Chapter Nineteen
Harry stomped loudly into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and flopped into his seat. Draco sat next to him, hopefully putting his wand out on the desk. Professor Umbridge was already sitting at her desk, humming an annoyingly repetitive tune.
"Wands away." she said pleasantly once everyone had sat down.
Draco, as well as several other students, let out sighs and tucked their wands back into their bags.
"As we finished Chapter One during the last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today, and begin 'Chapter Two, Common Defensive Theories and their Derivation'. Once again, there will be no need to talk." Professor Umbridge smiled.
Harry sighed. He wondered what she was going to make them read once they'd finished the book, it was fairly long but not long enough for them to read all year. He glanced over and saw that Hermione's book was once again closed and her hand in the air.
Professor Umbridge could clearly see her as well, and sighed. Rather than trying to ignore Hermione this time she walked over and bent down, whispering so that no one else could hear them.
"What is it this time, Miss Granger?"
Hermione had no desire, however, to stay quiet and not interrupt the class, "I've already read Chapter Two Professor Umbridge."
"Well then, you may proceed to Chapter Three." Umbridge told her, moving away.
"I've read that too, Professor." Hermione called after her, "In fact I've read the whole book."
Professor Umbridge blinked, her smiled faltering for a second, "Well, then. What does Slinkhard say about counter jinxes in Chapter Fifteen?"
Hermione sat up a little straighter. Harry smirked, Hermione was good at memorising, she always had been, she was the last student you wanted to go up against like this.
"He say that 'counter jinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable." Hermione said clearly.
Harry knew from the impressed look on Umbridge's face that Hermione was, word for word, correct.
"But I disagree." Hermione continued.
Umbridge let out a little giggle of disbelief, her eyebrows raising even higher on her face, "You… disagree?"
"Yes I do." said Hermione, "Mr Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? Therefore his views are shaped by his dislike, they're not impartial. I, however, think they can be very useful when they are used in a defensive manor."
Professor Umbridge straightened herself up, "Oh do you?" she was clearly annoyed by Hermione's forwardness, "Well, I'm afraid it is Mr Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matter in this classroom, Miss Granger."
"But-" Hermione started.
"That is..." Umbridge began, before turning to face Daphne, who coughed loudly, "Yes Miss Greengrass?"
"Well I would just like to join in this theoretical discussion." Daphne smiled, "You see I think that counter jinxes are also incorrectly named, however I believe they are very useful and that they should be used in the appropriate circumstances, even if that does mean 'shooting first'"
"You… you believe there is a need to initiate the spell exchange?" Umbridge spluttered in disbelief.
Daphne nodded, "Of course. I believe that part of the Auror training course is to learn when to shoot first, is it not?"
Umbridge forced a smiled, "But there are no Aurors in my classroom."
"But we might be," Harry joined in, "When we're older. I agree that this is a very important theoretical discussion."
Draco nudged him in the ribs, and gave him a small shake of the head, telling him not to join in. Harry ignored him, there was just something about Umbridge that made his blood boil.
"Well, I think that is enough." Umbridge said firmly, raising her hand to Daphne when she started to speak again, "Miss Granger, Miss Greengrass, Mr Potter I'm afraid I'm going to have to take five points from each of your houses."
"What for?" Neville asked, huffing loudly.
"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions." Professor Umbridge said, as though it was perfectly obvious, "I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include letting children giving their uneducated opinions on subjects they know very little about, hence why they need to take this class. It seems you had a little more leeway from your previous teachers, who were clearly very unsuitable as teachers. With the exception of Professor Quirrell, who at least seemed to steer you towards a more theoretical understanding of the subject."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes, Quirrell was a brilliant teacher, apart from the fact he had Lord Voldemort sticking out the back of his head!"
Draco snorted a laugh as the room fell silent. Umbridge glared at him, breathing heavily.
"That is an inappropriate thing to say in my classroom, Mr Potter, in any classroom." Umbridge said calmly, "I will see you in my office this evening at six o'clock for detention."
Harry dug his nails into his palms and glared at her, "Of course, Professor." he spat.
