The image of the boggart posing as the corpse of each member of Mrs. Weasley's family in turn kept flashing before his eyes.Without warning, the scar on his forehead seared with pain again and his stomach churned horribly. Cut it out,' he said firmly, rubbing the scar as the pain receded. First sign of madness, talking to your own head,' said a sly voice from the empty picture on the wall. Harry ignored it. He felt older than he had ever felt in his life and it seemed extraordinary to him that barely an hour ago he had been worried about a joke shop and who had got a prefect's badge. J. K. RowlingHarry Potter&The Order of the Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lionfish 11/Nov/2007 Chapter Ten Luna LovegoodContents Prev Chapter Next Chapter . Harry had a troubled night's sleep. His parents wove in and out of his dreams, never speaking; Mrs. Weasley sobbed over Kreacher's dead body, watched by Ron and Hermione who were wearing crowns, and yet again Harry found himself walking down a corridor ending in a locked door. He awoke abruptly with his scar prickling to find Ron already dressed and talking to him. . . . better hurry up, Mums going ballistic, she says we're going to miss the train. . . . 'There was a lot of commotion in the house. From what he heard as he dressed at top speed, Harry gathered that Fred and George had bewitched their trunks to fly downstairs to save the bother of carrying them, with the result that they had hurtled straight into Ginny and knocked her down two flights of stairs into the hall; Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley were both screaming at the top of their voices. -COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS-'-FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS-'Hermione came hurrying into the room looking flustered, just as Harry was putting on his trainers. Hedwig was swaying on her shoulder, and she was carrying a squirming Crookshanks in her arms. Mum and Dad just sent Hedwig back'-the owl fluttered obligingly over and perched on top of her cage-'are you ready yet? 'Nearly-Ginny all right? ' Harry asked, shoving on his glasses. Mrs. Weasley's patched her up,' said Hermione. But now Mad-Eye's complaining that we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard will be one short. 'Guard? ' said Harry. We have to go to King's Cross with a guard? 'You have to go to King's Cross with a guard,' Hermione corrected him. Why? ' said Harry irritably. I thought Voldemort was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he's going to jump out from behind a dustbin to try and do me in. 'I don't know, it's just what Mad-Eye says,' said Hermione distractedly, looking at her watch, but if we don't leave soon we're definitely going to miss the train . . . . 'WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE! ' Mrs. Weasley bellowed and Hermione jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room. Harry seized Hedwig, stuffed her unceremoniously into her cage, and set off downstairs after Hermione, dragging his trunk. Mrs. Black's portrait was howling with rage but nobody was bothering to close the curtains over her; all the noise in the hall was bound to rouse her again, anyway. Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks,' shouted Mrs. Weasley over the repeated screeches of MUDBLOODS! SCUM! CREATURES OF DIRT! ' Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage. . . . Oh, for heavens sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no! 'A bearlike black dog had appeared at Harry's side as he was clambering over the various trunks cluttering the hall to get to Mrs. Weasley. Oh honestly. . . ' said Mrs. Weasley despairingly, well, on your own head be it! 'She wrenched open the front door and stepped out into the weak September sunlight. Harry and the dog followed her. The door slammed behind them and Mrs. Black's screeches were cut off instantly. Where's Tonks? ' Harry said, looking round as they went down the stone steps of number twelve, which vanished the moment they reached the pavement. She's waiting for us just up here,' said Mrs. Weasley stiffly, averting her eyes from the lolloping black dog beside Harry. An old woman greeted them on the corner. She had tightly curled grey hair and wore a purple hat shaped like a pork pie. Wotcher, Harry,' she said, winking. Better hurry up, hadn't we, Molly? ' she added, checking her watch. I know, I know,' moaned Mrs. Weasley, lengthening her stride, but Mad-Eye wanted to wait for Sturgis. . . . If only Arthur could have got us cars from the Ministry again . . . but Fudge won't let him borrow so much as an empty ink bottle these days. . . How Muggles can stand travelling without magic. . . 'But the great black dog gave a joyful bark and gambolled around them, snapping at pigeons and chasing its own tail. Harry couldn't help laughing. Sirius had been trapped inside for a very long time. Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips in an almost Aunt Petunia-ish way. It took them twenty minutes to reach King's Cross on foot and nothing more eventful happened during that time than Sirius scaring a couple of cats for Harry's entertainment. Once inside the station they lingered casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten until the coast was clear, then each of them leaned against it in turn and fell easily through on to platform nine and three-quarters, where the Hogwarts Express stood belching sooty steam over a platform packed with departing students and their families. Harry inhaled the familiar smell and felt his spirits soar. . . . He was really going back . . . I hope the others make it in time,' said Mrs. Weasley anxiously, staring behind her at the wrought-iron arch spanning the platform, through which new arrivals would come. Nice dog, Harry! ' called a tall boy with dreadlocks. Thanks, Lee,' said Harry, grinning, as Sirius wagged his tail frantically. Oh good,' said Mrs. Weasley, sounding relieved, here's Alastor with the luggage, look. . . 