Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Hermione's Furry Little Problem
Albus Dumbledore conjured some fresh ice for his tumbler and squeezed some lemon into his third glass of whiskey. Tears flowed freely into his whiskers. He had only barely managed to hold things together all afternoon as he dealt with the aftermath of the vicious attack against Astoria Greengrass.
It had been very trying, though ultimately gratifying, to have spoken with the parents of the victims and the primary attacker. Albus hadn’t expected to find new allies in his struggle with the new Minister and the pureblood supremacists in the Wizengamot.
And not just the Patils and the Greengrasses.
Mr Lovegood had declined to press charges, suggesting that his reputation may prove counterproductive to the cause of expelling and prosecuting the Nott and Malfoy boys. But he had offered to henceforth curb his instinct to publish sensational material about oddities, and promised to focus on hard journalism and the failings of the Ministry instead. And a new free edition of the Quibbler would be available to all in the morning, to counter whatever lies the Minister’s Mouthpiece was sure to tell.
Most surprising of all was Narcissa Malfoy’s pledge of support--not only against the current administration at the Ministry, but also against the Death Eaters who had not yet thrown in with Minister Umbridge. She had whispered of dark rumours and the hopes of those who remained loyal to Voldemort.
But Dumbledore’s own hope was not enough to assuage his heartbreak. He had forced himself to examine the memories of the Patil’s daughter, before having them delivered to Madam Bones. Twice today, he had allowed his mind to be assaulted by a pain which he had never again wished to endure personally.
Albus touched his fingers again to the glass covering the small picture of his sister Ariana which he kept in his desk and he wept. It hadn’t been fair that his father had been punished for delivering justice to those who had assaulted her surely as brutally as Draco had intended to violate Astoria. Those boys--young men really--had deserved everything his father had done to them.
Just as Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott had deserved the means by which young Harry Potter had prevented them from harming Astoria any further.
Harry Potter!
Albus wept some more, having come to realise that he had deprived Harry of his childhood. He hadn’t understood the dynamics at the Dursley residence. Not until Severus had completed his investigation of the Dursleys had Albus truly comprehended the torment to which he had abandoned Harry.
He had discounted Minerva’s concerns until it was far too late. He should have given Hagrid’s complaints about Harry’s retrieval more credence. He should have monitored the Dursley residence from Day One but had believed that Lily’s Magic would protect Harry from harm, never expecting that harm would come from within his own home.
He had believed that Petunia as a grown woman had grown past her fear and jealousy of Lily's magic, and would at the very least protect Harry and treat him with some measure of kindness. How very wrong he had been--about so many things. Albus Dumbledore had made so many mistakes which could not be undone.
He had hoped that Harry might salvage some bit of childhood here at Hogwarts. He had hoped that the youngest Weasley son’s friendship and love of fun would be enough to provide Harry with the modicum of childishness he had thought every young person needed. Only now did Albus realise that after 11 years, it had already been too late.
And it wasn’t only Ronald Bilius Weasley’s extremely poor judgment, fickleness, and petty behaviour. Many boys his age lacked grace and manners, Albus thought.
Quite simply, Harry had never been a child. Harry could never get back that which he had never had, merely by being in the company of the Childish. No amount of hoping might make it otherwise. Harry was a young man who had turned out far better than anyone had a right to expect him to under the circumstances.
Harry had proved that time and again since coming to Hogwarts, demonstrating the kindness and maturity which could have only come from his mother. Even Harry’s occasional disrespect of certain teachers was far more like Lily than James--whose irreverence had been displayed in nearly all of his classes.
Like his mother, Harry had shown respect to all who had demonstrated the capacity to return that respect, and reserved his rudeness for those who had most certainly earned it.
After seeing what those boys had done to Ariana--correction, Astoria--Harry could have been driven to kill them, but he hadn’t. And something in Albus Dumbledore almost wished that he had. Something which Albus had tried to bury the day his sister Arianna had been killed--whether by his own wand or Gellert’s, he would never know.
