A/N: Chapter 9 is finally here!

Review Responses:

Ok, Chapter 8 was met with pretty negative reviews. Some of the things that people complained about are that Umbridge used Unforgivable curses on Harry and got away with it, and yes, that was the point. Umbridge got away with a lot in canon and I wanted to take that and step it up. I want this big build-up and have the pay-off be huge. Harry not going to anyone right after the curses, now, two things: One, would you be thinking clearly to leave when someone tried to use the Impero Curse on you, most would not. Two, Harry not going to someone right away, I wanted to follow the canon and make it to where Harry and Umbridge were in a fight of wills. I know that will not please some people, but I just wanted to say that.

Also, for those who said: "And a fine story turns into utter bullshit. I'm out. Thanks for the first 7 chapters." And "Yeah I cant read anymore this is retarded" A thing to point out. If you are going to say something like that, EXPLAIN why, or I will not take you seriously. Rant over.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

*Thank you to Col. Hammer for helping with this chapter!*

The Guardian

5 September 1995

Harry slowly opened his eyes to find himself wrapped in Fleur's warm embrace. He smiled to himself as he felt her tighten her grip on him in her sleep. Fleur had her arms around Harry's head, cradling it in her cleavage and had her right leg entangled with his left leg, rubbing it up and down slightly. Harry blushed a little at the fact that he was in between her breasts, but closed his eyes and relished in the feeling of Fleur's body pressing up against his. Harry's thoughts then drifted to last night and Fleur's reaction to his detentions with Umbridge. Harry had seen Veela throw fireballs last year at the Quidditch World Cup, but never seen them transformed; it amazed him. Harry's chest swelled up with affection as he thought about the girl in his arms.

After a minute of laying there, Harry knew that both he and Fleur needed to get up for the day. Shaking Fleur, in an attempt to wake her up, she muttered something in her sleep.

"Naug'ty boy, 'Arry."

Hearing that, Harry's face burned bright red as he continued to try and wake Fleur up.

"Fleur, it's time to get up."

Fleur's eyes fluttered open to see Harry looking down at her with his cheeks dusted a little red.

Fleur yawned, "Good morning 'Arry." She sat up and stretched the tiredness out of her, showing off her figure to him.

"Good morning Fleur," Harry said as he gazed upon Fleur's body as she continued to stretch.

Fleur then looked at him with a serious expression, "' Ow are your 'ands feeling?"

Harry looked down at his bandaged hands, making a fist and feeling a slight stinging, "Yeah… I can still feel some pain, but I will be fine."

" 'Arry, you need to tell someone about zis treatment, it is not rig't," Said Fleur as she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it.

Harry sighed in frustration, "Who Fleur? No one will believe me right now."

"W'at's your sc'edule for today?" Fleur questioned.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the question, but answered, "History, Defense, Potions, and Transfiguration last. Why?"

"Because we are going to 'ave a talk wiz you 'ead of 'ouse about zis," Fleur said with conviction as she got off of the bed and walked over to the armoire to get out her outfit for the day.

"Uh, are you are sure about this Fleur?" Harry asked, unsure if telling someone about Umbridge would be successful.

Fleur walked back to the bed and got eye level with him, "Yes, I am sure about zis."

Fleur went into the bathroom to change while Harry walked over to the armoire and grabbed his robes. After changing, Harry made his way over to where Hedwig was perched and started to pet her, causing the bird to purr slightly at the attention. Harry then felt something slither up with left leg, he looked down to see Serpico making her way up to his shoulders where she hissed in content. Fleur came out of the bathroom a few minutes later to see Harry petting Hedwig and with Serpico laying across his shoulders.

"You ready 'Arry?" Fleur asked, making her way over to the door that led downstairs.

"Yeah, let me grab my sword," Harry responded as he stepped over to where the sword was leaning up against and strapped it to his hip. With that, Harry and Fleur made their way down and out of their living quarters.

Once Harry and Fleur stepped into the common room, they saw Hermione already there while Ron and Neville were coming down the dormitory stairs.

"Good morning guys," Greeted Harry with a smile.

