Hello friends!
Here is the next chapter for Cruel Angel Thesis, hope you enjoy and now on to the review.
girani4: Well Alex always has been similar to Kyle Phoenix, though a bit more subdued version. But I'm going somewhere with Alex acting the way he is. Thanks and you too.
Now story time.
On Thursday evening, Harry and Claire were sitting in an empty classroom as she helped him catch up with his homework. Claire had never before considered the possibility that there might be another teacher in the world she hated more than Lockhart, but she and Harry agreed that Umbitch is a strong contender.
As they climbed a staircase to the seventh floor. They had reached the top of the stairs, turned right and almost walked into Ron, who was lurking behind a statue of Lachlan the Lanky, clutching his broomstick. He gave a great leap of surprise when he saw Harry and Claire and attempted to hide his broomstick behind his back.
"What are you doing?" Claire asked, but he told them it was nothing.
"Is that a new broom? Why do you got a broom with you?" Harry asked, "You haven't been flying, have you?"
"I... Well alright." Ron said defensively, turning redder with every second, "I'll tell you, but don't laugh, all right?"
"Harry won't." Claire said, "I won't promise anything."
"I-I thought I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now I've got a decent broom." Ron said, "There. Go on. Laugh."
"I'm not laughing." Harry said.
"Not all that funny." Claire said with a shrug, "If that's what you want to do, go for it."
"Yeah, it would be really cool if you got on the team!" Harry said excited, "I have never seen you play Keeper, are you good?"
"I'm not bad." Ron said looking immensely relieved at their reaction, "Charlie, Fred and George always made me keep for them when they were training during the holidays."
"So you've been practicing tonight?" Harry asked.
"Every evening since Tuesday... just on my own, though. I've been trying to bewitch Quaffles to fly at me, but it hasn't been easy and I don't know how much use it'll be." Ron looked nervous and anxious, "Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts."
"Maybe, who knows?" Claire said, "How did you get that broom? It looks relatively new..."
"Alex got it for me." Ron said, "Didn't told me how he got it."
"Probably whoring himself out." Claire said.
The next evening, Ron succeeded in becoming the new Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and so they had a little party in the common room, he was beaming all the time.
"Come here, Ron, and see if Oliver's old robes fit you." Katie called, "We can take off his name and put yours on instead..."
Claire was watching Ron over the rim of her goblet as Harry stood next to her with a slight frown on his face.
"He's not the best, but with a bit of training he'll be all right." Harry said, "Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper both flew better this evening, but Hooper's a real whiner, he's always moaning about something or other, and Vicky's involved in all sorts of societies. She admitted herself that if training clashed with her Charms Club she'd put Charms first."
Harry and Claire moved over to sit next to Neville as Alex was arguing with Hermione, while holding a pair of female knickers in his hands.
"Where did you get these anyhow?" Neville said.
"It was left behind by one of my 'overnight guests'." Alex said with a slight smile, "Along with some other articles of clothes."
"...Then what was she wearing when she left?" Hermione said.
"A smile." Alex said as he smiled at Hermione.
They watched Fred, George and Lee juggling empty Butterbeer bottles for a moment.
"I have already said it but..." Neville mumbled, "I think you have a lot more fun when we are not around..."
The first week of term seemed to have dragged on for ever, like one gigantic History of Magic lesson. The next morning, Claire came down early in the common room to find Harry with a quill staring into the empty grate, at a complete loss for what to say.
"Your doing your own homework?" Claire said as she sat down next to her startled boyfriend, "Are you sick?"
He explained that he was going to write a letter to Sirius and Margaret, but couldn't find the right words to not give out information if the letter was intercepted.
After some time the two came up with a letter that seemed like just a regular letter a teen would send to their parents. They both reread the letter several times, trying to see it from the point of view of an outsider and neither could not see how they would know what Harry was talking about, or who he was talking to, just from reading this letter.
Dear Sirius and Margaret,
Hope you're both okay, the first week back here's been terrible, I'm really glad it's the weekend.
We've got a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge or Umbitch (Claire likes to call her that). She's nearly as nice as your mum, Sirius. I'm writing because that thing that happend last summer during our vacation in French happened again last night.
We're all missing our biggest friend, we hope he'll be back soon.
Please write back quickly.
Best, Harry.
P.S.: Claire sends her love.
Sealing the parchment carefully, the two friends climbed through the portrait hole and headed off for the Owlery. Harry's spirits rose as he walked past window after window showing brilliantly blue sky; he had training later, he would be back on the Quidditch pitch at last.
"So hey..." Harry asked quite suddenly, "How are you doing?"
"Tis again?" Claire said, "I'm doing fine."
"You keep saying that, but..." Harry said just as he felt something brushed his ankles.
He looked down and saw Mrs. Norris, slinking past him. She turned lamp-like yellow eyes on him for a moment before disappearing behind a statue of Wilfred the Wistful.
