28
THE room felt like it dropped ten degrees since the St. Mungo's Healers had refused to let Ollie in to see her, and there was a horrible constricting on her throat, the weight itself feeling like it was sucking Norah's last breath from her lungs. She sighed, her tranquil face welcoming a slight struggle, but slowly, the pressure around her throat tightened.
The moment her lungs screamed at her for air, she forced her heavy eyelids open, staring at the unspeakable horror that loomed above her.
It was the first time she'd woken up since the St. Mungo's Healer had slipped her a truly copious amount of a Sleeping and Calming Draught upon her admittance, allowing them to mend her broken body in peace without an incident.
The last thing she remembered was Ollie's stricken, angry face as he hovered in the open door of what appeared to be her own private room, in the ward reserved for the wealthier wizarding families, people who could afford the best of care for their injured or sicked loved ones, which she almost laughed at.
Father was nowhere near wealthy, nor was she, by any means, so how on Merlin's green earth did she end up here?
Maybe Dumbledore arranged it for me? Norah thought wildly, turning her head to the side to cough for air.
Though the truly awful sight that stood looming over her hospital bed made her pupils dilate in fear as a pudgy, manicured hand hovered over the delicate but quite scraped and banged up flesh of her neck, the pads of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister's fat, stubby fingers that reminded Norah of sausages tried to wind around her throat like poison ivy on a pillar.
Her hospital room was strangely swathed in shadows, no lights were on, which Norah thought odd.
But the anger in Dolores Jane Umbridge's dark brown eyes, currently narrowed to mere slits, burned brighter than any Lumos Charm could ever manage.
Norah gulped nervously as she could very clearly see the loathing that spiraled for her in Umbridge's eyes.
Despite her pudgy, fat hand wound around her neck and starting to squeeze, Norah still summoned enough strength to look into the Undersecretary's eyes without a hint of fear or recoil, refusing to avert her gaze first.
She was trained to mask her panic with apathy the day Fenrir Greyback had murdered her Muggle parents and turned her like him when she was four. And it would seem the way that Norah did not give into Umbridge's fear tactic only spurred Dolores's ire.
The pudgy fingers that were starting to sweat around her neck tightened even deeper. Norah cracked open her lips to try to draw in even a gasp of air.
She—she wouldn't be serious… would she? Ollie? I—I need you! Norah resisted the urge to groan in frustration when her desperate plea was met with nothing but silence, which was almost deafening as she could hear nothing but the pounding roaring of the blood in her ears. It was futile to call for the Legilimens in her mind.
He was probably engrossed in deep conversation with Tonks and Lupin and as a result, wasn't paying any attention to reading her mind, perhaps the one time that she secretly hoped the man would do.
She hadn't witnessed it for herself, but through the haze of her sleep, she'd sworn she heard Ollie's voice, shouting, of course, from behind her closed hospital room door.
"Where did you go this morning, little wolf?" The false sympathetic voice that dripped from her like poisonous honey echoed on Norah's ringing eardrums.
"G—go?" Norah whispered in a hoarse, faint breathy voice that was barely above a whisper. She was surprised she could even speak at all considering the pressure Dolores's hand that was squeezing her throat was increasing, and she showed no signs of stopping.
Still, Umbridge hadn't budged an inch to force her hand off of her neck. Norah exhaled a shaking breath through her nose, easing her body and closing her lids slowly as if she welcomed Death as if he were a friend.
Do it, then, she told Dolores in impossible telepathy, praying to Merlin, that somehow, Ollie could read her mind and he'd come. Upon closing her eyes, the fingers slowly but surely loosened. Norah's eyes flung open as a tense, tired release sent the slightest whiff of fresh air to her lungs.
Norah bolted upright, propped up against a mountain of pillows that the Healer, whoever had worked on her last, had taken care to fluff behind her and even use their wand to heat, to ensure she was kept warm and as comfortable as possible while here.
The young blonde witch turned her head to the side to violently cough, her lungs heaving for the biting, cold air of the chilled temperature of the room that seemed to burn her lungs as she drank in air selfishly.
When Norah had finally regained her ability to breathe, slowly but surely her vision returned and cleared to normal, the black dots leaving the edges of her vision as her lungs expanded as fresh air came in.
