Cedric knew he couldn't hide from Hermione forever. Eventually, she was going to show up in the Room of Things again to demand why he was ignoring her calls. He just couldn't face her. He had no good news to tell her. Besides, she was too busy with her own stuff. She didn't even tell him what she had to tell Dumbledore. Though, she did mention that she didn't trust the man anymore. Cedric was surprised that she still did considering his handling of the Basilisk incident but whatever she found out was the final straw.
No matter. Why should he expect her to reveal everything to him when he couldn't even tell her that he was getting hexed daily and was unable to fight back lest he get punished severely?
There was still Dumbledore's Army. He had that to look forward to each week. Though during this lesson, he was skimming through his photos with Hermione and flipping through his IMN in hopes to feel some shred of happiness.
"Oi, Cedric," Harry called. "Want to give me a hand?"
Cedric removed his prosthetic and chucked it at him.
"Oh, hardy-har," he said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, the patronus charm is an important lesson and I know you've successfully cast it before."
Suppressing a sigh, Cedric got his arm back and drew his wand. He thought about kissing Hermione for the first time. Properly, though when they sort of kissed at the Christmas Feast of '93 he had felt giddy. All his happy thoughts involved Hermione and she wasn't there right now to cheer him on. Maybe he should call her… no, it was Monday, she had salsa club.
Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine her smiling at him. Bumping her head against his shoulder. Kissing her. Laying next to her in the sun on the beach. He thought of how she lit up when they saw each other after a whole summer apart. How she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He swirled his wand in a spiral.
"Expecto patronum!"
Instead of his badger, an otter danced in its place. It smushed its little face, sure to destroy any dementor through sheer adorableness.
"Nice one, Ced," said George, his raven getting into a scuffle with Fred's raccoon.
People laughed at the sight and wisps turned to funnels. Cedric went around the room with Harry, gently guiding people to more genuinely happy memories. Luna managed a corporeal, a rabbit with wings and antlers darted out of her wand and around the room.
"Don't worry about getting it the first time," said Harry to a discouraged Draco. "It's really hard even without a dementor there to drag you down."
"Don't patronize me, Potter!" Draco snapped.
"Well, excuse me," Harry muttered and moved on.
The cheer the corporeal patronus charms brought aided others in managing their own corporeal animals. Harry decided that once half the class had it down consistently he would see about getting a boggart for them to practice on.
As Cedric was complimenting Tabatha on her dragonfly patronus, which shone very brightly almost like a fairy, a loud crack echoed around the room. Dobby the house-elf had appeared. He panted heavily and tried to speak before wrapping his hands around his throat. Harry tried to stop the elf from harming himself. He seemed to be telling them something. Cedric had never tried full legilimency on a house-elf before, but he still gave it a try. He looked into Dobby's bright green eyes and immediately felt sick to his stomach.
"Umbridge is coming," he whispered and looked at the room. "UMBRIDGE IS COMING!"
Dobby collapsed, still attempting to beat himself. No doubt he was under orders not to say anything and yet still he had come in an attempt to warn them.
"Tabatha!" barked Cedric. "Get the younger years out of here."
"The rest of you," said Harry. "Go all directions. Go to the loos, the library, hospital wing, hell, pretend to snog if you must! The penalty for snogging is much lower than the one we'd get. GO NOW!"
The room opened doors for them and the entire D.A. scattered in all directions. Cedric led one group away, pushing some members into bathrooms and secret passageways until it was just him, Fred, George, and Lee. They reached into bags for the party supplies they were going to break out after the patronus lesson. Party hats, noise makers, kazoos. They slowed down and made a lot of noise, pretending like they had been in the middle of a good laugh.
"Do you smoke?" Fred shouted almost hysterically. "Mind if I do?"
He threw a popper on the ground that sent up a pitiful puff of smoke, yet the other three laughed as if it were the funniest thing on earth. Cedric held up a kazoo.
"No thanks," he said. "I have my own." He blew into it the 'whee!' of the toy cutting through the air, no doubt drawing every squad member in the area towards them. He coughed and cleared his throat. "It's a pipe."
They hurried along towards the Gryffindor Common Room, whooping and hollering. Cedric's legs locked, sending him crashing to the floor. The others stopped to help him and froze upon seeing the Inquisitorial Squad.
