disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story. Hope you all like this chapter!
An Uprising
For the next two weeks, Hermione did not bring up Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Arabella's detention with Umbridge had finally come to an end and she knew that the scar on the back of her hand was going to be permanent. Furthermore, her dreams were strange and reoccurring. Sometimes she woke up sweating, other times she woke up bleeding. Ron had not been shouted at during the last two Quidditch practices, which was a huge improvement, according to Katie. While Hermione moved on to vanishing kittens in Transfiguration, just as Arabella, Harry and Ron vanished their mice.
Finally, towards the end of September, just as they were looking up ingredients with Snape in the library, the subject was brought up again.
Hermione had suddenly snapped her book shut and said, in a rush, "I was wondering whether you'd thought any more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry."
"'Course I have," mumbled Harry. "Can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us –"
"I meant the idea Ron and I had – oh, all right, the idea I had, then – about you teaching us."
"Well," he said slowly, "yeah, I – I've thought about it a bit."
"And?" Hermione said eagerly.
"I dunno," said Harry, shrugging.
"I thought it was a good idea from the start," said Ron, glad to see that Harry was not going to start shouting in this conversation.
Harry then looked at Arabella.
"I think I made my point very clear that night," said Arabella, grinning. "It's a good idea, Harry. You should do it."
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair and said, "You did listen to what I said about a load of it being luck, didn't you?"
"And you did hear me say that it wasn't a load of luck, right," said Arabella, leaning forward in her chair. "Come on, Harry, you're brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts. You can produce a Patronus –"
"So can you," Harry pointed out.
" – you can throw off the Imperius Curse –"
" – it never affected you –"
" – and you've done things that would put most older wizards to shame," pressed Arabella. "You're a talented wizard, Harry, stop selling yourself short."
Harry bite his lips and considered it for a moment. "It's just the three of you, yeah?"
Hermione was ecstatic to finally hear Harry agreeing to teach them Defense Against the Dark Arts, but was slightly anxious to tell him that she might have told others who wanted to learn as well. Harry wasn't too pleased to hear this but seemed confident that nobody would want to learn anything from him, given how they had been treating him since the start of the year. Arabella knew that was false. She had overheard Hermione telling Ernie Macmillian and Hannah Abbott, and knew they were both very interested in learning from Harry. It wasn't that surprising. Besides the Slytherins, no other student liked Umbridge very much and recognized the need to arm themselves with knowledge, knowledge Umbridge was not giving them.
The morning of the Hogsmeade visit dawned brightly but windy. Arabella smiled as her hair danced around her. The only times she had left the castle lately were for Quidditch practice, which usually ended in Angelina yelling at them or in aching bones. Either way, this was a nice change of pace.
They walked down the main street past Zonko's Joke Shop, past the post office, and turned up a side street at the top of which stood Hog's Head.
"Are you sure about this, Hermione?" asked Arabella, looking at the filthy windows. "It's a dodgy place."
"Well, students don't normally go in here," said Hermione, slightly unsure of herself, "so I don't think we'll be overheard. I'm sure it's better inside."
A battered wooden sigh hung from a rusty bracket over the door. There was a picture of a wild boar's severed head on it with leaking blood around it. Inside was no better. It was a small, dingy, dirty room that smelled strongly of goats. Very little sunlight entered the room through the windows. Instead, the room was lit with candle stubs on wooden tables. At first glance, the floor seemed to be made of a light wood, but it was just a thick layer of filth that had never been cleaned since the bar's opening. There was a man at the bar with dirty bandages wrapped around his head and two figures with hoods over their heads in the corner, hunched over a book. In front of the fire sat a witch with a thick, black veil covering her whole body, with her toes protruding out.
"What if that's Umbridge?" whispered Harry as they crossed to the bar.
Hermione looked appraisingly at the clothed figure. "Umbridge is shorter than that woman. Even if Umbridge does come in here there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I've double- and triple – checked the rules. We're not out-of-bounds. I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students were allowed to come in the Hog's Head, and he said yes, but advised me strongly to bring our own glasses. And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we parade what we're doing."
"No," said Harry, "especially as it's not exactly a homework group you're planning, is it?"
They ordered four butterbeers from the grumpy-looking bartender and retreated to the farthest table from the bar.
"So who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" asked Harry, taking a swing of his butterbeer.
"Just a couple people," said Hermione, checking her watch. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is – oh look, this might be them now –"
The door opened, and the crowd came clamoring inside one by one. Neville and Dean came in first, followed by Lavender, Parvati, and Padma, then Cho Chang, one of her friends with curly hair, and Luna Lovegood. She was then followed by Katie, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina, Alfred Clemens, Colin and Dennis Creevey. Alfred Clemens met Arabella's eye for a moment and immediately looked away, turning red. The door opened again and Ernie, Justin Flinch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot came into the bar. Ginny was followed by a tall skinny boy from Hufflepuff, and Fred, George, and Lee came up the rear, each carrying large bags of Zonko's merchandise.
Arabella was slightly taken back. She was not expecting to see so many people and she was clearly not the only one. The barman froze at the sight of his full pub.
"You have a funny idea of what a couple people are," Arabella told Hermione.
"A lot of people seemed to like the idea," Hermione whispered to her, as everyone got themselves some butterbeer. "I told the prefects and they told their friends and so on and so on. They thought it was a great idea."