"Hey mate and good morning to you Fleur," Ron greeted back.

"So, did you sleep well with Fleur acting as your oversize teddy bear?" Neville asked with a snicker.

"Oh hardy har, Neville," Harry answered sarcastically with Hermione, Ron, and Neville snickering at his response while Fleur smirked, "Let's just go get something to eat ok?"

Harry, along with Fleur and their friends, walked down to the Hall and towards the Gryffindor table where they saw an opening about the middle of the table. As they made their way to the spot, Harry's anger started to grow after hearing some of the things that students were muttering under their breath as his group walked by. Fleur squeezed his hand, showing him that she was there for him and not to lose control of his anger. As they sat down, Hermione noticed that Harry's hands were bandaged up.

"Harry, what happened to your hands?" Hermione asked with concern.

Ron and Neville saw for a mere second the wrappings around his hands before Harry hid them under the table and lowered his head. Fleur shook her head at them and mouthed "Later". While they were confused at Harry's action, they decided to respect Fleur's request and started to eat.

"So, Harry, what's your schedule for today?" Ron asked as he swallowed a bite of his breakfast.

"History, Defense, Potions, and Transfiguration. You?"

"Same," Ron answered with a nod.

"Same here," Neville said.

"Same here as well," Hermione said as she took a bite.

Fleur smiled, "So, you all 'ave ze same classes zis time."

Harry nodded as he continued to eat when Serpico slithered down his arm and started to nibble on some of the food that was on his plate. Fleur reached over and petted the snake on her head, which caused it to hiss in pleasure.

Neville shook his head in amusement, "I still can't believe that you have a pet snake, on top of that, one of the most venomous snakes in the world."

Harry smirked and pointed to Fleur with his fork, "She was the one who summoned Serpico."

Fleur had a sheepless look on her face as she chuckled, "I did not mean to summon one of ze most dangerous snakes in ze world. I wanted 'Arry to s'ow me zat 'e could speak to snakes, I meant for a common garden snake to appear."

The three friends laughed at Fleur's sheepless look before they all continued to eat and talk before heading off to their classes.

|X|

Several hours later found the group walking to the Potions classroom while a certain bushy-haired fifth year raged.

"That woman is not teaching us anything remotely close to Defense Against the Dark Arts!" seethed Hermione.

"What did you expect?" Neville asked, "Ths Ministry is hellbent on brainwashing us into thinking that everything is sunshine and rainbows!" He finished sarcastically with an eye-roll.

Ron started to chuckle while Fleur giggled and Harry smirked at his friend.

"That was a great interpretation of what they are doing, Neville," Harry said with amusement lacing his voice.

Neville mocked salute before they entered the classroom with Harry and Fleur sitting at one table and Ron, Hermione, and Neville sitting across from them on the right. After they sat down, a voice rang out that made them all groan inwardly.

"Take a look at this, Potter!" Draco sneered as he threw a copy of The Daily Prophet on Harry's desk as he walked by.

Harry unfolded the paper and saw the headline on the front page, "What the hell?!"

Harry Potter dating a Veela?!

Rita Skeeter

My fellow readers, I have some very interesting news to share with all of you: Harry Potter is dating his "Bodyguard" Fleur Delacour. You might recall that she was The Beauxbatons' Champion last year in The Tri-Wizard Tournament. Readers might also know that Miss Delacour is Part-Veela, a race that is known for their allure that intraps innocent men…

Harry growled out, "That bitch!" gripping the sides of the paper angerly.

Fleur saw the headline and did not have to read the actual article to know what it was about. Yes, it did hurt slightly to see articles like that, but Fleur was used to it by now. However, before she was able to say anything, Severus Snape strode in, his cloak billowing behind him, and up to the front. His black eyes scanned the student body before they laid on Harry, who still had The Prophet in his hands.

Snape snatched the paper out of Harry's hands, "Making sure that you are still the center of attention, Potter?" He sneered.

Harry glared up at the man, "No, I am not." His tone steely with conviction.

Snape snorted, "You are an attention-seeking brat, just like your father before he pathetically died."