"Well, well, well," said Atwood. "What do we have here?"
Cedric glared at his nemesis. Ooh, Atwood had preened like a peacock when he made the Inquisitorial Squad and seemed to make it his life's mission to be the Anti-Head Boy. And he sure liked to use his powers to be an even bigger dick-head than usual.
"Come on, man, it's not curfew yet," said George.
"It's against the rules for groups of more than three to gather," said Agnes Finn.
"We've been thinking, and based on the current political and social climate, a werewolf is not a people," said George.
"Yeah, is it illegal for three blokes to hang out?" Lee challenged.
"It is when we received word that there was an illegal club meeting," Atwood sneered. "Makes sense that a filthy werewolf would be behind it all. Move those wands and I'll show you just how adept I am at magic."
"Oh, you mean like during the dueling tournament last year?" Fred snipped.
Cedric sighed as Atwood's anger dialed up to eleven and braced himself for the curse.
"Flagrante!"
A hot pain seared Cedric's cheek and narrowly missed his eye, but he couldn't fight back. If he fought back then he was finished. George, Lee, and Fred jumped to his aid and started firing spells at Atwood. The other Inquisitorial Squad members jumped in. Cedric pressed himself to the ground and held his hands flat over his head so he wouldn't be perceived as a threat.
"Hem hem!"
The fighting ceased. Cedric peered up to see two clunky pink shoes step into his line of vision.
"I will deal with you three troublemakers later," she said and turned her gaze to Cedric. "As for you… I suspect you're one of the leaders of this operation. We'll see exactly what secrets you are keeping in that backpack of yours."
"Oh, Professor Umbridge!" Pansy Parkinson called. "Guess who we found Daphne Greengrass trying to hide?"
"Who?"
"Harry Potter!"
Umbridge's eyes must have been gleaming. Her joy was like a child at Christmas. Cedric could have thrown up right there.
"Bring him and the wolf to the Headmaster's office," she said. "We'll get to the bottom of this by any means necessary! And I mean any."
"She means torture," Atwood sneered.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Cedric retorted. "I thought she was just going to ask me really nicely over a cup of tea."
The Ravenclaw boy snarled and hauled Cedric to his feet. He pushed him forward and they made a very unhappy parade to the Headmaster's Office. Cedric kept his hands raised as Umbridge pointed her wand at the middle of his back. They caught up with the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad who were holding Harry, Daphne, Ron, and Draco.
"Just Potter, please," said Umbridge. "I want you all to keep looking and take note of anyone who looks like they might be out of breath. Children found disobeying the rules should be properly punished. No matter what house they are in or who their parents are."
She fixed Draco with a look.
"Draco caught Potter," Pansy lied. Guess she was still sweet on him, despite his new social status.
"Is this true?" Umbridge asked.
Draco looked at the others. Daphne's gaze hardened, challenging him to bail. Ron and Harry already expected him to take the credit.
"N-No," he said, looking like his words pained him. "It is not true."
He didn't give any more information than that and Pansy's face twisted up. She was thinking some very creative names at him that would land her in detention if spoken aloud.
"Hmph! I can handle Potter and Diggory from here, children. The longer you wait, the easier it will be for the rule-breakers to hide."
She motioned them along. Harry fell into step next to Cedric, glancing at his raised hands curiously before doing the same. It was unnecessary, but the solidarity was nice.
Within minutes, they reached the gargoyle leading to the headmaster's office. The face of the gargoyle seemed to grow harder, staring at Umbridge with eyes that were made of different stone than the rest of it. Looked like garnet. Cedric wondered if he were expelled then perhaps Doña Claudia would take pity on him and allow him to finish his last three months at Castelobruxo. Or at least let him sit his exams. He'd shell out the money. He was actually making a steady income now that his future employer was handling the radios. The thought of seeing Hermione in person made him feel light.
"Fizzing Whizzbees," sang Umbridge, rudely dragging him back to Earth.
