February 23rd, 1996. Monday.
"Alisson, why do you have that magazine? I've never seen you read an article!"
Selena glanced up from her potions notes at Tess' surprised voice. The Potions classroom was dim as always, so she squinted. Alisson had some papers hidden below the desk, where Professor Snape couldn't see it.
Their teacher went on about dragonfly thoraxes, motioning to a vial of insect parts.
Selena - sitting next to Hazel at their table - was able to make out the papers Alisson held as her friend moved them into the candlelight.
In her fingers was The Quibbler, a magazine that Luna Lovegood's father published. Selena had seen Luna with the tabloid occasionally, but didn't read it herself. Elizabeth personally called it rubbish, saying it was mostly conspiracy theories and myth.
Alisson didn't seem to share their friend's disdain for the tabloid.
"Because Umbridge has banned it! You can get expelled for having it!" Alisson whispered back excitedly. "Isn't that great?"
"Why would she ban it?" Selena said, voice low as she leaned towards Alisson and Tess. Hazel looked nervously at Professor Snape as he called on a Ravenclaw student who had their hand up.
Alisson flashed a grin at Selena, showing her the colorful tabloid quickly. "See, it has an interview with Harry Potter. On how You-Know-Who is back. I wish I could have seen the look on Dumbridge's face when she read it! She banned it just this morning! I managed to get this copy from Lee Jordan. It cost me five Sickles. Umbridge probably blew a gasket when she saw it earlier today."
Selena giggled, nodding. "You think she turned red? You know, like she did when Wendy drew a mustache on her portrait in the hall?"
Hazel covered her mouth, laughing away.
"I think so!" Alisson said with a wide smile.
"Ladies."
The girls all snapped their attention to Professor Snape, his expression conveying so much annoyance that even his dark beard looked irate. "Would you care to explain the uses of dragonfly thoraxes to the class?"
"Um, er, no," Alisson said. She cleared her throat. "Professor."
Maryana gave a dramatic roll of her eyes from across the classroom, prompting Alisson to shoot her a glare.
"Five points from Gryffindor," Professor Snape said. "Each. And five points from Hufflepuff, Miss Locarn."
Hazel squeaked, flushing with embarrassment. Alisson opened her mouth to protest.
"Would you like it to be ten, Miss Hatten?" their teacher asked, sneering.
Alisson hunched her shoulders, keeping The Quibbler hidden under the table. "No, sir."
"Very well. I recommend you begin to listen in class. Perhaps then you wouldn't just scrape by barely passing this term."
Selena watched as Maryana and some of her friends snickered. Alisson set her jaw, glaring at the tabletop before her eyes returned to The Quibbler, a spark burning behind them. Selena sighed, returning to her notes. She barely focused, watching the quill trace words across the notebook.
The past month had been a whirlwind, one that was seemingly more and more turning into a storm. Umbridge had been causing trouble, of course. In Care of Magical Creatures, and in Divination, the pink-clad Ministry official was always present now. She observed the classes, supervising the instructors. This seemed to worry Professor Trelawney and annoy Professor Hagrid to no end. Valentine's Day had passed without much news, though Alisson had once again gotten a valentine from Nigel Wolpert.
Most notably, Selena hadn't spoken with Anne about the Azkaban breakout. Each time she brought it up, Anne would brush away the subject, mentioning how her father was in hiding. And in hiding he would stay.
Selena didn't want to upset her cousin. But it didn't seem like much of anything was a guarantee, especially not lately.
Things were changing at Hogwarts.
Selena stopped writing as a blot of ink dripped on the notebook page, seeping across some of her notes.
Professor Snape continued with the lesson. No more interruptions occurred.
Alisson didn't stop reading The Quibbler throughout the class.
March 8th, 1996. Monday.
Professor Trelawney was being sacked.
Everyone rushed out into the Entrance Hall, leaving their dinner. Hazel clutched at Rolf's arm, a few feet from where Selena and Renee were hurrying together with the rest of the Hogwarts student body.
Selena and Renee managed to worm their way over towards the front of the circle, the students and teachers forming a ring. Across to the side, near the entrance to the Great Hall, Selena saw Damon, Neil, and Ray all murmuring to one another.
Professor Trelawney watched Umbridge who was standing across from her, at the bottom of the stairs. Near the disheveled seer were a couple of trunks.
"No!" the woman yelled at Umbridge. "NO! This cannot be happening... it cannot... I refuse to accept it!"
"You didn't realize this was coming?" Professor Umbridge said in a smug sort of taunting way. Selena scowled. As if Umbridge hadn't humiliated their Divination teacher enough, she had to go poking at her divination skills as well. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"
"You c-can't!' Professor Trelawney said as she began to cry. "You c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!" Her giant, askew glasses made her seem young rather than an eccentric teacher. She lowered herself slowly to one of the trunks, wand in one hand and a bottle of alcohol in the other.
"It was your home," Professor Umbridge said happily. The Ministry employee watched the Divination teacher triumphantly. "Until an hour ago, when the Minister for Magic countersigned your Order of Dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this Hall. You are embarrassing us."
For a moment, Professor Trelawney just cried on her trunk before Professor McGonagall stepped from the crowd and bravely marched to the woman. She patted her back, and gave Professor Trelawney a handkerchief. "There, there, Sybill... calm down... blow your nose on this... it's not as bad as you think, now... you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts..."
