Pumpkin Juice

March 15th

My life is getting so hectic. I can't even keep track of the dates anymore, and something horrific, and I mean really horrific, has happened. It transcends all of my minuscule problems with my personal life.

So, remember how I joined a little secret organization to fight against our fly eating friend? Yeah, um, apparently, she wasn't too happy about it. It was a couple days ago, when we were all working on our Patronuses (which we've mastered, thankyouverymuch.) being good little children . Mine came out of my wand and it was..well…absolutely breathtaking! A tiger, full sized and everything. I've always loved the animal, before I went to Hogwarts I did reports on it, and during the Zoo it was my favorite spot. I could sit there for hours and have watched them, as if we had some strange unknown bond.

Then, all of a sudden, this house elf, dressed more ridiculous than Anna ever has been, came running into the room in a frenzy, apparently to warn Harry that Madam Toad herself was on her way. In no time at all, we were all fleeing the premises, trying to look inconspicuous, and panicking for dear life.

Our whole Gryffindor gang made it back to the common room, which was a brilliant feat. Someday I'll askLee where he learned to run like that…but not today. Collapsing onto the good sofa, it's safe to say that we were more then just a bit tense. True, none of us had been caught, but there was evidence in the room that people had been there and we had no guarantee that the others made it out in time.

"What do you think she'll do with us?"

"What do you think she'll do with us, Alicia?" snapped Lee. "We all saw that decree when she first posted it. If she finds out what was going on in that room we'll all be expelled."

"No!" cried Alicia, her voice getting higher and slightly hysterical. "Come on, that can't happen. Dumbledore won't let the wicked witch get to us."

We all gave Alicia Don't Worry About It look, and I moved to the floor so that she could lean on me. None of us really wanted to confront the possibility of there being something to worry about.

The common room was eerily silent. I'm not even joking; those are the actual words that came into my mind at the time. Most of us in the D.A. were scattered in our own groups, and most of the younger students had drifted off to sleep.

None of us really talked, just sat there in tense silence, staring into the fire and giving assurances to ourselves. No one pointed out the horribly obvious; Harry hadn't come back, and that was not a good sign.

I think I must have been asleep, back still to the couch, Leesh leaning on my shoulder and my head resting on the calf of Fred. Then he came back. And here's the good news:

Dumbledore, sole savior of Hogwarts, our protection from demon like men and their deranged followers, has been fired from Hogwarts and apparently disappeared altogether.

Bet you didn't see that one coming! Well, you can't really see anything. The point is, however, that a woman who has an affair with a hippogriff and is contracting a Death Eater for a position here has orchestrated the removal of that kooky old man. Alongside our dearest Minister, who needs some serious administering in the head from the looks of his choices lately, and a few other spineless monsters.

Don't tell me I'm exaggerating. Not right now. Well, except about the Death Eater, but I wouldn't put it past her.

This woman, if you can even call her that, did one good thing. She got Trelawney sacked. All right, so she did it in her nasty way, but Trelawney stayed, and we got a better teacher. Now, if that toad fired anyone else whose name doesn't start with an 'S' and is followed by 'nape', I might have to request a transfer to that veela beauty school, but until then I'm just going to plot revenge.

So, we were all stirring in dull unhappy ways, and eventually it was just me and Fred left. Now diary, I know how hopeful you are. A romantic, but, we did not initiate anything that wasn't strictly platonic so you can stop feeling as though you're about to gloat.

It went more like this;

"Fred, I am pissed off."

"No kidding, Sherlock. I can't take much more of this; George and I won't do very well under her tyrant ways."

Now, I know I said I'd go to Beauxbatons, but I wasn't serious. I couldn't leave Hogwarts, it's my home. Fred though, despite his innocent looking freckles and mischievous hair, looked serious.

As in I really would not have been shocked if he exited through the door right there and then. My silence however, is unnerving. Because Fred, being the sensitive gentleman that he is, noticed my awkwardness.

"Ah, would Angiekins miss me?"

"Umbridge would love to be rid of you two. Promise me that if you do decide to desert all of this, you'll make sure she knows, and make sure she's miserable and humiliated. That way, she won't love it, and I'm guessing that means the rest of us will. I think that I'm going to bed now though, too much information."

Do you see how I tactfully avoided the question? I considered biting sarcasm, but in the end dancing around the issue seemed like my best choice. I couldn't have pulled it off as well as Trish anyways. So I trailed away from that warm fire and flung myself into bed before he figured any of that out.

Tomorrow, I am positive dearest diary, will be worse than if all the furniture in Hogwarts came alive and started attacking us. Because the fact is, under Dolores Umbridge, it very well may.

Authors' Note: Yes, it has been forever. I am so very sorry, we both are, but now is not the time to assign blame. Want to see the next chapter, badger Proma before she forgets!