2
Sarah POV
So far, my fifth year was off to a good start. My friends were making fun of me more this year then ever for being nerdy- but I wasn't going to change, and they knew it. My habits never changed unless it would make me more efficient- something my friends still didn't understand. Not even my appearance had changed since my first year at Hogwarts. I still had the same plain brown hair that I always wore in some form of braid, the same black rectangular framed glasses; my huge writers bump on my left hand from constantly writing. I was pretty resistant to change- in all forms. It made me anxious and uptight.
But then change had to come and ruin my set ways. It came in the disgusting form of Professor Umbridge- the most hideous and toad-ish woman I had ever seen in my life. Along with ugly, her demeanor was just creepy- it was like she was on LSD all the time. Plus, she was an awful teacher. Her lack of teaching material in Defense Against the Dark Arts had me teaching myself everything, and working on homework during her class. The day she noticed started the hell that would haunt my entire fifth year. It was the class when she took my Potions Essay. It was almost finished too. As I handed it to her, she had slid it carefully onto her desk with a smug and satisfied smile. I could just see her thinking, "Another student successfully tortured." A huge pit of defiance and anger that I usually never tapped into ignited then, and I didn't read her stupid textbook for the rest of the lesson. How dare she confiscate my things when I had already done the required work? When the lesson ended, she called for me to stay behind in that…girly voice. The rest of my classmates left hastily, afraid of Umbridge picking on any one of them. My friends didn't hesitate for a second, and slipped out. "Come here, dear." Umbridge called from her desk, so I rose and walked calmly up to her desk. Usually, I was a calm and meek person- but I was a huge passive-aggressive. Umbridge was going to get what was coming to her the only way I dared to defy her- and that was in a physiological sense.
"Tell me, dear, in Defensive Magical Theory, 'Basics for Beginners', what does Wilbert Slinkhard have to say about defensive magic?" Umbridge trilled, resting her chin on one of her tiny, fat little hands. She obviously wanted me to not know the answer to prove her point. Well sorry, toady, that wasn't going to happen.
"That all defensive magic comes from theory, and theory is all you need to know in order to use defensive magic, Professor." I responded easily, and Umbridge's smile grew, but I could tell that it was forced. Her dislike for me was obvious- and if this situation wasn't so serious and negatively charged, I would have laughed in her face.
"So, if you can read the first chapter of my textbook, why do you insist on not reading it in class?"
"Because I've read the whole book, Professor." I said with a new hint of coldness. Usually, I sucked up to teachers- I just couldn't help it. But there was something about Umbridge that made me hate her. She raised her eyebrows.
"Then tell me, what does Slinkhard say about counterjinxes in chapter fifteen?"
"He says that they are improperly named, and that they are called counterjinxes to make jinxes sound more acceptable." I almost talked over her I had the answer so fast. She blinked at me for a second, but then smiled that horrid smile again, and it only made me more and more incensed.
"Ms. Wimkil, not all students are as…advanced as you. But just because you are smart, does not mean that you can question your Professors, nor can you offend them by doing work for other classes in their class. That behavior is unacceptable. Please come here tonight at six thirty to serve your detention. That will be all." She said, and I spun on my heel and left. Only when I was outside the door did I let myself shake with rage.
"Whoa, Sarah, what happened?" Luke asked worriedly. He and Danielle were just outside the door. They had left so fast, I had assumed that they went to the Common Room, and seeing them there was a surprise. I had wanted a moment to be angry alone; usually no one saw me angry- I wouldn't allow it.
"That…" I clenched my fists in frustration, unable to come up with a word that would describe my low opinion of Umbridge. "Damn it!" I hissed, kicking someone's abandoned quill in the hallway, breaking it. "I have detention tonight." I said, trying to take deep breaths. Another thing about me that would never change- my sporadic temper. Usually, I never got angry. But when someone messed with me or things that were important to me, I was like Harry Potter for Merlin's sake, shouting at teachers and storming through hallways. And above all- NO ONE messed with my homework. Umbridge was going to get some form of revenge from me, I knew that much.
