A/N: Rushing to post before I go on vacation for two weeks! Won't have my phone so no content for a bit, but I got this one out! It's past midnight so I'll crash now


"Hey, kiddo. Mini James. Prongslet?"

Harry felt a hand shake him awake and groaned.

"Prongslet? Really?" He heard someone ask.

"It was that or 'Little Prongs-child', Remus, and it doesn't have the same ring," Sirius replied.

"Oh god. We'll stick with Prongslet then," Lupin said.

Harry opened his eyes, glad to find that the room was fairly dim. The beginnings of a headache were creeping up on him, and he winced. Looking around, he saw Sirius walking away and Lupin sitting at a small table across the room.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily.

"About eight," Lupin answered. Sirius, looking tired but probably not as bad as Harry did, nodded, leaning against the wall.

"You only slept for a couple of hours," he said, "would have been more, but your teachers have to leave early, so it's now or never. If you're up for it."

Harry's stomach sank. He'd forgotten about that. They wanted to sort out what to do about Umbridge. Personally he didn't see why they couldn't just report her. But clearly the others knew something he didn't.

"Oh. Yeah, sure, give me a sec -"

"No need to rush. The less time I have to deal with Snivellus the better."

Harry smiled tiredly, getting up. His neck felt stiff from leaning on Sirius all night, and he was suddenly very conscious of his lack of proper clothing.

"Should I go change or…?"

"Just throw my cloak on top, they won't notice," Sirius said. Harry took the (rather too large) cloak from the sofa and shrugged it on. It almost fell over his hands, but not so much that he looked too bad.

"Do you want breakfast now?" Lupin inquired.

"No, thanks," Harry muttered, trying to breathe deeply. Desperately hoping that he'd be able to keep his nerves in check.

Sirius gave him a quick look, then smiled.

"Should we go then? Get this over with?"

Harry swallowed, "Sure."

Lupin drained the rest of his coffee then stood,

"We're all on your side here, Harry. You don't have to be nervous."

"Thanks," Harry replied, anxious despite the constant assurances, "I just… I don't know how we can stop any of this -"

"She is in the wrong. You're in the right. It's not going to be that simple, but when it comes down to it that's the truth."

Sirius held the door open and let Harry and Remus through, following them into the corridor. He waved them towards the kitchen. Harry could already hear noise coming from it, and hoped there wouldn't be too many others there. The last thing he wished for was to make a scene. He slowly made his way forward, pushing the door aside reluctantly.

"Harry!"

"Morning, Mrs Weasley," Harry said, forcing a smile.

"I was just making tea, do you want any?"

"Uh - yeah, sure, thanks."

He looked around the room. Snape and McGonagall, as expected, were there. They both declined the offer for tea, already wearing clothing far too warm for London. Briefly Harry wondered where they were going, but didn't dwell on it. It's not like anyone would tell him. But they weren't the only ones there: Moody was sitting by the corner, the shadows making his scars scarily prominent, and Tonks was chatting with Ginny. Ginny waved at Harry, who did his best to smile back.

He didn't want to do this with so many others. Not when they were all listening, when they'd have to see. He waited until the others had come in behind him then sent a panicked look to Sirius. He didn't know if it had been registered or not, Sirius glanced at him then sat down, putting his feet up on the table.

"Sirius! I just cleaned that," Tonks said, swatting at him. Mrs Weasley scowled in his direction, and Sirius grinned,

"Sorry, Tonks, but I promise I'll wipe it afterwards."

"Like you always do?" She replied exasperatedly. Harry and Ginny laughed, the former partly in relief. Sirius was very good at diverting attention, and in this case Harry was certain that it was to give him some space. Sirius winked at him,

"Of course. You know me, always like to help -"

"Sure," Tonks replied, rolling her eyes.

Harry fidgeted nervously while Tonks and Ginny ate. Moody had not yet spoken, and Harry had the feeling his eye was on him. When the tension of waiting became unbearable, and Harry was about to give up and leave, the pair of girls stood up.

"Right, thanks Molly, but me and Ginny are gonna go see if we can get into that locked room upstairs -"

"Why?" Mrs Weasley asked suspiciously. Tonks tried to school her expression into an innocent one, and failed.

"Oh, no reason, mum," Ginny supplied, grinning at Tonks, "just curious."

They left before she had a chance to protest. Harry felt a little of the worry wear away as the room became less empty.

"Hmm. They're becoming almost as bad as you and the twins -" she said accusatively, glancing at Sirius.

"I am being attacked," Sirius muttered, but quiet enough that only the others heard him.

Harry held his breath, watching the seconds tick by. If nobody left soon they'd have to ask them to, he could see Sirius coming to that realization too. But, thankfully, Moody shuffled off, still having not spoken much to anyone. He did spare a glance at Harry's teachers though, leaving Harry to wonder whether they were the only ones having private conversations. It was one of the few rooms big enough for several people, despite the size of the house the rooms tended to be small. But with Moody gone, it was almost private. Almost. Just Mrs Weasley.

