Summer of '98

The Weasley’s kitchen was quiet, and bright with natural light. A light, fresh breeze and soft birdsong came through the open windows. Hermione Granger, nevertheless, felt grumbly.

She sat at the large, wooden table, shuffling through a stack of scrolls, and thought, they expect students to sort through all this and make important recommendations? It’s ridiculous that the Ministry shows us any of it!

Of course, Hermione knew that she was more than capable of understanding the issues, but the student body in general….

Well, it was true that Neville also had a thorough understanding of the problems at hand, and she couldn’t find any fault in his suggestions….

So maybe, she thought, it’s fine for McGonagall to hand-pick us as extraordinary students, but still, there’s the general principal of the thing…. There are standards and procedures for a reason you see….

Hermione sighed. She dearly hoped she wasn’t becoming like Percy.

She looked up at Ron, who was sitting across from her, his nose buried in a comic. She wondered if he would find her quite boring this week.

“Ron,” she asked, “do you think I’m similar to Percy?”

Ron looked up from his magazine in alarm. “That’s the most disturbing thing I’ve heard today, and look at what I’m reading!”

He threw his copy of Auror Horror down on the table between them.

“I’m serious, Ronald! Am I becoming a bureaucratic drone?”

A voice came from the doorway.

“It’s no longer a question of “becoming,” Hermione,” said Harry, with a wicked grin. “I think that ship has sailed. It’s more a matter of degree.”

“Oi!” shouted Ron.

With surprisingly good aim, he chucked a copy of the Prophet at Harry’s head.

“That’s the woman I love you’re talking about!”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll love her all the more now she reminds you of —“

“OI!”

Thwack! The comic hit its mark.

“Ow!”

“Serves you right!”

“Boys! You’re not helping!” Secretly, though, Hermione was amused.

Harry pulled up a chair and joined them. “No one wants to help you become more like Percy, Hermione.”

Hermione huffed impatiently. “I don’t want to become more like Percy! I’m wondering if I am becoming like…. aughghgh!” she growled as Harry and Ron snickered.

Seeing Hermione’s frustrated expression, Ron said, “We know what you mean, Hermione, and thank Merlin, I don’t think so.”

Hermione felt a little better, and returned to her papers.

“What’s that you’re working on?” asked Harry.

Hermione replied, “We’re still trying to find solutions for our staffing and housing problems. It’s really frustrating, because the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers don’t have room for extra students. There’s plenty of room in Slytherin house, but — “

“ — no one wants to catch their cooties.”

“Ronald! Honestly!”

“What are the staffing problems?” asked Harry.

“Hey, if you get to pick teachers, hire some who hate exams!”

“We don’t get to pick them,” said Hermione loudly and deliberately to Ron before turning to Harry. “At least, Neville and I don’t. I don’t really know why they’re asking our opinions at all, but the problem is that the new positions are all temporary, and the most qualified professors are the least likely to uproot their themselves for just a few years. And I need to share at least a few sensible ideas on both matters by Friday.”

“At the joint meeting of the Department of Magical Education and the Board of Governors?” asked Harry.

Hermione was surprised. “Yes! How did you know?”

“They’ve summoned me there, too,” said Harry.

This was news to Hermione. “Whatever for?”

“They want me to reveal all the secret passages in the castle.”

Ron sat bolt upright. “You can’t do that! Especially if we’re going back!”

Hermione’s inner authoritarian immediately replied. “Well, of course they want the information! It’s a security issue.”

But even as she said the words, her stomach twisted. She felt instinctively that Harry should keep the castle’s secrets to himself.

Her discomfort must have shown in her face, because Harry said, “You don’t think I should do it.”

“I don’t know….” For the second time that morning, she felt truly torn. Either choice made her uneasy.

“I do!” declared Ron. “Tell them no way!”

Hermione was dismayed. “He can’t say “no way” to the Ministry!”

She turned back to Harry, and was astonished to see a smile on his face.

“You have a plan!”

