Chapter 26: Snitches Get Stitches
Had a bit of an argument with Rose today. She told me she wouldn't go with Scamander since she didn't want to leave her family behind in the middle of a war. I spoke with Lily, who wrote to her parents, and together we all managed to convince her that this trip was the opportunity of a lifetime and she shouldn't let it pass her by. She was put more at ease when I told her I'd ask Mr. Potter to put some protective enchantments on the house. Now she'll get to follow her dreams and be safe from Voldemort.
Leo discovered the following day that Dumbledore had found a new Divination teacher in the form of the centaur, Firenze. He vaguely remembered him from his time spent in the Forbidden Forest during his first year. The only thing he really recalled about the bloke was that Firenze had ditched him and gone riding off into the proverbial sunset with Harry, leaving him behind to get eaten by all manner of nasty creatures.
Leo was spending increasing amounts of time roaming about with said creatures in his lion form. He travelled farther and farther every day, exploring as much of the forest as he possibly could in order to take his mind off his growing anger at Umbridge. Maybe, if I explore it enough, I can add the forest to the Map or make one of my own. He mused as he lounged on a jutting rock overlooking the Black Lake.
When he wasn't in the forest or in class, he was out on the Quidditch Pitch, taking his frustration out on Bludgers or attending D.A. meetings (he had Harry arrange for some impromptu ones for those who needed a little extra help, like Neville). He avoided eating in the Great Hall altogether, instead taking his meals in the kitchens with Luna and/or Draco, who had been banned from the Gryffindor table when he had refused Umbridge's offer to spy on his friends for her.
In short, he was doing everything he could to avoid Umbridge, which was quite difficult given that he had classes with her and she inspected all of Hagrid's lessons. Umbridge's classroom had become stiflingly hot as of late, and not even the numerous Cooling Charms the toad cast could stop everyone from sweating and panting heavily. Strangely enough, this only seemed to happen during her fifth year Gryffindor class. Leo knew he was the one causing it and figured he should probably try to rein in his anger and rage but couldn't quite bring himself to do so. Watching Umbridge suffer through each class was just too satisfying.
March faded into April, during which time Leo and the Weasley twins put the finishing touches on their fireworks. Now they just needed the perfect opportunity to test them. The opportunity had to wait since – as Hermione and the teachers liked to constantly remind everyone – O.W.L.s were fast approaching. All the fifth years were stressing out over the exams, but Hannah Abbott was the only one that had to take a Calming Draught after she had a breakdown in Herbology.
Leo snorted at the memory as he stood in the Room of Requirement, watching everyone working on their Patronus Charms. He grinned broadly as he saw Luna's hare hopping around, Draco's hawk swooping over it and flying around the room, narrowly dodging Ginny's horse as it galloped past.
"They're so pretty!" Cho exclaimed as her swan swooped around the room.
"They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to protect you," said Harry patiently. "What we really need is a boggart or something; that's how I learned, I had to conjure a Patronus while the boggart was pretending to be a dementor —"
"Yeah, but that only worked because your worst fear is a dementor," Leo reminded him. "Wonder if we could catch one? There's bound to be one or two running about unchecked now that Moldy's on the loose -"
"But that would be really scary!" said Lavender, who was shooting puffs of silver vapour out of the end of her wand. "And I still — can't — do it!" she added angrily.
"Because you're not thinking happy thoughts," Leo informed her with a roll of his eyes. "You're letting your anger and frustration get the best of you. Take a breath and concentrate."
Lavender threw him a scathing look but did as she was told. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She did this a few times before she opened her eyes and recited the Patronus Charm. From her wand came a small, silver bunny ("Binky!" Lavender shouted happily) that looked around them all curiously, its nose twitching before it disappeared. There were numerous cheers around the classroom.
"Excellent!" Leo grinned before turning to Neville. "Your turn, mate. C'mon, I know you can do it. Just be confident and think of your happiest thought. Perhaps something recent?"
