Chapter Ninety-Two: Arrested Development

Harry and Ron were incredulous when Daphne, Ginny, and Hermione told them about Hagrid's request.

"His brother?" Harry asked. He groaned. "I hope Umbridge won't go after Hagrid anytime soon. I mean, she already got him fired…surely she won't banish him, too…"

But by the look on his face, Daphne knew that he wasn't that confident, and that was probably with good reason.

The situation within Hogwarts was still uneasy. Though the overt violence had dropped off a bit as everyone was gearing up for their various final exams, Umbridge was still handing out detentions all over the place. Daphne was half-surprised she hadn't sacked any additional teachers for minor things, considering she'd tried to arrest Dumbledore for allegedly not cooperating with her. Then again, Dumbledore was her main enemy, along with Harry.

And yet, despite the duels Harry had gotten involved in after Fred and George's spectacular departure, Umbridge hadn't expelled Harry yet, nor even placed him in that many more detentions. Was she just biding her time? And if so, for what? The year was almost over, after all. Or would she be trying to create another situation where Harry would have to use magic over the summer, and then using that to get him expelled?

But there wasn't any time left to think about it, as the final moments before O.W.L.s had finally arrived. Though there was no longer any homework, the revisions took up so much time from everyone that it was just impossible to worry about anything else, even Umbridge's increasing insanity.

While Daphne was swamped in work, just like everyone else, she wasn't nearly as worried as her friends. Sure, she wanted to get good grades, but she'd always gotten good grades. There was really no reason for her to assume things would be different now, just because the examination was a bit more official.

Consequently, she spent quite a bit of time with Ginny, whose own exams were coming up as well, but because she wasn't in her O.W.L. year yet, she wasn't as deranged as most of the fifth-years.

"I'll be glad when this year is over," Daphne said with a sigh, shoving away her books.

"D'you think next year's going to be better?" Ginny asked.

Daphne shrugged. "I don't know. I get the feeling some big things are still going to happen…but hopefully, it won't involve us for a change."

Ginny looked at her. "After everything that's happened to you over the past couple of years, do you really think you're going to have a peaceful ending of the school year now?" she asked.

"Well, it already isn't peaceful, is it? Not with Umbridge playing dictator around here," Daphne said. "But the prophecy's at the Ministry, and Voldemort will know by now he needs to get it himself, which means risking revealing himself to the world. I'm thinking that Umbridge might try to get Harry expelled again over the summer, somehow, but we'll deal with it then, and then we'll have the Order to back us up, too."

At long last, the O.W.L.s were about to start. Daphne and the other fifth-years, as well as the seventh-years, hung around in the entrance hall to wait for the first exam, Charms theory, to begin.

While Harry, Ron, and even Hermione were stressed, Daphne was quite calm. In fact, seeing her friends being so jumpy made her feel even more relaxed. She knew better than to comment on it, of course, because Hermione would just snap at her for having the nerve to suggest that the examinations really weren't that big of a deal.

Then, class by class, they were called into the Great Hall again, in which the House tables had been replaced by many single desks, all facing the staff table.

McGonagall stood at the end of the hall, facing the students. "You may begin," she said.

Daphne turned over the paper and smirked when saw the first question. If the other questions were equally easy, this exam would be a cinch.

"Well, we got an easy one to start with," Daphne said when they exited the Hall two hours later.

"I'm not too sure if I did myself justice on Cheering Charms," Hermione said anxiously. "I just ran out of time… Did you put in the countercharm for hiccups? I wasn't sure whether I ought to, it felt like too much…"

"I never went beyond the scope of the question," Daphne said. "I've got better stuff to do, like answering every other question, and then staring blankly into space while I wait for everyone else to finish. I mean, I either think I know the answer to a question or I don't. I'm not going to spend ages thinking of something if it doesn't come to mind instantly. I'm always surprised at people who need more parchment. I generally don't even fill the first roll."

"Me neither," Ron said. "Though in my case, it's usually because of all the questions I left blank…"

After lunch it was time for the practical exam. As those were done alphabetically, Daphne was in the same group as Hermione, along with Anthony Goldstein and Goyle.

Daphne ended up with Professor Ogden, an elder, friendly-looking wizard.

"Good afternoon, Miss Greengrass," he said when she sat down across from him.