The gargoyle actually huffed, at least, as well as a stone gargoyle could huff before moving aside. The wall split open and the three of them stepped onto the ascending staircase. Rather than knock, Umbridge made Cedric open the door and strode right into Dumbledore's Office. Cedric couldn't actually recall ever seeing the place. He knew Hermione had been a few times and decided this place must have driven her mad. His own keen ears couldn't seem to tune out the constant noise of the hundreds of objects cluttering the place.
Dumbledore was not the only person in the office. He sat behind his desk with his hands folded on top of his beard wearing an expression that seemed to find this more like a game than anything else. Professor McGonagall stood at attention beside him, her thoughts running a million miles an hour. A pleased Minister Fudge stared into the fireplace, silently practicing a speech in his head, rewriting each line to put just the right amount of gloating into his tone. Stationed at the doors were two Aurors, Shacklebolt and Dawlish. Dawlish didn't seem to know what to make of the whole situation while Kingsley thought this whole thing was a waste of time and resources. Standing by them was Percy Weasley. His scruffy face was weary, but he had still combed his hair and pressed his robes and he loosely held a quill and a scroll, poised to take notes for a Minister who would not allow him to quit.
The portraits of former headmasters and -mistresses were also alight with activity, moving around each other and whispering in a sea of conflicting styles. Cedric moaned in pain and pressed his hands to the sides of his head. Too much noise, too many thoughts, he needed his music to drown it out.
"What are you doing, Wolf?" Umbridge demanded.
"My head hurts," he said. "If I could just sit down…"
"Oh, no you don't!" she growled. "You stay right there where I can keep an eye on you!"
Fudge took notice of them and bubbled with glee.
"Well," he said. "Well, well, well…"
"He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower," said Umbridge with the same indecent pleasure she got when she was tormenting Cedric in detention. "Both of them were."
"Well, that is where I live," said Harry.
Cedric shushed him and shook his head. Now was not the time to be a smart-ass.
Play dumb, but not too dumb, he projected. The less they know, the better off we'll be. Expulsion is the best possible outcome.
Okay, Harry thought loudly.
"I suppose you know why the two of you are here?" Minister Fudge continued as if Harry hadn't spoken at first.
"No," said Harry plainly and Cedric shook his head in agreement.
"No?" Fudge looked between the two of them. "Neither of you have any idea why you are here?"
"Because I'm a scapewolf," said Cedric drily.
"You do not get to address the minister, Wolf," Umbridge hissed in his ear.
"It's alright, Dolores," said Fudge, sending her a wide smile. If either boy could reveal the right information then it would all be alright. "Both may speak to me. So, neither of you had any idea about the illegal activities going on in this school tonight?"
"As Head Boy I make it a point to know all illicit activities," said Cedric.
"Yes, atta-boy, atta-boy. What was going on?"
"Well, you know that closet on the seventh floor?" he said, leaning in conspiratorially. "Very common for snogging, which goes against educational decree… twenty-six was it?"
"Sounds right," said Harry.
"Yeah. You try to break it up when you can, but sometimes you don't want to get between a bird and her bloke."
Fudge's excitement fizzled like a dollar store firecracker. He looked imploringly at Umbridge. After all, he was an elected official, he couldn't make decisions or perform interrogations by himself.
"Not that sort of activity!" Umbridge snapped. "He means illegal student organizations!"
"Organizations? Don't know of them," said Cedric. "Not active anyway."
"Well, I think our informant might have something to say about that," she replied with a voice like silk and left the room to fetch them.
Informant? No, he'd been careful to suss out any rats. Who had he missed? Cedric lowered his hands and worked the joints in his prosthetic. Nobody spoke or looked at each other until Umbridge returned, gripping none other than Marietta Edgecombe by the arm. She kept her face hidden behind her hands and Cedric tried not to smile while Umbridge spoke false words of comfort to her to get her to show herself. When she lifted her head, Fudge leapt back into the fire and had to stomp his robes out. The girl's face was marked with purple pustules that spelled out "SNEAK" across her cheeks and nose. The sign-up sheet Hermione enchanted just made it so they couldn't tell anyone about the first meeting. Why did he label the snitch instead of making sure nobody could talk about the meetings to anyone outside of Dumbledore's Army?
