For those of you in our facebook group - Bubbleybear & Pienuniek's Story Nook - this news will come as no surprise. But I recently lost a very dear friend to cancer who was also an unofficial Pre-Reader for the Under Her Spell Series. Leonie Price, I miss you, so very much but I hope that you are free from pain, wherever you are.

In her honour, I am dedicating this entire book to her. Her enthusiasm helped me continue to write on many days where I felt ... lost. In fact, one of the last emails she sent me was that she wished that these books had been on the big screen; that they were better than the originals. I know it will never happen, but the thought was enough to encourage me. Please keep her in your thoughts as we continue with this story. Cheers.

I'm so glad that I can finally give you the next in the series. Just know I've already read Book Six and have taken my notes. Now ... I can say that I've started to write!

Thanks must go out to my team. My pre-reader Pienuniek and my Beta Alice's White Rabbit. I would be lost without the pair of you, truly.

I don't own Twilight, or Harry Potter, I'd be a richer person if I did. But I do so love to create my own places for them out in the world. No copyright infringement is intended.

See you at the bottom ...

Chapter Thirteen ~ Interrogations Begin

It seemed the whole school was on edge as classes started that Monday. The teachers were, understandably, nervous about the repercussions should something happen in the class that Umbridge was unhappy about. The worst part for all of them was they had no idea when Umbridge would be auditing their class. So that made them nervous, and that energy made some of them really irritable.

None more so than Professor Snape. I mean, he was always an ass, but I had a feeling that he was going to be a bigger ass than usual, if the scowl on his face was any indication.

He stormed into the classroom, not even inviting us in but expecting us none-the-less.

"I hope that all of your Draughts of Peace are finished and ready for marking because that's part of what we are doing today," Snape said as he stalked toward the front of the classroom where Pokey was waiting with the FIPRA, and those potions that were finished the last time. Some of the students still had to bottle theirs. "I have also marked your essays from last week." He waved his wand, handing out our homework on moonstones. "These were lackluster at best."

Bella and I looked down at ours to see that we had actually scored pretty high, for a grade from Snape at least.

"So … who wants to put their potion to the test?" Snape smirked before pointing to the FIPRA. "Let's get through these first because then we're going to make a strengthening solution."

Geez. Want much? Bella thought. She walked to the front of the classroom where Pokey was waiting and pulled her bottle from the crate. She was the first to stand in line to test hers. I quickly followed suit, as did the rest of our friends.

Snape wasn't playing games. If we took too long to place our potion in the tester, Snape would growl and encourage us to get a move on. Because of his attitude, even the FIPRA kept its usual snarky comments to itself. At the end of the first half hour, all of the students in our class had had their potions tested with only Bella, Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and myself received Outstanding or Exceeding grades for our potions. We'd certainly come a long way since the FIPRA was introduced.

I looked over at Harry when his Acceptable was read to see what he thought. He seemed to be a little surprised by his result. I, however, was not. If Harry wanted to become an auror, he was going to have to put in the work to learn potions. Charlie didn't get as good as he was by not knowing what he was doing. And being an auror who can stay alive means knowing how to brew potions well. Harry must have felt eyes on him because he looked up at me.

I raised my eyebrows, giving him a nod. Because I could see that he knew he should have done better.

I know, Edward. This isn't my best work. In fact, I should be doing better across the board. I'll work harder. I promise.

I nodded again, letting him know that I'd heard him. I wasn't about to monitor his progress. I wasn't his father. I would only work hard for what Bella and I wanted in the future. The others weren't on their own because we would help, but their destiny was their responsibility.

I turned back to the front of the classroom just before Snape began to talk. "Now that your potions have been unfairly graded, we are going to start making the Strengthening Solution. The directions are on the board. Do it quietly." He waved his wand, and the board spun around to face us so that we could see the recipe. With another wave of his wand, the pewter cauldrons that we usually used were swapped out for copper ones. "You will have eighty minutes to finish this potion. Timer starts now." With one last wave of his wand, an hourglass flipped over and started timing us.

All was quiet throughout the lesson as we added ingredients such as salamander blood and fairy wings. As well as an owl liver and flobberworm mucus. Even Bella only focused on making the potion instead of analyzing what was happening. Snape was in no mood to be any sort of lenient if he caught our minds wandering. It had to have been one of the quietest lessons we'd had in our entire academic life at Hogwarts. By the end of the lesson, every single student in the class had finished a version of the Strengthening Solution for Pokey to have graded by the FIPRA before our next lesson.

"Your homework for this week is an essay on the different varieties of venom antidotes. I expect a great deal more for this one than I received for the last essay. Have it ready by this time next week," Snape stated as we were excused from the lesson.

I hoped that Snape had had Umbridge sit in on his lesson before we got there; I'd hate to see just how much grumpier he could get.

We all quietly made our way up to the Great Hall for lunch. It seemed that a somber mood had befallen the entire castle because there was so much less talking than there usually was. Bella and I sat down next to Fred and George while the others sat down around us.