"You show her," Renee muttered to herself, nodding firmly. Selena didn't look away from the unfolding incident.
"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge said in a sort of challenging tone. She walked forward a little. "And your authority for that statement is...?"
As if on cue, the large doors to the Entrance Hall opened, students murmering. Mist curled in through the doors, the Headmaster of Hogwarts standing there silhouetted against the dark night. Renee grabbed Selena's hand, crushing her fingers.
"That would be mine," Professor Dumbledore said. He walked in, students making a path for him. Selena held her breath as he stepped fluidly over to Professor Trelawney and Professor McGonagall, the elderly wizard smiling at them.
"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" Professor Umbridge said with a little, annoyed laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here-" Umbridge showed Professor Dumbledore a scroll, "-an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she - that is to say, I - feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."
Dumbledore smiled still as he looked down at the weeping Divination professor. "You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," Dumbledore gave a small bow that brought a smile to Selena's face, "that the power to do that still resides with the Headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."
Professor Trelawney gave a shrill laugh for a moment. "No-no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall-leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere-"
"No," Professor Dumbledore said sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sybill." He turned to Professor McGonagall as she gave Professor Trelawney's shoulder a little squeeze of kind comfort. "Might I ask you to escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"
"Of course," Professor McGonagall said before looking at Professor Trelawney. "Up you get, Sybill..."
Rushing out of the crowd in her greenhouse robes, Professor Sprout gently grabbed Professor Trelawney's right arm while McGonagall got the other. They walked her to the Grand Staircase. Professor Umbridge didn't watch them pass, a sour, stoic expression on her face as she stared at Dumbledore. Professor Flitwick pointed his wand at the trunks left behind, squeaking out a simple charm at the bags: "Locomotor trunks!" They lifted themselves off the ground before floating the way that Professor Trelawney had gone, tiny Professor Flitwick following.
"And what," Professor Umbridge said in a sort of loud, angry whisper that all the students heard, "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"
"Oh, that won't be a problem," Professor Dumbledore said as blithely as if they were discussing pudding at dinner. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."
"You've found-?" Professor Umbridge said in a very shrill voice as Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "You've found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-two-"
"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if - and only if - the Headmaster is unable to find one, and I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?" Dumbledore turned to face the doors where mist was spilling out in a pearly, soft color. There was a clack of hooves, Selena frowning in confusion.
"Do you think it's some ghost knight?" she asked Renee, imagining one of the Hogwarts ghosts teaching Divination in a suit of transparent armor.
"Maybe it's a griffin!" a first year boy in front of them said to his friend excitedly.
There was a commotion near the doors as students scurried away from the entrance, stumbling.
Selena gasped as a centaur emerged from the mist with snow-colored hair that was long and ran down his back in a smooth, flowing layer. His torso was connected to the body of a palomino horse, apricot-colored with a pale tail. His bright blue eyes scanned the students.
Selena watched as Renee's mouth popped open with the majority of the girls in the Entrance Hall.
"This is Firenze," Professor Dumbledore said pleasantly to Professor Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable."
The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher stared back at the Headmaster of Hogwarts, looking as though he had told her to eat troll fingers with her pumpkin juice.
That Night
Gryffindor Tower
"I liked it how Dumbledore stood up to her," Renee said quickly as she leapt from the wooden floor of the dorm onto her bed.
Selena laughed, watching her friend bounce on the scarlet covers, light-brown hair flying about. "It was fantastic."
"What about Firenze?" Tess asked, swinging around her bedpost with a starry look on her face. "I love having a good-looking teacher for a change."
"You mean that you don't find Professor Binns irresistibly handsome?" Alisson laughed as she grinned, crossed-legged on her own bed.
Selena cuddled Crescent next to her cheek as her friends all laughed together happily. Her cat purred, snuggling down next to Selena.
Spice started hooting in her tiny, yet impressively grating voice before Alisson pointed her wand at the owl's cage. "Silencio!"
The owl moved her beak in the motion of hooting without making any noise which made Alisson sigh in relief, falling back onto her pillows. "I like that bird a lot more now, just to let you know, because the tiny owl is growing on me, Tess."
"Ha-ha," Tess said with a smile as she rolled her eyes.
Selena giggled, shaking her head as she looked at her dormmates. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.
And with that, she said goodnight and curled up in her warm covers with a smile on her lips.
It's about time I got a chapter out for you guys!
I think the chapter after next is the one with the Patronouses or something like that so that will be fun to write! I really love that part of the movie! I don't really remember it from the book but I am copying and pasting text from the online book of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX from this website so I can just read it on there or in my own copy!
I think Damon and Anne will finally play a role in the next chapter! I am really neglecting my side-stories aren't I? Danny and Wendy have a cool little story thread going on so I want to write that too!
Reviews will make me update that much faster! Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! I had started it a while ago but finally decided to continue it today after a few inspirations came for the starting pieces for some of the other chapters and school has got me busy and on my toes as well as my new story, Teen Titans Southeast.
But I will hopefully update this story tomorrow! Reviews do help me to update faster! Especially long reviews! I LOVE THOSE THINGS!
Thanks to my reviewers for last chapter:
CharmedMillie
I Am Gwen Daughter Of Arcus
Please review everybody! Kisses for you all! Here, take the kisses! MWAH! MWAH!
Thanks for reading! REVIEW! Review and a Hogwarts student gets an O on their O.W.L.'s!
Love you all! Bye!
~Meghan