Chapter 15: The Seeds of Resistance

The rest of the week was a haze of pain. Harry went through the motions as well as he could manage. He got up early every morning and went to Quidditch practice. He caught the Snitch and dodged Bludgers. He did all his homework to diligent perfection. He laughed at jokes and smiled at his friends. He played the role of normal, happy student so well that no one would ever suspect the horrors he faced every night.

Every night he carved words deeper and deeper into his arm. Every night he watched his blood filling page after page of parchment.

After the second night of detention, he knew that the terrible words would never fully fade. He would bear these scars forever.

He told no one. Not Sirius. Not Remus. Not his Friends. He kept his arm bandaged and hidden. He reassured them that he was just doing lines.

Every single day, he lied.

The detentions were not his only problem. Despite his decision to hide the locket in his trunk, foreign memories still haunted his dreams. What little sleep he managed was filled with murder, dark hallways, and the graveyard of Little Hangleton.

The combination of sleep-deprivation, hunger from missing dinner every night that week, and the terrible pain of his left arm made it difficult for Harry to feel anything other than despair. He had never had a worse week at Hogwarts. The only good thing that had happened to him was getting back the results of his summer assignments. He had managed an Outstanding on all of them. The only one that hadn't been returned was Potions, but Harry was confident in that essay. It had been his best one.

Just when Harry thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, he came back from his detention on Thursday evening to find his friends sitting in the Common Room looking murderous. They explained that at dinner that evening, Dumbledore had announced that Umbridge would be taking the position of co-headmistress. She would share equal power with Dumbledore. When Hermione explained that the decision had been Dumbledore's, not the Ministry's, Harry almost fell off his chair in shock.

"Why on earth would he agree to that?" Harry questioned, dread filling him at the thought of Umbridge having that much power.

"I think he did it so that he could keep things from getting too much worse." George offered thoughtfully.

When everyone turned to stare at him in confusion, he continued,

"Think about it, at least this way Dumbledore controls some of the power she gets. By agreeing to it, he makes himself look good in the press. That means that the Ministry won't be able to justify passing sweeping reforms at Hogwarts. If they do that, they'll be implying that Umbridge, and by extension Fudge, is doing a bad job. This way, the Ministry doesn't have a reason to interfere in more extreme ways. Plus, they still have to make unanimous decisions regarding expulsion, firing, and major rule-changes. I think he's doing his best to protect the students and staff from her. It's not ideal, but it's better than the alternative."

George's logic made a lot of sense. Harry knew that people had been pushing for reforms at Hogwarts. By giving Umbridge equal power, Dumbledore had ensured that those demanding reforms would be satisfied while also putting himself in a perfect position to check Umbridge's power.

Even though he understood exactly why Dumbledore had chosen to do this, Harry still felt betrayed. He knew that Dumbledore had no way of knowing what Umbridge was doing to him, but that didn't change the fact that he had just given her the kind of power that would allow her to keep hurting him. As headmistress, her ability to assign detentions would be unchecked. If she wanted, she could have him cutting his arm open every day from now until the end of the year. Harry wasn't sure he could survive that.

Trying to take his mind off the amount of power Umbridge had just been handed, Harry turned to his homework. They had another Potions essay due the next day, and Harry was determined to give it everything he had. He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice as the others headed off to bed.

As it neared midnight, the only people left in the Common Room were him and George.

"Hey, Harry?" George's voice broke through his concentration, shattering the silence of the empty Common Room.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really okay?"

Harry jerked his head up from his book. Why did George always know when something was bothering him?

"Yes, George. I'm fine."

George rolled his eyes.

"You literally always say that."

"Well, it's literally always true."

George let out a wry laugh.

"I don't think that's why."

Silence fell for a moment. Then George looked right into his eyes.

"If you really are fine, Harry, then I'm glad. If you aren't, I want you to know that you can tell me anything. Always."

George looked so sincere, brown eyes gleaming with emotion, that Harry almost told him. He almost pulled up his sleeve to reveal the marks Umbridge had left. Terrified by his own weakness, Harry quickly lowered his eyes.

He couldn't tell George what was going on. He just couldn't. George would tell someone, probably an adult. George didn't yet understand that adults couldn't fix everything. He didn't know what it was like to live without an advocate, at the mercy of those in power. He didn't know what it felt like to be hurt instead of protected. Harry never wanted him to know. He wouldn't allow George to be subjected to the horrors of the quill. He would rather write until all his blood was gone than allow George to carve even a single word into his skin.