"Now I would like you all to turn back to your books for the remainder of the lesson, there will be no more interruptions. Miss Granger, reread Chapter Two, you clearly haven't actually learnt anything from the material."
Harry, more than a little irritated, waited outside Professor Umbridge's office, watching the hand on his watch tick by. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of him being even a minute late, but he also wasn't going to be early and spend any more time with her than he needed to.
As the hand ticked to six, he knocked, calmly, on the door. It opened slightly, even through the crack Harry could see the pinkness leaking into the corridor.
"Come in, Mr Potter." Umbridge called.
Harry pushed the door open and walked inside, closing the door behind him. He took the seat that Umbridge offered him and placed his clasped hands gently on the table.
"You'll be doing some more lines for me today Mr Potter." Umbridge said pleasantly.
Harry forced himself not to roll his eyes; it was fine, at least he could just get them over and done with quickly and forget about it. He reached into his bag and pulled out his pad of parchment.
"You will be using my quill today, Mr Potter. It seems the last lot didn't sink in enough." Umbridge said, handing over an unusually fine quill.
Harry took it, "Any particular ink colour?" he said, trying not to sound to sarcastic.
Umbridge smiled broadly, like a toad that had spotted a large, juicy fly, "Oh, you don't need any ink."
Harry wondered if she was going to make him write the words over and over again without any evidence that he'd done anything all evening.
"What would you like me to write?" Harry mumbled.
"Same as before, Mr Potter. 'I must not tell lies'." Umbridge smiled.
Harry gritted his teeth, "Which 'lie' are we talking about?" he hissed under his breath.
Professor Umbridge either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him and sat down behind her desk, sipping her tea.
Harry picked up the quill and started to write out 'I must not tell lies'. He could feel the back of his hand itch, he looked down in horror as the words carved themselves into the back of his hand before vanishing.
"What the hell?!" Harry spat, throwing the quill across the table.
"Now, now Mr Potter, that is not appropriate language for my office." Professor Umbridge sighed patronisingly, "Please continue with your punishment."
Harry looked at her like she was insane, "You mean continue to carve into my own skin? Is this 'Ministry-approved'?"
Umbridge's smile faltered, "Mr Potter, if you refuse to continue your detention I will be forced to report your behaviour to the Ministry and it would reflect very poorly on anyone who taught or teaches at the school that would have, any reason, to give you special treatment…"
Harry gritted his teeth, "And who would that be?" he wanted her to say it.
She smiled, "Well, your step-father is also your head of house, it must make it very difficult for him to think clearly when it comes to your behaviour, not to mention that ha… Professor Lupin was very close to your father before he died, and is still a good friend of your family's. Do you really want to be responsible for the Ministry having to have a close look at if they have been an… effect, on your terrible school record?"
Harry glared at her, "Well then… I'd better keep writing."
He picked up the quill and forced his hand to keep writing, over and over again, the cuts getting deeper and deeper every time he wrote, even though he was pressing the quill as lightly as he could onto the parchment, and taking longer and longer to fade.
Harry's hand was bleeding heavily by the time Umbridge walked over and pulled it up from where he had it clutched on the desk, wrapped in his handkerchief.
"Well, I think the message could sink a little deeper." Professor Umbridge said, wiping a little blood away, "I'll see you back here tomorrow evening, Mr Potter. Same time."
Harry stood up and snatched his bag off the floor, leaving the room without a word. He stormed through the castle, pushing past several younger students who were still milling around the halls. Draco, Pansy and Daphne were sitting in the common room, waiting for him.
"Harry." Pansy said, waving him over, "What on earth's wrong? You're as white as a sheet!"
Harry was trembling with anger, he didn't know if he should tell them what Umbridge had made him do or not. He sat down, keeping his hand tucked under his bag.
"What are you hiding?" Draco asked, not fooled for a moment, yanking Harry's hand onto the desk.
They looked at the slightly red tinged handkerchief, saying nothing. After a few moments, Daphne reached forward and took the handkerchief off Harry's hand, showing them all the words, still bleeding slightly on the back of his hand.
"What happened?" Pansy asked quietly.
Harry felt his blood boil again, he just wished they would stop staring at him, "Umbridge and her idea of detention." he mumbled, snatching the handkerchief back from Daphne and wrapping his hand up again.
