Dolores
When everybody had calmed down, Albus informed Harry of the outcome of his intervention with the ministry. Harry paled when he heard about the hearing, but the old wizard reassured him that he didn´t have to do it all alone. Snapdragon, Dad and Sirius Black agreed. Harry had his family to stand by him. Well, perhaps not stand by him, as nobody was to know about their connection to the boy who lived, but they were definitely on his side and ready to help.
Molly Weasley helped in her own way by distracting Harry from his worries by making them clean the whole house. She didn´t use any of the various household spells she must know as a mother of seven, but instead made her children, Harry, Hermione and Snapdragon clean the old Black townhouse without magic.
It was hard work, but as everybody was aware it was to help Harry, nobody complained. Sirius Black kept his house elf, Kreacher, from assisting them, which wasn´t particularly difficult seeing that the elf hated Sirius and his guests with all his heart and rarely did anything to be of assistance other than following a direct order.
The hearing was in late August. Snapdragon wasn´t sure who was more scared, Harry or herself. What if they expelled her brother despite Albus´ interference? What if he had to go back to Privet Drive?
What if they took his wand and made him live as a muggle?
Even Albus was worried. The minister, Cornelius Fudge, never believed that Voldemort had returned in June. He thought that Harry was an attention seeking liar and Albus an old fool when he believed him. Albus´ word didn´t weigh as much as it had in the past. The old wizard even turned up with a squib witness the day before the hearing.
Snapdragon only knew because she had returned to the kitchen for a glass of water after bedtime.
-x-
The hearing went well enough. Harry was cleared of all charges, though Albus wasn´t very happy about how it went. It seemed that the Wizengamot had been undecided and only Albus´ old friend, Amelia Bones, had convinced the assembled witches and wizards that Harry had only used magic to defend himself and his cousin.
-x-
The school year started with another bad surprise. Albus hadn´t found a defence teacher and the minister had installed one of his own followers, a witch named Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge was small and looked rather harmless with her curly hair and pink cardigan, but Snapdragon disliked her the moment they met. The woman was radiating unpleasantness. Snapdragon felt uncomfortabel in her presence immediately. She couldn´t say that her magic was dark, but it definitely wasn´t light either. The girl had never met a person like that.
"Miss Snape," Dolores Umbridge greeted her with a smile that held no warmth. It was about four hours before the other students were due back. Snapdragon had returned to the castle with Dad and Albus instead of taking the train.
"Professor Snape," the small witch continued without waiting for Snapdragon´s reply. "I wasn´t aware I was going to meet students at the staff lunch."
"My daughter grew up at the castle. She´s been attending staff meals ever since she came here."
"So she wasn´t born at the castle?" Umbridge eyed Snapdragon as if she was something the cat had brought in.
"No, she only came here after her muggle mother had died." Dad looked appropriately grieving for his lost love.
"A muggle?" Madam Umbridge ignored Dad´s display of sadness and looked at Snapdragon even more disapprovingly. "Well. So, this child knows all the inner secrets of Hogwarts?"
"Dolores," smiled Albus, but it was a bit forced, "we´re hardly discussing the inner secrets of Hogwarts at lunch. And all of the Hogwarts teachers are like uncles and aunts to Snapdragon."
"How can you guarantee that this girl isn´t favoured over her fellow students? How many of her marks have been given as a favour to her father?"
There was an uproar. Several teacher expressed their anger about being insulted like that.
"My daughter is an intelligent young witch. She doesn´t need favours!" hissed Dad.
"We´ll see," said Madam Umbridge and Snapdragon knew that defence wasn´t going to be easy this year.
-x-
The other Gryffindors looked at Snapdragon in disbelief when she told them the new defence teacher was the worst they had ever had even before they had seen the woman.
"Worse than a deatheater in disguise?" Hermione asked doubtfully. "Worse than Lockhart?" added Ron.
Snapdragon didn´t elaborate for she thought that Madam Umbridge was going to convince her friends within days.
