Hidden Wings - Part I

The Skunk

On Monday morning, Neville was the talk of the school. Nobody had known about his parents and in the Daily Prophet their miraculous healing had been mentioned several times. Everyone seemed to be whispering about him.

"Did you see the newspaper?"

"Did you know?"

"His parents were tortured by You-Know-Who..."

Mioha stopped by the Gryffindor table at breakfast to speak to Neville, who was already surrounded by his fellow classmates that were congratulating him and clapping him lightly on the back. He seemed rather uncomfortable with all the attention, but kept glowing with happiness.

"Neville!", she called out and waved at him. "I've heard about your parents! I'm really happy for you!"

Neville's round face broke into a smile.
"I got your letter, Jess. Thanks! Are you feeling better?"

Mioha looked at him confused.
Then she remembered she had had Dragon Pox.
Supposedly.

"Oh, I'm good now", she smiled. "Not contagious anymore."

Neville opened his mouth, but Seamus tapped him on the back.
"Oi", he said, "my mum says that your parents are healthy again. Do they remember her? Charlene Finnigan?"

"Miss Lince!", Professor Umbridge called to her from her seat at the High Table. "I do not see you at your assigned table."

Mioha traded an annoyed look with Harry and left.

Harry's first Occlumency lesson went horrible, so to speak.
Hermione had told Mioha on Tuesday that he came back to the Gryffindor tower looking completely pale and refusing to say anything.

"It's probably very arduous at first", Mioha had reassured the Gryffindor, although Hermione didn't look convinced.

It seemed that Professor Umbridge had been fuming that all the Weasleys and Mioha and Harry had disappeared right under her nose. That's what Erica told Mioha at least.

Mioha explained several times that she and the others had gotten infected with Dragon Pox. Apparently, Madam Pomfrey had distributed 'remedies' the very next morning to prevent a breakout, which had worked in the students' opinion since no one else had gotten 'sick'.
That remedy had consisted of sea slug tea and a dash of ginger plus some newt eyes, which made the remedy believable because it had tasted horrid, in Levinia's opinion.

On Tuesday evening, Mioha sat with Hermione, Ron and Harry, working on Professor Umbridge's recent flood of homework.

"Listen ...", said Harry quietly, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "I've just realised something ..."

And he finally told them what he had realized during his lesson with Professor Snape yesterday, that the door he had been seeing in his dream for months had to be the one the Order had guarded all this time.