Emma Potter; Going to War

17: Hem, Hem

The next morning, Zoe, Draco, Nicholas and I passed A Hufflepuff and Slytherin arguing. I blew a breath threw my teeth. 

"What's up, Ems?" asked Zoe.

 "Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the end-of-term feast last year?" 

They both looked at me blankly, and I sighed again."About Voldermort. He said, 'His 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 Zoe, looking at me in admiration. 

"I listen, Zoe," I smiled. 

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

"The point," I pressed on loudly, "is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. Voldermort'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 Draco said it last night," retorted Nicholas, "if that means we're supposed to get matey with the Gryffindors, fat chance." 

"Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-House unity," I said 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 me and hurried to form a tighter group, as though frightened I might attack stragglers. 

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

We followed the Ravenclaws into the Great Hall, looking instinctively at the staff table as they entered. Professor Grubbly-Plank was chatting to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, and Hagrid was once again conspicuous only by his absence.

 The enchanted ceiling above them echoed my mood; it was a miserable rain-cloud gray."Dumbledore didn't even mention how long that Grubbly-Plank woman's staying," I said, as we made ourr way across to the Slytherin table. 

"Maybe . . ." said Zoe thoughtfully. 

"What?" I asked. 

"Well . . . maybe he didn't want to draw attention to Hagrid not being here."

 "What d'you mean, draw attention to it?"I said, half laughing."How could we not notice?" 

With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners and showering the breakfasters with droplets of water; it was clearly raining hard outside. Hedwig was nowhere to be seen, but I was hardly surprised; our only correspondent was Sirius, and I doubted Sirius would have anything new to tell us after only twenty-four hours apart. 

I, however,had to still move her orange juice aside quickly to make way for a large damp barn owl bearing a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak."What are you still getting that for?" said Harry irritably from behind me I placed a Knut in the leather pouch on the owl's leg and it took off again. "I'm not bothering . . . load of rubbish." 

"It's best to know what the enemy are saying,"I said darkly, and I unfurled the newspaper and disappeared behind it,not emerging until Harry, Ron and Hermione had to come back. 

"Nothing," I said simply, rolling up the newspaper and laying it down by my plate. "Nothing about you,me or Dumbledore or anything."

 Professor McGonagall and Snape was now moving along the table handing out schedules."Look at today!" groaned Zoe. "History of Magic, double Potions, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns,Snape,and that Umbridge woman all in one day! Well, at least we have Runes, Nick"