Disclaimer: I don't have the rights to Harry Potter, but I do have a nasty bit of sunburn on my back from passing out on a beach after consuming too many mojitos. Gotta love college.
Chapter 73
The rest of the train ride was considerably more light-hearted than its initial few minutes. Harry and Hermione diligently listened to Cedric and the Head Girl list off the various roles and responsibilities that being a Prefect entailed, from nightly patrols to escorting first-years around the castle for the first few weeks.
After the meeting, Harry and Hermione patrolled their train car for a bit before returning to their compartment, partaking in several intense games of Exploding Snap and conversing eagerly about the upcoming school year, conversations that continued well after the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station.
"Who do you reckon Dumbledore convinced to take the Defense job?" Dean asked as they began ascending the sandstone steps towards the entrance hall. "The last bloke with the job got kidnapped and locked in a trunk for a year, so I doubt loads of people were lining up for it."
"Dumbledore didn't find anyone," Harry sighed absent-mindedly.
"Are we not learning Defense this year?" Lavender raised her eyebrows skeptically.
"No, it's not like that," Hermione reassured her. "But the Ministry of Magic passed a decree the other day. Essentially, it gives the Minister the power to appoint anyone of his choosing to fill vacant teaching positions at Hogwarts. So, we do have a professor, it's just someone that the Ministry hand-picked rather than someone chosen by the Headmaster."
"I think I heard my dad mention something about that decree yesterday," Ron mused. "Didn't say much else, though."
"So, nobody knows who this Ministry teacher is?" Parvati asked. Everyone shook their heads at that.
"How bad can it be?" Neville offered with forced optimism. "Not everyone who works at the Ministry is rotten. Ron's dad is still there, and my grandmother knows loads of decent people still working in all sorts of departments. Maybe the new professor won't be so bad."
Despite Neville's encouraging words, each and every one of the fifth-year's attitudes towards the Ministry as a whole had shifted dramatically over the course of the summer, and an unpleasant silence enveloped them like a wet blanket until they entered the Great Hall.
"Hagrid's gone," Ron pointed out with a frown.
"You think he got sacked?" Seamus asked warily as they sat down.
Harry and Hermione exchanged silent glances so quickly that nobody noticed. "He's doing stuff for Dumbledore," Harry finally spoke, looking around to make sure they were out of earshot of anyone else. "The kind of stuff that's more important than teaching."
"You mean he's helping to fight You-Know-Who?" Parvati whispered. "I'm sorry I ever disliked his class; he just might be my favorite teacher now."
Harry decided against mentioning that Snape was also helping to fight Voldemort.
"Who's that?" Dean drew everyone's attention by pointing towards the middle of the faculty table at the front of the Great Hall. "You reckon that's the new Defense professor?"
Harry followed his friend's finger until his eyes landed on a woman clad in a fluffy pink cardigan. His eyebrows furrowed together in pensiveness as he felt a nagging sense of familiarity the longer he stared at the woman; she was short and squat, with curly brown hair and a pallid, toadlike face that made his stomach clench from sheer revulsion.
"She looks familiar," Ron squinted at her.
"Yeah, she does," Hermine nodded, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Has she taught here before?"
"I think I'd remember a teacher that wore pink like that," Lavender snorted. "I mean, I love the color pink and even I think that's too much."
Parvati hummed in agreement, giving the mystery woman a look of disdain.
"I thought my grandmother had a poor wardrobe," Neville mumbled, earning several snickers.
"As long as she's competent," Hermione shrugged, turning away from the faculty table. "It is our O.W.L. year after all."
"Is it really?" Ron unsubtly rolled his eyes. "That's weird, I don't remember you mentioning it ninety-four times on the train."
"These are the most important exams of our lives, Ronald, it would do you some good –"
Mercifully for the youngest male Weasley, the doors were thrown open at that very moment and silence fell over the Great Hall as Professor McGonagall led in a group of intimidated first year students, carrying the Sorting Hat and a stool in her arms. After a new song from the Sorting Hat about unity, Hermione nudged Harry with her elbow and turned her head slightly.
"Bridges, not barriers," She whispered with a smug smile, and Harry couldn't help but grin back.