"How's it going?" George asked once we'd gathered a plate of food.

"Ugh," Bella groaned. "Snape was worse than usual. All this waiting on Umbridge to audit the classes is making them edgier than normal."

Harry took a bite of his food before he spoke. "Have you had her in a class yet?"

George nodded while Fred answered with a "yeah". He finished a drink before continuing. "She was in our charms class. She sat in the corner, taking notes for most of the class. Flitwick didn't seem bothered by her at all; he just continued on teaching the way he usually does. She did ask Angelina to stick around after class to ask her some questions though."

My head shot up. "Do you know what she was asking?"

Both of the boys shook their heads. "She shooed us out before we could overhear what she wanted to say. We hope it was about the class, but if she got wind of our new training methods, it could have been about that."

"Let's hope not," Ginny murmured. "She could try to cancel our training or stop quidditch altogether if she doesn't like it."

"Hmph, evil wench," Bella huffed. She may have been angry but it served to break the tension we were all feeling. Chuckles broke out around the table. Bella looked toward the twins. "To totally change the subject … and I cannot believe we haven't asked yet … what happened during your OWLs last year?"

"Ohhh, they were brutal." Fred and George groaned together, but it was Lee who continued. He'd been listening to our conversation and joined in. "As if the testing wasn't bad enough, the workload for the entire year was just grueling. Although, this year is proving to be just as bad, if not worse, than when we completed our OWLs." There were nods of agreement from the older students eating their lunch.

"That bad?" Hermione asked with a wince.

"Only if you don't study," George stated with a nod.

I frowned in mock concentration. "When did you guys ever study? I never saw that happen."

Laughter broke out once more as Fred threw a roll at me. "Ass. We studied. What have they told you about the OWLs anyway?"

Neville snorted. "Just that we should be taking them seriously. That our entire future is hinged on these tests, and in the case of Defense against the Dark Arts that theory should be enough to pass the exam."

Mouths had dropped open at Neville's little sarcastic speech. But what he was saying was so true. That was all they had told us. There hadn't been any more information than that.

"Ohh boy." Fred whistled. "Then let us fill you in. And let's hope we can find some time to practice the spells that Umbridge is supposed to be teaching us."

Maybe we should, Bella thought as Fred, George, and Lee filled us in on the grading system they had last year. It was the same that the FIPRA used when testing our potions.

O – Outstanding

E – Exceeds Expectations

A – Acceptable

P – Poor

D – Dreadful

T – Troll

"What do you mean, Bella?" I asked at vampire pitch.

Maybe not now, but in the very near future, we'll have to look at having our own lessons to practice the spells we need to learn.

I leaned over and kissed Bella's temple, hugging her close to me. "Great idea, baby. I have a feeling that'll happen."

Bella smiled at me, then tuned back to the conversation. With the more power that Umbridge would no doubt be given, it would make it that much harder for us to learn. A club to practice our spells with other like-minded students may very well be the way to go.

~*~UHS~*~

I was leaning up against the castle, waiting on Bella and Ginny to make their way up from Muggle Studies. We had just finished one of our elective classes, mine being Arithmancy, and I was waiting for them before we made our way to Transfiguration.

"Can you believe her?" Ginny stated angrily as they came up the hill.

Mmm, looking good there, Edward, Bella thought, eying me but keeping track of the conversation with Ginny. "Those questions were inane. Her attitude was just this shy of disrespectful."

"Hey, girls, what's going on?"

Ginny gasped in surprise. "Edward, you scared me!"

I chuckled. "Sorry, Ginny. Hey, my girl." I kissed Bella softly on the lips. "Now, what was all that about?" I asked pointing at the way they came.

Both girls heaved out a huge sigh as we started walking toward Transfiguration, but it was Bella who answered me. "Umbridge was just in our last lesson. I wasn't impressed with the way she was acting or the way she was talking to Mum."

"What do you mean?" I reached my hand out until Bella placed hers in mine before I asked, "What way was she acting?"

"Like her shit don't stink," Bella grumbled.

"Whoa, you've been hanging out with Emmett too much. That's something he would say."

Bella looked surprised that I would call her out on her language. Sure, swearing is fine but not until she's a little older. "Sorry. I'm just really annoyed."

Harry, Neville, and Hermione caught up with us as we made it to the hallway to Transfiguration. "What are you annoyed about, Bella?" Hermione asked as she walked next to her.

"Professor Umbridge," Bella spat her name, "was in our class. The questions she asked were invasive and unnecessary. She made it seem that Muggle Studies was a complete waste of time. That we didn't need to know about the muggle world to be able to go out into it."

Ginny was nodding. "She even implied that Professor Cullen shouldn't be teaching at Hogwarts because she's not really part of the magical world. As a creature, she should be serving those who run the magical world."

By this stage, all of us were fuming. I pulled Bella to a stop, forcing her to look at me. "That's what she said?"

Bella shook her head. But I could see that she was as upset as I was. "Not in so many words, but the implication was there. I had a feeling she wasn't just talking about Mum though."