Half an hour later everybody saw Snapdragon´s point. The new defence teacher interrupted Albus´ welcome back speech to make one of her own and by the end of it Harry, Ron and Hermione agreed with the redhead that Umbridge was, indeed, worse than a deatheater in disguise.
Their first defence lesson showed that they had been right. The woman didn´t want them to learn magic at all, she presented them with textbooks fit for five year olds (there actually was a picture of a werewolf sitting with its tail wrapped around its paws on the cover!).
"Please, professor," Harry asked in disbelief, "when are we going to practice spells?"
"Whatever for, Mr. Potter?" the teacher asked. "You need to prepare for your OWLs and there won´t be any spells required. If you follow my curriculum diligently, you´ll pass your exams easily enough. But we can´t afford to waste time."
"But we need spells to defend ourselves!" protested Harry.
"Against what? Who or what would attack young children like yourselves?"
"Uhm, Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked. Snapdragon had never heard her brother speak with so much sarcasm.
"The Dark Lord is dead," Madam Umbridge didn´t sound as sweet as before. "Everybody who says differently is a liar. Don´t let those people disquieten you."
"But I was there!" insisted Harry.
"Mr. Potter," the professor was definitely upset now, "don´t you think you gained enough attention? You really should drop that ridiculous story. It´s no longer interesting."
"Harry´s telling the truth!" cried Snapdragon.
"And you know that because?" Madam Umbridge looked at the girl pointedly.
Snapdragon blushed. She couldn´t tell about Dad´s spying. She hadn´t been at the graveyard, so what was she to say? "I know Harry. He isn´t lying," she said defiantly.
"We know you know him well enough," smirked Draco. "Snogging doesn´t make a honest man, you know."
"You toad!" cried Snapdragon. She was about to hex Malfoy, but then she remembered Sirius and held back. Harry wasn´t so restrained. Malfoy was hit by a spell and fell from his chair. When he got back up, his hair was orange and everybody laughed.
"Detention! Both of you!" The professor glared at Harry and Snapdragon in turn. "Be at my office at seven."
The rest of the lesson was spent reading.
-x-
Professor Umbridge had decorated her office all in pink. There was a pink table cloth, a pink tea set and even a pink lamp on her desk. The walls were covered with shelves. But unlike in past years they didn´t contain dark detectors or material to show the students in lessons but plates with fluffy kittens on them. The cats were moving, some chasing their tails, others licking their paws. Many of the plates were pink, too.
Snapdragon and Harry were asked inside and assigned lines. Snapdragon thought it was a rather childish punishment for fifth years, but only until she wrote the first line.
"I mustn´t tell lies."
With a gasp the girl looked at Harry. His wrist was cut open, too. The professor had given them a quill which cut the line into their skin and used their blood to write.
Harry made a fist and started to write his second line, but Snapdragon dropped her quill.
"Does the headmaster know that you´re using dark magic within the castle?" she snapped at Madam Umbridge.
"Dark?" laughed the teacher. "Hardly. The punishment just fits the crime. That´s hardly dark."
"Those quills are designed to hurt people. They´re dark."
"I tell you they´re not. Now take yours and continue writing. We don´t have all night."
"Certainly not! I´m going to the headmaster." Snapdragon got up. "Come, Harry."
"Don´t you dare, Miss Snape!" shouted the professor, but Snapdragon and Harry were already out of her door.
Albus shook his head in disbelief. "Are you sure?" he asked for the fourth time.
Snapdragon showed her wrist and Harry held his hand beside his sister´s. "Of course we´re sure."
"Go to bed, I´ll speak with Madam Umbridge." Albus ushered them out of his office.
The next day the ministry published a new law that allowed physical punishment at Hogwarts.
-x-
It turned out that Dolores Umbridge was close enough to the minister that she could do no wrong. Whatever the woman did, in case it was illegal, it was legalized by the next day. She used the law for the Correction of Anomally Naughty Errants (CANE) with gusto, to the delight of Argus Filch, who was thrilled to provide her with canes, whips and thumbscrews.