"Oh, thank Merlin," Ron groaned when Dumbledore declined to give a speech and commenced the feast. After the student body helped itself to several helpings of Hogwarts's finest dishes, the Headmaster stood up and clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students — and a few of our older students ought to know by now too."
"Except for detention," Harry murmured to Hermione, who smirked while she half-heartedly shushed him.
"We have had two changes in staffing, this year," Dumbledore continued. "Professor Grubbly-Plank will be taking over in administering lessons in Care of Magical Creatures, and I am delighted to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge."
Harry stilled, his stomach plummeting as a memory of a morning spent in a dark, cavernous courtroom flashed to the forefront of his mind. He suddenly recalled sitting in a hard-backed chair, downing a dose of Veritaserum and testifying to Dumbledore and dozens of witches and wizards that Sirius Black was innocent.
"Hem hem?"
Harry's fork hit his plate with an obnoxiously loud clatter as he recalled that sickening sound with crystal clarity. The noise of his utensil falling from his fingers drew several curious stares and a few snickers from the Slytherin table, but he barely noticed them. He subtly but frantically nudged Hermione with his elbow until she turned to look at him.
"What?" She hissed, looking slightly irritated that he had drawn her attention away from a professor.
"She was at Sirius's hearing!" He whispered back. "Umbridge, don't you remember her? She was the one who thought Dumbledore had rigged the Veritaserum; she voted to send Sirius back to Azkaban!" His blood turned to ice as he recalled everything she had said and done that day in the courtroom. "She works for the Ministry! She works for Fudge!"
Hermione's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull before she schooled her features, quickly taking Harry's hand under the table and turning back to Umbridge with a worried look. "This is bad," She muttered under her breath, shaking her head every few seconds. "This is very bad."
The longer Umbridge spoke, the more Hermione's observation began looking like the understatement of the century.
For Harry and Hermione, the next half hour consisted of listening to a toad-human hybrid spew all sorts of propaganda with gritted teeth, exchanging worried glances, and eventually escorting several terrified first-years to Gryffindor Tower once the feast concluded. Eventually, the pair were able to drop off their youngest housemates in their dormitories and meet up back in the common room on their couch, both feeling exhausted but neither feeling quite ready for bed.
"Did the girls badger you with all sorts of questions?" Harry asked with a wry smile as he sat down next to Hermione, instinctively shifting closer to her.
"Loads," She answered with a smile of her own. "Is that what you had to deal with?"
"When they weren't staring at me like I was a nutter," Harry answered nonchalantly.
"I'm sorry," Hermione murmured after a few seconds of silence, sliding across the couch until she was leaning into his side, wrapping her arm around his waist and pulling herself into him.
"It's fine," He shrugged, smiling to himself as she snuggled into him. "I have plenty of experience dealing with overeager people peppering me with all sorts of questions."
"That wasn't what I – hey!" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "I've gotten better," She added, pouting slightly.
"There was never anything wrong with it," Harry reassured her, leaning back into the couch cushions, taking Hermione with him as he did so.
"I'm sorry that you have to deal with people staring at you like this," She clarified her earlier statement, resting her head on his shoulder and staring into the fire with a forlorn expression. "It's horrible, really, the looks so many of our schoolmates sent you just over the course of a few hours."
"I can manage."
"But you shouldn't have to," She said softly, her voice laced with a dejection that broke Harry's heart. "I hate how often you have to deal with things like this. This Umbridge woman is probably going to come after you and Dumbledore on behalf of the Ministry. As if it isn't enough that students are trying to make your life miserable, now you have to deal with wretched teachers trying to do that, too."
"No matter how hard they try," Harry reassured her, "my life's not miserable. I've got plenty of good things – plenty of good people to keep me from being miserable. Umbridge, the Ministry, nobody can take that away from me."
"I just wish there was something I could do," She added in a voice barely above a whisper.
"You're already doing more than enough," Harry whispered back. "You're here." He paused, a feeling of pure happiness coursing through him as he thought about his next words. "Like you always are."
"I'll always be by your side," Hermione was smiling, but her voice was firm. "Whether you like it or not."