Fleur had enough of the professor, "' Ow dare you?!" Fleur seethed in rage, " 'Is parents died protecting zeir son from Voldemort, somezing zat you would never understand, you cochon!" Fleur had heard of the man's attitude, but this was on a completely different level.

The room went completely silent as Snape and Fleur glared at each other with malice, and in Fleur's case, wanting to transform and burn him to a crisp. Harry was beyond furious at what the greasy bat had said about his parents, but was surprised in what Fleur had done.

Snape spoke first, "You are brave, bordering on stupid, I'll give you that, but you need to learn something about respect, Delacour," His tone was condescending and showed his weak perspective of power.

Fleur laughed haughtily, "I know somezing about respect, 'owever, you do not know ze first zing about 'ow to be a decent 'uman being Connard!"

Snape's eye twitched and his hand dove into his robes, presumingly reaching for his wand. Fleur was faster, standing up, flicking her wrist and having her wand appear in her hand, pointing it at the greasy bat.

"I wouldn't do zat if I were you!" Fleur warned.

Snape turned around and waved his wand at the blank chalkboard, "The instructions are on the board, get to work NOW!" he snapped.

The class scrambled to get their ingredients together in order to make sure they are not on the receiving end of Snape's fury. Fleur took a deep breath before flicking her wrist, making her wand disappear and sat down, still glaring at Severus.

"Pat'etic man!" Fleur spat out quietly.

"Fleur, you should not have said that he will not change," Harry said quietly as she sat down.

Fleur snorted, "Zat man deserved it and more for w'at 'e said."

Harry smiled a little at the protective nature that she showed before turning back to his textbook, looking over the directions for brewing Draught of Peace. After gathering all the ingredients, he added powered Moonstone until it turned green. Harry stirred the potion until the color was a bluish tint. He then added more Moonstone and the color turned to purple. While Harry was letting the potion simmer, Fleur watched him and smiled. She gathered from talking to him and others that he was not doing well in some of his subjects, Potions especially, and now she knew why. Severus did not actually teach, just berate and belittle when someone made a mistake. Fleur also noticed that when Snape insulted Harry's parents, he never insulted his mother, just his father.

'Interesting, I will have to ask Sirius,' Fleur thought before focusing back on Harry.

After the potion turned pink in color, Harry added the Hellebore Syrup, which caused the color to turn turquoise. Letting the concoction simmer again, Harry wiped the sweat off of his brow as the potion was turning out fine so far, but he knew that he still had a long way to go. A few minutes later, the potion turned purple before Harry started to shake the powdered Porcupine Quills and adding them to the potion. However, it did not turn red in color, which confused Harry. He looked over at the instructions and re-read them to make sure that he followed them correctly. Fleur saw what he did wrong, and looked around the classroom to make sure that she was not being watched. When she found no one looking at her, she pulled out her wand underneath the desk and whispered under her breath.

Harry felt a spike in magic right next to him and turned towards Fleur to ask, but she put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

" 'Arry, you did not s'ake ze quills 'ard enoug'," Fleur whispered as she grabbed some of the extra quills and shook them more vigorously.

Harry watched Fleur and blushed slightly as his gaze was drawn to her breasts that were bouncing because of her shaking the quills. Fleur looked at Harry staring at her and was confused by this. Fleur looked down and saw that her chest was jiggling, smirking when she found out what Harry was staring at.

Fleur stopped and pointed at her eyes, "My eyes are up 'ere, you perv." Her voice was playful and showed that she was not mad at him. She then adds the quills to the potion, which changed the color to red.

"T-Thank you, Fleur," Harry said as he looked at his potion with a smile.

"You're welcome, 'Arry," Fleur replied with a soft smile on her lips before look around and leaned in, "Now, I am going to cancel ze disillusion c'arm," Fleur muttered under her breath and Harry felt another magic spike.

Harry stirred the liquid in the pot until the color changed from a red to orange. He added more Porcupine Quills and the color changed to turquoise again. While Harry was letting the pot simmer, Severus stopped in front of them and inspected the potion. He scowled and glared down at Harry.

"Did Miss Delacour help you with the potion Potter?"

