Well, I'm glad I managed to get you guys the chapter faster this time! :) Again, I'm sorry about the wait for the last chapter, I totally understand if it frustrated you, I was pretty unhappy with myself. But that's the past, and this is now, so here's the next chapter!
.rettoP yrraH nwo t'nod I :remialcsiD
Wow, that was hard to type...
Harry looked at his sister, surprised. He had completely forgotten about their time limit. It was a good thing she had remembered, otherwise they would have been in trouble. Alex nodded for him to go first, so he headed towards the fire.
"Wait, before we go," Alex said, "How did you guys take our news so easily? I would have expected you to have deemed us liars." Lupin laughed gently.
"Professor McGonagall had written earlier. We weren't really sure whether or not to believe her, but seeing you easily made the proof." Alex nodded.
With a hasty goodbye, Harry stepped into the fireplace once more. He said the words, and spun through the suffocating tube until he reached Umbridge's office. Climbing out, he turned an waited for Alex, who appeared quickly. They ran to the door, but just as they were about to open it, it was pushed from the outside. Quickly, they flattened themselves against the wall, hiding behind the door as Filch walked in.
Filch was obviously excited for something. He rifled through the papers on Umbridge's desk, looking for something. Alex looked scared out of her mind, and Harry didn't blame her. If they were caught, the punishment would be very severe. Luckily, the old caretaker was too absorbed in whatever he was looking for, because he didn't notice them. He picked up a piece of parchment, smiling at it.
"Yes, the approval for whipping. Those little whelps had it coming." With that, he hurried out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. The twins let out a sigh of relief, glad not to have been discovered. Harry pulled out the invisibility cloak, throwing it over the two of them. Silently, they crept out of the office, and towards whatever Fred and George's distraction had been.
Staying under the invisibility cloak, Alex and Harry walked through the hallways. When it seemed safe, Harry pulled it off and stuffed it into his bag. They then went to the entrance hall, which seemed to be holding a lot of activity. Upon arriving, they were met with a scene similar to the night Trelawney was sacked. There was a large ring of student surrounding Fred and George, who seemed to have been caught in the act of whatever they had done.
"So, you think it was amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp?" Umbridge asked. Harry hadn't noticed her before, but now he saw she was standing on the steps so as to be looking down on her prey.
"Yeah, I found it pretty amusing," Fred said, not looking scared in the slightest. Filch managed to push his way though the crowd to stand next to Umbridge. He clutched the piece of parchment in his hand, and looked happier than Harry had ever seen him.
"I have the whips ready, may I proceed?" Umbridge smiled at him.
"Yes, Argus." Once again directing her voice at Fred and George, she said, "You tow are about to be an example of how rulebreakers are punished from now on." The red-haired twins looked at each other.
"You know, Fred, I don't really fancy sticking around much longer. What about you?" George asked.
"I agree, George. I think it's time for us to test our talent in the real world." They smiled, then raised their wands.
"Accio brooms!" they called in unison. There came a loud crash followed by two broomsticks flying towards their owners, one still dragging the chain and peg that was supposed to be holding it to the wall in Umbridge's office. Reaching their destination, the brooms stopped as Fred and George mounted quickly.
"Well, we won't be seeing you!" Fred said congenially. George then turned to the crowd.
"If anyone is interested in some fun gags, come to number 93, Diagon Alley, which will soon be Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" he called. The twins then kicked off the ground, flying through the air next to Peeves. Fred told him to make Umbridge miserable, and despite Harry never seeing Peeves listen to a student before, he knew this time the poltergeist would listen. With that, the two pranksters flew out the front doors and away from Hogwarts.
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Throughout the next few weeks, the amount of pranks was unbelievable. So many people wanted to now fill the spot of Chief Troublemaker that you had to be very careful all the time, so as to not walk into a trap. It had become the new fashion to perform the Bubble-Head Charm upon yourself before exiting a room, due to the number of Stinkpellets and Dungbombs being thrown around.
