Once again, this chapter contains a flashback.

"Here," said Mason, setting a bowl of green liquid in front of Teddie. They were in the library, catching up on homework.

Teddie eyed the concoction carefully. "What is it?" she asked.

"Essence of Dittany," said Astoria. "It will heal your hand."

Teddie whipped her head around to look at Daphne, her jaw opened in shocked surprise. "You told them?!" she exclaimed.

"Shh!" someone hissed from behind a bookcase.

Teddie rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at Daphne. "Well?" she asked.

"What? He's your brother," said Daphne. "I thought you would've at least told him, by any account."

Teddie grumbled and pulled back her sleeve. She dipped her fingers into the bowl and submerged her hand, allowing the cool liquid to wash over the lines on the back. There was a little stab of pain, but nothing too serious.

"Just so you know, I have told Mum and Dad, too," said Mason.

"What? Why?!" Teddie asked.

"Because Daphne said you wouldn't," answered Mason.

Again, Teddie looked at Daphne.

Daphne shrugged. "If you won't take care of yourself then it is down to us," she said. "Just be thankful we didn't go to Professor Snape or Dumbledore."

"No, but my parents now will!" Teddie moaned.

"Good," Daphne argued. "At least someone will be willing to call her out on her actions. You'd think for someone who spent the first week of her summer being tortured would want to protect others from the same fate."

Blaise nudged Daphne and nodded at Teddie. The young redhead was sat, her eyes narrowed at her best girlfriend.

"Oh Merlin," Daphne muttered, realising what she had said. "Teddie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Forget it," said Teddie, looking back at her essay. She removed her hand from the dittany extract and, using her free hand, wiped away the excess liquid. It now looked like she'd never experienced detention at all.

Mason waved his wand and cleared away the bowl and silence fell around the table, broken only by the scratching of quills and the occasional turn of a page.

Daphne shared a look with Blaise and Theo, as Teddie avoided eye-contact with them all. She was more focused on her parchment and was scribbling away furiously.

The group worked until the Library was due to close, and only stopped when the librarian, Madam Pince came over and ushered them out.

Again, Daphne tried to talk to Teddie, but she got nothing but silence in return. She really hadn't meant her words, but her mother had always warned her to be careful with what and how she said things.

"Words cannot be taken back once they have been said, Daphne, you will do well to remember that" Darla had warned. "You may not mean it, but there are consequences to every action."

As they parted ways with Mason and Astoria, the Slytherin quartet returned to their common room and found Professor Snape sitting in his armchair beside the fire. It was a most peculiar sight, given that Snape never joined his students in the common room unless there was something, he needed them to know, or it was the start of term.

He looked up as they entered and met Teddie's gaze. "Miss Green," he said, addressing her as he stood. "Your presence is needed in my office. Immediately."

Teddie bit back a sigh and glanced at her friends. She passed them her book bag and followed Snape out of the common room and heard a faint whisper as the door swung shut in her wake.

~X~

Mo Flint, head of the Auror department at the Ministry of Magic, and father to one of Teddie's best and oldest friends. He rarely had any reason to come to Hogwarts, but after hearing news at the Ministry that morning, he deemed it necessary to inform one of his charges that something was happening.

Teddie Green was, without a doubt, one of the more important people in his life. Not only was she the friend of his only son, but she was a great deal of importance to his wife, and, although he wouldn't admit it out loud, himself, too.

When Marcus had come home for Christmas in his fifth year and told him and Ursula about the eleven-year-old Muggleborn that had been sorted into Slytherin, Mo knew it would only be a matter of time before the girl was integrated into his family life somehow. Marcus had seemed determined to get to know Teddie, to help her if needed.

So, when he had heard from the Minister about how the Ministry had appointed Undersecretary, Delores Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, Mo feared that Teddie would be on the receiving end of her infamous temper – naturally, he had been right. He had received word from Severus that Teddie had already been in trouble with Umbridge and received a weeks' worth of detention for her efforts.

