Rachel's mind was occupied on Tuesday morning as they went up to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was Halloween, which meant they had the Halloween feast tonight. She didn't want to go, but she didn't want her friends to feel obligated to stay with her either. It wasn't fair to them to miss one of the most anticipated feasts of the year just so they could stay with her. She also didn't want to raise the subject, even though she knew that she should just get it over with so that the group could discuss it. Maybe after classes were over with for the day someone would bring it up.
She sat down between Millie and Theo at the Slytherin table near the rest of the fifth years, her eyes scanning what was available for breakfast with distaste. Her stomach already felt like it was tied in knots, even though she had gotten a few more hours of sleep last night after waking fairly early in the morning.
"So, do you want the bad news or do you want to remain blissfully ignorant?" Draco asked from across the table.
"Me?" Rachel asked, when no one responded.
"Who else?" Draco asked.
Bad news could mean just about anything these days, from someone quitting the Quidditch team to the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters murdering someone.
"Why don't you just tell us what it is?" Theo asked.
Draco shrugged and handed over that morning's Daily Prophet.
Rachel set it on her plate and sighed. Severus had warned her when they had dinner on Sunday that there might be another article about her, though he hadn't been able to say why there would be one. "I haven't even done anything. How does this pass as news?" she complained.
Theo was frowning as he leaned closer to read the article. "Open up past the fold, if you would."
Rachel opened it and scowled down at the paper as she skimmed the article, aware that both Theo and Millie were doing the same on either side of her.
"It says that you're stirring up trouble at Hogwarts," Millie said, looking at Rachel.
The DA could definitely count as stirring up trouble, but if they knew about it, why not be more specific? Rachel met Millie's gaze and tried to think of something she could say out in the open of the Great Hall that wouldn't immediately give away that they had something to hide. "They don't say what sort of trouble. You think they would, if they knew something."
"Which means that they don't know anything," Theo said, glancing around at all of the fifth years at the table who were in the DA. "If they knew something, they'd level exact charges."
Draco nodded once, Blaise's shoulders relaxed, and Pansy and Daphne turned to look at each other.
"They also say that you've refused to recant your position on the Dark Lord returning. Has anyone actually asked you to recant?" Theo asked.
"No. No one has even mentioned it to me," Rachel said, wondering again about where Rita Skeeter got her information.
"Are you going to?" Blaise asked. "Recant, I mean. If someone asked you to."
Rachel straightened as she realized that more than just the fifth years were now paying attention to this conversation. "No, I'm not. I won't lie, not even if a professor asks me to." They all knew which professor would be asking.
There was a moment of quiet around them, a bubble of silence as everyone in the vicinity considered this information.
"Of course you wouldn't," Millie said, breaking the silence, and the fourth and sixth years near them returned to their own conversations.
Rachel looked back at the article. Something was bothering her, and it wasn't just what Rita Skeeter had written. "They're using a new picture of me."
"What?" Pansy asked.
"Over the summer, in all of the articles, they used the picture of me being awarded the Triwizard Cup. This is a picture of me here at school, but it's not from last year. I'm sure it's from this year. Recently. I didn't wear my hair like this last year," Rachel said, looking back at the photo.
"Let me see," Draco said, reaching across the table and picking up the paper.
"You didn't see anyone take the picture?" Daphne asked, leaning around Pansy to see the picture.
"No. I'm pretty sure I would remember someone taking a picture of me," Rachel said. "This isn't the first time this has happened either."
"They've been doing this since first year," Theo said, frowning as he put some eggs and bacon on his plate. "Which means it's either a fifth, sixth, or seventh year, or it's been more than one person."
"I want to know how it is we never see them. We're always with you, Rachel. You'd think someone pointing a camera at us is the kind of thing we'd notice," Millie said, busy with the plate of breakfast sausage.
"And she was with you, I can see your shoulder and hair at the edge of the picture, Millie," Pansy said. "I can't tell where it was taken though, it's just a stone wall behind you."
"Disillusionment charm, maybe? Or they're just very good at being unseen," Draco suggested.
If someone was selling pictures of her to the Daily Prophet, it stood to reason they could be selling other information about her too. But Millie was right, she and Theo went just about everywhere with Rachel except to Quidditch practice. Rachel did not like the idea of someone watching her like this.
"I guess we just have to watch more carefully, be more alert. I suppose we could look up the other articles and photos and see if we can figure out where they were taken, but if it's in the corridors it could be anyone. I know a few people who have cameras, but again, you'd really think we would have seen them." Theo tapped his fork against the side of his plate. "Fergus has a camera. And he'd be a fairly decent source of general information about you."
"Colin has a camera too, but I don't think he'd do this," Rachel said. They'd had this same discussion after the Yule Ball last year and had been stumped by the same lack of evidence.
"Maybe someone here has a family member who works for the Prophet?" Millie suggested. "I don't know how we'd find that out though."
Rachel shook her head. As much as she didn't like it, this was a minor problem and she didn't want to waste her friends' time with it. They had much more important things to do. "Let's keep an eye out for anyone pointing a camera our way, and otherwise forget it."
"You don't want to know who is taking pictures of you?" Theo asked, raising his eyebrows at her as he stopped eating.
"I do, but it's not urgent. Unless we can figure out a way to catch them in the act, I don't think this is solvable. We'll keep our eyes open, which we should be doing anyway, and see if it solves itself," Rachel said, looking across the table to find Draco watching her thoughtfully. "What?"
Draco shrugged. "I still say you need to do something about the Daily Prophet directly if you're not going to do something about the source."
"Other than arson, I don't know what to do about the Daily Prophet," Rachel said, only mostly joking. She thought the next time she saw Rita Skeeter in person she was going to have a very difficult time not casting the first hex that came to mind.
"Buy them. Or, at least buy Rita Skeeter's silence," Draco said, setting down his drink.
"What?" Rachel asked again.
"You have money, the Snow family fortune came to you, didn't it? Pay Rita Skeeter more than the Daily Prophet pays her. Hell, you could probably pay her to write good things about you," Draco said, still watching Rachel.
The bad thing was, Rachel was actually considering it. She didn't know exactly how much money she had in her Gringotts vault, but she could tell that it was a fairly large amount. "Isn't that bribery?"
"So?"
"Isn't it against the law?" she pressed.
"I don't see how it can be against the law to pay someone not to write about you," Draco said, shrugging again.
Rachel turned to Theo, figuring he would know more about what was or wasn't against the law in wizarding society.
"I think he's right," Theo said after a moment. "I think it's technically bribery, but it's not like you're asking her to cover up something illegal that you're doing, you're just asking her not to report about you. It might work."
"I guess it depends on whether or not what Rita Skeeter wants is money or if she just wants her name in the paper," Millie said. "If what she really wants is to write these articles, I don't think money will be enough."
"Why does it have to be about Rachel though? What if Rachel pays her to write about someone else?" Daphne suggested.
Rachel was less sure about that. She didn't want to put someone else as the subject of Rita Skeeter's evil quill.
"Well, you have options. Use them," Draco said.
Rachel nodded absently. Before she did anything she was going to ask Severus. And a good part of her suspected that he was going to say no to any sort of bribery. But maybe he'd have an idea about what they could do.
