ah, yes,' said Ron, stretching out.

'And we've got Hogsmeade tomorrow.'

'That'll be a nice break.'

'Have you got a list of things you want to get?' Hermione asked him.

'I am not doing revision for Hogsmeade! No, I'll just look around.'

'If you manage to wake up tomorrow,' said Harry. 'Didn't you say you're going to celebrate the end of lessons tonight?'

Ron grinned, and took Hermione's hand.

Once Harry and Ginny were back in the common room, she said, 'I suppose it's good that they like each other so much.'

'Are you missing Ron, then?'

'I think I miss them both. What about you? You're not spending as much time with them as you used to.'

'Right now, I don't really want to be!'

'Oh, Harry. You know what I mean, though.'

'Yes, I do,' Harry agreed. 'I miss that a bit, but I don't want to upset them.' He looked at his bag, and decided he couldn't face doing any more revision just then. 'One thing we used to do was trying to work out what was hidden in the castle, or who was opening the Chamber -- don't look like that, please.'

'Sorry. I was just remembering Colin's and Justin's reactions.'

'At least Nick forgave you.'

'Yes, I'm glad he did.'

'Anyway, we always used to be trying to work out what You-Know-Who was up to. Now ... hopefully your idea was right, and he's just trying to think of something else after the headband failed. Or maybe he's given up on me altogether, and is going to attack someone else.'

'I hope that doesn't involve Dad and Percy.'

'Yes. I know I wouldn't want anything to happen to them, and I'm not even related to them.'

Ginny nodded and went back to stroking Crookshanks, who was asleep on the chair beside her.

Harry reluctantly took his Charms book from his bag and started looking through it, just for something to do. A thought struck him. 'Do you want to play chess?'

'OK. Let's see how many games we can play before they come back.'

*

Harry met Ginny in the common room on Saturday morning. 'Ron is still fast asleep. I don't know how late he got back to the dorm, I was already asleep by then.'

'I went and checked on Hermione before coming down, and she was pretending to be awake. I think we ought to have breakfast now, and see if they join us.'

'OK. I tried waking Ron, but he just went back to sleep.'

The two of them had a leisurely breakfast and returned to Gryffindor Tower to check on Ron and Hermione. Harry managed to wake Ron and tell him he'd missed breakfast and was about to miss Hogsmeade too.

'Oh. OK, you go on and I'll meet you there. Don't want to slow you down.'

Harry shrugged and returned to the common room. Ginny told him that Hermione had been easier to wake, but had also told them to go on without her.

'Well, I think you should obey your older brother, and I'll do as I my best friends ask,' Harry told her. 'Actually, it might be fun just walking around Hogsmeade together, without either of them.' Ginny smiled at him, and they headed off towards Hogsmeade.

'Of course,' Harry said as they stood outside the Shrieking Shack, after he'd told Ginny the story of how Lupin had followed him, Ron and Hermione and they'd learnt that Sirius was innocent, 'wandering around without Ron and Hermione does make it look as if that story in the Prophet was right after all.'

Ginny sighed. 'But You-Know-Who believed Raine when she told him it wasn't true. I don't think I'm in danger.'

'I hope you're not. I'm getting careless. We should have waited until they could come with us.'

'We could go to Honeydukes and wonder loudly where Ron and Hermione are and why they haven't joined us yet.' She laughed. 'I suppose they are going to come here, and they haven't gone back to their room.'

'I hope not. They need to ... oh, I suppose it doesn't matter. I was going to say they need to come here and relax before the exams, but they've got their own way of relaxing.'

'But this is their last chance to get to Hogsmeade this year. It's not their last chance to make love,' Ginny objected.

'Maybe they don't mind missing Hogsmeade, if they're making love. We're both only guessing what it's like.'

'Yeah, that's true,' Ginny agreed. 'But one day ... I hope.'

'If I say anything, Ron will suddenly appear from under the Invisibility Cloak and shout at me.'

