Hidden Wings - Part I

Plum and chocolate

Going to dinner, Mioha had met up with Harry, Ron and Hermione at the entrance hall.

"How was divination?", she asked the two male Gryffindors.

"My inner eye is foretelling me something", Ron said with a breathy voice, looking slightly cross-eyed.
"Tonight, there will be chocolate pudding for desert, but beware..."
Ron lifted a hand to the ceiling, his eyes round as saucers.
"For tonight is the night of plum pudding. And chocolate and plum are standing under the moon of Mercury, which means bad stomach problems..."

Harry, Hermione and Mioha burst out laughing.
"Is that supposed to be Professor Trelawney?", Mioha giggled.

"Yup", Hermione snorted, her eyes glittering amused.
"What a load of crap. I tell you, be glad you don't have it. I prefer sensible Arithmancy, thank you."

Mioha calmed down a bit, but Harry got the hiccups and Ron had to slap him on the back to help him get some air again.
"Maybe she is really just trying to teach you her way", Mioha tried to calm the boys down, feeling slightly guilty for making fun of the Professor.

Ron opened his mouth, but before he could say anything he got interrupted.
"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mioha turned. Draco, Vincent, and Gregory were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Draco, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear.
"Listen to this!
FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
Draco looked up.
"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed.

Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now.

Mioha shook her head disbelievingly.
What was he trying to achieve?

Draco straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:
"Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.
And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Draco, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"
Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him.

"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry. "C'mon, Ron. . ."

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Malfoy.
"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Harry - both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy - "that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"