Rachel's quill was resting on her parchment, a blob of ink forming at the tip. She thought it might look like a black dog, a little bit like Sirius when he was in his animagus form, or it might look a bit like an angry cloud. She was poised to take notes, but nothing that Professor Binns was saying about the Giant Wars was making its way into her brain. She had tried to force herself to pay attention at the beginning of class, there was a possibility the Giant Wars would be on their OWLs after all, and they'd certainly have to write an essay about it for homework, but she just couldn't bring herself to care.
A quick glance around the classroom showed her that she wasn't the only one not paying attention. Theo had his two-way book open and was reading. Millie had her chin propped up on her hand and was restlessly drawing circles on her parchment. Draco had a book out and from where Rachel was sitting she could see that he was doing the Potions essay that was due tomorrow. Daphne had a copy of Witch Weekly open and Pansy was leaning so that she could see it too. Blaise looked like he was nearly asleep. Crabbe was asleep. And Goyle looked almost thoughtful, though it was impossible to tell what he was thinking about. The Hufflepuffs weren't faring much better.
Rachel looked back down at her parchment, her fingers tightening around her quill.
'Dear Sirius and Remus,
How are you? I hope that you're both well, and Kreacher as well.
I'm sure you saw today's article in the Daily Prophet. I'm not sure I understand it. I mean that on multiple levels. Why now? What purpose does it serve to write things like this? Are the Death Eaters responsible or is Rita Skeeter just writing whatever sounds interesting?
I am not causing trouble at Hogwarts. I haven't said a thing to Professor Umbridge except for "yes, ma'am". No one has even asked me to recant my position on the Dark Lord returning. I don't understand where this is coming from.
And then there's the pictures. This has been happening since my first year and I have never seen someone taking pictures of me in the corridors. Maybe they're using a Disillusionment charm, but that seems like a lot of work to take pictures of me. And it's kind of creepy. I mean, I don't care. It's just weird.
We're trying to study for our OWLs a little less now. We've adjusted some things and now we stop an hour before curfew and take a break. I'll be glad when OWLs are over, but we still have seven months left.
Quidditch is going pretty well. We had a bit of a rough start, but Martin and Stephen are learning. I'm glad to be playing Seeker again. I should write to Viktor and see how he's doing, I'm sure his team has been busy. I should write to Fleur as well. That was the best part about the Triwizard Tournament, I feel like I made some good friends that I otherwise wouldn't have met. Of course, I still get to see Cedric, which is nice.
Does anyone know how long Professor Binns has been teaching? Because he's not good at it. I'm looking around the classroom right now (yes, I'm writing to you in History of Magic, because it's better than taking a nap) and no one is paying attention. I don't know anyone in our year who is planning to go on to take a NEWT in History. I don't even know if Professor Binns teaches a NEWT level class. Why didn't Professor Dumbledore hire a new History teacher when Professor Binns died? On a related note, do you have any suggestions for books about modern wizarding history? We're still back in the 1600s and I doubt we'll reach the 1800s by the end of the year.
I know I just saw you both, but I miss spending time with you. I was glad to see you so much during the summer. Our next Hogsmeade weekend is Saturday 16 December. Does the same time and place work for you?
How is it going with the attic? Have you found anything interesting up there?
I'll keep in touch.
Love from Rachel'
She put down her quill and reread her letter. It did sound a little bit like she was whining. She folded it up and decided she'd rewrite it later, without the part where she complained about the article in the Daily Prophet.
She still hadn't finished her letter to her parents, but she wasn't ready to try again either. She felt a little bit better than she had this morning - at least she wasn't randomly crying - but she was a little wary of putting herself back in that mindset. Maybe she needed to start the whole letter over again.
Dropping her letter to Sirius and Remus into her bag, she pulled out her planner and began looking over the upcoming assignments. Arithmancy equations would take at least an hour - angles were complicated. They could plan on an hour for translating runes as well. Their Potions essay for tomorrow was already done, but they'd get more homework in tomorrow's class. Charms had a two foot essay on the Growth charm for next week, but that would be simple enough. They'd already done the essay for Defense, but would be assigned another in class on Thursday. Today was a Transfiguration essay on inanimate conjurations that was due on Friday and an essay on Jupiter's moons for Astronomy that was due on Thursday.
"Rachel."
Rachel looked up and saw that people were slowly gathering their things and leaving the classroom. "What was the homework assignment?"
"Two feet on the resolution of the Giant Wars," Theo said, shoving his book into his bag.
Rachel wrote that down as being due next Tuesday and put away her planner. They left the classroom together, bags slung over their shoulders, and headed toward their study room.
"Rachel, no pressure or anything, but are you planning on attending the feast tonight?" Millie asked.
"No, but you can go if you want to," Rachel said, wishing there was a better way to do this.
"I'm perfectly happy with us getting food and treats from the kitchens and having our own meal in the study room. Better company anyway," Millie said.
"Same. I'd much rather spend time with our friends," Theo added.
"If you're sure," Rachel said, not knowing what else to do.
"We are," Millie said.
Rachel nodded. Even though she was glad for her friends, she thought she'd still feel better after today was over.
"Severus, it's good to see you," Torey said, standing in her doorway.
Severus stood. "You as well." He'd been intending to speak with Torey about Rachel for some time now, but this had been the first opportunity he'd had that also worked with Torey's schedule.
"Come on in, take a seat where you feel comfortable," Torey said, pushing her door open further and leading the way back into her office.
He followed her inside, his eyes watching the door shut out of long ingrained habit, and he sat in the nearest chair and watched as Torey settled herself in her wheeled desk chair with a notepad.
"I imagine you've been busy these past two months with your students." Torey uncapped a pen and looked expectantly at Severus.
"Very, though it is generally that way ten months of the year. I have some questions about Rachel's progress. And some concerns."
Torey nodded once. "Do you want to start with your questions or do you want to tell me what your concerns are first?"
"My primary question is about how she seems to you. I'm not certain my experiences with Rachel match up to what yours are," Severus said, watching Torey's impassive expression. He often had difficulty reading what she felt about any given situation.
"Our experiences of Rachel will be different and that's alright and it's to be expected. She will behave differently with me than she will with you, just as she'll behave differently from either of those with her friends. That being said, I've been a little bit concerned since Rachel has returned to school. It's clear to me that she's under a lot of stress right now."
"I believe I have seen that change as well. She is very concerned about her OWLs, though I have told her that I'm not concerned about her scores. I have told her multiple times in the past that I do not expect her grades to be perfect." Severus frowned. He had no idea how to get Rachel to believe that.
"Rachel experiences a lot of anxiety around her grades. It's not just about pleasing you. There is part of her that associates you being kind to her with her doing well, but it's not rational, or even really conscious. This is something that will come with time and as she makes mistakes and has the real experience of you not harming her," Torey explained. "It's been about four years since you've adopted her, and you've both made a lot of progress in that time, but parts of Rachel's mindset still come from her early childhood. It will take time."
Severus nodded. It had taken him a good five years of teaching at Hogwarts before he had felt capable of letting down his guard even a little, and longer still to slowly become friends with Minerva and Poppy. "Is there anything I can do in the meantime to ease Rachel's fears about the OWLs? Anything to stop her from constantly studying?"
