Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the related titles.
A/N: Hey everyone! Eight months later, I'm back. I apologize for the increasingly long spans of time during which I've disappeared. I am, however, back this time, determined more than ever to finish this story. My recent discovery of A Very Potter Musical has rekindled my love for this beautiful story. (Harry Potter - not my fic, haha. I'm not that egotistical, though I am a fan of this story in particular.) I have been busy writing while I was gone though. I self-published my first novel, and participated in Script Frenzy and JulNoWriMo, pushing out two more 100 page - 50,000 word stories/scripts in a month each. Phew. I'm currently doing MilWordy which is one million words in a year, so my fics are definitely going to help my word count. So, YES, I AM BACK. FOR GOOD. UNTIL THIS STORY IS FINISHED. And you can all start sending me death threats if I go back on this promise. I will try to update my other fics, but this is the only one I'm absolutely determined to finish, so I apologize to others who might be waiting on the other ones. They will mostly be updated, but probably not as quickly. Thank you all for being so patient. I will probably update this one a lot in the next couple of days. Haha. So be prepared! Enjoy!
OH, and check out A Very Potter Musical on youtube. You will not be disappointed! Much love!
Chapter 36: A House Divided Cannot Stand
Smoke poured from the Hogwarts Express, the horn blaring as it pulled away from the station. Accompanied by Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom, Maddy glanced at the group sitting in their usual horseless carriage. Harry, Luna and Maddy all knew the carriages weren't actually horseless, but they could not convince the others of otherwise.
A large plant sat atop Neville's lap, Trevor tucked carefully in his free hand. Maddy kept her eyes locked almost intently on the both of them, keeping them from wandering to her companions. It had been much too long since the four of them - Harry, Ron, Hermione and her - had all had a decent conversation. They'd tried on the way there, but their time was interrupted by the arrival of the rather eccentric blonde sitting next to her. When Maddy's eyes finally did travel upward, she noticed Luna gaping at her, her wide blue eyes watching her with keen interest. Maddy looked away hastily, not daring to make contact.
The halls roared with conversation as the students made their way to the tables, awaiting the arrival of the Sorting Hat. Maddy settled herself down next to Harry, unfortunately directly across from Ginny, who purposely kept her focus toward the Head Table. Maddy jumped a little as she felt Harry's hand land on her knee, giving it a gently squeeze. He'd shown her no attention the entire night. She felt both knees instantly go weak, silently cursing herself for allowing such a thing to happen. She couldn't let herself lose control again, not this year. This year, she had to be strong.
Maddy's own eyes found their way up to the Head Table, dancing along the familiar faces. She held her breath, praying a new addition would not be among the professors. Unfortunately, her prayers were not granted as a woman dressed in bright pink, sat near the center of the table, smiling a disgustingly sweet smile at the crowd in front of her. She didn't touch a single thing on her plate, and occasionally peeked at Dumbledore, awaiting his own beginning of the year speech. Harry too, had noticed the strange new woman. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"That woman…" he muttered to his immediate group, hoping no one else would overhear him. "I know that woman…"
Ron looked up at her, and shook his head, frowning a bit. He turned back to Harry. "Who is she?"
"She was at my hearing," Harry said, watching the woman's every move. "Her name is Umbridge, I believe."
"What's she doing here?" Hermione asked, looking confused as well. "A ministry official? Do you think she's here to talk to us about…You-Know-Who?"
Maddy shook her head, leaning closer to them. "I don't think we're going to be that lucky."
When the woman was finally introduced, Dumbledore told them her name was Delores Umbridge, and although she was more commonly known as a member of the Ministry, she would be acting as their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the remaining of the year.
"Are you serious?" Ron asked with a small chuckle. "She's going to be teaching us to defend ourselves? What, by planting flowers and giving away kittens to all the Death Eaters?"