"Hello, Neville," Arabella said happily as Neville took a seat across from her.
"Hi, Arabella," said Neville, beaming. "Big turnout, huh?"
Harry gave him a strained smile as he looked around the room. Everyone began to settle in. Some looked rather excited, while others kept throwing him looks of mistrust. Once everyone had sat down, the chattering died down and everyone was staring at Harry.
Hermione cleared her throat and began addressing everyone, her voice slightly higher. "Er – well – er – hi. We… erm… well, you know why you're here. Erm… well, Harry here had the idea – I mean – I had the idea – that it might be good for people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts – and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts –"
"Hear, hear," said Anthony Goldstein, raising his hands mockingly.
Hermione continued, her voice more confident, "Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that, I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory by the real spells –"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" said Michael Corner.
"Of course, I do. But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because… because…" Hermione took a deep breath and said, "Because Lord V – Voldemort is back."
The girl beside Cho shrieked and slopped butterbeer down herself. Terry Boot twitched, Padma shuddered, and Neville gave an odd cough. All of them, however, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Harry and Arabella. Arabella stared at her butterbeer bottle, finding the label very fascinating.
"Well… that's the plan anyway," Hermione said lamely. "If you wan to join us, we need to decide how we're going to –"
"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" said the tall Hufflepuff in an aggressive tone.
"Well, Dumbledore believes it –"
"You mean, Dumbledore believes them," said the Hufflepuff boy, nodding at Arabella and Harry.
"Who are you?" Ron said rather rudely.
"Zacharias Smith, and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes them say You-Know-Who's back."
"Look," Hermione said swiftly, "that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about –"
"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry. He turned to look Smith right in the face. "What makes me say You-Know-Who's back? I saw him. We saw him." He jabbed his thumb at Arabella and then himself. "But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you don't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone. Come on, Arabella."
He grabbed Arabella's hand and stood up.
But Smith spoke faster. "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that the two of you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know –"
"You want to know how Voldemort murders someone?" Arabella said hoarsely. "Can't help you there, mate. You're going to have to use your own imagination for that."
"We don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right?" said Harry, his temper rising. "So if that's what you're here for, then we're done here."
Harry began to pull Arabella towards the door. They barely took two steps when Susan Bones stopped them.
"Is it true that you can produce a Patronus?"
There was a murmur of interest around the group. Arabella and Harry looked at each other, the former giving the latter a small smile and shrug.
"Yeah," said Arabella, turning towards Susan. "His is a stag."
"Hers is a big dog," Harry said quickly.
"Blimey!" said Lee, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that! You two have been holding out on me!"
"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," said Fred, grinning. "Said they both got enough attention as it is. Don't need to add a Patronus on top of it."
"She's not wrong," muttered Harry and a couple people laughed.
"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Terry Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year…"
"Er – yeah, I did," said Harry.
Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled, the Creevey brother and Alfred Clemens exchanged awestruck looks, and Parvati said 'wow' softly.
"And in our first year," said Neville, "he saved that Sorcerous Stone from You-Know-Who."
"Sorcerer's Stone," hissed Hermione.
"And that's not to mention," said Cho, "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year – getting past dragons and merpeopleand acromantulas and things…"
Everyone whispered to each other, impressed.
"Look," said Harry, "I don't… I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything, but… I had a lot of help with all that stuff…"
"Not with the dragon, you didn't," Michael corner said at once. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying…"
"Yeah, well –"
"And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer," said Susan Bones.
"No, no, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make it –"
"What, sheer dumb luck?" said Smith. He then turned to Arabella and said, "And why would You-Know-Who kidnap you? You hiding something from us, Black? Something you want to share?"
"Here's an idea," Ron said loudly, "why don't you shut your mouth?"
Hermione gave Arabella a pointed look and raised her eyebrows. Arabella sighed and looked away.
Smith looked flushed as he said, "What? You-Know-Who suddenly raises from the dead and decides to just randomly take her? Come off it."
Arabella closed her eyes. Hermione should have seen this coming. They weren't interested in learning anything from Harry. They were just here for the juicy information about what happened that night. None of them knew, none of them understood.
"Voldemort took me for multiple reason," Arabella told the crowd, her eyes resting firmly on Smith. Silence fell as they all stared at her. She shrugged and said, "He wanted take out revenge on me for my mother, he wanted me to join him, he wanted to feed me to Bellatrix Lestrange, he wanted to torture me in front of Harry, he wanted to make me feel small and worthless and pathetic –"
"You don't have to do this –" began Harry, noticing the way Arabella's voice began to crack.
"And you know what," Arabella rushed on, tears wheeling in her eyes, "he did it. He managed to get me to make me feel just as small and just as week as Bellatrix did all those years ago."
In the midst of the crowd, a small, shaking hand rose into the air. Alfred Clemens said, his voice trembling, "Wha – what did she – do?"
Arabella blinked at him and turned towards Hermione. They had to know. They had to understand. They had to realize that it wasn't some sort of fantasy, that Voldemort or Bellatrix or Lucius Malfoy would never hurt them. That had to realize that they weren't somehow protected by their age. If it were true, her arms wouldn't have a single blemish on them. So, Arabella then began to undo her oversized purple button up shirt. It was eerily, everyone watching her as she stood in front of them in a black tank top. Her scars looked worse than they did over the summer. Most, if not all, were open and had dried blood around them. She put her hair up in a small bun so that they could see them clearly.
