A/N: Thank you all for your messages/ reviews, I love reading them! I'm trying to get the chapters a bit longer again, but at the moment I just want to get chapters out! Please review and let me know what you thing, I really do love reading them! T x
Chapter 59.
A February turned into March; Magnolia's mood continued to lighten. She and Draco were doing well, her friends- both Slytherin and Gryffindor- were happy, and she had been spending more time with Harry. Part of her was sure that George had had an influence in that after he had mentioned to her one dinner that he thought Harry's feud with her was ridiculous and that if he was that worried Harry should be keeping her closer.
Magnolia walked along the hall from the Slytherin dungeon one Monday morning, dragging her feet and barely able to keep her eyes open. She had been up late the night before with Theo and Daphne going over the Divination work they had been given. The sound of chatter hit her before she had even got near the Great Hall doors. As she walked through, her eyes were immediately drawn to the Gryffindor table where George enthusiastically waved her over. With a quick glance to the Slytherins, and a smile to Draco, Magnolia wandered over to where her brother sat reading an article and a flurry of letters.
"What in the name of Salazar is this?" Magnolia asked, reaching for the tea that George handed her.
"The Quibbler article came out yesterday, this is Harry's fan mail." Ginny laughed.
Magnolia scoffed, "Hasn't he got enough of that?"
Eagerly, Magnolia reached over to the pile of letters Harry had sat in front of him and began reading through them with the others. Laughing, Magnolia read out a letter from a witch who said she believed Harry because she had seen Lord Voldemort in her local Muggle Garden Centre. Her laughter was interrupted by a sickly voice from behind her.
"What is going on here?"
Magnolia felt the smile fall into an incensed frown straight away, of course Umbridge would find a reason to come and interrupt them. Magnolia refused to turn around, instead keeping her eyes on her brother opposite her.
"Why have you got all these letters, Mr Potter?"
"Is that a crime now? Getting mail?" Fred asked loudly, pulling more attention from around the Great Hall, only stopping when Magnolia placed her hand on his knee and shook her head ever so slightly.
"People have written to me because I gave an interview." Harry spoke up, "About what happened to me last June."
"An interview? What do you mean?"
Magnolia could hear Umbridge's voice getting higher as she spoke, she could almost feel the panic rolling off of Umbridge at the loss of her control. Abruptly, Harry threw his copy of The Quibbler at their professor, Magnolia could feel her becoming angrier as the minutes went past.
"When… When did you do this?" Umbridge asked quietly, her voice trembling.
Magnolia kicked Harry under the table, trying to gain his attention. He had to be careful about how much he was telling Umbridge. Harry, however, ignored his sister, choosing to look directly into Umbridge's eyes and confidently told her that he had done the interview during his last visit to Hogsmeade. Magnolia's concern was met when Umbridge responded by banning Harry from going to Hogsmeade again, and by giving him an entire week worth of detention.
Halfway through the morning, Magnolia heard about the latest Educational Decree; number twenty-seven stating that the Quibbler had been banned. Magnolia shook her head as she walked with Draco, Pansy, and Blaise to Divination; if Umbridge hadn't wanted the rest of the school to read the Quibbler, banning it was the very worst idea.
Magnolia didn't know how to behave with her Slytherin friends about the article. They were infuriated that Harry had named so many of their parents as Death Eaters, but Magnolia was sure that was just one of the emotions rushing through them. On more then one occasion, Magnolia had had to pull Draco out of his own thoughts as he walked blindly through the halls. Theo, especially, was concerning. He hadn't said anything to Magnolia, or anyone else that she had seen, since breakfast.
Looking around in class, Magnolia tried to find Theo only to be told by Daphne that he had stayed behind in the Common Room for the rest of the afternoon. She barely paid attention in class, only managing to see Trelawney break down in hysterical tears when she went near Harry and told him that he would have a long life, unlike her predictions from all their previous years in her class.
Saying goodbye to her friends, and giving Draco a quick kiss on the cheek, Magnolia left them as they went to the Great Hall for dinner. Instead, she headed straight to the kitchens, picking up some food that she and Theo could snack on, before walking to the Slytherin Common Room. She didn't see Theo as she walked through the main room, so quickly strutted down the stairs and into the boys Dorm.
