Chapter 069

As the small girl hurried back, he said, "I'll shall be informing my replacement as Head of House Ravenclaw why I've taken that action, if they don't already know, and be recommending none of you ever be offered the position again. You clearly do not deserve it. Now, sit your butts back down."

All six, looking very dejected to the point three - two girls and a boy - were silently crying, sat without a word.

"I will not be elevating any student to be their replacements. Instead, I will leave that up to my own replacement. However, even if I did choose to elevate six replacements, I doubt very much I could find a Ravenclaw at the moment who would not have also deserved to lose their badge if they'd already held one. They, too, could not have missed the very public bullying of Miss Lovegood as it was going on. As such I determine them to be Accessories to the crime."

He stood there for another long few moments before he more quietly said in a dejected manner, "I was once proud to be considered a Ravenclaw. You lot have taken that from me. Because of your collective actions I now find myself ashamed to be considered a Ravenclaw alumnus. Shame on you!"

He then dropped back into his seat and double clapped his hands. The tables immediately filled with food.

While their table filled with just as many delicious foods as the rest of the House tables, the Ravenclaws appeared to barely even touch any of it. The only ones who did were quite a few of the youngest two years and Luna Lovegood. Quite a few only sat there for a few minutes, not touching anything, before then quietly standing and walking out of the Hall. Over a quarter of the table did that within the first five minutes. Some more did it within ten.

As the first group left, Hermione quietly said, "That's so sad!"

"That's so deserved!" Harry argued back. "Again, it would not have been necessary... and, yes, I think it was necessary... if the damned Professors had been doing their jobs in the first place. The treatment young Miss Lovegood has received from her housemates should have been dealt with within the first couple of months of her first year. It should never have been allowed to drag on as long as it has."

What had happened had no effect on Harry's own hunger or diet.

After giving it a couple hours for his meal to settle, Harry was in bed and asleep well before curfew. It had been a stressful day that also included him expending a significant amount of magical energy out at the lakeside. Therefore, it came as no surprise to Hermione and Neville when he declared he was heading for bed so early.

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The next morning Harry was up and again dressed in fine clothing. He knew the aurors would be returning soon after breakfast to take him and Hermione to the Wizengamot chambers, as he was warned they would do so the previous day.

Earlier to rise than normal, he rushed to the owlery to send a letter to his account manager at Gringotts, then had to wait about half an hour before Neville and Hermione both came down at the almost the same time, Neville first. His letter to Gringotts, he did not want Hermione to know about until they'd accomplished what task he set for them and he had a chance to tell her.

They both wished him a good morning, as he did for them, before he asked, "Ready for breakfast?"

"Oh, yes," Hermione brightly replied. "I expect we'll receive a response from my parents today."

Neville just smiled.

As they exited through the portrait and walked down, Harry could see Neville was now carrying himself with a much more upright carriage. For the moment, gone was the once shy boy. Now, he carried himself with a confidence that was severely lacking before. Once again they were 'tailed' by two aurors, who had been waiting in the common room for them.

Harry was quite happy to see the changes in Neville. 'And, to think,' he thought. 'All it took was for the boy to have his own properly matched wand and, just once, stand up to his grandmother. That woman has a lot to answer for.'

As they walked into the Great Hall there was only a bare moment where eyes turned to them before those already within returned to their breakfasts or chatting with friends. It appeared things were calming down again; the still to happen court cases, aside.

He thought and was hopeful he was right his 'big reveal' during the first task was finally starting to get that 'yesterday's news' feel to it.

What he'd been ignoring for the past few days was Ron Weasley. Since the time the boy had flat-out accused him of having the Headmaster and Minerva McGonagall arrested he was expecting the boy to just be biding his time, before keeping his mouth shut got just all too much for him and he decided to let fly with his anger again.

Ron was never an early riser, no matter how much of a glutton he was. Over the past three years, if it wasn't for Harry waking him up, Harry doubted the boy would ever have woken up in time for breakfast.

However, since the night Harry's name had come out of the Goblet, it seemed someone else was waking him up. So, he asked Neville about it.

"Seamus," replied Neville. "However, I think Dean's woken him up on a couple of occasions, too."

"You've not?" asked Harry.

"Nope," Neville emphatically replied. "As far as I'm concerned, him getting up in time to have breakfast before heading off to classes is his own responsibility; not mine."

He turned and smirked at Harry and quietly said, "I think Seamus and Dean have just about had enough of him, though."

"Oh?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, according to them he's becoming harder and harder to wake up," replied the sandy-haired boy. "According to Seamus, he tried to wake him three times and Dean tried twice. Weasley just mutters something like―"

"Just five more minutes, Muuuum," Harry cut in, perfectly mimicking the redhead.

Neville snorted in amusement and said, "That; plus he's told Dean to 'piss off' twice.

"I think that's it for the both of them. They've tried to help him out and, him treating them like that? I don't think it'll be much longer before no one goes to wake him."

"As you said, it's his own responsibility to rise on time," said Harry. "I've already washed my hands of him."

"Me too," said Neville.

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