Everyone turned to see Luna Lovegood standing a short distance away.
Her signature protuberant eyes shone with a dreamy light, and a string of Butterbeer corks hung around her neck.
"Minister Fudge might just be a puppet. The ones pulling the strings behind all this could be those grunting Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Mind control is what they do best, especially on people with an excessive lust for power."
Several students exchanged peculiar looks.
The Ravenclaw student from earlier muttered:
"It would be more convincing to say Professor Holmes was controlling him. Those methods are far too much like the professor's way of thinking. I've studied his..."
Smack!
Another student slapped him on the back, then looked around warily.
The boy in glasses shrugged, then said to Luna:
"Crumple-Horned Snorkacks only exist in... well, legends."
Luna smiled faintly, looking as though mere mortals like them could never understand:
"That's only what the Ministry of Magic wants you to think.
The truth is often hidden in the most unlikely places.
Just like this werewolf friends plan. It sounds wonderful, but who knows? Maybe those registration forms really are recruiting for future werewolf stormtroopers."
With that, she wandered off, leaving the students standing bewildered in the wind.
The boy in glasses closed The Quibbler and shook his head hard.
"However unreliable the Ministry of Magic is, surely it wouldn't go that far?... Probably."
After leaving Sirius's office.
Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
He had barely climbed through the entrance when he nearly tripped over his own feet in his excitement.
He steadied himself and gave a light cough:
"Ahem, I'm back!"
Ron listlessly shuffled the pile of parchment on the table, making himself look very busy.
Neville was in a corner, making revisions to the plan Hermione had given him