Snapdragon, being a girl, only got hit on her fingers with a bamboo, but the boys were hit with wooden spoons in detention. And of course that blood drawing quill was put to good use. Albus was livid, but there wasn´t much he could do after the minister had sanctioned Madam Umbridge´s behaviour.
Dad´s little leisure time was cut even shorter by brewing vast amounts of healing draughts and pain potions.
The school year crawled by and by December Snapdragon hoped with all her heart that the rumours were true and the defence post was cursed. One year of Dolores Umbridge was definitely enough. Merlin, three months with the woman were more than enough!
It was the last day before the Christmas holidays, when the redhead was woken by Auntie Minerva.
"Girls, go to the headmaster´s office. Quickly!"
Snapdragon slipped on her robes over her nightdress and pulled Hermione away from her trunk. "She said quickly!" the girl whispered urgently.
They hurried out through the portrait hole and towards Albus´ office. On their way they caught up with the Weasley twins and Ginny.
"Do you know what this is about?" asked Fred.
Snapdragon shook her head. "It must have something to do with Ron," she made a guess. "And Harry´s not here either."
The twins nodded grimly and hurried towards the stone gargoyle guarding Albus´ office with even fiercer determination.
Harry and Ron were indeed at the headmaster´s office. Ron was very pale and Harry looked pale and sweaty as if he was ill. Albus gave them a brief summary of the earlier events of the evening. Harry had had a vision of the Weasleys´ father being injured.
"You have to leave before Madam Umbridge hears about it," Albus said urgently. He cast a portus spell on a phoenix feather and sent them off.
-x-
Sirius awaited them in the kitchen of number 12, Grimmauld Place. A big pot of tea was steaming on the table and he had them settle down around the kitchen table and have a cuppa.
"We have to go to ´s," said George. His siblings agreed.
Sirius shook his head. "You can´t! We have to give them time to notify the family or questions would be asked. Your mother has been informed by the headmaster. She´s waiting for word and will be by his side as quickly as possible. You will have to wait until he has permission to have visitors. But you´re at a good position here at Grimmauld Place to go there quickly. Now, drink your tea and then try to get some hours of sleep. You want to be rested when you can go and see him."
The Weasleys calmed down a bit and drank their tea obediently. The way Sirius Black had talked about their father´s injury – as if it was certain that he was going to be healed – had been reassuring.
They got news from when they were having breakfast the next morning. Dad came to bring the children´s things – clothes and textbooks – and told them that Mrs. Weasley had already been allowed to see her husband.
"She should arrive here shortly, and then you will get some details. For now it´s important you know that his condition improved enough for your mother to be allowed into his room."
The Weasley children cheered up at the good news and Harry, who had been looking as if the whole incident was his fault, smiled, too. Hermione and Snapdragon were affected by the good mood and soon they were laughing over some jokes the twins had made.
was able to return home in time for the Christmas celebrations. Albus and Dad joined the children, Mr. and and Sirius Black for Christmas Day at Grimmauld Place. Dad and Sirius were on their best behaviour and they managed to not quarrel all day. It was a merry day. Everybody got presents – even Dad and Sirius exchanged bottles of fire whisky – and had outdone herself with a delicious meal.
The return to Hogwarts put an end to the good mood. Professor Umbridge had the whole school in a tense grip. Everybody was careful what they said or did and who watched. The woman even started to inspect the other teachers and the minister gave her the power to fire them by decree suchandsuch – Snapdragon had lost count.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were very worried about Hagrid, whose teaching style was a bit strange sometimes and who was known for his rather unusual choices of creatures to bring to class. Snapdragon was worried about Dad.
Hogwarts was his haven. While he was at school, he was safe from the Dark Lord and his cronies. What if that evil woman made him leave? Snapdragon knew that the dark wizard had sent Dad to Hogwarts in first place, so if Dad lost his position the evil creature was not going to be amused. Losing his teaching position could be very dangerous for him.
