Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks to those who review, it really does give me encouragement. Anyone do the Pottermore Patronus quiz? I got a basset hound! lol

"That woman is a right cow!" Harry said as he stomped away from the Defence classroom. Before he had left, Umbridge had told him his detention was right after dinner in her office. His friends had to walk fast to keep up with his angry strides.

"I still say she looks like a toad," Theo insisted with a smirk.

"Our textbook is so boring," Draco complained.

"The class will be like History of Magic, a good place to take a nap," Ron snickered.

"She's horrible and she's not going to teach us anything," Harry said in disgust.

"Still, you need to watch how you speak to –" Hermione started to say.

"Enough Hermione! I don't want to hear it!" Harry snapped. He felt bad when he saw the hurt look on her face but he was too angry to apologize.

"Don't take your bad mood out on her," Draco said in irritation.

"Then maybe she shouldn't talk down to him like he is a toddler," Daphne responded, standing beside Harry.

"Maybe he shouldn't act like a toddler," Draco countered.

"Maybe we should just get to Transfiguration class," Tracey interjected, not wanting a fight to break out.

"Sounds good to me," Harry muttered as he walked away from his friends, Daphne by his side. They walked in silence for a moment. "I know I shouldn't have said anything to Umbridge." He said at last.

"She's infuriating and called you a liar," Daphne said as they entered the classroom. "I don't blame you for responding in anger but…" She sighed. "She's a professor and can keep you in detention every night. I think we should just try and ignore her."

"Ignore who Miss. Greengrass?" Professor McGonagall asked with a raised eyebrow. She had entered the classroom behind them and overheard the last part of their conversation.

"Umbridge," Daphne answered without thinking. She bit her lip, thinking it would be best if McGonagall didn't know what had happened in Defence class. She looked apologetically at Harry.

"Professor Umbridge," Professor McGonagall corrected.

She doesn't deserve the title of professor, Daphne thought. "Yes Ma'am."

"Did your class with her not go well?" Professor McGonagall asked with some concern.

"Not for Potter, he got detention," Seamus smirked from where he sat several seats down from Harry and Daphne. Served Potter right, he knew it was because of him that potions class that morning had been absolute torture for Seamus. Professor Snape had berated him repeatedly throughout the entire class ending with assigning him detention with Filch!

Professor McGonagall looked sternly at Harry. "Detention Mr. Potter? For what?"

"Defending myself and telling the truth," Harry said crossly.

"Gee Potter, wasn't it for your rudeness to her in class? You basically called her a moron," Seamus said innocently. He merely smiled when Harry turned and glared at him. He didn't like Umbridge either but seeing Potter taken down a peg was worth it. He had had his suspicions about Potter since he had found out that the boy-who-lived was a Parseltongue during their second year. Now it would seem his suspicions were correct.

Professor McGonagall put her hands on her hips. "Were you rude to her Mr. Potter?" She asked sharply.

Harry scowled. "She thinks I'm lying about –"

"I'll take that as a yes. It does not matter why Mr. Potter, you are to be respectful to all of your professors," Professor McGonagall interrupted. She hated having Umbridge at Hogwarts and had been told by Albus to simply let Umbridge think she was in charge of things. After awhile when she can't prove any of Fudge's fears, I will be able to get rid of her, Albus had told her. Until then, they needed to not deliberately get on the woman's bad side. Especially Harry. "Did she take points as well?"

"No," Harry said slowly.

"Well then, ten points for getting detention on the first day of class Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said as she strode to the front of the classroom.

"So unfair!" Ron hissed.

"She didn't even hear you out!" Draco added.

"Oh Harry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have mentioned Umbridge in front of her," Daphne whispered, wanting to kick herself.

Harry slumped in his seat. "It doesn't matter," He sighed. Apparently there really was no point in defending himself, he thought. This meant he lost five points from Gryffindor and five from Slytherin since any points he earned or lost was divided between both his houses. He hoped his dad didn't notice and take points from him too. He spent the rest of Transfiguration pretending to take notes while he inwardly worried about his dad's reaction to his punishments.

HP

During dinner, Harry hardly touched his food and avoided looking at the Head Table, not wanting to risk seeing his dad's anger or seeing Umbridge's hateful face.

"You should eat more," Daphne told him.

Harry shrugged. "I'm not really hungry." He tried to think of something else to talk about and a moment later brightened. "Tomorrow I'm going to coach Ginny for her upcoming Quidditch try-out. Do you want to come and watch?"

"Sure," Daphne grinned. "I'd like that Coach Potter," She teased.

"I could coach you too, in case you want to try-out," Harry offered.

Daphne sniffed. "I do know how to fly, you know," She said primly.

Harry laughed at the teasing look in her eyes. "I know you do. Why don't you try-out?"

"I thought about it," Daphne admitted. "But…I don't want to take on too much this year, with OWLs and all. Maybe next year."

