PART TWO
Artemis's POV
So, she didn't trust us. This was both good and bad. Good because this way, she probably wouldn't try and delve into or secrets to much. Bad because the other option would be that she would try to figure out what was "wrong" with us, and by reputation she most likely wouldn't let us anywhere near Harry until she figured it out.
But, I decided, I've got a job to do here, and I need to send this Umbridge woman to her office with her hair half- torn out.
Third Person POV
Professor McGonagal's voice interrupted Artemis's train of thought.
"Miss Skyfox, As you are new here, I believe that you should know that keeping your head in the clouds will not serve you well in most classes here."
Artemis blinked and looked up at the professor, taking her schedule from her as she spoke. "Thank you Professor. I was just thinking of a few matters of personal importance." Our mission, specifically. She thought at the professor.
Professor McGonagal's eyes widened. She had obviously heard Artemis in both senses. "I understand, Miss Skyfox. Being new to a place often leads to leaving reality."
Artemis quickly masked her confusion at the Professor's emphasis on 'leaving reality'. But that was irrelevant; at least, for now. She bowed her head. "It was a pleasure speaking to you, Professor."
"As it was for me." With that, she walked away, leaving everyone very much confused.
Once again, it was Ron that led the conversation back to familiar ground.
"So, what do we have today? History of Magic, Potions… Divination… and Defense Against the Dark Arts! This has got to be wrong! Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! Have you ever seen a worse first day back?"
"Yeah," muttered Hannah. "First day of 6th grade."
The other girls laughed at that. Hannah saw the lost expressions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and decided to explain.
" In the Muggle world, there are usually three separate schools before attending a university: Elementary, Jr. High, and High; as Harry and Hermione very well know. Our Jr. High has years 6th-8th. Add to that our school was new, and they had only just opened up to the 6th year in the school. So we were part of the first batch of 6th years ever there. But the whole thing was, in our first day consisted mainly of teacher that had nothing to do but send us home with metric tons of homework every other day."
"So, in a way, your first day in a Muggle secondary school was as bad as today's schedule?" asked Harry.
Hannah nodded.
Hermione checked her watch. "Well, Shall we? Lessons start in 20 minutes."
So Harry, Ron, Hermione, and about half of Phoenixflame headed to History of Magic. The other half went to various other classes with the other houses.
Within 5 minutes ( a new school record) within the start of class, almost everyone was asleep. Hermione was taking notes, Harry and Ron were playing hangman, and Artemis was drawing chibi versions of everyone in the class, including Professor Binns.
Harry leaned over and saw the drawing, then mimed a request to see it. Artemis handed it over, and he looked closely at it and stifled a laugh. He nudged Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked disgruntled at being interrupted from her note taking, but looked anyway. While her back was turned, Crystal, the only other student not sleeping, pointed her wand at Hermione's quill, and muttered an incantation.
Ron Harry, and Hermione kept looking at the picture, barely stifling their laughter. Then Hermione's eyes lit up and she motioned for Harry to hand over the cartoon. She pulled out her wand and tapped the picture. Instantly, the different characters in the drawing started moving around. Or, at least the animated Z's were moving, as well as the clock above the professor's head.
Artemis looked amused at her newly animated cartoon, when she thought of something. She turned to Crystal, and whispered a question to her. Crystal pulled her wand out again and drew a square in the air of the parchment, Harry and Hermione looking on in confusion.
"This way, they can't leave the picture. Imagine what mayhem would happen if they escaped into other paintings around the school, like Sir. Cadogen's portrait or one of the paintings in Dumbledore's office." Crystal explained in a low whisper to them.
The others nodded. Harry turned back to the hangman game, only to find Ron snoring gently, so he had to give Ron a sharp poke in the ribs.
Hermione, on the other hand, had turned back to find her quill summarizing everything the professor was saying. She looked suspiciously at Artemis, who shook her head and motioned at Crystal, who was taking her own notes as frantically as Hermione would have been. Hermione rolled her eyes, leaned back, and closed her eyes, clearly intent on rest. Crystal snuck a look at Hermione, and relaxed, her pen taking over the note-taking.
After History of Magic, the group headed to the dungeons where Snape held his Potions lessons.
"That was a brilliant picture, Artemis. But honestly, is my hair really that calm?" asked Harry.
"No, actually. It's way messier, but I couldn't draw it to match. Sorry."
"It's Ok. Nothing to loose sleep over."
"Thanks."
" Wait a moment, do you think that you could draw another one in Snape's class, in case you have time?"
Artemis thought a moment, then said, "I don't think so. From what I hear, the potions Snape assigns take the whole class, if not longer."
"True. Well, here we are."
