The following days, Harry and Hermione did as McGonagall had requested and secretly began looking for the brooch. Whenever the Weasley's weren't looking – which was more often that Harry would have wished – they searched their dorms, their bags, their clothes, and even asked a few times tentatively about its whereabouts, and yet, they found nothing. So after a few days of receiving suspicious glances at the breakfast table, they gave up on their fruitless search, Hermione reasoning they could just as well have sent it to the Burrow by now.

Her presumption came true when the next morning Percy got a thick, heavy envelope at the post. He looked in it, his eyes widening slightly as he found more galleons than he'd ever seen together, read a short letter that was attached and closed it again, before he stood up and walked over to a small, brown haired girl at the Hufflepuff's table.

Hermione saw Harry following him with his eyes. "Helen Spinner, most likely." she explained. "She is Muggle-born. One of her ancestors found the brooch, and brought it to their home."

Harry grinded his teeth. "So the Weasleys paid their debt. How thoughtful of them."

Hermione gave him a pained look. "Harry."

He took a deep breath, and tried to let his anger slide, again. He was not the only one who had lost a friend to the brooch. In fact, it was only Hermione who Ron had officially ended his friendship with. On that fateful morning the day after they'd consulted Professor Lupin, Ron had come up to them and told Hermione that he'd been stupid, that their friendship had never been supposed to happen, and that she shouldn't count on any more amicable kindnesses from him or anyone in his family. He considered her a stranger, he'd said, one he didn't wish to associate with. He told her because he wanted to be sure she understood, he wouldn't want her to be mistaken.

Hermione would have hexed Ron that day, hadn't Harry been there to stop her. Though, that might actually be the thing he'd regretted the most.

Harry looked to his right. A little further down the table sat Lee Jordan, chatting away with Alicia Spinnet. He wondered briefly who out of the twins and Lee had taken the initiative to end their friendship.

"I think, that, was all the gold we own." Percy commented as he sat down again, still in awe of the content of the envelope.

"Which doesn't say much." Ron snorted, just before he stuffed his mouth with sausages. "Weally, id's oudrafous! How cah we be the poowest offe schoow, whah we should be uffer class!"

Ginny and Percy gave him looks of distaste, while the twins burst out laughing. "I fully stand behind your point, sir Ronniekins." said George with a mock-sophisticated accent, "It's a shame you're forced to live with these… boors, as you are such a gentleman! Such a gentleman!"

"Your manners by far exceed those of any in this room, your elegance and style are unrivalled!"

He scowled at them and swallowed his food. "You know what I mean!" he snapped, then proceeded in a low whisper, "Even the Mudbloods are richer than us, it just isn't right!"

"Ron, language." Percy berated him calmly, "we don't want people hearing us say that out in the open."

"It's true, though!" he pointed out.

"Yes, it is. That's why dad's now looking for a better position at the Ministry, and Charlie will probably try to get wage increase soon. But there just isn't any more we can do right now."

"Unless you want to go illegal already." George proposed in a sinister tone.

The Head Boy looked at the twins unfazed. "I wouldn't be too surprised if you two did, actually."

His remark was met with two broad, identical grins.