We hit FIFTY - WOO WOO WOO WOO! Okay, carry on now.
When Percy wake up the next morning, he found Seamus storming out of the dormitory without saying a word.
"Does he think he'll turn into a nutter if he stays in a room with me too long?" Harry said it loudly so Seamus could hear.
"What's up with him?" Percy asked.
"Don't worry about him," Dean muttered, hoisting his school bag onto his shoulder. "he just,. . ."
Dean seemed to lost the complete of word to say what Seamus was, so he just ignored it and finished his morning routine before headed out of the dorm with Harry and Dean.
Both Neville and Ron gave Harry some sort of look that said it's-his-problems-not-yours.
Hermione caught them half way across the common room about faive minutes later, "Hey," she said, and Percy nodded.
"What's the matter?" asked Hermione. "You look absolutely - Oh for heavens sake."
There was a noticeboard at the common room, and a large sign had been put up.
"GALLONS OF GALLEONS!" Harry whispered to Percy.
"What's that?" asked Percy.
"My brothers putted up there to look for some employees." said Ron.
"For what?" Percy asked again, Ron struggled.
"They are the limit," said Hermione, taking down the sign. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron."
Ron looked slightly worried.
"Why?"
"Because we're prefect!" said Hermione as they climbed out of the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!"
Ron said nothing, Percy has the feeling that Ron doesn't really want to be the buzz kill one, especially to his brother. Ron sighed.
"Anyway, what's up Harry?" Hermione continued, as they walked down a flight of stairs. "You look really angry about something."
"Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who," said Ron instantly.
Hermione then sighed.
"Yes, Lavender thinks so too." she said gloomily.
"Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry said loudly.
"Harry, calm down." said Percy.
"No," said Hermione calmly. "I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down our throats, Harry, because in case you haven't noticed, we are on your side."
There was a short pause, Percy smile.
"Sorry," said Harry in a low voice.
"Ah don't worry about that mate," said Percy, patting Harry's back. And Percy swear he saw a smile on Hermione's face as well.
"And don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the last end-of-term feast?"
They all looked blankly, Hermione sighed again.
"About You-Know-Who. He said his "gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust -""
"How do you remember stuff like that?" asked Ron, looking at her weirdly.
"I listen, Ron," said Hermione, with a little touch of disgust.
"So do I, but I still couldn't tell you exactly what-"
"The point," Hermione pressed on loudly, "is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. You-Know-Who's only been back two months and we've already started fighting among ourselves. And the Sorting Hat's warning was the same: stand together, be united-"
"And Harry got it right last night," retorted Ron. "If that means we're supposed to get matey with the Slytherins-fat chance."
"Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-house unity," said Hermione crossly.
"How about we just try, huh?" said Percy. "Play nice for awhile, at least until this all end." and Hermione nodded.
They had reached the foot of the marble staircase. A line of fourth year Ravenclaws was crossing the Entrance Hall. But when they saw Harry though, they hurried to form a tighter group as though he might attack.
"Yeah, we really ought to be trying to play nice with people like that." said Harry sarcastically.
They followed the Ravenclaws into the Great Hall, and up the staff table, Professor Grubbly-Plank was chatting to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, and Hagrid was no where to be found again. The weather seemed a little off as the ceiling was reflecting the real weather, and right now, it was raining cloud grey.
"Dumbledore didn't even mention how long that Grubbly-Plank woman's staying," Harry said, as they made their way across to the Gryffindor table.
"Maybe …" said Hermione thoughtfully.
"What?" said the three boys together.
"Well ... maybe he didn't want to draw attention to Hagrid not being here."
"What d'you mean, draw attention to it?" said Ron, half-laughing. "How could we not notice?"
Before Hermione could answer, a tall black girl with long braided hair had marched up to Harry.
"Hi, Angelina."
"Hi guys" she said briskly, "good summer Harry? Percy?" she continued without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."
"Nice one," said Harry, grinning at her.
" Yea, congratulation then." said Percy as well.
"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in."
"OK," said Harry.
"Sure."
And after Percy's answer, Angelina smiled and departed.
"I'd forgotten Wood had left," said Hermione vaguely as she sat down beside Percy and pulled a plate of toast towards her. "I suppose that will make quite a difference to the team?"
"I s'pose," said Harry, taking the bench opposite.
"He was a good Keeper …" Percy said, pulling the pancake dish toward him with the maple syrup.
"Still, it won't hurt to have some new blood, will it?" said Ron.
With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls soaring in through the upper windows. They headed to all directions all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners, and droplets of water. Hermione had move move her orange juice aside quickly to make way for a large barn owl bearing a newspaper in its beak.
