THE GREAT WAR | HARRY POTTER

The Marauders

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It turns out, the Great Hall is glistening in the mornings. Lorelei, of course, would not know this; she doesn't believe in waking up early. But alas, she had a late night of lessons with Snape (he ranted to her about Dumbledore ignoring her, for his feelings were hurt, she assumed) and didn't get back to the Gryffindor dormitories until past sunrise.

She also realized that the mornings were the trio's debrief sessions.

"We're not playing Slytherin on Saturday. Flint backed out because Malfoy's arm was apparently still hurt," Harry huffed, sitting harshly on the bench.

Wow, so bad. Lorelei thought. She was thrilled to hear more of Potter's delusions. So much so that she had downed all of her orange juice and hid her face behind her copy of The Daily Prophet. Perhaps it was a bit jaded that she read the newspaper, but Snape had urged her to remain up to date with all of the current events. Usually, she didn't adhere to these directions, but the man was probably watching.

Harry continued. "Malfoy is a git. He's just faking it."

That she agreed with. It annoyed her that her best friend was so histrionic. Sometimes she wanted to get up and slap him in the face. Actually–

She slammed the newspaper on the table and swiftly stood up from the bench. She rolled it up and stormed over to the Slytherin table. When she caught Draco's eye, he could very well perceive the look in her eye that clearly said I am going to kill you. He froze in fear.

When she reached him, she began beating him with the paper repeatedly.

"OW!" yelled Draco. "Stop–" hit. "Attacking–" slam. "Me!" another hit.

"She gets it," said Ron, with a mouth full of biscuits.

"What do you suppose she was doing during the Halloween party?" asked Harry. Perhaps he was being obsessive about Lorelei as of late, but he couldn't help his curiosity. Her absence, on top of both Snape's insistence that someone had helped Black get into the castle and her appearance during tea with the Professor had struck him. "Snape was concerned that the person Dumbledore appointed was helping Black. And the most recent professors are Hagrid and Lupin."

"It could have been at any time, Harry.' said Hermione. "It can't just be the two of them. It could be anyone."

"Well, what if it's Lupin? She was there when Snape was trying to–"

"We don't know that–"

"Listen to me, Hermione!" Harry seethed. "It's obvious Lorelei is working closely with Snape. What if they're working together against Lupin?"

"That's a big accusation, mate," Ron chimed in.

"I don't think Lorelei is trying to hurt Lupin. She seems to like him," Hermione reasoned. "But if she is working with Snape, that could explain how she knew how to save you from the Dementors."

"I don't trust her, Mione," said Harry.

Hermione had an idea. Harry could see it in her eyes, the way they were looking around as if she were calculating a brilliant plan. "What?" he asked.

"What if you get her to teach you how?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because, don't you see? You could get her to trust you and maybe figure out what she is up to–if she is up to something."

"But you are her friend, Hermione. Why can't you just ask her yourself?" asked Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because then she'll know that we are on to her."