She was dismayed as she slowly swiveled her head back around to face the front of her hospital bed, only to find that the short, stout witch clad entirely in pink had taken it upon herself to sit in the only chair nearest her bedside, a floating clipboard, and a quill hovering in mid-air just to the immediate left of her.
"Ignore the clipboard and quill, dearie, you are not in any trouble with me or the Ministry, as long as you are honest and straightforward with me in your answers."
Norah's heart nearly stopped, and she found it increasingly difficult to keep her mouth from falling open in shock as she looked wildly around the room to the left and right, hoping she wasn't obvious in displaying her extreme discomfort.
"Can't…can't Ollie come into the room, too? If—if he doesn't say anything, could my…partner, just sit next to me?" she questioned, unable to keep the note of desperation from seeping its way unbidden to her voice, thinking it strange to hear her utter the man's first name, and for the first time, she felt no hint of disgust or anger as visions of the man's handsome face came to her mind.
She exhaled a slightly shaking breath as Dolores Umbridge did not immediately answer her, instead of making a show of giving her wand a sharp rap, conjuring a small cup of what looked like steaming tea, and waved her wand again so that the chipped little teacup soared effortlessly into Norah's shaking hands.
"Have a spot of tea, Miss Jameson. You look rather pale," Umbridge began in a simpering, honeyed tone. "I'd just like to talk to you now about a few…suspicious incidents. You aren't in trouble." Dolores forced a smile that was obviously strained and did not meet her dark brown eyes. It didn't look sincere to Norah at all.
In fact, she would even go as far as to say the Undersecretary looked downright furious with Norah.
But why? What in Merlin's left buttock was going on? Norah wracked her brain trying to remember if there had ever been a time in her life where she had gotten into the Undersecretary's crosshairs and was coming up short.
Had she done something, said something to offend her in any way? But if she had…then what?! Norah blinked and stared owlishly at the older witch as her grating voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard reached her eardrums.
"Your…partner," Here, Umbridge made an odd little noise that sounded like a sniff of disapproval before giving her head a curt little shake and pressing onward. "Is right outside. You may see him when I have finished. I just need your version of everything." Dolores Umbridge raised a hand and absently rubbed her jaw, looking lost in contemplative thought as she stared. "You're aren't drinking, wolf. You should."
A pang of unease pricked at Norah's heartstrings as she swallowed down thickly past the lump in her throat. If she was being honest with herself, she suspected the tea was a trap. She knew what Umbridge thought of people like her.
To her, Norah was nothing more than a dog missing a collar and a leash, to be paraded around the streets of Diagon Alley like a freak. She had passed the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Act that rendered it nearly possible for wolves such as herself, Wes, and even Lupin to maintain decent jobs.
Norah couldn't help but wonder if Umbridge had somehow laced this cup of tea, delicious as it smelled, and soothing to her sinuses even just inhaling the steam as she gingerly clutched the mug in both hands, that there was every strong possibility Umbridge or someone she was affiliated with had spiked the beverage with Veritaserum, and she did not want to spill the truth of her father's plan to someone like her.
Nevertheless, with Umbridge watching her, she had to feign cooperation, and it was the burning intensity of the older witch's stare that caused the young blonde werewolf to give in and raise the cup to her thin lips. Norah scrunched her nose as the sweet taste of honey intermingled with sugar thickened her tongue and drew a thirst for water.
She spluttered and coughed. Umbridge quirked a brow her way, saying nothing at first until the briefest looks of annoyance flitted across her face at Norah's coughing spell, which caused Umbridge to give her wand a sharp rap enough to conjure a glass of ice water that Norah eagerly drank.
"Are you well, Jameson?" she asked in a high-pitched voice just dripping with obviously false concern.
"Does it have to be this sweet, Madame Undersecretary?" Norah protested meekly, taking another sip unwillingly, cringing as the liquid sloshed past her throat before she could take no more, shoving the teacup away and setting it down on the side table. She dismissed the saccharine beverage as a mistaken slip of too much sugar when Dolores had set about making Norah a cup of tea, perhaps to lull her into a false sense of security, to get her to open up.
Almost as if Umbridge could sense what she was thinking, Umbridge plastered a falsely-sweet smile on her face that made Norah shiver in fear.
