Despite being made High Inquisitor, Umbridge was not in any of Teddie's first three lessons that morning. But, when she arrived for Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, she learned from Blaise and Daphne that the old toad had been in their last lesson, Divination.
"She followed Trelawney around like a buzzard after a kill," said Blaise. "That poor woman."
Daphne nodded her agreement. "I mean, I'm not Trelawney's biggest fan, but still. Umbridge had no right to treat her the way she did."
"She all-but demanded a prediction," said Blaise, shaking his head.
Theo furrowed his brow. "But predictions don't work like that," he said.
"That's what Trelawney said," said Daphne. "But Umbridge was insistent. She marked something down on her clipboard and went to leave, so Trelawney said she'd be in great danger."
Teddie rolled her eyes. "That's not going to help matters," she said. "Everyone thinks Trelawney is a quack. The more 'dangerous' a prediction the more satisfied she is."
"I think Potter would agree with you," said Daphne. "She read out some of his dream diary today, you could tell that he faked half of it, but she reckons he's going to die while changing his socks."
Teddie and Theo snorted.
As they were in the process of unpacking their Defensive Magical Theory books, Umbridge entered the Defense classroom, smiling to herself as she approached her desk.
"Wands away," Umbridge instructed, setting her belongings down and turning to face her class. "As we finished chapter one last lesson, I would like you all to turn to chapter nineteen today and read chapter two. There will be no need to talk," she added, looking around at them all.
"No need to think is more like," Daphne muttered.
Teddie bit her lip, hard, to keep from laughing out loud. She wouldn't have put it past Umbridge to give her a detention for showing the slightest bit of happiness at this point.
Flipping to page nineteen, Teddie read the title – Common Defensive Theories and Their Derivation. The fifteen-year-old heaved a sigh, rested her elbow on the edge of the desk and perched her chin on the ball of her hand. While she did love reading, mostly mythologies, this was starting to get tedious. She had always been a more practical and visual learner, preferring to see something happening as opposed to just reading about it.
Suddenly, a folded-up piece of paper landed on Teddie's book. She blinked and glanced up, finding Daphne flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. With a quick glance at Umbridge, Teddie unfolded the paper and furrowed her brow at the scratched words before her.
'Don't look now, but Granger's at it again.'
Teddie glanced over to the Gryffindor side of the room and, low and behold, Hermione sat with her hand in the air. Harry had always noticed, as did many other students in the class.
Umbridge, it seemed, had worked out a strategy. Instead of addressing Hermione straight out, and disrupting the class – not that it mattered, half of the students were watching Hermione anyway – she picked herself up, walked around the front desk, and leaned down to whisper to Hermione.
Despite her lips moving, no one but Harry, Ron, and Hermione could hear what Umbridge was saying.
"I've already read Chapter Two," said Hermione, in her normal voice.
Umbridge said again in a low voice.
"I've read that, too. I've read the whole book."
Teddie glanced at Daphne. The blonde smirked, and Teddie couldn't help but wonder what Umbridge would do now.
"Well, then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counter jinxes in chapter fifteen," said Umbridge.
"He says that counter jinxes are improperly named," said Hermione. "He says that 'counter jinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable."
Teddie bit the inside of her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling. She could almost imagine Mason doing something like this and made a mental note to remind him not too later that day.
"But I disagree," said Hermione, without skipping a beat.
Umbridge blinked. "You disagree?" she repeated.
"Yes, I do," said Hermione. "Mr. Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be especially useful when they're used defensively."
"Oh, you do, do you?" Umbridge asked. "Well, I'm afraid it is Mr. Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger."
"But – "Hermione began.
"That is enough," said Professor Umbridge. She walked back to the front of the class and stood before them; all the jauntiness she had shown at the beginning of the lesson gone. "Miss Granger I am going to take five points from Gryffindor House."
There was an outbreak of muttering.
"What for?" Harry asked, angrily.
"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," said Professor Umbridge.
"She didn't interrupt anything," said Teddie.
Daphne, Blaise, and Theo groaned.
"I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they understand very little."
