"Careful you don't become Gu's twenty-first target!" still echoed beneath the vaulted ceiling.
The twins stood on a bench and roared through a Sonorus charm, "The eternal king of Hogwarts has returned to his most loyal Hogwarts!" The noise nearly blew the roof off.
Ron released the door ring with a flourish and stepped half a pace closer to Gavin, puffing out his chest. When someone in the Great Hall waved, he answered with a dignified nod. When someone shouted "Gu!", he nodded vigorously too, convinced that, as the chief contributor, he deserved a share of the welcome. Catching the twins' eyes, he even flashed them a triumphant thumbs-up.
"How was that?" Ron leaned in, delighted with himself. "Not bad, right?"
Gavin turned his expressionless face toward him and gave him a long, slow look.
Ron failed to notice the look—which could have reduced an Azkaban prisoner to a shrieking little girl. He merely tipped his chin toward the banner overhead, thoroughly pleased with himself.
On Gavin's other side, Hermione stared at the banner in disbelief, then glanced down at Ron's shoelaces. At last, she connected the spectacle before her with his clumsy circus act outside the doors.
"You spent all that time fussing with your shoelaces for this?"
"Of course." Ron nodded readily, taking it for praise. "Had to give them time to set up."
Hermione opened her mouth and glared at him, unable for a moment to decide where to begin.
Ron had already started waving cheerfully at everyone again. His obliviousness left Hermione feeling as though she had punched a pillow. In the end, she drew a deep breath, frowned, and corrected him under her breath.
"A fine and a permit are two completely different things."
Harry looked at Fudge's flattened nose in the cartoon and couldn't