PHANTOM FIGURES | harry potter

72. percy's advice

     On Saturday morning Aspen was able to sleep in a bit. When she arrived at the Great Hall Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already sitting at the Gryffindor table. Jasmine was nowhere to be found, and Aspen glanced at the Slytherin table and saw that Theo wasn't there. Nico caught her eye and grinned at her. Aspen waved her hand before taking the seat next to Ron.

     "What's that?" she said, pointing to the Daily Prophet in Hermione's hand.

     "Nothing important," Hermione shook her head, "just some guff about the bass player in the Weird Sisters getting married..."

     So Aspen shrugged and started spreading jam on her toast as Hermione disappeared behind the paper.

     "Wait a moment," said Hermione suddenly. "Oh no... Sirius!"

     "What's happened?" said Harry, and he snatched at the paper so violently that it ripped down the middle so that he and Hermione were holding half each.

     "'The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer... blah blah blah... is currently hiding in London!'" Hermione read from her half in an anguished whisper.

     "Lucius Malfoy, I'll bet anything, " said Harry in a low, furious voice. "He did recognize Sirius on the platform..."

     "What?" said Ron, looking alarmed. "You didn't say..."

     "Shh!" said the other three.

     "...'Ministry warns Wizarding community that Black is very dangerous... killed thirteen people... broke out of Azkaban...' the usual rubbish," Hermione concluded, laying down her half of the paper and looking fearfully at Aspen, Harry, and Ron. "Well, he just won't be able to leave the house again, that's all," she whispered. "Dumbledore did warn him not to."

     Harry looked down glumly at the bit of the Prophet he had torn off. "Hey!" he said, flattening it down so the rest of them could see it. "Look at this!"

     "I've got all the robes I want," said Ron, looking at the advertisement for Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, which was apparently having a sale, that took up most of the page.

     "No," said Harry, "look... this little piece here..."

     Aspen, Ron, and Hermione bent closer to read it; the item was barely an inch long and placed right at the bottom of a column. It was headlined:

TRESPASS AT MINISTRY

Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watch-wizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban.

     "He didn't even try to speak in his own defence?" whispered Aspen, looking extremely confused. "Is it because he knew there was no way out of it or was he not able to?" She thought back to how Fudge reacted to the third task last summer, he barely let Aspen and Harry speak up for themselves, maybe he refused to give Podmore a chance to say anything.

     "Sturgis Podmore?" said Ron slowly, "but he's that bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he. He's one of the Ord-"

     "Ron, shh!" said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them.