Chapter 9

The next morning at breakfast I was minding my own business trying to eat my bacon and eggs and wake up when Angelina sat right next to me a promptly began freaking out. "He is so dead!"

Startled I dropped my fork. "Who? And what did he do?"

She blinked. Completely stunned that I had no clue what was going on. "Harry. He managed to land detention already. The whole rest of the week."

"I understand where this is going. But please don't kill him. He's the best Seeker in the whole school."

"You were working just fine before he joined the team." She muttered darkly turning her butter knife through her fingers.

I took the potential weapon from her. "I like being a Chaser better. Though I will admit it would be fun to out do my brother as Seeking."

"You said you knew Umbridge a bit. Is there any hope in reasoning with her?"

I shook my head. "There's no way she'll fold. She's punishing Harry for being stubborn, keeping him from something he wants to do, and more people than him are being inconvinced by the whole thing. From what I know about her, this is exactly her cup of tea."

"Can't he think about how stuff like this will affect the team before he opens his mouth?"

"You're starting to sound like Wood now."

"Which is funny," Fred commented sitting down across from us with George. "I thought if anyone would go crazy drill sergeant in his absence it would be you."

"And why would that be?"

He noticed the warning in my voice and ignored it. "That right there. You have this commanding presence and tone that tells people if they don't do what you say they will most likely die. Combine that with your charming short temper and you have the makings for the next Oliver Wood."

"Fred, call me the team's next Oliver Wood in that sense and I will go crazy drill sergeant on your ass."

"Duly noted. Now on to more important things. How are we going to run the next round of tests?"

"We watch everyone, not just first years. Find people who we can trust, and then somehow convince them to agree with it. From now on we should probably give full disclosure on what they're testing. That way if Hermione does find out we can defend it with they came in voluntarily knowing exactly what was going to happen. But right now we need to get moving if we want to get to Transfiguration on time."

We had a free period after Transfiguration, which was a lifesaver because after spending the whole class trying to Conjure a pebble my mind was fried.

"I still think McGonagall should have let me off. I Conjured something." Fred complained.

I rolled my eyes. "There's a bit of a difference between a pebble and a flaming coal."

"I did more than was asked for. You got a pile of gravel let you off."

"I ended up getting a very delicate pebble because I assure you it was whole until I was startled by the desk next to me catching fire. I thought Finnigan had snuck into our class."

Our joking was stopped by the voice of one of the most annoying people on the planet. "For someone who's allegedly so smart I don't understand how you can still be making such stupid decisions."

I sighed and turned around. "Parkinson,if you want my autograph you can just ask for it. No need to beat around the bush by trying to make fun of me."

Pansy Parkinson. In Draco and Harry's year and has a major crush on my brother. She'll do anything to impress him. Including make fun of the sister he pretends to hate so he can maintain his pristine reputation. The whole thing is quite sad really. She follows him around like a puppy most days.

"Why did you even come back? It must have been hard to get everything you needed when you've been cut off for good."

Wow her voice carries. Everyone in the hall stopped dead and stared at me. Lovely, now they all knew I've been tossed out. Not that I really wanted to stay in that house much longer, but it's still a blow to my pride. "It's amazing how many Galleons you can fit into the empty spaces of a trunk. And how much you can pawn random, unimportant objects off for."

"It would make sense that you would go to them. You're not that different."

"And what exactly does that mean?" George asked taking a step forward.

I put a hand on his arm and shook my head. "My fight." I mouthed.

"But what I don't get is why they were willing to take you? Surely the parents were against it."

"Actually their parents love me. Surprise, surprise there are people in this world who put more value on character than heritage. Now you have thirty seconds to walk away. If you don't I'm most likely going to do something very stupid that will hurt you, but I will have no problem living with it or the consequences."

She opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by Adrian Pucey. "Pansy just leave. You're being ridiculous."

Stunned she did as the older Slytherin said and left.

"Thanks Adrian, but I had everything under control."

"I wasn't doing it for you. I had no doubts that you were serious about your threat. Would rather that Gryffindors didn't beat up members of my house."

Adrian was in my year and although he was one of the many to turn his back on me after I was sorted into Gryffindor, he was one of the few who didn't go out of his way to be horrible. He was a Chaser for the Slytherin team and he didn't cheat or play dirty like the rest of the team. "Well thanks, I guess. See you on the pitch."

"Are you referring to the time in the near future when we're going to beat Gryffindor in a landslide?" Our grudging respect for each other allows us to have a little banter.

"You wish. I'd like to promise that you're getting knocked off your broom for that comment, but I don't want to destroy your sense of hope like that."

He shook his head and headed down the hall in the opposite direction we were going.

As we continued Fred spoke, "Would you have really beat her up?"

Angelina spoke before I could. "Of course she wouldn't. That would land her detention and she would certainly not risk her weekend plans to teach a loudmouth fifth year a lesson."

I was actually one more snide comment away from throwing my books at her. But with the glare Angelina was giving me I was not about to admit that. "Totally. I just would have messed with her head. Maybe sneak some Puking Pastille in her bag for her to unwittingly eat later. That said she's definitely waking up to find spiders in her bed."

"How do you plan on accomplishing that?" Fred asked as George gave the Fat Lady the password.

"Do you doubt my skills?" I asked making a beeline for the arm chair I claimed as my own back in second year.

"No," Fred said quickly.

George picked up the end of the defense to save his brother. "You're terrified of spiders and there's the whole issue of getting into the Slytherin common room."

"Boys, do not underestimate my ability to get my hands on information. I know the password. I'll catch the spiders in the dungeons before going in. Once I'm in all I need to do is crack open the lid of the jar and then book it."

"Evil plots aside," Angelina said pulling out her Potions book. "I need Libra's help with this essay."