Harry didn't laugh. He'd seen the woman at work before, and knew the kind of influence she had over people. She wouldn't be as easy a teacher as Ron seemed to think. The familiar cough Harry had heard at the hearing sounded throughout the Great Hall over Dumbledore's voice and the old man turned to her, a questioning look dawning over his face. Umbridge had something to say to the group, and she wouldn't let Dumbledore finish without getting her two cents in.
The hall fell silent as Umbridge spoke to them, her speech lasting much longer than it should have. Harry glanced at Ron, the two exchanging looks of bewilderment. Maddy elbowed him, telling him to pay attention.
When she finished, Hermione explained to them the Ministry's involvement in the school, and how they were merely trying to take control of Hogwarts.
"Fudge is terrified," she said.
"Why should Fudge be worried?" Ginny asked, wanting a part of the conversation. The others, aside from Maddy, didn't protest. Even Neville began listening in. Fred and George tuned in on the other side of their sister, Lee Jordan sitting next to Maddy.
"We're at the peak of another war, aren't we?" Hermione said, keeping her voice as low as possible, but still able to reach each of her listeners. "I mean, Fudge doesn't want a whole freak out. He wants to keep order as much as possible, and by having a Ministry official here to keep Harry shut up," she shot a look in Harry's direction, "they can convince the other students that everything's okay. This news will pass onto their parents, and Fudge will think he's got everything out of control. Without being able to keep Harry quiet, the whole world would start listening to him and there'll be mass hysteria!"
"So they're going to try and convince everyone I'm completely bonkers and that Voldemort's not really back?" Harry asked, trying to figure everything out as well. The whole group cringed at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.
"Isn't that what he's been doing all summer?" Maddy spoke up. "I mean, all the newspaper articles discrediting him and Dumbledore. We've all seen it already."
Just beyond Neville, Seamus Finnegan gave them a disturbing glare. Maddy shook it off, hoping none of the others had noticed. He wouldn't be the first of their friends to turn against Harry. There were certainly more to come. Maddy felt awful knowing she would more than likely be among them. He didn't have to know that just yet. For now, she'd play the supportive friend role. She didn't need any others to think she was crazy.
Harry nodded in agreement. "It's true," he said. "But how do we stop it? If the whole Wizarding World is in denial, then Voldemort -" another collective cringe. "- will be free to attack whenever. The Death Eaters will have no one coming after them. Voldemort will win."
"The Order knows what they're doing, though," Ginny said pointedly. "They're bound to -"
"Shh!" Hermione shushed her quickly, glancing around at those who were unaware of who the Order were. The less people who knew about it, the better. "Yes," she turned her attention back to Harry once Ginny stopped talking. "That's exactly what's going to happen, Harry. I'm sure that's what You-Know-Who is counting on and Fudge is playing right into his hands. We're doomed unless Dumbledore can do something to stop it."
"We need to get rid of Umbridge," Maddy looked back up at the brightly colored fat woman sitting at the staff table. She felt something twist in her stomach, nearly growing sick at the mere sight of her. "She's nothing but trouble."
"We don't know that for sure," Hermione said, the corner of her mouth twisting downward into a concerned frown. "We don't know her real reasons for being here. We're just speculating."
"She hates me," Harry added. "She didn't want me to get off over the summer. She's one of the people voting against me."
"Unfortunately Harry," Hermione nodded solemnly. "You're going to find that more common now. People are more apt to believe the Minister of Magic than a fifteen-year-old boy."
"Which is ridiculous," Maddy said bitterly.
"But understandable," Hermione shot her a look. Maddy looked down, silently agreeing with her, although it pained her to believe it. None of them could believe the way Cornelius Fudge had been acting since the return of Voldemort. It was as if his title were more important than the safety of his people.
But of course, this had always been Fudge's way. They couldn't possibly have been that surprised.
"Maybe she won't be as bad as we think she is," Neville said hesitantly, when no one else dared speak.
