The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|102| Sluggy Christmas

Since the event in the empty classroom, the four of us have been pretty rocky: Hermione and I stuck together most of the time, sometimes allowing Harry to join; Ron hasn't spoken to Hermione or me since she caused a flock of birds to attack him. Plus Hermione and I haven't spoken to Lavender Brown, who seems to be attached to the lips of Ron.

"Harry, you have to be careful," I warned him. We were currently in the library since Ron and Lavender were in the common room, making out.

"Not you, too," Harry groaned.

"I'm not talking about your Prince problem– which I still think you shouldn't listen to, but that's not what it is," I rolled my eyes. "I'm talking about earlier. I went into the girls' bathroom with Hermione, just before we came in here, and there were about a dozen girls in there, including Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They're all hoping they're going to get you to take them to Slughorn's party and they all seem to have bought Fred and George's love potions—"

"Why didn't you confiscate them then?" demanded Harry of Hermione.

"They haven't the potions with them in the bathroom," said Hermione scornfully. "They were just discussing tactics. As I doubt whether even the Half-Blood Prince" — she gave the book another nasty look — "could dream up an antidote for a dozen different love potions at once, I'd just invite someone to go with you, that'll stop all the others thinking they've still got a chance. It's tomorrow night, they're getting desperate."

"There isn't anyone I want to invite," mumbled Harry.

"Well, just be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business," said Hermione grimly.

"She seems to only want you because she thinks you're The Chosen One," I rolled my eyes.

"But I am The Chose One," Harry said with a smirk. I hit him over the head with one of the books in my hand, causing him to cry out in pain. "I'm joking! It's a joke," he added, rubbing the sore spot.

"We're being serious, Harry," I warned. "It's dangerous!"

"Hang on a moment," he said slowly. "I thought Filch had banned anything bought at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"

"And when has anyone ever paid attention to what Filch has banned?" I asked, absentmindedly reading my Arithmancy book.

"But I thought all the owls were being searched. So how come these girls are able to bring love potions into school?"

"Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions," I said. "It's part of their Owl Order Service."

"You know a lot about it."

"One, because Fred had asked my opinion on how to disguise them," I narrowed my eyes at him. "And two, it was all on the back of the bottles he showed Ginny, Hermione, and me in the summer."

"Yeah, well, never mind that," said Harry quickly. "The point is, Filch is being fooled, isn't he? These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as something else! So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school —?"

"Oh, Harry," Hermione sighed. "Not that again..."

"Come on, why not?" demanded Harry.

"Look," sighed Hermione, "Secrecy Sensors detect jinxes, curses, and concealment charms, don't they? They're used to find Dark Magic and Dark objects. They'd have picked up a powerful curse, like the one on that necklace, within seconds. But something that's just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn't register— and anyway, love potions aren't Dark or dangerous so it would be down to Filch to realize it wasn't a cough potion, and he's not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from —"