The following day, what Harry had been wondering about got answered in the Daily Prophet . At breakfast, Hermione had smoothed out the paper and gasped as she read the front page.
"What?" Harry and Ron both asked across from her.
Jake, being beside her, had quickly read through the front page, and had read something he was gravely concerned about. Ten people, Nine Wizards and One Witch, escaped from Azkaban. Only two names really stuck out to him: Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange .
Antonin Dolohov had a twisted and sneering face as he looked towards whoever was reading the paper, and he was convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.
Bellatrix Lestrange, as Jake had figured, was the cause for the permanent incapacitation through torturous use of the Cruciatus Curse, on Frank and Alice Longbottom. He glanced over at Neville, and the round-faced boy looked deeply troubled.
What was most concerning about the front page was the headline, but it wasn't just because it was an Azkaban Breakout:
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT"
FOR OLD DEATH EATERS
"Black?" Harry asked loudly, "Not-"
" Shhh !" Hermione whispered desperately as a few looked their way, "Not so loud - just read!" She whispered through gritted teeth.
The both of them read through it and then Ron said, "There you are, Harry," Ron looked awestruck, "That's why he was happy last night..."
"I don't believe this," Harry snarled angrily, "Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius !"
"He doesn't really have any other options at this point, though," Hermione said bitterly, "he can hardly say, 'Sorry everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Voldemort, and now his worst supporters have broken out too.' Oh give it a rest, Ron!" Hermione quickly snapped at him, "I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he? He's really not going to recant that now, is he?"
Hermione grabbed back the newspaper and began to read the inside of it. Jake was breathing in and out steadily, wondering how Fudge, in his infinite stupidity, could have ever allowed this to happen. He was so lustful for power, that he would probably deny Voldemort if he was standing right in front of him. Jake really hoped he was there when Fudge got sacked from his spot as Minister, just so he could tell the Minister how stupid he really was.
Hermione suddenly stood up from beside them, and just began power-walking away, "Where are you going?" Ron asked.
"To send a letter," Hermione said, her bag swinging on her shoulder, "It... well, I don't know whether... but it's worth trying... and I'm the only one who can..." She said without saying anything and began walking.
"I hate when she does that," Jake heard Ron grumble as he and Harry both got to their feet.
Truth be told, he had no idea what Hermione was going to write in the letter or who she was sending it to, but she'd tell them when the time was right.
On the way out of the Great Hall, Jake saw Hagrid standing there, letting a group of Ravenclaws pass by him, "Alrigh', you three?" He tried to muster a smile, but it was more of a pained grimace; he didn't look any better than when he came back from his failed mission to the Giants, he looked worse somehow, a new cut on the bridge of his nose.
"Are you okay, Hagrid?" Harry asked as they followed after him.
"Fine, fine," Hagrid said feebly. His eyes were darting around almost in a defensive manner, "jus' busy, yeh know? Usual stuff... lessons ter prepare, couple o' salamanders go' scale rot, an' I'm on probation."
Harry and Ron appeared startled and affronted by the news, but Jake was expecting it after Umbridge sat in on Hagrid's class. Even though he tried to make Hagrid not seem a bad teacher, Umbridge just simply hated Hagrid for being half-Giant, so she was going to do this no matter how well or horrible the inspection had actually gone.
" You're on probation !?" Ron asked so loudly, Jake was amazed the whole school didn't turn their heads to stare at the red-head, "Sorry - I mean - you're on probation?" Ron asked in a whisper.
"Yeah..." Hagrid sighed, "'S'no more'n I expected... thank yeh fer wha' yeh did, Jake, in tryin' ter help during the inspection... but it jus' wasn' enough..." Hagrid looked lost, "See yeh, Harry... Ron... Jake..."
The three watched him go through the large Double Doors in the Entrance Hall to the chilly January morning, his spirit on the verge of shattering. Jake felt bad for Hagrid for the first time since last year.
