FicWad

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related concepts are owned by someone who isn't me



Holly Evans and the Spiral Path

Chapter 2: nice = dumb



5th January, 1992



Dear Harry,

Thank you for the loan. After my X-mas note I saw the healer Mme. Pomfrey about some eyewear. After ranting and scoffing at my lack of mentioning the headaches for about an hour (by which point I had a new one), she arranged for some temporary glasses and for a specialist to come to the school from Diagon Alley. Headmaster Dumbledore was there and said that you told him I could use some of the money from the Potter trust to pay for the glasses and some Quidditch goggles. Actually, Prof. McG nudged him to remind him about the goggles. Iasked them where the money for my books and supplies came from, as Prof. McG never said anything about it when we went shopping back in July. They mumbled something about a Saladbar Foundation for indigent muggleborns. If you don't mind, I think it would be best to give back the money they used from this Foundation out of the Potter Trust. I don't want to owe someone else for this later. I'd rather owe you.



Holly



*

Valentine's Day 1992



Dear Harry,

Neville Longbottom said something a while back about being thought a squib until his Uncle Algie threw him out a third floor window. Neville didn't break anything, he just bounced. Thank God for that as he has few advantages in this world. It's bad enough he can't remember even the simplest things like the password to the Gryffindor dorms, but he uses his Dad's wand instead of getting his own. Ollivander the weird wand guy said that the wand chooses the wizard, yet despite the Longbottoms being landed gentry and an old magical family to boot, his Gran won't spring for a properly matched wand. Hermione pointed out that lands and title didn't equal money. Quoth Hermione; "His wouldn't be the first British noble family to be deep in debts. Just ask the Queen."

The reason I bring this up is that I think magical people do have powers. Mine shows up with the healing and the Iron Fist thing. I think it also allowed me to force my eyes to correct themselves, though it gave me headaches. Hermione has nearly absolute recall of what she's read. Another Gryffindor, Dean Thomas, has excellent drawing skills. In Ron's case, I think he has the capacity to eat as much as he can grab. I told Hermione my idea and she said it seems like the magic would rise to the occasion of the need, which for Neville was to not be splattered on the gravel. I gave him a Valentine. Hopefully he won't read too much into it.



Holly



*

28th May, 1992



Harry,

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but it's been busy. Also, I don't usually like to write stuff down unless I'm really annoyed. Better, I think, to poison the page with my anger than poisoning my housemates, or Hagrid for that matter.

It's just that they are dumb. Nice, but dumb. I'm beginning to think nice people are inherently dumb. Dumb people aren't necessarily nice, as the Dursleys prove, but the other way makes some sense.



Prof. McG is stern and demanding. Mme. Pomfrey is stern and irritable. Professor Snape is positively ghoulish and 'snarky' (Hermione's new favorite word). They are all not nice, but definitely smart and capable. Hermione would say that she is the exception, but I haven't convinced her yet that telling people when they're wrong isn't actually nice. On the other hand, assuming my idea is right, she might get dumber if she started treating people kindly. I have to revise my original statement to say nice humans are dumb. I forgot about Professor Flitwick and Firenze of the Centaurs. No wait. Prof. Flitwick is nearly as barmy as the headmaster and Firenze wasn't nice so much as cryptic but helpful.

Ron is Dumb.

Hagrid is dumb, a lot.

Lavender and Parvati are dumb, if only because Centaurs are not dreamy.

Draco is dumb, and also not nice. Also a coward, though in his case that may show some measure of smarts.

Dumbledore is dumb, which might excuse the name.



I'll tell the tale to explain what I mean.

Way back in September during our first flying lesson, Draco challenged Ron to aduel. As Ron was stepping into this supposedly to protect my honor I tagged along, hoping to bring him to hospital afterwards. It was a fake-out to get Ron in trouble with Filch, so we ran away, barely evading him by ducking into athird-floor room that we had been warned not to enter. Turns out the warning was valid, as there was a giant three-headed dog in there, standing on a trap door. Ron screamed, waking up the poor beastie and putting us at risk. We escaped. Ron is dumb.