“No, no special plan,” said Harry, leaning back in his chair. “I’m just going tell the Ministry what they want to hear.”

“Don’t do it, mate!”

“Oh, Ronald, you just want to sneak out to Hogsmeade! But Harry, seriously, not all of your enemies have been captured. If you do go back to Hogwarts, you may have need of those passages again!”

“I know that, Hermione. That’s why I’m going to tell the Ministry exactly what they want to hear.”

Hermione was puzzled until Ron laughed.

“Good one, Harry! We’ll save our secrets for someone who’s truly worthy.”

Although she thought Harry was doing the right thing — well, the correct thing, at any rate — Hermione felt sad about the whole affair.

Again, her face must have revealed her thoughts, because Ron asked, “What’s wrong, Hermione?”

Hermione twisted her fingers together. “Does it bother either of you that we feel we can’t trust the Ministry?”

“I have confidence in Kingsley!” said Harry immediately.

“Do you? Do you really believe that that he has full control over everything there, and that when he’s gone, the Ministry will continue to be staffed with honest people?”

“What are you saying, Hermione?” asked Harry.

“It’s just sad, that’s all…. It’s sad that no matter who’s in charge, I doubt that any of us will ever stop wondering what’s going on behind closed doors. We’ll always be afraid that someone is plotting against Muggle-borns, or hoping to raise a new generation of Death Eaters. Even with Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister and Professor McGonagall as headmistress of Hogwarts, we’ve lost our trust.”

They were all silent and sober for a moment. Ron covered Hermione’s hand with his own. Then he brightened and said,

“We trust each other, don’t we?”

Hermione regarded him, wondering where he was going with this. Ron looked back and forth between Hermione and Harry.

“Well?” demanded Ron.

“Of course I trust you two!” exclaimed Harry.

“Me, too,” said Hermione.

“Well then,” said Ron triumphantly, “aren’t we all going to work for the Ministry? I mean, eventually?”

Hermione and Harry looked at each other.

Ron grinned broadly as he got to his point. “That’s three people we can count on right there. A trustworthy Ministry will start with us!”

Hermione was about to argue that the three of them could hardly found a trustworthy Ministry on Harry’s lies about Hogwarts’ secret passages, when they heard lively music from the direction of the garden.

Ron went to the window and leaned out. After a moment he said, “What in Merlin’s name are they doing?”

“Who?” asked Hermione.

“Ginny and Parvati.”

Harry joined Ron at the window. He quickly grinned and said, “I think I know,” before heading outside.

“Well, what are they doing?” asked Hermione of Ron.

Ron tilted his head from side to side, and finally said, “I dunno.”

Overcome by curiosity, Hermione rose and followed Harry outdoors, Ron at her heels.

Ginny and Parvati were dressed in black, body-hugging t-shirts and flared trousers. Wands in hand, they were practicing a choreographed dance to music that seemed to come from a small, round, grey device. They punctuated their movements with a variety of spells, such as shooting jets of water and changing the color of their shirts.

When they reached a point in the music where the singers stopped and the musicians took over, streams of butterflies came from their wands, and they tried to make the little insects fly to the beat. They failed spectacularly, and giggled madly at their mistakes. Again and again, Ginny pointed her wand at the device and returned the music to the point of the butterflies’ entrance.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry watched from the edge of the garden.

“What are they up to?” asked Ron, looking rather disturbed.

Harry, on the other hand, looked more enthusiastic than he had about anything since the battle.

“Ginny told me about this,” he said. “It’s a Charms routine!”

“A Charms routine?” repeated Hermione.

“They do them in the States at Quadpot matches.”

Hermione had never heard of such a thing, which was most unusual, but she had to admit to herself that she’d never bothered to follow any sports. She couldn’t see a purpose to this activity, but it did look like a bit of a challenge — something to keep your skills sharp.

The butterflies were completely uncooperative, and Parvati finally said, “Let’s just continue on. At the break, why don’t we spin like this — oh, hello, Harry! Hermione, Ron.”

