Green Flame Torch

The arrival of Halloween meant that it was time for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. So Harry, Ron, and Hermione queued up in the entrance hall. When they reached the front of the line, however, Filch stopped them.

"Potter," said Filch sternly. “You do not have permission to go to Hogsmeade.”

“What?” asked Harry. He stared at Filch, then at Ron and Hermione.

“You two may go on, Weasley and Granger,” said Filch. “As for you, Potter, remember that last year, the High Inquisitor forbade you to go to Hogsmeade.”

“Well, Umbridge is gone now, so that means --”

“And besides,” Filch added, “as the guardian who signed your papers is no longer with us --”

Harry grew angry at the mention of his late godfather. “DON’T YOU TALK ABOUT SIRIUS LIKE --”

“Potter!” came the voice of Professor McGonagall. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Filch says I can’t go to Hogsmeade.”

“Filch!” McGonagall turned towards the caretaker. “How many times must I tell you that Umbridge is no longer High Inquisitor? What she said last year doesn’t matter anymore. And besides, there’s a new High Inquisitor now, but we haven’t heard much from her lately.”

“Don’t forget,” Filch reminded McGonagall, “that the lad’s guardian --”

“-- is still alive in spirit,” she finished for him. “His permission papers are still valid.” Harry smiled slightly at his Head of House. “So what are you waiting for, Potter? Run along now, enjoy yourself in Hogsmeade.”

Harry turned to take one last look at Filch and Mrs. Norris before hurrying off outside. The weather outside was a little chilly. He knew that there was absolutely no chance of catching up with Ron and Hermione. He was wondering to himself how he could enjoy Hogsmeade alone when he suddenly bumped into Cho.

“Excuse me,” said Harry politely.

“Oh, hi, Harry!” said Cho delightfully.

Since Harry had no idea of the whereabouts of Ron and Hermione, he might as well spend the day with her.

“Care for a drink?” Harry asked.

“Sure,” said Cho.

They decided to walk to the Hog’s Head, which was the bar to which they had gone during the first Hogsmeade weekend the previous year. To his surprise, Harry saw Lupin and Moody standing right in front of the bar.

“Hello, Harry,” said Lupin.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“They’re having an emergency Order of the Phoenix meeting inside,” Lupin told him. “Come inside, Harry, for what we’re discussing concerns you and the other students at Hogwarts.”

“Shhh! Not in front of that girl,” warned Moody, pointing at Cho. “She could be a spy for You Know Who, you know.”

“Relax,” said Lupin. “You’re Cho Chang, right?” She nodded. “She’s one of the members of Dumbledore’s Army from last year.”

So Harry and Cho entered the dark dusty bar. Ron and Hermione were already there seated there, as well as several other former DA members, including Susan Bones, the Creeveys, Seamus, Neville, Luna Lovegood, Ernie Macmillan, Zack Smith, and Ginny. The Order members present included Dedalus Diggle, Arabella Figg, Hagrid, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Arthur Weasley, and of course Dumbledore. There were also several new recruits, including Professor Diggory, Amelia Bones, Luna’s father, and Neville’s grandmother.

“Welcome, my friends, to the emergency meeting of the Order of the Phoenix,” Dumbledore announced in a solemn voice. “Before we begin, I would like to extend a not of gratitude to my brother Aberforth, who allowed the use of his bar for this meeting.”

Harry stared at the barkeeper. It should have been obvious to him that the owner of the Hog’s Head was none other than Aberforth Dumbledore. He wondered why he hadn’t figured it out sooner.

Albus continued. “Now, as I am sure that all of you know, there was an attack at Hogwarts earlier this month, and Hogwarts has seen its first casualty. I am afraid that Professor Pomona Sprout is no longer with us for the time being.”

“Could you explain exactly how the killing occurred?” asked Dedalus Diggle as his top hat fell off for the umpteenth time.

“She was murdered by one of the Hogwarts students who possessed a rather powerful weapon, known to all as the Green Flame Torch,” Albus explained.

“Excuse me,” said Mrs. Figg, “but maybe I misheard you, Dumbledore. Did you just say that Professor Sprout is dead ‘for the time being’? Now I may be only a Squib and so not familiar with magic and all, but I could have sworn that there’s this rule that no spell may raise the dead.”