Ron, Hermione and I visit Hagrid every few weeks to chat him up about life and creatures. Hermione had latched onto the idea that the trapdoor must lead to something, and that the break-in reported at Gringott's was somehow related to it. Hagrid eventually let out that he had retrieved what would have been stolen before the vault was violated, and that it was between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel. Hermione eventually worked out that Flamel created the Philosopher's stone, and that's what is hidden below Fluffy. Hagrid nicely confirmed that with his blustering.

Also, during the last few months Hagrid has been incubating an illegal dragon egg in his hut. It hatched a few weeks ago, upon which point Norbert, a Norwegian Ridgeback, began to ignite and eat things, like Hagrid's beard, Hermione's book bag (for which I don't think she has yet forgiven him) not to mention biting Ron's hand. Thankfully, Ron had already contacted his second-eldest brother Charlie who works on a dragon reserve in Romania, so all we had to do was convince Hagrid his time as a dragon's mommy was at an end. When we finally pressed him about where he got the egg in the first place, he revealed that he won it in card game during which he told the other player (and now us) that Fluffy could be knocked out with music. He also revealed that further protections have been emplaced by the various professors, so we shouldn't worry, right? The man is a walking press leak. I am fairly sure that everything publicly known about Halloween 1981 came from him.

Anyway, Ron couldn't help with delivering Norbert to the Astronomy tower so that Charlie could do the pickup, so it fell to me, Hermione and a hastily recruited Neville. We traveled up there using the cloak to cover our movements. After the pickup, Draco busted us with Filch in tow. Neville, Hermione and I got detention and lost Gryffindor a bucket of points. Happily, Draco was included when Prof. McG handed down the punishment as Draco was out past curfew trying to catch us.

I should mention at this point that I have had plenty of other detentions. This is the only one I think is noteworthy because it illustrates my original point.



For our detention, Hagrid took us out to the Forbidden Forest.

The/Forbidden/ Forest.

Hagrid was concerned about unicorns being attacked and drained of blood out in the Forbidden Forest. His brilliant plan was to have four firsties and his cowardly boarhound Fang accompany him in his search for the thing in the Forbidden Forest that could actually catch a unicorn with the intent of draining their blood. I am not a fearful person, but I try to avoid useless damage. The thing I encountered in the Forbidden Forest with its face dripping of silvery unicorn blood was like something from Tales from the Crypt. I would be having nightmares about it but something else happened then. As the thing charged at me I was knocked over from behind. When I sat up to see what happened, Idiscovered that a centaur was standing over me, chasing the thing away. More specifically, I was sitting directly under Firenze's quite impressive fur-covered twitching Man...uhh, Horse-parts. They're bigger than my leg. It was distracting. After the creature retreated, Firenze stepped forward, turned around and spoke about some stuff. I honestly can't remember what he said.

Firenze had a bit of a row with some of his fellows until Hagrid found us. Hagrid and Iburned the unicorn's body and buried the ashes. Hermione, Neville, Draco and Fang had already been led back to Hagrid's hut when Draco had panicked earlier causing us to split up in the first place.

Needless to say, Hagrid is dumb.



Whatever that thing in the Forbidden Forest was, it's still out there. Hermione thinks it may be gunning for Flamel's stone. Dumbledore is dumb. He's hidden apriceless artifact that grants youth and money in a school full of kids, and then told them where to start looking. He employed his most gullible servant to act as courier and first line of defense. He's engaged an acting company's worth of his most competent peers to hide and protect this same 'secret' item, luring whatever would want it to assault the school while in session. I'm surprised he's not selling tickets to the confrontation. They say power corrupts, but Ithink it just rots the brain.



I just remembered what Firenze was trying to say. It's Voldemort out there in the woods. Dumbledore is really, really dumb.



Holly