"We can both encourage her to take breaks and ask her to give some thought to what is a reasonable amount of study time. We can also remind her that the brain takes in information better when it has breaks and a variety of stimuli. Is she staying up late to study? Skipping meals?" Torey asked.
"Not that I'm aware of, but neither her sleep or her eating is where it should be either," he said, glad for the segue into one of his primary concerns. "We discussed this briefly a few months ago, but Rachel's difficulty with eating seems to be growing worse."
"Can you describe what she's doing?"
"Oftentimes, if I don't prompt her, she simply ignores her plate and then says that she's not hungry. When I do prompt her, she eats a few bites and says that she feels as though she will be ill if she tries to eat. One of my students has commented to me that Rachel is also not eating at meals in the Great Hall," he explained.
"One of Rachel's friends came to you with concerns?" Torey asked.
"Not precisely. There is a somewhat complicated situation with one of her dormmates. Has Rachel spoken to you about it?"
"No, she hasn't. Is the situation directly relevant to Rachel's eating?"
"No," Severus said, wondering if Rachel had taken his instruction that she shouldn't talk about Pansy's situation with anyone as including her therapist.
"Then I'm going to stop you there, unless you think that it's a concern that I should know about. I get the impression that Rachel is sometimes uncomfortable with you telling me things about her," Torey said, making a note on her notepad.
"Sometimes there are things that you need to be aware of and Rachel has the tendency not to speak about the things that truly bother her. But no, this situation isn't directly relevant, nor is it urgent," he said.
Torey nodded. "I agree, in some cases it's important that you tell me things, and I'll generally defer to your judgement as to what you feel is important enough to tell me. Has Rachel said anything to you about why she is struggling with eating?"
"Just that her stomach feels as if it is in a knot and that she feels she will be ill if she eats. She will occasionally agree to take a Stomach Soothing potion, and then will eat afterward, but she often resists the idea of taking one," he explained.
"And you've said this has been growing worse since the last time we talked about it. Did you notice a change from when she was at home to when she started at school?" Torey asked, still taking notes.
"Yes, definitely. She ate most of her meals while we were at home, with the exception of if there had been an upset of some sort directly before a meal. I'm uncertain how many of her meals she is eating now, but when she eats with me, it seems to be about half of the time that she struggles."
"Has Rachel said anything to you suggesting dissatisfaction with her appearance? Comparing herself to others? Mentioning wishing she was smaller or that she would lose weight?"
"No. The only things I can recall her saying in that vein are her wish to be taller and her desire not to wear glasses," Seveus said.
"Alright. What about other sources of stress at school, aside from her OWLs?" Torey looked up from her notepad.
"She is aware that a number of her classmates have parents who are Death Eaters and she knows to be cautious around them. She stays with her friends to reduce the risk that she will be attacked. There is also our Defense professor this year, who is insistent that the Dark Lord has not returned. As far as I'm aware, Rachel is managing to avoid confrontation with her. Then, not strictly school related, but she is well aware of the Dark Lord's return and has expressed concern about what will happen," he recounted.
"That's a lot. How much risk is there with Rachel attending school with children of Death Eaters? Are they likely to attack her? Are they making threats?"
"I think it is unlikely they will attack her directly. The Dark Lord wishes to kill Rachel himself, so abduction is the more relevant concern. Right now the Death Eaters seem content with their children spying on Rachel and reporting back information about her."
Torey tapped her pen against her notepad. "And how likely is it that they would be able to kidnap her?"
"Not very likely. The only portkeys that will work on school grounds are ones that the Headmaster has authorized himself. There are also anti-apparition wards on the grounds and the school, they would have to take her off school grounds to abduct her." He thought that was unlikely. The school gates were locked and a trip through the Forbidden Forest or across the Black Lake would be exceptionally hazardous.
"Then I think we need to make that clear to Rachel as well so that she's not expecting to be attacked at any moment. There's nothing wrong with her being cautious, but she shouldn't be living from day-to-day feeling like she's about to be attacked," Torey said. "From what it sounds like to me, this seems like a manifestation of Rachel's anxiety, but I'll know more if I can get her to talk about it to me. In the meantime, it would be a good idea for Rachel to visit the school's matron and get a check-up. If her weight is normal and she's not malnourished, I think we have some time to work with Rachel and help her get back to eating a little more regularly. If she is showing signs of malnourishment, then appropriate steps need to be taken so that she's getting the nutrients she needs. She can also check that there's nothing physical that is making Rachel feel too sick to eat."
Severus nodded. "I'll take her to Poppy this week."
"You mentioned that Rachel was also encountering difficulties with sleeping?" Torey asked.
"Her dormmate has mentioned to me that Rachel is frequently awake at night. I presume that Rachel is still having nightmares, though she hasn't spoken about them to me. I've also noticed that Rachel seems more tired now that we've returned to school. I worry that she's in the process of making herself ill by not eating and sleeping."
"Which is why it's good that we're discussing it now, before she falls ill. Did you notice if she was sleeping better at home?"
He thought about it before shaking his head. "I'm not sure that she was. I noticed that she would wait for me to get up before she would get up. I think she feels as though she's not allowed to leave her room in the night, though I've told her that she can."
"Rachel has mentioned to me in the past that her nightmares were better than they were, but I'll check in with her again about them and see what the situation is. Have you noticed any of this affecting Rachel in class?" Torey asked, making another note.
"No, in class she's a model student. I've never heard otherwise from any of the professors at the school," he said. Just last week Minerva had mentioned that Rachel was doing well with the beginnings of inanimate conjurations, one of the best in her class.
"That's something to keep an eye out for, because eventually this will start affecting her in other ways, but we want to try and regain some ground before it reaches that point. Did you have other concerns?"
Nothing that Torey could help with, the rest of his concerns for Rachel regarded the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. "I think that covers everything. I'll let you know if our school matron finds anything in her exams."
"Thank you. You can always let me know if there's a problem with Rachel that you're concerned about," Torey said as she stood.
Severus stood as well. "Thank you for your time."
"Before we go to breakfast, we need to tell you something," Millie said, glancing at Rachel.
Rachel finished tying the front parts of her hair back, leaving the rest loose around her shoulders. "We're planning on holding the first meeting on Friday evening at seven o'clock. Come to the corridor on the seventh floor with the tapestry of the trolls learning ballet and go through the doorway. We'll be there," Rachel said.
"Alright, that's the corridor in the opposite direction of the Arithmancy classroom, right?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, turn right at the top of the stairs and then turn right again into the first corridor you come to. Daphne, can you tell Astoria?" Millie asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"Yes, I'll bring her with us," Daphne said, looking a little nervous.
"Pansy, can you tell the other prefects who are involved without Diane finding out? I'm going to tell the Quidditch team members today." Rachel checked that she had her homework before she closed up her bag.
"I can do that. And I'll remind them that we shouldn't be going up there in a big group either, though hopefully none of them will need the reminder," Pansy said. "Shall we go to breakfast before the boys eat everything?"
"Good idea," Millie said.