Harry kept his silence, hoping that someday George would forgive him.

When dawn broke the next day, Harry had never been so happy for it to be Friday. Today marked his last detention with Umbridge. Hopefully, he could stay detention-free for a while.

Harry's wish was thwarted during Potions. It was a double-period, and Snape had spent the entire time lecturing. It was a fascinating topic though Harry could have done without the plethora of insults to their intelligence that peppered the Professor's lecture. Just before class ended, Snape handed back their summer assignments.

To Harry's dismay, he had not gotten a good score. Not at all. At the top of his neatly written essay was a large, red, zero. Just beneath the zero were the words "Stay after class."

Harry felt his breath hitch in his chest. He didn't want to be alone with Snape, especially if the man was angry.

Fighting back his fear, Harry waited awkwardly while the rest of the classroom emptied. Snape, seeming to enjoy his discomfort, allowed him to stand there like an idiot for several minutes before he spoke.

"Well, Potter, you never cease to amaze me."

He paused, looking at Harry like he would very much like to turn him into Potions ingredients.

"I honestly didn't think you could get any more arrogant or bone-headed than you already were. It seems I was mistaken."

"Sir? I don't underst…"

"I saw you with Zabini, and I thought you might have finally decided to better yourself by associating with more worthy companions than your normal band of misfits."

Harry bristled. Why did Snape think it was okay to insult his friends?

"It was, of course, incredibly foolish of me to think that you would genuinely try to become friends with a Slytherin. After I read your supposed Potions assignment, I finally understood."

Harry didn't understand what Snape meant by "supposed." What did he think Harry had done?

"Blaise Zabini is quite good at Potions, Potter."

"I know that, sir. He's really smart."

"Of course you know that, Potter. Otherwise, why would you have made him write your Potions assignment for you?"

For a moment, all Harry could do was stare at Snape. The man thought he had cheated? Before Harry could begin to defend himself, Snape continued, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him.

"You couldn't be bothered to do even a shred of work could you, Potter?"

"Sir, I didn't ch…"

"Doing your own work is something beneath the great Harry Potter, isn't it? You are clearly too special to..."

"I DIDN'T CHEAT!"

Harry didn't know what made him yell, but he was just so tired of being called a liar. Snape stopped speaking, moving from behind his desk to stand in front of Harry. He was much too close, and Harry was painfully aware of the fact that Snape was much taller than him.

"Don't lie to me, Potter."

Harry took a step back from the man, shaking slightly.

"I'm not lying, Sir. I worked hard on this assignment. It was done before I even got to Hogwarts."

Snape snorted.

"As if you're capable of doing work this good, Potter. You should have at least tried to make it believable."

Harry didn't know what to do. Snape would never believe him. No one ever did.

"I think this warrants 50 points from Gryffindor."

Harry looked up at the man in horror. Snape just smirked at him.

"And Detention. Tomorrow. 9 am. I have some cauldrons that need cleaning. It'll be good for you to finally experience what hard work is like."

There was nothing he could say. He had no defence. He simply left the classroom. He was having a hard time getting his breathing under control. He felt dangerously disconnected from his surroundings. He stumbled toward the nearest bathroom. Once inside, he felt the panic take over him. He kept seeing flashes of similar scenes at the Dursleys. Times when he had been accused of lying, cheating, stealing. Times when he had been hit, locked away, starved.

As the memories continued to flood his mind, his heart rate increased, his breathing becoming more ragged. Merlin, he couldn't breathe. He was back in his cupboard. Uncle Vernon was coming. He was going to…

"Harry Potter, Sir!" A tiny high-pitched voice broke through his panic. A tiny glass vial was brought to his lips.

"You be drinking this, Harry Potter!"

Not having the strength to resist, Harry swallowed the liquid. It was silky and tasted like peppermint. Harry recognized it as a Calming Draught. After a few moments, his heart rate slowed, and he once again knew where he was. He was in the bathroom at Hogwarts. He wasn't in his cupboard. He was fine. Everything was fine.

"Dobby?" He asked incredulously.

Sure enough, right in front of him stood the odd House-elf. He was looking uncharacteristically serious.

"Yes, Harry Potter, Sir. It is Dobby. Dobby be cleaning, and he sees Mr. Harry Potter Sir leaving nasty Snapey's classroom looking all pale and shaky. Dobby was worried so Dobby followed. Good thing Dobby did. Sir had nasty flashback."