Ginny grinned and looked around. 'Where are you, Ron?' Nobody answered. 'Oh, let's go back to the shops, anyway.'

'OK.' The two of them wandered back towards the main part of the village, and went into Honeydukes. Harry watched Ginny carefully, but she didn't react to any of the sweets on display, as she had previously, when a barrel of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans had reminded her of Raine's death. She and Harry wondered loudly where Ron and Hermione were, and looked around as if expecting them to come into the shop.

'I'm going to try one of these,' Ginny told Harry, grinning as she pointed to the display of blood-flavoured lollipops. 'I've always wondered why they make them.'

'It's to get money out of people like you,' he said, grinning back at her. 'I won't get one -- I think I've had a blood-flavoured Bertie Botts Bean once, and that was enough.'

'I think the oddest one I've had was snowflake. At least, it took me a while to work out what it was.'

'I've lost track of what the oddest one I've had was.'

'You're so old,' she teased him, taking one of the lollipops over to the counter to pay for it. 'Though I was probably eating those sweets before you'd heard of them.'

'I expect so. I'd met you for the first time before I tried my first Bean.'

'Really? I suppose you had.' She waited while Harry paid for his sweets. Once outside, she said, 'I hope Ron isn't invisible.'

'Why, because you'd like to see him?'

'No. I can imagine him wanting to impress Hermione, and I don't suppose anyone would notice an invisible person walking off with sweets or anything.'

'Oh, he wouldn't do that! You trust him, don't you?'

'I used to,' she said quietly. 'But I've wondered a couple of times since his birthday how well I do know him.'

'It wouldn't impress Hermione anyway. If people acting rich impressed her, she'd like Malfoy, wouldn't she?'

'I suppose so,' she agreed. 'Oh look, talk of the devil.' Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had just emerged from Zonko's, several shops further along, and were sniggering at something.

'Now I wish I had my Cloak,' Harry said, ducking into a shop's doorway in the hope they wouldn't see him. He was enjoying walking around Hogsmeade with Ginny and without Ron, and didn't feel like an argument with Malfoy to spoil the mood.

'They're stealing someone's sweets!' she said indignantly. 'Well, not actually from someone, but they've found a bag of sweets someone left on that windowsill, and they're taking them.'

'Typical,' said Harry. He couldn't see the three Slytherins from where he was, and was puzzled by Ginny's sudden laughter. 'What is it?' he asked her.

'They just ... those must have been Ton-Tongue Toffees,' she told him while trying to control her laughter.

Harry grinned and came back out of the doorway. The three boys had the same enormous tongues as Dudley had had the previous year, and were too preoccupied with trying to remove the curse to notice Harry. There were two pops beside Harry.

'You haven't seen a bag of sweets, have you?' asked Fred with a chuckle in his voice. 'We seem to have lost them.'

'Oh, really? How long do they last, anyway?' Harry asked.

'Probably an hour,' said George. 'We were experimenting with them, and we're not quite sure about this batch.'

'I thought you'd be off in Diagon Alley.'

'We were watching from over there, waiting for them to come out,' said George.

'Then we saw you, and came to get your reaction. Now we've seen this, we'll go there,' Fred said. The twins Disapparated again.

'I've never tried saying Finite Incantatem after eating one of those. I don't suppose it works,' said Ginny.

'They'd have to know which spells they were ending, too. I don't know what they use in those toffees, do you?' Harry asked her.

She shook her head. 'Well, we know that Ron and Hermione aren't following us around invisibly. We'd have heard them laugh.'

'That's true. I'll have to remember that -- it's a very good way of finding invisible people, and the side-effects are good too.'

'What are you looking at?' came Hannah's voice from behind. She and Ernie had come up behind Harry and Ginny.

Harry pointed. 'Looks like the result of a practical joke by someone.'

'And it wasn't us,' added Ginny. 'It's fun watching them, though.'

