Later that evening me and Harry had our detention with Professor Umbridge, I, as I'd said refused to go, and so waved farewell mockingly to Harry as he descended the stairs out of the Gryffindor common room.
"Bye! Give Dolores my love!" I yelled after him before he turned to me with his eyebrows raised I smirked at him.
"You do no that she's going to now destroy you, and if she doesn't she'll find someone who will." He said as he waved and disappeared.
I walked back inside the common room and smiled as Hermione looked at me disbelievingly. Before shaking her head.
"What!" I mouthed at her but all Hermione did was tut and get back to her essay.
When Harry came back in 2hours later he slumped down on the sofa and sighed.
"I hate her. I hate her. Sophia, if you survive tomorrow then you're a bloody Goddess." Harry absentmindedly started nursing his hand and Hermione instantly noticed.
"What's wrong with your hand?" She asked and when Harry showed her his right hand innocently she retorted impatiently.
"The other hand!" Harry showed us his other hand and on it we saw the words, "I must not tell lies" engraved in his skin.
"You've got to tell Dumbledore!" I told him sternly, "Thank God I didn't go I would have probably attacked her if she'd tried that on me!" I was angrier by the second at how vile this woman was.
"Harry you've got to report this!" Hermione carried on.
"It's perfectly simple. You're being…"
"No, it's not. Hermione, whatever this is, it's not simple. You don't understand."
"Then help us to." I told him.
I knew that Harry had been keeping in touch with Sirius as he received a letter from him every week, and although I had also written to Sirius I had received no letters back. I would like to say that I didn't care, that I thought nothing of Sirius's opinion but the truth was I hated the fact that he seemed to hate me, even though I had done nothing wrong and although I was well aware of the fact that he most likely hated the whole brought up to kill thing, I was fine now, and even Harry knew that I would never kill a soul now Sirius was unsure whether he could ever trust me.
I decided to go for a walk to clear my head and of course where better to go than the forbidden forest, I was hardly ever disturbed there. This time I found myself walking into a clearing finding myself face to face with the scaly horse like creatures, sort of a cross between a dragon and a large horse. I saw the long blonde curls of Luna Lovegood, the "odd" one we had met on the way up to Hogwarts.
"Hello, Sophia Potter." I nodded in greeting to Luna before realising Luna had no shoes on.
"Your feet. Aren't they cold?"
"Bit." She replied matter of factly, "Unfortunately, all my shoes have mysteriously disappeared. I suspect Nargles are behind it."
"What actually are they?" I asked, I had always been able to see them but I had never really known what they were.
"They're called Thestrals. They're quite gentle, really, but people avoid them because they're a bit... Different." She replied, and I nodded in understanding.
"They can only be seen by people who've seen death." She continued.
"So you've known someone who's died, then?" I asked curiously.
"My mum. She was quite an extraordinary witch, but she did like to experiment... ...and one day, one of her spells went badly wrong. - I was 9." Luna said in the same tone she said everything in.
"I'm sorry." I said quickly hoping I hadn't offended her.
"Yes, it was rather horrible. I do feel very sad about it sometimes, but I've got Dad. We both believe you and your brother, by the way. That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and Harry fought him...and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you."
"Thanks." I answered back. "It seems you're about the only ones that do."
"I don't think that's true. But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel." I noticed how she didn't add my brothers name in that sentence as if she were only addressing it to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, if I were You-Know-Who...I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else...because if it's just you alone...you're not as much of a threat…and well it's easier for him to sort of pick you out from the rest if you understand. Take you back, as it were." She looked at me nervously hoping I hadn't taken it badly. I smiled at her reassuringly turning back seeing as my eyes had started to water, I wasn't sure why it's just Luna's words had struck me as true, and my relationship with Sirius already showed the cracks The Dark Lord wanted.
The next morning I was walking down the stairs when my wrist was viciously caught in a tight grip pink nails digging into my arm. I whipped round out of instinct and tried to wrench my arms out of Umbridge's grip, she held on tight and locked me in a iron grip.
