2. It's a Pink Pink World

"Ludwig?" a voice stopped the Gryffindor as he turned. He knew those green eyes and dirty blond hair anywhere.

"Jane!" he exclaimed as they hugged each other. "I missed you so much! How was your summer? Why haven't you written me?" he asked, letting go so he can look into her beautiful green eyes.

The Hufflpuff seemed to stiffen as his questions flooded out. "Luddy, my mum didn't want me to talk to someone who's friends with Harry. I'm sorry." Ludwig just looked at her as she melted in the crowd guilt fully and regrettably.

The first day of Defense Against the Dark Arts was very...difficult for Ludwig, Lovino, and Feliciano to swallow. They passed notes before class, chatting with friends like normal classmates until a note went down in flames. Professor Umbridge stood at the back of the class with a toxically sweet smile. She flicked her wand at the books at the front of the room and they floated to the desks. Ludwig sneered at the book titled "Basic Magical Defense". "The Ministry feels that education here is far too advanst for you, so you will be learning defensive spells in a more secure, risk-free way, starting with the basics." Ludwig raised his hand. "Yes Mr..."

"Doitsu." he finished for her. "But, there's nothing in here about actually using magic of any kind, or any sort of self-defense."

Umbridge looked confused. "Using magic?" she asked. "What would you need self-defense from?"

"What about that Voldemort bastard?!" Lovino yelled, and the room went silent.

"Didn't Arthur say that that guy has followers?" Feliciano asked Ludwig silently next to him. "We would need protection from them at least, right Professor?"

Umbridge's smile turned into a forced one. "I understand that you children don't understand the full truth." she stated as she approached the three. "You have been told that a sirten dark wizard has returned, and I believe the young man that told you is a very close friend of yours. That. Friend. Lied."

"He didn't lie!" Ludwig exploded. "He has no motive TO lie!"

"Detention Mr. Doitsu!"

"So, according to you, Cedric dropped dead by choice?"

"Or Feliciano, my own fratello, decided to forget everything on the spot, even his own name?!"

"I must warn you, I have very little patients from my fifth year class." she stated before she explained her view on the crimes committed the previous year. "Feliciano Vargas is still alive and well after he bumped his head in the tournament last year, and Cedric Digory's death was a horrid accident."

"It was MURDER!" Ludwig pushed. "You might not believe Harry, but he has my full trust, and he would never lie about anything like that!"

"Potato Bastard's right!" Lovino agreed, getting an odd look from his brother. "It's not Harry's fault that he was concerned your pathetic life by warning everyone!"

"Harry is really nice! And really brave! And I don't think he'll do anything for a false edge! And I'm shutting up now." Feliciano stood for a second, then curled up in his chair behind his desk, leaving Ludwig and Lovino as the only two standing.

"Both of you." she sighed. "See me later in my office."

When time for detention came, they knocked on the thick dark door. "Come in." she called as the door opened to a flood of pink and cats. If they didn't know better, they would think that this was Hercules' and Felix's shared office with all the cats, pink, and fluff on all the walls and furniture.

"This is what I get for helping a Potato Eater." Lovino grumbled to no one in particular. "Locked in a room that was decorated by Cat Bastard and Pink Bastard."

After some silence, Umbridge gave Lovino a quill, sitting him down at a desk with a blank parchment. "I want you to write some lines for me today Mr. Vargas." He took the quill in his hand and waited for her to tell him what to write. "Write down 'I must not tell lies'."

"How many times?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"However long it takes for your friend here to get the message."

Ignoring the fact that she called Ludwig his friend to avoid getting into more trouble, he prepared to write with the quill given to him, but he noticed something odd. "I need ink."

"No you don't."

Sighing, Lovino wrote down the line, confused as to why it was red. As Umbridge made tea at her desk, Ludwig grunted in pain seconds after Lovino started writing. He stopped to see why the German cried, then saw that a copy of the parchment was engraved on the back of his hand. The ink Lovino just used was Ludwig's blood. The thought made his stomach flip as he gaged at the feathered object in his hand.

The Professor smiled at the boys. "You both know deep down, you deserve to be punished."

With Ludwig cradling his hand, the two left for the common room. On the way down, they bumped into Harry. "What's wrong Ludwig?" he asked.

With the German still traumatized at what just happened, Lovino looked at the fifth year in front of them. "You going to Umbridge's office for detention?" he asked as Harry nodded. Lovino sighed as he shook his head and kept walking. "Hope you don't mind cat plates, pink bricks, and red ink."