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"You all right, Harry. You look funny," said Neville.
Harry started. "Sorry… I…" "Wrackspurt got you." asked Luna sympathetically, peering at Harry through her enormous colored spectacles.
"I… what." "A Wrackspurt... They're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy," she said. "I thought I felt one zooming around in here." She flapped her hands at thin air, as though beating off large invisible moths. Harry and Neville caught each other's eyes and hastily began to talk of Quidditch.
The weather beyond the train windows was as patchy as it had been all summer; they passed through stretches of the chilling mist, then out into weak, clear sunlight. It was during one of the clear spells, when the sun was visible almost directly overhead, that Ron and Hermione entered the compartment at last.
"Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving," said Ron longingly, slumping into the seat beside Harry and rubbing his stomach. "Hi, Neville. Hi, Luna. Guess what." he added, turning to Harry. "Malfoy’s not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we saw him when we passed." Harry sat up straight, interested. It was not like Malfoy to pass up the chance to demonstrate his power as prefect, which he had happily abused all the previous year.
"What did he do when he saw you." "The usual," said Ron indifferently, demonstrating a rude hand gesture. "Not like him, though, is it. Well, that is" he did the hand gesture again "but why isn't he out there bullying first years.
"Dunno," said Harry, but his mind was racing. Didn't this look as though Malfoy had more important things on his mind than bullying younger students.
"Maybe he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad," said Hermione. "Maybe being a prefect seems a bit tame after that." "I don't think so," said Harry. "I think he's…" But before he could expound on his theory, the compartment door slid open again and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.
"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom and Harry P-Potter," she faltered, as her eyes met Harry's and she turned scarlet. She was holding out two scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. Perplexed, Harry and Neville took the scroll addressed to each of them and the girl stumbled back out of the compartment.
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