"Mr. Flint, what are you doing here?" Teddie asked, entering the Potions professor's study. She looked relatively surprised to see him, and he couldn't blame her.

"Come now, Teddie, you know better," said Mo. "Mr. Flint is my father, and he's been dead for many years."

Teddie bit her lower lip. "Sorry. Force of habit," she said.

Mo nodded. "As for why I am here," he continued. "I received word that you have gotten into a spot of trouble with your new Professor," he said, glancing at her hand.

Despite the scars being healed, Teddie pulled her sleeve down to hide her hand. "It's nothing," she said.

"Come now, Teddie, we both knew a punishment must be worthy of its crime," said Mo. "If it weren't, I would be out of a job."

Teddie sighed. "I spoke out of turn," she said, shaking her head. "I let my emotions get the better of me, and I sunk to the level that Professor Umbridge had set for me. I was warned to not mention what had happened over the summer, and I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise to me, Teddie," said Mo.

Teddie remained silent.

"Your detentions ended Friday night; I believe?" Mo asked.

Teddie nodded.

"But your hand has healed?"

"Mason gave me Essence of Dittany earlier," said Teddie.

Mo made a small noise in the back of his throat. "May I ask what she made you write?" he inquired.

Teddie swallowed. "I will not make up stories," she answered. "I told her about what happened to me at the beginning of the summer. About being tortured, and she accused me of lying."

"I thought as much," said Mo, nodding. "If you remember, after you were rescued – "

Teddie scoffed but held her tongue.

"- and brought to us, I asked you a few questions to get your story?" Mo continued. "Do you remember what you told me?"

Teddie nodded.

"We need to talk about what happened."

Teddie sighed heavily and then looked up at Mo Flint. She was sitting opposite him in his study at Flint Manor. "I've told you everything," she said. "Everything that I saw, everything that I heard. What more is there to say?"

Mo leaned forward on his desk. "We just need to go over it one more time," he said. "I know it's hard, but we have to be sure that what you have already told me is real."

"You think I'm lying?"

"No, of course not," said Mo, shaking his head. "But the Minister is having a tough time believing that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned, and I just want to be sure that your recount of Avery Sutherland is consistent. If Avery has surfaced, then that means the Dark Lord isn't as defeated as everyone thinks."

Teddie looked down at her hands. "There was a week until the end of term. I had just finished my fourth-year exams and was heading down to the final task with the others when Professor Moody stopped me at the doors. He said that Professor Flitwick was looking for me, wanted to speak to me about my Charms exam." She took a deep breath. "I was wary because of what happened to me in first year, so Professor Moody said that he wouldn't escort me up, that I could go alone..."

Mo sat back in his seat, listening to Teddie as she recounted her story again. He had already listened to her four times in the last two weeks, but the Minister kept denying his request for a meeting to discuss what had happened to the young teen. Not once, in the last two weeks, had Teddie's story altered or changed, even the minor details had remained consistent, and now was no different.

"... it felt like a ripple. It started at the top of my head and spread all over my body, right down to the tips of my fingers and toes," continued Teddie. "When I looked into the mirror, I saw someone staring back. It wasn't me, but Avery said that was. That this was the real me."

"Did she give a name?"

"Faye Sutherland," Teddie answered. "Avery said that her name - my name - was Faye Sutherland." She hesitated, her eyes glancing up and then back down. Her hands started to shake, and she gripped them tightly inside one another.

Mo cocked his head to the side. "It's alright, Teddie," he said, softly.

Teddie shook her head. "It's not okay," she whispered. "Nothing that came after is okay."

"What happened after?" Mo pushed, gently.

Teddie met his gaze. "Avery said that Faye was the daughter of the Dark Lord. That I'm -" she cut off, burying her head in her hands as tears slid down her cheeks. She sobbed quietly as Mo sat in his seat, stunned. This one minor detail was the only difference to the story that Teddie had given him already, and if it were true, then there was no way he could go to the Ministry with it.