-x-
In February the upper year students decided that Dolores Umbridge was endangering their future by her teaching methods. There hadn´t been a single practical lesson so far and OWLs were drawing closer. Hermione suggested that Harry taught them and after a short period of hesitation, Harry complied. They found a place to practice in the Room of Requirement.
Snapdragon found training with Harry exhausting. The others did that, too, but for entirely different reasons. While her peers were working hard to master the spells, Snapdragon was busy to hide her powers. Nevertheless she profitted from the lessons. Harry researched spells to teach them and Snapdragon learned new ones as well, only quicklier than the rest of the crowd.
-x-
Dad put Harry in detention frequently. Snapdragon first thought that he did it in order to talk to Harry like they had done before, but in March Dad told her that he was trying to teach Harry occlumency on Albus´ orders. Harry, it seemed, was by no means gifted in the area.
"Can you try to practice with him?" Dad asked gently during one of Snapdragon´s Saturday afternoon visits. "Maybe it´s easier for him with you."
Snapdragon promised to do her best.
"I´m trying!" protested Harry the same evening when Snapdragon scolded him for not concentrating. "It´s just not my cup of tea!"
"Harry, this is not about what you like! If a hostile wizard can manipulate your mind, it´s dangerous!"
"But I can´t do it!" complained Harry. "Dad never explained me how! And nor did you!"
"Dad taught me," snapped Snapdragon. "It took me two months to learn it. It´s not that hard, you know."
"Not for somebody as powerful as you," Harry said in a small voice.
"Nonsense!" said Snapdragon. "I´m not more powerful than you! The difference is that I grew up with magic and you were told it didn´t exist. We have a different view of it and that´s why some things come easier to me than you, but you can learn it. I´m sure of that."
"Really?" Harry smiled shyly.
"Of course! And now let´s try again."
-x-
"Snapdragon, can we talk?" Harry asked his sister shyly when they were about to start another occlumency practice.
"Of course, what is it?"
Harry blushed. "Promise you won´t laugh at me!"
Snapdragon laughed good-naturedly. "Why are you so serious?"
"You aren´t helpful, you know?" Harry blushed even more. "I´m trying to talk about a problem here!"
"Go ahead. What is it?" Snapdragon tried to look solemn, but she thought she wasn´t really good at it.
Seemingly her efforts were good enough for Harry. "You know Cho? The Ravenclaw seeker?"
Snapdragon nodded.
"I think I like her." Harry looked at Snapdragon shyly from under his lashes.
"That´s wonderful!"
"Not really. She thinks I have a girlfriend and won´t have anything to do with me."
"What? She won´t have anything to do with you because of me?"
It was Harry´s turn to nod.
"That´s all Malfoy´s fault!"
Snapdragon shrugged. "I guess we´ll have to break up then."
"Break up?"
"Have a row where Cho sees us. So she knows that you´re free."
Harry beamed at Snapdragon. "This could work!"
They spent the rest of the evening planning their break-up.
-x-
Snapdragon filled Hermione in on the plan and Harry Ron. It felt wrong to enact their little plot without telling their best friends before. They chose breakfast on Saturday morning for their display.
"I´m fed up!" Harry snarled louder than necessary. "Your jealousy is so annoying!"
"Annoying?" Snapdragon snapped back. "You of all people call me annoying? Who´s been holding onto me like a squid for the past four years? Sometimes I can´t even breathe!"
"A squid?" Harry shrieked. "Take that back! You... you... you hinkypunk!"
"How dare you!" Snapdragon stood so abruptly that she pushed the bench she was sitting on and Ron nearly fell. His plate went flying when he grabbed for something to hold on. "Don´t think you can talk to me like that just because of that scar!"
"Leave my scar out of that!" Harry stood, too. "This has nothing to do with my scar!"