Harry suddenly felt very ashamed. He had never wanted anyone to see him in that state. He had always been alone when he had gotten lost in memories like that. Dobby looked at him sternly.

"It's nothing to bes ashamed of. It just means that you has been through hard things. You is very strong and brave, Harry Potter."

Harry offered Dobby a weak smile.

"Thanks, Dobby. You're the best."

Dobby looked so happy, Harry feared for a moment he might spontaneously combust.

"Harry Potter is truly a great wizard. He is also a great wizard who is late for Herbology."

Dobby was right. Harry was quite late for Herbology. He raced out of the bathroom and dashed through the grounds. He made it to Herbology nearly 20 minutes late. Thankfully, the others had told Professor Sprout that Snape had kept him back, so she just smiled at him before telling him to join a workstation.

During dinner, Harry told his friends all about his conversation with Snape and his detention tomorrow. They were all understandably furious. What surprised Harry was just how mad George was. He looked like he might march up to the Head Table and punch Snape right in his crooked nose.

"That utter GIT!" George muttered, stabbing his potatoes aggressively.

"You're brilliant at Potions. No way Zabini could have written that essay. He's good, but he's not nearly as good as you."

Harry blushed a bit at the compliment.

"It's okay, George. It's just scrubbing cauldrons. It'll be fine."

"It's NOT fine. It's SO not fine. You've been in detention all week. You're exhausted, and Snape is messing with you because he's too blind to see what a talented, kind, brave..."

George broke off, snapping his jaw shut with a click, his cheeks suddenly very red.

"Anyway, it's just not fair."

"No, it's really not." Hermione said sadly.

"I hoped he would get over his grudge against you. He's a grown man. He shouldn't be acting like this."

Harry agreed with her, but he didn't see what he could do about it. He wished that someday Snape would be able to see him and not his father. Today was clearly not that day. He would just keep trying. Someday he would prove Snape wrong. Until then, he would just have to be the better man.

Harry's resolve to not let Snape get to him was the only thing that got him through his detention the next day. He had arrived ten minutes before 9 to find nearly 20 disgusting cauldrons waiting for him. He had started scrubbing, trying to ignore the periodic insults Snape would toss his way. He had worked for hours, scrubbing at the congealed Potions until his hands were dry and cracking. He had just finished his 15th cauldron, when the door flew open.

Standing in the doorway, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen her, was Professor McGonagall. Snape recovered from his shock quicker than Harry.

"Minerva, what do I owe the…"

"Don't even start, Severus." She growled at him, turning towards Harry.

"Potter, leave those cauldrons. You're done here. Go up and wait for me in my office."

"Minerva, he's in the middle of detent…"

"Go, Potter."

Harry turned on his heel, grabbed his bag, and flew out the door. He made it quickly to Professor McGonagall's office. She had left the door unlocked, and he sat perched on a chair in front of her desk, waiting for her to come back. He had no earthly idea what was going on.

When she returned, nearly fifteen minutes later, Professor McGonagall was red in the face and still looked furious. Harry shrunk back slightly, worried she was going to yell at him. She looked at him sharply.

"Don't look at me like that, Potter. You're not in trouble."

At Harry's audible sigh of relief, Professor McGonagall let out a chuckle. A slightly awkward silence fell before Professor McGonagall let out a long sigh.

"I want to speak plainly to you, Potter. Professor Snape had no right to do what he did. I have restored Gryffindor's points and convinced him to give you the Outstanding you deserved on that assignment. If he ever baselessly accuses you of cheating again, you come to me, alright?"

Harry nodded.

"I'm afraid that I can't do anything about Professor Umbridge's detentions. I know that they are completely unfair. I'm terribly sorry, Potter."

She looked it.

"It's alright, Professor."

"It's not. I should be able to help you."

She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing her bun.

"Listen, I know it's difficult to feel as if you have no power. But, Harry, you do have power."

Harry startled at her use of his first name.

"You won't win every battle, but you're allowed to fight. You're allowed to stand up for yourself, Harry. I see you protecting people all the time, but you never protect yourself. Please, if you need help, ask for it."

His professor looked almost ready to cry.

"I will, Professor."

"Good." She pulled a tin of shortbread cookies off her desk.

"Now, take a shortbread and be off with you!"

Harry, still baffled by how that conversation had gone, took the offered cookie and left the classroom.