"I am dreadfully sorry for the discomfort, dearie," the Senior Undersecretary proclaimed in a voice that did not sound sorry at all, in fact, rather gleeful. "I truly am, but I'm afraid there's no way around it. It could perhaps help to think of your…spouse outside, dear, and to down it down the hatch in one go. After all, you are a wolf, my dear, like it or not. A savage beast. You've survived harsher things than a weeny cup of tea. You have nothing to fear from me, dear."
She had a point, damn it, but why did she have to put it that way? Norah sighed in exasperation and nodded.
"I—I will finish it, Madame Umbridge, I promise. B—but it's the sweetness," she murmured awkwardly, as she allowed the pad of her fingertip to trace down the column of her throat. "The—the sugar thickens my throat. If it's all right with you, I'd prefer not to drink it all at once, but I will finish it. You have my word."
She bit her bottom lip and drew in a tense breath. It took Dolores Umbridge several seconds before the older witch seemed to be convinced that Norah Jameson was telling her the truth, though Norah was not at all fooled. She'd seen the momentary flicker of distrust in her dark irises.
"Yes. Please do," Umbridge sighed by way of response, before glancing to her clipboard and pinching at the bridge of her stout, squashed-looking nose with a pudgy manicured thumb and forefinger. Norah nodded as she straightened herself up in the bed, running her fingers through her blonde hair, trying to make herself look as presentable as possible.
Umbridge craned her neck to look over at her clipboard, which no doubt contained a summary of the report from Aurors who had been called to investigate the scene of the accident following their departure earlier.
Surely, considering Echo Alley was in close proximity to Diagon and Knockturn Alley, other passersby would have felt the disturbance of the ground opening up beneath them, and heard it, too.
"Auror Runcorn's report here says that witnesses saw you and Auror Tonks fall down a hole in the ground upon the recovery of the bodies of…two unfortunate Muggles and that you were the first one to spot the reanimated corpses?" Umbridge questioned as she scratched her chin. "And it was not long after that, that the street itself collapsed?"
Norah scowled, sticking out her bottom lip in a slight pout, her temper surging. Why did this piece of particular information carry any significance with the older witch?
"Y—yes," she stammered, shifting uncomfortably against her mountain of pillows, tugging nervously at the sleeve of her black lace dress, wishing she had a change of clothes.
"I see." Umbridge's already sour expression had turned quite grim, a dark shadow passing over her pasty features. "And it was then that," Here, she paused to glance over at her clipboard and quill, which was hastily scratching Norah's statement of its own accord as the young blonde witch recounted her events of this morning's accident. "It was then that you were ambushed. We've witness statements from a couple coming out of Flourish and Blotts stating that they saw a young woman who looked strikingly like you, and Miss Tonks, who is quite well recognized within our Ministry, become accosted by an Inferi corpse."
Norah merely nodded, not too keen on rehashing the details of this incident again, and she swallowed down thickly as a small silence settled between the two of them.
"I want to see my partner," she demanded, as irritation ticked at her forehead. She winced, feeling the beginnings of an oncoming headache the longer Umbridge lingered. "I...I don't want to answer any more of your questions without him."
Umbridge merely raised an eyebrow at Norah's insistence, saying nothing. The Senior Undersecretary was toying with her, trying to make her feel safe and secure by offering her tea, and then, when her chance came, she would succeed in catching Norah off-guard and elicit whatever reaction or confession she wanted out of her.
But Norah was not a fool and as such, did not lower her defenses. Umbridge was going to have to do better than this. If there was one thing living with a werewolf-like Fenrir Greyback had taught her, it was how to see through deception and lies. She could not afford to let her guard down. She had hidden from herself for far too long now.
Finally, the young blonde could bear the silence no longer and the question poured from her lips before Norah could stop herself from asking it.
"What is it that you want of me, Madame Umbridge?" She demanded, huffing in frustration, crossing her arms, and pinning Umbridge with an icy-blue glower of her own. "I take it considering your viewpoints on wolves like myself, it isn't for the sheer pleasure of my company, which I'm told is exquisite."
Umbridge's scowl deepened, her features clearly marred from annoyance by the spitfire werewolf's newfound sass.
"You would do well to learn your place in this world, dog," she snapped, grinding her molars together in anger.