They rounded the corner, and saw the Gryffindors and Slytherins already lined up. Then they heard a too familiar drawling voice.
"Oh look boys, it's the nutcase. You feeling alright, Potter? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us? I mean, it's been what, a few hours since your last visit to the hospital wing? That's a record for you, isn't it?" called Malfoy.
"Ignore him, Harry. He's not worth it." Said Hermione quietly as she pushed hum slightly away from Malfoy.
"Not so brave now, are you Granger? Must be because of you being a mudblood. Father always said-"
"Father says, Father says. Tell me, Malfoy, is Slytherin for people who are cunning, or is it for those whose entire life has been shaped around the opinions of their fathers, particularly whose fathers are truly liars, thieves, and murderers that follow the worst of them all, one that kills anyone that opposes the idea of killing the innocent?" asked Cherlyn.
Malfoy stared at her. Then he visibly pulled himself together. "My Father-"
"I'm not interested in what you have to say about your father. You know where he stands. You should know where we stand by now. The question is, where do you stand?"
At that moment, Professor Snape opened the door to the dungeons and motioned them all inside.
After Potions, They headed to North Tower and Divination. In the classroom, the Phoenixflamers present broke up and spread out among the students in the class, and waited for Professor Trelawney to start the lesson.
"Good day" she said in her usual mystic voice. "and welcome back to Divination. I have, of course been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely—as of course I knew you would."
Professor Trelawney gave instruction on what the class was supposed to accomplish that day and would be studying for the next few weeks: the interpretation of dreams.
Following these instructions, the class turned to the Intro of The Dream Oracle by Inigo Imago.
Artemis and Annette finished quickly, and Annette began a description of a dream she had had the previous night involving something called "The World" and "dot hack" (A/N: written .hack/)
The reading was so boring that Harry listened in to pas the time. He saw Artemis close her eyes for a minute and relax her temples with her fingers. Then she opened her eyes and said that she had had something close to the same dream a year ago, and one involving something called "Rayearth" and "Cephiro" the night before. Apparently the book mentioned nothing involving these subjects, but Artemis also mentioned something about never expecting to turn up in Hogwarts and how they might end up there or something.
Annette laughed at that idea, going on about how 'Rayearth' and 'dot hack' were only mangas and animes, and that they could never end up there. Artemis sent her a look that apparently communicated a message, because Annette scowled and said that "there was a difference between a book and a cartoon."
At this point Artemis noticed Harry staring at her, and Harry quickly returned to his reading.
He finished close to the end of the period, along with everyone else, just in time for Professor Trelawney to assign a month long dream diary as homework. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Artemis' eyes widen considerably and looked very worried.
Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of the lesson and everyone headed for the trap door, except for the phoenixflamers, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Artemis turned to them.
"You guys go ahead without me. I've got to talk to Professor Trelawney." Annette, I'll need you here so I can get to DADA on time, OK?
Annette looked at her and nodded. The others started to leave, but turned back at the last moment. Artemis rolled her eyes and motioned for them to keep going.
After they were out the trap door, Artemis hesitantly walked over to Trelawney, who was sitting next to the fire in her huge winged armchair.
"Excuse me? Professor?"
Professor Trelawney turned to Artemis.
"Yes, Miss Skyfox?"
"Um, about the dream diary.. Professor, you know of my abilities, correct?" She blurted.
Trelawney looked at Artemis, her slight curiosity evident.
"Yes, I am."
"Then you know that I am a Seer?"
The teacher nodded slightly, cautiously.
'Um…." Artemis sighed. This was hard. "Then I'm afraid I can't do the assignment. If what I dream about comes to light before it's time, there is no telling what might happen."
"I understand, Miss Skyfox. We will have to think of a replacement assignment…hmm… Well, run along now." Professor Trelawney turned back to the fire.
Artemis walked back over to Annette, who was over by the hatch. "Feel up to a little more running through walls, Shadowcat?"
Annette looked slightly peeved at the name, but nodded anyway, grabbed her arm, and disappeared through the floor.
Artemis and Annette exited their "secret passage" and joined the main throng of students unnoticed.
They spotted the rest of their group just ahead, strategically placed so that Harry was completely surrounded on all sides.
Artemis saw Crystal at the head of the group and ran toward her.
"Anything happen?" She asked Crystal in an undertone.
"Not really. That Parkinson girl from Slytherin, the one that's always hanging over Draco, threw an insult for no apparent reason, but that's about it. What'd you need to talk to Trelawney about?"
" The dream diary." Artemis replied shortly.
Crystal immediately understood what that meant, and let the subject drop.