"Probably not," I grunted. "We need to settle down and not show our ire right now."

"Why?" everyone asked all at once.

"Because we're about to have another lesson with her."

Groans rang out all around me as we finished our short walk to the open transfiguration classroom. Professor McGonagall wasn't there as yet, but we made our way inside to take our places at our desks. Bella had a very hard time holding back her sneer when she realized Umbridge was already sitting in the classroom up by the front.

She's a parasite. Was the thought I caught from Bella as she pulled out a notebook and pen. She'll ruin this school when she gets a hold of it.

"I know, Bella." I leaned in to kiss her head, only to pause slightly at the disapproving cough coming from the front of the room before I gave it to Bella anyway. Some snooty, self-righteous, narcissistic, power-hungry cow was not going to stop me from showing my mate affection. If Bella wanted that affection, then she would get it.

She hates the fact that she can't say anything. There isn't anything in the school rules that prohibits us being close like this. Bella smirked as she turned from Umbridge and gave me a hug, earning another disapproving scoff.

The class fell silent as Professor McGonagall strode through the door with her usual air of confidence. She faltered for only the barest of split seconds when she saw Umbridge sitting at the front of the room before she finished making her way to her desk.

"Good afternoon, class. I'm glad that you all could make it today." There were a few snickers when they realized that McGonagall was taking a stab at Umbridge and her banning of certain students from her class. "Before we get started, Mr. Masen, can you come and hand out everyone's marked homework, and, Miss Swan, can you hand out these mice, please?"

"Yes, professor," we both answered, standing and making our way to the front of the class. Professor McGonagall wasn't like other teachers. Most would use their magic to hand out previous assignments, but McGonagall didn't want us to forget that we could do things without magic. We should be able to complete everyday tasks without magic just as well as we could with it.

Bella started at one side of the classroom, handing out her mice, while I started on the other, handing out the assignments.

"I was very impressed with the quality of your homework assignments. I hope this continues throughout the entirety of the school year. Now last lesson …" Professor McGonagall was interrupted by the daintiest cough I had ever heard. Several heads turned in Umbridge's direction, all wondering what McGonagall was going to say, instead our professor continued on like nothing had happened. "Last lesson we continued with our work on vanishing spells. I was happy to note that just about every single one of you can perform these spells."

When McGonagall stopped to show her happiness at this fact, Umbridge took the chance to speak. "Did you receive my note, Professor McGonagall?"

"I did," McGonagall answered curtly. "Last lesson most of you were able to make a newt disappear with the vanishing spell …"

"Excuse me?" Umbridge interrupted once more.

"Can you answer a question for me?" Professor McGonagall spun around to face Umbridge, startling the stupid woman. Umbridge nodded slowly. "How do you expect to get an idea of my teaching methods if you don't actually allow me to teach?"

"Oh … um … well," was Umbridge's brilliant reply.

"Hmm, that's what I thought." McGonagall spun back around to face us as more quiet snickers sounded out around the room. McGonagall was smirking but trying not to let it show. "As I was saying, for the most part, you all were able to make a newt disappear with the vanishing spell. Today, we're going to be trying to make these mice disappear." McGonagall indicated the mice that Bella had handed out. "Like all spells, the bigger the item you are trying to work on, the harder it becomes to complete successfully. Our focus for now is going to be using vanishing spells on a bigger animal each time you successfully complete it."

McGonagall flicked her wand, bringing another mouse to her. It landed gracefully on the table in front of her. "Evanesco." McGonagall flicked her wand in the movement she had shown us in the beginning of the school year making the mouse—which had no thoughts by the way—into non-being. Or as she put it, everything. "Now, you, if you please."

Professor McGonagall walked around the classroom, instructing students on how to be more successful with their casting while simultaneously answering questions from Umbridge. Questions like: how long had she been teaching—the answer being thirty-nine years. Did she always want to teach—the answer being no. Once upon a time, Professor McGonagall worked for the ministry, and she had wanted to go all the way to the top.

McGonagall wasn't the only one Umbridge asked questions of. She spoke to some of the students, carefully staying far away from Bella's and my desk at the front.

Bella snickered from next to me, causing me to look over at her. "What?"

I don't think Umbridge is getting the answers she wants. All the others are praising McGonagall's teaching methods. Look at her face.

I followed Bella's line of sight to see what she was talking about. Umbridge's face looked like she had sucked on a lemon. I listened in on her thoughts, and she was as jealous as one could get. She knew that her students didn't like her. That they didn't like her methods of teaching. Umbridge thought she deserved the respect that McGonagall received because she was working for the ministry, and not just the ministry, but directly for the minister himself.

"Definitely not a happy camper," I said with a smirk. "Let's hope she doesn't try anything."

Bella snorted. McGonagall would squash her like a bug if she did.

I couldn't help but laugh at Bella's remark because she was so right. I couldn't see McGonagall letting that foul woman get away with anything in her classroom. Umbridge would rue the day she crossed our transfiguration teacher.