He shared a secret smile with Neville who returned it slowly. The news of Frank Longbottom's recovery was a closely guarded secret as of this moment. The only ones besides Leo who knew were Mrs. Longbottom, Castor, Neville, and Frank himself. Castor had decided to keep the news hidden for as long as possible, not wanting the Death Eaters or Voldemort to find out while he was still working on healing Alice.
"A-all right. I'll try," Neville stammered before raising his cherry wood wand. "Expecto Patronum!"
At first, nothing happened. Then, what appeared to be a silvery lemur or a really thin raccoon leapt out of the wand, stumbling over its own paws as landed on the ground. Upon closer inspection, Leo discovered it was a red panda, having seen one at the zoo many years ago. The Patronus blinked up at everyone, receiving coos from many of the females. There were many cheers for Neville, who smiled triumphantly at his success.
The door of the Room of Requirement opened and then closed again; Leo and Harry looked around to see who had entered, but there did not seem to be anybody there. Abruptly, those closest to the door stopped cheering and parted to allow a house-elf wearing eight hats upon his head to approach their two leaders. Dobby? Leo frowned in confusion.
"Hi, Dobby!" Harry said. "What are you — what's wrong?"
The elf's eyes were wide with terror and he was shaking. Leo waved for quiet and watched as the rest of the Patronuses vanished before he turned back to Dobby with a look of apprehension on his face.
"Harry Potter, sir..." squeaked the elf, trembling from head to foot, "Harry Potter, sir... Dobby has come to warn you... but the house-elves have been warned not to tell..."
He ran headfirst at the wall, stopping abruptly when Leo cast Carpe Retractum on him and hauled him into the air, watching him dangle as though he was a fish. Hermione looked at him reproachfully, but Leo figured this was the best way to stop him from hurting himself. What isn't he supposed to tell us? Must be something bad...
"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked, grabbing the elf's tiny arm so he wouldn't hit himself.
"Harry Potter... she... she..."
Dobby hit himself hard on the nose with his free fist. Harry seized that too.
"Who's 'she,' Dobby?"
"... It's Umbridge, isn't it?" Leo spat, his eyes narrowing angrily.
Dobby nodded, then tried to headbutt Harry's chest.
"What about her? Dobby — she hasn't found out about this — about us — about the D.A.?" Harry asked in a worried tone.
Leo edged to the side, looking at the elf's face and receiving an answer via the stricken expression written upon it.
"Is she coming?" Harry asked quietly.
Dobby let out a howl and began kicking his feet wildly. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"
Harry and Leo made eye contact before looking around at everyone's terrified expressions.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" they bellowed. "RUN!"
Everyone pelted at once toward the exit and Leo immediately ran for Draco, who was the furthest away from the door and whose common room was farther away from anyone else's. He won't make it out in time. Unless... He turned and shouted for his friends to leave before looking around desperately. I need a window that will open up to Hogwarts grounds. Magically, one materialized on one of the far walls and Leo led Draco over to it quickly, throwing it open as soon as they got there.
"You need to fly fast, Jet," Leo said urgently once everyone had left.
"But what about -"
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just go!"
Draco stared at him for a moment before shifting into Jetwing and flying out of the open window. Leo watched him for a moment before turning away to head for the door. He stopped abruptly and stared at the piece of paper on the far wall. The list. He realized before running toward it. His fingers brushed the parchment when something hit him from the side and he suddenly found himself bound with something.
He looked down and struggled against the rope. Incarcerous. He realized. He began to burn through the rope when he felt white-hot pain all over his body. He screamed loudly as he writhed beneath the ropes, biting his tongue and tasting blood. The pain ended abruptly a few seconds later and he looked through his sweat-soaked bangs to see Umbridge standing in the room, looking like a frog that had caught a particularly juicy fly.
"I don't recall scheduling an appointment with Satan," Leo panted. "I'd say come back another time, but I don't really want you to."
"Oh, Mr. Black," Umbridge smiled widely as she strode toward him. "I don't think you quite realize the position you're in -"
"I've been tied up by a fat toad," Leo stated blandly, spitting blood at her feet. "Does that about sum it up?"