"Good afternoon, Professor," Daphne said.

"You don't seem quite as nervous as your classmates," Professor Ogden said with a small smile.

Daphne smiled back. "Charms is probably my best subject. I'm not expecting too much trouble," she said.

"Good to hear you're confident. I always find that confidence translates well into the efficacy of the charm. Well, I hope I can make the examination interesting for you, at least. Let's begin by making this eggcup perform some cartwheels…"

As Daphne had expected, the exam wasn't particularly difficult. She could easily perform all the charms, aided by all the time she'd spent learning how to focus her mind for both Divination and Occlumency, as well as having practiced the Bubble-Head Charm the year before and knowing the Patronus Charm thanks to the Order of the Lightning Bolt.

By the time she finished, Professor Ogden said, "Well, you'll have to wait for your official results, of course, but I think I can safely say you won't need to worry about this one. Very well done."

Daphne thanked him and left the room. The next day wouldn't be nearly as easy. Transfiguration was more difficult for her than Charms, and especially the theory was a pain because of the many nuances, which in Charms could often be smoothed over by sheer willpower. Still, the exam went well, and Daphne was reasonably confident she'd at least managed an 'Exceeds Expectations' on it.

Herbology, however, was quite disastrous. The subject didn't interest her and handling the plants wasn't her strong suit. Still, with a bit of luck it would still be an 'Acceptable'.

Defense Against the Dark Arts, on Thursday, was a breeze. Neither the written nor the practical exam were difficult, and Muggle Studies on Friday was hardly any more difficult.

Potions was challenging, but very manageable, especially since Snape had actually explained many things to them over the course of the year. Daphne had spent quite a bit of time on it, more than she otherwise would, because she'd need an 'Outstanding' to continue to N.E.W.T. level and keep her vague aspirations of becoming an Auror alive.

Care of Magical Creatures wasn't too difficult, nor was the Astronomy theoretical exam. Then, however, came Divination.

Daphne was paired up with Professor Marchbanks for this one. "Are you a Seer, Professor?" Daphne asked curiously, upon seeing that the examiners were all the same people she'd seen in every exam.

"Oh, dear, no," Professor Marchbanks said. "We simply grade by the book. For Divination…well, I shouldn't be disrespectful, really…"

Daphne smirked. "Quite understandable, really. I took the subject as joke, originally. Well, the joke was on me, because it turned out I'm actually a Seer," she said.

Professor Marchbanks seemed intrigued. "Really? Well, that's not something you see every day. Well, we'll start with a few questions about the subjects I can't test practically, dream interpretation and Astrology…"

"Astrology is bunk," Daphne said. "Everything we learn about that in class is simply not true. The stars only reveal major events, or the future of people steeped in prophecy. They're useless for day-to-day predictions, and I haven't bothered to learn what the planets supposedly mean in that context."

Professor Marchbanks blinked. "Well, that's certainly a forceful answer. Might I ask how you came to that conclusion?"

"I spoke to the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. Maybe you've met Firenze, the new Divination teacher? Well, he asked me to read the stars for him, and while I did receive…something, that was solely because I happened to be focusing on someone steeped in prophecy," Daphne said. "Additionally, each form of Divination is suitable for different things: Tea leaves for relatively minor events, palmistry for physical ailments, stargazing for very large, important events, dream interpretation is mostly self-reflection and involves very little prediction, and crystal balls are useful for seeing future events for single people, depending on the 'focus in emptiness' of the Seer."

Professor Marchbanks laughed. "Maybe you should be the one examining me. It all makes far more sense than I ever thought something like Divination could, anyway…Well, let's move on to the practical part… We'll begin with palmistry and work our way up."

She reached out her hand and Daphne looked at the lines, letting her mind wander as she did so, and noting internally how much easier it had become for her due to all the hours spent talking to Pythia.

"By the looks of it, you'll be getting a moderate cold in a few months' time, perhaps in late October, early November. It'll clear up quickly, however, as you seem very healthy beyond that," Daphne said. She simply said the first thing that came into her mind, but she had a feeling she'd be spot-on.

Tea leaves were next. "Let's see…the coin here, combined with the anvil here, says you'll be taking up a job again, within two months…then the broken road here says there are difficult times ahead. It leads into a cloud, showing uncertainty. As tea leaves are often more useful for smaller things, that might mean something momentous will happen that overshadows your own, personal future a bit," Daphne said.