~o0o~
Hermione put everyone off at dinner, and eaten alone with her husband in their chambers. Daphne had left with her parents when they returned to St Mungo’s to be with Astoria. And that was for the best. When Harry’s anxiety and agitation were this high, he desired nothing more than to be left alone.
Except for his Hermione, whom Harry found to be a calming influence. And for that, Hermione was extremely grateful. She rested his head in her lap, and curled her fluffy tail around him, as she had after the First Task, and administered a calming draught while tenderly stroking his messy moptop. Gradually, she felt the tension drain from Harry’s body as he drifted into sleep.
~o0o~
Mayhem at Hogwarts
by Rita Skeeter
Does Hogwarts have a new Dark Lord in the making? That is what this sterling reporter set out to discover after rumours of a gruesome occurrence yesterday just outside of Hogsmeade reached her ears.
Certain Ministry officials--unnamed due to fears of retribution--revealed that a bloodbath unfolded sometime around Noon on New Year’s Day near the Shrieking Shack. The abandoned Manor House has been given a wide berth by local residents for many years, as it is locally known as a magnet for those with a penchant for Blood Rituals.
According to the unnamed official, a certain Harry James Potter, previously known as the Saviour of the British Wizarding Community engaged in just such a ritual. Utilizing an unknown Dark Curse surely belonging among the class of Unforgivables, Mr Potter, a man of the age of majority, mutilated three young children in a most horrific manner.
A healer at St Mungo’s, too terrified to reveal her name, revealed that multiple limbs had been savagely severed from the traumatised victim's bodies.
Young Demon Potter’s thirst for blood must surely give the other Champions in the Triwizard Tournament pause to continue. Are the Headmasters of the foreign schools which are participating too frightened to withdraw? Enquiring minds want to know.
Hermione’s bushy ginger tail whipped angrily, but she noted with wry amusement that just under the fold of the front page of the Daily Prophet was an advertisement for Humdinger Extenders, and another for an assuredly fraudulent Philosopher’s-Stone-Making kit which could be brewed in under ten minutes.
Fleur was sitting in Daphne’s usual spot, as she had gone home for the weekend with Astoria and her parents. Fleur had an arm comfortingly draped around Harry’s shoulders and she kissed him warmly on the cheek.
“I don’ believe a word of eet. Zey are all lies.” Fleur reassured him as she passed the new edition of the Quibbler to Hermione.
The Quibbler’s headline couldn’t have been more different.
Kidnapping and Attempted Rape Foiled
Death Eater Scion Arrested
The front page article factually revealed all of the events which had transpired in great detail, and quoted Madam Bones as admiring Harry Potter’s “great restraint in subduing the criminals who had been caught in the act.” Kingsley Shacklebolt, and even Dawlish, were cited as praising Harry Potter, and hoping that he would one day consider becoming an Auror himself.
Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Gustav Gehlen were all named as the criminals, and Gehlen was revealed to have reached the age of majority in October of that year. Astoria Greengrass was named as the victim, and Mr Greengrass offered his “utmost gratitude for Harry Potter’s courageous act” and preventing his 11 year old daughter from suffering a “fate worse than death.”
A copy of the DMLE’s full arrest and conviction report was enclosed inside. There were a number of other articles too. Including one about a healer at St Mungo’s who had been bribed by a lower-level Ministry Official from the Department of Magical Sanitation to lie to the Daily Prophet, and yet another article detailing corruption in the Wizengamot. There was also a feature on the crimes of Lucius Malfoy and Nott's father. Every piece was hard-hitting, and backed up with named sources. Not a single advert could be found in the Quibbler.
A buzz of conversation and argument filled the Great Hall and students seemed to be divided between confusion, fear, anger, and pride. A number of students--mostly muggleborns--grinned at Harry and flashed thumbs up at him while the rest avoided looking directly at him.