She flicked her wand, and he writhed on the floor for a few seconds, somehow managing to get the ropes loose as he moved. The spell vanished again and he laid there for a moment, panting heavily.
"Clearly, you haven't learned your lesson, Black," Umbridge said, dropping her facade of faux sweetness.
"Oh, I'd say I've learned it pretty well," Leo replied with a sneer, managing to get his right hand free and holding it up, showing her the message written on the back. "Practically live by these words now."
Umbridge's eyes seemed to bug out of her head.
"You- you- you," she spluttered, shaking with anger.
"Use your words, dear," Leo advised her in his most patronizing tone.
Once more, Leo was writhing on the floor, but this time he did not scream. He gritted his teeth, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of hearing him scream. It lasted longer than the last two times but eventually ended. He lay there, panting, sweaty, and shaking. He was unable to stop Umbridge from taking his wand and pulling down the list, stuffing both into a pocket of her robes. She resecured his ropes before hoisting Leo up by the back of his robes and pushing him forward toward the door.
He stumbled slightly but walked forward and out the door. He would've tried to escape were it not for the death grip Umbridge had on his collar and the wand poking into his back. He idly wondered if it was a new one or if she had fished it out of the Black Lake after Apollo had chucked it in. Such a good owl. He smiled fondly. The smile turned into a scowl as Zabini ran up to them, his face swollen.
"Potter escaped – hit me with a Stinging Hex," he informed Umbridge.
"That's unfortunate, but no matter. We still have this one," she said, prodding Leo's back with her wand.
"Not so tough now are you, Black?" Zabini sneered, placing his face mere inches from Leo's. "What's my name, Black? I want to hear you say it."
Leo merely quirked an eyebrow before swinging his right leg up to kick Zabini in a place no male wanted to be kicked. He immediately crumpled to the ground with a high-pitched squeak, clutching his groin.
"Pathetic," the blonde stated. "That's your name."
"Fifty points from Gryffindor for assault on a fellow student!" Umbridge immediately shouted.
"Not impressed. Aim higher," Leo told her, knowing she wouldn't cast another Cruciatus Curse with all the portraits watching them.
Umbridge seemed to realize the same thing as she scowled and shoved him forward once more, sending him careening down the staircase. He rolled down the steps, coming to a stop at a landing and wheezing heavily. He was moderately certain he had cracked a few ribs on his way down. Falling down the stairs wasn't as fun as usually was.
Umbridge hoisted him up again, roughly urging him onward. They were at stone gargoyle within minutes. Leo briefly wondered if everyone else had escaped. He knew Draco and Harry had, but what about Luna? Or Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny? Fred and George? They'll never let me live it down if they find out I'm the only one who's been caught. He grumbled to himself.
"Fizzing Whizbee," sang Umbridge, and the stone gargoyle jumped aside, the wall behind split open, and they ascended the moving stone staircase. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, still holding tight to Leo.
The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Fudge was rocking backwards and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard Leo did not recognize with very short, wiry hair were positioned on either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes. Leo wished he was close enough to kick him in the family jewels.
The door swung shut behind them, and Leo plastered a bored expression on his face as his brain frantically worked to figure out a way to get the list away from Umbridge. Can't do anything until I see it. I'll have to make her show it - force her hand... Which means I'll have to make some people mad. He spotted Fudge glaring at him with a kind of vicious satisfaction upon his face. Should be fun.
"Well," Fudge said. "Well, well, well..."
"Y'know, for the Minister of Magic, you don't know many words," Leo commented dryly.
He was rewarded with a warning look from McGonagall and an angry expression from Fudge. Umbridge pushed him forward slightly, forcing him into the centre of the room. He felt his lower body give a silent protest at the movement and wanted nothing more than to sink onto the floor.
"What happened to him?" McGonagall demanded, immediately striding towards Leo and examining him critically before Vanishing the ropes that bound him.