Lavender gasped loudly, covering her mouth with her hands. They were roommates for years and she never once saw them. Fred and George shifted in their seats, looking very uncomfortable. Ernie Macmillian's eyes went wide.
"They didn't look this bad during the Yule Ball," Arabella said softly, her voice sounding very distant. She remembered how bold and brave she felt wearing a dress during that night. "I felt beautiful for the first time in years that night… that is until Nikola told me I had ugly scars." She snorted and examined her scars. She then pointed to one near her right shoulder and said, "That was the first cut. I screamed my head off, I thought I was on fire. I called for my mum, and in the other room, they took turns torturing her."
She then glanced at Harry as he laced his fingers through hers. "We never faced Voldemort or the basilisk or the dementors because we thought it would be cool to brag to our friends about or anything of the sort. We did it because… it was the right thing to do. It's as simple as that. We wanted to stop Voldemort and stop the dementors from taking our souls. None of it was to earn points with our professors or some cool story to tell later." She took a deep breath and said, "We're here to take lessons from Harry because they're coming for us. Voldemort rips families apart. His Death Eaters rip families apart. They torture, isolate, hurt, and kill. They're ruthless and they'll use any means necessary to get what they want, like –" She gave a hollow laugh and glanced down, her voice barely above a whisper, "like kill your mother in front of your eyes, like torture you until you're begging for death and they make you believe that it's the only way out. They make you want it when you're barely three years old."
She squeezed Harry's fingers and continued, her voice unsteady, "We need to be prepared… and there's no one better to teach us than Harry. We need to understand what's out there because they're coming for us, whether you like it or not… and they're not going to leave us alone just because we're kids. I was three when this happened, and they didn't spare me. What do you think they're going to do to you?"
Some people shifted in their seats, looking uncomfortable, while others stared at the dirty floor in deep thought.
"That lady," began Dean, clearing his throat and rubbing his forehead, "the one during our third year – the boggart, remember? Was she… you know…"
"Yes," whispered Arabella, nodding her head.
"I just thought she was some sort of bad dream or something, I don't know," said Dean, worried. "I didn't… oh, wow…"
"My grandparents were killed during the First War," Lavender said suddenly, looking very tearful while picking at her fingernails. "My granny thought that You-Know-Who had the wrong idea and that nobody should show his followers any mercy. She hated the whole lot of them."
Arabella nodded, giving her a small smile. "She's got the right idea there."
Lavender looked ashamed as she said, "My dad hasn't been the same since." Her eyes shifted around as she mumbled, "Sorry."
Arabella wasn't sure who she was talking to until Lavender looked at her for a couple seconds. She was taken back but gave her a small smile all the same.
"My uncle and his family were killed as well," Susan Bones said softly. "He fought alongside Professor Dumbledore with his wife. Nobody besides my dad and auntie survived the war. Half of us were wiped off within days."
"Edgar Bones?" asked Harry.
Susan nodded and said, with a sad smile, "His wife's name was Suzanne and they had a little boy. He barely a year older than me."
"Mad-Eye Moody spoke highly of him," said Harry cautiously. "He told us that your uncle was a great wizard. I'm sure he's watching over you, your dad and your aunt."
Susan Bones smiled at him, appreciating his words.
"We've all lost someone during the war," said George, looking around the room. "It took five Death Eaters to get our uncles. They went out fighting."
"And we're going to make sure it never happens again," Ginny said roughly. "We can't let history repeat itself. Not again."
Alfred Clemens raised his hand again.
"You don't have to do that, Alfred," Hermione said hastily.
Alfred took his hand down and said, looking at Arabella and Harry, "What did he look like? You-Know – Know-Who – what did he look like?"
Arabella and Harry glanced at each other. Maybe just answering this one won't hurt.
Harry hesitated as he said, "Not… normal that's for sure. He doesn't look right. Almost half-dead, it's sort of hard to explain."
"He looks as though his soul left his body," added Arabella. "As thought his last bit of humanity left his body along time ago."
Silence followed her statement. People stared at her and Harry, taking their words in. Neville put his head in his hands in horror, Justin kept biting his nails, and Lavender was pale.
"Are we all in agreement that we want to take lessons from Harry?" said Hermione.
There was a murmur of agreement. Arabella put her purple button up back on and took a seat beside Ron.
"Right," said Hermione, sounding relieved. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week –"
"Hang on," said Angelina, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."
"No," said Cho, "nor with ours."
"Nor ours," added Smith.
"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," Hermione said impatiently, "but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against Death Eaters –"
"Well said!" Ernie burst our suddenly. "Personally, I think this is important, possible more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up!"
"Of course, this is important," snapped Arabella, rolling her eyes. "Did you not listen to a single thing I said, Ernie?"
"I did," Ernie went on, "but I am personally at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher upon us at this critical period. Obviously they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells –"
"Umbridge doesn't want us trained in defensive spells," said Arabella. "She and the Ministry have got it in their head that Dumbledore's forming some sort of army with his students to use against the Ministry."
Nearly everyone seemed stunned at the news, except for Luna Lovegood, who piped up and said, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army"
"What?" said Harry, thrown off by this information.
"Yes, he's got an army of heliopaths."
"No, he hasn't," snapped Hermione.