"I wouldn't want it any other way," He smiled back, trying to communicate how grateful he was but knowing his thankfulness was beyond both words and actions. Hermione beamed up at him and he placed a kiss on the crown of her head, eliciting a cute blush from her. "I love you so much," He whispered, causing her smile to widen even more.
"I love you so much, too," She murmured back, reaching a hand out to cup his face as she sat up pressed her lips against his. "Remember that, alright?" She pleaded once they parted, resting her cheek against his shoulder as she gazed up at him. "I love you, and I'm here for you."
"I know," Harry nodded, placing his hand overtop hers, which was still cradling his cheek. "Thank you," He whispered, putting more sincerity into those two words than ever before. She smiled serenely at him, turning back to the fire and burrowing into his shoulder. They sat like that for a few minutes, with only the scattered voices of their remaining awake housemates and the crackling fireplace filling the silence until Hermione cleared her throat.
"I think…I think you should call Sirius," She said hesitantly. "And tell him who the professor is. He probably wants to know and…he might have some advice."
"Advice?"
"Harry, you heard her speech tonight," Hermione sat up straight and swiveled so that she was facing him. "She was appointed by Fudge himself, and on her first night here she spent fifteen minutes telling us about how she wants to discourage progress. I'd be surprised if her interference at Hogwarts did not extend to you as well."
Harry pursed his lips, mulling her words over for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll get the mirror. Er…do you mind waiting here? I want you to be there when we call him, if that's alright."
"Of course," Hermione beamed. "Come back soon," She gave his hand a squeeze as he pushed himself off the couch, and he grinned back. After bounding up the stairs and rifling through his trunk, he returned to the couch a minute later with the mirror in hand.
"Sirius Black," He said clearly once he was sitting back down and Hermione had resumed nestling into his side like the cuddle monster that she was. His reflection vanished a split-second later and was replaced with the grinning face of his godfather.
"Hello, you two," He greeted them warmly. "I was hoping you'd call tonight. This place feels rather empty without you guys."
"Don't you have a dozen people show up every night for Order meetings?" Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, but they don't make this place home," Sirius answered. "You guys do."
"Oh," Hermione blinked. "That's really sweet of you, Sirius."
"He's just trying to guilt us into dropping out of school and coming back," Harry rolled his eyes.
"You're too much like your mother," Sirius huffed, sticking his tongue out at his godson in a dazzling display of maturity. "What's going on, anyway? Is something wrong?"
"Er…" Harry glanced at Hermione, who nodded. "Well, we wanted to let you know who the new Defense professor is."
"Oh, yeah, Fudge's appointee," Sirius awkwardly pursed his lips. "Sturgis Podmore, you guys remember him from the Order, right? He was supposed to tell us who it was tonight since he was on guard at the Ministry and could snoop around and find out with Mad-Eye's cloak."
"Is he still there?" Harry asked.
"He hasn't come back yet," Sirius shook his head. "Tonks is on duty tonight, she just left. Said she's going to look for him and send me a Patronus message if she finds out what happened to him. Mad-Eye's pissed that he lost an Invisibility Cloak, but everyone else thinks something happened to him."
Harry whipped his head around, but there were less than half a dozen others in the common room and they were all far enough away to be out of earshot. "Do you think Voldemort got the prophecy?"
"No," Sirius shook his head. "I have a feeling we'd know by now. But, enough about that. Tell me about the new professor."
"It's Dolores Umbridge," Harry grimaced. "Do you remember her, from –"
"From the hearing, yeah," Sirius nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You should have heard her speech," Harry glanced at Hermione, who gave a quick but informative summary of their newest professor's opening remarks at the welcoming feast. By the end, Sirius looked ready to bash his own brains out with a cricket bat.
"Fuck," He said eloquently once Hermione was done talking. "Alright, listen. Whatever bad news you think Umbridge is because of what she said and did at my hearing, she's much worse now. By the time of my hearing, all she'd really done in the Ministry was make the Improper Use of Magic Office much more brutal than it used to be, as well as draft some anti-werewolf legislation that made Moony's life miserable."
"That's horrible!" Hermione gasped.
"Like I said, she's worse now," Sirius took a deep breath. "Kingsley has mentioned her and the things she's suggested during Ministry meetings and behind closed doors. I come from one of the most bigoted pure-blooded families in history, and some of the things she's said about Muggle-Borns and werewolves and centaurs are horrifying to me."
