Chapter 5 Disloyalty
The next two weeks went by rather smoothly, Astrid kept under the radar, she hadn't spoken a word to Professor Snape and hadn't even seen Mr Malfoy sauntering around the castle. Astrid had noticed something peculiar though, as she was pacing the classroom checking her pupils work over their shoulders she noticed a strange scar on Harry's left hand, 'I must not tell lies" was etched into his skin as clear as day.
"Mr Potter may I have a word?" Astrid called out as she dismissed her class, the Slytherin boys led by a certain Draco Malfoy erupted into 'ooohs' which Astrid did her best to ignore, she had tried to turn a blind eye to the behaviour of Little Mr Malfoy for fear of another visit from his father.
"Is everything okay Professor?" Harry asked hiding his left hand in a trouser pocket. "That's what I was going to ask you," Astrid sighed stepping around her desk she approached the boy. "Show me your hand," Harry held out his right hand nervously. "No, your other hand," Astrid pushed. Eventually Harry pulled the scarred hand out of his pocket and presented it to his professor.
"Merlin's beard Harry," The scar looked even worse close up, It almost looked like a burn, he must have been in so much pain Astrid thought to herself. "Have you been to Dumbledore about this?"
"He's got too much on to worry about this kind of thing," Harry dismissed the subject.
"Well I don't Harry, I can't sit by and let someone do this to you, I bet you're not even the only pupil facing this punishment, who is it?" Astrid asked. "Snape?" She guessed. Harry shook his head no. "Umbridge?" She guessed again. Harry nodded his head yes faintly.
"What a horrible cow she is, don't worry Harry I'm going to sort it." Astrid reassured the boy.
"No!" He protested, "Please don't,"
"I must Harry," Astrid pushed.
"You can't, Mad eye said-" Harry stopped his sentence abruptly. Astrid narrowed her eyes on the lad.
"My father said what?" Harry shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and eventually fessed up.
"He asked me to keep you out of trouble, to watch out for you, I can't let you confront Umbridge, god knows what she will do, please just drop it," Harry explained, practically begging. Astrid however had stopped listening after 'watch out for you,' as rage had filled her entirely. Her father had asked a boy to look out for her? A grown adult? She felt insulted at her father's lack of trust and belief in her.
"Despite what my father clearly thinks Mr Potter, I am the adult here, I'm supposed to look out for you as my responsibility not the other way around," Astrid spoke, she tried her best not to show how wounded she was, but the welling of her eyes probably gave it away.
"He loves you so much, he just wants you to be safe,"
"And I just want you to be safe Harry, I'm going straight to Umbridge,"
Astrid searched Umbridge's classroom and office first, but she was not there. Unwilling to give up Astrid stormed around the castle looking for the lady in pink, who she eventually found leaving the Great Hall at lunch. Astrid didn't even hesitate, she made a bee line for the woman.
"Professor Umbridge!" Astrid yelled out, getting the woman in pinks immediate attention.
"Professor Moody," Umbridge addressed the girl with a cocked brow and a fake smile. "What can I help you with?"
"You can help me by keeping your torture tactics away from students," Astrid raised her voice at the witch. A crowd of students had begun to gather to watch the dispute, it also seemed to gain the attention of two gentleman dressed in head to toe black leaving the Great Hall.
"Pardon me Professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?" Dolores asked, as if she was shocked.
"I'm not insinuating anything professor, but I am telling you to conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices as per the school's behaviour policy," Astrid couldn't lie, it felt good to throw the metaphorical text book at Umbridge.
"So silly of me, but it sounds as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom, Astrid?" Dolores hit back, Astrids name dripped off the woman's tongue as if it was coated in venom.
"Not at all, Dolores," Astrid returned the favour, dropping her name like it was a bad taste in her mouth, "I'm merely questioning your medieval methods,"
"I am sorry dear, but to question my practices is to question the Ministry. And by extension the minister himself, I am a tolerant woman, but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty," Dolores spat, her tone was full of warning, Astrid knew it was a threat.
"Disloyalty," Astrid scoffed. She opened her mouth to speak again but a hand laid firmly on her shoulder, pulling her out of the moment. She looked over her shoulder briefly to see the shaggy black hair of Severus Snape, he subtly shook his head no and firmed his grip on the young lady.
"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared, Cornelius will want to take immediate action," Dolores announced haughtily, she took in a deep breath and looked over the crowd of pupils and staff that had gathered to watch the row between professors. She looked down her nose at them narrowing her eyes, then proceeded to stamp her little foot and march up the stairs and out of sight. Severus released Astrid's shoulder and turned to the gaggle of students.
"Don't you all have classes to get to?" He sneered, and just like that the students scurried away not wishing to face the wrath of the potion's professor, but moving against the tide of bodies was an elegantly dressed man with long icy hair, Astrid turned to face the two men with a deep sigh.
"I cannot fathom your stupidity Miss Moody, Umbridge is a nasty little character and she will not let that go," Snape spoke harshly.
"I found it rather entertaining Astrid… I've been waiting for someone to knock that witch down a peg or two," Lucius smirked, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously, the young lady was ashamed to admit she liked the way her name rolled off his tongue.
"So instead of handling her yourself as governor of this school, you waited for me to do it?" Astrid quizzed.
"I'm not foolish enough to tangle with her, you however…" Lucius leered, his fingers tightening around his cane.
"Did you know she was using black quills on students?" Astrid turned to Snape, interrogating him, his jaws tightened as he kissed his teeth, he said nothing.
"Shame on you," Astrid tutted, shaking her head with disgust. She pushed passed Snape and hurried by Lucius; her little heels click clacking on the floor. Her white floaty dress danced around her as she made haste to her class of third years.