“Yes,” Albus agreed, “but the Green Flame Torch is not a spell. It can kill, and it can raise the dead. The powers of the Green Flame Torch are explained in both the Quibbler and in ‘Hogwarts: A History.’ I am sure that you may borrow a copy from Miss Granger.”

Lupin entered the bar. “So, Professor Dumbledore, what are we going to do about this?”

“Our first goal is to retrieve the Green Flame Torch,” said Albus. “Once the Torch is in our possession, we shall use it to revive Pomona Sprout and bring her back to life.”

“And then we can bring back Sirius?” Harry asked hopefully.

“We can try, Harry,” Albus reassured him, “but there is no guarantee. No known witch or wizard has ever returned from beyond the veil.”

“So I guess Sirius will be the first then, since he’s coming back!” said Harry confidently.

“And maybe I can be reunited with my mum again,” said Luna.

“And my grandfather,” added Neville.

“And my parents,” said Susan.

When the Order of the Phoenix meeting was over, Harry, Cho, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left the Hog’s Head bar.

“Where to next?” asked Ron.

“To Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop, of course,” said Hermione matter-of-factly. “I’m tired of having to borrow quills from you and Harry all term.”

“So, what happened to Dean Thomas?” Ron asked his sister casually.

“We broke up after he embarrassed me during the Quidditch match.”

“Good,” was all Ron had to say in reply.

But when they arrived, they were in for a huge shock. Instead of seeing the quill shop, there was a new Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes franchise in its place.

“Hello, our dear brother and sister,” said Fred.

“Glad you decided to drop by,” added George.

“What happened to Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop?” Hermione demanded.

“After our store in Diagon Alley burned down, we collected the insurance money and decided to rebuild a new franchise,” George began.

“But we wanted to rebuild operations closer to Hogwarts,” Fred continued, “and to our good luck, it just so happened that Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop was going bankrupt. So we bought the location and set up our new store right here.”

“And here’s a free Dapple Apple, on the house,” said George as he handed a small red object to Ron.

“Oh no,” said Ron. “I’m not eating anything that comes from this store!”

“It’s all right, Ron,” said Ginny as she took a bite out of the apple before handing it to Ron.

“Well, I am a little hungry.” So Ron ate out of the other side. Suddenly, Ron’s face grew red, then it just plain grew!

“What the --” was all Ron could mutter before he became unconscious.

Fred, George, and Ginny all laughed and pointed at Ron’s swollen head.

“Now that’s what I call a redhead!” said Fred.

“That wasn’t very funny!” snapped Hermione. “Thirty points from Gryffindor.”

“Taking points from Gryffindor doesn’t hurt us,” said Fred.

“For now that we’ve got our business again, we’ve changed out minds again decided not to finish our seventh year at Hogwarts after all,” George added.

Arthur Weasley, who had followed his children out of the Hog’s Head, pulled out his wand and used “Wingardium Leviosa” to lift Ron in the air.

“I’ll take him back to Hogwarts infirmary,” he said. “Just wait until your mother hears about what the three of you did to your brother. You’re coming with me, Ginny.”

“Before you leave, Hermy,” said George, “here’s a free quill, which is what you wanted, right?” Hermione stared at the Quill for a few moments before realizing that it was a Quick Quotes Quill.

“You sell Quick Quotes Quills here?” she asked.

“Uh-huh,” Fred nodded. “And to you Harry, let me shake your hand.” Of course, what he really did was hand Harry one of those toys that shocks a person when touching it.

“Let’s go,” said Hermione, “before they start giving us more Wheezes.”

“Yes,” Harry agreed. “So where to, Hermione? Shall we go to Honeydukes, or --”

“Not again!” Cho exclaimed. “You always pay more attention to dear Hermione than to me.”

“I’m sorry,” said Harry as he extended his hand. Cho touched it, then was immediately shocked because Harry was still holding the toy the twins had given him.

“I, I, I never want to speak to you again, Harry !” Cho just ran away, crying.

“But, but, --” Harry stammered.

“You never learn, Harry, do you?” said Hermione rhetorically

It was the first Quidditch match of the year, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Harry and Ron had eaten breakfast quickly and hurried out to the Quidditch pitch, Ron on his new Nimbus 2003, Harry on his Cleansweep.

As usual, the stadium was packed with students. Ron looked up at Harry.