"We are not doing anything wrong." Harry called after her.
The sun was high in the sky now when the two friends entered the Owlery the glass less windows dazzled his eyes; thick silvery beams of sunlight crisscrossed the circular room in which hundreds of owls nestled on rafters, a little restless in the early-morning light, some clearly just returned from hunting.
"There you are." he said, spotting her somewhere near the very top of the vaulted ceiling, "Get down here, I've got a letter for you."
With a low hoot she stretched her great white wings and soared down on to his shoulder. He gave her the letter to clasp in her beak, "Safe flight." Claire said as Harry carried her to one of the windows; with a moments pressure on his arm, Hedwig took off into the blindingly bright sky.
The two watched her until she became a tiny black speck and vanished, then switched his gaze to Hagrid's hut, clearly visible from this window, and just as clearly uninhabited, the chimney smokeless, the curtains drawn.
"You ever think we will have a normal year at Hogwarts?" Harry asked as the two looked down at the grounds.
"Highly doubtful..." Claire muttered just as the Owlery door opened behind him. The two leap in shock and, turning quickly, saw Fleur holding a letter in her hand.
"Oh, good morning you two." Fleur said with a breath taking smile, "I didn't think anyone would be up here this early. I only remembered five minutes ago, that I still had to write Gabby. She has shown interest to come studying at Hogwarts once she turns eleven."
She coaxed it down on to her arm where it held out an obliging leg so that she could attach the letter before it flew towards the horizon.
"How are your friends from back home doing?" Claire said, "You know Adri and Amelie?"
"They are doing fine." Fleur explained as they looked out the window, "You know that Umbridge is a foul woman. Trying to put you in detention just because..."
Quite suddenly the Owlery door opened again and Filch the caretaker came wheezing into the room. There were purple patches on his sunken, veined cheeks, his jowls were quivering and his thin grey hair disheveled; he had obviously run here.
Mrs. Norris came trotting at his heels, gazing up at the owls overhead and mewing hungrily. There was a restless shifting of wings from above and a large brown owl snapped his beak in a menacing fashion.
"Aha!" Filch said, taking a flat-footed step towards Harry, his pouchy cheeks trembling with anger, "I have had a tip-off that you are intending to place a massive order for Dungbombs!"
Harry folded his arms and stared at the caretaker, "Who told you I was ordering Dungbombs?"
Claire and Fleur were looking from Harry to Filch, also frowning.
"I have my sources." Filch said in a self-satisfied hiss, "Now hand over whatever it is you're sending."
"I can't, it's gone." Harry said calmly.
Filch opened his mouth furiously, mouthed for a few seconds, then raked Harry's uniform with his eyes. "How do I know you haven't got it in your pocket?"
"Because I saw him send it." Fleur said angrily, crossing her arms as Filch rounded on her, "That's right, I saw him."
There was a moment's pause in which Filch glared at Fleur and the blonde glared right back, then the caretaker turned on his heel and shuffled back towards the door. He stumped off down the stairs. Mrs. Norris cast a last longing look at the owls and followed him.
"Thanks." Harry said.
"No problem." Fleur said.
"Damn... Now I understand why Jeager fell for you." Claire said impressed, "Though I wonder why Filch thought you were ordering Dungbombs."
After saying goodbye to Harry and Claire, she walked towards Charles office. Walking in where she found him just putting on one of his fine suits and fixing his black hair while looking into a floating mirror.
"Good morning." he said, directing the levitating comb.
"Morning." she said, "I came to wake you up... But I'm surprised your up already."
"Implying I actually went to sleep." Charles said, directing the comb to his desk once it was finished, "Though don't let Severus know you try to wake me up, he has trouble as it is accepting his new stepmum."
"I guess you could buy my silence." she said with a smile.
With a smile of his own, he placed a quick but passionate kiss on her lips before putting on a blazer, black in color for today.
They left his office together, heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Charles... There is something I want to ask you..." Fleur said, sounding rather nervous, rubbing her arm, "I-If its not too much trouble, would you mind meeting my parents?"
Going by the tone of her usual confident voice, and her nervous body language, this seemed to be very important to her.
"Right the dreaded meeting the parents..." Charles said rubbing the back of his head, "Fleur, if tis will make you happy, then I will meet them." and a bright smile appeared on his girlfriend's face.
"Thank you." Fleur said, cheering up in an instance, "And don't be nervous, they will love you."
Harry and Claire joined Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.
"Oh, Harry." Ron said putting the piece of toast he was eating down and took a large swig of pumpkin juice, "Listen... you don't fancy going out a bit earlier with me, do you? Just to... Give me some practice before training? So I can, you know, get my eye in a bit."
"Sure." Harry said.
