With the Ministry of Magic actively denying Voldemort's return, and Voldemort doing nothing to open their eyes, Aurora found her summer very boring. With nothing to do for months on end, there were times when Aurora felt like she was going to go sti...
"What's the matter?" asked Hermione the next morning, as she and Aurora with Harry and Ron halfway across the common room as they all headed toward breakfast. "You look absolutely — oh for heaven's sake."
She was staring at the common room notice board, where a large new sign had been put up.
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"They are the limit," said Hermione grimly, taking down the sign, which Fred and George had pinned up over a poster giving the date of the first Hogsmeade weekend in October. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron."
Ron looked positively alarmed.
"Why?"
"Because we're prefects!" said Hermione, as they climbed out through the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!"
Ron said nothing; Aurora could tell from his glum expression that the prospect of stopping Fred and George doing exactly what they liked was not one that he found inviting.
"Anyway, what's up, Harry?" Hermione continued, as they walked down a flight of stairs lined with portraits of old witches and wizards, all of whom ignored them, being engrossed in their own conversation. "You look really angry about something."
"Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who," said Ron succinctly, when Harry did not respond.
Hermione sighed.
"Yes, Lavender thinks so too," she said gloomily. "And Rebecca."
"Been having a nice little chat with them about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry said loudly.
"No," said Hermione calmly, "I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And Aurora went on this big rant. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down Ron's, Aurora's and my throats, Harry, because if you haven't noticed, we're on your side."
There was a short pause.
"Sorry," said Harry in a low voice.
"That's quite all right," said Hermione with dignity. Then she shook her head. "Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the end-of-term feast last year?"
Harry and Ron both looked at her blankly, and Hermione sighed again.
"About You-Know-Who. He said, 'His gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust —'"
"How do you remember stuff like that?" asked Ron, looking at her in admiration.
"I listen, Ron," said Hermione with a touch of asperity.
"So do I, but I still couldn't tell you exactly what —"
"The point," Hermione pressed on loudly, "is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. YouKnow-Who's only been back two months, and we've started fighting among ourselves. And the Sorting Hat's warning was the same — stand together, be united —"