Even Slytherin seemed awkwardly at odds with each other. Blaize Zabini smirked and nodded approvingly in Harry’s direction.
Fleur glared at the grim-faced Durmstrang Champion as he strode towards the Mingling Table while Karkaroff watched furiously from the Slytherin table. Krum peered inscrutably at Neville, and he reluctantly made space for Krum to sit down directly across from Harry.
Harry stiffened and eyed the Durmstrang student coldly. He recoiled slightly as Krum reached across the table.
“I vould like to sank-you very much. Gehlen vos a nasty piece of vork. His family vos responsible for zome of ze vorst crimes of ze second vorld vor. And he is known for specialising in rituals vich require animal mutilation at Durmstrang. My Headmaster is no doubt qvite angry vith me, but I don’t care. Please accept my apologies for my previous behaviour tovards you.”
Harry was too stunned to move. He hadn’t seen this coming at all. Hermione's furry ears twitched, she nudged Harry slightly and he snapped out of it, extending his own hand towards Viktor Krum’s. He shook Viktor’s hand and swallowed nervously.
“Erm... thank you Krum. Apology accepted.”
“Please, call me Viktor. I vould very much like to consider you a friend.”
A fuzzy warm feeling filled Harry, and his features broke into a grin as he continued to shake the Durmstrang Champion’s hand.
“Yeah... Alright then. Erm... I don’t suppose you’d mind flying around with me some time then?”
Fred and George groaned, knowing that their days of clobbering Harry were over. Dean hadn’t proved very effective as Harry’s back-up yet, but with Krum on Harry’s side, they wondered if they could have Dean and train him up to even things out a bit.
Luna beamed at Harry; her furry white ears twitched and her fluffy white tail flicked cheerfully. She wished her father was still writing articles about undiscovered creatures too, but she couldn’t be more proud that Daddy’s article had gained Harry a new friend.
Viktor finished breakfast at the Mingling Table. As everyone got up to leave for classes, Viktor pulled Harry aside.
“About zat egg...” he began quietly, “I dropped it in ze lake by accident. If you haven’t vorked it out yet, I suggest you take it in a baths-tub vith you?”
It had been very trying, though ultimately gratifying, to have spoken with the parents of the victims and the primary attacker. Albus hadn’t expected to find new allies in his struggle with the new Minister and the pureblood supremacists in the Wizengamot.
And not just the Patils and the Greengrasses.
Mr Lovegood had declined to press charges, suggesting that his reputation may prove counterproductive to the cause of expelling and prosecuting the Nott and Malfoy boys. But he had offered to henceforth curb his instinct to publish sensational material about oddities, and promised to focus on hard journalism and the failings of the Ministry instead. And a new free edition of the Quibbler would be available to all in the morning, to counter whatever lies the Minister’s Mouthpiece was sure to tell.
Most surprising of all was Narcissa Malfoy’s pledge of support--not only against the current administration at the Ministry, but also against the Death Eaters who had not yet thrown in with Minister Umbridge. She had whispered of dark rumours and the hopes of those who remained loyal to Voldemort.
But Dumbledore’s own hope was not enough to assuage his heartbreak. He had forced himself to examine the memories of the Patil’s daughter, before having them delivered to Madam Bones. Twice today, he had allowed his mind to be assaulted by a pain which he had never again wished to endure personally.
Albus touched his fingers again to the glass covering the small picture of his sister Ariana which he kept in his desk and he wept. It hadn’t been fair that his father had been punished for delivering justice to those who had assaulted her surely as brutally as Draco had intended to violate Astoria. Those boys--young men really--had deserved everything his father had done to them.
Just as Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott had deserved the means by which young Harry Potter had prevented them from harming Astoria any further.
Harry Potter!
Albus wept some more, having come to realise that he had deprived Harry of his childhood. He hadn’t understood the dynamics at the Dursley residence. Not until Severus had completed his investigation of the Dursleys had Albus truly comprehended the torment to which he had abandoned Harry.
