Chapter 16

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After hearing about Neville's parents, my anger at the people who had done that to them only increased every time I looked at Neville. He deserved to have his parents there for him, and in the end, I had the most anger for Voldemort. He was the one who caused so many people so much pain.

But as June rolled around, I was able to forget my anger just a little bit, because Harry and I spent nearly every second practicing for the third task. Ava, Ron, and Hermione helped us a ton, even though they were supposed to be studying for their exams. I didn't think that Ava and Ron were too unhappy about having an excuse not to study, though.

Harry and I mostly just practiced the many spells, charms, and hexes that we had already learned through our years at Hogwarts, but we also mastered the Reductor curse, which basically blasted things to pieces. Plus, we found out about this really easy spell called the Four-Point spell, which pointed your wand north.

Sirius had been writing to Harry and I nearly every day, but I wished that I'd just be able to actually see him in person. But because of that stupid rat Pettigrew, obviously that wasn't possible.

On the morning of the third task, I was too nervous to eat. Instead, I just sat at the Gryffindor table, squeezing Fred's hand harder than necessary, and bouncing my leg up and down anxiously.

All of my friends were sitting somewhere around me, and I was talking even more than usual, if it was possible, out of pure anxiety.

"When in doubt, I'll just turn everything into a duck," I was telling Ava and Olivia, who sat across from me. "I mean, what are those creatures gonna do to me as a duck? Quack? Yeah, no, I feel like if I just turn everything into a duck right away I'll have a better chance, and- is it possible to run with a Shield Charm on yourself, because that seems like a great strategy-"

"Lily!" Hermione exclaimed with wide eyes. "Breathe!"

I had just said all of that without taking one breath.

"Right- breathing is important," I rambled. "Fred, what if the duck spell backfires on me? Will you still love me if I'm a duck?!"

"If you turn into a duck, we can just transfigure you back, love," Fred said, trying his best not to laugh at my nervous rambling. "Right after we take photos of you and have a good laugh, of course."

"But if you turn yourself into a duck, I think you should reconsider how good you are at Transfiguration," Ron added.

"Says the boy who made himself puke up slugs," I replied, causing Ron to turn bright red.

Suddenly, Hermione's eyes widened, and she spit out a mouthful of pumpkin juice right onto her copy of the Daily Prophet.

"What is it?" Harry asked, trying to look at her newspaper.

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, trying to shove the paper in her bag frantically.

"Accio Daily Prophet," I said clearly. It zoomed into my hands, and Harry and Fred both leaned over from beside me to read it.

POTTER TWINS: DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS
The twins that defeated You-Know-Who are mentally unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence regarding both Harry and Lily Potter has recently come to light, showing their disturbing behavior, and causing doubts about either of their suitability to compete in a demanding competition, or even to attend Hogwarts School.
Both Potters, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, often collapse at school, and can often be heard complaining of pain in the scars on their foreheads (the result of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill them with.)
On Monday last, both Potters created another scene during class time.
Harry Potter was witnessed storming from his Divination class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.
Meanwhile, Lily Potter was caught skipping Divination class in the hallway, where she began screaming loudly "from the pain of her scar." She was then seen sneaking away with her boyfriend, Fred Weasel.
"I caught them snogging around the corner after Potter pretended that her scar hurt," says Pansy Parkinson, a fourth year student. "She just uses it as an excuse to get out of class."
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that the Potters have been conspiring the act as a plea for attention.
The Daily Propet, however, has become aware of worrying facts about the Potter twins that Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, has attempted to conceal from the wizarding public.
"Both of the Potters can speak Parseltongue," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth year student. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought that the Potters were behind them after they saw them lose their tempers at a dueling club. Sometimes they talk in Parseltongue during class so that nobody can understand what they're scheming."
Parseltongue, which is the ability to talk to snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. You-Know-Who himself is considered the most famous Parseltongue of our times.

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