"Uh - Mrs Weasley - Could I ask you to leave for a couple of minutes?" Harry said when nobody did. The others had been talking but fell silent, watching Molly. She looked up at them, eyes narrowing.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's -"

"Is Harry in trouble?" She asked.

"No, dear," McGonagall said, "we just need to talk to him about something briefly -"

"And you'd rather I didn't know?"

This was directed to Harry. He shook his head,

"I - I'll tell you later. We just need to talk and I don't want you to find out like - like this -"

She looked at him for a minute, then put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll make sure you're not disturbed," she said warmly. But her eyes still flitted curiously to the adults. Harry waited until she'd left then relaxed a bit. That was the easy bit out the way; now for the hard bit.

But, before he said anything, Snape walked around the table towards them. He came to stand beside Harry, shoving a small bottle into his hands. Harry almost dropped it with the force.

"I made that last night. It may give some relief if the hand pains you again," he said, looking down at him. Harry looked at the small yellow bottle then thanked Snape awkwardly. Snape continued to consider him, then swept away, as if he couldn't bear to be seen helping Harry. Which he probably couldn't.

"Oh, and I stole the ingredients from you." He said to Sirius. Sirius smiled tightly.

"Thanks," He said sarcastically, "How kind of -"

"Well," McGonagall interrupted, "Umbridge."

"Are you certain that it's just you, Harry, who's been getting these detentions?" Lupin asked, doing his best to diffuse the tension. His hand was resting on Sirius's shoulder, restraining him.

"I - I don't know, but I haven't seen anyone else come out like this. Ron and Hermione come out fine, they just do normal lines -"

"Nobody at all?"

"Maybe? I'm not sure, I haven't -"

"We should check," McGonagall said, "when we return to the school. If this is happening on a widespread scale it will be easier to control."

"Can't we just tell Dumbledore?" Lupin answered "He'd -"
"No!" Harry replied. Everyone looked at him. "I mean... he has enough on his mind."

McGonagall pursed her lips.

"I'd like to think he spares most of his thoughts, still, to his students' welfare."

"But he wouldn't do anything even so," Sirius said bitterly, "he doesn't want to oppose the Ministry directly. It's one thing disagreeing, another to criticize one of the higher-ups themselves -"

"Potter has the scars though -"

"As far as anyone else is concerned, Harry is mad." Sirius replied. Harry bit his tongue. The words stung, despite the truth being that Sirius didn't think that. It was just another reminder that most people thought he was crazy.

"- he'd be passed off as attention seeking. The press would have a field day."

"Umbridge is the pride of the Ministry," Lupin added, "She's clever in her words. Most of the parents think she's wonderful. Even some who side with Dumbledore admit she's not bad in her teaching methods -"

"But their children aren't being tortured -" Snape said

"As far as I was concerned, neither was Harry," Sirius remarked, "we don't know if it's just him yet. If it's not, we have it easy. Just reveal it: public scandal. If it's only Harry, the public scandal would not be in our favour."

"Surely they wouldn't want their children around someone who has any allegation at all," Snape responded.

"I certainly wouldn't. But we likely wouldn't even get around to accusation before we'd be shut down. The Ministry is discrediting everything Harry says, their audience grows by the day -" Sirius said.

"So, you think, to prove it, we'd need people other than Potter to receive the same treatment?"

"I hate to say it, but yes, I do think that."
"I agree with Sirius," Lupin supplied, "As much as I'd like to, we can't take this to court. We don't have enough proof, nor would it help the Order. We can't draw attention."

"But we can't just let her continue," McGonagall replied curtly, "I value my students' safety beyond all. If they are in danger, I must do something."

"I understand that Minerva," Lupin answered, "but we cannot draw anyone into this. Neither I nor anyone else can be seen openly speaking against Umbridge on Harry's behalf. That would give the impression that we are in contact, which we cannot tell anyone -"

"I cannot wait for one of my students to be given this punishment. We must deal with this some other way. There are clear reasons Harry would have contact with me. I would have the ability to confront her and, if asked, say my student told me -"

"No!" Harry pleaded, "Then she'd know I gave in!"
"Gave into what? Her illegal methods? There is no shame in that Potter -"

"But I just - you can't tell her. She'll know she's got me -"

"Got you?"

They didn't understand. How could they? They hadn't been in the detentions. It was a battle of wills as much as it was a punishment. If McGonagall told Umbridge then… then Harry would have… would have… lost? But lost what? McGonagall was right but - it just felt wrong. He couldn't think of why. He wasn't defending Umbridge, of course not, but still… he didn't want her to face the trouble.

Harry rubbed his forehead. Why couldn't anything make sense? Why couldn't he figure out what he thought? Everything felt so confused, so hazy. He tried to think back to the detentions but it was hard to remember exactly what she'd said.

"Harry did…? Did Umbridge tell you not to tell anyone?" McGonagall asked softly. Harry shook his head.