"Mr. Black fell down the stairs while trying to escape," Umbridge said, smiling her sadistic smile.
"Oh, is that the story we're going with?" Leo mumbled as he rolled his eyes and rubbed his sore arms.
"Did he, did he?" said Fudge appreciatively. "Well, Black... I expect you know why you are here?"
Leo was about to make another smart-arse remark when he made brief eye contact with Dumbledore. Dumbles gave a subtle shake of his head and the blonde suppressed a groan of frustration as he turned to look at Fudge.
"Nope."
"I beg your pardon?" said Fudge.
"Gonna take a lot more than begging to get my pardon," Leo informed him. "I said 'nope'. Which means 'no'. Which also means -"
"You don't know why you are here?"
"Took the words right out of my mouth," he answered blandly.
Fudge looked incredulously from Leo to Umbridge; Leo took advantage of his momentary inattention to steal another quick look at Dumbledore, who gave the carpet the tiniest of nods and the shadow of a wink. Leo suppressed a smirk, keeping his face carefully blank.
"So you have no idea," said Fudge in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"
"Hmm... don't think I've broken any today," Leo finally said after a moment of thought. "Must be a record for me."
"Or Ministry decrees?" amended Fudge angrily.
"Which one? There's like fifty now," Leo rolled his eyes. "Can't honestly expect me to keep track of them all, can you?"
He managed to refrain from smiling as Fudge turned redder than ever. It was becoming quite enjoyable to see the man's blood pressure rise. Now I just have to get that bitch to take out the list...
"So it's news to you, is it," said Fudge, his voice now thick with anger, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered within this school?"
"An illegal what now?" Leo frowned.
"I think, Minister," said Umbridge silkily from beside him, "we might make better progress if I fetch our informant."
"Yes, yes, do," said Fudge, nodding, and he glanced maliciously at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"
"Nothing at all, Cornelius," said Dumbledore gravely, inclining his head.
McGonagall spent the time Umbridge was gone healing some of the cuts and bruises Leo had accrued before offering him a seat. Tempted though he was to take it, he didn't want to show any weakness by sitting while everyone was standing. He just hoped his legs would hold out until everything was over and done with.
The door opened moments later and Umbridge moved past him into the room, gripping by the shoulder a curly-haired girl Leo vaguely recalled seeing with Cho at the D.A. meetings. He raised an eyebrow in intrigue when he noticed she was clutching her face in her hands.
"Don't be scared, dear, don't be frightened," said Umbridge softly, patting her on the back, "it's quite all right, now. You have done the right thing. The minister is very pleased with you. He'll be telling your mother what a good girl you've been. Marietta's mother, Minister," she added, looking up at Fudge, "is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation. Floo Network office — she's been helping us police the Hogwarts fires, you know."
"Jolly good, jolly good!" said Fudge heartily. "Like mother, like daughter, eh? Well, come on, now, dear, look up, don't be shy, let's hear what you've got to — galloping gargoyles!"
As Marietta raised her head, Fudge leapt backwards in shock, nearly landing himself in the fire. He cursed and stamped on the hem of his cloak (thankfully missing Leo's snickers), which had started to smoke, and Marietta gave a wail and pulled the neck of her robes right up to her eyes, but not before the whole room had seen that her face was horribly disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word "SNEAK."
Leo gave a low whistle, impressed by Hermione's handiwork.
"Never mind the spots now, dear," said Umbridge impatiently, "just take your robes away from your mouth and tell the Minister —"
But Marietta gave another muffled wail and shook her head frantically.
"Oh, very well, you silly girl, I'll tell him," snapped Umbridge. She hitched her sickly smile back onto her face and said, "Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe here came to my office shortly after dinner this evening and told me she had something she wanted to tell me. She said that if I proceeded to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find out something to my advantage. I questioned her a little further and she admitted that there was to be some kind of meeting there. Unfortunately at that point this hex," she waved impatiently at Marietta's concealed face, "came into operation and upon catching sight of her face in my mirror the girl became too distressed to tell me any more."