*******
The fact that Hagrid was now on probation had become common knowledge within the school over the next few days, but few students seemed to be genuinely upset about it; some students, Draco Malfoy prominent among them, seemed positively gleeful. Jake had also heard of a freakish death of an obscure Department of Mysteries employee by the name of Broderick Bode, and Ron mentioned that he and Harry saw him opposite Lockhart when they were at St. Mungos. He said his dad mentioned him a few times, and he was what was known as an Unspeakable. He died to Devil's Snare, and Harry said that neither he nor Ron noticed the present the Witch had brought him was Devil's Snare in the form of a small potted plant. If Jake or Hermione had been there, it's likely they'd have saved his life, but when the both of them went to see Arthur at St. Mungos, they didn't even venture in the direction of Bode or Lockhart, and that was because neither Jake nor Hermione wanted to even see the fraudulent man. Only Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jake seemed to even care about the death of Bode, because the main topic of discussion in the school now; the ten escaped Death Eaters, whose story had finally filtered through the school from those few people who read the newspapers. Rumors were flying that some of the convicts had been spotted in Hogsmeade, that they were hiding out in the Shrieking Shack and that they were going to break into Hogwarts, just as Sirius Black had done.
A number of students, pretty much mainly girls, said that if they did break into Hogwarts, they weren't scared, because Jake would protect them. This did cause Hermione to cling closer to Jake in the corridors than she usually did, poised to strike any tramp that dared get too close to her boyfriend.
Jake figured all of the Azkaban Prisoners were not Imperiused into doing Voldemort's bidding, so he committed their names and faces to memory, plus Lucius Malfoy, both Crabbe's and Goyle's fathers names, and even though he didn't know what Macnair looked like, he would remember the name. If he saw any of the escaped Azkaban Wizards, or Bellatrix, he was likely to kill them, especially if they harmed Hermione; if that happened, he'd stop holding back completely and crush them with his magic.
Those students who grew up in Wizarding Families had come to know the escaped Death Eaters, and spoke their names with almost as much fear as Voldemort himself. Jake couldn't quite understand, but he was comparing what he knew from Muggle History to Magical History, and maybe they weren't as comparable as he wanted to admit.
Susan in particular amongst the students had an aunt, an uncle, and several cousins who all died to one of the ten escapees, and she explained to Harry during Herbology one lesson that she now had a good idea what it felt like to be him, "And I don't know how you stand it, it's horrible," she said bluntly, almost dumping far too much dragon manure on her tray of Screechsnap seedlings. The only reason she didn't was because Jake held the manure in place above the seedlings, before moving it back into its container that Susan had just set down.
Hermione had realized that Harry was the subject of much renewed muttering and pointing in the corridors these days since the breakout was announced in the Daily Prophet . She did, however, hear a slight difference in the tone of the whispers; not as many of them were hostile in nature, but were instead replaced with curiosity. She also heard, from the snippets of conversations she caught, that the speakers were not satisfied with how the Prophet handled the Azkaban Breakout story, and felt that there was some hidden bias in the paper. In their confusion and fear, those doubters now seemed to be turning to the only other explanation available to them, the one that Harry and Dumbledore had been giving since the previous year.
It wasn't just students she heard talking either, it was now quite common to come across two or three teachers conversing in low, urgent whispers in the corridors, breaking off their conversations the moment they saw students approaching, and Hermione knew exactly why, "They obviously can't talk freely in the staffroom anymore," she said in a low voice as she, Harry, Ron, and Jake passed Professors McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick huddled together outside the Charms classroom one day on their way to Lunch, "not with Umbridge there."
"Reckon they know anything new?" Ron asked, gazing back over his shoulder at the three teachers.
"If they do, we're not going to hear about it, are we?" Harry asked angrily.
"Not after the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-six ..." Jake sighed, as the notice for the Decree had appeared in the House Common Rooms on their notice boards the very morning after the Azkaban Breakout. Teachers were no longer allowed to give students any information not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach.
The Decree itself was the subject of many jokes among the students. Lee Jordan had pointed out to Umbridge in the Seventh Year Defense Class that by the terms of the new rule, she was not allowed to tell Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snap in the back of the class, as it didn't relate to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
When they next saw Lee, Jake noticed something off about him, "What's that on the back of his hand?"