"How would you know what we know and don't know?" Teddie asked. "As you have said yourself, we've had four teachers prior to you that taught us different things, all of which were in different orders."
"Teddie, stop," Theo whispered, desperately.
But Teddie ignored him, her sights set on Umbridge.
"Your previous teachers, Miss Green, may have allowed you more license, but as none of them – with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects – would have passed a Ministry inspection –"
"Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher," said Harry. "There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head, and let's not forget his unhealthy obsession with stalking eleven-year-old children."
Teddie cast her gaze down at her desk.
"I think another week's detention would do you some good, Mr. Potter," said Umbridge. "Miss Green, you will receive three additional nights."
"What for?" Teddie asked.
"Speaking out of turn," Umbridge answered.
Teddie clenched her jaw.
~X~
On Tuesday morning, Mason joined his sister at the Slytherin table and offered her a small bottle of Essence of Dittany. "Between two and three drops should be enough to heal your hand after tonight," he said. "You should also have enough spare for Harry, too."
"Thanks," Teddie muttered, taking the bottle and sliding it into the front pocket of her backpack.
"Maybe, if you kept your comments to yourself in Umbridge's lessons you wouldn't need the Essence," said Daphne.
Teddie shot her a cold look. "I'm not going to sit there and let her bully students," she growled.
"But you're taking punishment for people who wouldn't take them for you," Daphne argued.
"That doesn't matter."
"Doesn't it?"
Teddie shook her head. "Not for me. I don't care whether I am standing up for people who wouldn't do the same in return, no one deserves to be picked on, regardless of how they act," she said.
"She's right," said Mason. "You should see all the people back home that she stands up for. Not all of them deserve it, but she still does it. I mean, you know the stories of all the kids from Mill Town?"
Daphne nodded. "Yeah, they're the kids that pick on you in Spinners End for not having money," she said.
"Well, there was a group of them being picked on once by another group of rich kids," said Mason. "Despite knowing she wasn't welcome, Teddie stepped in and told the second lot to bugger off. It didn't change a whole lot between the two villages, but it was one less Mill town group picking on Spinner's End."
Teddie smiled and hugged her brother. "My mum and dad always used to encourage us to be friends with our enemies," she said. "I mean, you never know when your enemy becomes a friend. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that."
Blaise furrowed his brow. "Enemy of my Enemy?" he repeated.
"Yeah, so, for example, Harry is the enemy of Voldemort," Teddie rolled her eyes as her friends all shuddered at the name. "Voldemort is also my enemy; therefore, Harry and I are friends."
"Make sense, I think," said Marlene.
Teddie smiled. "The analogy works here, too," she said. "Umbridge is an enemy to all of us at Hogwarts this year, therefore all her enemies are, essentially, friends, even though we may not show it."
"That makes sense," said Marlene. "But not all friends are good friends, you know?"
"Oh, I know," said Teddie. "But, when it comes down to it, we'll have a common enemy to rebel against."
Mason rested his head against Teddie's shoulder and finished his milk. He checked his watch and gasped, his eyes widening. "It's nearly 9," he said. "We should get going, or else we're going to be late."
Gathering their things, the group of friends headed for the Entrance Hall. Marlene, Judy, Susan bade goodbye first and exited through the open doors, Mason and Astoria waved and hurried down to the dungeons, while Teddie, Theo, Daphne, and Blaise hurried up the Marble Staircase and onward to Double Charms.
~X~
"When do you plan on asking Professor Flitwick about being his teaching assistant?" Blaise asked Teddie as they filed out of Charms at 11am and headed down the corridor towards Transfiguration.
Teddie shrugged. She had been so busy with homework and detention that she had totally forgot to set time aside to find the Charms professor and ask him about taking Charms on as an extracurricular as well full-time. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had said no, given the amount of homework she had already for fifth year, but Mason had reassured her that she wouldn't have been the first student to take on extra work.
"You could be a considered candidate for Head Girl if you take on more work than normal," Mason had said.
"Doubtful," said Teddie, shaking her head. "I'm not a Prefect, so I can't be Head Girl."