"You nervous?" he asked.

"Course not," Harry answered. "It's just great to be back playing Quidditch again."

"You can say that again," said Fred.

"After all, we did come back to Hogwarts an extra year just so we can play Quidditch," George reminded him.

Harry saw that all the Weasleys, even Ginny, was riding a Nimbus 2003.

"What's this?" asked Malfoy. "Four Weasleys all on the same team. Oh, I won't be able to see the Snitch 'cause I'll be blinded by all the red hair!"

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch called. "Captains, shake hands!"

Katie Bell extended her hand. Montague, a fifth-year and Captain, merely spat on the ground near her hand.

Then she blew her whistle and all fourteen players rose into the air on their brooms. Harry, as usual, began his long search for the Snitch, as was Malfoy.

"And it's Montague with the Quaffle," said the new commentator, Dean Thomas, now that Lee Jordan had left Hogwarts. "He's past Ginny, um, he's past Bell, and he's been hit by a Fred Weasley Bludger. Bell recovers the Quaffle, um, she's heading towards goal, um, but that's gotta hurt! Goyle just sent a Bludger her way! She drops the Quaffle and it's caught by Pucey. Forward pass to Warrington..."

Dean was a bit nervous as it was his first time giving the play-by-play at a Quidditch match.

"He gets past Ginny and that Bludger. Warrington passes it back to Montague. He's now past everyone except the Keeper! He shoots..."

Then Ron made a spectacular save. Harry smiled as he saw Ron block it, for it was the first time that he actually saw Ron save a goal.

"What a save by Ron!" Dean exclaimed. "Really, Weasley is our king!"

The Gryffindor supporters began to sing "Weasley Is Our King," the good verse, not the Slytherin verse.

Ron passed the Quaffle to his sister, who took off across the pitch with it. Riding her Nimbus 2003, she was able to get across the pitch. Before the Slytherin Keeper, seventh-year Bletchley, knew it, Ginny had already shot the Quaffle over his head and through the goal.

"Gryffindor score!" Dean yelled. "Bring on the Ginny! Yes, bring on the Ginny!" he added, for he was still dating Ginny and thus was overly enthusiatic about his girlfriend scoring her very first goal.

"Jor -- I meant Thomas!" Professor McGonagall snapped, as she usually did when her student announcer was being too partial towards one team or player.

So it was Gryffindor up 10-nil as Montague moved the Quaffle down the pitch. There was still no sign of the Snitch at all.

"And it's the lovely Ginny again," said Dean, "who passes the Quaffle to Thompson."

Now second-year Michelle Thompson was facing her first test as Chaser. She advanced down the pitch, but didn't see the Bludger as it headed her way. Fortunately for Gryffindor it was recovered by Katie Bell. She passed it back to Michelle, who then made her first goal ever.

The Gryffindor fans cheered. Luna Lovegood's lion hat roared from the stands as Gryffindor took a 20-nil lead.

A little while later, Ginny recovered the Quaffle, only to drop it when a stray Bludger struck her, causing her to almost lose grip on her broom.

"Goyle did that on purpose!" Dean yelled aloud. "Red card I say! RED CARD!"

"Thomas!" McGonagall shrieked again. "This is Quidditch, not some Muggle excursion!"

Ginny sighed as she raced down the pitch. Harry could see that Dean's comments were embarrassing her.

Ron continued to play well. Gryffindor was up 40-nil after Katie made a goal, followed by Ginny's second goal.

"The Ginny has been brought!" Dean said aloud. "Yes, the Ginny has been brought!"

"Thomas!" McGonagall scolded again.

Ron let in his first goal. Then Harry looked up and finally saw it. It was the Snitch, right in the middle of the pitch.

But Malfoy, all the way on the Slytherin end of the pitch, had also seen it at the same time. It was now simply a race of speed to see who could get to it first. But Harry's Cleansweep was no match for Malfoy's Nimbus 2003.

"Yes, I did it!" Malfoy was yelling. "After four painful years, I finally beat Potter to the Snitch!"

And so Slytherin defeated Gryffindor 160-40, the match having lasted half an hour. All the fans booed except the Slytherins. Harry was so upset that, while the Slytherin supporters and fans spilled out onto the ground, he just mounted on his pathetic Cleansweep and returned to Gryffindor Tower unnoticed.

