3.4 Hermione's friend visits Hogsmeade

Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast

Hello again! In this episode, Hermione sleeps in the Great Hall, attends a Quidditch match even though it’s raining cats and dogs, and goes to Hogsmeade. With her friends! Exciting things afoot. Here’s a longer summary:

The night after Black's break-in, all the students sleep in the Great Hall, while the professors, led by Dumbledore, search the castle for Black. They find nothing. Sir Cadogan replaces the Fat Lady as the Gryffindor entrance portrait and things sort of go back to normal as the weather takes a turn for the worse. The Gryffindor team's first game is supposed to be against Slytherin but they back out using Malfoy as an excuse so it ends up being against Hufflepuff. To make matters worse, Lupin falls sick just before the game and Harry has to endure Snape as the substitute teacher. Quidditch is always fun though but not this particular game, for Harry. It's raining so much that Harry has poor visibility, despite Hermione's cool charm, and things take a turn for the worse when he sees the silhouette of a large black dog in the stands. When he wakes up in the Hospital Wing, he realizes that not only did they lose the match but the Whomping Willow has made short work of his broomstick.
After the fall from his broomstick, Harry is miserable, not only about the loss of his Nimbus or the game, but also about the strange effect of the Dementors on him, and his continued sightings of the Grimm right before disaster strikes. However, he feels a little better after talking to Lupin who gives him an explanation and promises to teach him an anti-Dementor spell soon. A second Hogsmeade visit rolls around, and Harry is approached by Fred and George Weasley, who give him an early Christmas present - a map that acts like Google Maps but also with people. Harry uses the map to navigate his way under the school and into the basement of Honeydukes where he encounters Ron and Hermione. They hang out in the Three Broomsticks Pub but unfortunately, the teachers have the weekend free so they're hanging out there too so Harry has to hide under the table. They say that eavesdroppers hear no good of themselves - I don't know who they are but they aren't completely right because Harry overhears truths - actual incidents that led up to Voldemort's demise and how he, his family, and Sirius Black were involved. That's how Hermione finds out why some people think her friend might have a death wish.

NOTES

• As promised, a zoomed in picture of the Marauder’s Map from Jim Kay’s illustrated edition