"Well…given the You-Know-Who is back…I feel that might well be correct," Professor Marchbanks said.

"Of course, I knew I recognized your name," Daphne said after recovering from her amazement that someone here believed in Harry's story. "You resigned from the Wizengamot after the Hight Inquisitor was appointed."

Professor Marchbanks nodded. "Yes. But you'll understand, I'm not allowed to talk about that to the students."

She gave Daphne a meaningful look that fully conveyed her opinion on the matter.

"Right then, the crystal ball. Please tell me what you can see in it."

This was the moment Daphne had been dreading. She was fairly sure she'd be seeing all sorts of things she didn't want to see, but she wouldn't be able to avoid it.

She took a few deep breaths and tried to clear both her conscious and subconscious mind, in the way Pythia had instructed her. In her practice sessions, it had never gone well, as Pythia had still been able to see her focus in emptiness, which had remained on Harry. Even so, she had to try.

Like an echo, Ginny's voice was in her head, telling her she was rooted by the fear of loss. But was she, still? She was less afraid than ever that Harry would abandon her. And now, with Ginny in the relationship as well…they'd stay together. Without a doubt.

She looked into the swirling fog in the crystal ball and allowed herself to be mesmerized by its patterns…

Shelves upon shelves of glass orbs…people wearing masks, surrounding a group of teenagers…Harry, pulling himself free from the grasp of one of the masked people, drawing his wand, though the masked man also seemed to have Harry's wand in his hand…Dumbledore and Voldemort, locked in battle…A tattered book…Masked people in the school…Valentina Barese, standing in a large, ritual circle with Ginny…Rain hitting a window, Ginny looking worried…A ragged group of people facing Dementors in what looked like a Muggle street…Chaos in the halls of Hogwarts…And there it was again, the clearing, Harry appearing within it, facing Voldemort and some of his Death Eaters…

Daphne tore away her eyes before she could see what would happen next. She was a bit confused. Some of these images had seemed to be of Ginny's future, rather than Harry's. But the large number of visions of the shelves and the Death Eaters told her that Harry would end up in the Department of Mysteries, likely pretty soon, and that his friends would go as well.

"Miss Greengrass?" Professor Marchbanks asked.

Daphne smiled shakily. "Sorry, Professor…These things are…well, if I told you what I've just seen, you'll probably think I'm crazy," she said.

"Give it a try," Professor Marchbanks said encouragingly.

"Well…one of the things I saw is Dumbledore fighting Voldemort," she said.

Professor Marchbanks shivered violently at the name.

"And I've seen that image before. I…I think it will happen soon. And I saw Harry in the Hall of Prophecy, surrounded by Death Eaters…"

Professor Marchbanks paled. "You- you're not making this up, are you?" she asked.

Daphne silently shook her head.

"I, er, I think that will do, then," Professor Marchbanks said.

Daphne nodded wordlessly and left the classroom. How was Harry going to end up at the Ministry? Would he be summoned for another hearing?

The question stayed on her mind for the rest of the day, and was still bothering her by the time she went to Astronomy late that evening.

She was only distracted from it by a loud roar from the direction of Hagrid's cabin, and Daphne quickly looked over the parapets to see if she could spot anything.

Though Professor Tofty tried to keep everyone on topic, a loud bang once again pulled everyone's attention toward Hagrid's cabin.

The door had flown open and the light from the cabin illuminated the six people who stood in front of it, their wands trained on Hagrid, who had his fists raised as he came outside. Red light shot from the wands, but bounced off him.

"No!" Hermione yelled, at the same moment Daphne shouted, "Bastards!"

She knew she wouldn't be able to hit any of the wizards down below from the top of the tower, but she felt a strong urge to try it anyway. She saw Fang getting hit with a Stunner, and Hagrid responding with a roar of anger, throwing the attacker a good ten feet across the lawn.

"Look!" Parvati said, leaning over the parapet and pointing to the foot of the castle.

Daphne leaned over as well and saw McGonagall striding across the lawn.