Harry looked at him blankly, "No, professor, I just followed the directions."

Snape scoffed, "Right, I am watching you, Potter!" With that, he walked away.

Harry leaned next to Fleur, "What was that about?" He asked quietly.

Fleur grinned and whispered, " 'E wanted to find out if I 'elped you so zat 'e could punis' you."

Harry shook his head ever-so-slightly before adding the powdered Unicorn Horn to the liquid once it turned purple. A minute after adding the horn, the potion changed colors to pink again. He grabbed the stirring rod and began to stir the liquid for a while before the color turned to red. Fleur watched as Harry let the contents simmer in the pot, smiling and nodding when Harry looked at her with a look that conveyed a question: Was everything going smoothly so far?

When the liquid was purple, Harry added more powdered Moonstone until the color turned grey. He allowed the potion to simmer while the color changed from gray to orange. After adding more powdered Porcupine Quills, the color turned white while Harry stirred. He then lowered the heat before adding the last ingredient, Hellebore, exactly seven drops. The potion gave off a silvery vapor, signaling that the potion was brewed properly.

Harry looked up and around to see most of the students were still working on theirs. Only a few Slytherins, Ron, Neville, and Hermione had finished. Looking at Fleur, she nodded and mouthed "Good luck" to him. Harry walked up to Snape's desk and sat down the potion. Snape inspected it for over a minute before scowling and waving his hand, dismissing Harry. As he walked back to the desk, his three friends smiled at him, which he returned before taking his seat next to Fleur. When the last 30 minutes of class came around, Snape stood up from his desk.

"I expect a complete potion on my desk by the end of class or you will receive a failing grade!" With that, Severus sat back down.

This announcement caused the students who were not done to panic and, in turn, not correctly brew the Draught of Peace. As the class was reaching its last few minutes, several students, surprisingly most from Slytherin, had failed to do their assignment right. As Harry, Fleur, and their friends were walking out at the end of class, they heard Snape yelling at a student because they did not read the directions properly, adding only six drops of Hellebore, not seven. When they go far away from the classroom, Fleur released a rant that had been building up for some time.

"Cet enfoire n'enseigne rien!" Fleur seethed out as she was furious at the display of the so-called teacher.

Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione were surprised at her outburst and while they did not understand French, they got the gist that Fleur was cursing Snape out.

" 'As 'e always been like zat?!" Fleur asked heatedly.

"To anyone who is not in Slytherin," Harry answered with a shrug.

Neville, Ron, and Hermione nodded in agreement with what Harry had said. As they walked through the hallways to Transfiguration, Fleur muttered under her breath and it did not take a genius to know that she was talking about Snape. Passing students, they glared and/or muttered about Harry being deranged and dangerous to the public, thanks to Skeeter's and The Prophet's continuous articles bashing him and calling for him to be removed from Hogwarts and put into Azkaban.

Harry ignored them as he and Fleur sat down at a desk. Serpico was hissing at the students before Harry hissed to her not to attack anyone unless he said so. After a minute, McGonagall walked in and observed her students.

"Alright, settle down. Class will begin," McGonagall said in her usual stern voice.

|X|

As Transfiguration ended, Harry, along with Fleur and their friends started to make their way out of the room when a voice stopped them.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Delacour, Could you stay back for a minute?"

Harry and Fleur turned to find McGonagall looking at them from her spot at her desk. Fleur waved Ron, Hermione, and Neville to go on ahead, which they did with only a touch of hesitation. The couple made their way over to the professor and stopped in front of her desk.

"Yes, professor?" Asked Harry with a confused look on his face.

Minerva looked in his eyes and she swore, she could see Lily standing right in front of her, rubbing her eyes tiredly, she spoke, "Mr. Potter… Harry, I would like to apologize for my inactions the past few years with students. I…" Minerva hesitated, "I want you to know that I am here for you if you ever need it."

Harry was shocked by what his professor had said. He had never really her soft side. Before he could say anything, Fleur placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from speaking.

"You 'ave seen ze treatment zat 'Arry 'as been subjected to, now, are you going to do somezing about it?" Fleur asked in a neutral tone.