"So, she's the worst," Harry sighed. "Wonderful."
"There's more," Sirius lowered his voice. "Since my hearing, she's been promoted to Fudge's Senior Undersecretary and is now unnervingly loyal to him. He says jump, she doesn't even say how high. She just climbs on top of as many people as she can in order to jump the highest."
"So, she definitely has it out for Harry, then?" Hermione bit her lower lip, and Sirius nodded gravely.
"I'd be shocked if she didn't," He paused, letting out another sigh. "I hate this. I hate that this is happening to you, Harry. To both of you."
"What should we do, then?" Harry asked.
"Don't even engage with her," Sirius said ardently. "Based on what you've told me about her speech tonight, the Ministry is not holding back in interfering at Hogwarts. I'm sure she'll claim that Voldemort is not back and that everything is fine and knowing Umbridge, I doubt she'll take kindly to those who disagree. Harry," his voice lowered even more, "now is not the time to be a Marauder. You have too much going for you to let this hag ruin you just because you're exceptional at being an antagonistic little shit." Harry cracked a smile that vanished as soon as Sirius opened his mouth again. "This is not funny, Harry!" He practically growled, and Harry nodded quickly.
"Sorry," He mumbled.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped," Sirius ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Just, be careful, okay?"
"We will," Harry nodded resolutely. "Thank you."
"Thank you for calling," Sirius smiled. "I'm glad you told me about Umbridge. Let me know about anything else, alright?"
"Will do."
"Good," Sirius grinned once again. "It's late. I'm about to go to bed, and you guys should do the same. Oh, remember, girls can go into the boys' dormitories, but not the other way around."
"Sirius…" Harry rolled his eyes.
"Right. Good night!" The Marauder winked before his image vanished, leaving Harry and Hermione staring at themselves.
"I'm glad we did that," Hermione mused, looking up at him.
"Me too," Harry nodded, turning to face her. "So, I just can't let Umbridge get to me. That's it."
"That's it," Hermione nodded. "You can do this."
"Thanks," He smiled. "Do you suppose we should go to sleep?" He glanced at his watch, and Hermione nodded.
"It's a good thing we don't have Prefect duties tonight because I…I'm…" She let out a very long, very loud yawn that caused Harry to raise his eyebrows. "I'm tired," She mumbled, tucking a few curls behind both ears at once.
"Hey, speaking of sleeping," Harry grinned as he helped Hermione to her feet, "what are the chances I can get your favorite sleeping shirt back in my possession before Quidditch starts up?"
"Zero," She said cheekily, hopping up on her tiptoes to give him a brief kiss goodnight.
"You're lucky I love you," Harry whispered when they separated.
"I love you more," Hermione fired back with a radiant smile. As he watched her turn on her heel and make her way towards her dormitory, Harry wondered how exactly he would have to go about asking Angelina Johnson for another Quidditch jersey.
"How was Ancient Runes?" Lavender asked Harry and Hermione as the pair approached the rest of the Gryffindors waiting outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom the next day. "Or did you two skive it off and spend the last hour in a broom cupboard?" She waggled her eyebrows.
"Lavender," Ron began, pinching the bridge of his nose, "you do realize you're talking to the two biggest nerds we know, right?"
"Hey!" Harry and Hermione snapped at the same time.
"I meant that affectionately!" Ron clarified hastily, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying, hell will freeze over before you two skip a class to snog. It's quite admirable, if not incredibly boring of you."
"Ron's right," Harry sighed. "Shockingly, the two Prefects did not skive off class. We went to Ancient Runes."
"See?" Ron nudged Lavender, who let out a defeated sigh. "Total nerds."
"Ron, I'm literally on the Quidditch team," Harry crossed his arms. "And I break more rules than you."
"Wow, good for you! You're still a nerd, though," The redhead snickered. "We all saw you taking notes in History of Magic, only nerds do that."
"If writing things down is for nerds, I don't even want to know what you do," Hermione frowned.
"I just forget stuff like a cool person," Ron shrugged.
"Right," Dean nodded exaggeratedly. "That's true. You are a super cool person."