Rachel followed them out the door, frowning as she went through the list of the DA members that they had to notify today. Ginny could tell Colin, Dennis, and the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Luna could tell Anthony and Terry. Rachel was planning to tell Cedric as soon as she saw him, and Cedric could tell his study group, and presumably Cho and Roger as well. They could tell Susan either just before or just after Arithmancy, and she could tell Hannah. Theo could tell Blaise. And the rest of the Slytherins were covered.
It was a lot of people, more than she'd expected when they first envisioned this Defense club. She hoped they could manage them all. Even more important was going to be managing that large of a group of people coming and going from the seventh floor without raising suspicion or getting caught. Maybe she would take out the spy scope that Sirius had given her for her birthday and use it to check the surrounding area before they sent people away from the Room of Requirement.
Rachel was busily thinking all the way up to the Great Hall and nearly bumped into a group of upper years at the doorway. "Oh, Cedric!"
Cedric turned back. "Rachel, I didn't see you there. Everything alright?"
"Just fine. Can we talk for a minute?" Rachel asked.
"Just for a minute, I've got a Transfiguration quiz in forty five minutes and I want to do a quick refresh," Cedric said.
Rachel motioned him away from the doors, Millie and Cedric both following her, and they paused by the back of the main staircase. She quickly cast the privacy ward around them. "First meeting is Friday at seven, in the same room where we were meeting to practice last year, across from the tapestry of the trolls learning ballet. Can you tell your study group and Cho and Roger?"
"And remind them not to come in a big group," Millie added.
"I can do that. We're really doing this then?" Cedric asked with a smile.
"I think so," Rachel said, feeling a rush of nerves again.
"Alright, we'll see you there then. Any other secret messages today?" he asked.
"Just that. Thanks," Rachel said, dismissing the privacy ward. It was a good thing she'd asked Severus to teach her that one at the start of summer.
"No problem, see you around," Cedric said, leaving them behind.
"Okay, that's another group off our list," Millie said. "I'm going to assume that the Gryffindors are covered. And we'll see Susan today."
Rachel nodded. "And we'll check with Luna about Terry and Anthony."
"That wasn't too bad, but I feel like we need a better way of doing this. Something less obvious," Millie said, leading the way into the Great Hall.
"That would be nice, but I don't have any ideas," Rachel said, grabbing a spare school copy of the Daily Prophet from the end of the table as they made their way down to where the rest of the fifth years were sitting.
"We'll add it to our list of impossible tasks then," Millie said. "Hey Theo."
"Hey," Theo said, scooting down to make room for them.
Rachel sat down and looked over the food before ignoring it entirely. It wasn't even worth bothering to try to eat when her stomach felt like this. She began looking through the Daily Prophet, searching for any sign of the silent war with the Death Eaters between its pages. The only thing that even seemed like a possibility was the report of a disturbance on Halloween night at the home of Pippa Macmillan, sister to Raphael Macmillan, who was a member of the Wizengamot.
"Do you think these are relatives to Ernie Macmillan?" Rachel asked, passing down the paper to Theo.
Theo accepted the paper and Millie leaned in to read as well.
"Raphael Macmillan's younger brother, Howard, is Ernie's father," Theo said. "And the Macmillan family supports Professor Dumbledore in the Wizengamot. They're not quiet about it either."
"Do you thinkā¦" Millie trailed off, her eyes darting across the table to several of their classmates who had Death Eater relatives.
"Maybe. If it was, they didn't expect her to have upgraded the wards on her house. Usually only the houses of the very wealthy or those in dangerous positions like the Minister or Head Auror, or Wizengamot members have wards like that," Theo said, handing Rachel back the paper.
Rachel frowned down at the paper. The author of the article, Patrick Bowsman, attributed the wards going off and the summoning of the aurors on duty as a false alarm set off by Halloween pranksters. Rachel thought it was more likely that the Death Eaters had thought they wouldn't be able to get to Raphael Macmillan and had gone after someone they expected to be in a more vulnerable position but would still make their point. And, if the Macmillans believed that the Dark Lord was back, that was good enough reason to upgrade all of their family's wards as much as possible.
It wasn't much, but she thought it was a sign that the Death Eaters weren't content with quietly waiting for whatever it was that the Dark Lord was doing. There would be more attacks, and it was entirely likely that the next targets wouldn't be as lucky as Pippa Macmillian had been. And there was nothing Rachel could do about it.
In Potions class Severus lectured about the Invigoration Draught, which they'd be brewing on Friday. They spent a good deal of time on wormwood as an ingredient, and why an infusion of wormwood could be used in a variety of disparate potions, such as the Draught of Living Death, the Elixir to Induce Euphoria, and the Shrinking Solution, as well as being used in absinthe. Wormwood was also a poison, and they were warned never to attempt to make their own infusions.
Rachel was a little calmer at lunch and managed about two thirds of a turkey sandwich and a few apple slices. Something about listening to Severus' lecture helped her to not think about anything but the lecture while it was happening and it was nice to set everything else aside for a little bit, even if they came away from the experience with an assigned two foot essay on the Invigoration Draught.
They met the rest of the fifth years in their study group at the base of the main staircase and started the climb to the Arithmancy classroom on the seventh floor. "I think triangles are going to take a while, judging from the lessons in the OWL study guide," Hermione said as they climbed.
"How can triangles take a while? They're just triangles," Millie said. "I mean we spent a month on parallel and perpendicular lines and then on angles. Triangles are just lines and angles."
Rachel thought that if they could spend a whole month on lines and angles, Professor Vector could find a way to make triangles last a while too.
"Well, there are different kinds of triangles, to start with," Hermione said, glancing back.
"I'm sure we'll hear all about them, in less than ten minutes," Theo said, glancing at his watch.
"I don't know about this class sometimes," Millie said, shaking her head.
"Me neither. I might not take the NEWT class," Neville said.
"But, we're all doing well in the class. We all got Os in it last year," Hermione said, coming to a stop on the staircase.
"Just because someone does well in a class doesn't mean they're going to do it for a career. We're all going to have to make decisions about what NEWT classes we're taking. I'm not going to continue with Care of Magical Creatures," Theo said. "I like Hagrid, and I somewhat like the class, but I don't see that it's going to further my career."
"Professor Snape says we can't take more than seven NEWT classes," Rachel said. She still hadn't figured out what she was going to do about that.
"That's what Professor McGonagall told me too," Hermione said. "But how are we supposed to pick?"
"Pick what's useful to you and what you're interested in. I mean, you can narrow it down already, you're not taking History of Magic next year, right?" Theo asked.
"Well, I would if we had a different professor, but not with Professor Binns," Hermione said with a frown.
"What about Astronomy?" Rachel asked. It was the other class she was definitely dropping.
"Oh, probably not. I can't see myself using it more than what we've already learned. It's an interesting class, but the career prospects with it are limited," Hermione said.
Millie nodded. "I'm definitely dropping those two as well."
"Me too," Neville said.
"And now you have seven months to decide on one more class to drop. Not that hard," Theo said, motioning that Hermione should continue up the stairs.
Rachel frowned as they continued up the staircase. She had to make that decision too and she really had no idea what she'd pick.
"I'm not sure I want to take seven NEWT classes," Millie said abruptly, somewhere around the fifth floor.