Harry was surprised to see Hermione in the Gryffindor Common Room, having apparently missed the match.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but I just had loads of homework in History of Magic and Ron said I could borrow his quill while he was at the match."

"That's okay," said Harry. "We lost."

Then he went up to his dormitory and said nothing more.

It had been a rather tumultous week. Professor Sprout's body had been moved to the Hospital Wing, in the hopes that someone can recover the Green Flame Torch and bring her back to life.

Meanwhile all of the students had been wondering who would replace her as Herbology teacher. At breakfast one morning, Hermione read an article from the Daily Prophet to which she subscribed.

MINISTRY BARGAINS WITH MARLA HEDWIG
For centuries, wizards have searched fruitlessly for the whereabouts of the Green Flame Torch. That search is now over, as the Torch has been found by Marla Hedwig, 12, student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Sprout's gone, and now it's time for the class to be run the way I want it to," said Hedwig shortly after last week's incident.

The Minister, Cornelius Fudge, fears that Hedwig may use the Torch against Ministry officials. She has already attacked Professor Pomona Sprout in an argument over her grades.

In order to protect the Ministry against further attacks, Fudge passed emergency legislation last night.

"By Educational Decree Number Thirty," Fudge announced, "Miss Marla Hedwig has replaced Sprout as Herbology teacher. She is also now the second ever High Inquisitor of Hogwarts."

Fudge, along with the rest of the Ministry officials, hope that in exchange for granting Hedwig these special powers, she will surrender the Torch to the Ministry.

"It is our hope that the Torch will be returned to us without further deaths," said Percy Weasley, assistant to the Minister. "Then we will use the Torch to revive Professor Sprout."

"I can't believe it!" said Harry. "A High Inquisitor again!"

"She's only 12, and yet they made her a teacher," Hermione added incredulously. "If they had to choose a student to become the new Herbology teacher, it should have been Neville, of course."

"You think so?" asked Neville.

"Anyone would have better than her," said Ron. "Harry, can't you do something? She's your owl, after all."

"Fudge is only taking the cowardly way out, again," Hermione commented. "He's just giving Marla everything she wants just because she has the Torch."

"You know what," said Ron. "If I were Hedwig, why would I give back the Torch now, anyway? As long as she had the Torch, Fudge and everyone else is going to give her anything she wants."

All throughout Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy, no one, not even the teachers, could concentrate on anything other than Marla Hedwig.

Finally, the dreaded moment

All weekend, the Gryffindor students discussed Marla's claim that she had the Green Flame Torch. Very few, if any, students believed that she actually possessed the Torch, least of all Harry.

In Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid continued to discuss the Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks.

"So, how do you reckon you'll get the Torch from her?" Ron asked Harry.

"That's assuming she actually has the Torch," Hermione reminded him.

Lunch was followed by Astronomy, but no one actually paid attention to Professor Sinistra's lectures about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Instead every student was murmuring about the Torch.

"Wouldn't it be neat if we had the Torch," Lavender was saying to Parvati.

"You can't seriously be talking about the Green Flame Torch, can you?" asked Malfoy, who had heard them. "I doubt that some Gryffindor dork would be able to handle something like the Torch. Gryffindor dork! Gryffindork! Ha, ha, ha!" Malfoy was chuckling to himself.

After class, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their way to the Greenhouse for Herbology. There was an argument rising between Professor Sprout and a female student. This often happened when a professor gives students their grades for an assignment at the end of class and one of them argues about a low grade. It seemed as if someone from the class that was just previously in the Greenhouse, which happened to be a Gryffindor/Hufflepuff first year section, was the girl currently debating with Professor Sprout.

"I'm sorry, but I asked you to bring back Wiggentree Bark, Moly, and Dittany and you forgot the Dittany. So I can't let you leave..."

"That's it!" exclaimed the girl, who, to Harry's utter disbelief, was none other than Marla. "I have to resort to use of the Green Flame Torch. Accio Torch!"

The Green Flame Torch soared from Marla's desk up to her outstretched hand, where she was standing in front of Professor Sprout's desk.

"Put that thing down, girl," Professor Sprout started to say, but it was too late. Marla had already pointed the Torch at her and shot. A magnificent green flame appeared for a few short seconds. The next thing Harry knew, Professor Sprout lay motionless on the ground.