"Look, I don't think you should." Hermione said seriously, "You're both really behind on homework as it..." but she broke off; the morning post was arriving and, as usual, the Daily Prophet was soaring towards her in the beak of a screech owl, which landed perilously close to the sugar bowl and held out a leg.
Hermione pushed a Knut into its leather pouch, took the newspaper, and scanned the front page critically as the owl took off.
"Anything interesting?" Neville said.
"No." she sighed, "Just some guff about the bass player in the Weird Sisters getting married."
Claire devoted herself to another helping of eggs and bacon.
"Donaghan Tremlett is getting married!?" Alex asked surprised but Hermione ignored him as she opened the paper and disappeared behind it.
"Right, well, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on self-fertilizing shrubs first." Hermione said, "And if we're lucky we'll be able to start McGonagall's Inanimatus Conjurus Spell before lunch..."
But when she didn't got a response of any kind, she came from behind her paper. Much to her annoyance and irritation, her friends had already left, leaving her behind.
Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron and Neville were walking over the lawns towards the Quidditch pitch under the clear, exhilarating blue sky.
"Do you think Hermione will be mad at us?" Neville asked.
"Hermione being mad at us? Now that is something new." Claire said dryly, "Besides, you can always do your homework tonight."
"Or copy it off the sweetest, nicest, smartest and most beautiful cousin in the whole world?" Alex said with a hopeful smile, giving her a puppy look with his light blue eyes.
"Why would you need to copy off her?" Neville said, "I thought you didn't do homework?"
"Trying to help you guys out!" Alex said annoyed.
"Yeah... If I had a Knut for every time you guys copied my homework." Claire muttered, "I could afford a Nimbus 2001 for the entire Gryffindor Team and still have enough left over to buy a room at the Leaky Cauldron for a year."
"Still, this is important, too, right? You have got to practice if you want to stay on the Quidditch team..." Neville pointed out, "...And maybe next year, I'll try out for Beater."
"Neville's got a good point." Harry said, "And it would be awesome if you would join as well. Maybe we can get Claire and Alex as a Chasers", he added with a smile, thinking how fun it could be.
"Yeah, not going to happen." Claire said simply, "I rather watch you be amazing at Quidditch than play it."
"Ah, thanks." Harry said, getting a playful shove from his smirking friend.
When they arrived at the Quidditch pitch, they collected balls from the cupboard in the changing room and set to work, Ron guarding the three tall goalposts, Harry, Neville and Alex playing Chaser and trying to get the Quaffle past Ron, while Claire sat in the bleachers and watched, or rather took a nap.
Ron was pretty good; he blocked seven out of ten shot Harry attempted to put past him, seven out of ten shots from Neville and two out of ten from Alex's and he just played better the longer they practiced.
After a couple of hours they returned to the castle for lunch, during which Hermione made it quite clear she thought they were irresponsible.
"I wonder if I could get away with it..." Alex thought that night as he, Claire, Neville and Hermione were sitting in the common room, he and Neville working on their homework.
Alex was looking between the inked tip of his quill, and Claire's sleeping face as she was slumped back in her chair. But his attention was drawn to the portrait hole as Harry and Ron climbed through it.
"How was practice?" Hermione asked rather coolly.
"It was..." Harry began.
"Completely lousy." Ron said in a hollow voice, sinking into a chair beside Hermione.
She looked up at Ron and her frost mess seemed to melt, "Well, it was only your first time.", she said consolingly, "It's bound to take time to..."
"Who said it was me who was completely lousy?", Ron snapped, and he and Hermione began to argue with each other, until Ron told her angrily that he was going to get started on his homework and stomped off to the staircase to the boys' dormitories and vanished from sight.
"I don't think he is doing his homework." Neville said, looking after Ron.
"Was he lousy?" Claire groaned, having woken up, "He wasn't that bad tis afternoon."
"No... Well, I suppose he could have played better." Harry muttered, "But it was only his first time, like Hermione said..."
The next day which was Sunday, Harry, Ron and Neville were copying down Claire's notes, while she gave them some hints and tips in case they had a sudden test coming.
"Don't you care that this is like cheating if you do all the work for them?" Hermione asked irritated.
"Hermione, come on. Take a good look at me." Claire said, gesturing to her face, "Does tis look like a face that cares?" having her usual expression on her face.
"No, you look like you haven't taken a shit in weeks." Hermione said with a cheeky grin.
"Oh, bite me. Better yet, bite Alex, he would like it." Claire said back, making both her friend and cousin's face red, "Neville, Jupiter's biggest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto. And Ron, it's lo that's got the volcanoes."
"Thanks." Ron said, scratching out the offending sentences.
"Hey look!", Hermione said, pointing to the nearest window. Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron and Neville looked over to see a handsome screech owl was standing on the windowsill, gazing into the room at Ron.
"Isn't that Percy's owl?" Claire asked surprised.