He had discounted Minerva’s concerns until it was far too late. He should have given Hagrid’s complaints about Harry’s retrieval more credence. He should have monitored the Dursley residence from Day One but had believed that Lily’s Magic would protect Harry from harm, never expecting that harm would come from within his own home.
He had believed that Petunia as a grown woman had grown past her fear and jealousy of Lily's magic, and would at the very least protect Harry and treat him with some measure of kindness. How very wrong he had been--about so many things. Albus Dumbledore had made so many mistakes which could not be undone.
He had hoped that Harry might salvage some bit of childhood here at Hogwarts. He had hoped that the youngest Weasley son’s friendship and love of fun would be enough to provide Harry with the modicum of childishness he had thought every young person needed. Only now did Albus realise that after 11 years, it had already been too late.
And it wasn’t only Ronald Bilius Weasley’s extremely poor judgment, fickleness, and petty behaviour. Many boys his age lacked grace and manners, Albus thought.
Quite simply, Harry had never been a child. Harry could never get back that which he had never had, merely by being in the company of the Childish. No amount of hoping might make it otherwise. Harry was a young man who had turned out far better than anyone had a right to expect him to under the circumstances.
Harry had proved that time and again since coming to Hogwarts, demonstrating the kindness and maturity which could have only come from his mother. Even Harry’s occasional disrespect of certain teachers was far more like Lily than James--whose irreverence had been displayed in nearly all of his classes.
Like his mother, Harry had shown respect to all who had demonstrated the capacity to return that respect, and reserved his rudeness for those who had most certainly earned it.
After seeing what those boys had done to Ariana--correction, Astoria--Harry could have been driven to kill them, but he hadn’t. And something in Albus Dumbledore almost wished that he had. Something which Albus had tried to bury the day his sister Arianna had been killed--whether by his own wand or Gellert’s, he would never know.
~o0o~
Hermione put everyone off at dinner, and eaten alone with her husband in their chambers. Daphne had left with her parents when they returned to St Mungo’s to be with Astoria. And that was for the best. When Harry’s anxiety and agitation were this high, he desired nothing more than to be left alone.
Except for his Hermione, whom Harry found to be a calming influence. And for that, Hermione was extremely grateful. She rested his head in her lap, and curled her fluffy tail around him, as she had after the First Task, and administered a calming draught while tenderly stroking his messy moptop. Gradually, she felt the tension drain from Harry’s body as he drifted into sleep.
~o0o~
Mayhem at Hogwarts
by Rita Skeeter
Does Hogwarts have a new Dark Lord in the making? That is what this sterling reporter set out to discover after rumours of a gruesome occurrence yesterday just outside of Hogsmeade reached her ears.
Certain Ministry officials--unnamed due to fears of retribution--revealed that a bloodbath unfolded sometime around Noon on New Year’s Day near the Shrieking Shack. The abandoned Manor House has been given a wide berth by local residents for many years, as it is locally known as a magnet for those with a penchant for Blood Rituals.
According to the unnamed official, a certain Harry James Potter, previously known as the Saviour of the British Wizarding Community engaged in just such a ritual. Utilizing an unknown Dark Curse surely belonging among the class of Unforgivables, Mr Potter, a man of the age of majority, mutilated three young children in a most horrific manner.
A healer at St Mungo’s, too terrified to reveal her name, revealed that multiple limbs had been savagely severed from the traumatised victim's bodies.
Young Demon Potter’s thirst for blood must surely give the other Champions in the Triwizard Tournament pause to continue. Are the Headmasters of the foreign schools which are participating too frightened to withdraw? Enquiring minds want to know.
Hermione’s bushy ginger tail whipped angrily, but she noted with wry amusement that just under the fold of the front page of the Daily Prophet was an advertisement for Humdinger Extenders, and another for an assuredly fraudulent Philosopher’s-Stone-Making kit which could be brewed in under ten minutes.