'Of course, as Prefects, we ought to do something about this,' said Ernie reluctantly.

'I don't have to do anything,' said Ginny smugly. 'I can just enjoy the show.'

Harry said, 'We were just talking about that. Do you know what charms were used? Or who did this?'

'Ah. No, I don't. To both questions.'

'What a shame,' said Ginny with a grin. 'We just can't do anything to help. And we all like them so much.'

'That's no reason not to help them,' said Ernie reprovingly. 'But it doesn't look as if we can do anything in this case.'

'I'm bored with watching them,' said Harry. 'Want to get a coffee, Ginny?'

'OK.'

'We were just going to Madam Puddifoot's for a milkshake or something,' said Hannah. 'Would you rather be alone, or do you want to join us?'

Harry glanced at Ginny. 'The more the merrier. The only reason we're here by ourselves is we couldn't get Ron or Hermione to wake up enough to come here.'

'Is it really true about them?' Ernie asked. 'People keep saying they're, er ...'

'Making love at every opportunity? Yes, it's true. I thought everyone was convinced by now.'

'They were very convincing,' said Ginny.

They continued talking about the two lovers as they made their way to the teashop, where they sat together and ordered coffee, except for Hannah, who had a banana milkshake. They also had a toasted teacake each. Harry paid for Ginny's as well as his own, but the two Hufflepuffs each paid for their own, as if emphasising they were just friends. They continued their conversation.

'I'm getting the impression you two knew all along,' said Hannah. 'They just weren't bothered, were they?'

'Harry found out months before I did,' said Ginny sadly. 'Ron didn't want anyone to know, especially any of our family. Hermione wasn't as bothered -- she even wrote to her parents about it.'

'You are joking!' exclaimed Hannah. She stared open-mouthed at Ernie.

'I wouldn't ever have thought of that,' said Ernie, 'even if I'd done something to tell them about.'

'I can't even talk to my parents any more!' said Hannah.

'What, not at all?' Ginny asked, surprised.

Hannah hesitated. 'No. It's why I spent Christmas with Ernie's family. But I don't want to talk about that, I'm not Hermione.'

'All right,' said Harry. He wondered if Hannah was an orphan, like him -- but then, why not just say so? He remembered Ernie's earlier comment about her having family problems, and decided to stop speculating. Hannah was obviously not going to tell them any more than she already had.

'I wish he hadn't been quite so secretive about it before, though,' said Ginny. 'I suppose it's just growing up, but we used to be able to tell each other anything.'

'I suppose I wouldn't have told my sister, either,' said Hannah. 'I mean, if there was anything to tell her. We used to be much closer before I came here.'

Harry grinned. 'You two are so busy denying everything, it's getting suspicious.'

'I deny everything too,' said Ginny.

'Oh, yes, so do I. We're all in denial.'

'All right, I'll stop denying everything so much,' said Hannah, smiling shyly. She drank more of her milkshake.

Harry drank more of his coffee, trying to think of something else to talk about. He would have mentioned the exams, if he hadn't known that Hannah had needed a Calming Draught.

'Harry's got one more week, then he's got to beat Ravenclaw to the Snitch,' said Ginny.

'You're both in the team, aren't you?' Ernie asked.

'I'm just a reserve,' she explained. 'Hopefully next year, I'll play in the actual games.' She glanced at her watch. 'Oh. It's just as well we didn't get anything more than this to eat. If we walk slowly, we'll get back to school just in time for lunch.'

They finished their drinks and teacakes, and strolled out and back towards the castle. There was a crowd of pupils some distance ahead of them, and the four of them walked slowly to avoid catching up with the crowd. Once at the castle, most of the crowd went into the Great Hall, enabling Harry to see that they'd been following the three Ton-Tongue Toffee victims. The Slytherins went in a different direction -- Harry assumed they were looking for Snape. He was proved right when Snape hurried up the stairs just before the four of them could enter the Great Hall.

