when i met you

83

Dinner in the Great Hall that night was not a pleasant experience for the Potters and Cedric. The news about both of their shouting matches with Umbridge had travelled exceptionally fast even by Hogwarts' standards. Everyone was whispering about them. The funny thing was that none of the whisperers seemed to mind them overhearing what they were saying about them. On the contrary, it was as though they were hoping they would get angry and start shouting again, so that they could hear the story first-hand.

"He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered..."

"Says her godfather's that werewolf..."

"He reckons he duelled with You-Know-Who..."

"Thinks he's a zombie..."

"Come off it..."

"Who does he think he's kidding?"

"Pur-lease..."

"What I don't get," said Harry through clenched teeth, laying down his knife and fork, "is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them..."

Harry was sitting between Lexi and Hermione, Cedric and Ron across from them.

"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," said Hermione grimly.

Lexi hummed her agreement.

"What d'you mean, you're not sure they believed Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened," said Hermione quietly. "You arrived back in the middle of the lawn clutching Cedric's 'dead body' —" she glanced apologetically at Cedric, who shrugged "— none of us saw what happened in the maze... we just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-Know-Who had come back and 'killed' Cedric and fought you."

"Which is the truth!" said Harry loudly.

"And we know that!" said Lexi bitterly. "It's just that before the truth could sink in, everyone went home for the summer, where they spent two months reading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!"

They were quiet for a while, just eating their dinners.

"How can Dumbledore have let this happen?" Hermione groaned suddenly, "How can he let that terrible woman teach us? And in our OWL year, too!"

"Well, we've never had great Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we?" said Harry. "You know what it's like, Hagrid told us, nobody wants the job; they say it's jinxed."

"Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us do magic! What's Dumbledore playing at?"

"He didn't have a choice," muttered Lexi, they looked at her and she went on. "Dumbledore told us —" she looked to Cedric and back to Hermione and Harry "— that she was appointed by the ministry. It even says under ministry educational decree twenty-two."

"This is so frustrating!" Hermione ran her hands over her face.

"Hey, you're only in OWL year," said Cedric, "It's going to be more difficult for us in NEWT year."

"Couldn't have said it better, Ced," agreed Lexi.

Lexi was observing Fred and George's experiment with the first-years, she may be Head Girl and should probably stop them, but she was also a mischief maker by blood.

One by one, as though hit over the head with an invisible mallet, the first-years were slumping unconscious in their seats; some slid right on to the floor, others merely hung over the arms of their chairs, their tongues lolling out. Most of the people watching were laughing; Hermione, however, squared her shoulders and marched directly over to where Fred and George now stood with clipboards, closely observing the unconscious first-years. Ron rose halfway out of his chair, hovered uncertainly for a moment or two, then lowered himself again, thinking better of it.

"That's enough!" Hermione said forcefully to Fred and George, both of whom looked up in mild surprise.

Lexi watched carefully a few feet away, herself beside Lee.

"Yeah, you're right," said George, nodding, "this dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"

"I told you this morning, you can't test your rubbish on students!"

"We're paying them!" said Fred indignantly.

"I don't care, it could be dangerous!"

"Rubbish," said Fred.

"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine!" said Lee reassuringly as he walked from first-year to first-year, inserting purple sweets into their open mouths.

"Yeah, look, they're coming round now," said George.

A few of the first-years were indeed stirring. Several looked so shocked to find themselves lying on the floor, or dangling off their chairs, that Harry was sure Fred and George had not warned them what the sweets were going to do.

"Feel all right?" said George kindly to a small dark-haired girl lying at his feet.

"I—I think so," she said shakily.

"Excellent," said Fred happily, but the next second Hermione had snatched both his clipboard and the paper bag of Fainting Fancies from his hands.

"It is NOT excellent! Tell them, Lexi! You're Head Girl!" now she rounded on the older girl.

"C'mon, Hermione," Lexi sighed, "They're not doing any wrong, they're paying the poor kids, have their written consent, and aren't breaking any school rules—which is a first." Fred winked at her mischievously.

Hermione gaped at her while the three boys grinned happily, "B-But what if they've made one of them really ill?"

Lexi shrugged, "Side effect of signing the papers —" said papers she held in her hand "— and they won't because we've been testing the products on all four of us."

Hermione turned back to the twins, "If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to —"

"Put us in detention?" said Fred, in an 'I'd-like-to-see-you-try-it voice'.

"Make us write lines?" said George, smirking.

Onlookers all over the room were laughing. Hermione drew herself up to her full height; her eyes were narrowed and her bushy hair seemed to crackle with electricity.

"No," she said, her voice quivering with anger, "but I will write to your mother."

"You wouldn't," said George, horrified, taking a step back from her.

"Oh, yes, I would," said Hermione grimly. "I can't stop you eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not to give them to the first-years,"

Fred and George looked thunderstruck at Lexi, she did nothing and they slumped forward. It was clear that as far as they were concerned, Hermione's threat was way below the belt. With a last threatening look at them, she thrust Fred's clipboard and the bag of Fancies back into his arms, and stalked back to her chair by the fire.

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