Fleur was sitting in Daphne’s usual spot, as she had gone home for the weekend with Astoria and her parents. Fleur had an arm comfortingly draped around Harry’s shoulders and she kissed him warmly on the cheek.
“I don’ believe a word of eet. Zey are all lies.” Fleur reassured him as she passed the new edition of the Quibbler to Hermione.
The Quibbler’s headline couldn’t have been more different.
Kidnapping and Attempted Rape Foiled
Death Eater Scion Arrested
The front page article factually revealed all of the events which had transpired in great detail, and quoted Madam Bones as admiring Harry Potter’s “great restraint in subduing the criminals who had been caught in the act.” Kingsley Shacklebolt, and even Dawlish, were cited as praising Harry Potter, and hoping that he would one day consider becoming an Auror himself.
Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Gustav Gehlen were all named as the criminals, and Gehlen was revealed to have reached the age of majority in October of that year. Astoria Greengrass was named as the victim, and Mr Greengrass offered his “utmost gratitude for Harry Potter’s courageous act” and preventing his 11 year old daughter from suffering a “fate worse than death.”
A copy of the DMLE’s full arrest and conviction report was enclosed inside. There were a number of other articles too. Including one about a healer at St Mungo’s who had been bribed by a lower-level Ministry Official from the Department of Magical Sanitation to lie to the Daily Prophet, and yet another article detailing corruption in the Wizengamot. There was also a feature on the crimes of Lucius Malfoy and Nott's father. Every piece was hard-hitting, and backed up with named sources. Not a single advert could be found in the Quibbler.
A buzz of conversation and argument filled the Great Hall and students seemed to be divided between confusion, fear, anger, and pride. A number of students--mostly muggleborns--grinned at Harry and flashed thumbs up at him while the rest avoided looking directly at him.
Even Slytherin seemed awkwardly at odds with each other. Blaize Zabini smirked and nodded approvingly in Harry’s direction.
Fleur glared at the grim-faced Durmstrang Champion as he strode towards the Mingling Table while Karkaroff watched furiously from the Slytherin table. Krum peered inscrutably at Neville, and he reluctantly made space for Krum to sit down directly across from Harry.
Harry stiffened and eyed the Durmstrang student coldly. He recoiled slightly as Krum reached across the table.
“I vould like to sank-you very much. Gehlen vos a nasty piece of vork. His family vos responsible for zome of ze vorst crimes of ze second vorld vor. And he is known for specialising in rituals vich require animal mutilation at Durmstrang. My Headmaster is no doubt qvite angry vith me, but I don’t care. Please accept my apologies for my previous behaviour tovards you.”
Harry was too stunned to move. He hadn’t seen this coming at all. Hermione's furry ears twitched, she nudged Harry slightly and he snapped out of it, extending his own hand towards Viktor Krum’s. He shook Viktor’s hand and swallowed nervously.
“Erm... thank you Krum. Apology accepted.”
“Please, call me Viktor. I vould very much like to consider you a friend.”
A fuzzy warm feeling filled Harry, and his features broke into a grin as he continued to shake the Durmstrang Champion’s hand.
“Yeah... Alright then. Erm... I don’t suppose you’d mind flying around with me some time then?”
Fred and George groaned, knowing that their days of clobbering Harry were over. Dean hadn’t proved very effective as Harry’s back-up yet, but with Krum on Harry’s side, they wondered if they could have Dean and train him up to even things out a bit.
Luna beamed at Harry; her furry white ears twitched and her fluffy white tail flicked cheerfully. She wished her father was still writing articles about undiscovered creatures too, but she couldn’t be more proud that Daddy’s article had gained Harry a new friend.
Viktor finished breakfast at the Mingling Table. As everyone got up to leave for classes, Viktor pulled Harry aside.
“About zat egg...” he began quietly, “I dropped it in ze lake by accident. If you haven’t vorked it out yet, I suggest you take it in a baths-tub vith you?”
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