"Yes, he has," said Luna.
"What are heliopaths?" asked Neville.
"They're spirits of fire," said Luna, her eyes going wide. "Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of –"
"They don't exist, Neville," Hermione said sourly.
"Oh yes they do!" said Luna angrily.
"I'm sorry, but where's the proof of that?" snapped Hermione.
"There are plenty of eyewitness accounts, just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you –"
"Oh, shut up the both of you," snarled Arabella. "Who cares right now? We're trying to decide how often we're going to meet up for lessons."
"Yes," Hermione said instantly, "yes, we were, you're right…"
"Once a week sounds cool," said Lee.
"As long as –" began Angelina.
"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," Hermione said tensely. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…"
Everyone fell silent for a couple minutes, each looking severely unsure.
"Library?" said Katie Bell.
"And have Madam Pince skin us alive?" said Ron, shaking his head.
"Maybe an unused classroom?" said Dean.
"McGonagall might let us have hers," said Ron, "she did when Harry was practicing for the Triwizard Tournament."
"I doubt McGonagall will let us use her classroom for this," said Harry. "Not really the ideal study group, are we?"
"Well, we'll try and find somewhere," said Hermione. "We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting." She rummaged in her bag and produced parchment and a quill, then hesitated. "I – I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So, if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge – or anybody else – what we're up to."
Fred reached out for the parchment and put his signature down. George and Lee followed in suit, but some of the other did not look as happy to sign their names.
"Er…" said Zacharias Smith. "Well… I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is."
"I – well, we are prefects," Ernie said quickly to Hermione. "And if this list was found… well, I mean to say… you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out…"
"Do you honestly think Hermione Granger is going to leave this list lying around?" said Arabella, raising an eyebrow.
"No, no of course not," said Ernie, "it's just…"
"You just said that this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Harry said promptly, "or was that all just a brunch of smoke."
"No – yes, I do believe that – of course I'll sign."
Nobody raised a single objection after Ernie. Arabella saw Cho' friend give her a reproachful look before adding her name to the list. When Smith finally signed his name, Hermione tucked the parchment back into her bag carefully.
"Well, time's ticking on," Fred said briskly, getting to his feet. "George, Lee and I have got items of a sensitive nature to purchase, we'll be seeing you all later."
They all began leaving in small groups. Arabella and Alfred looked at each other once more. Instead of looking away, Alfred gave Arabella a small wave before leaving with the Creevey brothers. Arabella quickly finished her butterbeer before walking out of the Hog's Head with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Well, I think that went quite well," Hermione said happily.
"That Zacharias bloke's a wart," said Ron.
"I don't like him much either, but he overheard me talking to Ernie and Hannah at the Hufflepuff table and seemed interested in coming, so what could I say? But the more people the better really – I mean, Michael Corner and his friends wouldn't have come if he hadn't been going out with Ginny –"
"He's WHAT?" said Ron, outraged with sprayed butterbeer down his front. "She's going out with – my sister's going – what d'you mean, Michael Corner?"
"Well, that's why he and his friend came, I think – well, they're obviously interested in learning Defense, but if Ginny hadn't told Michael what was going on –"
"When did this – when did she –?"
"They met at the Yule Ball and they got together at the end of last year."
"I thought Ginny fancied Neville," said Harry.
"I thought she fancied you," added Ron.
"Ginny used to fancy Harry, but that ended years ago, Ron," said Hermione, shaking her head. "Not that she doesn't like you, of course, Harry, but that practically ended during our second year. And I still think some part of her still fancies Neville, but Neville was a little too slow last year and she didn't want to wait around for him to realize what to do." She glanced at Arabella and said, "Her words, not mine."
Within a couple seconds, Arabella and Harry broke off from Hermione and Ron. Arabella and Harry wanted to spend some time together while Hermione and Ron entered Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop for a new quill for Hermione, Ron bombarding her with questions the whole way.
"Ah, our first date," breathed Arabella, looping her arm through Harry's. "Nervous?"
"Not really," chuckled Harry as they began making their way over to the Three Broomsticks.
The Three Broomsticks was crowded and nosy as usual. But it was warm and smoky, making Arabella sigh in relief. This was certainly better than the Hog's Head. The floors were clean, that's for sure.
"I'll get us some food," Harry told her. "Why don't you find some place to sit?"
Arabella moved around the crowd and found a small table in the corner of the room beside the fireplace. As she sat down and took off her thin coat, she looked around the room. Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Dean, Anthony Goldstein, and Zacharias Smith were sitting a couple tables in front of her, their heads together, speaking quietly. Parvati looked over at Arabella and gave her a small smile. Arabella returned it and waved. Lavender looked up as well. She stared at Arabella for a few seconds before getting up and walking over. Arabella quickly stood up, confused.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Lavender said in a rush, looking flustered. "I don't want to believe he's back, but what choice do I have, really?"
"I heard you apologize earlier, thanks," Arabella said uncomfortably. "Listen, Lavender, we're good. You don't have to keep doing this, all right? You and me, we're good."
"Thanks," Lavender said, giving her a small smile and walking away.
She sat back down with the others and resumed whispering with them. Dean looked over and gave her a thumbs up. Arabella returned it and sat back down. It was surprising when Lavender apologized to her earlier, and more surprising when she came up to Arabella just now to do it again, really making sure that it was heard. Arabella knew they were never going to be friends, but this was better them hating each other venomously.