McGonagall nodded solemnly, "I'll try my very best from this day forward."

Harry gave her a faint smile, "Thank you, professor. Is there anything else?"

Minerva shook her head, "No, Harry, off with the both of you."

Fleur and Harry nodded and started to walk away when Minerva noticed the bandages wrapped around Harry's hands.

"Wait, Mr. Potter, why are your hands bandaged?" The Transfiguration Professor question.

Harry stiffen up at the question about his hands. Taking a quick glance at Fleur, who nodded, Harry walked back to his professor and started to unwrap his left hand. Once the hand was uncovered, McGonagall gasped at the sight of his left hand. Her hand covered her mouth in horror as her eyes took in the words that were carved into his skin.

"W-Who did this?" She breathed out.

Fleur raised an eyebrow, "Take a guess?"

It took a few seconds before her eyes widen, "Dolores?!"

Fleur nodded her head in conformation and Harry started to unwrap his other hand, much to his teacher's disgust. Once the other hand was uncovered, she saw the words carved into his skin and that was when the professor lost it.

"That bitch!" McGonagall hissed out, slamming her fist on the desk. That caused Harry to flinch slightly and Fleur came up behind him, wrapping her arms around him, soothing him.

McGonagall pinched her nose, trying to calm herself down and when she did, she spoke in a tightened tone, "After dinner, come to Professor Dumbledore's office. You have detention with her tonight right?" Harry nodded, "Ok, well forget about that for now. Just met me in his office."

When his professor did not say anything else, Harry re-wrapped his hands and nodded before leaving the room with Fleur. Minerva took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry Lily, James."

|X|

Harry and Fleur walked along the hallway towards the Great Hall for dinner. Harry's head was reeling from what had happened in McGonagall's classroom. Fleur looked at him to notice that he was in his own world, thinking about what went down; so she gave his hand a squeeze. Harry shook his head slightly and gave Fleur a smile, conveying his thanks. When the couple entered The Hall, Fleur spotted Ron, Hermione, and Neville sitting and eating. Making their way over and taking their seats, the three friends wore confused looks on their faces.

"Hey Harry, what did McGonagall want with you?" Ron asked in between bites.

Harry took a second to make a sideways glance at Fleur, who nodded and took out her wand.

Muffliato!

Hermione looked at Harry with concern on her face, "Harry, what is going on?"

Harry sighed tiredly, "Ok, what I am about to show you, you cannot tell anyone else about alright?"

All three of them nodded and Harry started to take off the bandages on his left hand, for the second time that day. Ron, Neville, and Hermione all gasped when they saw 'I must not tell lies' carved into the skin. Hermione was close to tears while Ron and Neville were very pale in the face.

"What the hell happened to your hand Harry?" Ron asked, looking queasy.

"Umbridge happened," Harry answered in an even tone.

Their eyes widened but Neville spoke up, "She did this to you?"

"Yes, she had me use a special quill for writing lines that somehow carves into the user's skin and uses their blood as the ink." Harry explained then pointed to his other hand, "I wrote 200 lines, 100 for each hand."

"W-Why would she do something so… sadistic?!" Hermione questioned, her voice small.

"To silence 'im," Fleur said, her voice firm, "S'e also used two unforgivable curses on 'im too."

"WHAT!?" Hermione, Ron, and Neville yelled at the same time.

"Harry, you have to tell someone about this, what did she could land her in Azkaban."

"I already have, Hermione," Harry responded, sighing, "I doubt that anything will actually happen to her as she high up there in The Ministry and Fudge's second-hand stooge."

Hermione had her mouth open to speak but closed it after what Harry had said. Umbridge is Fudge's second-hand and that could be used as a platform that can make sure that it seemed like Harry had done it to himself.

"Who did you tell, Harry?" Neville asked after a moment of silence in the group.

"McGonagall, she saw the bandages and I told her about what happened after some prodding from Fleur."

Fleur flicked the side of his head with her index finger, "W'y do you still insist zat you don't need 'elp?"