While Umbridge told the story, Cedric sifted through Marietta's memories. She'd spontaneously made the decision to tattle on the D.A., which is why he hadn't caught her before she could. Apparently, her mother's job was on the line for unrelated reasons and Marietta figured if she spoke up with some information then perhaps her mother's job could be saved. He could understand her logic, felt bad about the hex, and decided to tell Cho that all Marietta needed was some Dr. Bronner's and witch hazel and the acne would clear right up with minimal scarring so long as she didn't pick at it.
Cedric didn't listen much to Umbridge and Fudge trying to work the testimony out of Marietta once more. What was the point? There was no way she was going to say anything else without running the risk of a worse jinx. There wouldn't be, but she didn't have to know that. Maybe he should've used a tongue-tying jinx instead. Or a gibberish jinx. Maybe hexed her to only speak in iambic pentameter. That might still be on the table.
"Do you have any proof of this alleged club, Dolores?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Yes!" said Umbridge. "I had another informant who was at the Hog's Head back in October. He claimed he heard Potter and Diggory talking about some sort of club. He passed out before he could hear the rest, but that's suspicious in and of itself!"
"That was before the educational decree banning clubs was put into place, ma'am," Cedric pointed out.
The look she gave him was murderous and he knew that if she could, she would have used an Unforgivable curse on him then and there.
"I'm sure you are aware, Mr. Diggory, that all subsequent meetings from that one would have been illegal."
"Yes, ma'am, we were aware of that," he said.
"And yet you decided to meet anyway?"
"I didn't say that. If you mean me being in close proximity to Fred, George, and Lee, it was not for a secret society but for a birthday party. It's April 1st you know. Oh… what if this is all some cruel prank? Somebody fed Marietta false information and hexed her to sell it."
Marietta squawked in dismay and broke down into tears. Fudge looked close to it himself. A rumor that a secret society meeting was taking place would be the sort of prank an Inquisitorial Squad member would pull as a chance to get to flaunt their power.
"A very good point, Mr. Diggory," said Dumbledore. "It only seems that Miss Edgecombe was telling you of a meeting that was supposedly happening tonight, but as there is no proof that there is any sort of meeting then I'm afraid this was all for naught and I am terribly sorry that you all had to trouble yourselves by coming here."
"No proof?" Umbridge squeaked and thought quickly. She looked at Cedric. "You!"
He raised his hands defensively as he was dragged around. Umbridge yanked on his backpack, finally ripping it off of him. She tugged it open and dumped the contents out onto the ancient rug. Papers and notebooks flew everywhere along with other odds and ends Cedric had stashed there. His radio, some tools, and his emergency supplies.
"I bet he's hiding the list in here," said Umbridge, sifting through it and tossing things haphazardly across the room.
Cedric just barely rescued the Marauder's Map from flying into the fire when Umbridge triumphantly raised a piece of paper in the air.
"Ah-ha!" she said. "Here's your proof!"
Fudge took the paper and stared at it.
"Sam B," he read. "Isn't this that organization the Granger girl organized? I don't recognize any of these names. Who is Marsha Luscombe? Kee-hoo-ah-cote-L…"
"Márcia Luscombe," Cedric corrected. "Cihuacoatl are non-aquatic snake women who live in Brazil but originally hail from Mexico. That list is actually members of the Brazilian division of S.A.M.B. Hermione sent me a copy for filing purposes."
Fudge flipped through the stapled pages. "That's… quite a lot of people."
Umbridge's face went slack. This wasn't going how she wanted it to at all. She wracked her brain for anything else she could use. Cedric felt smug. All this would reflect poorly on her. If there was no solid proof and if Marietta said nothing else then the worst they'd get is a detention. Cedric expected to get a detention for sneezing these days.
"B-but, Diggory was around those Weasley twins! They were in a group of four. You have to admit that's suspicious. Especially, with the sort of mischief those hooligans get up to."
"We agreed a werewolf was not a people," said Cedric. "So we were only a group of three."
"It's Fred and George's birthday," said Percy. "Surely they'd want to celebrate among friends."
"Weasley," Minister Fudge hissed sharply.
Percy didn't apologize and just looked at Cedric.
If something happens, he thought. Don't let my brothers get hurt.
Cedric inclined his head slightly.