Ginny looked startled and a little embarrassed, but she smiled when Harry said, “That was brilliant!”

“No, it wasn’t!” protested Ginny. “We have a long way to go.”

“No, really. I couldn’t exactly picture what you were telling me until now.”

“I still can’t picture it, and I was looking at it!” grumbled Ron.

Hermione was surprised by Ron’s reaction, but then realized how odd Charms dancing, or whatever it was, would seem to someone who grew up in the wizarding world. At least Hermione and Harry had seen such things on television. She wondered where Ginny and Parvati had gotten the idea.

Harry said, “We didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“That’s all right,” replied Parvati. “I actually came by to give you all invitations.”

“Invitations to what?” asked Ron. From the tone in his voice, Hermione suspected he was afraid of being invited to an evening of Charms routines.

Parvati aimed her wand at a colorful bag that lay in the grass, and said, “Accio Invitations!”

Sprigs of ribbon-tied lavender flew out of the bag and hovered in front of each of them. When Hermione touched her sprig, it transformed into a card. In sparkling purple ink, the card read:

Lavender Brown is Back in Town!
She would love to see all of her Hogwarts friends
Join us for a tea to welcome her home
Friday, 12 June, 1998 4pm
The Gryffindor Common Room
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry
R.S.V.P. to Parvati Patil for the password

“Lavender’s out of St. Mungo’s already?” asked Harry.

“Yes, apparently there’s not much more they can do for her there,” said Parvati. “She still tires very easily, which is why we’re having the tea in the common room; she can rest in the dormitories before and after.”

“But what about her friends who aren’t Gryffindors?” asked Ron. “How will they come?”

Parvati looked surprised. “You don’t need to be a Gryffindor to enter the common room, so long as you’re invited,” she said. “Didn’t you know that?”

Ron looked to Hermione for confirmation. She said, “It’s true. There isn’t any rule about who can visit a house common room.”

She looked at the date again. “This is good timing. Harry and I are going to be at Hogwarts anyway for the meeting with the Board of Governors.”

“I know,” said Parvati. “Neville suggested the date because so many of us will be at Hogwarts.”

“You’re attending the board meeting?” asked Hermione.

“No, I’ll be helping Professor Trelawney put the Divination tower in order.”

Hermione didn’t think much of Divination, and she wondered why Professor McGonagall was keeping it on as a subject, now that Sybil Trelawney didn’t need to be protected from Voldemort. She supposed that there were many students who enjoyed it, Merlin knew why.

“Well, I’d better be going,” said Parvati. “I’m off to see Susan next.”

“I’ll go with you!” said Ginny.

Parvati turned her wand on herself and gave it a flick. Instantly her black dancewear was transformed into a pretty yellow flowered dress. Hermione was impressed, and quite surprised that Parvati could do that. She wasn’t sure she could do it herself, never having tried. She would have to look up the spell.

“I still don’t have the hang of that,” said Ginny wistfully.

“I would do your outfit,” said Parvati, “but I’m not perfect at it, either. I don’t want to make a mistake and leave you in your knickers!”

Ginny laughed and said, “Come up to the house with me while I change.”

Parvati Acciod her bag and the music player, called “Bye, Hermione!” and headed toward the house with Ginny.

As they left, Hermione heard her say, “Why don’t you ask Serena to help you with the fashion spell on Friday?”

Ginny’s reply was lost to Hermione, partly because the girls were walking away, but mostly because she felt like an electric shock was coursing through her body. She was rooted to the spot, her stomach heaving.

They couldn’t be talking about Serena Serpentia? Surely not! What would she be doing at Hogwarts, and why would Ginny and Parvati ever talk to her, much less ask her for Transfiguration advice?

She turned to Harry and Ron, only to realize they had moved away. Harry was explaining to Ron that Quadpot, unlike Quidditch, had breaks in the play, allowing time for entertainment. They hadn’t heard Parvati’s words.

Hermione shook her head, chiding herself for being so jumpy. It must be another Serena, maybe an alum helping to rebuild the castle. It was surely someone else.