Norah felt a fiery warmth in her chest begin to bubble to the surface, threatening to implode if she didn't mind her tongue, though she sighed in a quiet aggravation. It was already too late for that, considering the look on Dolores Umbridge's face as the short, stout woman spluttered.
Though, the cruel witch recovered quickly, managing to compose herself, twisting her face into a cruel smirk that in actuality looked more like a pained grimace. Whatever it was, it was enough to send a shiver of revulsion and fear down Norah's spine. How frightening Umbridge's smile was!
"You see," Umbridge began smoothly, putting her fingertips together and lacing them together, twisting one of the pink rings she wore on her fingers. "There are…quite a few questions that surround you, my dear little she-wolf."
Norah felt a stab of a fear prick at her heartstrings, though she fought it back as a muscle in her jaw and behind one of her eyelids gave a little twitch. "What makes you think I will answer them? Not without Ollie here by my side," she whispered. "I…he's my partner, I need to see him. Please," she added darkly through her gritted teeth in annoyance.
Umbridge's smile merely grew wider and the young blonde witch felt her blood in her veins grow even colder.
"Not until I've finished, and more to the point, besides, dear, I think you would find it most interesting to know that your partner talked back to me outside your room, not but even fifteen minutes ago. He was…quite distraught at not being allowed admittance into your room to see you. He even went so far as to attempt to strangle me, wolf…"
Norah squinted her eyes, leaning forward off of her pillow slightly to better catch a glimpse of the unmistakable but faint red markings that were wound around Dolores's throat. Norah felt a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Oh, no…
"Oh, yes," Umbridge added in a gleeful tone that made Norah shiver as if the older witch could sense her thoughts. "Mr. Brennan dared to attack a Ministry of Magic official whilst on official Ministry business, and for that, I can make him suffer, more than you could imagine, dear."
Here, Dolores Jane Umbridge leaned forward, a quite smug expression flitting across her pudgy, pale features, as she allowed her face to come within inches of Norah's face.
Norah felt the blood drain from her face as she immediately withdrew her face from the Senior Undersecretary's, pressing herself as far away from Umbridge, her back leaned against the mountain of pillows.
There was no need to question what it was that she was referring to, Norah knew. Umbridge would hurt Ollie.
Fear clawed dangerously at her throat as it hollowed and constricted. As rough a start as they had gotten off to, like it or not, the man had saved her life, and she owed Ollie.
"Don't you dare touch Brennan, Umbridge," she growled, the threat escaping her lips before her mind could tell her, no, to not talk back and to swallow her retort, right now.
But it was too late. A shudder went up and down her back as the cruel Ministry employee threw back her head and gave a high-pitched, girlish little giggle that would not have sounded out of place coming from a simpering schoolgirl.
Hearing Umbridge utter that single sound was even bloody worse than watching her smile and seeing that it did not reach her dark brown eyes. The older witch was terrifying no matter what she did or said, and Norah could feel a sickening sense of dread creep to her churning belly.
This was…not a good position for her to be in right now.
"Your threats mean nothing to me, little she-wolf," she replied smoothly, resting back against the backrest of her chair, and still keeping her fingers laced together. "I know who you are, dear. Who your wretched disgusting father is. I have every indication to believe that you were the one who caused that unfortunate little accident in Echo Alley."
Norah felt a piece of her resolve falter. "I…I had nothing to do with that!" she shouted, shaking her head in protest.
Umbridge merely made a strange noise through her nose that oddly sounded like a sniff of disapproval and scoffing.
"Does it hurt?" Umbridge questioned, falsely claiming concern at the ugly purple bruise that tarnished Norah's right cheek. "What a true pity, dearie. Does it hurt you?"
Umbridge tried to touch only the edges of the purple and yellowing mark, only for Norah to pull her head away.
"It's all right," Norah willed herself to speak, letting the pads of her fingertips ghost along the edges of the bruise.
Umbridge's face blanched as a truly sour expression flitted across her face. "You—" she started to say but was cut off at the sound of the door bursting open, and Norah's ears perked up as she heard a sound that was unexpectedly comforting—her new partner's voice, taut with concern.
"Norah?!" His voice came, concerned, and worried as he pulled the door open, his wand clutched tightly in his hand, balancing a heavily laden lunch tray in the other, in his left.