"See? Thank you," Ron gave a very inelegant bow, to which the other seven Gryffindors exchanged smirks.
At that moment, the door to the classroom opened, and the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws all shuffled in and took their seats. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and tugged him towards a middle desk, surrounding themselves with the rest of their housemates.
Professor Umbridge was sitting at the teacher's desk at the front of the room, clad entirely in pink and holding an unusually short wand while she scanned the room with an ugly expression that reminded Harry of a toad looking for flies to snatch out of the air.
"Good afternoon!" She finally spoke when the class had settled down. "Now, wands away and quills out, please."
A few murmurs of discontent rang out at that, but Harry made a point of saying nothing and extracting ink, parchment, and his trusty Sword of Gryffindor quill. Even though she had seen him use it in each of their previous classes that day, he saw Hermione smile to herself at the sight of him using the quill and he felt a smile of his own creep up on his face.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year."
"Tell that to the kids who can do a Patronus," Harry heard Parvati whisper from behind him, and he had to bite back another smile.
"If you would please copy down these course aims," Umbridge continued in her sickly sweet voice, her eyes flickering to Parvati for a split-second before lingering on Harry, who averted his eyes and busied himself with his quill. "Our primary objective in this class will be to understand the principles underlying defensive magic."
Harry and the rest of the class diligently copied her words onto their parchment.
"We will also be learning how to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used."
Again, the class scribbled away.
"And lastly," Umbridge took a deep breath before giving the class a wide, revolting smile, "we will be placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use."
Harry finished jotting down the course aims and immediately frowned at what he had written. Something niggled at the back of his mind about Umbridge's objectives, but before he could properly articulate his concern Hermione had shot her hand into the air.
"Do you have a query about the course aims, my dear?" Umbridge asked condescendingly.
"I do," Hermione said calmly.
"And your name is Hermione Granger, is it not?" Umbridge's dainty demeanor did not falter, but her eyes gleamed maliciously.
"Yes, it is," Hermione nodded. "I was wondering –"
"You probably don't remember me, my dear," Umbridge interrupted, "but I was present when you and a few others gave testimony to the Wizengamot regarding the alleged innocence of a certain mass-murderer well over a year ago."
Harry tensed up for a moment at Umbridge's implication, but Hermione seemed to sense his anger without even looking at him and placed a hand on his knee, calming him instantly.
"I remember you, Professor," Hermione said diplomatically. "Now, about the course aims –"
"The course aims were quite clear if you read through them carefully, my dear."
"I just find it peculiar, Professor, that there is nothing mentioned in the course aims about using defensive spells," Hermione said innocently, removing her hand from Harry's knee.
Harry snapped his fingers under the table as he realized that was what had bothered him. The two previous Defense professors had been quite practical in their teachings; he could understand a professor wanting more of a balance between theory and practical elements, but abandoning the use of magic altogether seemed ridiculous.
"Using defensive spells? Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?" Umbridge raised her eyebrows, her voice sugary but her expression hardening.
"We're not going to use magic?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Students will raise their hand in my class, Mister…"
"Weasley," Ron answered before raising his hand. Umbridge gave a little laugh and turned away from him, only to lay eyes on the remaining Gryffindors except for Harry raising their hands. Her entire face flushed red with rage, and Harry thought she was about to snap her wand in half with how tightly she was gripping it with her stubby fingers.
"Do you have a question, Miss?" She turned to Lavender, clearly ignoring Harry and Hermione.
"Lavender Brown, Professor," She said, her voice laced with a feigned sweetness that rivaled that of their new teacher. Harry wondered if this imitation was the blonde's way of sticking it to Umbridge right off the bat. "Professor, what is the goal of a Defense Against the Dark Arts class if not to practice defensive spells against the Dark Arts?"
"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert?" Umbridge simpered.
"No, but are you?" Lavender raised her eyebrows.
Umbridge clenched her jaw so tightly Harry expected to hear her molars crack at any moment, but she seemed to realize that she was dangerously close to losing control and let out a long exhale. "This curriculum, with thesecourse aims," she darted her eyes to Hermione, who said nothing, "was developed by wizards much older and much cleverer than you all. I do not think they would appreciate any insinuations that children knew better than them." She paused and let out another deep sigh. "Now, I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school."