"That really sucks, Sarah, I'm sorry." Danielle said, urging me into a walk, away from Umbridge's classroom. She glanced back at it, and I realized that if I had started shouting, Umbridge would have been able to overhear and give us all detention.
"Don't worry about it." I grumbled, shifting my bag on my shoulder…
At six thirty, I showed up at Umbridge's office. Potter was already there, his jaw clenched, writing lines…without ink? I looked at him for a minute. That was impossible and utterly pointless. "Come in, Miss Wimkil." Umbridge called, so I went inside. She gestured to a desk, and it had the same set up, a piece of parchment, a quill, but no ink.
"I can't write lines without ink, Professor." I said coolly, unable to keep the slightest bit of anger out of my voice. Her very presence was just so infuriating. She picked up on it and smiled smugly.
"You won't need any." She replied dismissively. I sat down, not once breaking eye contact with her and picked up the quill. "I must not tell lies." She prompted sweetly.
I wrote it without looking at the paper. I kept my face neutral, even though I felt the back of my hand prickle with pain. I looked down at the paper and kept writing, but snuck a glance at my hand.
I was writing with my own blood.
So much hate sprung into me, that I heard the quill creak a little under my hand as I tightened my grip in anger. That stupid bitch. I made myself a vow as I scratched out the lines in silence. I was going to get under Umbridge's skin, but not let her affect me. She was going to see just how far I could go. Potter and I wrote in silence for what must have been hours. The only noise was our quills scratching, mine faster than his. She called him to her desk, but I kept writing, even after he left and more silence reigned. "Ms. Wimkil." She called.
"Yes, Professor?" I asked, not even looking up from my writing. I could almost hear her frown, and somewhere deep inside, I did a little victory dance. Even confusing her felt good. The passive aggressive in me egged me on, numbing the pain for a moment. The pain was worth her confusion.
"Come here." She said, so I did. "Hand." She ordered, so I extended it, looking at it clearly for the first time. 'I must not tell lies' was etched into the back of my hand in my perfect cursive, something I used to take pride in. My parents had me practice lines as a kid so that my handwriting would be sound. "Well, I think the message has sunk in rather well." She said, not able to hide all of the surprise in her voice. "You may go. There is no need for you to come back tomorrow." I left silently. Once I was out the door, I wiped the blood off of my hand and wrist, frowning at the cuts on my hand. If I was braver, I would try to heal it on my own- but I wasn't. It'd have to stay open to the air. With a sigh, I went back to Gryffindor Common Room. Luke and Danielle were asleep, and only Hermione Granger and Potter were in the Common Room. I bit back a groan as I saw them working on Snape's essay. Damn it. I still had to write mine! Usually, I wrote a rough draft, and then edited it, then another draft…and so on. I'd have to cram for this essay, and I highly doubted that I'd be happy with it before turning it in.
I plopped down at a table, getting out parchment and a quill, then started to write. The main ingredients in a Confusing & Befuddlement Concoction are thus, sneezewort, scurvy-grass and lovage. Sneezewort is responsible for the sleepy or drowsy feeling that comes with a Confusing Concoction, scurvy-grass blocks main thought receptors in the brain, and lovage mimics the feeling and impairments of being drunk. All three put together yield a Confusing and/or Befuddlement Concoction….
It must have been after midnight by the time I was working on the conclusion. Granger and Potter were leaving for the night, when a cat streaked down the girl's staircase and inbetween Granger's legs. She struggled to regain her balance, bushy hair flying, and then the books in her arms fell to the floor. Something landed on my table with a smash! It was cold and wet, and it sprayed all over me, making me shriek in surprise. I took off my glasses and rubbed what I realized was ink off of them so I could see, then put them back on. With a gasp, I took in my destroyed essay. Her inkpot had sent ink everywhere, and my essay was ruined. Again. The essay I had spent all damn night working on so that I'd keep up my grades, the essay that was the most important piece of homework I had. And Granger had destroyed it in three seconds.
My temper exploded.
"You destroyed my essay!" I shouted, standing up, feeling ink run down my face and smart in the cuts on my hand. Hermione almost smiled, but then quickly hid it. WHAT? Why would Granger smile? Was she some kind of sadist, taking pleasure in other people's pain? "Did you just smile?" I demanded, and she frowned, starting to flush.
