As they exited the castle and began the long walk towards Hagrid's home Harry rechecked the map to make sure Skeeter had noticed them. On the map he could clearly see her dot quickly approaching his and Hermione's. 'Good.' Harry thought with a smile.
"So, I got a letter from Sirius this week." Harry said using the phrase that would tell Hermione to start the conversation they had planned out on the way.
"Really? How is your godfather doing?" Hermione asked as they continued walking. No one else was around to overhear their conversation so they could feel free to say exactly what they wanted to Rita Skeeter to hear.
"He's doing well, all things considered. Still looking for that traitor, Peter Pettigrew." Harry replied, the distaste for the man evident in his tone. Hermione meanwhile just nodded at his answer.
"It's funny how things worked out, isn't it?" she asked.
"Funny? Are you mad? It's not funny that my godfather got thrown in to Azkaban without even being given a trial for a crime he didn't commit while the real traitor is given the Order of Merlin!" Harry said angrily.
"In their defense Harry everyone still thinks Peter Pettigrew is dead." Hermione commented in an apparent attempt to calm her friend.
"Well it's their fault they didn't do a very good job investigating his supposed murder. But apparently all it takes to fake your own death is to cut off your finger and find someone to blame. One of these days though, Sirius Black will have his justice."
"I'm sure that is what he wants, too. He just has to be careful with the Ministry still looking for him. He's at least somewhere safe isn't he?" Hermione asked.
"For the moment, yes. He's hiding in Berlin for a while before heading to Amsterdam in a few weeks." Harry answered, knowing full well that Sirius had not visited and had no plans to visit either of those two cities. "He can't come back until we find that rat Pettigrew. It'd go a lot easier if the Ministry would admit they made a mistake."
"Oh Harry you know that is never going to happen."
"Probably not. But can you imagine how embarrassed they are going to be when the truth comes out?" Harry said, hoping that it would catch Skeeter's attention. He knew that she loved nothing more than a potential scandal and he was offering her a good one.
"I suppose it will be funny." Hermione said with a small grin. "Oh look, there's Hagrid! Come on, Harry." With that she and Harry ran the rest of the way to Hagrid's home where the friendly half-giant welcomed them in excitedly. Harry was glad to see his friend again, even if he had only gotten the idea because he was trying to trick Rita Skeeter. And there was nothing Hagrid liked more than to have friends over for a cup of tea and some rock cakes, even if his guests turned down his tough cuisine.
Rita Skeeter meanwhile was just as excited as Hagrid, although for completely different reasons. She had seemingly stumbled on a major story! Not only did she learn that the only person to ever escape from Azkaban was Harry Potter's godfather but that the boy seemed to truly believe he was innocent and Peter Pettigrew was not just alive but guilty of the crimes Black had been accused of. Surely there must be some way to verify the claims, but she knew she would be writing a story about it either way. After all, as long as the story sold copies of the Daily Prophet who cared if she really checked her sources? And the fact that it would irritate the Ministry of Magic was a happy bonus as far as she was concerned.
'Yes,' Skeeter thought as she flew off towards the edge of the wards, 'this is going to be an award winner!'
...
The next day Harry sat in the Great Hall finishing his dinner. He was eager to go meet Professor Dumbledore so the older man could observe his training and hopefull" "y tell him whether or not it was having any negative effects on him. Hermione and Daphne had both expressed interest in being there but he preferred to have the meeting without the distraction they would provide. Daphne had been disappointed, but not enough so for her to not sit by him at dinner.
"I wonder what Dumbledore is going to have me do." Harry wondered aloud to no one in particular.
"If I knew I would have told you the first time you said that three days ago." Daphne answered, softly laughing at him. "You said he wants to see what you've been doing, he'll probably just let you do whatever you want."
"I still don't understand why he wants you to do this. Is it because of the Dementors?" Neville asked. Harry frowned at the question. He had not made Neville a part of his training or been as open with him as he had been with Daphne and Hermione. Part of him wanted to keep his actions as secret as possible, but another part of him argued that Neville had been a good friend to him when he needed it the most and he owed the other boy the truth.
"Neville, it's because of the training I have been doing for the tournament. It's not exactly normal." Harry began, wondering how to explain what he had doing. "I'll tell you more later, but basically it comes down to the fact that I don't react like other people do to very strenuous spell casting."
"Ok, I guess I'll just have to wait to understand it." Neville said with a laugh. Harry sighed, grateful that his friend had taken his answer so well. Harry was wondering if he should invite Neville to practice with him along with Daphne and Hermione. Although he liked Neville he was not convinced the other boy had the potential to be a powerful wizard even with a lot of work. His excellence at Herbology seemed to be evened out by his ineptitude in potions and poor spell work. Harry decided that Neville deserved a chance to prove himself, perhaps there was more to the boy than met the eye.
"I promise you, Neville, that if this goes like I am hoping I will tell you everything." Harry said sincerely. Daphne looked at him curiously, wondering what exactly her boyfriend meant by that but having a fairly good idea. It was then that they heard a familiar voice speaking behind them.
"Good evening, Harry. It's wonderful to see you again."
....
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