"Had me fooled," Ron grumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear. Umbridge's nostrils flared but she pressed on.
"You have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed. Not to mention…" She let out a nasty laugh that made Harry grit his teeth. "Extremely dangerous half-breeds."
For the second time in five minutes, every muscle in Harry's body tensed up, but before he could even open his mouth Hermione's hand was back on his knee and she was whispering "Don't" as quietly as she could. Thankfully, Dean was just as irate as Harry was and much louder than Hermione's whispered, forcing Umbridge to direct her attention to him.
"If you mean Professor Lupin, he was the best we ever –"
"Hand, Mister…"
"Dean Thomas," He practically snarled back. "And if you're implying that Professor Lupin –"
"Thank you for your input, Mister Thomas," Umbridge hissed before turning back to the class, leaving the fifth-year in stunned silence. "As I was saying, in this subject, you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, dare I say inappropriate to your age group. Some have even had the potential to be lethal."
"Oh, are you referring to our last professor?" Seamus snapped. "Because everyone knows he was a Death Eater in disguise that –"
"Your hand is not up, Mister?"
"Seamus Finnegan."
"Please raise your hand if you wish to speak, Mister Finnegan."
"Fine," Seamus thrust his fist into the air.
"As I was saying," Umbridge turned away from him, still red-faced with fury, "you all have been exposed to illegal curses, even had them performed on you."
"By a Death Eater!"
"Your hand is not up, Miss Brown!" Umbridge stamped her foot, her voice rising in volume.
"Professor," Parvati lifted her hand, and Umbridge reluctantly glanced at her. "Isn't there a practical bit on our O.W.L. exam? Wouldn't it do us a bit of good to actually practice defensive spells before the exam?"
"If you study the theory hard enough," Umbridge said testily, "you will perform them adequately under safe and secure testing conditions."
"Without ever practicing them before?" Parvati looked ready to burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of what she had just heard.
"I repeat, as long as you all study the theory hard enough, you will perform adequately."
"Excuse me, Professor?" Neville cleared his throat, looking somewhat afraid until Ron gave him an encouraging nudge with his elbow. "With all due respect, will theory and performing spells under strict test conditions protect us from those who actually want to hurt us? In the real world?"
"This is school, not the real world, Mister?"
"Neville Longbottom," He answered proudly.
"As I was saying Mister Longbottom, this is not the real world. This is a classroom."
"Professor," Neville had not put his hand down and seemed to have garnered even more courage, "we'll only be in school for another two years. How helpful will theory be after we graduate?"
"Or before we graduate?" Ron piped up. "We're not in classrooms every day of the year, what about when we're on holidays or –"
Umbridge made a bizarre noise in the back of her throat, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Tell me," She took several deep breaths, closing her eyes as she composed herself. "Can a single one of you name anyone, or anything, that would want to attack children like yourselves?"
Harry instinctively opened his mouth, but someone beat him to it.
"Lord Voldemort," Hermione said coolly, her eyes narrowing.
Half the class gasped. Ron's elbow, which had been propped on his desk as he cupped his own chin, slipped and he nearly broke his own nose on the desk. Harry had not gasped, however. He simply stared in awe at the girl next to him; it was the first time he had heard her use Voldemort's name, and considering the circumstances and confidence with which she delivered it made him want to take Lavender's suggestion to heart and skive off the rest of class in favor of snogging her brains out.
As the rest of the class came to terms with what Hermione had said, Umbridge let out a shrill giggle of what seemed to be satisfaction. She turned to Harry and flashed him such a repulsively smug smile he almost gagged.
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger."
Even more gasps rang out; Hermione had not lost a point for Gryffindor since she and Harry had been caught on the Astronomy Tower after smuggling Hagrid's dragon out of the castle in their first year. Once again, Harry was not one of those who gasped. He glanced back at Hermione, and his hand found hers under the table. He badly wanted to question Umbridge on her point deduction, but Hermione seemed to read his thoughts and tightened her grip. Reluctantly, he squeezed her hand back and nodded subtly.
