Ethereal

♦ 038 ♦

The Order of The Phoenix

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

They had reached the foot of the marble staircase. A line of fourth-year Ravenclaws was crossing the Entrance Hall. They caught sight of Harry and hurried to form a tighter group, as though frightened he might attack stragglers.

"Yeah, we really ought to be trying to make friends with people like that," said Harry sarcastically.

They followed the Ravenclaws into the Great Hall, all looking instinctively at the staff table as they entered. Professor Grubbly-Plank was chatting to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, and Hagrid was once again conspicuous only by his absence. The enchanted ceiling above them was a miserable rain-cloud grey.

"Dumbledore didn't even mention how long that Grubbly-Plank woman's staying," Harry said, as they made their way across to the Gryffindor table.

"Maybe. . . ." said Hermione thoughtfully.

"What?" said Sadie, Harry and Ron together.

"Well, maybe he didn't want to draw attention to Hagrid not being here."

"What d'you mean, draw attention to it?" said Ron, half-laughing. "How could we not notice?"

Before Hermione could answer, a tall black girl with long braided hair had marched up to Sadie and Harry.

"Hi, Angelina."

"Hi," she said briskly, "good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Nice one," said Sadie, grinning at her. She suspected Angelina's pep talks might not be as long-winded as Oliver Wood's had been, which could only be an improvement.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in."

"Okay," said Harry as Sadie nodded.

Angelina smiled at them and departed.

"I'd forgotten Wood had left," said Hermione vaguely as she sat down beside Ron and pulled a plate of toast towards her. "I suppose that will make quite a difference to the team?"

"I s'pose," said Sadie, taking the bench opposite and sitting down next to Harry. "He was a good Keeper. . . ."

"Still, it won't hurt to have some new blood, will it?" said Ron.

"True," Sadie said nodding.

With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners and showering the breakfasters with droplets of water. It was clearly raining hard outside. Sadie, however, had to move her orange juice aside quickly to make way for a large damp barn owl bearing a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak.

"What are you still getting that for?" said Harry irritably, as Sadie placed a Knut in the leather pouch on the owl's leg and it took off again. "I'm not bothering, load of rubbish."

"It's best to know what the enemy is saying," said Sadie darkly, and she unfurled the newspaper and disappeared behind it, not emerging until Hermione, Harry and Ron had finished eating. "Nothing," she said simply, rolling up the newspaper and laying it down by her plate. "Nothing about you or Dumbledore or anything."

Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out timetables.

"Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defence Against the Dark Arts. Binns, Snape, Trelawney and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted. . . ."