"I told you the truth."

"I know you did," said Mo. "I took all that information to the Minister, but he refused to listen. He and the Madam Undersecretary refused to accept that what you were saying was true. I tried to explain this to you, but I'm ashamed to say that I didn't wait until you were in a more stable condition."

He heaved a heavy sigh.

"The potions that the Healers filled you with healed you," said Mo, happily. "But it didn't do much to heal your mind. You were so upset, confused, scared, and rightly so, but they would not allow you to accept that no one else was going to listen to you, after a while I had to stop trying to get you to understand and just let you learn for yourself. I am sorry for that, Teddie, it did nothing to prepare you for this year."

Teddie cocked her head to the side. "It's your fault," she said, after a few careful seconds. "I probably would've started even if you had warned me. I mean, it's who I am, after all. I'm the hothead that leaps before looking and speaks without thinking. It's why my friends also think I should've been a Gryffindor."

Mo cracked a smile. Marcus had always said about Teddie's Gryffindor tendances.

"While we're on the subject of Professor Umbridge," said Teddie. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," said Mo.

Teddie took a deep breath. Even just thinking about her first lesson with Umbridge brought up unwanted memories and feelings. The feelings of being victimized was the strongest of all, and while she was aware that she had brought it on herself by divulging what had happened to her, Teddie still couldn't help but blame Umbridge for it, either.

"What is her deal?" Teddie asked. "She's not letting us use magic at all. All we do is read from the textbook lesson after lesson, and our homework is to write a summary on the chapter."

"That is because the Ministry doesn't want you trained in combat."

"Combat?" Teddie echoed. "What, do you think Dumbledore is amassing a wizard army of students, or something?"

Mo nodded.

Teddie scoffed. "I was right," she muttered. "When I told Umbridge that she and the Ministry were afraid, I was right. They are afraid, just not of what I thought – they aren't afraid of Voldemort, they're afraid of Dumbledore."

Again, Mo nodded.

"Fudge is under the impression that Dumbledore will stop at nothing to take the Ministry for himself and appoint himself Minister for Magic."'

"Oh, good grief," said Teddie, rolling her eyes.

"There is something else," said Mo. "I have a friend who works in at the Daily Prophet."

Teddie perked up. The Daily Prophet had been the bane of her existence since someone, she believed it to be Avery, had leaked about her being Faye Sutherland, and turned her life at Hogwarts upside down.

"He hasn't been able to tell me much about what is being printed, but they're still trying to figure out who printed about you being Faye," said Mo, "and he has warned me there is another story being prepped for tomorrow morning's edition. He says it's not good."

Teddie furrowed her brow. "But… that could be anything," she said.

"He couldn't tell me much, it breaks confidentiality, but it does pertain to what you're dealing with here at Hogwarts," said Mo. "Just, keep your head down, Teddie, please. I know it's hard. I know you want to protect your friends from injustices, but maybe this isn't the year where you should be protesting at the top of your lungs."

Teddie opened her mouth to argue.

"I know, what happened to you, Harry, and Cedric was a terrible thing, but you aren't going to be much help to anyone if you keep getting on Umbridge's bad said," said Mo. "Promise me. Promise me that you will keep your head down, at least until we can figure things out."

Teddie considered him for a long moment, and then heaved a sigh. "I can't promise that I will keep my head down and be quiet," she said. "But I can try."

Mo clapped her on the shoulder and nodded. "I guess that is better than nothing," he said.

Teddie smiled, lightly.

"Good luck, Teddie, I hope we'll see you for Christmas," said Mo. "Severus," he added to the Potions master, before sweeping to the fireplace, tossing in a handful of gray powder and then disappearing in a blast of green flames, after shouting out the address of his home in London.

Teddie stared at the fireplace for a second longer. She could feel Snape's gaze on her head but didn't dare look at him.

