“I knew it!” cried Ron “You always get away with stuff!”
Harry had left too early that morning for them to wish him luck. He had just returned with Mr Weasley to tell them the good news - he was cleared of all charges
“They were bound to clear you” said Hermione, pinching the bridge of her nose with shaking fingers “there was no case against you, none at all”
“Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I’d get off” said Harry, but he with grinning
“He got off, he got off, he got off…” chanted Ginny and the twins, who seemed to have started some kind of war dance
“That’s enough! Settle down!” said Mr. Weasley, to no avail “Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry -”
“What?” said Sirius
“He got off, he got off, he got off…”
“Be quiet, you three! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on Level Nine, then they went up to Fudge’s office together. Dumbledore ought to know”
“Absolutely” said Sirius “We’ll tell him, don’t worry”
“Well, I’d better get going, there’s a vomiting toilet waiting for me in Bethnal Green. Molly, I’ll be late, I’m covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner-”
“He got off, he got off, he got off…”
“That’s enough - Fred - George - Ginny!” said Mrs. Weasley, as Mr. Weasley left “Harry, dear, come and sit down, have some lunch, you hardly ate breakfast”
Hermione and Ron sat down opposite him, all three of them grinning. For a moment, it was as if nothing had changed, but then Ron opened his mouth
“Course, once Dumbledore turned up on your side, there was no way they were going to convict you”
Harry had told them everything. Dumbledore had appeared as Harry's witness for defence and swung the whole trail with just a few words
“Yeah, he swung it for me” said Harry
Suddenly, he winced and clapped a hand to his forehead
“What’s up?” said Hermione
“Scar” he muttered “But it’s nothing… it happens all the time now…”
Ron, who hadn't noticed, said, “I bet Dumbledore turns up this evening, to celebrate with us, you know”
“I don’t think he’ll be able to, Ron” said Mrs. Weasley “He’s really very busy at the moment”
“HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF”
“SHUT UP!” shouted Mrs. Weasley
The whole house seemed to be in a state of euphoria for the rest of the day. However after that one member of the household seemed to be considerably downcast after that initial day. Sirius was spending a lot more time disappearing off to Buckbeak's room, and whenever Hermione saw him, he was surly and unresponsive. Harry voiced concern about it to her and Ron while they cleaned a cupboard on the third floor
“Don’t you go feeling guilty!” said Hermione “You belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he’s being selfish”
“That’s a bit harsh, Hermione” said Ron “you wouldn’t want to be stuck inside this house without any company”
“He’ll have company!” she replied “It’s Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix, isn’t it? He just got his hopes up that Harry would be coming to live here with him”
“I don’t think that’s true” said Harry slowly “He wouldn’t give me a straight answer when I asked him if I could”
“He just didn’t want to get his own hopes up even more” she explained “And he probably felt a bit guilty himself, because I think a part of him was really hoping you’d be expelled. Then you’d both be outcasts together”
“Come off it!” they both said heatedly
Hermione shrugged
“Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron’s mums right and Sirius gets confused about whether you’re you or your father, Harry”
“So you think he’s touched in the head?” said Harry angrily
“No, I just think he’s been very lonely for a long time” said Hermione
Mrs Weasley appeared at the doorway
“Still not finished?” she said
“I thought you might be here to tell us to have a break” said Ron “D’you know how much mould we’ve got rid of since we arrived here?”
“You were so keen to help the Order” said Mrs. Weasley “you can do your bit by making Headquarters fit to live in”
“I feel like a house-elf” said Ron
“Well, now you understand what dreadful lives they lead, perhaps you’ll be a bit more active in SPEW!” said Hermione as Mrs Weasley left “You know, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show people exactly how horrible it is to clean all the time - we could do a sponsored scrub of Gryffindor common room, all proceeds to SPEW, it would raise awareness as well as funds”
“I’ll sponsor you to shut up about SPEW” Ron whispered
Hermione pretended not to hear
YOU ARE READING
Hermione Granger and the Order of the Phoenix
Fanfic(book 5) As Hermione Granger flew away from her home back towards the magical world, she realised that this wouldn't be an ordinary year. No, this time the terrifying creatures that wanted her dead would be OUTSIDE the school grounds, as well as ins...