A couple minutes later, Harry returned with two foaming mugs of butterbeer and some chips for them to share.
"Thank you," said Arabella, happily accepting her mug and taking a gulp.
They sat in silence for a while, eating some chips and looking around the room.
"You didn't have to do that," mumbled Harry, looking at the chips. "You didn't have to show them your scars."
"What?" Arabella asked, perplexed.
"They way they were all staring at you," continued Harry, "they were all looking at you in pity. You shouldn't have shown them your scars. They didn't have to know that. It made me feel sick."
Arabella considered his words for a moment before saying, slowly, "I didn't like it either. But… like I've said before, Harry, they've got to understand. They weren't taking it seriously. Half of them probably weren't even that affected during the First War, and the ones that were understood right away."
Arabella then scooted her chair until she was sitting beside Harry. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"But now we're going to learn Defense, we're going to arm ourselves, and fight back, Harry. Just imagine the look on Umbridge's face when she sees all of us passing our O.W.L.s."
Harry gave her a loop-sided smile. "She won't know what hit her."
"Exactly," said Arabella, giving his cheek another kiss.
She could kiss his cheeks forever.
"Awww… look-ee here," said a voice behind them. "Are they on a dwate?"
"Ickle Harry and ickle Arabella getting cozy-yy."
Fred, George and Lee showed up in front of them, each smiling wickedly and taking a seat across from them. Arabella usually liked the trio but did not want to spend time with them at the moment. She wanted to be with Harry alone.
"Do you have to interrupt?" Arabella said crossly.
"We just came to say hi," said Lee, looking fake offended.
"And to make sure you two have good intentions," said George, grinning. "You're in public and none of us want to see the both of you going at each other."
Arabella's face twisted at his statement. They were certainly not going at each other and she couldn't believe George said that to them.
"Why are you the way you are?" sighed Harry, shaking his head.
"Genetics, I suppose," said Fred, shrugging, "You two haven't met our Aunt Muriel yet."
"That can't be why you two are like this," said Arabella.
"Anyways, what do you think of that Smith bloke?" said Fred. "Think we need to teach him a lesson?"
"He's a pain," offered Harry.
"Just don't do too much damage," said Arabella. "Can't have the three of you kicked out of Hogwarts, can we?"
"Will do, my lady," said Fred, getting up and pulling out a long instrument from one of his Zonko's bags. "Ready?" he asked George and Lee.
The three of them left after taking some chips and drinking some of Arabella's butterbeer. Arabella and Harry left as well after a couple minutes, each needing to run some errands. They first went to get some new quills for themselves before stopping off at the Hogsmeade Post Office.
"Tell Remus I said hi," said Harry, looking around the shop. "I'll go find an owl."
Arabella nodded and grabbed some parchment and ink from the desk on the wall. She didn't want to use Shay for this trip. She needed medicine and needed a slightly more reliable owl than her energetic, accident prone one.
Dear Family,
How is everything? Hope you're doing fine and not going crazy without me. Remus, could you please send me some medicine. I've been having some bad dreams lately and I'm almost out. Don't worry about me, I'm fine.
Nymph, tell Andy and Ted I said hi and hope they're doing good. How's the job hunting for Ted going? Harry says hi, too. He's doing fine, we're both just worried about Quidditch practice and exams coming up.
Miss and love you all, Arabella.
"Doesn't give too much away," mumbled Arabella, re-reading her letter. "Doesn't give anything away, actually."
"You just need some medicine," said Harry, looking over her shoulder. "Should be fine."
Arabella tied the letter to one of the faster barn owls and watched him set off. They then began to make their way towards the castle, arm in arm. Arabella felt happy as she walked up the road with Harry. She leaned closer towards Harry and kissed his cheek.
"I could kiss you all day, Mr. Potter," Arabella mumbled, smiling against Harry's cheek.
He put his arm around her shoulder, bring her closer towards him. "Want to test that out, Miss Black?"
Arabella pulled Harry behind an alleyway between Zonko's Joke Shop and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, the two of them giggling and laughing the whole way. The moment they were secluded and alone with each other, Arabella moved closer and kissed Harry, ceasing her giggles. Her eyes fluttered and leaned in closer, if possible. Their chests were pressed against each other. Her hands were gripping the front of his jacket and he gently cupped her cheeks, rubbing his thumb against her skin. His arms then traveled down her sides, softly caressing them. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she couldn't think. It felt as though her brain was malfunctioning and the only thing in the world that mattered was Harry and the way he groaned her name against her lips.
"Yes?" whispered Arabella, their lips breaking apart for a moment.
Her eyes glanced from his lips to his eyes and she licked her own lips.
"Nothing," breathed Harry, shaking his head and smiling.
He pulled her in for another kiss, just as eager, just as breathless. Somehow, Arabella found herself against the stone cobbled building, her legs weak. She felt bold and light. She moved her hand from the base of Harry's neck to his chest and moved her lips to his neck and collarbone, placing soft kisses against his skin.
"Arabella," whispered Harry, taking in deep breaths.
She closed her eyes, humming, and kissed him again. Suddenly, Arabella felt Harry's hand underneath her shirt and she froze for a moment, feeling her heart beating a little faster. Arabella groaned as his hands pressed against her skin. She never anything like this before and she never wanted this moment to stop.