~X~

"Is anyone expecting the Daily Prophet this morning?" Blaise asked, settling down into his usual seat at the Slytherin table.

Teddie shook her head. She had never taken a subscription out with the Wizarding paper, always depending on getting her news from her friends.

"Maybe someone will send us a copy?" Daphne suggested. "Mum usually sends me things she thinks I might find helpful or useful."

"Or you can just read with us," said Parkinson as she joined them. "My mum works at the Daily Prophet, she sent me a copy before it hit the papers." She pulled a folded-up paper from inside her robes and handed it across the table. "Go ahead, Faye, take a look."

Teddie eyed the girl curiously and then took the paper from her. "Thanks," she said, careful not to sound overly friendly.

Unfurling the paper, Teddie laid it out on the table between her and her friends and looked down at the printed words. Her eyes widening as she took in the large, black, block letters at the top of the page.

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL

REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"

"High what now?" Daphne asked,

Teddie shook her head and placed her finger against the start of the article. "In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time," said Junior Assistant to the Minster, Percy Weasley. "He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve."

"This is not the first time in recent weeks Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August 30th Educational Decree Twenty-Two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person."

"What?!" Daphne cried. "That doesn't sound good."

"None of this sounds good," said Blaise.

Teddie swallowed and carried on reading. "'That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts,' said Weasley last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, so the Minister put in Umbridge and of course, she's been an immediate success – '"

"Are we even talking about the same person?" Theo asked.

"Percy always was an ambitious one," said Teddie. "Maybe he thinks he'll climb the Ministry ranks faster if he praises them in the papers?"

"He's a prat," said Blaise. "I wonder if Sierra shares his views?"

Teddie shrugged. "- revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts. It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, which creates the position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor.' This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the 'falling standards' at Hogwarts. The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch."

"Oh boy," Daphne muttered.

"Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post, and we are delighted to say that she has accepted. I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evalu – hey!" Teddie looked up as Malfoy reached over and snatched the paper out from under her nose.

"We were reading that!" Blaise said.

"Come on, you surely don't believe everything the Daily Prophet says, do you?" Malfoy asked, folding it up and stuffing the paper into his back.

Teddie narrowed her eyes. She was about to say something when Marlene sat down beside them.

"Since when does your father have anyone's children, including his own, best interests at heart, Malfoy?" Marlene asked, helping herself to some toast and strawberry jam. "I mean, isn't that what he said when he was interviewed for the Daily Prophet?"

Malfoy's already pale faced grew whiter and he narrowed his eyes at Marlene. "I don't know what you're talking about, Wetherspoons," he said. "Your troublesome mother making trouble again, I assume? She's still sore over the fact that my father chose my mother over her, huh?"

Teddie's eyes widened as she looked to Marlene. "Really? You could've been Marlene Malfoy?" she asked.

"Unfortunately," said Marlene. "Thank Merlin my mother had sense to get the hell out of the relationship she shared with Lucius before it could go any further."

Malfoy snorted. "That's not how father tells it," he said. "Your mother was obsessed with him. To the point that she considered a Love Potion to get him to stay with her."

"Yes, because everything that comes out of your father's mouth is the goddam truth, isn't it, Malfoy?" Teddie asked. "I mean, look what he said about Buckbeak back in third year? He used his silver tongue to get Buckbeak killed."

Malfoy turned his glare onto Teddie. "You're going to believe her over me?" he asked. "After everything I've been willing to do for you this year?"

"I don't need you to do anything for me," Teddie hissed. "Either of you," she looked to Parkinson. "We aren't friends, no matter how bad your parents want us to be."

Parkinson sniffed and turned her back on Teddie and company.

Marlene shot Teddie a small smile. "For what it is worth," she said, reaching for the pumpkin juice. "You can do much better than them as friends."

"I have better than them," said Teddie. "I have you. All of you," she added, looking around at the others.