Chapter 25: Undesirable Departure
There was a guest in our COMC class today. Newton Scamander. Quite an intriguing fellow - the way his mind works is quite fascinating. Rose and I went to see him after class today and he showed us his briefcase when we told him about her ability. The animals seemed to love her and I could see her eyes sparkling and shining with delight as she spoke to them. Best of all, Scamander offered her an internship over the summer. She'd be travelling the world, meeting all sorts of creatures and learning how to care for and protect them. She was greatly intrigued but asked if she could have some time to think about it. Scamander agreed.
Skeeter was ruthless in her questioning. She had pressed them for every little detail, and they had given her everything they could remember, knowing that this was their one big opportunity to tell the world the truth. Leo had to stop himself from reaching over the table and strangling her when she told him she didn't believe he was intelligent enough to have planned his and Harry's escape. She did, however, concede that he was definitely mad enough to believe that encasing Voldemort's head in a pumpkin was a grand idea. When his father was brought up, it took some time to get her back on the topic of what happened in the graveyard rather than focusing on the man's personal life.
By the end of it all, Leo's nerves were frayed and he was veering on the edge of just blowing Skeeter up – or anyone else that bothered him. Upon the completion of the interview, he bid his farewells to his friends, made a rude gesture at Skeeter, and left the Three Broomsticks. He briefly considered running around the forest in his lion form but ultimately decided he should, at the very least, make an appearance at the Quidditch Pitch in order to stave off more unnecessary yelling from Angelina.
He was quite surprised when Angelina didn't yell at him upon his arrival. Instead, she looked like she was about to cry tears of joy and relief as she told him to mount his broom and take off. He found out soon after why she was so happy to see him. Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke were accidents waiting to happen – Leo had almost been hit by their Beaters' bats several times as he flew by them. Ron missed almost every goal, though he did show off some rather interesting dance moves, much to Leo's amusement. The only decent players on the field – besides Leo, anyway – were the Chasers and the reserve Seeker, Ginny Weasley.
When they weren't looking for the Snitch, he and Ginny sat on their brooms above the stands, wincing when Ron made a particularly bad miss or when Kirke hit himself with his own bat.
"I mean, bloody hell, I'd make a better Beater than them," Leo complained, snorting with laughter when Sloper almost fell off his broom again trying to hit a Bludger.
"Well, you do have the build for it," Ginny informed him, looking him up and down critically. "Have you ever tried it?"
"No... reckon it'd be fun to knock people off their brooms with a giant metal ball though," he snickered, getting a mental image of whacking Umbridge with a Bludger while she sat in the stands.
"You should ask Angelina after the upcoming match," she suggested, shaking her head as Ron made another spectacular miss. "I don't think she'll want to switch out players this close to the game."
"Yeah... and it's not like we'd be leaving her in the lurch either," he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I watched you for a bit before I came out – you make a damn good Seeker. Quite impressive, really."
"Thanks," Ginny grinned. "But I prefer goal-scoring to Seeking. Hoping I can try out for Chaser next year since Angelina and Alicia will be gone."
"Fingers crossed Umbridge'll be gone by then too," Leo sighed. "Every day I hope she'll take a tumble down the Grand Staircase, my hopes are dashed every time..."
Ginny laughed loudly, garnering Angelina's attention. She yelled at them to start practising again and they rolled their eyes before acquiescing to her request. Despite how well they flew for the duration of practice, not even they could make up for the rest of the team's lacklustre performance. Angelina was almost in tears by the time she called a halt to practice and everyone else looked just as muddy and despondent as she did.
Leo stayed behind after the Gryffindor team left, wanting to give Beating a try. He hefted up a Beater's bat before letting a Bludger loose. It soared up in the air before making a sharp turn and angling down toward his face. He swung at it with all his might, giving a low whistle as he watched it soar across the pitch before turning and coming back towards him. He hit the Bludger a few more times, finding that it was a really good outlet for his ever-growing anger. Eventually, he had to stop when his arms began feeling tired and he struggled to put the Bludger back into its box.
She's a smart girl, that Ginny Weasley. He mused as he made his way across the grounds toward the castle. Too bad the bloke she fancies is too thick to see it.
Neville returned to school the following Monday, smiling broadly and looking cheerier than usual. Leo was about to ask why when the teen abruptly enveloped him in a hug, thanking him profusely for something Leo couldn't make out. He then handed Leo an envelope before walking away, much to the blonde's bemusement. He quickly opened the envelope, immediately recognizing his father's familiar tidy scrawl.
Leo,
I didn't want to send this via owl post in case it was intercepted by people worse than the Ministry. Frank has recovered – there are some gaps and holes in his memory and he's still a bit twitchy, but that should fade over time. With the escape of the Lestranges, I've decided to move the Longbottoms into hiding and suggested they used the Fidelius Charm. Frank didn't really argue with me given Alice's unstable condition.
Now, about Bellatrix... as you may have heard, she's sadistic. I wager that trait has become more pronounced since her incarceration. She enjoys playing with her food – something you can use to your advantage. She won't kill right away, you'll have time to come up with a plan and outmanoeuvre her. She's got quite the temper on her – something you and Sirius can both relate to. Make her mad enough, and killing won't be the first thing she does.