The group turned simultaneously toward the woman, their eyes all focused on her bright pink cardigan. Ron swallowed the large lump of food in his mouth and grimaced. As if she could feel their eyes on her, she looked up at them, making eye contact. She gave them a short little wave, and poked at her salad, popping a large piece of lettuce in her mouth.
Hermione, Maddy and Ginny made their way back to the dormitory together that night. Harry and Ron had gone their separate way up the boys' stairs. Ginny raced ahead of them, darting into the third year girls' dorm without a single goodnight to either of them. Hermione stared at the closed door, finally taking a deep breath.
"Are you two ever going to make up?" she asked, not looking at Maddy.
Maddy shook her head. "I don't think so," she said honestly.
"It's just…" Hermione bit her lip. "It's making life really difficult for us with the two of you fighting. We can't not let Ginny hang around us, you know? She's Ron's little sister. We're kind of stuck with her. And she's really not that bad. I don't understand why -"
Maddy shot her a look Hermione read instantly. She nodded forlornly.
"Okay, so I do understand why you're mad at her," she sighed. "But you're not mad at Harry, so I don't see why you have to take everything out on Ginny."
"It's just easier to hate Ginny," Maddy explained. "We've never been very close. I don't feel like I've really lost anything." She shrugged half-heartedly. It was true. She felt heatless about the way she addressed the issue, but when it came down to cutting off Harry or Ginny, Ginny really meant very little to her. It would be much more difficult to rip Harry from her life. It would ultimately need to happen, however. She just didn't want to do it so soon.
"And Harry?" Hermione pressed. "Does he know about this?"
Maddy pushed the door open to their own dormitory, not answering Hermione's question immediately. She made her way over to her bed, her trunk already set up next to it. Unpacking should have come next, but she felt much too tired to even begin. She unlatched the front of it, searching around for a pair of pajamas. Hermione, not thinking she was going to get an answer tonight, decided to do the very same.
"Harry and I have already discussed it," Maddy said absently, pulling off her shirt. "We really have nothing more to say on the subject."
"So," Hermione peered at her through the neck hole of her own shirt. "Does this mean you two are…?"
"Over," Maddy said simply, pulling her silk gown over her head. She still hadn't taken off her skirt, but her mind didn't seem to be anywhere in the dorm at the moment. Instead, she couldn't help but wonder if Harry and Ron were having a very similar conversation on the other side of the tower. "We're done. We've decided it's for the best. I mean, it's really no big deal. We weren't really anything anyway, I-I don't think we're going to be heartbroken over it or anything…" Even Hermione could tell she was doing her best to convince herself. "Just…puppy love…you know? Juvenile."
Hermione nodded, secretly not agreeing with a single word the girl had to say. She knew Maddy was wrong. The two of them would live with this regret for possibly the rest of their lives. However, she did agree that it was for the best that they take a break. The two of them were much too full of drama individually, that together they were bound to explode. It wouldn't be healthy for either of them.
Before Hermione could say another word, the door to the room opened quickly, giving way to the remaining Gryffindor girls. Parvati Patil gave Maddy a strange look, realizing the girl was only half undressed. Lavender didn't notice either of them, making her way to the far side of the room where her own stuff had been laid out.
Maddy quickly slipped her skirt off and pulled the blankets back on her bed. She didn't crawl in immediately, her eyes falling to the new arrivals quickly.
"You missed the fight," Lavender said over her shoulder. "Seamus and Harry. Downstairs."
"Seamus and Harry?" Hermione asked.
Lavender nodded. Parvati pulled out her trunk and began to rifle through it's contents. She pulled out a bright green pair of shorts and a matching tank top. She began changing too, ignoring the looks from the others.
"Yeah," she continued Lavender's story. "Big fight downstairs. Seamus thinks Harry's full of crap when it comes to You-Know-Who coming back. Blamed the fact his Mum wasn't going to let him come back on him."
Maddy's eyes grew wide. She and Hermione exchanged looks of surprise. Hermione stood at the end of her bed, moving toward the girls.
"Seriously? Has he gone mad?" she asked.