"Someone call Dumbledore, quick!" said Hermione.

But that was unnecessary, for Dumbledore himself walked into the classroom at that moment. Then Marla Animagically transformed herself back into Hedwig and flew out the window, still grasping the Torch.

"I took a Crumpled-Horned Snorkack to arrive here," he told the students. "Now then, I suggest that all of you students immediately return to your dormitories. This is a serious matter and I will have to deal with it."

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Gryffindor Tower, Harry thought apprehensively to himself. So Hedwig, his very own owl, now had the Green Flame Torch in her possession. She had already used it to kill one witch. How many more people will she try to kill if they cross her the wrong way?

Harry woke up, fresh from another dream about Sirius. It was frustrating how little help the dreams were in actually locating the Green Flame Torch. Indeed, all Sirius said today was that he would learn more about the Torch today.

"Don't forget we have Quidditch practice today," Ron said to Harry.

"It doesn't matter," said Harry, "because I still don't have a broom. Oh, and here's your broom back."

"I don't need it," said Ron. "You keep it. For you see, now that my dad's been promoted, we can afford some better brooms. So the twins, Ginny, and I all now have the Nimbus 2003 model."

This upset Harry once again. It seemed that everyone had a new Nimbus 2003 but he was now stuck with a second-hand Cleansweep. But he still managed to mutter a "Thanks" to Ron.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry continued to show the other students about the Shield Charm. Ron fared much better in class today than he did last week.

After Charms class was Quidditch practice. Harry would not have been as upset about his inferior broom had Malfoy and the Slytherins not been watching the Gryffindor team practice.

"So," said Malfoy, "it looks like everyone has a new broom but Potter's still living in the 18th century with his old-fashioned Cleansweep. I'll have caught the Snitch by the time Potter has even left the ground."

After Quidditch practice, Harry, Ron, and Ginny returned to the Gryffindor common room, where they saw Hermione seated.

"Do you guys want to know what we learned about in History of Magic class today?" she asked.

"Hermione," said Ron, "if we didn't want to hear you talk about History of Magic last week, what makes you think we want to hear about it this week?"

"Fine then," said Hermione. "I guess you guys don't want to learn more about the Green Flame Torch..."

"Green Flame Torch!" Harry stood up, grabbed Hermione by the shoulders, and shook her. "Spit it out! Tell me everything you know about the Torch! Where is the Torch located? How can I use it to bring back Sirius..."

"Relax," said Ginny. "Just sit down and let Hermione tell us, okay?"

"Thanks, Ginny," said Hermione as Harry took a seat. "As I was saying, in class today Professor Binns told us how each of the four Hogwarts founders possessed a torch, each with its own special powers. The color of each torch matched the House of its owner. Thus Godric Gryffindor had a Red Flame Torch, Helga Hufflepuff a Gold Flame Torch, Rowena Ravenclaw a Blue Flame Torch..."

"And so Salazar Slytherin must've owned the Green Flame Torch," Ron piped in as he caught on.

"Get on with the part about how to bring Sirius back to life," said Harry impatiently.

"When used wrongly, though, the torches can cause misfortune to their bearers," Hermione continued. "So the founders agreed not to use them and to keep them at Hogwarts for safekeeping. But once Slytherin had his feud with the other founders and left the school, he took the Green Flame Torch with him."

"That still doesn't tell us where any of the torches are right now," Harry reminded her.

"Professor Binns believes that Slytherin passed on the Torch to his rightful heir as the years go on."

"Well," said Ron thoughtfully, "we all know that the Heir of Slytherin is Lord Voldemort, and..."

Harry stared at Ron surprisingly.

"What, was it something I said?" Ron asked.

"Yes," said Harry. "You actually said Voldemort's name."

"Did I?" asked Ron incredulously. "You mean I actually said the name of Lord V- V- V- I can't say it!"

"Sure you can," said Hermione. "You said Voldemort without thinking, and now that you're self-conscious you can't say the name."

"Almost like you are at Quidditch," Ginny added. "When you think about too much, you start missing goals."

"Um, we're not here to discuss Quidditch," said Harry. "I want to hear more about the Torch."

"Yes, Ron," Hermione went on, "Voldemort is indeed the Heir of Slytherin, but that's no guarantee that he actually has the Torch now."