"But we all do really well with our classes, I'm sure we can manage it," Hermione said.
Rachel exchanged glances with Millie and then with Neville. She did not want another year like this one and she suspected they didn't either.
"We'll see when the time comes. I think this is a decision each of us are going to have to make for ourselves. We're all going to have different career paths, so each of us needs to decide what will best serve that," Theo said, clearly aiming for neutrality.
Hermione frowned, but didn't say anything.
They found Susan sitting on the floor outside the Arithmancy classroom. She was finishing the last set of angles on their homework assignment.
"Hi Susan, can we speak with you for a quick moment?" Millie asked.
"Yeah, just let me get this one," Susan said without looking up. She carefully measured the last angle and then labeled it, showing her work in the column next to it. She blew on it to dry the ink and then looked up. "What was it?"
"I'll do it," Hermione said, kneeling down next to Susan and casting a privacy ward.
They all stood around awkwardly while Hermione spoke with Susan. Rachel thought she could see what Draco meant about how lip reading, especially if no one knew you could do it, would be really useful, but it wasn't a skill she wanted to cultivate personally. She had plenty of things to do already.
Susan nodded and then Hermione dismissed the privacy ward and they both stood up.
"It's weird that this class is almost all Slytherins," Susan said as she looked over them. "I'm the only Hufflepuff, Padma is the only Ravenclaw, you and Neville are the only Gryffindors."
Millie shrugged. "It's a pretty small class to begin with, and we keep losing people. I think the NEWT class is going to be even smaller than Potions NEWT class and Professor Snape requires an O to get into his class."
Susan looked worried. "I need a Potions NEWT, I'm going into Healing, but I have no idea how I'm going to get an O in Potions. I've been getting Exceeds Expectations for four years now."
"Are you using a study guide?" Hermione asked.
"I am now. I just don't know what I'm missing," Susan said, shaking her head.
"Have you tried asking Professor Snape?" Rachel asked.
"Do you think that would actually help?" Susan asked, the furrow in her brow deepening.
Rachel shrugged. "I can't see how it would hurt. Maybe he knows what you need to focus on improving by watching you brew or by your essays. It's better than just guessing and not knowing."
"And he'd help me, even though I'm not a Slytherin?" she asked.
"He will," Theo said. "Professor Snape may be strict in class, but he really does want to see all of us do well. Go to him during his office hours between the last class of the day and dinner. He'll help you if he can."
Rachel nodded. She was sure that Severus would help Susan if he knew what she was doing wrong.
"Alright. I'll try that then," Susan said, giving them a small smile.
Professor Vector approached and they made room for her to get to the classroom door. "I certainly hope all of you are not skipping lunch to be here early," she said, standing back to let them into the classroom.
"We weren't, ma'am," Rachel said, though she suspected that Susan had skipped lunch to do her homework.
They all took their seats and the rest of the class arrived within a few minutes.
"Homework, please," Professor Vector said.
They all set their scrolls out and with a swoop of her wand Professor Vector sent them all into a small pile on her desk.
"Today we are beginning with right angle triangles, and then we'll move on to equilateral triangles the week after," Professor Vector began, tapping her wand against the blackboard to reveal a triangle.
Rachel settled into focus again, copying the triangle onto her notes and hoping that what they'd learned about angles had sunk in enough that she was ready for triangles.
At the end of class they trooped down a floor for Ancient Runes. Theo separated from them and went to speak quietly to Terry, who nodded in return.
"Luna spoke with him," Theo said quietly as he sat back down next to them.
"I think that's everyone then?" Hermione asked.
"I've got the Slytherin Quidditch team at practice today, then it should be everyone," Rachel said.
"I think we need to find another way to do this," Millie said equally quietly.
Hermione nodded, her expression thoughtful.
Professor Babbling entered the room. "Translation quiz on the board, you have ten minutes, starting now."
Everyone scrambled to take out a piece of parchment and a quill and they got to work.
Rachel thought that by the end of the day she was going to have wormwood, triangles, and ancient runes coming out of her ears.
An hour and a half later she was in the locker rooms changing into her Quidditch robes. The door slammed shut and Scarlett entered with a scowl.
"Does the curse on the Defense position need the whole year to work or can we get rid of that bitch sooner?" Scarlett asked, dropping her bag.
"I don't know. What happened?" Rachel asked.
"Fergus got detention for saying that what we're learning won't work in a real fight. Umbridge basically called all of us stupid," Scarlett said. "I told Fergus after class that Professor Snape didn't want us trying to do anything about Umbridge, but he said that he couldn't just sit there anymore and read about negotiation tactics that would just wind up with someone dead or worse."
"Did anyone say anything about the Dark Lord?" she asked.
"No one had to. We all knew what Fergus meant, even Umbridge," Scarlett sighed as she opened her locker. "There's no way to be rid of her, is there? Even Professor Dumbledore can't do anything?"
Rachel shook her head. "We just have to wait. We're having our first meeting on Friday at seven. Go to the corridor on the seventh floor with the tapestry of the trolls doing ballet, we'll be in the room there. Try not to come as a group."
"Good. If we can't do anything about Umbridge, at least we can do this," Scarlett said, yanking her shirt over her head so she could change.
Rachel turned her back and got her bracers, gloves, and shin guards on before collecting her broom. "I'll meet you on the pitch."
"Okay," Scarlett called, her head lost somewhere in her robes.
Rachel flew up and over the Quidditch stands and found Draco already in the air. "You got here fast, we both came from Ancient Runes," she said as she flew up next to him.
"I didn't wait around to chat with people," Draco said, making a lazy loop.
Rachel followed him. "We're meeting on Friday at seven. Go to the corridor on the seventh floor with the tapestry of the trolls doing ballet, we'll be in the room right across from it."
Draco slowed down and looked at her. "There's no room there."
"There will be," she said, meeting his gaze.
"You have way too many people involved for this to be an elaborate set up," he said, still watching her.
"It's not a set up, there will be a room there, I promise. We're having the DA meeting, just like we talked about on Sunday. You don't have to come if you don't want to," Rachel said, wondering if Draco was always this paranoid.
"We'll see," Draco said. "Chase me." With that he took off and Rachel followed, both of them putting their brooms through their paces.
It took a Bludger heading in their direction for Rachel to realize that the rest of the team had joined them.
"Interference passes?" Draco asked as he finally slowed down.
"Yes," she agreed, taking the lead in returning to the team. She got Stephen and Scarlett set up to spend half the practice shooting Bludgers at the Chasers and half the practice just flying through unexpectedly, while Adrian, Draco, and Martin set up with the Quaffle.
"Want to fly interference?" she asked as she flew up to Miles.
"Not particularly, but they can try to score on me while they're being interfered with," Miles said, his eyes tracking the Quaffle. "I found you a potential Keeper. Are you okay if I start bringing him to practices?"
"Who is it?" Rachel asked.
"Timothy Morcott, third year. He tried out, nearly speared Adrian with his broom," Miles said.
"And you think he'll make a good Keeper?" she asked, recalling the tryouts.
"He can catch the Quaffle and he's big for a third year. If he keeps growing like that he'll have good reach. And, he won't spear anyone with anything while he's guarding the rings," he said with a shrug.