'A porter's cap pulled low over his mismatched eyes, Moody came limping through the archway pushing a trolley loaded with their trunks. All okay,' he muttered to Mrs. Weasley and Tonks, don't think we were followed. . . . 'Seconds later, Mr. Weasley emerged on to the platform with Ron and Hermione. They had almost unloaded Moody's luggage trolley when Fred, George, and Ginny turned up with Lupin. No trouble? ' growled Moody. Nothing,' said Lupin. I'll still be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore,' said Moody, that's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus. 'Well, look after yourselves,' said Lupin, shaking hands all round. He reached Harry last and gave him a clap on the shoulder. You too, Harry. Be careful. 'Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled,' said Moody, shaking Harry's hand too. And don't forget, all of you-careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all. 'It's been great meeting all of you,' said Tonks, hugging Hermione and Ginny. We'll see you soon, I expect. 'A warning whistle sounded; the students still on the platform started hurrying on to the train. Quick, quick,' said Mrs. Weasley distractedly, hugging them at random and catching Harry twice, Write. . . . Be good. . . . If you've forgotten anything we'll send it on. . . . Onto the train, now, hurry. . . . 'For one brief moment, the great black dog reared on to its hind legs and placed its front paws on Harry's shoulders, but Mrs. Weasley shoved Harry away towards the train door, hissing, For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius! 'See you! ' Hary called out of the open window as the train began to move, while Ron, Hermione, and Ginny waved beside him. The figures of Tonks, Lupin, Moody, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley shrank rapidly but the black dog was bounding alongside the window, wagging its tail; blurred people on the platform were laughing to see it chasing the train, then they rounded a bend, and Sirius was gone. He shouldn't have come with us,' said Hermione in a worried voice. Oh, lighten up,' said Ron, he hasn't seen daylight for months, poor bloke. 'Well,' said Fred, clapping his hands together, can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Lee. See you later,' and he and George disappeared down the corridor to the right. The train was gathering still more speed, so that the houses outside the window flashed past, and they swayed where they stood. Shall we go and find a compartment, then? ' Harry asked. Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. Er,' said Ron. We're-well-Ron and I are supposed to go into the prefect carriage,' Hermione said awkwardly. Ron wasn't looking at Harry; he seemed to have become intensely interested in the fingernails on his left hand. Oh,' said Harry. Right. Fine. 'I don't think we'll have to stay there all journey,' said Hermione quickly. Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time. 'Fine,' said Harry again. Well, I-I might see you later, then. 'Yeah, definitely,' said Ron, casting a shifty, anxious look at Harry. It's a pain having to go down there, I'd rather-but we have to-I mean, I'm not enjoying it, I'm not Percy,' he finished defiantly. I know you're not,' said Harry and he grinned. But as Hermione and Ron dragged their trunks, Crookshanks, and a caged Pigwidgeon off towards the engine end of the train, Harry felt an odd sense of loss. He had never travelled on the Hogwarts Express without Ron. Come on,' Ginny told him, if we get a move on we'll be able to save them places. 'Right,' said Harry, picking up Hedwig's cage in one hand and the handle of his trunk in the other. They struggled off down the corridor, peering through the glass-panelled doors into the compartments they passed, which were already full. Harry could not help noticing that a lot of people stared back at him with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbours and pointed him out. After he had met this behaviour in five consecutive carriages he remembered that the Daily Prophet had been telling its readers all summer what a lying show-off he was. He wondered dully whether the people now staring and whispering believed the stories. In the very last carriage they met Neville Longbottom, Harry's fellow fifth-year Gryffindor, his round face shining with the effort of pulling his trunk along and maintaining a one-handed grip on his struggling toad, Trevor. Hi, Harry,' he panted. Hi, Ginny. . . . Everywhere's full. . . . I can't find a seat. . . . 'What are you talking about? ' said Ginny, who had squeezed past Neville to peer into the compartment behind him. There's room in this one, there's only Loony Lovegood in here-'Neville mumbled something about not wanting to disturb anyone. Don't be silly,' said Ginny, laughing, she's all right. 'She slid the door open and pulled her trunk inside. Harry and Neville followed. Hi, Luna,' said Ginny, is it okay if we take these seats? 'The girl beside the window looked up. She had straggly, waist-length, dirty-blonde hair, very pale eyebrows and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Harry knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer corks, or that she was reading a magazine upside-down. Her eyes ranged over Neville and came to rest on Harry. She nodded. Thanks,' said Ginny, smiling at her. Harry and Neville stowed the three trunks and Hedwig's cage in the luggage rack and sat down. Luna watched them over her upside-down magazine, which was called The Quibbler. She did not seem to need to blink as much as normal humans. She stared and stared at Harry, who had taken the seat opposite her and now wished he hadn't. Had a good summer, Luna? ' Ginny asked. Yes,' said Luna dreamily, without taking her eyes off Harry. Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter,' she added. I know I am,' said Harry. Neville chuckled. Luna turned her pale eyes on him instead. And I don't know who you are. 'I'm nobody,' said Neville hurriedly. No you're not,' said Ginny sharply. Neville Longbottom-Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,' said Luna in a singsong voice. She raised her upside-down magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent. Harry and Neville looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Ginny suppressed a giggle. The train rattled onwards, speeding them out into open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the carriage was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously grey clouds. Guess what I got for my birthday? ' said Neville. Another Remembrall? ' said Harry, remembering the marble-like device Neville's grandmother had sent him in an effort to improve his abysmal memory. No,' said Neville. I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago. . . . No, look at this. . . . 'He dug the hand that was not keeping a firm grip on Trevor into his schoolbag and after a little bit of rummaging pulled out what appeared to be a small grey cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines. Mimbulus mimbletonia,' he said proudly. Harry stared at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ. It's really, really rare,' said Neville, beaming. I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it. 'Harry knew that Neville's favourite subject was Herbology, but for the life of him he could not see what he would want with this stunted little plant. Does it-er-do anything? ' he asked. Loads of stuff! ' said Neville proudly. It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me. . . . 'He dumped the toad into Harry's lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna Lovegood's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, watching what Neville was doing. Neville held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill. Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant; thick, stinking, dark green jets of it. They hit the ceiling, the windows, and spattered Luna Lovegood's magazine; Ginny, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful. It smelled like rancid manure. Neville, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook his head to get the worst out of his eyes. Sosorry,' he gasped. I haven't tried that before. . . . Didn't realise it would be quite so. . . Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous,' he added nervously, as Harry spat a mouthful on to the floor. At that precise moment the door of their ompartment slid open. Oh . . . hello, Harry,' said a nervous voice. Um . . . bad time? 'Harry wiped the lenses of his glasses with his Trevor-free hand. A very pretty girl with long, shiny black hair was standing in the doorway smiling at him: Cho Chang, the Seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Oh . . . hi,' said Harry blankly. Um. . . ' said Cho. Well . . . just thought I'd say hello . . . bye then. 'Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to diScover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Loony Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap. Never mind,' said Ginny bracingly. Look, we can easily get rid of all this. ' She pulled out her wand. Scourgify! 'The Stinksap vanished. Sorry. ' said Neville again, in a small voice. Ron and Hermione did not turn up for nearly an hour, by which time the food trolley had already gone by. Harry, Ginny, and Neville had finished their pumpkin pasties and were busy swapping Chocolate frog Cards when the compartment door slid open and they walked in, accompanied by Crookshanks and a shrilly hooting Pigwidgeon in his cage. I'm starving,' said Ron, stowing Pigwidgeon next to Hedwig, grabbing a Chocolate frog from Harry and throwing himself into the seat next to him. He ripped open the wrapper, bit off the frog's head and leaned back with his eyes closed as though he had had a very exhausting morning. Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each house,' said Hermione, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat. Boy and girl from each. 'And guess who's a Slytherin prefect? ' said Ron, still with his eyes closed. Malfoy,' replied Harry at once, certain his worst fear would be confirmed. ' Course,' said Ron bitterly, stuffing the rest of the frog into his mouth and taking another. And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson,' said Hermione viciously. How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll. . . 'Who are Hufflepuff's? ' Harry asked. Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott,' said Ron thickly. And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw,' said Hermione. You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil,' said a vague voice. Everyone turned to look at Luna Lovegood, who was gazing unblinkingly at Ron over the top of The Quibbler. He swallowed his mouthful of frog. Yeah, I know I did,' he said, looking mildly surprised. She didn't enjoy it very much,' Luna informed him. She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded,' she added thoughtfully, I don't like dancing very much. 'She retreated behind The Quibbler again. Ron stared at the cover with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then looked around at Ginny for some kind of explanation, but Ginny had stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to stop herself giggling. Ron shook his head, bemused, then checked his watch. We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often,' he told Harry and Neville, and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something. . . . 