"She did that to you?" Draco asked in horror.
Harry shrugged, "Not exactly. She's got this quill thing. It doesn't need ink, writes it onto your skin somehow. This is about two hundred copies of 'I must not tell lies'."
Daphne shook her head, "Well you can't wrap it up with that, it'll get infected or scar." she said, she stood up and walked up to her dorm room, grabbing a first aid kit and heading back to where her friends were sitting.
"Thanks." Harry mumbled.
"No problem." Daphne smiled, "Although if the cow is willing to do this to her students, one of the ones with parents who will speak up, it might be worth behaving in class from now on. I'll send an owl to Hermione and Neville as well, give them the heads up."
She took the handkerchief and threw it into the fire, wiping down his hand with a wipe that smelt strongly of sage and stung a little bit before wrapping a clean white bandage around the wound.
"I assume you're a little old for me to kiss it better?" Daphne grinned.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Watch it, Greengrass, another couple of years and that gets you a dirty answer."
Daphne laughed and gave him a hug.
"I have to ask," Draco said, after a few moments, "You said you wrote it out a couple of hundred times, why? Why didn't you… well, not. Why didn't you stop I mean?"
Harry sighed, "I did, after the first time told her I thought she was nuts but… she basically threatened Dad and Remus. She's already made it hard enough for Remus, pushing through every bit of anti-werewolf legislation that she can, the last thing he needs to be hauled into the Ministry for questioning because of me."
"She said that? Just blurted it out like that?" Daphne asked.
Harry nodded, "Basically; said she would have to report it to the Ministry if I refused to complete my detention, and that would 'reflect badly' on anyone that could of encouraged my behaviour."
"I knew she was an evil bitch but that is despicable, even for her." Pansy said, shaking her head, "Making you do that to yourself."
Harry nodded, "She was really shaken up last time, remember? She just sent me away to do my lines, with a normal quill."
"I remember you moaning that your hand was cramping up, doesn't seem so bad now does it?" Draco snorted.
Harry rolled his eyes and grinned, "Yeah, remind me next time I moan about a teacher forcing me to write to much. Anyway, my point was Gemini was just coming out of the room, she'd had detention before me. I wonder what she did?"
"Well I assume you would of spotted the blood if she'd stabbed her or something." Pansy shrugged.
Harry nodded, "Maybe she threatened her, said she'd rat her out to Voldemort or something?"
"I don't think so, while I wouldn't put that passed Gem, I don't think it would of rattled Umbridge. She doesn't believe that he's alive." Draco pointed out, "It's not much of a threat, 'I'll moan at someone who's dead about you'."
"Good point." Harry said, "I just know that something went on, and there is no way Gemini just sat there carving some unimaginative line into her arm or hand or whatever."
"It would be a little out of character for her." Daphne agreed.
"I have to go back again tomorrow, yet more lines into the back of my hand." Harry sighed.
"You're going to need to tell Bletchley you wont be able to make practice, he's not going to be happy." Draco said, a little awkwardly, "Do you want someone to come with you?"
"I don't have practice." Pansy offered.
Harry smiled but shook his head, "Thanks for the offer but we all know Umbridge isn't going to let anyone in there to keep me company while I suffer, I'll just have to try being as good as possible and see if I can get out as soon as I can."
"Are you going to tell your Father?" Pansy asked.
Harry shook his head, "No, I don't think so anyway. He'll be angry, really angry and I don't want to give Umbridge any more ammunition than she's already got. I'm not going to tell Mum either, she'd be here in a second to give Umbridge a taste of her own medicine."
"Lily verse Umbridge, I think I would pay to see that." Draco smirked.
Harry grinned, he was pretty sure he would as well. He was also pretty sure that there wouldn't be much left of Umbridge once his mother had finished with her.
They finished their homework for that evening before heading up to bed. Harry's hand was still stinging, it seemed to hurt more now he was tucked up in bed without any distraction.
He was glad he'd told his friends but it caused an ache in his heart when he thought about the fact he felt that he couldn't tell his parents. Between the Ministry and Voldemort he was feeling more and more cut off from the people around him.