Lucille Rose Potter

Chapter 59

They spent the rest of the meal talking about Quidditch and school, stuffing their faces and piling desserts onto their plates.

"Who's the new guy?" Lucy asked, gesturing to the staff table.

"Horace Slughorn," Harry answered, "new teacher, Dumbledore took me to recruit him over the summer."

"Harry, you should distance yourself from Dumbledore," Lucy frowned, "I don't trust him."

Harry gave her a look meaning they'd talk later.

"He started this group...calls it the 'Slugclub'." Ginny said, "Harry, Neville and I were invited on the train."

"How did he pick who was invited?" Hermione asked.

"Harry is obvious," Ginny said, "I don't know about Neville...Zabini was there, probably because his mom is famous, and I was invited because he walked in on me hexing Zacharias Smith...you know that one boy from the DA...he didn't stop asking me about what happened at the Ministry. I thought I was in for it, but Slughorn was impressed...invited me to the luncheon."

"Everyone's been asking about the Ministry," Harry groaned.

"And Sirius," Ron added.

"They all want to know what actually happened and if we saw Voldemort," Ginny said, "some of the stories people have come up with are ridiculous."

"I can imagine," Lucy snorted.

"There's Malfoy!" Ron said suddenly, pointing over to the Slytherin table.

"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione smacked his hand down, "don't point.

"What do you think happened?" Ginny asked, "the papers don't say much."

"What are the papers saying?" Lucy asked.

"You mean you haven't seen them?" Ron looked at her with wide eyes.

Lucy shook her head, "we don't have a subscription to the prophet, Abe thinks it's bull and we don't bother with it anyways."

"That's probably smart," Harry said bitterly, "I'm assuming you haven't seen what it's saying about me either?"

Lucy shook her head, "no, I haven't."

"These days, Harry, Malfoy, You-Know-Who and Sirius are the topic of all the articles," Hermione said, "the subjects are exhausted to be frank."

"What're they saying about Draco Malfoy?" Lucy asked.

"Kidnapped, Run-away, murdered..." Ginny rolled her eyes, "you name it, nobody knows what happened to him."

"There was a reward," Ron said, "put out by his mother, when he wasn't on the train people began to speculate that he was..."

"....But he's here," Harry said, "I wonder what happened."

"He's not sitting near his typical group," Hermione said.

"He's been missing for what...a month?" Harry asked.

Lucy nodded, "about."

"How'd you know?" Hermione frowned at the younger girl.

Lucy's eyes widened, "oh! I didn't I just spaced for a second."

Hermione frowned but dismissed it regardless.

"They're all talking about 'the Chosen One'," Ron rolled his eyes, "bloody annoying."

"There's been much talk on that very subject even amongst the ghosts," Nearly Headless Nick interrupted, "I am considered something of a Potter authority; it is widely known that we are friendly. I have assured the spirit community however, that I will not be pestering you for information. 'Harry Potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence,' I told them, 'I would rather die than betray his trust'."