Hermione's POV
"Harry, I'm not sure that's a really good idea," Hermione said worriedly, but firmly. There were times you had to stick to your views, and this was one of them. If he got mad at her for it, then so be it. She wasn't going to let him jump into trouble just because he was furious. She had stood by him for too long to just let him do something that might come back and bite him. "She's a horrid person and gets away with writing poisonous things about everyone, even the Minister. All you're going to do is make her write more about you. Do you really want that kind of publicity?" she reasoned strongly. The Harry she knew would have just rolled with the punches. He never would had done anything to get noticed and sending a howler to Rita would do that.
"Hermione, I know that you're getting to know this new me. Do you really think I'm going to let some two-bit hack write lies about me?" Harry questioned softly, still immersed in his anger and not wanting to take it out on her. He understood what she was trying to say, but this could not go unpunished. He would get with Waters and see if he couldn't sue the pants off her, but first payback.
"I'm just saying to think about it first, and don't let your anger control you," she said with a soft look. She knew it was probably pointless, but she had to try. She was beginning to wonder if he valued her opinion at all.
"Did you read the same article I did? She called me a coward. That is not okay. She never even spoke to me. It would have been simple to confirm whether or not I have amnesia. All she had to do was ask. No, she's a spiteful bitch who is more of a glory hound than I'm accused of being, and I'm going to show her just what a coward I am. If I hide, I will be proving her point," he stated quietly, and held out his hands for writing utensils.
Hermione sighed and handed him a parchment, an inkwell and quill. "You can't write a Howler with a pen," she explained.
Our hero shrugged took them up and put quill to parchment for about five minutes. His face took on a myriad of emotions, mostly maliciousness. He folded the parchment into an envelope, stuck it shut with a spell, and then turned to the twins and raised an eyebrow.
"You have to point your wand at it and feed it your anger or frustration until the paper turns red," Fred told him.
"The problem is there's an incantation, and we don't know it," George finished.
"Oh, that's alright, I think I get the gist," Harry said wickedly, and put his hand on the parchment feeding it the negative emotion. He felt the anger leave his body and flow into the letter. Everyone watched in amazement as it turned red and then black. Smoke started to pour off and it looked like it would burn if you touched it. He pulled a long piece of twine from his TARDIS pocket, added a spell to it, and tied an end to the letter. As if just knowing he needed her, Hedwig flew to his shoulder. "Alright, girl?" he asked as he petted her chest. She hooted calmly. "Good. Here, take this to Skeeter, but try not to touch it, okay? Make sure you leave as soon as it drops," he said, tying the other end of the string to her foot.
The owl nipped his ear and took off, the black letter leaving trails of smoke behind it. All the people in the Great Hall watched her and wondered just what the Boy-Who-Lived was up to now. Dumbledore shook his head and had a brief thought on stopping that post, but decided he was in enough trouble with Harry. Perhaps, it was time to let him make a few mistakes, and this was surely to be one.
"How… how… how did you do that, Harry?" Hermione asked, completely flabbergasted. As far as she knew, he didn't know how to do magic. This confirmed that he was hiding things from her. It made her sad that they hadn't gotten back to the tight friendship they had had.
"Read the book I just gave you, that will explain most of it," was the answer as he wrote another quick note to Waters. He'd send it off in the morning. Then he tucked it away and went back to his afters, feeling much better. His proximity alert went off, causing him to sigh. He didn't bother to check his map, thinking it was the old man coming to reprimand him. The Daily Prophet was slammed down on to his plate, spattering the remains of his dessert onto the table. That made him frown, he wasn't done yet.
"See, Potter, I'm not the only one who thinks you're a coward and a cheat," Ron sneered, folding is arms in a smug 'I've proven my point' way. "The whole world knows what you are now."
"Go away, Weasley, unless you want me to press charges on you for stealing my shite," Harry said, running a tired hand through his hair. That spell took a bit out of him, he had added more than just the Howler spell, and he really didn't want to put up with this right now. "Are you sure you want that? I mean, can your parents afford it? I've only let it go because I like them, and the twins, but if you don't back the fuck off and maintain your distance, I'm going to," he threatened. He really didn't want to, but he was tired of putting up with the youngest male.
Those words set the twins in motion. As one they stood and grabbed an arm and said, "We'll handle this." And without another word they took Ron out of the Great Hall, with him protesting that he wasn't done yet. Whether was his meal or his rant, they never knew.
"Well, that's done," Luna said as she spelled Harry's plate clean. "Have some more pudding, Harry. That Howler seems to have taken a bit out of you," she added, looking at his pale look.
The boy hero nodded in agreement and took a huge slice of pumpkin pie and started eating. When he finish he let out a jaw-cracking yawn. "That's me done," he said, getting up from his seat.
"I'm done too," Neville stated, grabbing his bag and joining him.
"I would actually like to talk to Hermione for a while. I'll see you boys tomorrow," Luna said, looking pointedly at the bushy-haired witch. "Girl talk," she added, turning to the males and giving that 'women's secret' smile.
The boys shuddered and left for the dorms.
"What did you really want to talk about?" Hermione asked, giving her a wary look. She had the idea of what the topic of the conversation would be, but she wasn't sure what the ditzy girl would say.
"I was wondering if you wanted to maintain your friendship with the new Harry," Luna said as she picked at her tart. She liked Hermione and would hate to see her driven away with her bossiness. She really hoped the girl would listen to her advice.
"Of course I do, how can you ask that? He's my best friend." The other witch looked totally affronted that anyone would question her devotion to Harry. Even though she, herself, had since he came back.
"Is he really? What do you know of this improved personality?" the little blonde asked with wide serious eyes.
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