"The Daily Prophets?" Percy asked before taking a sip of his apple juice. Hermione nodded.
"What are you still getting that for"' said Harry, sounded quite annoy. "I'm not bothering ... load of rubbish."
"It's best to know what the enemy is saying," said Hermione darkly, and she unfurled the newspaper and disappeared behind it. Not until for awhile.
"Nothing," she said simply, rolling up the newspaper and laying it down by her plate. "Nothing about you or Percy or Dumbledore or anything."
"So, was that supposed to be a good thing?" Percy said.
Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out timetables.
"Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, double Potions, double Defence Against the Dark Arts Divination and Divination... Binns, Snape, Trelawney and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted …"
Percy looked at his schedule at the same time and trying to figure out what half the thing on the piece of parchment said. Hermione then snapped it out of his hand and take a look.
"You have double Transfiguration, Muggle Studies, Charms, and double Defence Against the Dark Arts." said Hermione, then handed him back the parchment.
"Do mine ears deceive me?" said Fred, arriving with George and squeezing on to the bench beside Harry. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skip off lessons?"
"Look what we've got today," said Ron grumpily, shoving his timetable under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."
"Fair point, little bro," said Fred, scanning the column. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."
"Why's it cheap?" said Ron suspiciously.
"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet," said George, helping himself to a kipper.
"Cheers," said Ron moodily, pocketing his timetable, "but I think I'll take the lessons."
"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," said Hermione, eyeing Fred and George beadily, "you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor noticeboard."
"Says who?" said George, looking astonished.
"Says me," said Hermione. "And Ron."
"Leave me out of it," said Ron hastily.
Hermione glared at him. Fred and George sniggered.
"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione," said Fred, thickly buttering a crumpet. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."
"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?" asked Hermione.
"Fifth year's OWL year," said George.
"So?"
"So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw," said Fred with satisfaction. "Don't believe us, ask Percy."
"Well I wouldn't say that but yea, it's a tough one." said Percy. "The only thing that kept mind mind of the test was because of the tournament last year. But there was a few times though when I thought I was gonna fail, but then I thought of other times when I got kicked out of school before and say "What the Hades! Oh and that's how they said it in the US."
"Any way, half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to OWLs," said George happily. "Tears and tantrums ... Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint …"
"Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?" said Fred reminiscently.
"That's 'cause you put Bulbadox powder in his pajamas," said George.
"Oh yeah," said Fred, grinning. "I'd forgotten ... hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?"
"Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth," said George. "If you care about exam results, anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our peckers up somehow."
"Yeah ... you got, what was it, three OWLs each?" said Ron.
"Yep," said Fred unconcernedly. "But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievement."
"We seriously debated whether we were going to bother coming back for our seventh year," said George brightly, "now that we've got-"
He broke off at a warning look from Harry, and Percy know about they are about to say.
"-now that we've got our OWLs," George said hastily. "I mean, do we really need NEWTs? But we didn't think Mum could take us leaving school early not on top of Percy turning out to be the world's biggest prat."
"We're not going to waste our last year here, though," said Fred, looking affectionately around at the Great Hall. "We're going to use it to do a bit of market research, find out exactly what the average Hogwarts student requires from a joke shop, carefully evaluate the results of our research, then produce products to fit the demand."
"But where are you going to get the gold to start a joke shop?" Hermione asked skeptically. "You're going to need all the ingredients and materials-and premises too, I suppose …"
Both Percy and Harry did not look at the twins, Harry's face went a little red while Percy just acted normal and finished his pancake. They heard Fred say overhead, "Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Hermione. C'mon, George, if we get there early we might be able to sell a few Extendable Ears before Herbology."
Percy finished his juice when they left and felt the utter relief.
"What did that mean?" said Hermione, looking from one to another. ""Ask us no questions ..." Does that mean they've already got some gold to start a joke shop?"
"You know, I've been wondering about that," said Ron, his brow furrowed. "They bought me a new set of dress robes this summer and I couldn't understand where they got the Galleons …"
"Well they are your brothers right?" said Percy. "They love you, maybe they saved up some money and bought it for you."
But Harry decided to change the subject to get out of the dangerous waters.
"D'you reckon it's true this year's going to be really tough? Because of the exams?"
"Oh, yeah," said Ron. "Bound to be, isn't it? OWLs are really important, affect the jobs you can apply for and everything. We get career advice, too, later this year, Bill told me. So you can choose what NEWTs you want to do next year."
"D'you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked, as they left the Great Hall.