"I - I don't know. I don't remember. I don't think so but I just - it just feels like she did? If that makes sense -"

"Common symptom of gaslighting," Snape said, voice dry, "I wouldn't be surprised if Potter gave in to her -"

"I didn't give in to -" Harry interrupted indignantly.

"- without even knowing. Not in the sense he thinks, but more so in the fact that he doesn't wish to see her discovered, for a seemingly unknown reason."

"Wha - I haven't given in to her! I want to see her get what she deserves, I just -"

Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry stopped, leaning back in his chair. He had almost risen, not intentionally, but in the moment he had just wanted to convey his point.

"We need to find a way to sort this," Sirius said firmly, "In a way that doesn't have a bad fallout."

"Any suggestions, Black? In case you didn't notice, we're struggling a little." Snape said coldly. Sirius looked like he was fighting an intense internal battle, then took a breath and ignored Snape's tone.

"I think - I think we have two choices. One, we wait it out -"

"While she is potentially harming other students?" McGonagall said indignantly, "I think not. We -"

"Or..." Sirius continued, "We wait until Harry gets another detention. Or someone else, someone he knows. See if it's just Harry, or if it's others. Profe - Minerva can walk in, keep an eye out."

"That would only lead us to information, not a solution -"

"But surely if it's several students, you can easily justify your outrage. She would go down; the Ministry won't be able to shut down several allegations."

"And if it's only Harry?" McGonagall replied softly. Sirius looked attentively at Harry, squeezing his shoulder.

"Then… I'll march in there myself and have a word."

Silence. For a moment at least, before the room exploded. Harry barely had time to comprehend what Sirius had said when three voices started shouting protests from every angle. He only caught the tail end, when his ears had attuned to the noise.

"- wreck the entire secrecy of the Order!"

"- ineffective and unintelligent, I -"

"- Sirius, come off it!"

All of them were standing now, apart from Harry.

"And so what?" Sirius argued loudly, "I'm not having that woman continuing to treat Harry like this! That's my kid she's torturing, and I have every right to beat the -"

"Sirius, you would destroy everything, don't be thick -" McGonagall snapped.

"I am not compromising Harry's safety fo -"

"Quiet!" Lupin hissed. He finally got them to hush, if only so they wouldn't wake the house. Then he leaned back, looking at Harry.

"Would you be okay with us checking to see if other students -"

"Yeah," Harry said immediately, "I'm not sure so we should check first."

"Okay," Lupin sighed, "Great. Now. We'll see about that. And, for now, we wait to find out. We can tell Dumbledore when we see it is ready - yes, Harry, we have to tell him at some point," he said, at Harry's nervous look, "then, if it's just Harry, we'll sort it out. We'll need to avoid the press, or any confrontation at all if - oh, sit down Sirius!"

"I'm not letting her get away with -"

"We can't do anything about -"

"She's been torturing Harry and you -"

"Oh, for god's sake, I love Harry just as much as you! I don't like this, but we have to do it this way! We've got to be sensible!"

Sirius glared at Lupin, then relaxed. He collapsed down next to Harry, throwing an arm over the back of his chair. Lupin waited until he was certain Sirius wouldn't protest, then continued.

"Right. So, when you find out, pop back here, give me some notice and I'll pop by, Sirius will -"

"- be here no matter what," Sirius muttered grimly, "You know where to find me."

McGonagall nodded in agreement.

"I suppose we must wait to see what to do. I'll keep in touch as best I can, but it's hard with the school on top of -"

"Don't worry, Minerva. Focus on protecting the -" Lupin began, then stuttered. Harry sat up keenly, listening carefully. The action did not go unnoticed by Lupin, who narrowed his eyes, "- your job."

Harry waited, hoping to hear more. But the conversation was becoming more and more vague, to the point he knew he wasn't being told something. Snape and McGonagall were gathering their things swiftly. Wherever they were going, they were going in a hurry. He half wanted to stay, see if he could get any more hints about the Order. But the other half of him, the tired, drained, hungry part of him, just wanted to get out. He was about to stand and leave when he heard an, equally tired sounding, voice to his side.

"I'm thinking food and then a game of chess, what d'you say Prongslet?" Sirius asked quietly. Harry grinned.

"Sounds great," he responded. Sirius reached out a hand and Harry took it, pulling himself to his feet.

For this first time in a long while, he didn't feel quite as lost. Maybe he could try to enjoy his Christmas, push away thoughts of the upcoming term. At least, for now, he could forget some of what had been going on.

"Could've gone worse," Sirius said thoughtfully, when they'd left the room. Harry didn't say anything, but nodded, agreeing. "Snape looked like he wanted to kill me though," he said with a wicked smile. Harry laughed,

"I think McGonagall must've cursed him to his chair, I thought he was about to chuck something at you."

"I will admit, I thought that too."

Maybe things would be okay. Eventually.


A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate the support so much! I hope you enjoyed!