Black and Potter | H. Potter

62 ⋆*⋆:⋆ bad reputation.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

| BAD REPUTATION |
song: champagne coast by blood orange

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

LUNA SAID VAGUELY THAT SHE DID NOT know how soon Rita's interview with Ara and Harry would appear in The Quibbler, that her father was expecting a lovely long article on recent sightings of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

"And, of course, that'll be a very important story, so Ara and Harry's might have to wait for the following issue," said Luna.

Neither Ara nor Harry had found it an easy experience to talk about the night when Voldemort had returned. Rita had pressed them for every little detail, and they had given her everything they could remember, knowing that this was their one big opportunity to tell the world the truth. They wondered how people would react to the story. They guessed that it would confirm a lot of people's view that they were completely insane, not least because their story would be appearing alongside Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

But the breakout of Bellatrix Lestrange and her fellow Death Eaters had given Ara and Harry a burning desire to do something, whether it worked or not. . .

"Can't wait to see what Umbridge thinks of you and Ara going public," said Dean, sounding awestruck at dinner on Monday night. Seamus was shovelling down large amounts of chicken-and-ham pie on Dean's other side, but Harry knew he was listening.

"It's the right thing to do, Harry," said Neville, who was sitting opposite him. He was rather pale, but went on in a low voice, "It must have been . . . tough for you two . . . talking about it. . . . Was it?"

"Yeah," mumbled Harry, remembering the parts in which he had to recall Cedric dying and Ara being tortured in front of him, "but people have got to know what Voldemort's capable of, haven't they?"

"That's right," said Neville, nodding, "and his Death Eaters too . . .People should know. . ."

Neville left his sentence hanging and returned to his baked potato. Seamus looked up, but when he caught Harry's eye he looked quickly back at his plate again.

"Talking about Ara, what's up with you and her?" Dean asked quietly, making Harry look up. "Some said you two had a date on Valen–"

"It wasn't a date," Harry cut him off carefully, looking around to make sure no one was hearing any of it. "It's not like that."

He wasn't about to tell them how he felt about Ara, they could tell Ron, and Harry wasn't ready to deal with his best friend's overprotective-brother mode. He remembered how, back in first year, Ron would scowl at anyone who even glanced at his sister. He still did it sometimes, and while Ara never seemed to notice, Harry definitely did—and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of those glares.

Neville looked nervously at Harry, "I heard Anthony Goldstein's got a thing for her. . ."

"What?" Harry did a double take, his appetite now gone.

"Apparently yes," Dean said sympathetically. "If you want a chance, better hurry up, mate, he seems pretty interested."

Harry clenched his jaw, suddenly having the urge to stand up and go to the Ravenclaw table just to smash Anthony Goldstein's head into the nearest wall.

After a while, Dean, Seamus, and Neville departed for the common room, leaving a fuming Harry and Hermione at the table waiting for Ara and Ron, who hadn't yet had dinner because of Quidditch practice.