Norah swallowed thickly past the growing lump in her throat, starting to feel tears prick at the edges of her eyes.
The moment Ollie rounded the corner and burst into her hospital room, she could see his new partner had been crying, her eyes were red and puffy, her pale face tear-streaked, clear tear tracts against her bruised skin.
Norah looked scared, and it was more than enough to cause his temper to swell. He was sure Norah could see it as the indignant rage flashed across his face as their gazes met.
"Don't…" Norah whispered, referring of course, to the man not losing his temper in front of the Undersecretary.
Norah flinched as her partner's skin turned red, his neck slightly blotchy, and he looked like he wanted to kill Umbridge. Ollie himself was shocked at the idea, but then the Legilimens and former Slytherin realized it was true.
"What's going on?" he growled in a low and dangerous voice, feeling hatred for Dolores Jane Umbridge then, so powerful it surged through his bloodstream, eclipsing anything that he might have felt before for Umbridge earlier when the two of them had talked outside Norah's room.
Umbridge must have threatened Norah, and he'd not been by her side to protect her. He let out a low growl. It was time to honor the promise he'd made to Norah, to Dumbledore when the man had appointed the pair of them partners.
He'd not let anymore harm come to Jameson if he could help it. Ollie stalked towards Umbridge and Norah, his cold, listless gaze fixated solely on the Senior Undersecretary as he drew in deep breaths to calm down his raging temper.
"Ollie, don't," Norah pleaded, biting on her bottom lip.
She hadn't realized how much she wanted Brennan by her side until Umbridge had started essentially harassing her. She was timid of the man's volatile temper and unpredictable behavior, asking too many questions, being mad at her for getting into this truly Merlin-damned mess.
But Norah quickly realized that, at this moment, despite what the consequences would be, she wanted his temper to show, and Norah blinked back the salty liquid that threatened to escape as Ollie's face paled in anger, a look of shock on his face and his sky-blue cobalt orbs darkened a shade or two.
He glowered at Umbridge, striding in the room, taking a second to set the tray of food he'd brought for Norah down onto the side table, right next to where she'd set her tea.
"How dare you? This is my partner you're interrogating without me present, Madame Undersecretary," he barked roughly in a coarse and grating voice. "Can't you see you're scaring her? How dare you take her here all alone? To question her like a common criminal when she's suffered more than enough. This behavior is unacceptable. Get out."
"No offense, Mr. Brennan, but your…partner, is covered in bruises and welts and is very clearly withholding information of the attack this morning that was obviously orchestrated by Fenrir Greyback, according to the report I received on my desk this morning from Runcorn. Having other people present in the room leads to suspects withholding information. That is why I wished to talk to Miss Jameson alone, dear. With all due respect, Oliver, I must kindly ask you to vacate this room at once, sir."
Dolores Jane Umbridge rose from her chair, her pudgy fingers of her wand hand curled tightly around the handle.
Ollie took a step forward, a muscle in his jaw locking up as he fixed the Senior Undersecretary with a withering look that would have held the power to make fully-bloomed flowers wilt just upon first glance from his icy-blue stare.
"No," Ollie snarled through clenched teeth. "You're harassing my partner to the point where it's causing her stress. You cannot talk to Jameson like this, Madame Umbridge. You cannot corner her and threaten her and scare her, and then expect her to tell you what happened. She currently suffers from medical conditions and…ailments, that your aggressive tactics will only exacerbate," he growled. "You're giving her a panic attack."
"Ollie, please don't do this, it's—" Norah started to say, but he held up a hand and prevented her from speaking.
Under normal circumstances, she would have protested, but something within the man's darkening blue eyes told her not to interrupt. Brennan silently shot her a warning look with his eyes, communicating not to intervene now.
She stared, wide-eyed and momentarily fascinated at the sudden shift in the man's newfound behavior.
Norah would have expected for him to fly off the handle and go into another uncontrollable rage, as he had last night, but that did not seem to be the case here. Now, he was…calm.
"What is your reasoning for questioning Miss Jameson this morning, Madame Undersecretary?" Ollie demanded in an icy tone devoid of warmth as he squared his shoulders and stood tall and noble, his pale blue eyes boring straight into Umbridge's, his gaze unwavering at all.