Hermione began to panic, as did Harry and Ron, for if Jake ever found out what went on in Umbridge's Detentions, well they were not sure what he'd do. He did find it weird that his friends all tried to get him to not look at his hand, but it definitely was out of his mind after Hermione kissed him in the Entrance Hall to a grandiose applause and whistles from most of the students. She prevented it from ending early with her hands on the back of his head and neck, not that he really complained.
"Mr. Kidd, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, coming up to them, causing them to separate their lips quickly, "as glad as I am to see young love blossom, I believe classes will commence in five minutes." Her words caused a rush of panic amongst the students as they all hurried off to their first class for the day.
"Sorry, Professor," Jake said, smiling sheepishly.
"I would surely hope so, see that it doesn't happen again," McGonagall said, but a smile was playing on the corners of her mouth.
Every single Care of Magical Creatures class was supervised, and according to Harry and Ron, Divination wasn't much better, but Firenze seemed to be taking it well, doing what Dumbledore was paying him for, and not letting Umbridge bother him.
Hagrid, however, was doing worse than usual in class, showing them absolutely nothing dangerous, but also nothing interesting to observe and learn about. He was following Hermione's advice, and she was starting to regret it, realizing that this wasn't the Hagrid she liked seeing as her teacher. He also ended up being more distant with the four of them than ever before, expressly forbidding them from visiting him after dark.
Harry voiced his thoughts to them one evening, about how it felt like Umbridge was taking away everything he loved about Hogwarts: visits to Hagrid; letters from Sirius; his Firebolt; playing Quidditch. The only thing he had that was enjoyable was co-teaching the D.A. with Jake, which Harry said he would redouble his efforts for.
On the opposite side of the scale, Harry was doing even worse in Occlumency, or so he felt.
"Maybe..." Ron started but trailed off.
"Maybe what?" Hermione snapped at him when he didn't finish his thought.
'Maybe you don't have room to really be mad at him for not finishing his thought...' Jake thought to himself.
"Maybe it's not Harry's fault he can't close his mind?" Ron suggested darkly.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked him.
"Well... maybe Snape isn't really trying to help Harry..." Ron said quietly. "Maybe... he's actually trying to open Harry's mind a bit wider? Making it easier for You-Know-Who?"
"Would Snape really be doing that, though?" Hermione asked.
"He used to be a Death Eater, and we've never really seen proof that he swapped sides..." Ron said.
"But... Dumbledore trusts him... if we can't trust Snape then we can't trust Dumbledore..." Hermione said.
"That's implying I trust him to begin with," Jake said.
Harry and Ron both looked at Jake, but Harry wasn't shocked like Ron was. Truth be told, after the year so far, even with Dumbledore trusting his vision and getting him basically off in his hearing back last August, Harry could see where Jake was coming from.
Hermione was looking at him with a knowing look, "Of course... Snape's given us almost no reason to trust him..."
Ron had a look on his face of having just been slapped, "What are you both getting at?"
"Dumbledore knows all the horrible things Snape has done..." Jake said spitefully, "and he's still not fired the biased, greasy-haired bastard..." 'If Dumbledore's playing the long game... then I'd like to know what it is...'
*******
Before anyone in Hogwarts realized, February had arrived, and with it, rather warmer, but wetter, weather. Along with that, the prospect of the next Hogsmeade Weekend, which was on Valentine's Day. This would be the first year that Hermione would actually get to enjoy the holiday with someone who meant more to her than anyone else in the world. Hermione loved her parents, but her future lied with Jake, she was more certain of that now than ever before.
On the morning of the Fourteenth, Hermione thought about what she was going to be wearing to Hogsmeade. She thought about a dress, but it wasn't that warm for it, so she ruled it out. She just decided to go with a casual wear of jeans, blouse, and a cardigan as it was still about Sixty-three Degrees Fahrenheit, which was roughly Seventeen Degrees Celsius, outside. Jake kept using the American measurements for things, and she had been trying to get used to them, just in case she wanted to move to America after graduating from Hogwarts. It was a serious thing to consider, emigrating from Britain, but it was a decision to be made with Jake, and not by herself.
