Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Previous chapter | Index to chapters | Back to blog | Next chapter

Chapter 26: Seen and Unforseen

Harry tells Hermione about his date with Cho and gets very frustrated that he can't understand her behavior. Hermione tries to explain events from a teenage girl's perspective.

Ron reports that Quidditch practice was a disaster. At the next game against Hufflepuff, the games goes badly for Gryffindor and Ginny just manages to catch the snitch to bring their score up so Hufflepuff only wins by ten points.

Harry goes to sleep frustrated about many things and has trouble doing his Occlumency exercises to clear his mind. Instead he dreams he is back in the mysterious corridor with the locked door. This time he sees a glowing strip of faint blue light along the side because the door is ajar. Just as he pushed it open, he wakes.

At breakfast, Harry is inundated with mail because his story has appeared in The Quibbler. People are writing to say that they now believe him or that they still don't. Umbridge is furious about the article and by mid-morning, Educational Decree Number Twenty-seven is in place: Any student found in possession of The Quibbler will be expelled. Hermione is happy about this because she knows the decree means every student in the school will read the article. Harry is happiest because Cho comes to him to tell him that she believes his story and that he was brave to give the interview. Luna reports that her father is reprinting the paper because of all the interest.

Dreaming that night, Harry feels he is in another body - Voldemort's. He is talking with Rookwood, one of the escaped Death Eaters. Rookwood reveals that Malfoy had used the Imperius curse on Bode to make him retrieve the secret weapon from the Ministry. Harry wakes screaming.

At Harry's next Occlumency training session, he somehow manages to get into Snape's mind and see some of his childhood memories. Harry also sees what is through the door of his dreams - a black-floored circular room lit with blue-flamed candles.

Professor Trelawney has been fired by Umbridge and told to leave Hogwarts. Dumbledore intercedes and points out that he can still let Trelawney stay at Hogwarts even if she isn't teaching. Umbridge is furious, especially when she finds out that Dumbledore has already found a replacement - Firenze, the centaur from the forest.