"Well, I don't know how you knew it would be best to miss today's Divination class, but you were definitely right too." Magnolia told a startled Theo as she walked through his Dorm and perched on the side of his bed. "Are you going to take these plates so I can comfy?"
"Why are you here Mags?"
Magnolia's heart broke as Theo spoke. His voice was quiet, small, filled with an emotion that she never wanted to hear coming from him or any of her friends. She quickly nudged him aside, joining him as he leant against his headboard and his covers sat up to their waists.
"You weren't in class." Magnolia told him softly, with a shrug, "I wanted to make sure you're ok… or as ok as you can be, I suppose."
"You mean, as well as I can be after your twin brother came out publicly and named my father as one of the Death Eaters to be there as soon as You-Know-Who returned?"
Magnolia looked down at her hands, twiddling her fingers in her lap, "Yes."
"Did you know?"
"I didn't know how much detail he was going to go into." Magnolia turned to look at Theo, "I knew he had done an interview with Skeeter, but I didn't know he had named names- especially names that are linked to my best friends."
"You know this is really going to change things, right? If the world starts to believe him, if the world starts to believe that You-Know-Who is back? It will kickstart the War."
"Theo… the War has already started. We've just been lucky enough to have been kept out of it as much as we have."
The pair were silent for a while after that, sitting quietly next to each other as they ate the food Magnolia had bought from the kitchens and watched as Kaida sauntered into the room and began playing on Draco's bed.
"I know you couldn't have stopped your brother from doing the article, but you could have told us what to expect."
"I didn't know myself, Theo."
"Because you didn't ask." Theo responded, "I get why you didn't, I understand that you're in the middle of all this. But you could have just asked your brother what he said, who he named, how much detail he went in to and warned us."
Theo glanced behind Magnolia, she didn't take her eyes off of him though, even though she was sure someone had walked in. She could sense that he hadn't finished speaking, and that he was stalling with uncertainty of if he should say what he wanted to. She could see him having a silent argument with whoever he was looking at behind her. Moments went by in tense silence, until Theo sighed and looked back at Magnolia.
"One day, Maggie-Moo, you're going to have to pick a side and stop playing in the middle ground. Because if you don't, I think it will be the death of you."
"That's not going to happen, Nott."
Magnolia felt Draco's hand rest on her shoulder as he practically spat the words at their friend. She had very rarely heard him call anyone in their circle by their surname, and only when he was absolutely furious with them.
"She missed dinner because she was too worried about you, I don't think that you should be putting these worries into her mind."
"Draco, you know as well as I do that things are going to start moving faster now." Theo replied, speaking faster, "You know that names being publicised means that the Dark Lord can't rely on them being able to infiltrate places without suspicion! You know that Maggie can't stay in the middle for much longer, tiptoeing on either side of the War, knowing secrets from both sides, hearing things from both sides. You know You-Know-Who will-"
"The Dark Lord wants nothing but for Magnolia to be content." Draco snapped back, "Whether that be with her brother and his side, or with me and ours."
"But he has plans for her!"
"And you know of his plans do you Nott!? You've sat down with him and discussed her with the Dark Lord, have you!?"
Magnolia jumped up out of Theo's bed, standing in front of an enraged Draco. She could feel him shaking, his fury directed at Theo and Theo only. It was like he couldn't even see Magnolia anymore, that he was looking through her and focussing on the source of his anger.
"Draco…" She whispered, trying to calmly get his attention before anyone else heard.
"We all know, Draco!" Theo cried back, as the door opened again and the rest of their friends hurried inside, "Everyone knows that she is special to him! Everyone knows that he wants her! Everyone knows that he would kill to have her by his side. Everyone- including the other side! The only thing we don't know is why!"
"And you won't!"
"Guys…" Magnolia tried again as everyone else moved closer.
Pansy came to stand beside Magnolia, Blaise opposite her with his hands outstretched towards the two other boys and Daphne and Tracey just behind him. They all seemed confused at how the argument had begun, but not one of them seemed surprised that it was happening.
"You can't protect her forever, Draco." Theo's chest heaved as he spoke, "She will have to make a choice. And she will have to deal with the consequences of who she turns away from."
"You know nothing, Nott." Draco spat, "You have no idea of the complexities, of the lengths, the Dark Lord and I will go to to keep Lia safe and happy."