She walked down into the Common Room after being satisfied with her look, and didn't see Jake down there. She left the Tower and the closer she got to the Great Hall, she remembered what she had done earlier in January, she had sent a letter, practically blackmailing Rita Skeeter into meeting her today around two o'clock at the Three Broomsticks. She didn't tell Jake, but she hoped he wasn't going to be too mad at her.
She walked into Great Hall and saw her boyfriend sitting there, alone, exactly how it should be. She quietly walked up to him, standing behind him, and she covered his eye with her hand. He didn't react, he didn't even move an inch, "Hello, Hermione."
She had no idea how he knew it was her, but it was Jake, he knew a lot of things no normal person would. He seemed to be a natural Seer, but given that he gave up Divination before even finishing the year, and with Trelawney as teacher, Hermione was sure he was going to learn nothing useful from her. She'd have to ask him how he can see the future, even as limited as he was able to.
"How did you know it was me?" She asked him.
"I've listened to your steps thousands of times, I've come to recognize the exact sound you make when walking, even with other footsteps present," he half-turned and smiled at her.
She turned a crimson red in her cheeks, "I don't know if I should be flattered or embarrassed..." she said, sitting down beside him.
"Whichever you feel, you ready for our first Official Date at Hogsmeade?" He asked, reading a blank book, which told Hermione it was one of Merlin's books.
"Oh, absolutely," she purred in his ear, sending a slight shiver down his spine. "There is... er... one thing, though..."
He glanced over at her, "You mean Skeeter?"
Hermione was flabbergasted, "How did you-"
"I know a great many things, many of your... darkest secrets," he said, trying to sound menacing.
Hermione, with a scarlet red face, was not amused, and slapped his shoulder, "That's not funny!"
"I'm only teasing you," he smirked at her, "I don't know any of your darkest secrets."
"You are such a prat..." she crossed her arms and tried to be upset with him.
"But I am your prat," he said, kissing her cheek.
She couldn't be too mad with him, "You are..." Harry and Ron soon arrived and sat across from them, "Harry, I know you have a date with Cho today, but could you meet me at the Three Broomsticks around two o'clock?"
"Well... Cho might expect me to spend the whole day with her..." Harry said.
"Bring her if you must, but this is important, okay?" Hermione asked again.
"Alright... fine..." Harry sighed.
Just as Jake stood up with Hermione and Harry, Angelina arrived dressed in Quidditch garb, "Ron, let's go, Jake, you too!"
Jake glanced at her, "Me too for what?"
"Quidditch Practice, I've got the Pitch booked all day for practice, go get dressed!" Angelina tried to hurry him along.
"Angelina, I've got a date in Hogsmeade with Hermione, I'm sorry but I'm not going," he said, standing his ground.
"I better see you at that Pitch in half an hour," she stared him down.
"Then I hope you intend to find a new Seeker," he was not going to let Angelina boss him around, "I joined the team back because Harry was getting detentions with Umbridge, and I agreed to be the full-time Seeker when he was banned, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you force me to practice on a Hogsmeade Weekend on Valentine's Day. I'm sorry Angelina, but I'm not going."
Angelina looked furious, "If you don't go to Practice, you forfeit the Seeker spot."
Jake looked down for a moment, thinking about what Angelina just said, then looked up at her, "Well good luck in your next game," Jake said, turned and walked away from Angelina, missing the pained expression on her face. Even Harry and Ron were stunned by Jake's sudden change in tune about Quidditch. Harry looked even downright infuriated at Jake for turning away what Harry would give almost anything to be a part of again.
Hermione was sure she saw some tears falling from Angelina's eyes as said girl turned and almost stomped away. Hermione caught up with Jake, "Jake?"
"Sorry if that ruined the Hogsmeade mood..." he said, sorrow in his voice.
"No... no it's okay, I can't believe she was going to make you go to Quidditch Practice on Valentine's Day... just because she doesn't have a significant other, doesn't mean you don't," Hermione said, her hand on his bicep.