"Alright, bring him out a few times and we'll see how it goes," Rachel agreed. It was better to know now while they still had time to pick someone else for Miles to train. "For the DA, we're meeting on Friday at seven. Seventh floor, go to the corridor with the tapestry of the trolls learning ballet, we'll be in the room there. Can you tell Adrian?"
"Sure, sounds good," Miles said. "Hey! Martin! Watch the damn Bludgers!"
Rachel sighed and looked back out at her team. "Maybe we should have done people interfering first and then Bludgers."
"Why not both? If you feel like risking your neck, that is," Miles suggested.
"Probably need to," she said. She felt like flying anyway. "Try to keep the Quaffle away from me," she called as she joined the fray.
Rachel rolled her quill between her thumb and her forefingers, her gaze fixed on chapter nine of her Defense book, which was helpfully titled 'Peaceful Negotiation for Beginners'. She thought that something like 'How to Get Laughed at Before You Are Murdered' would be a more accurate title, or maybe even 'Slow, Painful Deaths for the Inexperienced'. The next time she saw the Dark Lord she'd be sure to offer to sit down with him over a cup of tea to discuss their differences.
A quick glance up confirmed that Professor Umbridge was still watching her and Rachel refocused on her book. The classroom was almost completely silent - she could hear the quiet scrape of Hermione's quill as she steadily outlined the chapter, the steady drum of someone tapping their fingers on their desk, and just barely the sound of her own breathing. Who knew that sitting silently in a classroom could feel so oppressive?
Reminding herself that their first DA meeting was tomorrow, and that they would be finally doing something about the Defense curriculum, she set to writing her outline. She had reached 'Suggested Negotiation Openers' and the list made her roll her eyes so hard that it actually hurt a little. In her mind, she pictured herself meeting with the Death Eaters and smiling while saying 'well, it seems like we have a little disagreement on our hands, doesn't it?' in the genial tone the book recommended. She was sure she would get at least a moment reprieve from them casting spells at her while they tried to work out what had just happened.
She wrote 'keep a pleasant expression and tone' followed by 'offer to discuss the problem over tea' in her notes and then sighed. There was part of her that wanted to go to Severus and just ask if he cared if she failed Defense this year, but that seemed like giving in. And she didn't want to give him the impression that she couldn't handle it. If she couldn't handle Professor Umbridge, she certainly wasn't capable of handling Death Eaters, or anything else for that matter.
What a mess. Oh well. If they could make it through a year of Lockhart without a Defense club, they could make it through a year of Professor Umbridge with the Defense club. She was still a little bit nervous, but excitement was winning out. It would take a few times to get things running smoothly, but she thought that they really had something worthwhile. She hoped everyone else felt the same way.
She turned the page of her book and made another section on her outline. 'Negotiation tips and tricks. Smile. Make your offers generous. Be willing to hear their side of the story. Promise to do better.' She dug her quill into the parchment at the last 'negotiation tip'. Maybe Severus would let her use the Fire Lighting Charm in the fireplace on this book at the end of the year. Or they could do a bonfire with the books in the backyard at Ginny's birthday party.
Rachel imagined meeting Wilbert Slinkhard, the author of their textbook. Maybe she could teach him just how useless his tips and tricks were at the end of someone's wand. That was going a little too far, she didn't want to draw her wand on anyone, but it was nice to imagine it just for a moment.
Irritated, she focused on finishing her outline, moving on to 'Negotiation Do's and Don'ts' and then 'Opportunities for Peaceful Resolutions'. The whole class - and book - was a farce. She stealthily glanced around the classroom and found most of her classmates either staring blankly at their books, into space, or out the window. Checking her watch told her they only had five minutes left in the class, which she was grateful for. At least Defense was only once a week.
Aware that Professor Umbridge was still watching her, she pointed her gaze at her book and thought about the next few days. They had Potions homework and a Charms review after class. Then dinner. Then Arithmancy homework and Care of Magical Creatures review. Then a break. Then a short sleep, and then Astronomy class at Midnight. She would be very glad to drop Astronomy at the end of the year. Then on Friday they had Potions and Transfiguration, followed by Astronomy homework and a History of Magic review. Then dinner. Then their first DA meeting. Rachel felt herself smile. Their weekends weren't much more of a break than their weekdays, but she still looked forward to it.
The chime sounded, announcing the end of class.
"Your homework is to write a sample negotiation that you might encounter here at school, following the format in your textbook. It should be at least sixteen inches. Miss Snow, stay after, the rest of you are dismissed," Professor Umbridge said from her desk.
Rachel wrote down the assignment, shoved everything but her outline in her bag, and stood. She'd expected that, considering she hadn't received her last homework assignment back at the beginning of class. Hermione joined her in walking to the front of the classroom and both of them handed in their outlines.
"You are dismissed, Miss Granger," Professor Umbridge said when Hermione hesitated.
Rachel gave Hermione a slight nod - she would be fine - and Hermione nodded back and left. Rachel knew she'd find them waiting for her outside the classroom.
"Miss Snow, after our last discussion, I expected improvement," Professor Umbridge said when Hermione was gone.
"Yes, ma'am. I tried, ma'am," Rachel said. Truthfully, Rachel hadn't done anything special except have the rest of the group proof-read her essay. It looked just like theirs did.
"I have reviewed your grades over the past four years and I am very concerned that the other professors found your efforts to be worth an Outstanding. Clearly, there is either rampant favoritism and nepotism at work, or you are deliberately doing poorly in my class to spite me. Which is it, Miss Snow?" Professor Umbridge asked.
Rachel hesitated. There was no right answer to that question. Besides, she'd earned her grades, hadn't she?
"Answer me when I ask you a question, Miss Snow," Professor Umbridge said firmly.
"I am trying my best, ma'am. I'm not sure how you wish for my homework to be different, Professor Umbridge," Rachel answered, deciding to skip the choice question entirely.
"You are well aware of what I want, Miss Snow, but in case you are truly that dense, meet me at my office tonight at seven pm sharp and we will discuss the matter in depth," Professor Umbridge said, staring at Rachel intensely.
"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said, waiting for a moment. "Am I dismissed for now, ma'am?"
"For the time being, yes," Professor Umbridge said.
"Thank you, ma'am," Rachel said, quickly turning away and hurrying out of the classroom.
The rest of the group was waiting for her.
"Not here," Rachel said quietly.
Millie nodded and put her hand on Rachel's shoulder, squeezing gently.
They found Ginny and Luna already in the study room.
"What happened now?" Ginny asked.
The group looked expectantly at Rachel.
"Professor Umbridge wants to meet with me in her office at seven tonight to discuss what she wants from me," Rachel said, setting her bag on the table and folding her arms.
"You don't think she knows about the DA, do you?" Neville asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No, I think we'd be having that conversation in the Headmaster's office if she knew."
"About the article in Tuesday's paper then?" Hermione suggested.
"Maybe, but I think it's about the Dark Lord. I think she thinks I've been going around talking about it," Rachel said. If Professor Umbridge was going to ask her to recant, now seemed like the time.
"I think you should tell Professor Snape," Millie said as she sat down.
