Hermione looked downcast. For one thing, Professor Dumbledore had refused to let any of them see Harry, saying it was for Harry's safety.
For another, there was Will. Before, she had at least been able to imagine catching up to him...
After Will had comforted her last time, Hermione had taken his advice and spent some time studying Wizarding World Law, only to discover that it was riddled with loopholes.
She had even considered working in the Ministry of Magic's legal department—the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Truthfully, she hadn't felt anxious in quite a while. But after Harry was attacked, the anxiety returned. Will had only made it worse.
"Wrackspurts have latched on to you, Hermione." The dreamy voice came from behind her. Hermione didn't need to turn around to know it was Luna.
"Luna, I'm not in the mood to talk about Wrackhorn Snorkacks." Hermione sounded dejected.
"The Wrackspurts around Will have gone, but now they've latched on to you, Hermione." Luna seemed not to have heard her.
At the mention of Will, Hermione turned around and couldn't help asking, "How do you see Wrackspurts, Luna?"
"I don't know. I just can..."
Before Luna could finish, Michael Corner burst out of the Vanishing Cabinet clutching a newspaper. "This is bad! The Daily Prophet is attacking Professor Dumbledore!"
"Attacking Professor Dumbledore?" Ron was the first to raise his voice, sounding incredulous. "Have they gone mad?"
Michael slapped the paper onto the table. The others crowded around and saw the front-page headline printed in bold:
"THE CHOSEN ONE KILLED: IS HOGWARTS SAFE? CAN DUMBLEDORE STILL PROTECT THE WIZARDING WORLD'S NEXT GENERATION?"
—Reported by Rita Skeeter
Beside the article was a photograph of Dumbledore with his brow furrowed, looking somewhat aged.
The article opened by "mourning" Harry Potter's "sacrifice" and praising