Their lips broke away after a while, but they didn't move away from each other. Harry pressed his forehead against hers and she took an unsteady breath. How had she not truly realized how beautiful the Hogsmeade village was?
Arabella spent most of her Sunday catching up on homework. She took her work outside, sitting under a large oak tree near the edge of the lake. Harry's head was on her lap, trying to distract her, and failing. She felt happier than she had done all term. The knowledge that they were doing something to resist Umbridge and fight back against the Ministry gave Arabella exuberant satisfaction. She was no longer just some crazed witch that was going to snap at any moment. She was part of the rebellion alongside her best friends.
"Have you given any thought to your first lessons?" asked Arabella.
Harry sat up and leaned against the tree. He stared thoughtfully at the lake and then said, "I was thinking about Expelliarmus, the Disarming Charm, and slowly making our way through other jinxes and curses. Eventually I want to get to the Patronus Charm, but that will be something we'll do later during the term after we get the other curses and jinxes out of the way. I do want to see how everyone progresses before moving on to more difficult spells…"
Arabella smiled as Harry trailed off. She spent the rest of the afternoon, listening to him plan out his lessons and giving his some suggests along the way. He was going to be a fantastic teacher and leader.
The next morning Arabella and Hermione left their dormitory together and was about to make their way to the common room when the stairs melted together to make a long, smooth stone slide. Arabella laughed and covered her mouth. Did the boys really not know about this?
"Wonder who's trying to get up here," said Hermione.
Hermione slid down first with Arabella right behind her. They were halfway through the slid when they heard the perpetrator's voice.
"I didn't realize that would happen," called Ron's voice. "It's not fair! They're allowed in our dormitory, how come we're not allowed –?"
"It's an old-fashioned rule," said Hermione, sliding neatly onto the rug, Arabella seconds behind. "But it says in Hogwarts, A History that the founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls."
"They've got a point," added Arabella. "Couple boys tried to get up in our first year and a few more after that in our second and I'm sure none of them had any good intentions with their girlfriends."
"Anyway, why were you trying to get in there?"
"Look at this!" said Ron.
He dragged the both of them over to the Gryffindor notice board. It was usually covered with lists of spellbooks for sale, school reminders from Filch, Quidditch training schedules, the Weasley's new advertisement for testers, Hogsmeade weekend dates, and lost-and-found notices. This time, however, there was a large sign that covered everything else on the board. It was printed in large black letters with an official seal at the bottom beside a curly signature.
By Order Of
THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS
All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.
An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting or three or more students.
Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).
No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student found to have formed, or belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four.
Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge
High Inquisitor
"Someone must have blabbed to her!" Ron said angrily.
"They can't have," said Hermione in a low voice.
"You are so naïve," said Ron, "you think just because you're all honourable and trustworthy –"
"No, they can't have done because I put a jinx on that piece of parchment we all signed," said Hermione grimly. "Believe me, if anyone's run off and told Umbridge, we'll know exactly who they are, and they will really regret it."
"What'll happen to them?" Ron said eagerly.
"Well, put it this way, it'll make Eloise Midgen's acne look like a couple of cute freckles. Come on, let's get down to breakfast and see what the others think… I wonder whether this has been out up in all the Houses?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Arabella asked as they headed down to the Great Hall.
"I didn't want to add more to your plate," Hermione said grimly. "I would have told you eventually, but you had all those detentions and your homework, I didn't want to worry you anymore."
Arabella frowned, regretting not spending more time with Hermione. She was her best friend, she should try and spend as much time as possible with her.
Hermione hesitated at the look on Arabella's face and said, "Next time, you'll be the first to know, I promise."
Immediately upon entering the Great Hall, it was apparent that everybody saw Umbridge's sign. Many students were chattering intensely with their neighbours, moving up and down their tables and scurrying about the whole Hall. Arabella, Hermione, Harry and Ron took their seats at the Gryffindor and was immediately bombarded with questions from Neville, Dean, Fred, George, and Ginny.
"Did you see it?"
"D'you reckon she knows?"
"What are we going to do?"
Harry glanced around to make sure there were no teachers around and said, quietly, "We're going to do it anyway, of course."
"Knew you'd say that," George said happily, thumping Harry on the arm.
"Prefects as well?" said Fred, peering at Ron and Hermione.
"Here comes Ernie and Hannah," said Arabella, looking over the Hufflepuff table, "and those Ravenclaw guys and Smith… they don't look very pleased…"
"The idiots can't come over here now," hissed Hermione, looking alarmed. "It'll look really suspicious – sit down!" she mouthed to Ernie and Hannah. "Later! We'll – talk – to – you – later!"
"I'll tell Michael," said Ginny, getting to her feet. "The fool, honestly…"
Fool? That doesn't sound like a happy relationship. Arabella threw Neville a significant look before turning back to her breakfast. Hopefully he got the hint.
Just as they were about to head off for History of Magic, they were stopped in the Great Hall.
"Oi! Arabella! Harry! Ron!" Angelina was hurrying towards them, looking very desperate. "You realize she's including Quidditch in this? We have to go and ask permission to re-form the Gryffindor team!"
"What?" said Harry.
"No way," said Ron.
"You read the sign, it mentions teams too! So, listen up, the both of you," she poked Arabella on the chest aggressively and said, "do not lose your tempers," she poked Harry on the chest as well, "with Umbridge again or she might not let us play anymore!"