Magnolia frowned at Draco, her hands against his chest. It was sounding more and more like he truly had sat down with Tom Riddle and discussed her. Surely, that couldn't have happened. Magnolia could feel Draco's heavy breathing, the tension rolling off his body, as she softly pushed him backwards, away from Theo. She didn't stop until they were by the door, and she moved her hands down his chest to intertwine their fingers together. She dragged him away until they were stood in the Astronomy Tower alone and he finally began breathing easier.
Things remained strained between the boys after that, with everyone else unsure of how to act around them. Magnolia herself heard Theo's voice in her sleep, telling her she had to pick a side, but when she had mentioned to Draco that he was probably right she had been shut down with a promise that 'everything is taken care of'.
A few weeks after the argument, Magnolia was sat in Professor Snape's office with Harry for their Occlumency lesson. She could sense that her brother was struggling more then usual tonight; he had already been on the floor about seven times, and they had only started half an hour ago. She was about to put him out of his misery and ask for her own turn when Snape asked Harry what the last memory he had seen was.
"You mean the one where my cousin tried to make me stand in the toilet?"
Magnolia coughed to hide a laugh at Harry's blunt response- she could remember the day that Harry was talking about.
"No, I mean the one with a man kneeling in the middle of a darkened room…" Snape prompted.
Magnolia glanced over at her brother, who looked like he had had the wind knocked out of him. She could see her brother trying to think of a reasonable excuse in front of them, and Professor Snape becoming steadily more agitated as the moments went on.
"How did that man, and that room, come to be inside your head, Potter?"
Looking between the two men in front of her, Magnolia was sure that she had missed something significant. Who the man, or the room, was she had no idea, but she did think that Harry shouldn't have had that memory in his mind. That thought made Magnolia breath deeply, Harry was still allowing others into his mind.
"It- It was just- just a dream I had."
Harry was looking anywhere but at their Professor as he admitted to the dream. He briefly locked eyes with his sister, but Magnolia was glaring at him as well. She couldn't believe that after all this hard work her brother was still being foolish enough to not protect his mind against intrusion.
Eventually, Magnolia got her own turn but only after her brother had managed to catch her Head of House off guard and thrust him out of his mind. She made a mental note to ask Harry what had happened when they left, it had obviously left Professor Snape feeling angry. When her Professor had used the spell against her, it seemed like he was being harsher then usual and she had a much more difficult time getting him out of her mind. Luckily, she was able to hide most of the memories and thoughts she didn't want him to know about though.
"Harry, what in the name of Merlin happened in there?" Magnolia asked as they got a few steps away from Professor Snape's office.
"I saw into his mind." Harry replied, pulling his sister to slow down, "Maggie, I think- I think I saw some of Snape's childhood."
Magnolia was stopped from asking her brother more questions by shouts and screams coming from the Entrance Hall of the castle. Quickly, the two twins jogged through the castle halls until they caught up to what seemed like the entire school, standing and watching as Professor Umbridge and Professor Trelawney stood in the centre.
"You c-can't!" Magnolia heard Professor Trelawney cry, "You c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is my h-home!"
Magnolia gasped, was Umbridge really trying to sack Professor Trelawney? Surely, she didn't have the power to throw anyone out of Hogwarts! Magnolia glanced at her brother whose jaw was tense as he watched the scene. Neither of particularly liked Trelawney, but they both hated Umbridge. In a bid to ease her brother's anger, Magnolia slipped her hand into his, smiling slightly as she felt him squeeze her hand as she did.
"It was your home until an hour ago when the Minister for Magic countersigned your dismissal. Now, kindly remove yourself from this Hall, you are embarrassing us."
Magnolia was glad when she saw Professor McGonagall march between the other two witches, demanding that Umbridge had no right in casting Trelawney away, a sentiment that was agreed with by Professor Dumbledore himself when he appeared in the Great Hall, parting the crowd of students as he walked through them.
"You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have authority to send them away from the Castle. I am afraid that power still resides with the Headmaster." Dumbledore didn't stop smiling as he spoke, "May you escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"
Things seemed to unravel quickly for Umbridge after that, much to Magnolia and her brothers delight. Dumbledore quickly informed Umbridge that he had already found a replacement for the dismissed Divination professor. A replacement that made Umbridge's anger and Magnolia's smile grow; Professor Dumbledore had chosen the very centaur that had rescued the Potter twins in the Forbidden Forest all the way back in the First Year.