A muscle in Dolores Jane Umbridge's jaw twitched as she pursed her pink-painted lips into a thin, unmovable line.
"Cornelius Fudge himself granted permission to investigate this morning. This—this witch," she growled, pointing a shaking fat finger in Norah's direction, not seeing the flinch that Norah gave at the harsh insult, "is under suspicion of suspected murder and affiliation with none other than that savage, accursed monster, Greyback."
Ollie frowned, his gaze flitting from that of Norah and back to Umbridge. He almost laughed, rolling his eyes to himself at the thought of the young blonde witch being affiliated with Greyback in any way whatsoever, the only common trait the two shared was that they were both lycanthropes. She could not possibly be a criminal.
No one as pure looking as Jameson could be something so vile and disgusting and wicked like Greyback was.
Biting his lip. He focused, closing his eyes, and forcing himself to remain calm. Tonks was right. He'd already made things worse for himself earlier by losing control around Umbridge, Ollie didn't want to try a second time.
He had Norah to think of now, after all. "You—" he started to say, though he was interrupted by the sound of a light coughing sound emanating from the open doorway.
Ollie felt his face drain of color as his head whiplashed sharply upwards to regard the new arrival now standing in the threshold that separated the rest of the corridor from Norah's private room and felt a small smile of relief spread across his features as Professor Dumbledore peered into the room, a grave expression etched on his weathered face.
Beside him, as Ollie perched himself protectively on the edge of Norah's mattress, he heard Norah let out a tiny gasp of surprise at seeing the Hogwarts Headmaster here.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I—I didn't know to e—expect you," he heard Norah beside him stammer, and Ollie tore his gaze away from Dumbledore to look back at the blonde.
Ollie swiveled his head sharply back around to the front, ignoring Umbridge's rapidly reddening face the angrier the stout witch from the Ministry of Magic was becoming now.
Professor Dumbledore's bright blue eyes were twinkling with a hint of playful mischief and something else, a foreign emotion that neither Norah nor Ollie could place, and they weren't sure they could even if they had tried to.
"It is quite all right, my dear. Mr. Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you had been admitted into St. Mungo's and that they would refrain from visiting you until you've been discharged, thinking the time with your partner alone was much needed, for ah, what did those two call it? Ah. Yes, I remember now. Bonding time," he chuckled before his expression turned serious again. "I was merely in the area and thought I would stop in, and I can see that it is a good thing I decided to, my dear," he murmured, keeping his fingers intertwined together, casting a curious glance towards the pair of Order partners before turning a wearisome look towards Dolores, sighing. "What is the meaning of this, Dolores?"
Dolores rose to her full height as she strode towards Professor Dumbledore, not that it did her much good, as she was much shorter than Dumbledore but more intimidating, Norah thought. She stiffened as she felt Ollie nudge beside her, and she scooted a fraction of an inch to the left so he could better prop himself at the edge of the bed.
She would have normally protested at the closeness, but today, given everything that happened, now, she didn't.
"Cornelius Fudge granted me permission to come and investigate the incident in Echo Alley, Albus. We have eyewitness accounts from several passersby that claim this woman was near the bodies before the street caved in. I have reason to suspect Miss Jameson is behind it, considering her…affiliation with Fenrir Greyback and a number of the Dark Lord's loyalist followers," she said.
Dumbledore nodded slowly in understanding. "But with the intent to question a single suspect and not the others who were with Miss Jameson in the alleyway, Madame Undersecretary. Is it not standard Ministry procedure to question all parties involved in an incident like this, and yet, you seem to be intent on solely targeting Miss Jameson and her alone, forsaking the others? Why is that, my dear woman?" Albus plainly pointed out in a voice that feigned courtesy and trite politeness, though Ollie was not at all convinced.
Just underneath the surface of the man's twinkling blue eyes, lay a smoldering fathomless pool of icy-blue anger.
Umbridge bristled as she puffed out her chest. "That is official Ministry business, Albus, of which I am not obligated to provide you with an answer, Dumbledore."
"Nevertheless," Albus continued, glancing back over his shoulder as he strode towards the doorway, placing a withered hand upon the small of Dolores Umbridge's back and guiding her towards the door, casting a strange little knowing glance back towards Ollie and Norah, though not before shooting the pair of partners a furtive little wink.