Harry rubbed the spot that Fleur had flicked, "It's my will against her's. Going to someone for help makes me feel like a child who can't handle situations like this one or others."

"Harry, asking for help, especially in a situation like this one does not show that you are weak. It shows your limitations, which all of us have, and that is not a bad thing. We…" Hermione pointed to herself, Ron, Neville, and Fleur, "are there for you no matter what. That is what friends are for Harry, Ok?"

Harry gazed at Hermione, Ron, and Neville who were looking at him with determination on their faces. Turning to Fleur, she was looking at him with the same look, Harry smiled.

"Thank you," Harry said with a nod.

The three friends smiled back and Fleur nodded before dispelling the privacy charm as the group continued to eat. Harry took a glance at the Head Table to see Umbridge looking at him with her sinister smile. That caused him to turn away, clenching his fists at the thought of the woman, but he took a deep breath which dissolved the anger that was building up. After everyone had finished eating, Harry, along with Fleur and Serpico made their way towards the Headmaster's office while Ron, Hermione, and Neville went with the rest of the Gryffindors that were going to the common room.

"He will be ok, right?" Neville asked.

Hermione looked up at the ceiling, "I… hope so."

Back with Harry, who was walking hand-in-hand with Fleur as they stepped in front of the statue, spoke the password, and made their way up the spiral staircase. When two of them came up to the office, the doors were open and they could hear voices. As Harry and Fleur came into view, they saw Dumbledore and McGonagall speaking to a woman that Harry did not recognize. The woman stood about 6 feet tall, slim figure, red hair that stopped at her shoulders, wore a standard Ministry robe with high heels, and rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She projected an aura of power and authority.

"Ah, welcome Harry and Fleur, I hope that you have been well?" Dumbledore asked in his grandfatherly tone.

"Uh, I have been better professor," Harry answered with a half-smile.

Dumbledore nodded, "From what Minerva had told me, I can believe so…" The red-haired woman cleared her throat, "Yes, Harry, I would like to introduce Madam Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Wait a minute, you were at my trial weren't you?" Harry asked with a questioning look.

Amelia cracked a smile, "Yes, I was at your trial. I must say that I am impressed that you were able to stand up to Fudge as he was ready to charge and convict you of a whole host of charges."

Fleur scowled, "For w'at? 'Arry did not do anyzing against ze law did 'e?"

Amelia's smile turned into a slight smirk, "Well while using magic in the presence of muggles and being underage is usually illegal, in Mr. Potter's case, it was in self-defense and that usually would not bring charges against them."

"Zat still does not explain 'is attitude towards 'Arry and ze paper's continuous attacks," Fleur said, shaking her head.

The head of the DMLE's smirk disappeared and was replaced with a tired look, "Believe me, I do not condone what they are doing; However, I do not have the power to change anything at the moment," She rubbed her face, "I have tried to get him kicked out for the past few months, but I have had no luck because Fudge has stripped me and my department of any power to change the government."

"Anyway," Amelia shook her head, "Minerva and Albus called me here because they said that you, Mr. Potter, have something very important to tell me."

Harry became nervous but steeled his nerves and walked up to Amelia, unwrapping his left and right hands. Once they were uncovered, Harry lifted them up so Amelia could get a better view. As Amelia saw what was there, rage started to boil inside of her as 'I must not tell lies' and 'I must not love creatures' was clearly visible on the back of his hands.

"Who did this?" Amelia asked, trying to keep her anger in check.

"Umbridge," Harry stated while looking straight into her eyes.

Amelia pinched her nose in frustration, "Why am I not surprised by that revelation!?"

"What do you mean by that Amelia?" McGonagall asked, speaking for the first time that night.

"Umbridge might project a nice and sweet persona, that is very far from the truth," Amelia said with a sigh, but she was able to hear Harry mutter, "Well no shit," and continued, "What did she do Mr. Potter?"

"She made me write lines with a quill that used my blood as the ink and carved what I wrote into my skin. When I refused, Umbridge used two unforgivable curses on me," Harry explained in an emotionless tone.

