DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER HARRY POTTER NOR FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!
Chapter Twenty-Two
Luna said vaguely that she did not know how soon Rita's interview with Ed and Harry would appear in The Quibbler, that her father was expecting a lovely long article on recent sightings of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.
"And, of course, that'll be a very important story, so Ed and Harry's might have to wait for the following issue," Luna told them.
Ed and Harry had not found it an easy experience to talk about the night when Voldemort had returned. Rita had pressed them for every little detail, and they had given her everything they could remember, knowing that this was their one big opportunity to tell the world the truth. Harry wondered how people would react to the story and guessed that it would confirm a lot of people in the view that he and Ed were completely insane, not least because his and Ed's story would be appearing alongside utter rubbish about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.
"Can't wait to see what Umbridge thinks of you going public," Dean said, awestruck at dinner on Monday night.
"It's the right thing to do, Harry, Ed," Neville approved. "It must have been…tough… talking about it…Was it?"
"Yeah, but people have got to know what Voldemort's capable of, haven't they?" Harry replied.
"That's right," Neville agreed. "And his Death Eaters too… People should know…"
A few moments later, Neville, Dean, and Seamus went up to the Gryffindor common room. Harry, Hermione, Ed, Al, and Winry were waiting for Ron to come from Quidditch practice. Cho Chang walked into the hall with her friend Marietta.
"Oh, I forgot to ask you," Hermione said brightly, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table, "what happened on your date with Cho? How come you were back so early?"
Ed, Al, and Winry looked at Harry.
"Er…well, it was…," Harry started, pulling a dish of rhubarb crumble towards him and helping himself to seconds, "a complete fiasco, now you mention it."
Harry told Ed, Al, Winry, and Hermione of what had happened in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
"…so then," Harry finished several minutes later, "she jumps up, right, and says 'I'll see you around, Harry,' and runs out of the place! I mean, what was all that about? What was going on?"
"You were completely tactless, Harry," Winry said before Hermione could say anything.
"Me, tactless?" Harry raged. "One minute we were getting on fine, next minute she was telling me that Roger Davies asked her out, and how she used to go and snog Cedric in the stupid tea shop - how was I supposed to feel about that?"
"Well, Harry," Winry went on, "you shouldn't have brought up Hermione like that. You should have just said that Hermione forced you to go to the Three Broomsticks. And besides, she misses Cedric. She still feels guilty, and you hurt her feelings when you said you were going to meet Hermione. She was just testing you."
"Is that what she was doing?" Harry asked as Ron sat down and started to pull every food platter towards him. "Well, wouldn't it have been easier if she'd just asked me whether I liked her better than Hermione?"
"Not every girl asks questions like that," Winry explained.
"Winry is right," Hermione agreed.
"Well, they should!" Harry protested. "Then I could've just told her that I fancy her, and she wouldn't have had to get herself all worked up again about Cedric dying!"
"She's only human, Harry," Al said. "She couldn't help it."
"You all should just write a book translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them," Ron suggested.
"No two girls are the same," Winry huffed.
"That's true," Ginny said, sitting down as well.
"So," Harry started, rather depressed, "how was Quidditch practice?"
"It was a nightmare," Ron admitted.
"It couldn't have been -" Al started.
"Yes, it was," Ginny insisted. "It was appalling. Angelina was nearly in tears by the end of it."
Ron and Ginny went off for baths after dinner. Ed, Al, Winry, Harry, and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room and their usual pile of homework. Harry had been struggling with a new star chart for Astronomy for half an hour when Fred and George turned up.
"Ron and Ginny not here?" Fred asked, looking around as he pulled up a chair.
"No," Al answered. "They've gone to take baths."
"Good," Fred said, shooing Pegasus away and receiving a hiss from the angry cat. "We were watching their practice. They're going to be slaughtered. They're complete rubbish without us."
"Come on, Ginny's not bad," George reasoned, sitting down next to Fred. "Actually, I dunno how she got so good, seeing how we never let her play with us…"
"She's been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren't looking," Hermione said from behind her tottering pile of Ancient Rune books.
"Oh, well, that'd explain it," George said, looking impressed.
"Has Ron saved a goal yet?" Al asked.
"Well, he can do it if he doesn't think anyone's watching him," Fred remarked, rolling his eyes. "So all we have to do is ask the crowd to turn their backs and talk among themselves every time the Quaffle goes up his end on Saturday."