'You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron! ' said Hermione sharply. Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all,' said Ron sarcastically. So you're going to descend to his level? 'No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine. 'For heavens sake, Ron-'I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing,' said Ron happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. I . . . must . . . not . . . look . . . like . . . a . . . baboon's . . . backside. 'Everyone laughed, but nobody laughed harder than Luna Lovegood. She let out a scream of mirth that caused Hedwig to wake up and flap her wings indignantly and Crookshanks to leap up into the luggage rack, hissing. Luna laughed so hard her magazine slipped out of her grasp, slid down her legs, and onto the floor. That was funny! 'Her prominent eyes swam with tears as she gasped for breath, staring at Ron.Utterly nonplussed, he looked around at the others, who were now laughing at the expression on Ron's face and at the ludicrously prolonged laughter of Luna Lovegood, who was rocking backwards and forwards, clutching her sides. Are you taking the mickey? ' said Ron, frowning at her. Baboon's . . . backside! ' she choked, holding her ribs. Everyone else was watching Luna laughing, but Harry, glancing at the magazine on the floor, noticed something that made him dive for it. Upside-down it had been hard to tell what the picture on the front was, but Harry now realised it was a fairly bad cartoon of Cornelius Fudge; Harry only recognised him because of the lime-green bowler hat. One of Fudges hands was clenched around a bag of gold; the other hand was throttling a goblin. The cartoon was captioned: How Far Will Fudge Go to Gain Gringotts? Beneath this were listed the titles of other articles inside the magazine. CORRUPTION IN THE QUIDDITCH LEAGUE:How the Tornados are Taking ControlSECRETS OF THE ANCIENT RUINS REVEALEDSIRIUS BLACK: Villain or Victim? Can I have a look at this? ' Harry asked Luna eagerly. She nodded, still gazing at Ron, breathless with laughter. Harry opened the magazine and scanned the index. Until this moment he had completely forgotten the magazine Kingsley had handed Mr. Weasley to give to Sirius, but it must have been this edition of The Quibbler. He found the page, and turned excitedly to the article. This, too, was illustrated by a rather bad cartoon; in fact, Harry would not have known it was supposed to be Sirius if it hadn't been captioned.Sirius was standing on a pile of human bones with his wand out. The headline on the article said:SIRIUS-Black As He's Painted Notorious Mass Murderer OR Innocent Singing Sensation? Harry had to read this first sentence several times before he was convinced that he had not misunderstood it. Since when had Sirius been a singing sensation? For fourteen years Sirius Black has been believed guilty of the mass murder of twelve innocent Muggles and one wizard. Black's audacious escape from Azkaban two years ago has led to the widest manhunt ever conducted by the Ministry of Magic. None of us has ever questioned that he deserves to be recaptured and handed back to the dementors.BUT DOES HE? Startling new evidence has recently come to light that Sirius Black may not have committed the crimes for which he was sent to Azhaban. In fact, says Doris Purkiss, of 18 Acanthia Way, Little Norton, Black may not even have been present at the killings. What people don't realise is that Sirius Black is a false name,' says Mrs. Purkiss. The man people believe to be Sirius Black is actually Stubby Boardman, lead singer of popular singing group The Hobgoblins, who retired from public life after being struck on the ear by a turnip at a concert in Little Norton Church Hall nearly fifteen years ago. I recognised him the moment I saw his picture in the paper. Now, Stubby couldn't possibly have committed those crimes, because on the day in question he happened to be enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with me. I have written to the Minister for Magic and am expecting him to give Stubby, alias Sirius, a full pardon any day now. 'Harry finished reading and stared at the page in disbelief. Perhaps it was a joke, he thought, perhaps the magazine often printed spoof items. He flicked back a few pages and found the piece on Fudge. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, denied tat he had any plans to take over the running of the Wizarding Bank, Gringotts, when he was elected Minister for Magic jive years ago. Fudge has always insisted that he wants nothing more than to cooperate peacefully' with the guardians of our gold. BUT DOES HE? Sources close to the Minister have recently disclosed that Fudge's dearest ambition is to seize control of the goblin gold supplies and that he will not hesitate to use force if need be. It wouldn't be the first time, either,' said a Ministry insider.Cornelius Goblin-Crusher Fudge, that's what his friends call him. If you could hear him when he thinks no one's listening, oh, he's always talking about the goblins he's had done in; he's had them drowned, he's had them dropped off buildings, he's had them poisoned, he's had them cooked in pies. . . . 'Harry did not read any further. Fudge might have many faults but Harry found it extremely hard to imagine him ordering goblins to be cooked in pies. He flicked through the rest of the magazine.Pausing every few pages, he read: an accusation that the Tutshill Tornados were winning the Quidditch League by a combination of blackmail, illegal broom-tampering and torture; an interview with a wizard who claimed to have flown to the moon on a Cleansweep Six and brought back a bag of moon frogs to prove it; and an article on ancient runes which at least explained why Luna had been reading The Quibbler upside-down.