Here's the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews percyjackson135, brelee24, Priscilla Harkness, Grey-Rain-Cloud, Nichole135, Kiyora-Hatake, and BatFamily01. Kiyora-Hatake:Nina will be at Grimmauld Place with Freya and Siri. She will be at Camp Jupiter, but you'll find out about that later. brelee24: I don't have any issues with Molly. This is in the opinion of a 15 year girl who has been independent her entire life. She doesn't take well to being told what to do and hates when people bad mouth her family. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Fifty Nine: Umbridge
The next morning, I woke up to see sapphire eyes staring down at me. "Hey, Freya," I yawned as I sat up.
She crawled into my lap. "Hi, hi." Freya snuggled into my chest.
"You hungry, little girl?" She nodded. I picked her up and maneuvered my way out the door and down the stairs. All the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Siri, and Remus were already there. I plopped Freya sown in Sirius' lap and went to get some food. "Cornflakes okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," Freya answered. I pulled out the box of cereal, a bowl, spoon, and the milk. I made Freya's bowl then made a bowl for myself. I was about to take her from Sirius, but he was already feeding her. I smiled and started eating my own cereal. Mrs. Weasley was already putting away the other's dishes. Sirius informed us that we would be cleaning all day. I laughed when Freya started grumbling about it under her breath. Sirius and Remus looked like they were trying not to laugh themselves.
Over the course of the day, many things were accomplished. We managed to clean the drawing room. I was introduced to Sirius' creepy house elf, Kreacher. Freya became deathly afraid of Kreacher. We found a locket with an S inscribed on it. The locket plain out refused to open. A pair of robes tried to strangle Ron. A magic music box almost put us all to sleep. We found a lot of doxies in the curtains. Fred and George took some of the doxy venom. It really was an interesting day.
*TIME SKIP*
There was a lot of crying on the day we had to leave for Kings Cross, all done by one person in particular. Freya was clinging to my leg and trying to stop me from finishing my packing. She had really bonded with Sirius, Remus, Fred, George, and me. She was very good with Bill, Charlie, and Tonks as well. She liked me the most. "Freya, baby, I promise you'll see me again. I'm not leaving forever."
"B-but you're gonna be g-gone for a really long t-time and I don't want you t-to leave me."
"Sirius, Remus, Bill, Charlie, and Tonks will still be here, Freya."
"But you and Fred and George are l-leaving." Freya was giving me her best kicked puppy eyes and I was very tempted to forget school and stay here with her. I shook my head.
"Freya, I would stay if I could, but I really have to go to school. I promise I'll visit you as soon as I can."
"Pinky promise?" she asked.
""Pinky promise," I agreed, locking my pinky with hers.
We ran downstairs. I willed my trunk to shrink and stuck it back on its place on my bracelet. Mrs. Weasley was giving us instructions. "Christina, Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks. Leave your trunks and your owls...Christina, where's yours." I gestured to my bracelet.
A friend of my charmed it so it would shrink at my will."
"Right, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage." Skittles made an annoyed sound at being called luggage.
How dare she call me luggage!
Oh, hush you.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no," reminded Mrs. Weasley. I turned to see Sirius walk up in his animagus form. Freya giggled and clapped her hands. She stretched her little arms out to her older cousin and I placed her on his back. He was more than large enough to support her. Freya grabbed onto Sirius' ears. It didn't seem to bother him at all. He barked happily. "Oh, honestly..." Mrs. Weasley groaned. "Well, on your own head be it!"
Mrs. Weasley led Harry, Siri, Freya, and me out the door and up a hill. Freya was laughing as she rode on top of Sirius. He was very careful not to let her fall. I stood next to them, ready to catch Freya, just in case. Tonks had used her metamorphmagus powers to make herself look like an old lady. It took us 20 minutes to reach the station. Everyone was already there waiting for us on our platform.
"Nice dog, Nina," called Lee Jordan. Sirius barked and Freya looked at Lee curiously. "Who's the little one?"
"Thanks Lee. This is Freya. Freya, this is Lee Jordan."
"Hi," she whispered shyly. He flashed her a grin and went over to talk to Fred and George. I took Freya off of Sirius' back and hugged her. She looked like she was ready to cry again. "Bye bye, Nina. I'll miss you."
"Bye Freya. I'll see you over Christmas break. Don't you worry. Sirius jumped up with his paws on my shoulders and started licking me good bye. He did the same to Harry. I waved to everyone and climbed on the train. As it started moving, Sirius and Freya ran after it. Freya stuck close to Sirius' side so as not to get lost. People were laughing watching the big dog and little girl run after the train. Bye, Skittles called.
They can't hear you.