"Of course not," she said dismissively, as if she hadn't just RUINED my essay.
"No, you did. Did you 'accidentally' destroy my essay too?" I accused my temper raising my temperature, and she flushed fully. Bingo.
"Of course not! Be rational." She spluttered, caught in the act. "And if you hadn't gotten your first one taken away, this wouldn't have happened to you!" she shot back, and flushed with pride now as I gaped at her for a second. How dare she!
"That is none of your business. It doesn't affect you anyway." I snapped, snatching up the ink-soaked parchement and crumpling it in my fist. Something flickered in her expression for a moment, as if she meant to disagree with me.
"Are you going to let me apologize or not?" She snapped back after a moment of hesitation.
"I doubt you'll really mean it, so no. Take it, you sabotaged it anyway." I threw the remains of my essay at her, getting ink on her shoulder.
"How dare you!" She shouted, letting the remainder of her books fall and snatching up the essay, throwing it back. "Just because I'm better than you at managing my time doesn't mean that you can accuse me of things I didn't do!"
"Better? Better?" I very nearly shrieked, snatching my ink pot. "I'll show you better-" I threw my ink pot at her feet and it exploded, getting ink all over her.
"Guys!" Potter shouted, but Granger and I weren't listening. She swept all of my books off of my table, taking care to tread on some. In retaliation, I seized my wand, sending a well aimed jinx at her. Jinxes were my long time vice. I was jinx-happy. They were what I was best at, and I was always learning new ones in my spare time.
"I hope your jinxes are better than your homework!" Granger mocked, shooting one back, leaving a scorch mark on the wall when it missed me. If she thought that jinx sucked…I racked my brain and came up with three seventh year jinxes.
"What in Merlin's name is your problem?" Potter shouted at us, bemused, as I fired the three hexes, forcing her to think on her feet. Hermione blocked them, making me duck to avoid my own spells. While I was down, I sent a jinx at her bag, making the seams split. She ducked, aiming under the table, and her countercurse just missed my left foot, leaving a burn mark on the carpet too. I bolted upright, Granger and I both raising our wands at the same time-
"What is going on in here?" A very angry Professor McGonagall slammed the portrait hole, stalking into the room. Both of us lowered our wands quickly, glaring at each other, a confused Potter standing a few yards away.
"She jinxed me, Professor." Hermione blurted immediately, bristling with dislike. That little liar!
"She destroyed my essay on purpose!" I very nearly shouted. We both glared at each other again, hands in fists.
"Enough. This is ridiculous, both of you. I expected much better behavior from such good students. Detention." McGonagall barked, her lips a thin, white line, signifying that she was furious.
"What?" We gasped at the same time. That wasn't fair! I wasn't going to go to detention because stupid Granger had sabotaged me! I was the one who had been hurt, not her!
"No objections! Next Friday at eight. My office. And if I ever," she glared at us, "see you two dueling again, there will be harsher consequences. Now, take your things and go to bed!" She turned on her heel and left, leaving suffocating silence in her wake. The portrait hole slamming started a headache in my head that made my mood even worse.
"Evanesco." I snarled, cleaning up the table, and Summoned my books. I started for the girls' staircase when Hermione's voice stopped me.
"Your homework better watch it." She said, and I stiffly turned around, in disbelief. Was she crazy now, too? Hadn't she had enough, done enough damage tonight?
"Sorry? Did you just threaten my homework?" I asked in disbelief, the anger starting to swell again. I was also strangely protective. No one messed with my homework, not even this nerdy little bitch. I knew I could take her down if I had to, and it seemed more enticing by the second.
"Yes, yes I did. You won't overtake me. I'm the smartest girl in Gryffindor, got it?" She hissed, and I actually took a step back before I said something very irrational.
"Oh yeah? What did you get on Snape's last essay? Perfect marks?" Her face turned bright red, and I knew that I'd hit a sensitive spot. "Watch your back, Granger. Don't mess with me." I snapped, before going up to the girl's dormitory, inexplicable rage and competitive spirit thrumming within. If Hermione Granger wanted to be the smartest witch of our year, she'd have to fight for it.