It was announced the very next day that Umbridge had been made Hogwarts High Inquisitor, the new title gave the unpleasant witch new powers over the school. There was much press about it, The Daily Prophet hung around for days after the announcement taking pictures, writing stories. Whispers among the staff revealed that Dolores now had the powers to fire and hire staff, even without Dumbledores permission, even more terrifyingly her new powers authorised her to bring in new school rules. Astrid could stomach losing her job, but she could not bear the thought of that woman running the school and making the rules, not after she found out about the black quills.
Astrid made her way to class one day, a pumpkin latte in her hand, to find Dolores sitting at her desk, making herself at home in Astrids classroom. A pathetic power move that didn't faze the younger witch.
"Professor Umbridge," Astrid greeted the pink witch, and set her coffee down on her desk. Dolores eyed the mug with disgust and stood from Astrids chair.
"Your classroom is… quaint," Dolores giggled looking around.
"Can I help you?" Astrid smiled, clasping her hands together politely.
"I'm going to sit in on your class today. As High Inquisitor it is my duty to make sure the teaching at Hogwarts is up to standard, you understand? As the youngest and newest member of staff with the least experience teaching, I thought it appropriate to start with you," Dolores smiled. Astrid nodded her head, a large fake smile plastered on her face.
"Of course, that's perfectly fine, I understand, please take a seat, my class will be here any minute," Astrid voiced her words as sweetly and as politely as she could muster, her cheeks threatening to shake and wobble from holding the fake smile so long. Astrid turned to chalk up her black board with today's subject as Dolores took a seat at the back of the room, a clipboard of parchment at the ready. It was going to be a long lesson Astrid thought to herself with dread.
Dolores left Astrid's lesson without a word or even a sideways glance. Astrid knew in her heart she delivered a good lesson, informative, engaging and completely in line with the Ministry's syllabus for History of Magic, but she knew Dolores would come up with something to berate her for.
A few days later after all her classes where finished Astrid sat at her desk, her head buried in essays, reading and marking them as she made her way through the pile. Without a knock or warning the door to her classroom opened and shut with a bang, causing Astrid to flinch at the noise. She looked up to the smug face of Lucius Malfoy.
"Mr Malfoy," Astrid eyed him briefly before lowering her head again and getting stuck into Lavender Browns paper on the International Warlock Convention of 1289. She didn't hate the girls work actually. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lucius flick his cane and a chair moved itself across the floor silently to the front of her desk where Lucius graciously took a seat. He leaned back in his chair, resing his right hand on the chair arm and gripped his cane in his left hand, his thumb playing over the silver snake head.
"What do you want?" Astrid asked wearily, not taring her eyes from Lavender's paper. Lucius surveyed the girl under his bright blue gaze. He noticed how the afternoon light lit up her Sunkissed skin, and shone on her creamy blonde locks that fell in waves down her bosom. He watched as her brows furrowed together slightly as she read the parchment on her desk, she followed it up by scratching something onto the page with her quill. He noticed how delicate and small her hands were, with long elegant fingers. "Well?" She asked, glancing up at him with her beautiful blue eyes through long thick lashes.
"I came to speak to you, Astrid," His voice was smooth like caramel, hearing her name again off his tongue erupted something strange inside her. She pushed that feeling down with a groan.
"Professor Moody," Astrid corrected, dipping her quill in her ink pot. "We aren't on a first name basis sir," Lucius nearly cracked a smile at the girl.
"Why is that?" He questioned.
"My name is reserved for friends and family," Astrid said simply as she wrote some notes at the bottom of Lavenders paper.
"Are we not friends? Miss Moody, you wound me," Lucius smirked, he was playing games and Astrid wasn't in the mood for it.
"Cut to the chase Mr Malfoy, what do you want? I haven't even so much as given Draco a bad grade, what could you possible want to speak to me about?" Astrid laced her fingers together and leaned onto the desk.
"I actually came in a professional capacity," Lucius announced, shifting his weight in the chair. "Dolores has it out for you," He tutted.
"I'm aware," Astrid said bluntly.
"Yesterday she ordered your removal from school,"
"Then why am I still here?" Astrid asked, furrowing her brows.
"Because I convinced her otherwise, despite your… youth… you are an efficient teacher, Draco speaks highly of you despite that mishap on the first day, let's just say I swayed her over to my side, and you will stay in your post,"
"I feel like there's a clause," Astrid eyed the man suspiciously, she noted how the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Yes, I promised her you would cause no more trouble," Lucius smirked. Astrid stifled a laugh as she stood from her seat.
"Oh, so you're making promises on my behalf now?" Astrid stood from her chair and sucked her cheek angrily, she turned away from the man, picked up a cloth and began to clean down her blackboard, erasing the day's work. "I'm not sure I can live up to that promise," Astrid muttered, still wiping the boards surface. She heard the tap of Lucius' cane as he pulled himself up from his seat.
"I'm afraid you'll have to," Lucius' voice whispered in her ear, she felt him then pressed against her, she dropped the cloth down onto the lip of the board where she kept her chalks. And gulped as she looked over her shoulder at the man, his face was hovering next to hers, their noses almost touching.
"If I don't?" She asked in a whisper.
"Then you'll make me look a fool, and I am never mistaken for a fool," He whispered back, she could feel his hot breath on her lips. He smelled like peppermint and cigar smoke.
"Why risk your reputation to keep me in a job?" Astrid quizzed the dark wizard. He pulled back from her shoulder, standing up straight he looked down on her as she turned around to face him, their chests practically bumping. He raised a hand and tucked a stray lock of hair out her face, followed by his fingers tracing along her jawline. He pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head up so that her eyes met his own.
"I have my reasons," Lucius said slyly, running his thumb over her full, pink bottom lip.