"Something funny, Mr. Masen?" a high-pitched voice asked from behind my right shoulder.

"Sure." I snorted, turning around to give Umbridge the once over. She really wore nothing but pink. And a Pepto-Bismol pink, at that. "Bella is always hilarious. Side effect of having one of the best aurors as her father, I suppose. Funny guy, that Charlie Swan."

"H-her f-father was t-t-the great Charlie Swan?" Umbridge stuttered, pointing at Bella. "How is that possible?"

Without even turning around, Bella snapped. "Pointing is rude, Professor Umbridge, as is not doing your homework before expelling children from your class." Bella breathed deeply and released a calming breath. "But, yes, my father was the late Charlie Swan. It's possible because my father was the mate to my mother, Renee, who was a Veela. You do know how children are made, right?"

"Bella," I warned. She was being rude, and Umbridge was going to give her detention if she wasn't careful.

"And I can promise you this …" She continued with more poise that I'm sure Umbridge has ever seen. "He is not happy with our current ministry, nor what the current minister for magic is turning our once proud magical community into." Bella looked up at Professor McGonagall. "Professor, if I can perform this vanishing spell, may I be excused?"

"Of course, Miss Swan. Having your paternity called into question would make anyone a little bit testy."

"Thank you." Bella nodded. She flicked her wand in the appropriate movement before stating, "Evanesco." Immediately, Bella's mouse vanished to, well, wherever it went to.

"Very good, Miss Swan. It really is no wonder you are tied for top of the class," Professor McGonagall complimented.

"Who's the other?" Umbridge blurted out. She was still in shock over finding out that she had removed the daughter of Charlie Swan from her class. She wasn't sure if she should be asking her back, not that I thought Bella would go without me.

Professor McGonagall waved her hand in my direction. She was, quietly, asking me to perform the same spell and show Umbridge who Bella was tied with. I smirked at her before performing the exact same spell.

"Thank you, Mr. Masen. Both you and Miss Swan are excused from class." With a small smile, she said, "Have a good night, both of you."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." Bella and I packed up our things and made our way out of the classroom.

But what made us laugh, just downright crack the fuck up, was when Umbridge started arguing about us leaving. She didn't think we should be allowed to leave early. But she shut her mouth when McGonagall told her that if Umbridge wanted Bella and me back in class, she would have to come and get us. Her mouth shut so fast that Bella and I could hear the snap down the corridor.

"Gotta love Professor McGonagall," Bella murmured with a smile.

I snickered. "She's definitely one of the best."

~*~UHS~*~

There was a sense of relief as we walked out of Professor Flitwick's class the next morning. He'd had his interrogation with Umbridge and was much lighter than some of the other teachers. He felt that he had nothing to worry about, and that made his lesson easier than some of the others we'd had.

"That was the best lesson we've had in a while," Hermione breathed as we made our way out into the foyer. She huffed out a breath. "Although, I'm not looking forward to next lesson. Think you can bite your tongue, Harry?"

"I'll give it my best shot," he said with no short supply of sarcasm. He didn't hold out much hope.

,

"Which means that you'll be getting detention again," Bella sang as we came up on the staircase. Chuckles broke out as we took our first few steps. Bella became serious. "You need to try hard, Harry. If you don't Umbridge is going to make your life here hell, and it won't just be yours, but ours too."

Ginny frowned. "Why is that? Why not just target Harry?"

"Because we're all so close. She's not going to just hold Harry's transgressions against him …" Neville stated as he concentrated on climbing the stairs and not falling down them. Most of the group looked up at him as Bella and I finish with Neville. "She's going to hold them against all of us."

We reached the end of the corridor. I turned to look at our friends. "Try to fly under the radar with Umbridge. We can do more work if we're not looking over our shoulders the whole time we're here at Hogwarts."

"I'll do my best. I can't promise more than that. She's part of the reason Dumbledore and I are facing so much controversy." Harry sighed.

Bella reacted before I could. She was mad, and her anger was all directed at Harry. Her eyes changed colors, and she stepped forward following Harry as he stepped away from her. "You and Dumbledore aren't the only ones facing this controversy," she spat. "Edward was in that graveyard too. Edward's name is getting plastered all over the place as well. You are not in this alone, and you'd best do well to remember that. Because in a roundabout way, this is also tarnishing an auror who worked his ass off to beat Voldemort the first time. My father was in the first wizarding war with the monster, and by disrespecting me, she's disrespecting him. And you'd better be careful not to do the same damn thing."

Bella stormed off without waiting for Harry to reply.

I watched Bella until she turned the corner before I looked back at Harry. He was looking at me as if to say "What did I do?" I heaved a sigh. "You think you're alone in this, but you're not. You keep making these offhand remarks about how they're targeting you, but in reality, I'm dead in the middle of this too. And now, Umbridge will target her because of who her father was and who he mated to." I stepped forward and placed my finger on his chest, pushing slightly, forcing him backward some more. "You. Are. Not. Alone. Don't pretend that you are. You have your family. You have us. And the ministry isn't targeting you alone. It really is about time you remembered that." I stood up straight and took a step backward. "We'll see you all at lunch."

