𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 125

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE
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-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH JANE VOICES HER CONCERN

. . .

d. February 15th 1996

DEAR HARRY,

I'm writing this under the advise of Mrs Weasley, who seemed to find out about your call yesterday through no means of my own (Snuffles was boasting about your 'visit' when she was stood outside the door of Witherwing's room when we fed him last night). 

It appears that, not to my knowledge and most likely not to your's as well, that communication through Floo is monitored by the Ministry. I believe that despite it being in your best interests on that day of celebration, it was not a good idea on your behalf.

I have sent this to your Hogsmeade address, but Mrs Weasley asks to pass along the advise for you not to contact through those means once more. The fireplace here at the Burrow is quite grim, and I have been tasked with cleaning it up thus far.

Love, 

Jane

p.s. I was also writing this with Mrs Weasley looking over my shoulder as she cooks dinner. I'll write you another tonight after I've done some revision

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d. February 16th 1996

DEAR HARRY,

Sorry, I couldn't write a proper letter last night because I was helping Mr Weasley with some of his work after dinner - can you believe that a Misuse of Muggle Artefacts worker doesn't know what a rubber band is? - and it quickly devolved into a conversation on Muggle medicine and how it works. After coming back from St. Mungos and slowly going back into his work-life after such time off and the failiure of the stitches has sparked his interest even further rather than thwarted it. 

Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the letter Mrs Weasley had me read out to her at least five times last night. Snuffles was wildly disappointed when he heard you were being reprimanded as such; before it all came out he kept going on about your dad and how proud he would be, and that's exactly the sort of thing he would've done if he was seperated from your mum. 

And as sweet as it is, and as much as I don't want this letter to turn into an extension of the one sent yesterday, I do have some concerns. I loved seeing you, and the idea of you putting yourself in such a position for you was beyond what I expected. However... after hearing everything I have about Hogwarts at this time, I do worry for you.

The marks on your hand  - that's not normal punishment, Harry. I knew you didn't want to talk about it so we haven't, but the idea of you forcing yourself through more detentions with whatever magic ends up with blood lines scrawled deep into your hand isn't something I want for you to go through. I appreciated the surprise, you don't even know how much, but there is something sitting in my stomach that makes me even wonder how you would've suffered if you were caught. 

I don't want to make you feel bad for my worrying, and I doubt you thought about the realities of the danger of it, but next time you think of something like that I really hope you do. Again, I can't think of any better gift from you than to see you when I'm not allowed to take a visit up to Hogsmeade - for reasons yet to be known - and I really loved seeing you, but Mrs Weasley reminded me of the dangers of you doing such.

After the trial in August I can't help but think this woman is out to get you. Something about the trial, something about the constant focus on you and, after a little research and finding out about her devotion to her workplace and how she got to her position as Undersecretary and now how insistent she and the Ministry are on denying a certain existence... it just doesn't seems to make sense. 

They certainly have the Daily Prophet under their thumb. A smear campaign that forces people that were once your friends into believing otherwise, that keeps people calm against the threat of the terror they once lived through. It's only a theory, really, just an idea of what things could be working out into. Certainly, the amount of things the Ministry have put out regarding your's and Dumbledore's words speaks to hiding the truth, and painting you and Dumbledore as simply crazy people is a certain way to isolate you. In fact, it's a perfect way. You saw that guy in the hospital. 

Broderick Bode? I looked him up too when I heard about his death. I'm not sure, Harry, you heard the stuff about him muttering to himself and him not getting visitors but he was a Ministry worker who ended up dead. It's certainly a conspiracy theory, but I don't know who is behind it. 

All I'm saying is that if someone sees you as crazy, like that lovely Luna girl you've mentioned and her father who writes the only newspaper who tells the truth about what you've said. Nobody deems them viable sources because people think they're crazy and thus, anything they say has to be taken at arm's length and not to be believed.

I don't know. I think Mrs Weasley has just made me paranoid with the reminder that the Ministry are watching the Floo system - and not only that, but the mail too. That and the fact that nobody wants to tell us what's going on and why we can't do certain things. 

Just be careful, please? And don't sneak down to Hogsmeade too much. With our exams coming up soon our focuses should be on achieving good grades. Particularly you, if the pattern against teachers in the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts, then next year will most likely be just as important as this one. 

But I do enjoy hearing for you, as always. Your visit on Valentines Day, as dangerous as it was, meant more to me than you could ever know.

Love, 

Jane

p.s. even if my ramblings don't make sense, just pass them along to Hermione, would you? And see if you can try figure out why Dumbledore refuses to speak to me. Thank you.

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d. February 20th 1996

DEAR JANE,

Harry showed me your letter. I think some of the stuff you've been saying about toads makes sense, but I'd like to speak to you on a couple of theories, see perhaps if your copy of Fantastic Beasts is out of date?

There's a telephone box down in Hogsmeade, when Harry tells you about the next Hogsmeade date, let me know a good time and we can set up a call.

Hope all is well at the Burrow, as grim as it is (seriously, I could not believe that I had to translate that to both Harry and Ron)

Thanks in advance, 

Hermione

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