Percy and Padfoot

• Harry wakes up early the next morning to write to Sirius.
• He realizes that it's harder than he expected: how do you tell someone top secret information in a letter while still being secure?
• He manages to get across that Professor Umbridge is a horrible person and that his scar ached while he was in detention with her.
• He goes to the Owlery to find Hedwig.
• Nearly Headless Nick warns him not to go up a certain flight of staircases because Peeves is acting up.
• So, Harry goes up a different flight of stairs, where Mrs. Norris, caretaker Argus Filch's cat, sees him and trots off to "report to her boss" (14.11).
• Harry gives Hedwig the letter for "Snuffles"/Sirius.
• Cho Chang happens to walk into the Owlery just as Harry is looking out the window.
• They start chatting.
• Cho whispers to Harry, "That Umbridge woman's foul [...] Putting you in detention just because you told the truth about how – how – how he died. Everyone heard about it, it was all over the school. You were really brave standing up to her like that" (13.33).
• Harry feels like a million bucks.
• Suddenly, Filch comes running in to say, "Aha! [...] I've had a tip-off that you are intending to place a massive order for Dungbombs!" (14.36).
• Harry flatly denies this, but Filch wants to search Harry's pockets.
• Cho claims that she saw Harry send his letter away already – she's lying for Harry! She really likes him!
• Harry has no clue who gave Filch the idea that he was ordering Dungbombs, since (obviously), he wasn't.
• In that morning's Daily Prophet, there's an article that Sirius has been spotted in London.
• Harry thinks it's Lucius Malfoy who tipped off the paper after recognizing Sirius's dog form on the train platform.
• There is also an article about Sturgis Podmore, who has been charged with "trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic" (14.85).
• He's been sentenced to six months in Azkaban.
• Ron is shocked because Sturgis is a member of the order.
• Harry points out that Sturgis was supposed to be part of their guard to King's Cross train station, but he never showed up.
• Then comes Quidditch practice.
• And it's a complete, total, utter disaster.
• The Slytherins are watching, and they all roar with laughter every time Ron makes a mistake, which is often.
• Among many fumbles, he manages to throw the Quaffle so hard at Katie Brown that she gets a bloody nose.
• Fred hands Katie something to take to make it clear up in no time.
• But it doesn't clear up – she just keeps bleeding and bleeding.
• Fred and George look at each other with shock.
• (It looks like Fred handed Katie the wrong end of a Skiving Snackbox.)
• The twins volunteer to take her to the hospital wing.
• Ron and Harry spend all of Sunday trying to catch up on their stacks of homework.
• Hermes, Percy's owl, arrives completely out of the blue with a letter for Ron.
• The letter congratulates Ron for becoming a prefect.
• He thinks Ron has "stopped flouting authority and [has] decided to shoulder some real responsibility" (14.189).
• Percy believes that Ron's new job as prefect is a promising sign that Ron is thinking seriously about his future.
• To protect that future, Percy continues, Ron should start separating himself from Harry.
• He encourages Ron: "It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter – I know that he can be unbalanced and, for all I know, violent – but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in Potter's behavior that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a truly delightful woman" (14.193).
• Percy tells Ron that, "Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over" (14.194), and that Ron should be loyal to the Ministry.
• Ron tears the letter into little pieces and throws it on the fire.
• Hermione is so moved by this that she agrees to correct both Ron and Harry's essays.
• As they sit in front of the fire, Harry suddenly sees a flash of Sirius's face.
• It is, in fact, Sirius! He has been "popping into the fire every hour" (14.221) to check if the coast is clear.
• Sirius reassures Harry that the scar pain is probably nothing to worry about. Now that Voldemort's back, "it's bound to hurt more often" (14.235).
• Sirius also tells Harry that, two years ago, Professor Umbridge was responsible for a piece of anti-werewolf legislation that makes it almost impossible for Lupin to get a job.
• Apparently, Professor Umbridge "loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year" (14.244).
• Sirius informs them that the reason Professor Umbridge isn't training them in real spells is because Fudge is afraid Hogwarts students are being trained in combat to form a private army for Dumbledore.
• Sirius confirms that Hagrid was supposed to be back from his mission by now, but Sirius is sure that Hagrid is fine.
• Sirius wants to meet Harry in Hogsmeade in his dog form during their next Hogsmeade weekend off campus.
• Harry and Hermione both say it's too dangerous – didn't he see the Daily Prophet article about his whereabouts in London?
• Sirius is clearly offended by Harry's refusal.
• He tells Harry, "You're less like your father than I thought [...] The risk would've been what made it fun for James" (14.273).
• Sirius leaves.