Harry nodded his understanding. When dinner was finished, Harry said goodbye to his friends and began to make his way to the Defence classroom for his detention when his dad suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Detention and a loss of points on the first day of classes?" Snape raised an eyebrow. Umbridge had already talked to him, telling him how Harry had snapped at her during class. He didn't like the woman, or trust her, and he wanted Harry's version of what had happened. He had inquired about the loss of points as he usually did when Slytherin lost any and Minerva had told him she had taken them from Harry herself. She had said she was worried that Harry would make himself more of a target than he already was to Umbridge so she had dealt out the discipline to hopefully make him think before he reacted.

Harry sighed. "You've assigned detention on the first day of class before," He pointed out. "Actually, Ron and I got detention from McGonagall before classes even started our second year." He tried to joke.

"Funny," Snape said with a frown. "I want to know what happened."

"She's not going to teach us, we aren't even going to use our wands during class," Harry complained. "She also told everyone that I am a liar and an attention seeker because I said that Voldemort is out there, waiting to get strong and return."

"What brought up the subject of Voldemort?" Snape asked with some exasperation.

"She said nothing was out there to harm us, that we didn't need to know how to defend ourselves," Harry said in disgust.

Snape made a face. Figures… "Umbridge works at the ministry and has no doubt been sent here to keep an eye on things. Especially you," He said bluntly. "Fudge was not happy with Dumbledore or me after the Pettigrew incident. He didn't want to admit the ministry had been wrong in imprisoning Black or that he had been wrong in sending you back to your relatives after seeing your black eye."

Harry winced inwardly at that particular memory.

"He also does not want to admit that Voldemort is still alive," Snape continued. "Now that Dumbledore is trying harder to convince him, Fudge is going to make things difficult."

"So what do we do about it?"

"For now, nothing," Snape said regretfully. "We will just have to tolerate her presence here until Dumbledore can get rid of her."

Harry's shoulders slumped. "So just stay out of her way then? Try to keep off her radar?" He guessed.

Snape nodded, reaching out to gently squeeze Harry's shoulder. "I know it will be hard but yes."

"I'll try," Harry said. "I guess I better go."

Snape sighed as he watched him walk away. This year was not starting out kind to his son, not at all. He could only hope that it wouldn't get worse.

HP

"There you are," Umbridge said brightly as Harry entered her office.

Harry stared around her office which was very…pink. Pink and kitten paintings, pink, cups and knickknacks, and pink everywhere. "Wow," He managed to say.

Umbridge beamed. "Isn't it lovely? If only the whole castle could be decorated like this," She said, not noticing Harry's horrified look. "Go ahead and take a seat Mr. Potter." She gestured to the table and chair by the window. "You will be doing some lines for me this evening. Don't bother taking out your quill, I have a special one that you will be using. It is only reserved for students who are…special cases."

Harry sat down and took the black quill, feeling a little confused. "What do you mean?"

Umbridge sat back down at her desk. "Let's just say there are different punishments for different types of students. Most of the students who earn detention with me would use their own quill. You however, Mr. Potter, are a dangerous student with your arrogance and lies although I do hope we can fix that. Now, I want you to write 'I must not be disruptive during class." She smiled sweetly.

Harry resisted rolling his eyes. "How many times?"

"Oh, for as long as it takes for the message to sink in," Umbridge giggled.

"There's no ink," Harry frowned.

"You do not need any dear. Begin."

Harry curiously put the quill to paper and began writing. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on the back of his left hand. He paused and then cautiously continued writing, biting his lip as the pain got worse. He looked down at his free hand to see that the words were not writing on the parchment, they were writing into his hand. Harry stared at Umbridge in shock. The quill was actually carving the words into his skin!

Umbridge smiled a little at Harry's stare. "Yes?" She asked sweetly.

Harry narrowed his eyes, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing he was in pain. "Nothing."

Umbridge nodded slowly. "That's right dear. You know deep down, that you deserve this for all the trouble you cause and for all the pain you bring to others with your lies and selfishness. You know this, don't Mr. Potter? I have been given a lot of power from the Ministry over this school and not only can I weed out the bad students, I can weed out the bad teachers and even the Headmaster." Her smile broadened at the shocked look on Harry's face. She knew he understood her underlining threat. "Go on. You have many more lines to write."

Harry briefly considered just getting up and leaving but his pride wouldn't let him. Plus he didn't want to cause more trouble; he had already been in a fight with a housemate, been injured, lost points and had detention all before the second day of classes. He wanted to make his dad proud of him and besides, there were more important things going on than Umbridge's twisted detention. Voldemort, for one thing. And he knew what Umbridge was saying. She could kick him out of school or even have his dad or the Headmaster fired. Harry couldn't let that happen which meant he could not tell his dad about the special quill he had to use. I can handle this, Harry thought as he continued writing. He didn't make a sound as the pain grew worse and drops of blood ran down his hand. I can handle this…

HP

Harry made his way to the Slytherin dungeons, tired and in pain. His hand ached, though the bleeding cuts had sealed themselves up once he had stopped writing. If you looked closely at the back of his hand, you could vaguely make out the words but at least it was mostly faded now.