I didn't pay attention to any of our friends as I made my way after Bella. She'd closed her mind so I had no idea what she was thinking. Though, for her to close her mind, she was either really upset or really mad. It only took me a split second to catch up to my girl. She was standing outside the room that had been designated as our classroom. I could see that her eyes hadn't returned to their normal beautiful brown, and her hair was still blowing around her slightly. "Bella?"

She clenched her hands and stood up straight. She was panting slightly. But in contrast, her voice was muted, soft. "I'm sorry, Edward." Bella looked up at me. I could see that the brown was fighting to come through. But I could also see some tears as well.

I went to reach out for her but she remained stiff, even in my arms. "Relax, beautiful girl. You're safe with me." I rubbed her back, keeping her in my arms, even though she wasn't receptive at first. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Bella. You've had a rough couple days with Umbridge, and now with Harry." I hummed a little bit of the song I wrote for Bella, helping her to relax. "You're right that Harry needs to realize that he's not alone. In saying that, Bella, he's a teenager. A typical teenager. They don't think much about others, just themselves."

"I'm not like that," Bella huffed pulling back to look at me.

"You aren't a typical teenager," I said as I pushed her hair back behind her ear before cupping her face in my palm. I kissed her briefly before pulling back. "You've grown up more than your peers. Your nature lets you grow up more, faster, than the others. There will be lots of things like this that will want to set you off because you will feel they're being childish. You have to remember that humans won't mature as fast as you will. Especially human boys."

"Really?" she sniffled. "What about you? I mean, you're only seventeen. Or Emmett? Even Jasper?"

I smiled at her, kissing her softly again. "You're seeing us decades later. We've had a lot of time to grow up. But you've also seen our immature moments."

Bella giggled. "True." Her eyes finally turned back to the beautiful brown I loved so much. "Shall we go in and get studying?"

Instead of answering, I leaned forward, pressing her into the wall, and kissed her hard. She gasped at my onslaught, allowing my tongue to slip into her mouth. Eventually, I pulled back, gentling my kiss and ending with four soft pecks to her lips.

"Why four?" Bella breathed out when I let her go.

"Four what?"

"Four pecks. Every single one of Alice and Rose's romance novels have a kiss like ours ending with three pecks, not four."

I smiled, giving her another. "Because I'm not those romance novels that you read."

"No … you are so much better." Instead of turning toward the door, Bella reached up, twined her fingers in my hair, and kissed me back just as hard.

We stayed like that, making out, until a cough came from beside us. We froze before slowly pulling back. Carefully, we turned our heads, thinking that we were going to come face to face with Umbridge, only to find someone we didn't expect.

"Opi?" both of us asked together.

Opi smirked. "Did you really think Professor McGonagall was going to let you study all year on your own?"

"It's only one lesson!" Bella argued.

Opi nodded thoughtfully. "For now. I don't think it will stay that way, and I believe Fleur will have to join us. Come … let's get started."

Bella and I followed Opi through the door and took a seat at some of the desks. For the next hour or so, Opi gave a revision of everything we had learned so far. He wanted a fair analysis of what we had been taught, what we had taught ourselves, and exactly where he would begin with teaching us further. He wanted to work up a proper lesson plan for the rest of the year. He was starting with Defense Against the Dark Arts, but that wasn't the only lesson he was reviewing of ours.

We worked on spells for defense, incantations for charms, and different equations for transfiguration. He also looked at other lessons such as astronomy, care of magical creatures, and arithmancy. He checked over every single lesson that Bella and I took.

He seems to know what he's doing. It's like he's done this before, Bella mused as we were taking a small break from Opi's onslaught.

"I think he has done this before," I whispered. "He's much, much older than he portrays to us."

Bella tilted her head, looking Opi over. She looked back at me. You think he's older than Dumbledore? How old do you think?

"I think he's way older than Dumbledore. I think he's older than we can even comprehend. But I'm glad he's here to teach us."

Me too.

"Right," Opi said ,looking up from the results he had been writing down. "So far, your education has been good. Whether that be through your classes or what you've been doing on your own. I cannot fault what you have learned. But …"

I snorted. "There's always a but."

"Shut up, you." Opi pointed in my direction with a scowl, causing Bella to snicker. "However, you are right. There is always a but. In this case, it's that there is room for improvement. Especially if you want to graduate when you do."

Our mouths dropped open. Neither Bella nor I had said anything to anyone about what we were planning to do. So … "How did you know?" Bella asked.

"It's all in your learning here. I can see what you're trying to do. Is this what you want?"

Bella and I looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Bella nodded to me, indicating that I should explain our reasoning. I turned back to Opi. "It's not a case of if we want this, more a case that it needs to be done."

Opi sat back, crossing his arms. "Can I ask why?"

Instead of answering, I asked him, "How much do you know about vampire mating?"