"Blimey, it is!" Ron said quietly, throwing down his quill and getting to his feet, "What's Percy writing to me for?" he crossed to the window and opened it; Hermes flew inside, landed on Ron's essay and held out a leg to which a letter was attached.
Ron took the letter off it and the owl departed at once, leaving inky footprints across Ron's drawing of the moon Io.
"That's definitely Percy's handwriting." Ron said sinking back into his chair and staring at the words on the outside of the scroll:
Ronald Weasley, Gryffindor House, Hogwarts.
"Open it!" Hermione said eagerly, and Harry nodded.
Ron unrolled the scroll and began to read. The further down the parchment his eyes traveled, the more pronounced became his scowl. When he had finished reading, he looked disgusted. He thrust the letter to the center of the table and the rest leaned towards each other to read it together:
Dear Ron,
I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully, you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions.
From something the Minister let slip, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter and the Kent's. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger than continued fraternization with those families.
Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this - no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favorite and the Kent have always been a proud Light family - but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different - and probably more accurate - view of Potter's and Kent's behavior.
I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing and see if you can spot yours truly!
Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter and Kent, it could be very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here about life after school, too.
It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with them, I know that Potter can be unbalanced and the Kent family has always seen themselves as above the law, a thing they have in common with the Black family, but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in their behavior that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a truly delightful woman who I know will be only too happy to advice you.
This leads me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that, so far, Professor Umbridge is encountering very little co-operation from staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Ministry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier from next week, again, see the Daily Prophet tomorrow!).
I shall say only this, a student who shows himself willing to help Professor Umbridge now may be very well-placed for Headboy ship in a couple of years!
I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticize our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore. (If you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's, has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders.)
I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people, the Minister really could not be more gracious to me and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions, either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes.
Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Potter and Kent.
Your brother, Percy.
"Well." Harry said as he looked up, trying to sound as though he found the whole thing a joke, "If you want to... what is it? Oh yeah, 'sever ties' with me, I swear I won't get violent."
"And I promise I will give you a ten second head start." Claire said.
"Thank you, your very fast." Ron said, holding out his hand to take back the letter, "He is. The world's. Biggest. Git!" tearing Percy's letter in half with each word before he threw the pieces into the fire.
Claire blinked, she had just seen something in the fire that could not have been there. It had flashed into sight and vanished immediately. She slid off her chair on to her knees and was now crouching on the singed and threadbare hearthrug, gazing into the flames.
"...Claire?" Alex said, "What are you doing down there cousin?"
"I have just seen Sirius's head in the fire." Claire said.
There in the middle of the dancing flames sat Sirius's head.
"I was starting to think you'd go to bed before everyone else had disappeared." Sirius said, grinning, "We have been checking every hour."
"We?" Alex said.
"Me and Margaret. Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear." Sirius said, "Margaret was called to her office now. This was the quickest way we could come up with of answering Harry's letter without resorting to a code and codes are breakable."
At the mention of Harry's letter, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione both turned to stare at him.
"You didn't say you'd written to Sirius!", Hermione said accusingly.
"I forgot." Harry said, "Oh don't look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there?"
"No, it was very good." Sirius said smiling, "Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed. Your scar."
"What about?" Ron began, but Alex interrupted him.
"Not now Ron." Alex said.
"Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts, but we don't think its anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?" Sirius asked, getting a nod from Harry, "It happens whenever Voldemort feels a powerful emotion. Well, now he's back it's bound to hurt more often."
"So, what are Umbridge's lessons like?" he said, "Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?"
"No." Claire said directly, a spooked expression in her face, "She is not letting us use magic at all."
"All we do is read the stupid textbook." Neville said.
"Ah, well, that figures." Sirius said, "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."
"Trained in combat?" Ron repeated, "What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?"
"Yes, that's exactly what Fudge thinks you're doing." Margaret said as she appeared in the fire as well, "Or, rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing, forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic."
There was a pause at this, then Ron said, "That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna comes out with."
"So we're being prevented from learning Defense Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?" Hemione asked, looking furious.
"Yep." Sirius said, "Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge."
"So you haven't had any news about Hagrid, either?", Harry asked.
"He was supposed to be back by now, no one's sure what's happened to him." Margaret said, upon seeing their stricken faces, she quickly added, "But Dumbledore's not worried, so don't you six get yourselves in a state; I'm sure Hagrid's fine. Madame Maxime was with him, we have been in touch with her and she says they got separated on the journey home, but there's nothing to suggest he's not perfectly okay."
Unconvinced, Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione exchanged worried looks.
"Listen, don't go asking too many questions about Hagrid." Sirius said hastily, "It'll just draw even more attention to the fact that he's not back and I know Dumbledore doesn't want that. Hagrid's tough, he'll be alright."
That's the chapter.
Many thanks to everyone who reads, favorite, follows or reviews this chapter.
See you beauties next time. Mischief Managed.