"Not really," said Ron slowly. "Except ... well …"
He looked slightly sheepish.
"What?" Harry urged him.
"Well, it'd be cool to be an Auror," said Ron in an off-hand voice.
"Yeah, it would," said Harry fervently.
"But they're, like, the elite," said Ron. "You've got to be really good. What about you, Percy?"
"Don't know yet, but an Auror sounded cool. Hermione, any plans?"
"I don't know," she said. "I think I'd like to do something really worthwhile."
"An Auror's worthwhile!" said Harry.
"Yes, it is, but it's not the only worthwhile thing," said Hermione thoughtfully, "I mean, if I could take SPEW further …"
"Well for now, I think you guys will get through it," said Percy. "I mean, you're Harry Potter, the boy who lived, Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of your age, and you're Ronal Weasley."
The trio looked at each other. feeling quite well about themselves, and Percy broke off from the trio and headed to Professor McGonagall' room. When Percy arrived, all Percy's fellow students already there along with the Hufflepuff. Percy noticed Cormac McLaggen was chatting with some girls from the Hufflepuff, then he looked at Percy and smirk.
"Where were you?" Katie Bell asked Percy as he sat down. "You're late, again."
"I know, I'm sorry," said Percy. "I got a little held up."
But then Percy look on to his desk, and a cat, was standing on it and it seemed that it was shaking its head then sighed. The cat jumped off Percy's desk and transformed into Professor McGonagall.
"I'm very disappointed about you Mr. Jackson," Professor McGonagall said, Percy's face went a little red.
"Sorry Professor," said Percy, pulled out his wand and Professor McGonagall continued the lesson. And at the first period of the term, McGonagall have them to revive some of the spell they had learned last year such as the Gemino Curse, which need much delicate and need to be very careful. And the second half of the lesson McGonagall talk about the Human Transfiguration, and another branch of Transformation in which one transfigures human body parts or an entire human being into another form.
And Percy giggled.
"Is something funny Mr. Jackson?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"No Professor," answered Percy. "I mean yes, I just remember when Moody turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret."
The whole class nearly bursted out of laughter but hold it back when McGonagall glared at them.
"Well Moody shouldn't turned students to a ferret."
Percy headed to Muggle Studies next with the Ravenclaws, teaches by Professor Charity Burbage. Percy was passing through this subject with flying color since he lives in it most of the time, even though most of the times Percy avoid using computers and cell phone, but he was still able to use them, no trouble what so ever, and even driving a car.
And soon the class was over, and Percy headed to the Great Hall for lunch and find the trio headed there at the same direction as well. Harry, Ron, Percy and Hermione. They sat down at the table and Harry started with his lunch right away. The ceiling had turned an even murkier grey during the morning. Rain was lashing the high windows.
"That was really unfair," said Hermione, sitting down next to Percy and helping herself to shepherd's pie. "Your potion wasn't nearly as bad as Goyle's; when he put it in his flagon the whole thing shattered and set his robes on fire."
"Yeah, well," said Harry, glowering at his plate, "since when has Snape ever been fair to me?"
"Let me guess," said Percy. "Snape?" Hermione nodded.
"I did think he might be a bit better this year," said Hermione in a disappointed voice. "I mean ... you know …" she looked around carefully; there were half a dozen empty seats on either side of them and nobody was passing the table " ... now he's in the Order and everything."
"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots," said Ron sagely. "Anyway, I've always thought Dumbledore was cracked to trust Snape. Where's the evidence he ever really stopped working for You-Know-Who?"
"I think Dumbledore's probably got plenty of evidence, even if he doesn't share it with you, Ron," snapped Hermione.
"Oh, shut up, the pair of you," said Harry heavily, as Ron opened his mouth to argue back. "Can't you give it a rest?" said Harry. "You've been argue with each other all morning about a stupid potion and. . . and. . . everything, it's driving me mad." And abandoning his shepherd's pie, he swung his schoolbag back over his shoulder and left them sitting there.
"Don't worry about him," said Percy, eating a tart. "Give him some time to cool off."
So Ron and Hermione silently eating their lunch with Percy.
Percy left the Great Hall for Charm and it was a quick session, Professor Flitwick , the Head of Ravenclaw house had a small speech with them, about the changes that new lady professor will make, he just doesn't know that if it's good or bad, according to McGonagall in the staff meeting, then he started with the lesson by reviewing some of the difficult spells from last years, and some realistic one as well, and at the same time they also have to practice the Non-verbal spells.
It wasn't that hard for Percy to be able to figured it out after a few tries.