"You've got a nerve Miss, how dare you undermine me and purposely go against my order to come to my office along with your brother!" She wasn't letting me move and I was starting to feel my anger boiling. I hadn't felt my anger surface like this since I'd been under the influence of The Dark Lord and he had used my anger to increase my power.
"It's not my fault that you are completely unable to teach! And are only bloody here to spy on the school because you don't believe The Dark Lord is back, and just so you don't have to get off your lazy Ministry arses and sort it out!" I hissed quite loudly at the woman, I could feel my anger rising if I didn't control myself I was unsure of what I might do. But the next thing Professor Umbridge did decided me.
Within seconds of my finishing what I had said I felt a sharp hard sting across my face as she slapped me. At that moment the entire foyer went silent and Professor McGonagall rushed out of the food hall after hearing all the commotion along with Harry, Ron, Hermione and many other students.
"How dare you!" Professor McGonagall yelled as she crossed the foyer in a flash coming in-between me and Umbridge.
"Get your filthy hands off this girl!" She continued , I couldn't help but smirk at Umbridge as McGonagall couldn't see me.
"Pardon me, professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?" Umbridge threw down my hand and turned on Professor McGonagall.
"I am merely requesting that when it comes to my students...you conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices." McGonagall signalled for me to go down the stairs and I did so swiftly, avoiding Umbridge's stare as I did so.
"So silly of me, but it sounds...as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom...Minerva."
"Not at all, Dolores, merely your medieval methods. You do realise physical abuse is completely against school rules."
"I am sorry, dear. But to question my practices is to question the Ministry...and by extension, the minister himself. I am a tolerant woman but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty."
"Disloyalty." McGonagall said disgusted.
Umbridge then addressed the rest of the crowd "Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared. Cornelius will want to take immediate action."
Over the next few days Dolores Umbridge was made "High Inquisitor, and after she put into place new rules everyone was on ice.
She began questioning teachers in our lessons, assessing their every move, debating whether they where any good for teaching. We were sat in our normal potions class and Umbridge was assessing Snape. We weren't learning anything at all, if anything we were all dying of boredom even though it was quite amusing watching Snape squirm.
"You applied first for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post, is that correct?" She asked whilst circling Snape.
"Yes." Snape said in a bored tone.
"But you were unsuccessful?" She said pretending to be sympathetic.
"Obviously." Snape said, before I sniggered, Snape turned around and hit me over the head with the potions book, this then elevated my snigger to giggling and from then on laughing. He glared at me menacingly.
"Detention." He said matter of factly, "For disrupting the class Miss Potter." He smirked and walked away from my table at which I was no longer laughing at.
We all heard the commotion in the square outside the foyer and we all ran out trying to get a good view over what was happening.
"Cho. What's going on?" Someone asked as we got near the front.
"It's Professor Trelawney." She said sympathetically, it was only then that we could really see what was actually happening in front of us. Professor Trelawney, the Divinations teacher stood in the middle of the courtyard with her suitcase and Umbridge stood about 5 metres away from her.
"Sixteen years I've lived and taught here. Hogwarts is my home. You can't do this." Trelawney started to cry as she spoke.
Umbridge ignored the tears and sneered, "Actually, I can." Professor McGonagall rushed past her and hugged Trelawney glaring at Umbridge.
"Something you'd like to say?" She said temping her.
"Oh, there are several things I would like to say." McGonagall continued to comfort her friend whilst continuing to glare at the woman in pink before her.
Suddenly Dumbledore threw open the large doors and strode into the courtyard.
"There, Professor McGonagall, might I ask you to escort Sybil back inside?" He said calmly.
As Sybil Trelawney pasted Dumbledore everyone could hear her muttering her thanks to him, he smiled kindly at her as she walked past.
"May I remind you that under the terms of Educational Decree Number 23, as enacted by the minister…" Umbridge started.
"You have the right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the headmaster." Dumbledore's voice rose a little as he cut across Umbridge but she kept up the act.
"For now." After this she turned on her heal swiftly and left.
"Don't you all have studying to do?" Dumbledore called to the onlookers. Harry brushed past me trying to get to the Professor.
"Professor. Professor?"
" Professor Dumbledore."
"Professor! Professor Dumbledore.!"