Dumbledore looked even more befuddled than before, which was a considerable accomplishment to say the least. "Why on earth would you say that, my boy?" He tilted his head. "My boy, my boy, my boy…" he muttered under his breath.
I clapped my hands sharply to get his attention back to me. "Sir, if you think my parents would have been disappointed in me because of my school house, then you clearly had a low opinion of them. They died for the freedom of the magical world – including the freedom for me to go into whatever house treats me best."
Dumbledore looked contemplative and I think I might actually have managed to persuade him, if only just a little. "Yes, perhaps. But you must be wary of your peers. Not all of them have been corrupted by the darkness, but some of them are irreparably subsumed by it."
"Not on my watch, they're not," Professor Sinistra said, barely restraining herself from shouting. I knew if I wasn't present, she wouldn't have held back. "People like Mr. Malfoy are tainted by their parents' retrograde beliefs, but there is no reason to at least not try to help them become better people."
"I'm not so sure I'd waste my time with him if I were you," I muttered.
"But you are not me," Professor Sinistra said, turning her piercing glare in my direction. "It is my responsibility as head of house to educate my charges on proper morality. Something my predecessor never did."
"Severus was –"
Professor Sinistra put up a hand. "It was a mistake on my part to mention Severus. I retract my statement at this time, not because there are not manifold concerns to be discussed, but because it would be inappropriate to do so in front of a student. Albus, the play? Is it approved? Yes or no?"
"Well, yes, but –"
"Good day to you, then."
Professor Sinistra practically shoved me out of the room, looking profoundly troubled. And, look, people, no one has their shit more together than Professor Sinistra, so if something's bothering her, it has to be bad.
"Mr. Potter…please do whatever it takes to avoid being alone with that man," Professor Sinistra said gravely. "It is clear to me he is not well at all. I fear he may act violently towards you in the future."
"I'll do my best, but he's the headmaster and I'm not," I pointed out. "If he wants to talk to me, how can I say no?"
She pursed her lips. "I'll talk this over with Minerva. It may be time to bring this concern to the Board of Governors. For now, rejoice, Mr. Potter! The Tempest awaits. Truly, it's a brave new world for us all."
I couldn't help but grin. Professor Sinistra was right! What could possibly go wrong?
.....
This is Hermione, writing on Harry's blog with his permission. He's too distraught by what happened yesterday, and still in the hospital wing to boot, but he wanted to make sure the story got out to the public. I do this under protest. Harry doesn't seem to realize this – like so, so much else – but this blog is ludicrously illegal. It's a total violation of the Statute of Secrecy and I'm seriously very worried we might end up in jail for this. But Harry's one of my best friends and sometimes you have to commit crimes for your friends or your country if that's what's necessary. My parents taught me that. So do understand what a risk I'm taking here.
Yesterday was Halloween, the tenth anniversary of the Potters' deaths. Harry did a very good job of hiding it – he's not in Slytherin for the heck of it – but he was pretty bothered all day. Not even sneaking into Professor O'Neill's office to find evidence of his "treachery most dire" cheered him up, especially since he didn't find anything. Ron and I tried our best, but I'm not good with people, so it mostly fell on Ron. I think things would have been worse if it weren't for Ron. We're lucky he's in our lives.
But still, Harry was really down. He almost skipped the feast and would have if we hadn't run into Malfoy, who insulted the Potters, and Harry's pride doesn't let him back down from such things, ever. Malfoy was acting kind of strangely, though. It was like his heart wasn't in it. He didn't seem to be getting enough sleep. And he looked at me with even more hatred than before, and I didn't think that was possible.
So we all went to the feast, because I'd be damned if I gave that horrid bigot Malfoy an inch. I'll say this for Headmaster Dumbledore: even though I'm more convinced than ever he's gone utterly mad, he can throw one heck of a party.
[Image description: Bats hanging from the ceiling and swooping around the Great Hall. It probably would have been more apropos if they hadn't been cricket bats, but to be fair, having to regularly dodge a cricket bat was really scary, which definitely fit in with the overall thrust of the holiday.]
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