"It seems," Umbridge pressed on, "that I must make a few things quite clear," Her eyes landed back on Harry, who feigned nonchalance as Hermione gripped his hand even harder underneath their desk. "You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned. This is a lie." Her wide, toadlike eyes came back to Harry, who – with great effort – kept his expression neutral. "If anyone in this school, student or staff, tries to alarm you with fibs or delusional stories about reborn Dark wizards, please come to me. I would like to hear about it, as I am here to help you all. Are there any questions?" She turned back to Harry, who had to bite the inside of his cheek but otherwise showed no emotion. "Lovely," Umbridge concluded, although Harry could spot the glimmer of disappointment in her eye even from his seat.
"Please continue reading until the bell rings," She added, sitting back down at her desk.
By the time the bell rang, Harry was ready to try out the Coruscare spell he had read about in one of the books Lupin had gifted him; the spell engulfed its target in white-hot flames that could only be extinguished when the target was completely incinerated. The longer he sat at his desk and read one inane page after the other, he realized he would not mind trying the spell on Umbridge as well. Mercifully, the bell rang before he was compelled to act on such impulses and he and Hermione were quick to pack their belongings and make a beeline for the corridor before their professor could give them any additional reasons to snap.
"We did it," Hermione let out a sigh of relief once they were walking away from the door to the classroom.
"You said his name," Harry suddenly stopped, grabbing Hermione by the arm. "You said Voldemort's name."
"I did," She nodded, biting her lip slightly.
"Why?"
"Because you were about to say it and I suspected it would be better if someone who Umbridge does not have a personal vendetta against brought him up rather than you. I can only imagine how satisfied she would have been and how much crueler she would have acted if you were the one to speak up."
"Well, you could have said You-Know-Who," Harry pointed out. "But you said Voldemort. How come?"
"Well…" Hermione shrugged one shoulder. "The longer she spoke, the more I realized how much she and the Ministry are counting on people like me being too terrified to think that he could be back. So, I wanted her to know that even though Voldemort might scare me, I'm not as scared as she wants me to be." After a pause, she added, "And after all those wretched things she said, I really wanted to stick it to that foul little gargoyle since you couldn't."
Harry felt a surge of pride and something very different course through him all at once. "You wanted to stick it to a professor?"
"Just a bit," She shrugged.
"Wow," Harry whispered. "I am so attracted to you right now."
"Oh?" Hermione smirked, stepping closer to him and gazing at him with that look that made his heart do a frighteningly good impression of a jackhammer.
"The thing is…" Harry awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, "we're Prefects. And getting caught in a broom cupboard in the middle of the day would not be very –"
"Dormitory. Now."
"Yes ma'am," He grinned, moving his hand from her arm to lace their fingers together before walking as briskly as he could towards Gryffindor Tower.
A/N: Hello! Back with the official beginning of Harry's fifth year. Considering Harry is in a significantly better headspace at this point in my story than he was in canon, and the fact that he has a supporting cast much stronger and much more effective than the one he had in canon, I thought it would be unrealistic for Harry to go caps lock rage monster mode in this chapter. Although, I'll have you know I was this close to Umbridge saying "I want the truth" and Harry clapping back with "You can't handle the truth!" Also, just so you know, I'm not entirely eliminating Umbridge and her horribleness from this story in the name of fluff, I just didn't want to have it happen in this chapter. Trust me, you will hate my Umbridge.
Okay, references. Hermione does another Amy Santiago double tuck simply because I'm re-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine right now and can't get it out of my head. Speaking of the Nine-Nine, Ron saying "I just forget stuff like a cool person" also hails from that show. I honestly don't think Ron Weasley and Rosa Diaz have anything in common, except for the fact that I can imagine them both saying that line with complete authenticity.
Thank you all so much for reading this story. With how crazy and busy my life has become, it's so heartwarming to see how you're all so understanding about my slowed-down update schedule. You guys are so incredible, and I truly cannot find the words to describe how much I appreciate your support. If you guys want to meet more amazing fans of the Harmony pairing, please join the HMS Harmony Discord sever with this link: discord dot gg/2GcXw8R The wonderful people there are the reason I started writing in the first place, it's just full of talented artists, writers, and Harmony fans, and we would absolutely love to have you.
Thank you all, and stay safe!