"And besides," Harry added, "we overheard Malfoy last month say that Voldemort is looking for the Torch, which means that he doesn't actually have the Torch."

Harry and the others were now surrounded by many other students. It seemed as if every student in Gryffindor was keen to hear more about the Green Flame Torch and its whereabouts. And many of them had their own opinions on the matter.

"All this about some Green Flame Torch is just hogwash," said Dean Thomas.

"Maybe one of other Death Eaters knows where it is," said his best friend, Seamus Finnegan.

"You-know-who was probably just lying and he's got the Torch all along," said second-year Michelle Thompson.

"I know exactly where the Green Flame Torch is," said a lone, quiet, female voice.

Every student turned around to determine the source of the voice. Harry saw that it was none other Marla Hedwig, who was really his transformed owl. Harry still had a longing to ask her a ton of questions about who she was or how she became an Animagus. But on the other hand, Harry was still more occupied with the Green Flame Torch and resurrecting Sirius.

"You're just an ickle first year," said Ron. "What would an eleven-year-old midget like you know about the Green Flame Torch, anyway."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "How many times must I tell you, don't call them midgets!"

"First of all," said Marla Hedwig, "I'm twelve years old. In fact, today's my twelfth birthday. And since no one got me what I wanted for my birthday, I'm going to get what I want myself. I have the Green Flame Torch. And I'm going to use it against anyone who dares to even get in my way!"

"Sirius," said Harry in his dream. "I need help."

"What is it, Harry?"

"I'm still no closer to finding the Green Flame Torch than I was when I've first heard about it."

"As I told you last time," said Sirius, "why don't you ask your friend Hermione Granger."

"But Hermione doesn't even believe the Torch exists!"

"Listen. Just ask her what she learned about in class."

"Why should I--" Harry began, but once again Sirius faded away as he woke up from the dream.

A short while later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were heading for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Today," said Professor Diggory, "we will start work on the Shield Charm. It is a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebound upon the attacker."

Once again, Harry demonstrated the Charm for the class as Diggory shot a Stupefy at him. He then successfully used the Shield Charm by raising his wand and uttering the word "Clypeus!" Then the Stupefy hit the professor who stumbled the ground.

Hermione and Neville had already learned the Shield Charm the previous year in DA. But Ron needed a little more practice. Malfoy had thrown so many Stupefy, Impedimenta, and other spells at Ron that he was rendered unable to attend Quidditch practice that day.

"Wow," said Malfoy, "Weasley can't Shield himself, he can't save a goal. Slytherin will slaughter Gryffindor in the match!"

After class was Charms followed by an intense Quidditch practice with the match a fortnight away. Ron let Harry borrow his broom as he rested in bed. Harry felt sorry for Ron, but he was glad that he could finally ride on a broom and practice Quidditch even if only for a day. He still longed to get his Firebolt back, or somehow get a new Nimbus 2003.

After Quidditch practice, Harry finally had time to follow up on the dream with Sirius and speak to Hermione back in the Gryffindor common room.

"So," said Harry, "what did you learn in class today?" It was the first time he had spoken to Hermione since a few weeks ago when she had doubted him about the Green Flame Torch's existence.

"I assume you mean History of Magic, since you don't take that class. Well, we're still only in Chapter Two of Hogwarts: A History. We're learning about the founders of our school, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. We're learning about how Gryffindor's Sorting Hat was set up so that their descendants would be Sorted into their respective houses and --"

Harry dozed off. Once Hermione got started with Hogwarts: A History, sometimes it seemed as if she would never shut up.

The second year girls Michelle and Tarra screamed. Their hair was suddenly on fire.

"Gotcha!" said eighth years Fred and George. "Now we're even for you girls' hexing those pies!"

Hermione poured water into the girls' hair, which eventually put out the fire. "That wasn't the least bit funny, you two. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"What?" asked Harry. "I thought prefects weren't able to take away House points."

"Fifth year prefects aren't able to take away points," she informed him. "Sixth year prefects can take points away, but only from their own Houses. Only the Head Boy and Girl can take points away from other Houses."

Harry realized that Hermione's discussion explained why Percy had been able to take points away back in Harry's second year, but Ron and Hermione hadn't been able to take them away last year. For Percy had been a sixth year at the time.

After a long day, Harry decided to head upstairs to bed.