"Good work Mr. Jackson," said Professor Flitwick. "Good work."
Percy's first day seemed fine and all he has to do now is to get through Defence Against the Dark Art by the new Professor Umbridge. As Percy headed to her classroom, he met the trio leave it, and seemed kind of angry about it.
"How was it?" Percy asked, but Harry just stormed off with Hermione and Ron behind him.
"Not good?" Percy asked again, Hermione and Ron nodded. "Not good, well, wish me luck then."
And when Percy arrived with Katie Bell and his fellow Gryffindor students, along with the Slytherin, Umbridge was already seated at the teacher's desk, wearing the pink cardigan of the night before and a black velvet bow on top of her head.
"Well, good afternoon!" she said when stood up behind her desk. Everyone filled the desk in quite, awkwardness was in the air.
A few people mumbled "good afternoon" back.
"Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge". One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted back at her. Percy felt as though he was a grade schooler again.
"What are we?" whispered Percy. "Kids?"
Katie struggled.
"There, now," said Professor Umbridge sweetly. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."
Percy surprised, the words "wand away" really blew him away, and other students exchanging gloomy looks. But they followed anyway, Percy putted his wand back into his robes, and pulled out from his bag were quills and parchment. Professor Umbridge pulled out from her bag, extracted her own wand, a short one, and tapped the blackboard with it, words appeared on it.
Defence Against the Dark Arts
A Return to Basic Principles
Percy took quite awhile to figured it out.
"Your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" started Professor Umbridge, turning to face them. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year. But now that you have passed that, we need to look into the future and expect the N.E.W.T exams
"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."
She tapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by:
Course Aims:
1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.
2. Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used
3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.
Percy took another few minutes before Katie said it to him, and Percy started to write them down.
"Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Willbert Slinkhard?" and murmur of assent throughout the class. "Thank you Hermione." a thought race through his head.
"I think we'll try that again," said Professor Umbridge. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, "Yes, Professor Umbridge", or "No, Professor Umbridge". So: has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"
"Yes, Professor Umbridge," rang through the room.
"Good," said Professor Umbridge. "I should like you to turn to page five and read "Chapter One, Basics for Beginners". There will be no need to talk."
"Beginner?" Percy questioned again as he pulled the book out from his bag and turn to page five of his copy and started to read.
The room was quite dull, and it was boring, just like in Bins's class. Percy was going from pages to pages, and words flying around and his head started to hurt, Percy looked up from the book then around, Katie was focused on her book as Percy looked at her. She noticed Percy was looking at her, and she told him to go back to reading. But it was too hard, and Percy looked at Cormac, who was whispered and muttered to some other girls. So finally, Percy just close it and lay his head on the book and fall into his sleep.
"Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson," Percy was waken up by the banging on the desk and the call from a person with a high pitch voice. "We do not sleep in class. Wake up Mr. Jackson."
Percy slowly opened his eyes and heard laughter all around the class.
"Tut, tut, quite everyone." said Professor Umbridge.
"Sorry Professor." said Percy, rubbing his eyes and swipe away his drool. "That won't happen again."
"Now since you been asleep all this time I assume you had finished the book, yes?" said Umbridge, Percy was about to claimed that he hasn't finished it, not even the first chapter, but she continued right away. "Can you tell me what is Counter-jinxes? And what is Wilbert Slinkhard opinion about the Counter-jines?"
Percy was confused, he has the smallest clue about what are those, a long pause and silence filled the room. The tension was there, and Percy swear that he could have cut it with Riptide.
"Anything Mr. Jackson? Anything from the book." she continued.
"I'm sorry Professor, I haven't read any of them." Percy whispered.
Umbridge looked at Percy, eyes wide open, "Well that is disappointed," she said. "I was looking forward to the student with the best mark to do better than this."
"I'm really sorry Professor, but my dyslexia was acting up today, words just flying around." Percy said, hoping she would understand, but received a ridiculous smile from Umbridge.
"What on Earth is Dyslexia? Stop making excuses Mr. Jackson." said Umbridge.
"I'm not," said Percy in his defense. "It's a disorder which making you have difficulties while reading."
"Nonsense Mr. Jackson, I have never heard of it before." said Professor Umbridge. "I am quite surprise that you passed all the previous exam, obviously you have cheated, or other previous teachers failed their job as a teacher, but I am not them, and that is more reason for me to be here, to fix the school, because its previous teacher were all unqualified for the job."
Whispers filled all over the classroom.
"And it just exposed you Mr. Jackson," said Professor Umbridge, her face appeared with a smirk. "That you are nothing but a phony."