I don't care. I shook my head at my rainbow winged snowy owl. Ron and Hermione left to go to the prefects meeting. I'm not entirely sure why they made Ron a prefect. He's not exactly the most mature. Fred and George went off with Lee. Ginny, Harry, and I went off to go find a compartment. He was standing awkwardly outside a compartment with Luna in it. "Everywhere's full," he muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked. I was confused too. Neville was friends with Luna. "There's room in this one. Loony Lovegood is the only one in here."
"Her name is Luna," I snapped. I opened the door and said hello to my friend. We all talked to Luna for a few minutes before the compartment door slid open again. Lav and Vati walked in, giggling about something. "Oh, do please share what you find so amusing," I said sarcastically. Sometimes it's best not to aske with these two.
"Lav is recounting her amazing month with her boyfriend," Vati giggled. I started laughing. Lavender and Percy were really cute together. Nev showed us a rare plant, mimbulus mimbletonia, his grandmother had gotten him for his birthday. It was supposed to have magical qualities and Nev was trying to figure them out. Neville dumped Trevor, his toad, into my lap. The toad tried to get away, but I grabbed it at the last second.
Neville poked a spot on the plant with the tip of his quill. Green liquid spurted from spots all over the plant. I got a face full of it. The others managed to get their hands above their faces in time. "Sorry," Neville groaned. "I'm still trying to figure it all out. Don't worry. It isn't poisonous." I handed him back Trevor and began to wipe my face off. The good smelt awful.
When Ron and Hermione arrived, nearly an hour later, they informed us that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were the Slytherin prefects. I have no idea what Dumbledore is thinking. Both of them are really biased. They will be completely unfair. Harry borrowed Luna's magazine and started reading it. "Anything good in there?" asked Ron.
"Of course not," Hermione said scathingly. "The Quibbler's rubbish. Everyone knows that."
"Excuse me," Luna frowned, her voice losing his dreamy quality. "My stepfather's the editor."
Hermione blushed. "Oh, er, well, it's got some interesting...I mean, it's quite..."
"I'll have it back," Luna said to Harry, still frowning. She glared at Hermione before hiding her face behind her magazine. I glared at Hermione. That girl has got to watch what she says.
The compartment door slid open. "Tell me," sneered Malfoy. "How does it feel to be second best to Granger and Weasley, Jackson, Potter?"
"Shut up, Malfoy," sighed Hermione.
"I seem to have touched a nerve," smirked the Slytherin prefect. "Watch yourselves, Potter, Jackson, because I'll be dogging your footsteps." I looked at Lav and Vati. They had heard the emphasis on dogging too.
Where did Malfoy see him? asked Lavender in Greek.
On the platform. He was in his animagus form, I said.
Oh no, groaned Parvati.
When we got off the train, Grubbly-Plank had taken Hagrid's spot. I wonder where Hagrid is. We climbed onto the carriages that would take us to Hogwarts. Luna, Nev, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lav, Vati, and I all sat in the same carriage. I told Lav and Vati all about Freya and how cute she was.
The new DADA teacher worked or the ministry. Harry told us that he had seen her at his hearing. He had to go to one because he used a patronus charm on two dementors that were outside his house. The Sorting Hat's song was very long this year. It warned us that we needed to stick together or external foes would destroy us. I'm guessing it was referring to Voldemort.
Dumbledore welcomed us all. After the speech, he informed us of the new staffing arrangements. Grubbly-Plank was teaching Care of Magical Creatures. I wonder what happened to Hagrid. Dolores Umbridge, the ministry worker, was teaching DADA. She gave this whole speech about how she wanted to bond with us. I saw through it. It was a way for the ministry to be able to spy on Dumbledore.
The next day, classes started. We had History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and DADA. It was a pretty good day. I didn't know how Umbridge would be though. In History of Magic, we learned about the Gigantomachy. It was a war between 12 giant sons of Gaia and the gods. The only way to beat them was through the combined efforts of demigod and god. That could be bad. History often repeats itself and the Gigantomachy came right after the Titanomachy.
We made the Draught of Peace in Potions. I could have really used some of this over the summer. I was a little heavy on the powdered moonstone. My potion was a darker silver than it was supposed to be. It wasn't too bad though, and Sev didn't say anything.
In Divination, we were interpreting dreams. Vati told us about a dream she had where her sister Drew was floating around camp upside down. We couldn't find what that meant and Professor Trelawney wasn't entirely sure either. Lavender just said that she hoped it was a demigod dream.
DADA was really bad. When we were all seated, Umbridge said, "Well, good afternoon!" in a faux cheery voice.
"Good afternoon," a few people mumbled.
Umbridge reprimanded us for not saying good afternoon cheerfully. What the Hades is her issue? "Wands away and quills out, please," she smiled. Umbridge pulled out her own wand, which was really short, and tapped the board. Defense Against the Dark Arts: A Return to Basic Principles appeared on the board. Umbridge told us that all our teachers were below standard. She told us to read chapter one of Defensive Magical Theory. Everyone opened their books except Hermione and me. I had the content etched into my brain. I didn't need to read the book again.