He stopped walking and turned to look at her, "Thank you, Hermione, truly."
"You're welcome," she smiled at him, "so, where were we going for Valentine's Day?"
"Well, I remember you said you had no interest in it, but I was thinking for at least an hour or two we could go to Madam Puddifoots? If I'm right, it'll look exactly like it did last year," he continued walking, Hermione linking her arm around his.
"It's fine, it's probably the only place in Hogsmeade I've not been to, so one trip there won't hurt," she half-smiled as she leaned into his arm.
After a little bit of walking, the young couple made it to Hogsmeade, and Jake led his girlfriend to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, which when looking through the windows into the establishment, as expected, the tearoom had golden cherubs hovering over each table, they noticeably were not throwing confetti like they did last year onto the unsuspecting couples below them. He walked in with Hermione, and he was greeted by Puddifoot herself, "Oh, Jake, I was wondering if I would see you in my shop again or not."
"Yeah, I haven't had a reason to until now, honestly," he looked at Hermione.
"Oh, what happened to that French Girl from last year?" Puddifoot asked.
"Oh, she's just a good friend, Hermione's my girlfriend," Jake explained.
"Fair enough, so let me take you to your table," Puddifoot said and led them to their table.
On the way to the table, Hermione whispered to him, "Did you reserve a table?"
"I may have. I wanted to be sure we were guaranteed a table, so I owled Madam Puddifoot about a reservation for Valentine's Day," he responded just as they arrived at their table, sitting down across from one another.
"Were you even sure I would want to come here?" Hermione asked him.
"No, it was a complete gamble," he stated.
"What will you both be having to start off with? Or rather, what kind of tea can I start you off with?" Madam Puddifoot asked.
"I'll have a cup of... Genmaicha...? Green Tea, please?" Hermione asked as her order, hoping she pronounced it correctly.
"I'll have a cup of Assam Black Tea, please?" Jake asked for his order.
"Coming right up, I'll get you your drinks shortly," Puddifoot smiled and darted away to tend another table.
Hermione watched her for a moment before looking back to Jake, "I'll be honest... I have no idea what kind of tea I ordered..."
"Genmaicha is a type of Japanese Green Tea," he explained.
"And how did you know that?" Hermione, her eyes widened.
"I know almost everything," Jake said with a smirk, "but I asked Madam Puddifoot for a list of her tea selections, and she also listed the origin of each tea."
"So where does Assam Tea originate from?" Hermione asked.
"India."
"I always knew British people loved their tea, but I never learned where it came from," Hermione explained to her boyfriend.
"Lucky for you, I have," he smiled at her, "Tea that Brits drink originally derived mainly from Asia, and more specifically China, in the Seventeenth Century, give or take, and for the longest time only people of Nobility status could afford to drink tea. While Britain was colonizing over half the world, the tea trade was started, and soon, like it is today, is a national staple of this country. When you think of tea , you tend to think of the U.K. instead of China, or Japan, or India."
"Well, don't I just have the most intelligent boyfriend ever?" Hermione couldn't help her ear-to-ear smile as their tea was soon brought to them. She took a sip of her Genmaicha Tea and fell in love with it, "This tea is wonderful!"
"I'm glad you like it so much," he said, taking a sip of his own tea.
"Can I... can I sample yours?" Hermione asked him.
He just smiled, "Of course," and slid his cup over to Hermione. Having gotten a window table, he looked out the window and felt the sun warm his face. He saw many Hogwarts students happily walking around Hogsmeade, enjoying their day with no care in the world, no Voldemort on their mind, no escaped Azkaban Prisoners. He was brought from his sightseeing when he felt his cup brush against his hand. He looked and saw nothing but an empty cup, "Don't tell me... did you-"
"I'm sorry!" Hermione exclaimed, "but the tea is soooo good! I've never had such wonderfully exotic tea before!"
He sighed, shaking his head while chuckling, "Don't worry about it, I'll just order another cup." Which he did when Madam Puddifoot brought over a complimentary plate of desserts, just for being her most Prestigious guest in her shop. He tried to politely decline, but Puddifoot wasn't having it.