"I don't think there's anything he can do about it, especially before anything has even happened," Rachel said after considering it for a moment. "I mean, the worst she can do is attack me, right? And if she does that, I'll use the Shield charm and run away."
"I would be surprised if she did attack you, that's not what she promotes in her teaching," Luna said with a thoughtful frown.
"Do as I say, not as I do," Theo quoted. "Honestly, the only thing I can think of is her using a portkey to take you away, but where would she take you? For all the bullshit that she spouts, I don't think she's a Death Eater."
"The portkey would have to be authorized by the Headmaster to work on Hogwarts grounds," Hermione said.
Rachel shivered. She really didn't want to travel by portkey ever again if she could help it. "Should I lie to her? Tell her the Dark Lord isn't back?"
"I don't see what good it would do unless you did it publicly," Ginny said. "She's not going to be satisfied with you just saying it to her."
"Do you want to lie to her?" Millie asked.
"No. I'm just not sure what will happen if I don't." Rachel had gotten used to doing whatever her aunt had told her to do. She'd never really directly stood up to her and she wasn't sure what would happen next. She couldn't quite imagine Professor Umbridge hitting her, or even cursing her, but she wasn't sure what the other options were.
"Well, she can't do anything that bad, right? She's a professor," Neville said, looking at Hermione.
Hermione frowned and then shook her head. "There are supposed to be limits as to what she can do. Professor Dumbledore banned corporal punishment when he became Headmaster, so I think really the worst thing she can possibly do is assign you detention, and even then she needs a real reason. Did she give you your essay back?"
"No, I think we're supposed to be discussing that tonight," Rachel said, though she thought it was likely that the actual essay would feature very little in their discussion.
"If you're not back in an hour, we're telling Professor Snape and having him come get you," Millie said firmly as she looked at Rachel.
Rachel nodded. "If it's been more than an hour, I probably need help, one way or the other." Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
"We need a better way to discreetly ask for help. I think that's a summer project for us," Theo said, looking at Hermione.
Hermione nodded. "I agree, something that doesn't require wanded magic to use so that we can do it in the summer without breaking the decree. But in the meantime, let's get started on homework. Potions and then Care of Magical Creatures. Rachel, are you okay to lead on both?"
"I am," Rachel said, pulling books out of her bag. Besides, her OWLs would prove once and for all that she was getting the grades she deserved, no matter what Professor Umbridge said.
Rachel's stomach twisted with dread as they climbed the main staircase back to the third floor. She hadn't eaten anything for dinner, everything felt too precarious for that, and she was starting to wonder if she shouldn't have gone to Severus after all. On the other hand, what could he possibly do? It wasn't like Professor Umbridge had done anything wrong yet.
Besides, the worst thing Professor Umbridge was likely to do was yell at her and give her detention. She could deal with that. And if Professor Umbridge drew her wand, Rachel could run away. Nodding to herself, she continued up the steps with the rest of the study group. They came to a stop on the third floor landing.
"An hour, alright? If you haven't shown up by eight o'clock, we're getting Professor Snape," Millie said, putting her hand on Rachel's shoulder and looking at her with a serious expression.
"And we're just around the hall and down the corridor. We're going to leave the study room door open, so just yell really loudly and we'll come running. Or send your Patronus if you can," Hermione added, equally as serious.
"You've got this," Theo said, Neville nodding in agreement.
"And you're probably better equipped at Defense than she is if you need it. Make sure you can draw your wand if you need to," Ginny said.
Rachel wasn't sure she should draw her wand on a professor, but she supposed if she needed to put up a Shield charm there wouldn't be much choice. She patted her robe pocket - her wand was exactly where it should be.
"Be Slytherin," Luna said, smiling when everyone looked at her. "This calls for Slytherin cunning, rather than Gryffindor bravery or Ravenclaw wit, though a bit of all three wouldn't hurt."
"I'll do my best. I should go before I'm late," Rachel said, glancing down the corridor toward where the Defense classroom and the Defense professor's office were situated.
"Good luck," Millie said, looking worried.
"Thanks," Rachel said. She was definitely going to need it. She turned her back on her friends and began walking down the Defense corridor. The last time she'd been in the Defense professor's office it had been Remus' office. The year before that it had been Lockhart, and he'd tried to obliviate Hermione. At least she'd had practice in running away from that particular office, she supposed.
She checked her watch. It was five minutes until seven. She figured that arriving early showed her promptness and dedication. She knocked on the office door and waited.
The door opened about a minute later, revealing Professor Umbridge. "Miss Snow. Please, come in and have a seat."
Rachel stepped inside the office and wondered why and how the office had come to look like this. There was a pink rug on the floor in front of a desk. Pink curtains hanging from the window. Lacy doilies covered every available surface, often accompanied by a vase of dried flowers. And on the wall there was a collection of saucers, each one with a moving kitten. "I like your cats, ma'am," Rachel said, hoping to start this off on a positive note. Maybe she was getting something from the negotiation chapter of the textbook after all.
Professor Umbridge followed Rachel's gaze to the saucers. "Yes, I've been collecting them since I was a young girl. I always wanted a cat."
"Me too." One day, when she was older, she was going to get a cat. She'd settle for cuddling Midnight on occasion for the time being.
"Have a seat, Miss Snow," Professor Umbridge directed, moving around her desk to sit down. "How do you take your tea?"
"Tea?" Rachel asked as she perched on the overstuffed chair in front of Professor Umbridge's desk. It too had pink upholstery and a lace doily over the back.
"Yes. Sugar?" Professor Umbridge asked, setting out two delicate teacups and tapping her wand against a white porcelain teapot.
Rachel immediately remembered Severus telling her not to eat or drink anything that Professor Umbridge gave her, but she also couldn't see how she could politely refuse. Maybe she could pretend to drink it? "Two spoons of sugar, please."
Professor Umbridge poured the tea, added milk to one cup from a small container, and then added two spoons of sugar to that same cup and stirred it before passing it and its saucer to Rachel. She then proceeded to add five spoons of sugar into her own cup, stirred in and then took a sip.
Rachel carefully kept her expression neutral as she brought the cup of tea up to her lips and pretended to drink. Obviously there had been something in the milk, but whether it was a potion to make her more pliant or something like Veritaserum, she could only guess. "Thank you, ma'am," she said as she set the cup back on its saucer.
"Well then, Miss Snow, it seems we have reached an impasse," Professor Umbridge said as she set down her own cup.
Rachel wondered if she'd just somehow managed to miss an entire conversation. "We have, ma'am?"
"It's been two months and your behavior has not improved. In fact, it has gotten worse, to the point where the Daily Prophet has taken notice of it," she said, looking disapproving.
Rachel was still lost. She was tempted to ask what behavior it was that Professor Umbridge disapproved of, but she also suspected that was exactly the wrong thing to do. "Yes, ma'am."
"And what do you propose that we do about it?" Professor Umbridge asked.
There was really no right answer here. She could offer to do better, but that was unrealistic for both of them. "I don't know, ma'am."
"Drink your tea before it gets cold," Professor Umbridge said, looking pointedly at Rachel's cup.
