Chapter 4

In the morning, they had realised that Harry had a large sum of letters on his table when they were having breakfast. Intrigued, they helped him open his mail. They found out that the meeting with Rita Skeeter was actually an interview about last summer.

"Great!" they grinned when they found out.

"That's a cracking idea Harry" Fred said. A few moments later, Umbridge came over, not looking sweet and happy anymore!

"Uh-oh" George whispered. As soon as she found out, she banned The Quibbler, which sucked. They walked out of the great hall quickly afterwards and ran to their first lesson. In their transfiguration lesson they were learning about animagi, where McGonagall transfigured into a cat!

It was the time of week for another D.A. meeting, but none of the students expected what they witnessed tonight. They were learning the patronus charm. Wisps of silvery vapour were flying all across the room. The lamps shook and the mirrors swung on his hinges. The vapour vanished so everyone was sinking into their own silence. There was a crash and dark figures were coming towards them it went pitch black, darker and darker. CRASH!

George woke up. He couldn't remember much now, just the shaking of the lamps the darkness and the figures. George sighed and looked at his watch. It was 3:00 in the morning. He fell back into his pillows and watched everything blur, as he sunk back into his dreams.

It was the time of week for another D.A. meeting but none of the students expected what they witnessed tonight. They were learning the patronus charm.

Wisps of silvery vapour were flying all across the room there was a loud 'CRACK' and Dobby, the house elf, appeared and told them all to go, seeing ad Dolores Umbridge was coming to find them all in a few moments! They all ran as fast as they could Fred, George and Lee knew most of this school they ran straight into the Boys bathroom they heard a number of footsteps into the bathroom they slammed bathroom doors and stood in toilets so if people looked under door they would only see an empty cubicle. These people were thinking exactly what they were thinking some, probably more advanced students, enchanted the door so it could it could not be opened some even made the toilets twice as big so it was more comfortable. Moments later footsteps came through and one said

"They're in here, kick the doors!" Feet started kicking the doors. Three were caught

"Come on" said one of them, tugging a first year out of the toilet

"It's going to be a lot of detention for you. Let's go, the rest of these won't open"

Luckily, Lee had remembered the charm just before they entered. Five people stepped out

"We made it!" said a sixth year

"Come on" said Lee "Before they come back"

They walked out, and the rest followed. They were about to turn the corridor then a Slytherin said "There they are, GET 'EM!"

The D.A. gang ran round the corner, but the Slytherins were surprisingly fast. The D.A. group shot hexes, until a fourth year fell over, he was the youngest and the most nervous. They all dashed to the fourth year pulling him by the arms so he dragged across the floor. He tried to scramble up, but when he finally got up, six tripping hexes hit them and all of them fell over.

"GOT THEM!" the Slytherins all shouted triumphantly, and then dragged all of them down the corridor.

Umbridge was waiting behind them, smiling sweetly.

"We've just been talking to Mr Potter, and we know about your little club"

She held up the piece of parchment with all their names on. Fred gulped, and she carried on.

"The headmaster has been arrested" she gave a wild smile now "I am in charge now, and you're in a lot of trouble. I will avoid expulsion if I can, but you will all lose your privileges and will have at least a months' worth of detentions.' She didn't look too sad about this.

"Now go back to your common room and come to my office at 5o' clock tomorrow night."

They walked off grumpily. None of them had the spirit to talk. The fact that Dumbledore was fired was just another thing on their bad pile of worries. No more D.A. meetings, detention, no more privileges and finally and most frightening, no more Dumbledore.

"But won't You Know Who come straight away?" The sixth year asked nervously, looking around at them all

"I won't be surprised if they stop for a cup of tea tomorrow" Fred said grimly.

Two of the students went down the corridor leading to the kitchens next to the Hufflepuff common room, and the other went down another to the Ravenclaw tower and the rest turned right to go to Gryffindor tower. They entered the common room and all of the D.A. club (in Gryffindor) were sitting down, all looking to Harry, waiting for an answer.

"Are we the last?" George asked

"Yeah" Ron replied

"We heard, mate" Fred said

""Heard what?" Ginny asked

"About Dumbledore"

Everyone looked at Harry waiting for an answer again. Harry sighed and told the members it was true.

"It was that Chang's friend. Wasn't it?" Ginny said, venomously. But Hermione was smiling

"What you beaming at?" Ron asked grumpily. Hermione's face went into an even wider smile and said "Marietta got quite a fright. I think she might need a new spot cream!" They all looked around puzzled, but there was only a flicker of a smile on Harry's face.

They all went to Umbridge's office at 5:00pm the next evening. They thought that they would be getting lines, or a punishment with Filch, but what was awaited them was much worse than they thought. All of them had turned up. Harry, Hermione and Ron were already in there, seeing as they were the leaders.

Fred knocked on the door and they entered.

Her room was pinker and smelt of very strong perfume. There were twenty-two small desks crammed in her room.

"Take a seat" she said sweetly, pointing at them with her stubby fingers.

"Sit boy, girl and don't sit next to someone in your year"

They sat down on a desk and picked up the quill on their desk.

"Now" she said "Please write I must not disobey the Headmistress, two thousand times."

They started writing, most winced, some even screamed, when the words cut in to their skin, bleeding on their hand and desk. They went on for hours, Fred could have been sure that they had been there for at least a week. But when he looked at his watch, it was only 6:00pm and they had to go on till 9. He carried on writing, but he had only filled up one piece of parchment. He looked around many had stopped wincing but most looked frightened and in pain. They went on writing, and their cuts got deeper, even though on the first cut it healed now it just went redder and redder as their hand bled more. They went on for three more hours; most of them had just been pretending to write because their hand was too weak for the last hour. Some had swapped hands now, both hands looked like they had rashes. After they had finished, they went down to the common room. A few third years were crying. They were all in too much pain to talk, so some people went straight to bed to try and sleep it off. Fred and George stayed up, but Lee went to bed.

"That hag has taken it too far…" George growled "I think it's time for…" He whispered something into Fred's ear and he laughed "Tomorrow" he croaked.

The next day Umbridge officially announced that she was Headmistress. All of the school glared at her stonily, except for the Slytherins who clapped and cheered. She smiled brightly at them. Most of the D.A. were expecting this seeing as she had threatened them yesterday night. Afterwards, Fred and George skipped class and ran upstairs to their dormitory. They grabbed a handful of their home made fireworks each. Their firework plan certainly worked even after lunch when they were in potions Snape had lazily told Fred to go to the 'Headmistress' to get rid of all the fireworks in the room. Fred climbed the stairs to her office but she wasn't there Fred explored the pink room there was a neatly polished, gold sign saying 'Headmistress' on the door. There were all sorts of kittens on her wall and a green fire burning in the corner a small firework was multiplying by the second.

Fred pulled out his wand and waved it as ten small fireworks now zoomed round the office growing bigger and bigger

"Just a little surprise for you!" he chuckled under his breath. He was walking to the door, when he heard footsteps he jumped under the desk. She came in slowly and she shrieked at the hundreds of miniature fireworks in the room, she swiped them with the back of her hand Fred tried to silently laugh but a small gasp of a chuckle came out. She turned around. Did she know that he was there?