Ed snickered. The Quidditch match was only twenty-two minutes, but it seemed like hours. Gryffindor lost, of course, but Ginny was able to catch the snitch. On Monday morning, Ed, Al, and Winry got to the Great Hall before Harry, Ron, and Hermione did. When the latter did come into the Great Hall, it was right when the post owls came. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat by Ed, Al, and Winry. Hermione got her copy of the Daily Prophet. As she read it, owls came swarming to them all and landed on the table. Harry and Ed were shocked with all of the letters they've received.
"What's going on?" Al asked.
"Harry, Edward!" Hermione breathed, plunging her hands into the feathery mass and pulling out a screech owl bearing two long, cylindrical packages. "I think I know what this means! Open these first!"
Harry and Ed both got a package and ripped open the brown packaging. Out rolled were tightly rolled up copies of March's edition of The Quibbler. They unrolled their copies and looked to themselves on the cover. Picture Ed was scowling as Picture Harry was grinning sheepishly. In large red letters across their picture were the words:
EDWARD ELRIC AND HARRY POTTER SPEAK OUT AT LAST:
THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
AND THE NIGHT WE SAW HIM RETURN
"It's good, isn't it?" Luna asked, who had drifted over to the Gryffindor able and now squeezed herself onto the bench between Fred and Ron. "It came out yesterday. I asked Dad to send you free copies. I expect all these," she waved a hand at the assembled owls still scrabbling on the table in front of Harry and Ed, "are letters from readers."
"Brother, can we -?" Al started.
"Go ahead," Ed said.
Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Al, and Winry had started to rip open envelopes.
"This one's from a bloke who thinks you're off your rockers," Ron said, glancing down at his letter. "Ah well…"
A moment later, George spoke up.
"Hey, Ed, you've got an official looking letter," George spoke up. "It was on Owl."
George gave the letter to Ed. Ed then gave it to Al.
"You open it," Ed said.
"Why me?" Al asked.
"Because I told you to," Ed answered.
"You always have me do your dirty work!" Al protested.
"I do not!" Ed retorted.
"You do too!" Al insisted.
"Oh, I'll open it!" Winry snapped, yanking the envelope from Al's grasp.
Everyone gaped at her as she tore open the envelope and took out the letter. She read it and then gave it to Ed.
"I've been court-martialed, haven't I?" Ed asked.
"Just read for yourself," Winry ordered.
Ed winced and read the letter.
"WHAT?!" Ed asked in surprise.
"What is it?" everyone but Winry asked.
"I've been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel," Ed answered.
Before anyone could say anything, a falsely sweet, girlish voice spoke up. Everyone looked to see that it was…
'Toad bitch,' Ed thought.
"What is going on here?" Umbridge asked. "Why have you got all of these letters, Mr. Potter, Mr. Elric?"
"Is that a crime now?" Fred asked loudly.
"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have to put you in detention," Umbridge warned, then looking back at Ed and Harry. "Well?"
"People have written to us because we gave an interview about what happened last June," Ed answered.
"An interview?" Umbridge repeated, her voice thinner and higher. "What do you mean?"
"A reporter asked us questions and we answered them," Harry explained, throwing his copy of The Quibbler to Umbridge. "Here."
"When did you do this?" Umbridge asked.
"Last Hogsmeade weekend," Al answered.
"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Elric," Umbridge said, looking at Ed and Harry once again. "How you dare…how you could…" She took a deep breath. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies, Mr. Potter. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points each from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detention."
"Just because they decided to express their freedom of speech?" a voice behind Umbridge asked.
Umbridge turned to see that it was an angry Izumi with her arms crossed over her chest.
"They are spreading lies, Professor Curtis," Umbridge accused. "That hardly counts as freedom of speech. And you should not interfere in matters you don't understand."
"Matters I don't understand?" Izumi asked. "I clearly understand that you do not want anybody to have their own opinions or anything these students want to express heard. That is exactly the type of government that no one needs, especially in a school."
"Children, especially unruly children, should be seen and not heard," Umbridge said.
What happened next caused the whole room to fall completely silent and everyone at the staff table to stand up from their seats in shock. Izumi slapped Umbridge right across the face with so much force, the sound of the slap reverberated around the quiet Hall.
"You just want to spread your prejudice everywhere," Izumi accused. "And I will not allow you to harm any of these children, directly or indirectly. Edward, Harry, you are not to go to the detentions."
Then Izumi left the Great Hall, every eye following as she did so.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Elric you will come to your detentions," Umbridge said.
Then Umbridge clenched the magazine in her hand and then snatched the one from Ed and stalked off to her office. Then every student started to talk to each other. Ed, Al, Winry, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George looked at each other.
"Scary, that one is," Ron observed.
Harry, Ed, and Al nodded in agreement.