As he walked to the library, where he suspected he would find at least some of his friends, he reflected on Professor McGonagall's words.

You won't win every battle, but you're allowed to fight.

You're allowed to stand up for yourself.

She was right. Maybe he couldn't stop Umbridge from giving him those detentions, but there were other ways he could stand up for himself.

He was going to fight back, and he knew just the person to help him do it.

"Hermione," he hissed as soon as he got to her table in the library.

"Can we go somewhere to talk?"

She looked up at him, a crease of concern appearing between her brows.

"Of course," she whispered back to him.

"Just let me pack up, we can go onto the grounds."

Out on the grounds, away from prying ears, Hermione turned to him.

"What's going on?"

Harry took a breath, steeling himself.

"I want to fight back against the Ministry and against Umbridge."

"Oh, Harry!" She squealed.

"I'm so glad! I've been thinking of ways to take them down for ages, but I didn't want to do anything before you were ready."

Harry laughed a bit. It was so typical of Hermione to already have plans.

"What ideas do you have?"

She frowned, looking a bit nervous.

"Well, most importantly, we need to get the public on your side. Right now, Fudge has completely suppressed the truth. Even those within the Ministry who don't agree with him are afraid to speak out because they'll face huge backlash and likely be fired."

Harry nodded. He had expected this.

"How do we do that? I mean, the Daily Prophet is hardly going to print my version of the story, are they?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, they won't. But they aren't the only newspaper in Wizarding Britain. We're going to use Magical Monthly."

At Harry's confused look, Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.

"Honestly, they're one of the most well-known wizarding newspapers. They're owned by the same company that makes Witch Weekly, and they publish really credible, well-researched articles. They have a similar readership to the Daily Prophet, they just come out much less frequently. That's probably why you've never seen one."

"That's great, but how do we get them to print my story?"

Hermione blushed slightly.

"I've got that covered."

"How?"

"Well, I've been writing to Viktor, and…"

"Krum?"

"Obviously. Anyway, he's been really upset by the way the media has been treating you. There's going to be a piece about him in the November issue of Magical Monthly, and he wants to talk about the Triwizard Tournament. He asked me if you wanted to join him for the interview. The editor already signed off. They know it'll make for a great story."

Harry just stared at her.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

She looked at him sadly, biting her lower lip.

"I didn't think you were ready to talk about it."

She was right. Even now, the thought of trying to explain what had happened that night made him want to hide. That didn't matter. He needed to be strong.

"When would we do the interview?"

"They were planning to meet us at the Three Broomsticks on the first Hogsmeade weekend at the end of September. You don't have to do it, Harry, but I really think you should."

She turned to him, looking straight into his eyes.

"We need people to know that V-Voldemort's back. Not just for you, but for all of us."

Harry was in awe of his friend. He had never heard her use Voldemort's name before.

"I will. You're right. This isn't just about me. We need to be prepared."

He waited a moment, unsure if he really wanted to say the next part of his plan.

"Um, Hermione? I think we need to make sure the other students know how to defend themselves. With Voldemort back, it's only a matter of time before they'll need to know basic defensive methods. Umbridge certainly isn't going to teach them that."

He really hoped that she didn't think it was a stupid idea.

"That's an excellent idea, Harry. I was already thinking of forming a Defense club. There's only one condition I have: you have to teach it.

Before he could protest she continued.

"Don't argue, Harry. You learned most of the Defense curriculum before the Third Task. You are far more advanced than anyone else. Plus, you have real-world experience that no one else has."

As Hermione continued to ramble about how their defense club would work, Harry could feel hope rising in him for the first time in months. It was time to fight back.

A/N: Harry has decided to take some actions against the Ministry, yay! I changed quite a bit about the dynamics of Umbridge at Hogwarts because I think Dumbledore would have been smarter to give her power voluntarily early on. Pretending to cooperate will be better for the students, so that's what he's going to do. I also invented a newspaper because I refuse to believe that the Daily Prophet is the only Wizarding newspaper. Especially with the quality of stuff they write. They literally got HARRY POTTER'S age wrong in the article about the Triwizard Tournament (Which is a fact that most wizards would know because Harry is famous).

Also, Snape and Harry's relationship will get better, but first, it will get worse. I think Snape has a lot of potential as a character, but there needs to be a realistic explanation for him having a change of heart. I have one planned, don't worry :)

Thanks to everyone for reading! Next chapter coming Saturday!