"As it seems we have no proof," said Dumbledore. "Then I suppose—"
"Oh! Oh!" Umbridge gasped. "Wait. I have another witness. One who can't lie! ELF!"
Shit. Cedric looked over at Harry whose eyes were wide. They forgot to make sure Dobby got out, too.
"I know you can hear me," said Umbridge. "Come!"
There was a crack and Dobby appeared, shaking violently. He grabbed onto his scarf and pulled it tight as if he were trying to strangle himself with it.
"Tell us about Mr. Potter's secret organization," said Umbridge.
Like Marietta, Dobby clapped his hands over his face and shook his head, whimpering. Fudge, who was growing tired of this, picked the elf up and shook him violently.
"As the Minister of Magic I order you to speak!"
"Minister, he cannot speak if you are choking him," said Dumbledore, standing up to intervene.
"If you want to keep your job at this school, elf, I suggest you speak," said Umbridge.
"There is an organization!" Dobby blurted. He scratched at his face and rolled on the ground, yet still spoke. "There was a meeting tonight!"
"Were there more?" Umbridge asked excitedly. "How many?"
"Dobby does not know!" he wailed. "Dobby doesn't know! Please do not hurt the great Harry Potter. It is Dumbledore's Army! Dumbledore's Army!"
"Who's in it?"
"Dobby is sorry!"
The sorry did not seem to be directed at Umbridge and the Minister. He was looking directly at Harry and Cedric. With a shriek, he picked up the paperweight off the desk and prepared to bash himself in the head with it. Cedric darted across the room and wrapped his arms around the poor thing.
"Stop it, Dobby," he said. "You don't have to hurt yourself. You're a good elf." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Give no names, I beg of you."
Dobby nodded, but continued to whimper and pull on his ears.
"I think we oughta interrogate all the elves," said Fudge. "See what they know!"
"There's no need, Minister," said Dumbledore. "I've been made, so I will confess before we place anyone else under unnecessary duress. You may return to the kitchens, Dobby. Now, would you like a written statement or will these witnesses suffice?"
Dobby disappeared from Cedric's arms. Cedric remained where he was. Harry couldn't move even if he had wanted to.
"Statement? What? OH! So, you finally confess, eh?" said Fudge with a triumphant grin as if it were his expert interrogation skills that had led to this. "This is all a conspiracy to overthrow me!"
"Naturally."
"And Potter and the wolf are your lieutenants?"
"Well, that would have been up to them," said Dumbledore and Cedric's stomach dropped. "Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting, see who was ready to be a recruit, and I wasn't sure who exactly would show up you see. I now see it was a mistake to invite Miss Edgecombe."
Marietta nodded. She'd been spelled. Cedric looked at Kingsley whose lips were moving ever-so-slightly.
"Then you have been plotting against me!" Fudge yelled.
"That's right," said Dumbledore cheerfully.
Harry blinked out of his shock. He knew exactly what was going to happen. "Professor Dumbledore, no!"
Cedric hissed and shook his head. There was no coming back from this. If Harry spoke then he would be in trouble too and might potentially be taken away from Sirius. He saw that thought cross Umbridge's mind and couldn't allow Harry to go back to the Dursleys.
"Well, well, well—" said Fudge delightedly. "I came here tonight expecting to expel Potter and the wolf, instead I get to arrest Dumbledore!"
"It's like looking for a knut and finding a galleon, isn't it?" Dumbledore agreed.
He really had no idea what him leaving was going to do, did he?
"Are you getting all this Weasley?" Fudge cried.
"Oh, yes, sir," said Percy, making another half-hearted scribble. "An army of teenagers rising against the Ministry."
"And how he's working to destabilize me?"
"Too late," he muttered under his breath and said louder, "Yes, got it, yes."
"Very good, very good," Fudge's good mood could not be penetrated by his assistant's dour one. "Duplicate your notes and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!"
"Right now?" Percy asked.
"Yes! Right now, what are you waiting for, boy?"
"It's my brothers' birthday, Mum forgot to send them so I was hoping to give them their gifts in person."
Fudge's expression turned cold.
"You know, Weasley," he said. "It is very difficult out there for a widow. We, the Ministry, can make it more difficult."
Percy flinched. He opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out.