Ever think maybe it was your face that distressed her? Leo rolled his eyes.
"Well, now," said Fudge, fixing Marietta with what he evidently imagined was a kind and fatherly look. "It is very brave of you, my dear, coming to tell Professor Umbridge, you did exactly the right thing. Now, will you tell me what happened at this meeting? What was its purpose? Who was there?"
But Marietta would not speak. She merely shook her head again, her eyes wide and fearful.
"Haven't we got a counterjinx for this?" Fudge asked Umbridge impatiently, gesturing at Marietta's face. "So she can speak freely?"
I've heard not being a back-stabbing traitor will do wonders for your complexion.
"I have not yet managed to find one," Umbridge admitted grudgingly. "But it doesn't matter if she won't speak, I can take up the story from here -"
"Hold it," Leo interrupted her. "Who's to say that you won't just make everything up?"
"Really now, Black," Fudge began, a sneer on his face, "with all the lies you've told, are you really going to cast aspersions on Professor Umbridge, High Inquisitor of Hogwarts?"
"That's the most made-up position of all time and you know it -"
"I appointed her!" Fudge shouted.
"And Professor Dumbledore could appoint me as Minister of Cheese," Leo countered airily. "Doesn't mean I have any real authority over feta. Anyway, the point is that, without proper testimony from an unbiased source or physical evidence, anything Umbridge says is pure conjecture and hearsay."
Fudge and Umbridge stared at him, dumbfounded. Leo was grateful that he had listened to his father and Draco's long-winded debates over wizarding and Muggle laws. He smirked as he heard a shuffle behind him and heard Kingsley's voice whisper an eerily familiar spell. He felt something like a draft whoosh by him and folded his arms over his chest. Now to wait for her to take the list out.
"Evidence? Testimony?" repeated Umbridge once she had recovered, wearing her horrible wide toad-like smile. "Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?"
"For fun? Casually observing this tragedy?" Leo suggested. "Because she hasn't said anything to correlate -"
"Corroborate," McGonagall corrected him.
"Thank you. Corroborate your story," he finished with a small nod at McGonagall.
"Miss Edgecombe," said Umbridge at once, "tell us how long these meetings have been going on, dear. You can simply nod or shake your head, I'm sure that won't make the spots worse. Have they been happening regularly over the last six months?"
Everyone in the room was gazing at the top of Marietta's face. Only her eyes were visible between the pulled up robes and her curly fringe. Perhaps it was a trick of the firelight, but her eyes looked oddly blank. Leo hid a satisfied smirk when she shook her head.
Umbridge looked quickly at Fudge and then back at Marietta.
"I don't think you understood the question, did you, dear? I'm asking whether you've been going to these meetings for the past six months? You have, haven't you?"
Again, Marietta shook her head.
"What do you mean by shaking your head, dear?" said Umbridge in a testy voice.
"I would have thought her meaning was quite clear," said McGonagall harshly. "There have been no secret meetings for the past six months. Is that correct, Miss Edgecombe?"
Marietta nodded.
"But there was a meeting tonight!" said Umbridge furiously. "There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! Potter and Black are the leaders, are they not, they organized it, they — why are you shaking your head, girl?"
"Well, usually when a person shakes their head," said McGonagall coldly, "they mean 'no.' So unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign language as yet unknown to humans —"
Leo snickered to himself before watching wide-eyed as Umbridge seized Marietta, pulled her around to face her, and began shaking her very hard. A split second later Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised. Kingsley started forward and Umbridge leapt back from Marietta, waving her left hand in the air as though it had been burned.
"I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores," said Dumbledore, and for the first time, he looked angry.
"You want to calm yourself, Madam Umbridge," said Kingsley in his deep, slow voice. "You don't want to get yourself into trouble now."
"No," said Umbridge breathlessly, glancing up at the towering figure of Kingsley. "I mean, yes — you're right, Shacklebolt — I — I forgot myself."
Lucky you.
