Chapter 25
At school the cheering students were silent once more. Sitting at the house tables as one by on the Sorting Hat sorted the new students. The hat didn't give a speech or a song. McGonagall came out with it, called each student and the Sorting Hat announced who was where.
At the end of it, Snape stepped forward and spoke, his voice low, cold and sinister. "Already we start the new year and we have trouble makers. This is your warning. Misbehave and you will be punished according to the severity of your discretions." Snape warned. "We have two new additions to the teaching staff. Professor Amyous Carrow, to teach Dark Arts, and Professor Alecto Carrow, to teach Muggle Studies."
"What happened to Professor Burbage?" Ginny hissed, asking the question they were all thinking.
"Someone who studies Muggles and promotes them as worthy of our time? What do you think happened under our new Lord and Master?" Colin answered quietly.
Ginny's face paled.
"You may eat." Snape concluded. Food appeared, the same elaborate food as always, but three quarters of the school didn't have much of an appetite.
Colin watched as the Carrows didn't eat, just stared almost hungrily at the students.
He would make life hell for them.
Colin crept out of bed on night and down to the kitchens to talk to the elves.
They huddled around him silently staring at him with their wide eyes.
"I don't know about you guys, but I want to make life hell for three teachers. Will you let me cast a spell to make their food always cold? And I forbade you from telling anyone else." Colin asked.
They eagerly agreed.
He knew the elves would be ordered to spill the beans and he would be found out, so he tapped the able and muttered the spell from a magic book and kept his eyes away from any elves so they didn't see.
After three days of cold meals and Snape demanding the responsible party to step forward every meal, they were called to the Great Hall in the middle of class. The tables were gone and they all stood in their houses.
"Someone thought it would be amusing to play a prank. Fortunately we managed to find the troublemaker." Snape announced.
In the middle of the Hall, between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, the Carrows stood, grinning.
"Colin Morgan, please stand in front of Professor Carrow." Snape ordered.
Colin stepped out of line at the front of Gryffindor and calmly walked down the aisle to the siblings. He turned to face Snape and they gripped his shoulders, pushing him down to his knees.
"I am not Dumbledore. The behaviour Mr Morgan has partaken in is not acceptable and will be punished." Snape continued. He nodded to the Carrows who simply nodded back.
Amycus pulled out his wand and waved it, and Colin's robes were bundled at his feet, so he was left in his white school top, his tie and his trousers.
Alecto magicked a whip and a first year shrieked as she swung it down hard on Colin's back. Colin gritted his teeth as his back stung and burned. He refused to make a sound.
Ten lashes, and the Carrows pulled him to his feet. He grabbed his robes and they shoved him towards Gryffindor.
"Back in line brat." Amycus hissed.
Colin walked slowly up the aisle back to his front spot. His white shirt was ripped and blood had began to seep through from where his skin had been torn.
Colin paused in front of Snape, and bowed, causing everyone in the Hall to hld their breath with fear of what would occur.
Colin straightened and said, "Forgive me Headmaster for being such a troublemaker. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways. I'll not ask the elves next time, I'll just do it when they aren't looking."
Snape's nostrils flared and the Carrows all but growled.
Alecto grabbed Colin and dug her fingers into his shoulder where a red welt was bleeding through his shirt.
"Professors, you may take Mr Morgan back to your office."
"Dungeon." Colin cut in.
"And punish him how you see fit for his insolence."
"With pleasure." Amycus smirked and then the pair dragged Colin off.
As they left, Colin heard Snape say, "Let this be a warning. Students who break the rules will be punished unhesitatingly and unmercifully. Dismissed. Go back to your classes.
Colin turned up at dinner with a black eye, a split lip and a scratch down the side of his cheek. He moved gingerly and everyone around him were careful of his back, as it was obvious he had more injuries than the visible ones on his face. The people around him formed a ring to protect him, keeping any Slytherin who tried to walk past and 'trip' into Colin's back.