When they reached the DADA classroom, the door was already open. They filed inside, Artemis noting that Professor Umbridge sitting at her desk, looking exactly as she had the night before, except that she now had a black velvet bow that resembled a fly on top of her head. And, according to a thought Artemis caught coming from Harry, greatly enhanced her resemblance to a toad. Artemis smiled at that, then took a closer look at Umbridge and realized that Harry was right… she did look like a toad.
The class, which had been chattering loudly, grew quiet as they headed for their seats around the room, as they hadn't yet gotten a real scope on Umbridge's teaching style.
"Good afternoon class." She said once everyone had settled down.
"Good after noon" A few people murmured.
"Tut tut. She said, smirking slightly. "That won't do now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon class."
"Good afternoon Professor Umbridge." They chanted back.
"There now, that wasn't so hard, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."
Much of the class exchanged gloomy looks; the order "wands away" had never, so far, been followed by even a vaguely interesting lesson. However, they all reached for their quills, ink, and parchment. Professor Umbridge, meanwhile, had reached into her bag and drew out her unusually short wand, and tapped the blackboard with it.; words appeared on the board at once in curly, flowing letters.
Defense Against the Dark Arts
A Return to Basic Principals.
As Umbridge went into yet another "Praise the Ministry of Magic" Speech, Marissa leaned over and looked at Artemis's parchment, concentrating until her eyes started glowing a faint dark purple instead of her usual brownish hazel.
Words appeared on the parchment and , immediately catching Artemis's attention. She picked up the parchment and inspected it closely. Then she glanced at Marissa again, and understood.
Artemis looked back at the parchment and read quickly;
If she said please just a few more time in just the right places, she'd sound like that one character off of the Amanda Show.
It was all Artemis could do to keep from laughing. As the words faded, she sent back a mental message.
True. But I'm not advanced enough with my telepath abilities to change a person's personality or speech patterns. I'll work on that, if you promise to work on larger mirages to cause the kind of mayhem that the Weasly Twins wouldn't even dare to imagine.
Marissa smiled slightly and nodded.
Meanwhile, Professor Umbridge had finished her monologue and had rapped the blackboard again, and the first message disappeared and was replaced the year's course aims.
For the next few minutes, the only sound to be heard was the scratching of quills on parchment as everyone copied down the three aims. .
Once everyone was finished, Umbridge asked: "Has everybody received a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"
Artemis and Cherlyn winced.
While everyone was pulling out their books, Cherlyn sent Artemis a note on a small scrap of paper.
Where this lady learned her grammar, I don't want to know.
You mean you do want to know so you can give her the tongue lashing of her life. Artemis shot back.
Cherlyn considered this, then nodded slightly. Suddenly, she noticed that Hermione's hand was up. She quickly got the attention of the other phoenixflamers.
Eventually everybody in the class was watching. Professor Umbridge seemed to realize that there was no point in trying to ignore Hermione.
"Did you want to ask something about the chapter dear?" She asked as thought she had only just noticed her.
"Not about the Chapter, no." Said Hermione.
"Well, we're reading just now'" said Professor Umbridge, showing her small pointed teeth. "If you have any other queries, we can deal with them at the end of class."
Cherlyn was rubbing her temples furiously now. Grammar! Artemis heard.
Then a thought struck her, something that had been a joke from Freshman year.
Don't worry. Punk Angels will make it all better.
Cherlyn had to duck her head under the desk and stuff her fist into her mouth to suppress the laughter.
"-Miss Granger, I think that the course aims are perfectly clear."
"Well, I don't. There's nothing up there about using defensive spells."
The majority of the class turned back to the board to check to see if Hermione was right.
"Using defensive spells? Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell." The professor said, laughing slightly. "Miss Granger, you surly don't expect to be attacked during class?"
Artemis acted. She prodded minds that would have normally been silent into voicing their opinions, and minds that would have said something to be louder about it.
The tumult rose, though Umbridge did her best to impose a hand-raising policy to suppress it.
Then the argument took an unexpected turn.
"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" said Harry, his fist in the air.
Professor Umbridge looked up, and Artemis' eyes flashed blue. She had just seen where this was going, and what events she had just put into action.
"This is a school, Mr. Potter, not the real world." Umbridge said softly. Artemis could have mouthed it along with her.
The argument between Umbridge and Harry continued, ending with Umbridge sending Harry to Professor McGonagall's office with a detention notice. By that time, Artemis already knew what that detention would entail.
You have jeopardized my Principal. For that, you will pay.
Hey Ppl! Sry bout the WAY long wait. I hope I don't get too bashed over this…. Don't worry, I am going to write more; stuff starting to clear up… Hit the button at the bottom! Take out your frustration on that! ducks as flamers are thrown
Next chapter (already in the making): The real work begins.