"Pah!" spat Snapdragon. "Everything has to do with that bloody scar. It´s boy who lived this and boy who lived that all the time, you bigheaded git!"
"You´re just jealous, because you´ve never done anything important in your life!"
"At least they don´t write in the Prophet about my life!"
"I wonder what I saw in you!"
"I could say the same!" Snapdragon turned on the spot and stomped out of the hall. They had agreed that Harry should stay near Cho.
When Snapdragon crossed the Entrance Hall, somebody caught up with her hurriedly. "Ah, I love your temper, my sweetheart. And I´m glad you got rid of that dwarf at last." Malfoy stroked the redhead´s cheek with the back of his hand.
"Get lost, Malfoy," hissed Snapdragon.
"Mmmh, so much passion," Malfoy leaned closer.
Snapdragon didn´t wait any longer. She slapped the blond as hard as she could.
"Detention, Miss Snape. For this unprovoked display of violence! And don´t think that you can´t be expelled with your father being a teacher at Hogwarts!" Dolores Umbridge smiled, but there was no kindness in the gesture.
-x-
"You will stay here for the night," said Dad as he spread salve on Snapdragon´s wrist. "I will not risk that vile woman putting you in detention for breaking curfew."
"Thanks, Dad," answered the redhead. "I feel it´s a bit unfair. The others don´t have a hiding place."
"At the moment I don´t care about the others," snapped Dad. "My daughter´s wrist is saying ´I must not hit people´. I couldn´t care less about the others. You´re lucky I had some salve ready. That way we can prevent the scarring."
Snapdragon smiled weakly. Dad had that particular salve ready all the time these days or half the student population of Hogwarts would carry around dubious messages on their wrists for the rest of their life. Madam Pomfrey had been furious when she found out that the scars that evil quill caused were not removable unless treated at once.
Dad made the girl drink a small dose of dreamless sleep and tucked her in like he had done when she was little. Before she fell asleep, Snapdragon thought it was nice to be pampered.
-x-
Dad was gone when Snapdragon left her dungeon bedroom the next day. Snapdragon snarled angrily. Breakfast with Dad had been what made staying over night tempting and now she woke to find that her father was doing that evil wizard´s biding. She decided to go up to the Great Hall for breakfast. Her friends were going to distract her from her worries for Dad.
Strangely enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione weren´t at the Great Hall.
"Do you know where Hermione and the boys are?" Snapdragon asked Dean. She remembered just in time not to ask for Harry after yesterday´s ´breakup´.
"I´m not sure," said Dean. "Harry had a terrible nightmare. He and Ron left and we haven´t seen them ever since. I guess they went to the headmaster."
Ginny leaned closer. "Do you think Harry had a vision again?" she whispered to Snapdragon worriedly.
"I don´t know," Snapdragon whispered back. "But I´m sure if it had had something to do with your family, Albus would have notified you."
Ginny nodded. She looked a bit reassured.
Snapdragon used her private password to Albus´ office a little later. The old wizard wasn´t there. The girl scribbled a message saying that she had been at the office and turned to leave when the fire in the fireplace flared to life and the headmaster stepped into the room.
"Snapdragon," he said urgently. "I was just going to send for you."
The girl paled. "Has something happened to Dad?"
"No! – No!" Albus reassured her. "Harry had a vision last night. Voldemort made him believe that he had captured Sirius. Harry notified me and I alerted the order. Harry insisted on coming with us. There was a battle at the ministry. Harry saw his godfather die. He will need comfort and I think his sister is the person he needs right now."
"Oh no! His godfather? Mr. Black was a good man," Snapdragon was taken aback by the bad news. "Where´s Harry now?"
"Remus will bring him in a minute. Can you stay here and take care of Harry? I have to sort out things with the minister. Voldemort was seen at the ministry. The wizarding world knows now that he´s back."
Snapdragon promised to stay with Harry and Albus grabbed some things from his desk and stepped back into the fire. Professor Lupin brought Harry a little later, Ron and Hermione followed.