"Just put the gifts in my backpack, Percy," said Cedric. "I'll get them to Fred and George."
He nodded, turned Cedric's backpack right side up from where Umbridge had thrown it, and placed four parcels inside.
"There's sweets for Ron and Ginny in there, too," he said, then dashed from the room to send off his notes.
Fudge nodded then turned back to Dumbledore with a malicious gleam in his eye. "As for you, Albus, you will now be escorted to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"
"Ah," said Dumbledore gently, "yes. I thought we might hit a little snag."
"Snag?" Fudge scoffed incredulously. "There is no snag. I have won!"
"And yet you seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to—what is the phrase? 'Come quietly.' I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course—but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."
Cedric saw the spell coming a mile away. He crouched next to the desk counting on the fact that nobody cared enough about him to see that he was taking cover. It turned out to be a mistake. He didn't even register the blast, he was just pinned under Dumbledore's desk and blinking away stars while his ears rang. It just had to be mahogany. The entire office was wrecked though Professor McGonagall had protected Harry and Marietta from the blast. Lucky them.
"Practice Occlumency, Harry," said Dumbledore. "It is important now more than ever to close your mind off to Voldemort. I'm sure if you ask Professor Snape—"
"I'm not letting him back in my head," Harry snapped. "Cedric's been a great teacher. Wait, where is he?"
"Wolf down," Cedric wheezed.
"I am sorry, Mr. Diggory," said Professor McGonagall, lifting the desk off him.
"Oh, it's fine, nobody thinks about me," he said, getting to his feet. "It's not like anybody considers what's going to happen to me now that Umbridge is in charge. Why didn't you already order the house-elves to not do what Umbridge says? Huh? You knew about the D.A. you've known about it the whole time because you use legilimency on us. You don't even use it to help people, just to add more pieces to your little game."
"Do not fear, Cedric," said Dumbledore. "Everything will turn out alright in the end."
Cedric felt the rage he'd been suppressing boil over.
"FUCK YOU!"
"Mr. Diggory," Professor McGonagall gasped. "A hundred points from Hufflepuff!"
"Oh, excuse me if I don't give a flying fart in space." Cedric snatched up his backpack and stuffed his more important journals into it before storming out of the office. The Inquisitorial Squad was waiting for further instructions from Umbridge.
"Hold it Diggory," said Atwood.
Cedric swiped his wand, freezing all the brown-nosers and bullies in ice, and kept walking. He couldn't stay here. He had to go. He'd explain to his employer that the current political climate prevented him from taking his N.E.W.T.s but he would be happy for an intern-level position until he could pay to take his exams at an official testing center. He'd ask if he could stay with Manny and Hana and maybe get a job busing tables at the restaurant or brewing potions at Hana's shop. It wasn't what he dreamed, but he'd just have to work hard. He was already making money off his royalties for his radios so he could let that build up and when it came time to marry Hermione he would have enough to buy a house.
Or maybe rent a flat in a good area.
He made it to his common room without running into anyone else and found the place crowded with chattering Hufflepuffs.
"Is everything okay?" Ernie asked.
"What's going on?" asked Hannah.
"How come we didn't know about any secret defense club?" Chester demanded.
"Dumbledore is now a fugitive of the law for promoting illegal activities within the school," said Cedric sourly, ignoring his former roommate's question. "He openly admitted to recruiting an army against the Ministry and escaped arrest via Fawkes. Obviously, he doesn't care about any of us, because Umbridge is now Headmistress of the school and all of us are at her mercy. Some more than others. Look, your House is all you have right now. Look out for each other."
Without waiting for a response, he went to his dorm and kicked open his trunk. He started tossing whatever he could into it without much care. He could wait until early morning and then use the tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow to get to the shrieking shack. From there, he could apparate to the Granger's house.
A quiet knock came at his door.
Suppressing a sigh, he opened it to find Bailey.
"Is this a bad time?"
Yes.
"No," he said aloud and waved for him to come in. "Have a seat, I'm just… sorting laundry."
"Thanks." Bailey sat down in the office chair and wrung his hands. "Cedric, I'm really scared."
Alright… guess leaving was going to have to wait. Cedric closed his trunk lid and sat down on it.
"What's on your mind?"