She's a master duelist – even I had difficulty with her when we were younger. Don't underestimate her. Insane though she may be, she's the strongest and most fierce of all the Death Eaters and was trained by old Moldy herself. Don't get too cocky if you find yourself facing her. Instinct has gotten you this far but you'll need more than that to beat that bitch.
Hope this has helped.
Love,
Dad
Leo stared down at the letter thoughtfully, humming to himself as he walked down the corridor to History of Magic.
Gryffindor barely managed to pull out a win against Hufflepuff the following Saturday. The match had only been twenty minutes long, but that was enough time to showcase how far the Gryffindor Quidditch team had fallen since the departure of their Beaters and Seeker. Leo couldn't decide what had been worse, Ron's fourteenth failed save, Sloper missing the Bludger but hitting Angelina in the mouth with his bat, or Kirke shrieking and falling backwards off his broom as Zacharias Smith zoomed at him carrying the Quaffle. Kirke fell off his broom again when Leo zoomed toward him at full speed to grab the Snitch fluttering by his knee, taking the Seeker down with him. Crushed though he was by the weight of his own teammate, Leo triumphantly held the Snitch up in the air, winning the match for Gryffindor by a measly ten points.
Angelina looked greatly relieved when Leo told her he'd like to try out for Beater after the match and was quite pleased with his trial performance. She dismissed Sloper – both because of his dismal performance and because he had hit her – and put Leo in his place, letting Ginny take the spot as Gryffindor Seeker. Practice on Sunday was marginally better as a result.
Monday was an important day as it heralded the publication of Leo and Harry's interview in The Quibbler. Owls landed before him and Harry, each one carrying letters from people who had read their article. Some said they believed them, others were downright insulting, and a couple said they weren't sure either way. Leo thought that was a waste of parchment, a sentiment Fred shared as he and George joined them, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Draco in opening the letters. Unfortunately, they also garnered unwanted attention.
"What is going on here?" said a falsely sweet, girlish voice.
They all looked up to see Umbridge was standing behind Fred and Luna, her bulging toad's eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters on the table in front of Harry and Leo. Behind her, they saw many of the students watching them avidly.
"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, why have you got all these letters?" she asked slowly.
"Is that a crime now?" said Fred loudly. "Getting mail?"
"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have to put you in detention," said Umbridge. "Well?"
"I don't really see how that's your concern," Leo replied irritably.
"I think what my daft companion is trying to say," Draco interjected before Leo could earn himself detention. "Is that once they receive their letters, they become their property and you have no right to seize their property without some sort of warrant."
Leo stared at him, and he wasn't the only one. The letter-opening squad was staring open-mouthed as they wondered just how Draco knew this and whether or not he was bluffing. Judging by Umbridge's red expression, he was not bluffing. Unfortunately, she spotted a copy of the article on the table and snatched it up, her eyes bulging as she scanned the cover.
"When did you do this?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Last Hogsmeade weekend," said Harry.
She looked up at him, incandescent with rage, the magazine shaking in her silver, stubby fingers.
"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you and Black, Mr. Potter," she whispered. "How you dare... how you could..." She took a deep breath. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions for each of you -"
"Oh, I don't think so," Leo interrupted, pouring himself a cup of tea.
Umbridge turned her bulging eyes to stare at Leo. He was pleased to see one of them twitch.
"Excuse me, Mr. Black?"
"You're excused, goodbye," Leo informed her, chuckling at his own joke as he carefully sipped his tea. "Lovely. Anyway, you won't be giving us detention. Won't really argue about the points and Hogsmeade, but we won't be attending detention with you."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"Ellen Cracknell."
Umbridge went pale before her face turned red. She shifted between the two colours before she stalked away, clutching The Quibbler to her chest, the eyes of many students following her. Leo watched her before snorting with laughter and returning to his eggs. He glanced up to see everyone was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to use that," he grinned brightly at them.
"Who's Ellen Cracknell?" Draco demanded.
"Her mother," Leo replied simply. "Dad told me about her family. Lot of things she doesn't want anyone to find out. She's quite embarrassed by her whole family – did you know her brother is a Squib? Fascinating."
They all continued to stare at him.
"Blackmail, Black? There may be some Slytherin qualities in you yet," Draco finally said aloud.
"Uh, thanks?"
Not long after the incident with Umbridge, she had a notice posted that stated that anyone caught in possession of The Quibbler would be expelled. Leo felt that was an incredibly stupid move on her part. The best way to get someone to do something was to tell them not to do it. By the end of the day, the whole school had gotten the story. He had a few people come up to him and ask if he had really put a pumpkin on Voldemort's head and received mingled looks of awe and laughter when he confirmed it. The best part was when many D.A. members came up to him asking for him to teach them the spell at their next meeting.
Meanwhile, Umbridge was stalking the school, stopping students at random and demanding that they turn out their books and pockets in an attempt to locate the banned magazine. The students were way ahead of her. The pages carrying their interview had been bewitched to resemble extracts from textbooks if anyone but themselves read it, or else wiped magically blank until they wanted to peruse it again. Leo had never been so pleased with the amount of rebellion running rampant through the school.