Hearing about the curses caused McGonagall to gasp, Dumbledore's eyes widening in shock, and Amelia gritting her teeth. Fleur wrapped her arms around his shoulders, which made Harry slightly melt into her embrace.

"Ok, I would like to see Umbridge about this, can you take us to her office please?" Amelia asked as she put on her mask of authority.

Harry nodded, "Alright."

Harry turned and took Fleur's hand while leading the group out of the office, down the stairs, and out into the hallway. While they were walking towards Umbridge's office, Harry saw Serpico's head poking out of the robes' collar.

$Serpico, I need you to be on guard as we are going to be near a woman that is sadistic ok?$ Harry hissed.

Serpico nodded her head, $Yess masster, I will be alert.$

Harry and Fleur, along with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Amelia made it to the door that led to Umbridge's classroom and office. He took a deep breath before opening the door and making their way through the rows of empty desks. Harry knocked on the office door.

"Come in!"

Harry opened the door and Umbridge's falsely sweet voice pierced their ears.

"So, you finally decided to show up for your detention, Mr. Potter…" Dolores said while not looking up from her papers in the desk.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Dolores," Amelia said, interrupting her.

Umbridge's head shot up, an eyebrow raised, "Madam Bones? What are you doing here at this time of night?"

"I was called here to investigate some abuse allegations that involve you," Amelia explained in a voice that was full of authority.

Umbridge giggled, "What abuse? I have done nothing to anyone, especially Mr. Potter here. What are these so-called claims?"

Amelia pushed up her glasses, "Allegations of using two unforgivable curses on a student and torture by use of a special quill that uses the user's blood as ink."

Dolores smiled her sickly-sweet smile, "You can check my wand for those claims about using unforgivable curses." She handed her wand over to Amelia who took out her own wand and pointed on the other wand.

Prior Incantato!

Umbridge's wand started to glow a faint bluish and Amelia was reading something, considering the reflection on her glasses. The glowing dimmed after a few seconds and with a slight frown, Amelia turned towards Harry and the rest of the group.

"Within the last 12 hours, a repairing charm and three levitation charms have been used," Amelia informed them.

"WHAT?!" Harry and Fleur shouted at the same time, "Is that it?" Harry asked in complete disbelief.

Amelia nodded, "Yes."

"See, the claim that I used an unforgivable on him is just more of his lies, seems like he cannot control himself," Umbridge said with a giggle.

Amelia raised an eyebrow at the professor, "I wouldn't be giggling if I were you," That got Umbridge to shut up with a surprised look on her face.

"Hmph, well can I have my wand back since you have cleared it, Madam?" Umbridge asked, sticking out her hand.

Amelia handed over the wand, reluctantly, "Ok Dolores, what about the quills that Mr. Potter here described. The one that carves into the skin of the user and uses their blood as ink?"

"You can search my desk Director. All I have in there for quills that are regular ones and those do not use the user's blood," Umbridge motioned to the Head of the DMLE to start her search.

Amelia nodded and started searching through the desk thoroughly. She pulled out everything from every drawer, making sure that was not any false bottoms, and even checking the underside of the desk to make sure that there weren't any secret compartments. After everything was searched, Amelia came up with nothing.

"Of course, you weren't going to find anything as I have not done anything wrong," Umbridge smiled.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "If that is true, then how did I get these words carved into my hands, huh?" Lifting up the back of his hands, making sure that the words were visible.

"Those…" Umbridge pointed to the words, "I could not have done that, maybe the Veela did that. They are known for being very dangerous creatures."

The moment those words left her mouth, Harry's rage, which had been growing throughout the evening, burst at that moment. Harry walked forward, unsheathed his sword and pointed the tip at Umbridge's throat.

"Don't you dare speak about Fleur like that in front of me!" Harry growled out, pushing the tip a little bit further in her neck. This did not cause her to flinch but only grin in response.

"MR. POTTER!" Amelia shouted in disbelief, "You will put that sword away or I will arrest you for threating someone of the Ministry!" Along with her, Dumbledore and McGonagall were shocked as well at Harry's display.

Harry was shaking in rage at the fact that so far, there has not been one piece of evidence that shows that Umbridge is sadistic and has lied to the Director of the DMLE. All the anger he had, Harry wanted to unleash on her at once.