"Not as much as I'd like to. You lot are a secretive bunch," Opi said with a frown. "You and your family have shared a lot of information over the years, but we haven't really covered this topic."

I nodded, leaning forward on the table in front of me. "Bella and I have spoken about this in depth." Bella nodded along with me, but she was staying quiet. "When Bella turns seventeen, when her scent changes for the second time, the mating instinct is going to kick in for me. When that instinct kicks in, the only thing that is going to stop me from taking Bella, is Bella herself. It won't matter if we're at home, at school, or in the middle of the war. Her scent is going to wreck me."

"You won't be able to be around people," Opi mused. "From the research I've done into the mating instinct of Veela, I believe Bella won't be any different." Opi looked over the both of us. "And Bella's scent is scheduled to change when she turns …"

"Seventeen …" we both said before Bella continued with, "which is when we're supposed to be in our last year at Hogwarts."

"Ohhh, now I see. Then what you are doing makes complete sense. You can't be here learning, if you can't keep your hands to yourselves." Opi tented his fingers, placing them against his lips as he looked at us. "Well then, I guess I have my work cut out for me. I'm not just detailing a lesson plan for this year and this set of classes. I'm compiling a lesson plan for the next three years to fit into the next two. You need to finish your education by the end of the next school year."

~*~UHS~*~

"How could you let her goad you like that, Harry?" Hermione moaned as we made our way out of the castle and down to Care of Magical Creatures. "We said before class that you had to let things go!"

Harry threw his hands up in the air before letting them fall. "I'm sorry! I just can't help it with her. She's a narcissistic control freak who believes the vitriol Fudge is spewing. She's helping to push his agenda. I tried to keep my mouth shut. Truly, I did."

Bella and I were staying quiet. I'd watched the lesson through everyone's minds, including Harry's when he sat down with us at lunch and showed me. His lessons with Jasper to build his Occlumency had been going well. He could keep me out most of the time. It was only when he was really stressed, and when he was sleeping, that it tended to slip a little. Anyway, he had showed me the lesson. He had truly tried not to fight back against Umbridge. But she picked and picked and picked until he relented. Which is when she gave him detention once more.

"She's doing it intentionally, Hermione," Neville murmured from next to me. "She wants the sensationalism. She wants to portray him as this angry boy who can't control his temper. It plays right into the stories they're trying to sell."

"I know that!" Hermione snapped. "But that makes it all the more imperative that he doesn't do it! He needs to show the world that he's right and they're wrong."

Bella perked up at those words from Hermione. "He's right? Just him? Is he the only one who's facing this uphill battle?"

I squeezed Bella's hand before pulling it up to kiss it. "That's not what she meant, and you know it."

"Do I?"

"Yes, Bella. I may be being targeted, but Harry is more so because they want a face. They don't want mine because I'm classed as a creature." I kissed her knuckles again. "Calm, my sweet girl."

"Sorry, Bella. Harry needs to show the world that we're right and the ministry is wrong. And he can't do that if he's doing exactly what they want him to do." Hermione reached over and hugged Bella from the side.

"I'm sorry, too. Guess I'm still a little sensitive."

Ginny bounced up and kissed Bella's cheek. "It's all right. We're all allowed to have bad days. But how did your free lesson go?"

Bella smiled. "It's not a free lesson. We're still studying"—her voice dropped to a whisper—"besides, we had a teacher today."

"What? Who?" Neville, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all said together.

"Yeah, who?" Draco asked as he sidled up and slipped his hand into Ginny's. "What are we talking about?"

Ginny smiled up at Draco. "Bella and Edward had a surprise teacher for their 'free' lesson."

"Oh? Who?"

For the next few minutes, we spoke about Opi and what he had us do during our lesson. By the time we got down to the paddock near Hagrid's hut, we'd explained just about everything. The only parts we didn't mention were how intense the next two and a half years were going to be for us or that we were finishing a year early.

I wasn't sure why we weren't mentioning it. Maybe it just didn't feel like the right time.

"For Merlin's sake," Bella hissed as the paddock came into sight. "Does she not have anything better to do?"

We all looked over with a groan because there in all of her pink glory, interrogating—I mean talking—to Professor Grubby-Plank was Umbridge.

"Do you think she's going to all of our lessons on purpose?" Harry asked.

I sighed. "Always a possibility. Let's just keep quiet. Draco, does your dad know about this?" I pointed between him and Ginny.

"Yup. She can try to rat me out all she likes."

By this stage, the humans in our group were close enough to hear that Umbridge wasn't asking about the lessons, per se; she was more into interrogating Professor Grubby-Plank about Hagrid's whereabouts. It was a good thing that Grubby-Plank wasn't part of the order. The way she was answering the questions would have given Umbridge all the ammunition to break her.

All the students were quiet, listening to Umbridge talk to our professor, even Pansy Parkinson and her cronies. It seemed that Umbridge didn't even know we were here, or she didn't care, because she just kept asking questions.

That was until Bella spoke up from beside me. "Excuse me, Professor Grubby-Plank? Are we having a lesson today?"