The best part was when Luna told him they had sold out copies and that her father had to reprint. He had never felt so happy for her and the feeling only intensified when she kissed him on the cheek. He wore a goofy grin for the remainder of that day. Merlin, I love that girl. He sighed before blinking, wondering where that sudden thought had come from.
He didn't have much time to dwell on it since Harry came up to him and reported that Bode – the guy who had been killed by the Devil's Snare – had apparently been Imperiused by Lucius Malfoy to steal the prophecy and it had obviously cursed him in some way. Harry looked terrified as he told him this and eventually confessed that he had seen it through Voldemort's eyes.
"I'm worried that, maybe... he's possessing me or something," the dark-haired boy told him.
Leo was quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful.
"Y'know, Harry, there is someone other than Quirrell who was possessed by Voldemort," Leo reminded him. "They can tell you if you're being possessed or not."
"Who?" Harry asked, looking quite confused.
"I'll give you a hint: they're in Gryffindor," Leo told him, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation when Harry continued to look confused. "Ginny Weasley, Harry. Go talk to her."
Harry looked surprised before running off to go find the red-headed girl. Leo shook his head before frowning, trying to remember what he had been thinking about before. With a small shrug, he went back to his Transfiguration essay that Minnie had assigned them.
February faded into March without much incident, the only thing of note being that Fred and George had recruited Leo's help with a secret project that had to do with fireworks. Something else that happened was him reuniting with Fievel and putting his plan into action. He recruited the little mouse and his many friends and set them loose in Umbridge's office, watching with satisfaction as they destroyed and chewed everything with impunity.
Leo was just telling Luna and Draco about it as they exited the Great Hall the next day when they stopped at the sound of a loud scream. The boys automatically took out their wands and looked for the source of the noise. They spotted Trelawney on the floor in the middle of the entrance hall, sobbing uncontrollably with an empty bottle of sherry in one hand. Without thinking, Leo ran toward the woman to see if she was all right, ignoring the crowd of people gathering around them.
"Professor, what -?" he began.
"Step away, Black," a familiar high-pitched voice rang out. "This isn't your concern."
Two large thumps sounded on either side of them, and Leo glanced from side to side to see they were two large trunks. Things clicked into place as he turned his gaze up to look at Umbridge, his eyes full of venom. He rose to his feet and was about to stride toward her when a pair of arms grabbed him and pulled him back. He struggled for a moment before looking up to see it was McGonagall holding him back, shaking her head slightly. He ceased his movement and looked on silently, though McGonagall did nothing to loosen her grip.
"No!" Trelawney shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening... It cannot... I refuse to accept it!"
"You didn't realize this was coming?" said Umbridge, sounding callously amused. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?"
"You c-can't!" howled Trelawney, tears streaming down her face from behind her enormous lenses, "you c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"
Leo, despite not really liking the old fraud very much, felt his heart break a little at the sight.
"It was your home," said Umbridge, and Leo was outraged to see the enjoyment stretching her toadlike face as she watched Trelawney sink, sobbing uncontrollably, onto one of her trunks, "until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic countersigned the order for your dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us."
But she stood and watched, with an expression of gloating enjoyment, as Trelawney shuddered and moaned, rocking backwards and forward on her trunk in paroxysms of grief. McGonagall's grip on Leo relaxed, allowing him to run over to the now-former Divination professor with Minnie following after him. She patted Trelawney on the back before withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.
"There, there, Sybill... Calm down... Blow your nose on this... It's not as bad as you think, now... You are not going to have to leave Hogwarts..."
"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. "And your authority for that statement is...?"
Leo felt his whole body shake angrily and was about to respond with something that would most certainly have gotten him arrested when he was – luckily – beaten to the punch by a deep voice behind them all.
"That would be mine."
The oak front doors swung open as Dumbledore appeared at the entrance, the misty light pouring out of the doorway making him an oddly impressive sight. What he had been doing on the grounds Leo didn't know, nor did he really care to be quite honest. Leaving the doors wide behind him, he strode forward through the circle of onlookers toward Leo, Trelawney, and Minnie.
"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" said Umbridge with a singularly unpleasant little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here" — she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes — "an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister of Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation, and sack any teacher she — that is to say, I — feel is not performing up to the standard required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."
Leo immediately found a loophole in her words and, judging by the smile on his face, so had Dumbledore.
"You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor, you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," he went on, with a courteous little bow, "that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continues to live at Hogwarts."
At this, Trelawney gave a wild little laugh in which a hiccup was barely hidden.
"No — no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall l-leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere —"
"No," said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sybill."
He turned to Leo and McGonagall.
"Might I ask that you and Mr. Black escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"
"Of course," said McGonagall. "Up you get, Sybill..."
She took one arm while Leo took the other, they helped guide Trelawney up the stairs past Umbridge – where Leo gave her a look of utmost loathing before they continued on. Flitwick and Sprout followed behind them with Trelawney's trunks. Leo turned his head, frowning slightly at the still-sobbing Trelawney. If she does something like this to Hagrid or Minnie, I won't just stand by and watch next time. I swear it. He vowed.