"Okay, okay," said Harry. "Don't worry, we'll behave ourselves, right, Arabella?"
Angelina looked as though she was on the verge of tears.
"Yeah, yeah, definitely," Arabella said hastily.
They then set off for Binns's lesson, which was just as boring as usual. He droned on about the giant wars while Arabella and Harry played tic-tac-toe on the corner of her parchment. They ignored Hermione's glares and nudges until she poked Harry painfully on the ribs and pointed at the window.
Hedwig was perched on the window ledge, gazing through the thick glass at Harry with a letter tied to her leg. Many of the other students realized Hedwig was there as well. It was certainly more interesting than whatever Binns was saying, who was unaware that the class was not paying attention to him. Harry slipped off his chair and hurried along the row to the window, where he opened it very slowly. He glanced at Binns and hurried back to his seat, Hedwig on his lap.
"She's hurt!" whispered Harry.
Arabella, Hermione and Ron leaned in. Hedwig was quivering. Her feathers were oddly ruffled, some bent the wrong way, and her wing was at an odd angle. When Harry made to touch the wing, she gave a little jump, looking at Harry reproachfully.
"Professor Bins," Harry called loudly, "I'm not feeling well."
Binns looked up, amazed, and said, "Not feeling well?"
"Not at all well," Harry said firmly. "So, I think I'll need to go to the hospital wing."
"Yes," Binns said, confused, "yes… yes, hospital wing… well, off you go, then, Perkins…"
Harry left the room very quickly and the class returned to normal. But Arabella, Hermione and Ron could barely focus. Their minds were preoccupied with Hedwig and how she could have been hurt. Ron and Hermione kept whispering to each other. Arabella caught a couple things they said but could barely focus. She kept checking her watch and tapping her pencil against the desk. The moment the bell rang, Arabella threw her things into her bag and practically ran out of the room. Hermione and Ron were just a few feet behind her. They left the classroom and found a sheltered corner in the courtyard, where they usually went after History of Magic. They stood there for a couple moments, anxious, before Harry turned up.
"Is Hedwig okay?" Hermione said at once.
"Where did you take her?" asked Ron.
"To Grubbly-Plank," said Harry. "And I met McGonagall along the way. She told me 'The channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts may be watched,' after I told her the letter came from London – you know, Grimmauld Place. Do you think someone's been watching Hedwig?"
"It makes sense," said Hermione. "I mean, she's never been hurt on a flight before, has she?"
"Who's the letter from?" asked Arabella.
"Snuffle," Harry said quietly, showing her the note.
Today, same time, same place.
"Does he mean the fire in the common room?" asked Ron.
"Obviously," Hermione said uneasily. "I just hope nobody else had read this…"
"But it was sealed and everything," said Harry, "and nobody would understand what it meant if they didn't know where we'd spoken to him before, would they?"
"It's not difficult to reseal the scroll by magic," Arabella said with a jerk of her shoulders.
The bell rang again, and they trudged their way down the stone steps towards the dungeon. Arabella was lost in thought, unaware of the fact that she was following Hermione towards her next class. She was finally brought back with the voice of Malfoy, who was standing just outside Snape's classroom door. He was waving a parchment around for his friends to see and talking much louder than usual, making sure all the Gryffindors heard.
"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission to continue playing straightaway, I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry… It'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?"
Arabella rolled her eyes and leaned against the cold, stone walls. She should have just skipped Potions.
"I mean," continued Malfoy, his voice rising even more, "if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance… I mean, take Black for example… My father says that some officials have been trying to chuck her into Azkaban, probably with a cell next to that father of hers… They've been looking for a reason to sack Arthur Weasley for years, that man is barely a wizard… As for Potter, well, it's only a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St. Mungo's… apparently they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic…"
Malfoy made a grotesque face with his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling. Parkinson shrieked with laughter.
Something collided hard with Arabella's shoulder. It took her a second to realize that Neville charged past her, heading straight for Malfoy, his fist clenched.
"Neville, no!"
Harry and Ron immediately leapt forward, seizing the back of Neville's robes. Neville struggled frantically, his fists flailing about and his face extremely red. He was desperately trying to get at Malfoy, who looked shocked for a moment. Harry got his arm around Neville's neck just as Crabbe and Goyle began flexing their arms in front of Malfoy, ready for a fight.
"Neville!" cried Arabella.
She stood in front of him and push against his shoulders. She did not like the look on Crabbe and Goyle's faces. They would like nothing more than to squash Neville. Arabella tried to catch his eye, but he was determined to get a swing at Malfoy.
"Neville, look at me!" barked Arabella. "Neville!"
"Not… funny…" Neville spluttered. "Don't… Mungo's… show him…"
"Neville, I know," Arabella told him, her voice softer.
She then grabbed his face until their eyes met. He paused for a moment, staring at her, and she could tell that he was close to tearing up. She almost pitied him but knew that he would be ashamed and embarrassed if she did.
"Your father was an Auror," she whispered urgently. She could see some of the Gryffindors leaning in, trying to hear her, but she made sure that Neville was the only one who heard her. "Your father was a well-respected Auror and your mother was an incredible witch. They were wonderful and brilliant and his father – Neville, his father is a low-life criminal. His father is a Death Eater and your father, your father, Neville, is a great man. Do not stoop down to his level, Neville, it's not worth it."
