The only good part of the badges was seeing Hermione worked up on his behalf. As they were sitting down to lunch at the corner of the Gryffindor table she began her rant; "Why aren't the teachers making people remove those buttons? They are insulting and just down right mean." Hermione cried out while gesturing wildly with her fork full of Sheppard's Pie.
"I don't know Hermione. I guess that things are just different in the Wizarding world. Look at that article that Skeeter woman wrote about me. I never said any of those things! She turned a bunch of my ums and ers into long winded sentences about me crying over my parent's memories!" Harry had become agitated during his response and now a good portion of the Gryffindor table was silent, listening in on their conversation.
Realizing that the rest of the table was listening in, Harry gave them all a hard glare and resumed eating his lunch in silence. When they were both finished, Hermione told Harry that she wanted to speak with Professor McGonagall about the badges. Shrugging his shoulders in acceptance, Harry walked with Hermione to the professor's office.
"Professor?" Hermione called out while knocking on the transfiguration teacher's door.
Minerva McGonagall looked up and saw two of her students in the doorway. "Please come in the both of you. Now what can I do for you?"
Hermione fidgeted with her hands for a moment before speaking. "Why aren't any of the teachers doing anything about those horrible badges? Can you make them take them off?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but I can't do anything about the badges but I do understand, and I agree with your sentiments Ms. Granger." Professor McGonagall spoke in tones of resignation.
"Do you mean can't or won't Professor?" Harry asked with a bit of an edge to his voice.
Taking a moment to compose her thoughts Professor McGonagall replied; "I can't Mr. Potter, I'm sorry. I am not allowed to step in and correct the problem at the current time."
Harry had started to put things together in his head and so had Hermione if the look on her face was any indication. Harry had one more question on his mind that he wanted to ask before Mt. Hermione erupted in indignation. "Why won't professor Dumbledore let you make people remove the badges?"
With a sad look on her face Minerva McGonagall answered; "Because Professor Dumbledore thinks that this is a good way to learn to ignore what people are saying about you while also learning how to forgive them for their mistakes. I want you both to know that I do not agree with this at all."
Her answer was enough to shatter both teens remaining trust in Albus Dumbledore. For Harry it was another betrayal by an adult, further cementing in his mind that most of them could not be trusted. There were a few exceptions to that rule but that did not make Harry feel any better. The last of Harry's childhood died in Professor McGonagall's classroom that afternoon. He knew that he would have to make sure that he looked out for his own interests and safety from now on with a little help from Hermione and those few adults that he could trust.
Hermione had been trying to come to grips with the changes in her worldview but Professor McGonagall's revelation destroyed her long-standing faith in authority figures. She felt a wide range of emotions but the prevalent one was loss. It felt as if someone had taken the safe, secure feeling, which comes from the belief that someone in authority will always be there to help you and then told her that it was all a lie. No one was coming to help; you are on your own.
Without another word, Harry and Hermione slowly got up and walked out of Professor McGonagall's office and out onto the grounds to think things over. Once they were seated on a large rock down by the lake Harry turned to Hermione and asked the one question that was really bothering her too. "Why?"
Hermione was at as much of a loss as Harry was and she replied; "I don't know. I always thought that Dumbledore had your best interests at heart. Now I don't think he does at all. It's as if he is testing you for a reason that only he seems to know." Hermione's confusion was evident in her voice.
"What do you think we should do about this then? Half of the time, I want to attack Malfoy for making those stupid badges and the other half I want to curse Dumbledore for allowing it to continue. I think that he let Moody put the Imperious Curse on everyone to see if I could throw it off. Was putting me with the Dursleys' some sort of test too? What about everything else that we have gotten into at Hogwarts the last three years?" Harry had become so agitated during his tirade that he had begun to pace the shoreline like an animal trapped in a cage.
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