Harry entered the common room, expecting it to be empty since it was late and was surprised to see his dad sitting in one of the dark green sofa chairs, reading a potions journal. There were a few seventh years doing some studying and Daphne, who was curled up on the couch asleep.

Snape closed his journal when Harry sat across from him. "She kept you late," He commented. He couldn't really say much about it since he did the same with students during detention, insisting that whatever work he set for them was to be completed before he let them go.

Harry nodded tiredly. Umbridge had basically ignored him as he had done his so called lines, not telling him how many times he had to do it or how long the detention was. He had gotten the feeling that she wanted him to ask for leniency but he had refused to let her break him. Finally, she had let him go saying she hoped he had learned his lesson.

"So what did she have you do?" Snape asked.

Harry gave a little shrug, looking towards the fireplace. "Write lines."

Snape nodded, relaxing a bit. He was glad it hadn't been worse such as cleaning toilets like Filch usually assigned or scrubbing cauldrons like he often did. While he agreed that Harry shouldn't have been disrespectful to Umbridge as she was his professor, he knew Harry wouldn't have done so unless he had been goaded. "What did you have to write?"

Harry glared at the fireplace. "I must not be disruptive during class," He said bitterly.

Snape sighed. "I'm sorry you have to deal with her at all Harry. Actually, I'm sorry we all do," He said. "As I said, just try to ignore her and if she appears to be going out of her way to taunt you then come to me. All right?"

Harry nodded, knowing that it wasn't that easy. If he told his dad the truth, Umbridge would only take it out on his dad or the Headmaster. With Voldemort trying to return, Hogwarts needed to have powerful wizards like Dumbledore and his dad.

"Are you okay?" Snape asked in concern.

"Yeah," Harry said finally. He gave his dad a small smile. "I'm just annoyed. I was hoping we would get a good teacher."

"I will be speaking to Albus about her," Snape said. "Although I know he must tread carefully around Fudge right now."

Harry sighed and nodded his understanding, his eyes moving to where Daphne was still sleeping on the couch. "Was she waiting up for me?" He asked with a soft smile.

Snape snorted. "Yes. She refused to go to bed despite the late hour. She only fell asleep about a half hour ago." He stood up. "Don't stay up too much later."

"I still have homework to do," Harry said dejectedly.

"It would be better to go to sleep now and wake up a little earlier to do it," Snape told him. "You're tired, you need to rest."

Harry stood up and stretched, yawning as he did. "I think I will do just that, after I wake up Daphne."

"Goodnight son," Snape said as he left, feeling like something was off with the boy but not knowing what it could be. "By the way, ten points awarded for being responsible in wanting to finish your homework before you turn in." He called over his shoulder.

Harry laughed, appreciating that now the points he had lost from McGonagall were returned.

Harry knelt next to Daphne and gently brushed her blond hair back from her face. "Daphne," He whispered. He grinned fondly when she stirred slightly but didn't open her eyes. "Daffy," He said a little louder, holding back a laugh. "Daffy, daffy, daf-"

"Watch it Potter," Daphne opened her eyes and glared at him, though her blue eyes sparkled with amusement. "Unless you would like me to demonstrate the Knee-Reversal Hex?"

Harry laughed. "No thank you. I just thought you would want to sleep in your bed."

Daphne sat up. "I didn't mean to fall asleep." She said, somewhat embarrassed. "Is Professor Snape still here?"

"No, he left. Like you, he wanted to make sure I was okay." Harry said, feeling touched that they had been worried about him. He had to try harder to not make more problems so that they wouldn't have to worry about him.

"How bad was the detention?" Daphne asked in concern.

"Not too bad," Harry lied. He was determined not to cause worry for the people he cared about, not when the threat of Voldemort returning was looming ahead. If he told Daphne, or any of his friends, they would go immediately to his dad. "I just had to write lines."

Daphne looked at him appraisingly. "You're okay though?"

"Of course," Harry said as he gave her a reassuring smile. He stood and pulled her up with him. "Thanks for waiting up for me, you didn't have to." He said softly.

"I wanted to," Daphne flushed a little. She stepped closer and put her arms around him, relaxing as Harry hugged her back.

Harry closed his eyes, enjoying holding her in his arms. She always smelled so good…like vanilla and something flowery. He reluctantly pulled away. "You should get to bed."

"So should you," Daphne said with a smile. "I'll see you in the morning." She kissed him on the cheek and then headed for the stairs.

Harry softly touched his cheek, thoughts of his horrible detention leaving him as he headed to his dorm room with a smile on his face.

TBC: I know realistically Harry should of told Snape what happened but, well…where's the fun and angst in that? Lol I'm not one for too much angst so Umbridge won't last too long and will be replaced by someone better.