"How dare you!" she shouted at Hagrid's attackers. "How dare you! Leave him alone! Alone, I say! On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such–"

No fewer than four Stunners shot toward McGonagall from the figures surrounding Hagrid's cabin, all connecting with her at the same time and blasting her off her feet.

"Galloping gargoyles!" Professor Tofty shouted in horror. "Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behavior!"

"COWARDS!" Hagrid bellowed. "RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT! AN' THAT!"

He swung violently at his nearest attackers, and they crumpled instantly. Hagrid bent over, picked up Fang, and began to run with the dog draped over his shoulders.

"Get him, get him!" Umbridge shouted.

Again Daphne felt the fierce desire to curse her from all the way up, but she knew she'd just miss.

"I'm going to murder her," Daphne said after the exam. "I swear I'm going to kill her…"

"Don't," Harry said.

"How could you possibly–" Daphne began furiously.

"Not because she doesn't deserve it," Harry interrupted angrily. "Because I don't want you ending up in Azkaban. Or are you going to tell me you can outfight all of those Aurors? We're good, but we're not that good. Weren't you the one who told me we need to stay calm and beat her differently?"

"Yeah, well, I'm beginning to see the merit in just cursing your problems," Daphne said heatedly. "That awful, evil, bitch! Maybe I should learn the Cruciatus Curse and pay her a little visit in a dark alley…Let's see how talkative she'll be after a good few rounds of that…"

It was telling of just how angry Hermione was that she didn't even try to stop Daphne from giving the most violent options possible for getting rid of Umbridge.

Daphne lay awake in bed for most of the night, fuming. Malfoy had wanted to make a hateful comment in her direction, but upon seeing her expression he'd wisely chosen not to press his luck this time.

When she finally did fall asleep, the events of the evening and her visions in the crystal ball merged into uneasy dreams, with Harry being arrested by a squad of Aurors and his wand being snapped in half.

She woke up after only a few hours, her dream still vivid in her mind. If Harry lost his wand, he'd be unable to defend himself, especially since his wand had been the reason he'd escaped from Voldemort in the graveyard, protected by the twin cores.

And, in her vision, Harry had seemed to have two wands. The Death Eater had been holding one, but Harry had drawn one exactly like it the moment he tore himself free of the Death Eater's grasp… And then she realized that there was a simple explanation for that.

The next morning, at breakfast, she turned to Harry and said, "Give me your wand."

Harry was confused, but did as she asked.

Daphne took out her own wand, tapped Harry's with it, and whispered, "Geminio!"

A copy of Harry's wand materialized next to it, and Daphne handed both the real wand and the copy to Harry.

"If you end up getting arrested, or need to hand over your wand, give them the fake," she said.

Harry's eyes widened. "That's brilliant! Is this because of what happened yesterday with Hagrid?"

Daphne nodded. "Yes, and during Divination…"

She quickly explained the vision she'd seen. Harry exchanged dark glances with Ginny, Hermione, and Ron.

"That doesn't sound good," he said. "D'you know when this will happen?"

Daphne shrugged. "I have no idea. There were quite a few visions of it, so I imagine it won't be long now, but I don't have any specifics…"

Harry sighed. "Well, thanks for the copy of the wand…I do hope that, in your vision, I was bright enough not to keep the fake wand myself…"

The final exam was History of Magic. Though Binns had never managed to impart anything worth knowing onto Daphne, the subject itself was interesting enough for her to have done her homework on it, and she felt she was doing a fairly good job explaining the goblin riots, breaches in the Statute of Secrecy, and the formation of the International Confederation of Wizards.

It helped that many of these things were expected to be known by any Noble House member, because the politics behind the events were, in many cases, still relevant even in the modern wizarding society.

The exam was rudely interrupted, however, when Umbridge entered the Great Hall, flanked by a number of Aurors.

Professor Marchbanks looked up irritably and walked over to Umbridge. "What is the meaning of this, High Inquisitor?" she asked.

Umbridge smiled widely, though even from the distance she was at, Daphne could see her cold gaze. "Due to the unfortunate altercation that took place last night, I find myself in a bit of a difficult situation. However, I have reason to believe that Harry Potter may have the answers I require. By my authority, not just as High Inquisitor and Headmistress of Hogwarts, but also as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, I am hereby placing Harry Potter under arrest."

So, finally, shit hits the fan. We're entering the final few chapters of year five, now…