Marietta was standing exactly where Umbridge had released her. She seemed neither perturbed by Umbridge's sudden attack nor relieved by her release. She was still clutching her robe up to her oddly blank eyes, staring straight ahead of her. Leo couldn't help but be impressed by Kingsley's spellwork.
"Dolores," said Fudge, with the air of trying to settle something once and for all, "the meeting tonight — the one we know definitely happened —"
"Yes," said Umbridge, pulling herself together, "yes... well, Miss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor, accompanied by certain trustworthy students, so as to catch those in the meeting red-handed. It appears that they were forewarned of my arrival, however, because when we reached the seventh floor they were running in every direction. It does not matter, however. I have all their names here, I found the list in the Room of Requirement with Black."
She withdrew from her pocket the list of names that had been pinned upon the Room of Requirement's wall and handed it to Fudge. In the small pause between Umbridge handing the parchment over and Fudge receiving it, the paper caught alight. Umbridge gave a small shriek and dropped it before taking out her wand to try and put out the flames. She was too late, all that was left was a pile of ash.
She stared down at the pile before her bulging eyes slowly drifted around the room to land on Leo. He stared back at her impassively, barely suppressing a smile of satisfaction as he watched her face turn a dark shade of red.
"YOU!" she pointed at him. "YOU BURNED THE PAPER!"
"How?" Leo frowned. "I don't have a wand. You took it. I can't magically make things catch on fire -"
"DO NOT LIE, BLACK!" Umbridge roared, looking as though she'd quite like to pounce on him and strangle him. "YOU'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS-"
"Ever consider maybe the school just doesn't like some people or – more specifically – you?" Leo suggested before turning to Fudge. "Since there's no evidence, can I go now? I want to get checked out by Madam Pomfrey."
"THERE'S NO EVIDENCE BECAUSE YOU BURNED IT!" she shrieked. "ADMIT IT, YOU'RE ONE OF THE LEADERS OF DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY!"
"I'm a one-man army, why would I join Dumbledore's?"
"IT'S THE NAME OF THE GROUP!"
"You mean the Group-That-Doesn't-Exist?"
"Hold on just a moment," Fudge interjected. "Are you saying that the group was called Dumbledore's Army?" He whirled around to face Dumbledore. "So you have been plotting against me!"
Dumbledore was silent for a moment before he briefly made eye contact with Leo and then quickly averted his gaze just as the teen felt a headache coming on. He seemed to debate something for a moment before he smiled cheerfully.
"That's right," the old man informed him.
Well, ain't that a twist. Leo raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"Weasley!" cried Fudge, now positively quivering with delight, "Weasley, have you written it all down, everything he's said, his confession, have you got it?"
"Yes, sir, I think so, sir!" said Percy eagerly, whose nose was splattered with ink from the speed of his note-taking.
"The bit about how he's been trying to build up an army against the Ministry, how he's been working to destabilize me?"
"Yes, sir, I've got it, yes!" said Percy, scanning his notes joyfully.
"Very well, then," said Fudge, now radiant with glee. "Duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!" Percy dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him, and Fudge turned back to Dumbledore. "You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"
"Ah," said Dumbledore gently, "yes. Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag."
"Snag?" said Fudge, his voice still vibrating with joy. "I see no snag, Dumbledore!"
"Well," said Dumbledore apologetically, "I'm afraid I do."
"Oh really?"
"Well — it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to — what is the phrase? 'Come quietly' I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course — but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."
Umbridge's face was growing steadily redder, she looked as though she was being filled with boiling water. Fudge stared at Dumbledore with a very silly expression on his face, as though he had just been stunned by a sudden blow and could not quite believe it had happened. He made a small choking noise and then looked around at Kingsley and the man with short grey hair, who alone of everyone in the room had remained entirely silent so far. The latter gave Fudge a reassuring nod and moved forward a little, away from the wall.