Fleur walked up to him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, " 'Arry, please put ze sword away. S'e is not worz it." She whispered into his ears soothingly. She also glared at the toad-like woman in front of her.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, listen to your creature and put the sword away," Umbridge said in a slightly mocking tone.

"Dolores, I would advise you not to mock someone that has a sword to your throat," Dumbledore warned in a serious tone.

"Fine!" Harry bit out, re-sheathing his sword, glaring at Umbridge before taking Fleur's hand and stepping away.

"So, are we done here because I still do have a lot of paperwork to go through?" Dolores asked in a fake innocent tone, waving her wand at the papers on her desk.

Amelia gritted her teeth in frustration at the woman, wanting nothing else than to take her down a few pegs, "Yes, we are done here. I have found no evidence that supports the claims." When she saw Umbridge smile a bit too wide, she continued, "However, this does not mean you are off the hook completely Dolores, something is not right here and I will find out what."

With that, Amelia nodded her head and motioned for Harry, Fleur, McGonagall, and Dumbledore to follow her out of the office. Unbeknownst to them, Umbridge was smirking and rolling something in between her fingers in her robes. Once outside the room and in the hallway, Dumbledore and McGonagall bade them a good night and left, but only after they said a few words to Director Bones. After they left, Amelia turned to Harry and Fleur.

"Mr. Potter, I know that you are angry and I wish I could have arrested her; but…" She sighed before continuing, "I just do not have the evidence to support an arrest."

" 'Arry, take a deep breat'," Fleur spoke, trying to get her boyfriend to let go of his anger before he does something that will come back and bite him in the ass later.

It took a minute, but Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, Harry gave Fleur a grateful look and Fleur smiled back. Amelia watched them interact in silence and gave them a soft smile.

"I have to get back to the Ministry as it is getting late. Mr. Potter, whatever Umbridge does to you in the future, I want you to remember and record it somehow. I will come back and we will try to get the evidence together and get charges filed against her ok?" Harry smiled and nodded, "OK."

Amelia nodded back, "Good. Now, I wish both of you a good night." She took her leave after saying that and Fleur took that as it was time for her and Harry to get some sleep.

"Come one 'Arry, let's 'ead to bed," Fleur said, yawing and pulling him the way that they needed to go.

Making their way through the hallways and stairs, they got to the entrance of the Gryffindor tower. After speaking the password, the painting swung open to reveal an empty common room that was lit by the fireplace, which was roaring. Stepping over to the fireplace, Harry spoke the password and the two walked through the hallway, into their living quarters and up to the bedroom. Fleur grabbed her nightclothes and changed in the bathroom while Harry shedd the sword and Serpico, who slithered where Hedwig was perched, sleeping. Harry changed and climbed into bed. A minute later, Fleur came out wearing a white sheer babydoll that accentuated her figure. Harry blushed but did not look away, which made Fleur smile. She got into the bed and Harry latched himself onto her, relishing in the comfort that the brought.

"Goodnight Fleur."

"Goodnig't 'Arry." Fleur then heard Harry mumble something and she distinctly heard him say, "My Fleur," which brought a smile to her lips before Falling asleep.

A/N: A couple of things I want to point out, First, with the Prior Incantato spell, I could not find out any limitations with the spell, so I made it to where the spell will only show the last 4 spells used within a 12 hour period. That is why Umbridge was so willing to get her wand checked. Amelia not finding anything, Umbridge had a feeling that something like this might happen so had come prepared for a situation like that one.

Switching gears, why I delayed the chapter for another month was because of two things: first, it was not done completely and was not up to my expectations. When I realized that it was July, I wanted to release this chapter on the one-year anniversary of me publishing the first chapter of The Guardian. I want to thank everyone who has Read, Reviewed, Followed, Favorited this story. I did not think that it would become this big with 112 Reviews, 327 Favorites, 556 Followers, and 47,568 Views within a year. THANK YOU!

Anyway, please Read & Review!

Swat303810 signing off!

(Posted on 7/28/2019)