Norah blinked owlishly at the unexpected gesture, feeling her cheeks start to burn, and she heard Ollie splutter at it, too, which was, at least a little bit comforting to her now.
He was just as surprised by Dumbledore's actions as she was. Norah gave her head a curt shake to clear her mind, not caring that Ollie's hand hovered so dangerously close to hers and drew in a sharp breath as she intently listened.
"I will not let allow my colleagues to suffer in this manner, Dolores, it is most uncouth and not at all honorable," Albus glanced towards Norah out of the corner of his eyes and shot the young blonde witch and dark-haired Legilimens a kind and reassuring smile. "If this woman is, as you believe, guilty of suspected tampering with those poor unfortunate Muggle souls to turn them into Inferi for Lord Voldemort's army, you will not question her in this manner, Madame Umbridge, for Miss Jameson is under the protection of her partner, Oliver Brennan, who you are well acquainted with," he said.
There was an obvious teasing lilt to the older wizard's voice, and Ollie didn't even have to dip into the man's mind to know that someone, probably Lupin, had told Albus everything, of how Ollie had lost his temper with Dolores.
But before Ollie could say anything, Dumbledore surged forward, wanting to make his point quite clear to Dolores.
"My will is by far stronger than yours, my dear lady, like it or not," he answered in a cold and clipped tone, his expression turning quite solemn as he fixed Umbridge with a rather pointed glower. "If you are intent upon finding your answers, you will do so without disturbing or antagonizing Miss Jameson, and you will return to my office in a week's time. You may question Miss Jameson then, but only under my supervision, of course, and you will allow her new partner into the room to be with her."
Umbridge's nostrils flared like that of an angry bull's, but the Ministry employee remained silent, fuming in her rage.
But Dumbledore, Merlin bless him, wasn't finished with her. "And…" he paused as the two of them halted in their movements outside the door, glancing back over his shoulder to shoot Norah and Ollie a quizzical little look.
Norah flinched as for just the briefest of moments, his blue eyes bored straight into her souls as though looking past her eyes and seeing her heart, and she swore she thought he knew, but if he did, he didn't give anything away. She exhaled a shaking breath as his eyes softened.
"You will show me proof of this young woman's crimes before you even consider making an arrest, Dolores."
A heavy silence fell, and Ollie cautiously flung an arm out in front of Norah, half expecting Umbridge to fly across the room and attempt to attack his new partner if the look of daggers the older witch was currently shooting Jameson was any indication.
Instead, Umbridge merely raised her eyebrows at the group, pursing her lips into a thin line, turned on her heel, and stalked towards the room's door. Umbridge paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder, her clipboard and quill tucked underneath one arm, having violently snatched it from mid-air when she'd turned on the heels of her pink heels and preparing to leave.
"Mark my words, Albus," she said in a falsely sympathetic voice dripping with poisonous honeyed tones, "If you impede me in my mission to uncover the truth of what happened here this morning, you, alongside Miss Jameson and anybody else that helped that foul, disgusting creature, will pay. One way or another, I'll get her. It's only a matter of when."
With her threat now lingering in the air, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic stalking out the door, Professor Dumbledore following close behind at her heels, the door slamming behind in Umbridge's wake so hard, the thing rattled in its iron hinges, startling Norah.
Ollie and Norah sat in silence for a moment, staring at the now-closed hospital room door of Norah's private room and considering just what kind of mess the two of them had gotten themselves into. Sighing, Ollie shook his head and turned his attention back towards his new partner.
He made a mental note to keep an eye on Umbridge, her threats not only to him but now to Jameson, lingering at the back of his mind, ready to spread and infect like a plague.
For all the talk of the Senior Undersecretary's plans to interrogate Norah and uncover the truth from her lips, the savage older witch's actions and the possibility that Norah was now yet again in danger for the third time, did not unnerve Ollie nearly as much as Umbridge's smile did…
Glad Ollie was able to control his temper. Maybe Norah's already having a calming effect on him, and it's only day 1 of their partnership! It's a good thing Dumbledore came to diffuse the tension when he did, or things might have turned ugly.
Coming up in Ch. 29, Lupin asks Tonks an important question while they wait to hear news of Norah's condition from Ollie.