"Oh Harry, I´m so sorry!" Snapdragon hugged her brother as soon as Professor Lupin had left to help Albus with alerting the Order of the Phoenix. Now that Voldemort´s return was publicly known, they could no longer count on him treading carefully. People needed to be warned and protected.
Harry returned Snapdragon´s hug for a brief moment, but disentangled himself from her embrace almost instantly.
"It´s my fault," he snarled and kicked Albus´ sofa. "If I had ignored that vision, Sirius´d be having breakfast at his home right now." He glared at Snapdragon. "Why didn´t you push me harder to learn occlumency? If I hadn´t had that vision in the first place..."
"Occlumency?" Hermione asked eagerly. "I thought Professor Snape had stopped teaching you?"
Ron shut her up with a gentle touch to her elbow.
"Harry, we both did our best," Snapdragon replied feebly.
"I didn´t," Harry kicked the sofa again. "I should have practiced more. I killed Sirius!"
"Occlumency is a tiring art to learn," insisted Snapdragon. "It´s not your fault."
Harry whirled around. "Stop pampering me! It´s entirely my fault! If I hadn´t followed Voldemort´s vision! If I had practiced more! If I simply had died with my parents, Sirius´d be still alive!" He kicked the sofa again, this time more violently. He howled with pain at the impact and the tears he had fought back so far finally started falling.
"He was my godfather, and I killed him!" Harry howled.
Snapdragon sat beside her brother and pulled him into an embrace. This time Harry allowed himself to get comforted. He hung on Snapdragon´s neck like a drowning man.
Ron and Hermione looked uncomfortable to witness such an intimate scene. After some moments of hesitation, the bushy haired girl sat at Harry´s other side and stroked his hair. Ron went to the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, whom they knew from Grimmauld Place, and talked to him in a soft voice. At the end of their conversation, the former headmaster left his frame and Ron rummaged in one of the cabinets.
A little later the boy carried a tea tray to the coffee table.
"Mum says a cup of tea can cure anything," he smiled nervously.
"Thank you, Ron," Hermione smiled back and started pouring tea for all of them. Ron sat on one of the armchairs.
Harry had just finished his second cup and his sobs had reduced to occasional sniffs, when Dad came to the office.
"Where were you?" shouted Harry. "I thought you wanted to protect me! Where were you when we needed help at the ministry?"
Dad looked at Ron and Hermione pointedly before he snarled "My whereabouts are none of your business."
Hermione proved once again that she was a very bright young witch. "Professor," she said and got up from the sofa, "if we aren´t needed any longer, is it okay if Ron and I return to Gryffindor tower? We have some revising to do."
Dad nodded in acknowledgement and the two left after some more reassuring words for Harry.
"Harry," Dad sat in the place Hermione had vacated. "I was where the Dark Lord had sent me, brewing potions for his deatheaters. Going to the ministry would have meant to blow my cover. I knew that the Order was there with you. You´ll need me in Voldemort´s ranks in the future."
"I know that, Dad," whispered Harry. "It´s just easier to blame others than admit that it was my fault. I´m sorry."
"It wasn´t your fault," said Dad. "Listen to me, Harry. Sirius Black was a grown man. He was able to make his own decisions and he did. It was his wish to go to the ministry and fight the evil wizard who threatened your future as well as his. He knew about the risks, but he was ready to take them. He thought that a future rid of the Dark Lord was worth them."
"But he died!" Harry muttered insistently.
"He did. He was killed by his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. She boasted about her deed when she and the others returned to Voldemorts hideaway. The Dark Lord was pleased with her. – Harry, you have to understand that only Bellatrix Lestrange is responsible for what Bellatrix Lestrange did."
"But he was there because of my vision!"
"You may have had a part in providing the circumstances," admitted Dad, "but it was Bellatrix Lestrange who chose to raise her wand and commit murder. You had no influence on her. It´s her responsibility, and hers alone."
Little by little Harry calmed down.