"Don't be silly, Dawlish," said Dumbledore kindly. "I'm sure you are an excellent Auror, I seem to remember that you achieved 'Outstanding' in all your N.E.W.T.s, but if you attempt to — er — 'bring me in' by force, I will have to hurt you."
The man called Dawlish blinked, looking rather foolish. He looked toward Fudge again, but this time seemed to be hoping for a clue as to what to do next.
"So," sneered Fudge, recovering himself, "you intend to take on Dawlish, Shacklebolt, Dolores, and myself single-handed, do you, Dumbledore?"
Not exactly difficult. You and Umbridge suck, Shacklebolt's on Dumbles's side, and Dawlish looks like a moron. Leo rolled his eyes, suppressing a snort.
"Merlin's beard, no," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Not unless you are foolish enough to force me to."
"He will not be single-handed!" said McGonagall loudly, plunging her hand inside her robes.
"Oh yes he will, Minerva!" said Dumbledore sharply. "Hogwarts needs you!"
"Enough of this rubbish!" said Fudge, pulling out his own wand. "Dawlish! Shacklebolt! Take him!"
A streak of silver light flashed around the room. There was a bang like a gunshot, and the floor trembled. A hand grabbed the scruff of Leo's neck and forced him down on the floor as a second silver flash went off — several of the portraits yelled, Fawkes screeched, and a cloud of dust filled the air. Coughing in the dust, Leo saw a dark figure fall to the ground with a crash in front of him. There was a shriek and a thud and somebody cried, "No!" Then the sound of breaking glass, frantically scuffling footsteps, a groan — and silence.
Leo struggled to see who was half-strangling him and saw McGonagall crouched beside him. She had forced both him and Marietta out of harm's way. Dust was still floating gently down through the air onto them. Panting slightly, Leo saw a very tall figure moving toward them.
"Are you all right?" said Dumbledore.
"Define 'all right'," Leo groaned, sitting up slightly. "I think my bruises have bruises... oh, hey, there's my wand."
It had apparently fallen out of Umbridge's robes and rolled on the ground towards him. Leo cradled it lovingly to himself, thankful it hadn't been stepped on as he retracted it back to its holster and looked around. The dust was clearing. The wreckage of the office loomed into view: Dumbledore's desk had been overturned, all of the spindly tables had been knocked to the floor, their silver instruments in pieces. Fudge, Umbridge, Kingsley, and Dawlish lay motionless on the floor. Fawkes the phoenix soared in wide circles above them, singing softly.
"Unfortunately, I had to hex Kingsley too, or it would have looked very suspicious," said Dumbledore in a low voice. "He was remarkably quick on the uptake, modifying Miss Edgecombe's memory like that while everyone was looking the other way — thank him for me, won't you, Minerva?
"Now, they will all awake very soon and it will be best if they do not know that we had time to communicate — you must act as though no time has passed, as though they were merely knocked to the ground, they will not remember —"
"Where will you go, Dumbledore?" whispered McGonagall. "Grimmauld Place?"
"Oh no," said Dumbledore with a grim smile. "I am not leaving to go into hiding. Fudge will soon wish he'd never dislodged me from Hogwarts, I promise you..."
"I'd apologize for getting you into this mess, but I wager Fudge would've found some way to get rid of you," Leo told him. "At least this way, it's on your terms."
"I believe you are correct, Leo," Dumbledore inclined his head. "I must say, that was very quick thinking with the list... I find myself curious, though, how did you sustain your injuries?"
"Oh, that. Long story short: Umbridge shoved me down the stairs. Not quite as fun as when I duel Sirius," Leo shrugged, not entirely bothered by the whole ordeal.
Dumbledore looked angry for a moment and McGonagall's mouth seemed to disappear. Unfortunately, there wasn't any time to discuss the subject further as Dawlish began to stir. Fawkes circled the office and swooped low over Dumbledore. He raised his hand and grasped the phoenix's long golden tail. There was a flash of fire and the pair of them had gone. Leo stared at the spot where they had vanished, wondering if he could learn to travel with fire.
One more thing to practice, I guess...