Hermione raised her hand. Umbridge ignored it. That's not good, Hermione could be dying and no one would ever know until it's too late. Umbridge finally gave in when more than half the class had stopped reading and started staring at Hermione. "Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?"
"Well, we're just reading now. If you have other queries, we can deal with them at the end of class."
"I have a query about your course aims," said Hermione.
"And your name is-?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."
"Well, I don't," Hermione said. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."
"Using defensive spells?" asked Umbridge. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom where you might need to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to get attacked during class?"
"We're not going magic?" Ron interrupted.
"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr.-?"
"Weasley," Ron grumbled, thrusting his arm up into the air.
Umbridge turned her back on him. I raised my hand along with Harry. "Yes Miss-"
"Christina Jackson, ma'am. Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells. What good is theory if we were to get attacked?"
"Are you a ministry trained educational expert, Miss Jackson?"
"Are you?" I asked her.
"Well, um...That is not the point. You are not qualified to decide what the whole 'point' of this class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised this program. You shall be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way-"
"What use is that?" Harry said. "If we're going to be attacked, in a-"
"Hand, Mr. Potter," sang Umbridge."
Lav turned to Vati. "You remember when I said I would be nicer to Drew when toads sang?"
"Yeah," Vati whispered back.
"Looks like I've gotta be nice now." I snorted and Vati tried to hold back her giggles as Lavender kept a perfectly straight face. Umbridge glared at us.
She ignored Harry's now raised hand. Umbridge pointed to Dean. "And your name is?"
"Dean Thomas."
"Well, Mr. Thomas?"
"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it? If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free-"
"I repeat, do you expect to be attacked in my classes?"
"No, but-"
"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to many irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed-not to mention, extremely dangerous half-breeds."
"If you mean Professor Lupin," argued Dean, "he was the best we ever had."
"Hand, Mr. Thomas! As I was saying-you have been introduced to a variety of spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day-"
"No we haven't," Hermione said, "we just-"
"Your hand is not up, Miss Granger! It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he also performed them on you-"
"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" said Parvati.
"Your hand is not up, Miss-"
"Patil," Vati groaned, sticking her hand into the air.
Umbridge ignored it. "Now, it is the view of the ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examinations, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" Umbridge turned to Lavender.
"Lavender Brown, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter curses and things?"
"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions."
"Without ever practicing them before? Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to use the spells will be during our exam?"
"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough-"
"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" I demanded, my arm high in the air.
"This is school, Miss Jackson, not the real world."
"Well, what about when we're not in the real world. Say Voldemort didn't come back." Everyone shuddered and I rolled my eyes. "There are still dark creatures and wizards out there that will attack us."
"There are no more dark wizards, Miss Jackson."
"Well, what do you call the people at the Quidditch World Cup last year."
"They merely partaking in after game fun."
"Then, why was the Dark Mark in the sky? You call muggle-baiting fun?"
"I never said that."
"Uh, yeah, you kinda did," I snapped.
"Detention, my office. Five o'clock tonight."
The rest of the class continued arguing with Umbridge. I sat back in my seat. Harry earned himself a detention with me by saying that Voldemort was back. Umbridge told us to read. I still didn't open my book. "Miss Jackson, kindly start reading chapter one."
"I already read it."
"Well no harm could come from rereading it."
"I'm eidetic. It's etched into my brain. I could recite it right here and right now if you wanted."
"You will be having another detention with me tomorrow night as well, Miss Jackson. Same time and place."
That night, Harry and I walked up to detention together. Harry knocked on the door and a sugary voice said, "Come in." I shoved open the door and flopped down in one of the chairs near a table Umbridge had set up. "You two will be doing some lines for me." Se put a thin, long, black quill in front of Harry and me. "I want you to write 'I must not tell lies.'"
"How much?" I asked.
"As long as it takes for the words to sink in."
"You haven't given us any ink," Harry said.
"You won't be needing any," smirked Umbridge. I put the quill to the parchment and started to scribble the words. Nothing happened.
"I think your quill's broken. Nothing's happening," I said. I tried writing again as she watched me.
"Well, that's odd, isn't it." Umbridge took the parchment and made a scratch. She flinched as the exact same mark appeared on her hand. She tried to use a blood quill on me! She handed the quill back to me and ordered me to try and write again. It still didn't work. Of course it wouldn't, the Curse of Achilles is protecting me. "Y-you are excused, Miss Jackson. Mr. Potter, you will continue writing lines."
I ran out of the room. Blood quills are illegal! Dumbledore won't stop it either, he can't. Umbridge is here because of some law and now no one can get rid of her. Oh, Remus, why did you have to resign? I decided not to tell Apollo, Artemis, or Dad about the blood quill. Who knew what they would do. Besides, I can't just run to them with all my problems.