.muttering.wildly.to.herself,.wringing.her.hands.and.shooting.terrified.glances.over.her.shoulder,.and.all.the.while.giving.off.a.powerful.smell.of.cooking.sherry..If.he.had.not.been.so.worried.about.Hagrid,.he.would.have.felt.sorry.for.
her.‐.but.if.one.of.them.was.to.be.ousted.from.their.job,.there.could.be.only.one.choice.for.Harry.as.to.who.should.remain..
Unfortunately,.Harry.could.not.see.that.Hagrid.was.putting.up.a.better.show.than.Trelawney..Though.he.seemed.to.be.following.Hermione.s.advice.and.had.shown.them.nothing.more.frightening.than.a.Crup.—.a.creature.indistinguishable.from.a.Jack.Russell.terrier.except.for.its.forked.tail.‐.since.before.Christmas,.he.too.seemed.to.have.lost.his.nerve..He.was.oddly.distracted.and.jumpy.during.lessons,.losing.the.thread.of.what.he.was.saying.to.the.class,
.answering.questions.wrongly,.and.all.the.time.glancing.anxiously.at.Umbridge.
.He.was.also.more.distant.with.Harry,.Ron.and.Hermione.than.he.had.ever.been.before,.and.had.expressly.forbidden.them.to.visit.him.after.dark..
.If.she.catches.yeh,.it.ll.be.all.of.our.necks.on.the.line,..he.told.them.flatly,.and.with.no.desire.to.do.anything.that.might.jeopardise.his.job.further.they.abstained.from.walking.down.to.his.hut.in.the.eveings..
It.seemed.to.Harry.that.Umbridge.was.steadily.depriving.him.of.everything.that.made.his.life.at.Hogwarts.worth.living:.visits.to.Hagrid.s.house,.letters.from.Sirius,.his.Firebolt.and.Quidditch..He.took.his.revenge.the.only.way.he.could.‐
.by.redoubling.his.efforts.for.the.DA..
Harry.was.pleased.to.see.that.all.of.them,.even.Zacharias.Smith,.had.been.spurred.on.to.work.harder.than.ever.by.the.news.that.ten.more.Death.Eaters.were.now.on.the.loose,.but.in.nobody.was.this.improvement.more.pronounced.than.in.Neville..The.news.of.his.parents..attackers..escape.had.wrought.a.strange.and.even.slightly.alarming.change.in.him..He.had.not.once.mentioned.his.meeting.with.Harry,.Ron.and.Hermione.on.the.closed.ward.in.St.Mungo.s.and,
.taking.their.lead.from.him,.they.had.kept.quiet.about.it.too..Nor.had.he.said.anything.on.the.subject.of.Bellatrix.and.her.fellow.torturers..escape..In.fact,
.Neville.barely.spoke.during.the.DA.meetings.any.more,.but.worked.relentlessly.on.every.new.jinx.and.counter‐curse.Harry.taught.them,.his.plump.face.screwed.up.in.concentration,.apparently.indifferent.to.injuries.or.accidents.and.working.harder.than.anyone.else.in.the.room..He.was.improving.so.fast.it.was.quite.unnerving.and.when.Harry.taught.them.the.Shield.Charm.‐.a.means.of.deflecting.minor.jinxes.so.that.they.rebounded.upon.the.attacker.‐.only.Hermione.mastered.the.charm.faster.than.Neville..
Harry.would.have.given.a.great.deal.to.be.making.as.much.progress.at.Occlumency.as.Neville.was.making.during.the.DA.meetings..Harry.s.sessions.
with.Snape,.which.had.started.badly.enough,.were.not.improving..On.the.contrary.Harry.felt.he.was.getting.worse.with.every.lesson..
Before.he.had.started.studying.Occlumency,.his.scar.had.prickled.occasionally,