Hermione's Diary

July

7/2/95

The past few days have been difficult for Harry; I can tell. Especially the End of Year feast. Yesterday, though, he cheered up a little as we were talking to Hagrid, who said that he was going on an adventure with Madam Maxime over the summer. We can't wait to hear all about it when we return to Hogwarts next year. By the way, the train is leaving tomorrow; this year has gone by pretty fast. And overall, it's been great. Ok, take out the big fight at the Yule Ball with Ron and it would be even better. But every year has its moments doesn't it?

7/3/95

Today was our last day at Hogwarts. Saying goodbye to our foreign friends was hard for some of us, but easier for others. Fleur Delacour, the half-veela from Beauxbatons, came over to say goodbye to Harry, to Ron's delight, and my displeasure. The atmosphere changed quickly, however, when Viktor walked over. At first, Ron seemed to be in a curious mood, as Viktor asked if he could talk with me. I accepted, and we talked quietly and quickly a few feet away from Ron and Harry. I could feel Ron staring at us out of the corners of my eyes; I felt like I was being watched. When I returned, Ron still seemed curious, but now more, I wouldn't say mad. More like....... Struggling against himself in his mind. His eyes seemed to dart wildly to Viktor Krum before closing for a few seconds, before repeating the process. Finally, when Viktor began to walk off, Ron sputtered nervously if he "could have his autograph". I smiled happily to myself. They're finally at peace, I thought. We all boarded the gleaming scarlet locomotive. As we rode past noisy cities and quiet rolling fields, I casually brought up something I had been dying to tell Harry and Ron for days, but held off because of the sudden events; my capture of Rita Skeeter. I explained it all, even showing them the markings around the antennae. But just as I put away the jarred beetle, Draco Malfoy and his two friends decide to enter the compartment. He taunted Harry, like always, and this time, there were no teachers around. The three Slytherin's had shots coming at them from five Gryffindor's. Yes, five; Fred and George had decided to join in with Harry, Ron, and I. After we pushed the unconscious bodies out into the corridor of the train, we played Exploding Snap. In the middle of a game, Harry mentioned to Fred and George about the time in the Owlery when we overheard their conversation about blackmailing. The twins agreed that they did indeed blackmail, but insisted that it was nothing. Harry, Ron, and I persisted our questioning, being very curious at the moment. Finally, the gave in and told us who they were blackmailing. When Fred and George bet at the Quidditch World Cup last summer, Ludo Bagman gave them their winnings in leprechaun gold, which vanishes after a short period of time. At first, they thought it was a mistake. So they contacted Mr. Bagman and asked him for the money. The "git", as Fred and George liked to call him, told them that they were "too young to gamble", and that they weren't getting any money back. Near the end of this school year, they found out that Mr. Bagman had gambled with the goblins and lost all his money. They also learned that he tried to win it back by placing a huge bet on Harry, saying that he would win the TriWizard Tournament. ("So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" Harry had said.). The goblins, however, stated that Harry and Cedric won, meaning that Mr. Bagman wasn't getting his money back either; he ran for it. We all nodded grimly, but the train soon resumed its normal state of laughter and happiness. Suddenly, it seemed, we were at King's Cross station. Saying our goodbye's on the platform, we hugged, and I even kissed Harry on the cheek, knowing the pain that he had been through, and will go through this summer. I smiled as I walked away with my parents. I couldn't wait to send my first letter of the summer to Ron and Harry. Which reminded me...... I needed to start on my summer homework.