Poisoned Youth | ✓

22- Ministry Invasion

Marching down to the common room, I was fuming. I almost turned Lavender Brown into a toad I was so angry.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked me, catching up with Harry, Ron, and me halfway across the common room as we all headed toward breakfast. "You look absolutely— oh for heaven's sake."

She was staring at the common room notice board, where a large new sign had been put up by Fred and George asking for participants to help test their joke shop items.

"They are the limit," said Hermione grimly, taking down the sign, which Fred and George had pinned up over a poster giving the date of the first Hogsmeade weekend in October. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron."

Ron looked positively alarmed.

"Why?"

"Because we're prefects!" said Hermione, as we climbed out through the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!"

I was still marching down the corridor, Harry was also upset but was trying to stop me from making holes in the stone with my steps.

"What's up, Iverson?" Hermione continued, as we walked down a flight of stairs lined with portraits of old witches and wizards, all of whom ignored us, being engrossed in their own conversation. "You look really angry about something."

"Lavender Brown!" I huffed. "She just completely— URG."

"Seamus thinks so too," said Ron.

"Been having a nice little chat with him about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry said loudly.

"No," Ron said calmly, "I told him he was bang out of order to have a go at you when he doesn't have the story. His mother believes the Daily Prophet. And it would be great if you stopped jumping down Hermione's, Iverson's and my throats, Harry, because if you haven't noticed, we're on your side."

There was a short pause.

"Sorry," Harry said in a low voice.

"That's quite all right," said Hermione with dignity. Then she shook her head. "Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the end-of-term feast last year?"

Harry, Ron, and I looked at her blankly.

"He said '[You-Know-Who's] gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust —' "

"How do you remember stuff like that?" asked Ron, looking at Hermione in awe.

"I listen, Ron," said Hermione with a touch of asperity.

"So do I, but I still couldn't tell you exactly what—"

"The point," Hermione pressed on loudly, "is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. You-Know-Who's only been back two months, and we've started fighting among ourselves. And the Sorting Hat's warning was the same— stand together, be united—"

"And Harry said it last night," retorted Ron, "if that means we're supposed to get matey with the Slytherins, fat chance."

"Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-House unity," said Hermione crossly.

We had reached the foot of the marble staircase. A line of fourth-year Ravenclaws was crossing the entrance hall; they caught sight of Harry and hurried to form a tighter group, as though frightened we might attack stragglers.

"Yeah, we really ought to be trying to make friends with people like that," I said sarcastically.

"D'you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked us, as we left the Great Hall shortly afterwards and set off toward our History of Magic classroom.