10 | The Hogwarts High Inquisitor

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Saturday came like a relief after the first week of school that had dragged on like a seemingly endless lesson in History of Magic.

Hermione was already dressed when Allie woke up, standing in the bathroom and fixing her hair, in contrast to Ginny, still curled up into a ball of her Gryffindor blanket and orange hair spilled over her pillow, and Parvati, sitting on the edge of her bed and rubbing over her eyes. The curtains of Lavender's four poster bed were closed shut, her slow, deep breathing indicating that she was still deeply asleep.

Warm rays of sun spilled through the windows, drenching the dorm in fresh, honey-coloured morning light. Allison peeled herself out of her cosy bed, gathered some clothes from her open trunk and walked into the girls' shared bathroom to take a hot shower.

Ron was waiting for them in the common room, yawning widely and darting an annoyed look at some First Years who were levitating sweets into each other's mouths, giggling loudly.

"That's why you shouldn't drink that much butterbeer," Allie greeted him, ruffling through his hair. He shoved her hand away.

"Do me a favour and be quiet," He said, massaging his temples.

"Allie is right, you have so much homework -"

"How about breakfast?" Ron interrupted Hermione. "I'm starving."

Harry wasn't in the Great Hall when they entered, but he joined them ten minutes later, beaming as if Dumbledore had just announced that Umbridge would be fired.

"Morning," He said brightly to them, sitting down next to Ron.

"What are you looking so pleased about?" Ron said, eyeing Harry in surprise.

"Erm...Quidditch later," Harry said happily, pulling a large platter of bacon and eggs toward him.

"Is that what we call Cho now?" Allison asked casually upon seeing the black-haired girl walking into the Great Hall, her eyes jumping back and forth between her friends on the Ravenclaw table and the back of Harry's head. His smile only grew bigger as he towered the bacon onto his toast.

Ron took a large swig of pumpkin juice. Then he said, "Listen...you don't fancy going out a bit earlier with me, do you? Just to - er - give me some practice before training? So, I can, you know, get my eye in a bit..."

"Yeah, okay," Harry said.

"Look, I don't think you should," said Hermione seriously, "you're both really behind on homework as it -"

But she broke off; the morning post was arriving and, as usual, the Daily Prophet was soaring toward her in the beak of a screech owl, which landed perilously close to Allie's cup of tea and held out a leg; Hermione pushed a Knut into its leather pouch, took the newspaper, and scanned the front page critically as the owl took off again.

"Anything interesting?" Ron said, keen to get her off the subject of homework.

"No," She sighed, "just some guff about the bass player in the Weird Sisters getting married...Isn't that the one your mum says she once treated in the hospital?"

Allison turned the front page towards her to get a better look at the moving picture of the two men in black and white wedding suits, and said, "No, that was the drummer, that's the one my mum fancied. She's gonna be really pissed that she didn't get an invite."

Hermione opened the paper and disappeared behind it, and Allison leaned her head against Hermione's shoulder, skimming the many articles. Harry devoted himself to another helping of eggs and bacon; Ron was staring up at the high windows, looking slightly preoccupied.

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