Pretty soon, after having indulged in numerous types of tea and sweets, Hermione was delightfully satisfied with herself, "Oh, thank you so much for bringing me here, Jake, this was a wonderful date."
"I never thought I could get so much enjoyment out of watching you happily enjoy each tea brought to you, but I did. Seeing your face brighten up with each new tea you tasted was a real treat, Hermione," he sighed as he had his chin rested on his palm for the past half hour, his elbow on the table.
"I'm glad you could find enjoyment watching me drink tea, no matter how odd that is to say out loud..." Hermione trailed off.
"Oh, you missed when Harry and Cho walked in just a few minutes ago, they went to sit on the opposite end, though," Jake said, causing Hermione to turn and look at them.
"I hope it goes well... come on, we have a meeting with Skeeter to keep at the Three Broomsticks," Hermione said, standing up and sidling out from between the chair and table.
"I can't wait..." he said sarcastically, leaving five Galleons on the table as a thank you for excellent service.
Back out in the windy, but sunny, weather that was Hogsmeade right then, they made their way to the Three Broomsticks, hand-in-hand, having a brief kiss just before walking inside, which they were met with thunderous applause, "I guess everyone saw us before entering?"
"Seems that way..." he said, a lopsided smile on his face.
"Oh, look over there, Luna is sitting with Skeeter," Hermione pointed out.
"On a scale of One to Ten, how badly do you think Skeeter wants to rip her hair out from listening to Luna?" Jake asked. It was true that most were annoyed by Luna's speech and topics, but you had to be a real friend of Luna's to not be put off or disturbed by what was on her mind at any given moment.
"I'd say a Solid Nine at least," Hermione couldn't help her giggle as she went to sit with Skeeter and Luna while Jake got them some Butterbeer, which took no time at all, but Hermione already knew it wouldn't compare to the tea she drank earlier. She didn't know what it was about Madam Puddifoot's Tea, but it was top tier tea, and Hermione was sure to go back the next Hogsmeade Weekend.
"Hermione! Jake!" Luna greeted them in her usually dreamy voice, "I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up and save me from the torment of this dreadful woman."
"Save you ? You've been going on and on for the past hour about the Minister's supposed Private Army of Heliopaths!" Skeeter said almost angrily.
"Watch your tone, Skeeter, I'd hate for something bad to happen to you," Jake said as he sat with Hermione on one side of the table, Skeeter across from him and Hermione, and Luna on their left.
"I noticed you both walk in with interlocked fingers... Did you two finally seal the deal?" Skeeter asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, Hermione's my girlfriend now, write that down if you want, but if you misconstrue it in any possible way for malicious reasons, I will kill you, plain and simple," Jake said, causing Skeeter to merely jot down the fact that a relationship had formed between Hermione and Jake.
"Don't worry, I think I've already got an idea as to what I'll write about you two that'll not anger either of you in the slightest," Skeeter said, crossing her arms and one leg over the other, taking a sip of her Fireball Whiskey.
Jake took a sip of his butterbeer and waited for Hermione, "So, the reason I asked to meet you is fairly simple-"
"You mean you blackmailed me..." Skeeter corrected her.
"Semantics," Hermione said dismissively, "but regardless-" Hermione stopped talking when she saw Harry at the bar after she saw a massively tall man, Hagrid, leave the place, "Harry! Harry, over here!"
Harry turned and saw Hermione waving to him. He walked over with a surprised expression on his face, "What are-"
"You're early!" Hermione said as Luna moved over to give Harry room to sit between her and Hermione, "I thought you were with Cho? Jake and I saw you in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop with her before we left there, we weren't expecting you for another hour at least!"
"Cho?" Rita asked, twisting around in her seat to stare avidly at Harry, "A girl ?" She snatched up her Crocodile-skin handbag and groped around within it.
"Enough," Jake said, causing Skeeter to stop, "it's none of your business if Harry was with Cho, or any girl for that matter. You are here to report on what Hermione wants you to, and that's it, no extra details that are irrelevant."