Alex had been amazed by it all, happy to see people finally fighting back against Umbridge. It was especially hilarious to watch in class, because as soon as Defense Against the Dark Arts started, at least half the class would suddenly faint, vomit, and develop nosebleeds and fevers. Umbridge never could locate the source, the students telling her they had Umbridge-itis. She was forced to let them leave class in crowds.
The thing that topped it off for Alex, though, was when she realized the teachers were fighting, too. They always turned a blind eye on the pranks being played. Not a single detention was given out by anyone but Umbridge herself. In fact, when Peeves was attempting to loosed a crystal chandelier, Alex and Harry could have sworn they heard McGonagall mutter, "It unscrews the other way."
As the end of the year drew nearer, Alex grew very nervous. The final Quidditch match of the season was drawing nearer. It was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, who had a very good team put together, while Gryffindor was struggling just to work together at all. Only Ron seemed to have a positive attitude about it.
"Well, I'm about as bad as it'll get," he said truthfully. "There's only one direction I can go, and it's up!"
On the day of the match, Alex was feeling horrible. Even at her first game, she wasn't this nervous. It was essentially up to her on whether or not they won. Ron had a lot of pressure on him too, but he was taking it in stride. Hopefully the Slytherins wouldn't sing that awful song of theirs and make him scared again, because he performed fine when there wasn't any pressure.
When it came time for the match, the entire team simply walked dejectedly onto the field. Even the commentator, Lee Jordan, was dispirited, but that may have been partially because Fred and George left. The game started dismally, with Ravenclaw Captain Davies dodging all three of their Chasers and scoring. As everyone expected, the Slytherins started singing their horrible song again. The game continued, Alex not having high hopes for a good outcome.
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"Hagrid, are you going to tell us why you dragged us out here?" Harry asked. Hagrid had pulled them away from the match to come see something in the forest. The large man turned to face him nervously.
"Well, firs' Harry, I wanted ter know, how are things with you an' Alex?" The question took him a little off guard.
"Uh, good. We're getting along nicely, I guess..." he said, not really sure how to reply.
"Tha's good. I'm glad you two are all righ' with each other."
"Hagrid, what is this about?" Hermione asked again. Hagrid didn't reply this time, but instead continued to lead them deeper into the woods. Hermione looked at Harry, who shrugged, and they followed.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Alex looked up at Ron, then at the small golden ball in her hand, then back at Ron. She didn't believe it. They had just won the Quidditch Cup! Ron grinned beyond belief, and Alex was sure her face mirrored his. The entire team flew together in a large group hug, screaming with joy. Somehow, their Keeper had gotten over his fright just in time, saving the day by saving goal after goal, while encouraging the rest of the team to do great as well. As a group, they flew downward, hitting the ground hard. A crowd of cheering Gryffindors overwhelmed them, as Alex and Ron were lifted onto their shoulders.
Glancing through the crowd, Alex vaguely noticed Harry and Hermione weren't in sight, but she figured they were just hidden within the swarming mass. She was handed the large silver Cup, and she held it high in the air before passing it to Ron, the real star of the game. He waved it happily, basking in the joy practically radiating off the crowd. They were borne towards the castle, when Ron seemed to have spotted their friends.
"HARRY! HERMIONE! WE DID IT! WE WON!" he yelled, utterly beside himself. Alex followed his gaze, seeing the pair looking oddly disheveled. But before she could ponder it much, they were carried inside, Ron hitting his head on the lintel, but still not being set down. They were carried all the way back to the common room, where the victory party commenced.
Yay, happy ending! :) There haven't been many of those, but this one definitely needed it, considering the, er, dramatic parts of the story are going to happen soon. Thanks once more for reading!
Guest Review Replies:
Dragonslayer101: As you can see, no, they didn't. And you have a point there, that's why I added that bit in with Alex asking Lupin about it. Thanks again!
Ellie: Yup! :) I will!
If you review, I'll give you a virtual, uh, something. :)