Harry Potter 05 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

inch long and placed right at the bottom of a column. It was headlined:
     
    TRESPASS AT MINISTRY
    Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o’clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban.
     
    ‘Sturgis Podmore?’ said Ron slowly. ‘He’s that bloke who looks like his head’s been thatched, isn’t he? He’s one of the Ord—’
    ‘Ron, shh !’ said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them.
    ‘Six months in Azkaban!’ whispered Harry, shocked. ‘Just for trying to get through a door!’
    ‘Don’t be silly, it wasn’t just for trying to get through a door. What on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magic at one o’clock in the morning?’ breathed Hermione.
    ‘D’you reckon he was doing something for the Order?’ Ron muttered.
    ‘Wait a moment …’ said Harry slowly. ‘Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember?’
    The other two looked at him.
    ‘Yeah, he was supposed to be part of our guard going to King’s Cross, remember? And Moody was all annoyed because he didn’t turn up; so he couldn’t have been on a job for them, could he?’
    ‘Well, maybe they didn’t expect him to get caught,’ said Hermione.
    ‘It could be a frame-up!’ Ron exclaimed excitedly. ‘No – listen!’ he went on, dropping his voice dramatically at the threatening look on Hermione’s face. ‘The Ministry suspects he’s one of Dumbledore’s lot so – I dunno – they lured him to the Ministry, and he wasn’t trying to get through a door at all! Maybe they’ve just made something up to get him!’
    There was a pause while Harry and Hermione considered this. Harry thought it seemed far-fetched. Hermione, on the other hand, looked rather impressed.
    ‘Do you know, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that were true.’
    She folded up her half of the newspaper thoughtfully. As Harry laid down his knife and fork, she seemed to come out of a reverie.
    ‘Right, well, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on self-fertilising shrubs first and if we’re lucky we’ll be able to start McGonagall’s Inanimatus Conjurus Spell before lunch …’
    Harry felt a small twinge of guilt at the thought of the pile of homework awaiting him upstairs, but the sky was a clear, exhilarating blue, and he had not been on his Firebolt all week …
    ‘I mean, we can do it tonight,’ said Ron, as he and Harry walked down the sloping lawns towards the Quidditch pitch, their broomsticks over their shoulders, and with Hermione’s dire warnings that they would fail all their O.W.L.s still ringing in their ears. ‘And we’ve got tomorrow. She gets too worked up about work, that’s her trouble …’ There was a pause and he added, in a slightly more anxious tone, ‘D’you think she meant it when she said we weren’t copying from her?’
    ‘Yeah, I do,’ said Harry. ‘Still, this is important, too, we’ve got to practise if we want to stay on the Quidditch team …’
    ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ said Ron, in a heartened tone. ‘And we have got plenty of time to do it all …’
    As they approached the Quidditch pitch, Harry glanced over to his right to where the trees of the Forbidden Forest were swaying darkly. Nothing flew out of them; the sky was empty but for a few distant owls fluttering around the Owlery tower. He had enough to worry about; the flying horse wasn’t doing him any harm; he pushed it out of his mind.
    They collected balls from the cupboard in the changing room and set to work, Ron guarding the three tall goalposts, Harry playing Chaser and trying to get the Quaffle past Ron. Harry thought Ron was pretty good; he blocked three-quarters of the goals Harry attempted to put past him and played better the longer they practised. After a couple of hours they returned to the castle for lunch – during which Hermione made it quite clear she thought they were irresponsible – then returned to the Quidditch pitch for the real training session. All their teammates but Angelina were already in the changing room when they entered.
    ‘All right, Ron?’ said George, winking at him.
    ‘Yeah,’ said Ron,