Neville's face twisted at her words. She knew she was getting through to him, even if he didn't like it. The dungeon door opened, and Snape looked around, his eyes traveling up the Gryffindor line. He stopped at the sight of Harry's arm around Neville's neck, Ron holding Neville's arms back, and Arabella clutching Neville's shoulders.
"Fighting?" Snape sneered in a cold voice. "Forty points from Gryffindor and release Longbottom or it will be detention for all of you. Inside, now."
Arabella, Harry and Ron let go of Neville, who glared at all of them before picking up his bag and stalking off into the dungeon.
"What in the name of Merlin," Ron said slowly, "was that about?"
Arabella didn't say anything. She knew exactly what it was about and so did Neville. As she walked inside the dungeon, she recalled their conversation during their second year. He told her that his parents showed no signs of improvement and, by the way he acted, there was still no progress. She remembered her short time on St. Mungo's fourth floor and absolutely hated her time there. She could not imagine spending the rest of her life there. She could imagine visiting someone she loved there every holiday.
Arabella took her usual seat at the back of her class with her friends, took out some parchment, quill, and her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. The class around her were whispering about what Neville had just done, but the moment Snape closed the door, the whole dungeon fell silent.
"You may notice," he said in a low voice, "that we have a guest with us today."
He gestured towards the corner of the dungeon. Arabella suppressed a groan at the sight of Umbridge sitting there, her clipboard on her knees. She looked down at her potions book and shook her head. She hated Snape and Umbridge both and couldn't not see herself rooting for either one.
"We are continuing with our Strengthening Solutions today, you will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson, if correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend – instructions on the board. Carry on."
Arabella barely paid attention to her potion. She was too busy watching Umbridge and Snape. For the first hour Umbridge sat in the corner, quietly making notes. When she got up to question Snape, he was positively livid, but Umbridge was unaware of his mood. The students in the classroom were the only ones who recognized the look on his face, the Gryffindors more so than the Slytherins. Umbridge questioned Snape about his continuous pursuit for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position before walking away to question Parkinson. Snape took his anger out on Harry, vanishing his potion before they headed out for Divinations with Trelawney.
Harry was fuming the way to the North Tower, but he wasn't the only one. Trelawny slammed a copy of the Oracle down on the tale between Harry and Ron and swept away. She threw the next copy at Seamus and Dean, narrowly missing Seamus's head and thrust the last copy into Neville's chest, leaving him gasping for air.
"Well, carry on!" Trelawney called to the class, hysterical. "You know what to do! Or am I such a substandard teacher that you have never learned how to open a book?"
Arabella and Neville glanced at each other before turning back to Trelawney, who threw herself into her chair, her eyes full of angry tears.
"Professor?" said Parvati, her voice hush. "Professor, is there anything – er – wrong?"
"Wrong!" cried Trelawney, her voice trembling. "Certainly not! I have been insulted, certainly… Insinuation have been made against me… Unfounded accusations levelled… but no, there is nothing wrong, certainly not…" She took a shuddering breath and looked away from Parvati, her cheeks now covered in tears. "I say nothing of sixteen years' devoted service… It has passed, apparently, unnoticed… But I shall not be insulted, no, I shall not!"
"But, Professor, who's insulting you?" asked Parvati.
"The establishment!" Trelawney said dramatically. "Yes, those with eyes too clouded by the Mundane to See as I See, to Know as I Know… Of course, we Seers have always been feared, always persecuted… It is – alas – our fate…"
Arabella watched as Trelawney pull out a handkerchief from her sleeve and blow her nose loudly. She felt bad for Trelawney. She spent sixteen years working at Hogwarts. Arabella knew most of it was probably rubbish, but she had to hand it to Trelawney. Sixteen years was quite impressive regardless, especially considering the fact that many students drop Divinations after their O.W.L.s.
"Professor," said Parvati, "do you mean… is it something Professor Umbridge…?"
"Do not speak to me about that woman!" cried Trelawney, leaping to her feet immediately. "Kindly continue with your work!"
She spent the rest of class walking amongst them, muttering threats under her breath. It was certainly hard to concentrate on the task at hand with Trelawney wittering about, saying, "… may well choose to leave… the indignity of it… on probation… we shall see… how she dares…"
When the met Hermione before Defense Against the Dark Art, Harry told Hermione, "You and Umbridge have got something in common. She obviously reckons Trelawney's an old fraud too… Looks like she's put her on probation."
Arabella and Harry took a seat beside each other as Umbridge entered the room. She was sporting a black velvet bow with a great expression of smugness. She must have sent that note to Trelawney just before Divinations. Arabella clenched her fists. For all of Trelawney's faults, she did not deserve that.
"Good afternoon, class."
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted dully.
"Wands away, please."
Arabella wanted to snort. Nobody bothered taking their wands out anymore at this point. They all lost hope of having a meaningful Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
"Please turn to page thirty-four of Defensive Magical Theory and read the third chapter, entitled The Case for Non-Offensive Responses to Magical Attack. There will be –"
" – no need to talk," Arabella and Harry said under their breaths.
Thank you so much for reading! Hope you all liked it, tell me what you think! Not quite sure how this chapter turned out. Kept going over it multiple times, let me know if I need to edit something. Thank you!