"I have yet to hear these details you speak of," Skeeter pointed out.
"Details that don't talk about Harry's love life, for starters, he doesn't need more slander written about him," Hermione said.
"The Daily Prophet has run plenty of horrible stories about Harry this School Year without my help," Rita said, shooting a sideways glance over at him, "How has that made you feel, Harry? Betrayed? Distraught? Misunderstood?"
"He feels angry, of course," Hermione said in a hard, clear voice.
"I do feel angry, because the Minister is sitting idly by, letting Voldemort," Harry said, causing Rita to wince, "regrow his Death Eater count, starting with the ones who were already out of Azkaban, the ones I saw in the graveyard that night... and now the ten who have escaped..."
"So you are sticking to that story about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? You're saying he's actually back? And regrowing his followers?" Rita had a glint in her eyes.
"I am, I can give you their names if you want them?" Harry offered up.
"I'd love them," Skeeter said, fumbling around in her bag once more, gazing at Harry as though he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, "A great bold headline: ' Potter Accuses... ' A subheading: ' Harry Potter Names Death Eaters Still Among Us .' And then, beneath a nice big photograph of you: ' Disturbed teenage survivor of You-Know-Who's attack, Harry Potter, 15, caused outrage yesterday by accusing respectable and prominent members of the Wizarding Community of being Death Eaters... '"
The Quick-Quotes Quill was actually in her hand and halfway to her mouth when the rapturous expression died out of her face.
"But of course..." she said, lowering her quill and looking daggers at Hermione for a second, then glanced away to avoid Jake's potential wrath, "Little Miss Perfect here wouldn't want that story out there, would she?"
"As a matter of fact..." Hermione said slowly, "That's exactly what Little Miss Perfect does want," she smirked at the faces belonging to Rita and Harry.
Jake smiled at her, while Luna was busy singing "Weasley Is Our King" dreamily under her breath and stirred her drink with a cocktail onion on a stick.
"You want me to report what Harry says about You-Know-Who?" Rita asked, just to clarify what Hermione was saying.
"Yes, I do," Hermione said in affirmation, "the true story. All the facts. Exactly as Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you the names of all the undiscovered Death Eaters he saw there, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now," Rita cringed horribly, shaking her head violently.
"You do realize the Prophet will never print this story, right? In case you haven't noticed, nobody believes his cock-and-bull story. Everyone thinks he's delusional. Now, if you let me write the story from that angle-"
"No," Jake said simply, cutting her off.
"We don't need another story about how Harry's lost his marbles!" Hermione said angrily, "we've had plenty of those as it is."
"Harry deserves the chance to tell the truth, the truth that no one wants to listen to," Jake said.
"There's no market for a story like that!" Skeeter said coldly.
"You mean the Prophet won't print it because Fudge won't let them," Hermione spat at her.
Rita gave Hermione a long, hard look. Then, leaning forward across the table towards her, said in a business-like tone, "Alright, Fudge is leaning on the Prophet , but it comes to the same thing. They won't print a story that shows Harry in a good light. Nobody wants to read it. It's against the public mood. This last Azkaban Breakout has got people quite worried enough. People just don't want to believe You-Know-Who's back."
"And it's going to get a lot of people killed the longer his return is denied," Jake said darkly.
"So the Daily Prophet exists to tell people exactly what they want to hear, does it?" Hermione almost demanded from Skeeter.
Rita sat up straight, her eyebrows raised, and she downed what was left of her Fireball Whiskey, "The Prophet exists to sell itself, you silly girl."
"That's arguing Semantics," Jake glared at Rita, causing her to squirm in her chair.
"My dad thinks it's an awful paper," Luna said, chipping into the conversation unexpectedly. Sucking on her cocktail onion, she gazed at Rita with her enormous, protuberant, slightly mad eyes, "He publishes important stories that he thinks the people need to know. He doesn't care about making money."
Rita looked disparagingly at Luna, "I'm guessing your father runs some stupid little village newsletter?" She said with a chuckle, " Twenty-five ways to Mingle with Muggles and dates for the next Bring-and-Fly sale?"