It was definitely dosed with something if Professor Umbridge was insisting that she drink it. Rachel brought the cup back up to her mouth and pretended to drink again. She needed to find a way to lower the tea level in the cup without actually drinking it. For the time being she settled for tilting her cup slightly and setting it on her lap with her hands wrapped around it to make it harder for Professor Umbridge to see the liquid inside.
"And then, of course, there's the matter of your essays and your outlines," Professor Umbridge continued. "Do you find it amusing to hand in substandard work?"
"No, ma'am," Rachel said, feeling a twinge of irritation. Her essays were fine, and so were her outlines.
Professor Umbridge turned around, rifling through some pieces of parchment. "Do you mean to tell me that this is the level of work you hand in to the rest of your professors?"
Rachel used the opportunity to dump out the cup of tea over her skirt, but under her robes. It was gross, but it was better than drinking it. She quickly covered her skirt and raised the cup to her lips, like she'd been drinking it while Professor Umbridge's back was turned.
Professor Umbridge paused, parchment in her hands, and watched as Rachel set the empty cup back down in its saucer.
Rachel immediately realized the flaw in her plan. She had no idea how she was supposed to act, let alone what potion she should pretend to be dosed with. She settled for holding still and staring at Professor Umbridge as she placed Rachel's essay - with 'Poor' written at the top in red ink - and her outlines in front of her.
"Is this the same quality of work as what you do for the rest of your classes?" Professor Umbridge repeated, her gaze fixed on Rachel.
"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said. Her best guess was Veritaserum, but she didn't know how people were supposed to act under Veritaserum, just that they told the truth to whatever questions were asked.
"What happened in the maze on the night of the third task?" Professor Umbridge asked, leaning forward as she watched Rachel.
Definitely Veritaserum then. "I cut through the hedges to avoid the creatures and the traps," Rachel said, trying to keep her expression and her tone of voice impassive.
Professor Umbridge frowned, apparently thinking how to phrase her questions. "What happened after you took the Triwizard Cup?"
Rachel did not want to do this, but she didn't see that she had a choice. "I was taken by portkey to a graveyard, where I was taken captive by Peter Pettigrew and the Dark Lord."
Professor Umbridge leaned back abruptly. "Refer to him as You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, rather than the Dark Lord unless you wish to sound like a Death Eater. How did You-Know-Who take you captive?"
"I was in pain and I was tied to a gravestone by Peter Pettigrew." She didn't know if she could do this. She didn't know if she could relive this and keep herself neutral.
"How did you escape from You-Know-Who?" Professor Umbridge asked.
"I summoned the portkey after the Dark Lord returned my wand to duel me." And she definitely wasn't telling Professor Umbridge about seeing her parents.
Professor Umbridge frowned. "Does Severus Snape give you potions?"
Rachel blinked. What sort of question was that? "Yes."
"What potions does he give you?"
"Pain Reliever Potion, Stomach Soothing Potion, Pepper-up Potion, and Healing Salve," Rachel listed, trying to think of everything she could remember being given over the past year.
"How often is he dosing you with potions?" Professor Umbridge pressed.
"Once a month," Rachel guessed, fighting to keep her expression neutral.
"Does Severus Snape use charms or curses on you?"
"No." Rachel answered, relieved that was an easy one.
"Does Albus Dumbledore use charms or curses on you?"
"No."
Professor Umbridge paused again, seeming deep in thought. "Did You-Know-Who return to his Death Eaters on the night of 24 June 1995?"
"Yes," she answered, keeping her gaze fixed on Professor Umbridge's shoulder.
"What has Albus Dumbledore told you of his plans to fight the Ministry?" Professor Umbridge asked after some consideration.
"Nothing." Rachel wondered if someone could look surprised while they were supposed to be under the influence of Veritaserum.
Professor Umbridge looked at the clock and then at her teapot, as if considering whether or not to give Rachel more. "Has Albus Dumbledore asked you to fight for him?"
"No."
"Have you been telling other students that You-Know-Who has returned?"
"No." That was almost the truth. She certainly didn't go around talking about it, but she didn't deny it either.
"You are not to spread your lies around the castle. You will not speak of You-Know-Who in the castle," Professor Umbridge said firmly.
"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said, wondering if that was going to be it.
"You will put more effort into your assignments, Miss Snow, or this will become a disciplinary matter."
"Yes, ma'am."
"You are dismissed," Professor Umbridge said, sitting back in her chair while still frowning.
"May I take my essay, ma'am?" Rachel asked. She wanted it so that she could potentially have an impartial grader look at it later - after Professor Umbridge was gone.
"You may," Professor Umbridge said.
Rachel grabbed the essay and hurried out of Professor Umbridge's office, aware that she was dripping tea from her skirt. Not wanting to leave a trail, as soon as the door was shut, Rachel pulled out her wand and whispered the laundry charm that got spots out. Now the left side of her skirt was damp, but at least it wasn't dripping and she no longer smelled of tea so strongly.
She hurried back to the study room and closed the door behind her.
"Are you alright?" Millie asked, looking worried.
"Fine," Rachel said, dropping her essay on the table and sitting down.
"Well, what happened?" Ginny asked.
"She tried to get me to drink tea with Veritaserum and then questioned me about what happened the night of the third task," Rachel said. Apart from the Veritaserum part, it really hadn't been that bad.
"That's illegal!" Hermione said, looking horrified.
"It is, but there's no way to prove it," Theo said. "How did you get out of drinking it?"
"I dumped it down my skirt when she wasn't looking," Rachel admitted, a little embarrassed.
Millie snorted with laughter and shook her head.
"You told her the truth?" Neville asked.
Rachel nodded. "Most of it, I left out plenty of details that she didn't need to know. She also asked me if Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape are charming or cursing me, and if Professor Dumbledore is going to fight against the Ministry."
"Those seem like things Professor Snape needs to know," Luna said with a nod.
"And the fact that she illegally tried to dose you with Veritaserum," Hermione said. "We've got to warn people in the DA not to take food or drinks from her."
"We do, Cedric especially. He was the only person who was in the maze that night with me that's still at Hogwarts. I wouldn't be surprised if she questioned him too," Rachel said.
"Did she give any indication that she knows about the DA?" Theo asked.
"No, nothing." Rachel was glad about that at least.
"I think it's safe to proceed then," Theo said, frowning as he thought.
"She still graded you Poor on your essay," Millie said, looking at where Rachel had put her essay on the table.
"Yes, and I can expect to get detentions if I don't improve," Rachel said, wondering what exactly would be an improvement.
"I'd suggest that we trade essays and see how she grades them, but I think that's going to cause us even more problems in the long run," Hermione said.
"If I get detention, I get detention, no big deal," Rachel said. She didn't want detention, but a night doing lines or scrubbing desks wouldn't kill her.
"I think it's time to tell Professor Snape how she's grading you," Millie said, looking uncomfortable.
"Maybe." Right now there were bigger problems than essay grades. "Have you done the Arithmancy homework yet?"
"Not yet, we were waiting for you," Neville said.
Rachel dragged her bag out from where she'd left it under the table. "Let's get started then before we run into curfew."
"Yes, let's. Let's do a brief review and then do the homework itself," Hermione said, opening up her book.
Rachel exhaled. It was alright. She'd definitely made it through the worst part of the week. And tomorrow they'd meet with the DA.