"What?" the professor asked intelligently before she snapped her head around in our direction. "Yes … yes, of course, Miss Swan." She turned back to her interrogator. "Excuse me, Professor Umbridge, I have a class to teach now. You're welcome to stay and join us."

All of us internally groaned as Umbridge replied with an, "I would love to."

"Welcome class. As you know, this year will be full on. We've had the discussion about the OWLs last lesson. But I wanted to give you a brief overview of the animals we will be looking at throughout this year." Professor Grubby-Plank went on to tell us that we would be covering things like Porlocks, Kneazles, Crups, and Knarls. While interesting—especially considering we have Salem—were actually going to be kind of …

Boring! Bella moaned in her thoughts. And she wasn't the only one. Why can't we have some of the animals Hagrid would have introduced us to? They would have been more interesting.

I snorted into a chuckle. "They were more interesting because they were dangerous, Bella."

Bella just laughed at me, shrugging before facing back to the teacher, catching the glare from Umbridge. Bella just smiled sweetly back at her before focusing back on Grubby-Plank.

"Are there any questions?"

Bella's hand shot into the air.

"Yes, Miss Swan?" Grubby-Plank smiled in her direction. She was glad they'd cleared the air.

"Are these the animals Professor Hagrid was going to be introducing us to?"

I rolled my eyes. Bella just couldn't help herself. But it was interesting to see Umbridge's reaction to her question. She was furious "that giant oaf" was mentioned outside of her interrogations. As far as Umbridge was concerned, Hagrid was persona non grata around here, and if he ever showed up, he was fired. Even if she didn't have the authority to do so … yet.

It seemed Professor Umbridge was looking to take over Hogwarts. I had a feeling it would be by any means necessary.

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan, but these are the animals you are supposed to learn about this year. I will only be providing these. Unfortunately, if Professor Hagrid had any others he wanted to add, he didn't leave any lesson plans to indicate so. Shall we begin with Porlocks?" After receiving nods from several students, Grubby-Plank continued. "Great! Follow me this way."

Professor Grubby-Plank led us over to a paddock that had become a stable next to Hagrid's hut. Inside the paddock was a herd of horses. "Porlocks are small. They only reach a rough height of two feet. They're covered in a large amount of shaggy hair, have a large nose, small arms, and hooves for feet. Can you see it?"

As a group the students in our class moved forward to the edge of the paddock, leaning up against the fence. Bella and I followed at a slower pace, using our height to look over the heads of our classmates. They were peering around, looking between the legs of the horses, as well as over the top.

There. Up on the boulder, behind the tree. Bella pointed out. It's red with a gold mane. See it? I nodded. I was going to raise my hand, but Bella pulled it down. No. Let's see if anyone else can find it. I don't want to pull any more attention to us.

"Fair enough. But if they don't see it soon, we're gonna have to point it out."

I know.

Umbridge watched us, as we watched our class. She could see that we knew something. It made her wonder why we weren't saying anything. Not that she wanted to see us excelling in our classes. She felt she was right, that we couldn't possibly know magic because we were creatures. Although, knowing Bella's heritage had severely put a chink in what she thought about—at least—Bella. How could Bella be a creature if her father was—not only an auror—a pure-blooded wizard to boot?

We waited a few more minutes before Bella prodded for me to speak. "Professor Grubby-Plank?"

"Yes, Mr. Masen?" she asked as she spun around to face me.

I pointed in the general direction of the porlock. "I believe the animal that everyone is searching for is standing on that boulder, hiding behind the tree."

Professor Grubby-Plank smiled. "Well done, Mr. Masen; good spotting. Five points for Gryffindor. The porlock is hiding there. Can anyone tell me why the porlock would be with a herd of horses?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air. Bella and I smirked. If there was anyone—other than Luna—who knew animals or information, it was Hermione and Bella.

"Yes, Miss Cullen?"

"Porlocks guard horses; it's why this one is here with the herd. They feed on grass and will live among the herd, either bedding on straw in a stable or in the middle of a herd." Here Hermione paused. "Why is that one up there though? That doesn't mesh with what's written about them."

"Porlocks are rather afraid of humans; he may have sensed us coming and decided to hide up there," Professor Grubby-Plank answered.

"Is it true that in the fourteenth century they were classified as beings?" Bella asked with a small smidgen of snark. "Why was that changed?"

The porlock had taken note of Bella's voice and turned in our direction, but it was me its eyes locked onto. I could see recognition on its face. He knew I wasn't an ordinary student. He could also see that Bella was different too.

"At first, they were classified as beings because they walked on two legs. The ministry believed them to be along the same lines as humans. But after significant research and study, it was determined that they were beasts. They didn't have the significant brain capacity to be on the same level," Grubby-Plank answered. She managed to withhold the emotion I could hear brewing in her thoughts. She didn't think there should be a classification. Especially because some animals and humans were more closely linked than some people seemed to think. And she knew that one of those were standing not too far from her. "I would like you all to try drawing the porlock. The best that you can see of him."