Parvati looked up at her. "Are you kidding me? He's not the only one thinking it. I mean, Potter is the only one who saw Diggory get killed. He could have made the whole thing up."
Maddy could have slapped her. She wanted to, but gripped her bedpost instead, keeping herself under control. She knew people were going to be like this.
"Harry would never do something like that," Hermione said firmly, her back straightening out. She wasn't much taller than Parvati, but she'd take every centimeter she could. "He was absolutely devastated about Cedric's death. Why would he lie about it?"
"Could have been an accident," Lavender pointed out, pulling out a white nightgown. She still didn't look at Hermione. "I mean, if he killed Cedric by accident, he could still feel bad about it, but if it were me, if no one else saw me do it, I would lie too. You-Know-Who would be the easiest excuse."
Maddy didn't agree. Voldemort had been gone for years. Harry would have been stupid to use him as an excuse if he truly did kill Cedric by accident. He didn't though. Maddy knew Harry was telling the truth. It would just be difficult to prove.
"It wasn't an accident," she said, not letting Hermione fight them alone. She stepped out from behind her bed, her hand still clutching the post. If she let go, one of the girls would end up hurt. She knew that.
Lavender finally looked up at Maddy, laughing a little to herself. "Of course you'd believe him, you're pretty much in love with him. You have to defend him."
Maddy's nails bit into the palm of her free hand as it curled into a fist. These girls didn't know anything. "Shut up," she spat at them. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Maddy, calm down," Hermione glanced at her, reaching her hand out to push her back. She turned her attention back to the girls. "If you really believe that, you've got serious issues. You've known Harry for four years now, and you really think he'd make up something that ridiculous?"
"He's kind of obsessed with attention," Parvati pointed out. She was still bitter the boy had completely ignored her at the Yule Ball the year before, they could both tell. "If you haven't noticed."
"He's not obsessed with attention," Maddy nearly shouted. "He'd much rather he didn't have any attention at all! Have you absolutely lost your minds? Why would he want attention for witnessing his friend dying? What kind of deranged person would want that kind of attention?"
Hermione shushed her, glancing nervously back at the door. The last thing they needed was for Professor McGonagall to show up. They didn't need to get in trouble their first night back. Maddy didn't seem to care though. She wasn't about to let these girls insult Harry like it was nothing.
"If it weren't for Harry, neither of you would be here right now!" she added, her voice rising in volume. Hermione finally began to pull her back toward her bed.
"Maddy, please," she said quietly. "It's not that big a deal…"
"If I were you, I'd just keep your mouths shut!" Maddy warned, wagging a finger dangerously in their direction. She fought against Hermione. She wasn't done yet. She had loads more to say.
Lavender and Parvati froze, all of them falling silent as footsteps sounded outside their door. Maddy held her breath, realizing how loud she'd been. As the footsteps passed by and continued upward, she and Hermione both breathed heavy sighs of relief. Lavender and Parvati had nothing more to say. They exchanged glances and slipped into bed, extinguishing the candles burning on their walls.
"Calm down, Mad…" Hermione's voice was soft as she addressed her friend. "Not everyone is going to side with us. We can argue, but we can't lose our heads, okay?"
Maddy nodded. "I know, I know…" she said. "I just…I didn't…"
Hermione smiled a little. "I know. You love him…" she shook her head. "You don't have to tell me twice. I understand."
Maddy frowned as Hermione turned away and crawled into her own bed. Sighing heavily, Maddy forced herself into bed and pulled the covers tightly around her. She knew sleep was far from her, but she had to try. Her first day of classes weren't going to be easy. The school was filled with rumors.
A/N: So there's the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm currently working 2 hours away from my books, so I had to go stag with this chapter, and will have to with the next one, so wish me luck. Usually I like to follow some of the lines, so it's more involved in the actual story - but I'm going without it. I hope you all won't mind. I don't think you will. The next chapter will be up soon. Thank you all again for being so amazingly patient! You're amazing!