'Potter! What did you do to Malfoy and his friends?'

Harry turned to face him. 'Nothing.'

'Really,' Snape sneered. 'How very convenient that you just happened to be in Hogsmeade.' Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle appeared behind him, still with enormous tongues.

'We were there too,' said Ernie stoutly, 'and Harry was just ahead of us, nowhere near Malfoy.'

'That's right,' agreed Hannah. 'He did ask us if we knew what spells could have done that, and how to remove them. None of us knew, so we couldn't do anything to help.'

'No doubt it was something you bought in Zonko's, Potter,' said Snape, glaring at Harry.

'He didn't go into Zonko's!' said Ginny indignantly. 'But we saw those three coming out of there -- maybe they were trying what they bought?'

Snape turned to face Malfoy, and snatched a bag away from him. Looking inside it, he pulled out two Dungbombs and a Nose-Biting Teacup. 'Back to my office!' he snapped at the three boys, to Harry's relief. Snape followed the boys down the stairs without a backward glance.

'Thanks,' said Harry. 'He'd never have believed me.'

'He can't very well ignore what three Prefects say,' said Ginny. The four of them went into the Great Hall to their own tables. Ginny told Harry, 'I suppose it wouldn't be quite the right moment to tell them I'll ask the twins if those two can have a discount.'

'Maybe next week,' said Harry with a grin.

'Oh, there you are,' said Ginny, as she sat near Ron and Hermione. 'Didn't you go to Hogsmeade at all?'

'We'll go after lunch,' Ron said.

Harry and Ginny told them what they'd missed. Ron laughed. 'Oh, well. I suppose we should have gone this morning, instead of revising.'

'You didn't do revision!' said Ginny sternly.

'The Professor made me.'

'Stop calling me that,' complained Hermione, though she was smiling.

Following lunch, Ron and Hermione went into Hogsmeade, while Harry and Ginny went back up to the common room. Ginny tested Harry on his subjects by opening his books at random pages and asking about the first thing she noticed. He was relieved to discover that he was better at the answers than he'd expected. The afternoon went fast, and Harry was surprised to see Ron and Hermione return from Hogsmeade while he was still answering the questions.

'We didn't see anything good,' Ron told them. 'Don't take this personally, but I thought it was better with just the two of us together.'

'No problem,' said Harry, turning to grin at Ginny. 'I thought the same thing.'

'Stop that!'

'That's hardly fair. I don't object to my two best friends taking up all of each other's time, do I?'

Startled, Hermione looked up from the bag of things she'd got in Hogsmeade. She glanced at Ron, then back at Harry. 'Didn't you mean it when you said you were happy for us?'

'Of course I did. I've told you that a few times.'

'I know. You're not just trying to avoid upsetting us, are you?'

'No. Do I sound as though I am?' Harry didn't want to admit how he felt. For one thing, he wasn't sure yet how he did feel about Ron and Hermione's love for each other.

'You did just then.'

'This is silly. He doesn't mind at all, do you Harry?' Ron asked him.

Harry hesitated before admitting, 'Well, I do sometimes miss doing things together. Though that's partly because this year there hasn't really been anything obvious, like the Chamber, or the Tournament.'

'Just that headband,' said Hermione quietly. 'That was something I think we'd have noticed if Ron and I hadn't been so involved with each other.'

'Well, it doesn't matter now,' said Harry. The conversation was making him uncomfortable. 'Did you get anything interesting in Hogsmeade -- anything that you can actually admit to?'

Ron grinned. 'There's some nice innocent stuff I got in Zonko's, to celebrate the end of the exams, and you winning the Quidditch Cup.' He looked disapprovingly at Hermione. 'And she got a new quill for the exams.'

'I don't want a quill that scratches or blots at the wrong moment,' Hermione said defensively. 'Besides, I like writing with a new quill.'

Harry grinned at the pair of them, then reluctantly grabbed his bag to do some more revision.