Rumours and News

[alt_luna]

Under the 'Rumour' category:

Professor Hooch is going to be the new Head of Gryffindor.

The Slytherin Common Room is going to swap places with the Ravenclaw Common Room, and the Ravenclaw colours will be changing to green and silver, and the Slytherin colours will be changing to blue and bronze. I don't quite believe that one, myself.

Sirius Black is alive, and he was last seen trying to buy a dinner of fish and chips in Manchester. The innkeeper screeched when he recognised his face from the wanted poster, and then when they tried to seize him, Sirius Black sprang into a portrait of King Arthur with the Knights of the Round Table that was hanging on the wall and he mounted the horses of one of the Knights and galloped away, disappearing out of the frame. Which would be quite a neat trick, really, if it's true. I have been told I must not talk about this. Perhaps the method of escape is a secret that the Ministry does not want to get out. Anyway, I am sorry for talking about paintings. Or people who might appear in them.

Under the 'News' category:

A Brindled Crowleree was spotted in Surrey. This is quite exciting, because there haven't been any reports of them in probably at least fifty years or so.

THERE ARE NO RUMOURS. THERE IS NO NEWS. I AM SORRY.

Comments

[alt_luna]

It it illegal to mention his name now, then?

I didn't know that.

Order Only

[alt_molly]

Oh, dear. The girl will be obtuse. It's so hard to tell whether it's deliberate or not.

Re: Order Only

[alt_sirius]

Merlin, Molly.

[alt_bellatrix]

Oh yes, I remember your father now. Operated for oh-so long by convincing everyone that he wasn't traitorous in his thinking, oh no, just creative and batty. I see you are taking the same approach. I can assure you, small one, that it will end you up precisely where it ended him.

Get rid of it. Now.

There's a good girl.

Order Only

[alt_bill]

Merlin. This is as close as she or anyone else has come to admitting that Xenophilius Lovegood didn't die in that bloody epidemic. They had him killed.

Mum, you have to do something. Floo her or apparate to her house, or something, but get that bloody journal entry erased.

Re: Order Only

[alt_molly]

I'm on it.

Re: Order Only

[alt_bill]

Thank goodness. Hope that will get Lestrange off her back now.

Was it difficult to convince her?

Re: Order Only

[alt_molly]

Convince her? There wasn't bloody time for that! I Flooed over to the Brown's, marched in, seized her journal from her, scratched out the entire entry and wrote that message across the bottom myself. (The Browns themselves were out; it was just Luna there. Fortunately.)

Oooh, how I wish I could HEX that monster!

Re: Order Only

[alt_bill]

Well, that's a drastic solution, certainly, but it was probably the best one.

Re: Order Only

[alt_molly]

Oh, dear.

Bill, I'll get back to you later. Luna has...well, she's quite fallen apart. I'm going to turn my attention to her now.

I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

I thought Mr Lovegood died from the sickness. Isn't that why they declared Luna a halfblood?

Now they're saying he was a traitor?

Maybe he's actually alive and in Azkaban. It sounds like that's what she's saying. Does it sound that way to anyone else?

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Yeah. There's something fishy.

It was Mum who went to the Browns and made Luna change what she wrote. And Mum's been really odd about it. Read us all the riot about what we say where Mrs Lestrange can see it. But she wouldn't answer any questions about Mr Lovegood.

I mean, I don't believe for a minute that Luna's a halfblood. That was so queer when it happened, it just. It didn't feel true. And I know Mum and Dad don't believe it. And they should know. I mean, they knew Mr Lovegood as well as anyone probably. But they're not telling us kids anything.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

I'm glad your mum went quickly.

Hydra left me a message I didn't see until later, she wanted me to write a private message to Luna telling her exactly what she needed to cross out because she was afraid of what would happen if Luna made her mum any angrier. Hydra couldn't do it herself because her mum would see and make her show her what she'd written, but she could write to me, and she thought I could write to Luna.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Hydra told you to tell Luna...

That's

I'm glad we've got private messages now. But that's just-- And like you said, Mrs Lestrange can see who you're writing to and privating it or whatever, so it's just

complicated.

This spell's so much better. It's too bad we couldn't give something like it to Hydra if she's going against her mum. And Luna.

Actually, I kind of wish we could let Luna in. I feel bad for her. It'd be like for Terry Boot: he can talk to us, and if he needs help we can figure out something to do.

But Luna's not like Terry. I don't mean about being a muggleborn. It's just that Luna's

unpredictable. I don't think she'd say anything about us if we did let her in, but

it's hard to know with Luna. She doesn't see things the way other people do. And sometimes she just does loopy stuff. And anywiz, now the Aurors are watching her. Or maybe they were all along and that's why Mrs Lestrange read what she wrote, y'know? Like she's specially looking into what Luna does and says.

I dunno.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

Luna IS unpredictable and odd.

I do think that if she knew about this lock she would never tell a soul, ever, no matter what, I mean even if she were cruciated I think she'd never breathe a word.

But she's not very good at lying and misdirecting. The risk with Luna is that the wrong person would KNOW she was hiding SOMETHING.

Hydra --

Last year she believed that muggleborns were born when a human and a PIG had a baby, do you remember her asking Hermione about that? It's what her mother told her. Only an IDIOT could believe something that stupid, and Hydra isn't an idiot -- I think she believed it because she's so afraid to question her mum in any way.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_neville]

Wow. It sure does sound strange, doesn't it?

Not sure if she's saying that he's still alive. But it doesn't sound like she thinks it was the epidemic that killed him. Unless she honestly thinks that people who are, er, traitorous caught the disease and loyal people didn't.

I don't think she's thick enough to believe something like that, somehow.

[alt_molly]

That's not it, dear. It's just that it's very wrong to even suggest that Sirius Black might be alive. Of course we all know that perfectly ridiculous. And it was Mrs Lestrange who had the honour of killing him, you see. So if you imply or say anything that suggests that he is alive, it is, well, quite a serious affront to Mrs Lestrange's honour. Do you see?