"No," Luna said, dipping her onion back into her gillywater, "he's the editor of The Quibbler ."
"Choose your next few words very carefully, Skeeter," Jake advised her.
"Why would I want to publish a story in The Quibbler ?" Skeeter asked.
"Luna's father is keen to take Harry's interview," Hermione said.
"It's a known fact not many people take The Quibbler seriously," Jake stated, "but the way the Daily Prophet handled the Azkaban Breakout had some gaping holes, and it's gotten several students to rethink the validity of the paper. They are open to new stories, new perspectives offering a better explanation of what happened."
"Okay... let's say I do agree to this... what kind of fee am I looking at?" Skeeter asked shrewdly.
"I don't think daddy exactly pays people to write for the magazine," Luna said dreamily, "They do it because it's an honor, and, of course, to see their names in print."
Rita Skeeter looked like she'd just been force-fed stinksap, "I'm supposed to do this for FREE !?"
"You ask that like you have a choice in the matter," Jake leaned back in his chair, smirking.
Hermione took a sip of her drink triumphantly, "We wouldn't want the Authorities to know about your Unregistered Animagus Status, would we? Then again, the Prophet might pay you a lot for an insider's account on life in Azkaban..."
Rita glared at both Hermione and Jake with the most intense murderous glare either of them had ever seen on her, "Tch... not giving me a choice at all... fine, I'll write for The Quibbler ..." her voice was slightly shaky as she reached into her Crocodile-skinned bag once more, withdrew a piece of parchment, and raised her Quick-Quotes Quill.
"Daddy will be pleased," Luna said with a bright smile that caused Skeeter's jaw to twitch slightly.
"Okay, Harry," Hermione got him to look at her, "ready to tell the public the truth?"
"Definitely," Harry said with conviction.
"Fire away then, Rita," Hermione sat back against her chair as she finished her Butterbeer, Jake standing up to go and get her another one.
*******
Sometime after Rita left, Hermione turned to Harry, "So what happened on your date with Cho? Why did you arrive so early?"
"Oh... well..." Harry then recounted his excursion with Cho, "-and she began crying and said she'd see me around..."
"Wait..." Jake started slowly, standing up for the four of them to leave the Three Broomsticks, "she thought you were coming to see Hermione because she thought you were going on a date with her?"
"She called me awful for two-timing you, my best friend, and she called Hermione a slag for cheating on you," Harry said, "she didn't even give me the chance to explain it was to come and see what you both wanted..."
The air around Jake radiated with a smothering heat, "Where is she?" He asked grimly.
"I don't know where she went after leaving Madam Puddifoot's..." Harry trailed off.
"Jake, she isn't worth the trouble," Hermione said.
"She called you a slut , Hermione, that does not sit well with me," Jake said, his voice remaining calm. "No harm will come to her, I promise you that."
"Then what are you going to do?" Luna asked him. Cho was in Ravenclaw, like Luna was, and Luna had a good idea what he was going to do.
"Ravenclaw will definitely be Twenty-five points lower than they are now," Jake said, walking ahead of them.
"Truth be told... I don't even think I like Cho like I thought I did..." Harry admitted to them.
Hermione looked at him carefully, "Are you sure, Harry?"
"Yeah, I was just going off looks... and she wasn't bad at Quidditch... but there needs to be more than that for an attraction to last..." Harry trailed off.
"I'm proud of you, Harry," Jake said, "that's a very mature thing for you to say."
"So it may not be the coming issue of The Quibbler for your interview, Harry," Luna said, "it'll most likely be the one after."
"That's fine, as long as it's gotten out there, it's fine," Harry said to Luna.
"Hermione and I have something to do before we go back to Hogwarts, we'll catch up with you," Jake said as Harry and Luna went back to the Castle.
"What'd we have to do?" Hermione asked just seconds before Jake's lips found there way to her lips.
"I haven't kissed those lips all day, and if I have and I don't remember doing so, I don't mind doing it again," he said, inches away from her face.
Hermione said nothing as she hungrily kissed his lips again, pulling him closer to her by grabbing his collar.