Mason merely smiled. "You don't have to be Prefect to be Head Girl. You could still get it," he said. "I wonder what Mum and Dad would say if you got Head Girl?"
"Probably would ask who I bribed."
Mason laughed. "I do think they would wonder if you had been replaced or something?" he teased.
Teddie grinned and ruffled his hair. "Well, if you don't make either a Prefect or even Head Boy then there is definitely something wrong with this schooling system," she said. "They'd be wrong to not pick you."
Mason beamed and hugged her tightly
"Oh, great," said Daphne, drawing Teddie out of her memory as they entered the Transfiguration classroom. Professor Umbridge stood in the corner of the room, clipboard in one hand and a quill in the other, the feather of this quill was Green.
"Isn't that a Quick Notes Quill?" Teddie whispered as she took her seat beside Theo. He nodded. "Do you think it works the same as Skeeter's?"
Theo shrugged. "I guess we'll find out," he muttered as Professor McGonagall called for everyone's attention.
"That will do. Mr. Finnigan, kindly come here and hand back the homework – Miss Parkinson, please take this box of mice – don't be silly, girl, they won't hurt you – and hand one out to everyone."
Grumbling under her breath, Parkinson took the box and passed it around the classroom. She refused to reach in and pick up the mouse and made it so that everyone had to choose a mouse for themselves.
Teddie cooed and run her fingers over the fur of her white mouse. "It's okay, baby, I won't hurt you," she said.
The mouse twitched its nose and Teddie smiled.
"I thought you loved snakes?" Theo asked.
"I do," Teddie
"Don't snakes eat mice?"
Teddie rolled her eyes but smiled, nonetheless. "I never feed live mice to my snakes," she answered. "Even Merlin and Morgana are fed frozen ones."
"Where do you get frozen mice at Hogwarts?"
"We've been here five years and you're only now asking me that?" Teddie asked.
Theo shrugged. "I've never seen you coo over a mouse before," he said, retrieving his wand from his pocket.
Teddie set the mouse on the desk in front of her and pulled her own wand down from inside her sleeve. "I get them from Professor Snape," she answered. "He used to Floo back to Spinner's End, but we started to keep them at the school, and he would use magic to lower the temperature on an alcove in his office."
"Magical Freezer," Theo laughed.
"Yep. Even though he and I aren't on speaking terms, he's still gracious enough to let me use it."
"He must really want to talk to you, then."
Teddie shrugged.
"Are you ever going to?"
Again, Teddie shrugged. "I'm not ready to forgive him," she said. "Is that bad?"
"He rescued you from a place that no one else knew you had been taken," said Theo. "Like, he knew you would be taken all along and didn't think to warn you, I think he'd be lucky if you ever spoke to him again."
Teddie nodded slowly.
Professor Umbridge cleared her throat from the corner of the room; every student turned in her direction, but Professor McGonagall ignored her.
"Right then, everyone, listen closely," said Professor McGonagall once Finnigan and Parkinson had retaken their seats. "Most of you have successfully vanished your snails and even those who have left with a certain amount of shell have the gist of the spell. Today we shall be – "
Umbridge cleared her throat, louder this time.
"Yes?" said Professor McGonagall, tensely.
"I was just wondering, Professor, whether you received the note telling you of the date and time your inspection – "
"Obviously, I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom," said Professor McGonagall.
Teddie, Daphne, Blaise, and Theo shared a look of amusement as McGonagall turned her back on Umbridge. They had been anticipating this moment, just like everyone else at Hogwarts.
"As I was saying, today we shall be practicing the altogether more difficult vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell – "
Umbridge cleared her throat for a third time.
"I wonder," said Professor McGonagall in cold fury, turning on Umbridge. "how you expect to gain an idea of my teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking."
Teddie noted that Professor Umbridge looked like she had been slapped in the face and couldn't stop the smile that came to her face.
Umbridge snapped her mouth closed, straightened the parchment on her clipboard, and started to scribble away furiously.
"So much for it being a Quick Notes Quill," said Theo quietly.
Teddie nodded as she watched Umbridge from the corner of her eye.
"As I was saying, the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So – you know the incantation, let me see what you can do…"