He was grinning, laughing and joking with Neville and Ginny, who took his lead and played along.
The Carrows were glaring at the boy from their table, and he met their eyes and grinned at them.
'This is war.' Colin thought to himself.
Within a month, Colin was the Carrows' 'favourite' student, but he wasn't the only one. Several students would walk down the corridor openly supporting Harry or insulting the Death Eaters and their Lord. They'd find themselves being lashed in the courtyard and would quieten down for a few weeks then return to talking loudly.
Colin kept up his constant demeaning of the Carrows, kept grinning at students in corridors and kept grinning after his punishments. Neville, Seamus, Dean, Ginny, Padma, Ernie, so many students stood with Colin and fought against Snape the only way they could.
And then Carrows realized they needed to spark fear in the students.
They were summoned to the Great Hall and forced to stand in their houses. A lone figure was in the middle, kneeling with their head down.
Everyone looked for Colin and found him in line, not in trouble, and were suddenly worried. Well majority of the school were worried. The Carrows stepped up to the figure and pulled the person upright, revealing her identity. It was Professor Burbage, the original Muggles Studies teacher. She had bruises and cuts littered on her face and had clearly been locked up for a very long time. Colin stared in disgust and hate at the Carrows as he realized what they were going to do.
They began talking, stating that the filth in front of them had been teaching lies, trying to get them to empathize with muggle scum and deserved to be punished for trying to corrupt children's minds.
'Forgive me.'
Colin jumped as Snape's voice echoed in his mind.
'The Dark Lord ordered it. I could not stop them. Forgive me, please.'
His face showed no flicker of emotion, none of the pity, saddness, despair and pain.
'She looks like Lily.'
'You are doing what you can, more than most people would expect you to be able. You did not say to do this. You aren't to blame for this.' Colin replied, as the Carrows finished their speech.
"LONG LIVE THE DARK LORD!" They screamed as they lifted their wands and Professor Burbage slumped over, dead. A child screamed, another began sobbing, but both were stopped by their friends, no one daring to make a noise.
"Misbehave and you'll be punished." Alecto spat. And then they were dismissed.
That night, Colin woke up Neville and sent a bubble of magic to wake up Ginny. The three crept through the castle to McGonagall's office, covered by a spell Colin had cast. They entered via a murmured 'alohomora' by Ginny (reinforced with Colin's help) to take care of the lock.
The teachers in the room looked up from their vigil around McGonagall's desk which held Professor Burbage's body.
Colin locked the door behind him and spoke softly, "She deserves a burial. A proper one."
"We will be caught if we are out of the school for too long, or if we cast magic." McGonagall replied, not bothering to question their presence there.
"We won't get caught." Colin replied.
"And if we are, they won't kill us." Ginny added.
"And we can handle any punishment they dish out." Neville finished.
"Let them Minerva." We'll be caught in a moment, our posts and beds empty will be suspicious, but three students in a whole school won't be missed for a while, and their friends can cover for them." Madame Pomfrey whispered.
McGonagall sighed, shutting her eyes briefly in defeat, "If you're caught we will be powerless to help you. Flitwick is on guard at the south-east tower, there's a door outside hidden, use that."
"No thank you professor. We've got a plan." Colin replied.
They let each teacher say their farewells and then Colin and Neville picked her up, letting Ginny lead the way. "You sure this spell will hide us?" Ginny asked.
"Yep." Colin grinned.
And it did. They walked right past Alecto on front door duty and out to the edge of the forest. And began digging.
They had a grave dug and had placed the professor in it and then reburied her within two hours. Colin let Ginny conjure a grave stone and engraved it with her wand.
Here lies a woman who loved her job,
And was passionate for her beliefs.
Charity Burbage
The three were back in bed an hour before they were reawoken by McGonagall. "There is a meeting in the Great Hall."
Colin grinned. "They found the tomb?" he asked.
McGonagall fixed him a look and moved on to wake the rest of the House. Colin laughed, sounding slightly evil. In a good way.
TBC
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