The students were quiet as they pulled out their parchment, paper, and pencils. Most of them sat down where they were, but some moved around. Including one Pansy Parkinson. "Aww, he's adorable," she cooed, trying to get closer to the fence.

Professor Grubby-Plank stepped forward, already speaking. "Miss Parkinson, don't!"

"Let her try," a snotty voice sounded from next to Grubby-Plank. "How else are they going to get to know the animals if they are not allowed close?"

"But …"

Umbridge stared Grubby-Plank down. "Let. Her. Try."

Bella shook her head at Umbridge's obstinance. The porlock wouldn't like what was going to happen. In fact, I could already hear the panic starting to set in in its thoughts.

Pansy climbed the fence and started to make her way toward the boulder on which the porlock was standing. Bella and I could see the poor thing start to shake, its eyes moved frantically, looking everywhere but at Pansy.

Its frequency became so strong that it was like the poor thing was screaming at me, so much so that I had to tune into it. No, no, no, no! Not near me. Not near me. Before I could say something to comfort the porlock, it spun away from Pansy, ducking behind the tree and making a beeline straight for where Bella and I were standing.

"Where is it going?" Pansy shrieked.

The porlock ducked under the paddock fence, dodged around a few more Slytherins who attempted to catch it, before sliding behind me and pulling Bella's hand to stand between us. He wanted protection, and he knew both of us would give it to him.

"It's finding somewhere else to hide," Bella said calmly from behind me. She was kneeling down next to the porlock, whispering to it, calming it down.

Pansy attempted to follow the porlock. She climbed back over the fence and made her way toward us. I took a bigger step forward, stood up to my full height, and crossed my arms, staring down at the insignificant little girl. She would always be like that. She would always think she was a big fish in a little pond, but really, she was like every other mean girl I had ever come across in all my years of schooling.

"I don't think so," I growled, stepping to the right when Pansy tried to make her way around me. "He doesn't want you anywhere near him. He doesn't like humans."

"Then why are you here?" Pansy screamed. "Magic is for humans … for witches and wizards … not creatures!"

I smirked as a blast of air came from behind me. I didn't have to turn around to see that Bella's magic had been brought to the surface. Her hair would be floating around her face, her eyes would be that beautiful silvery white and glowing from within.

"What do you think Edward was before he was turned into a vampire?" Bella asked with a voice as hard as steel.

I stepped back, guarding the porlock, as Bella stepped forward, right into Pansy's face. I looked around at our class, Professor Grubby-Plank, and Professor Umbridge. Most were showing fear at the intensity Bella was displaying.

"He was a human … he was a wizard … he was chosen by the book in Professor Dumbledore's office to come to Hogwarts once he was indoctrinated into the wizarding world." Bella was now standing the same way I had been. Her arms were crossed. She stood tall, using her height to her advantage, so she could glare down at the once mean girl, turned into her own namesake.

You'd think Pansy would learn her lesson, but no, she opened her mouth, once again, shouting at Bella. "What about you, huh? Why should you be here? You're just a Veela. You should be at Beauxbatons!"

I growled long but low. It was enough to make several students take a step backward. Bella held her hand up to pause my approach when I lifted my foot. I placed it back on the ground only to have something short wrap around my calf. I reached down and placed my hand gently on the porlock's head, trying to calm the shaking that he was doing.

Bella looked down her nose at Pansy. "Is that so? You think I'm just a Veela?" Pansy glared back and, with a huff, nodded at Bella's questions. "Yeah, my mother may have been a Veela, but like others around here, you should have done your research."

I noticed that Umbridge flinched at those words from my girl. She knew what was coming, but she wasn't going to interrupt because she was still conflicted on this very issue.

"Oh? Why's that?" Pansy asked snidely.

"Because"—Bella sneered right back at her—"if it hadn't been for the heroic acts of those in the first wizarding war, those of my father, you probably wouldn't be here to spout such nonsense."

Pansy snorted. She didn't think anything could be further from the truth. As far as she was concerned, Bella was a Veela, a creature, and nothing would change that. "I doubt that."

"Then maybe you should heed my last name of Swan, and then go and research Charlie Swan, my father."

Pansy froze, as did several others from Slytherin. Many of those in the wizarding world knew of the many different aurors who'd had an impact over the years. And Charlie Swan was one who had made a big impact before his untimely death.

"No …" Pansy breathed. "Not possible. You can't be half-human."

"And why is that? Do I look like a Veela? Am I blonde?" Bella waited. "No, I do not. Now step back; that porlock wants nothing to do with you or anyone else. Do your work so I can calm it down and do my own."

Our friends came up and stood around us, daring the others to come any closer. It was a tense standoff for a few minutes before Pansy and the others took a step backward. Once the others started taking their seats, Bella returned to me and the porlock. We both bobbed down in front of him.

Bella reached out and ran her hand over his head. "Are you okay?"

Scared. So many people. So many humans.

I nodded, reaching out for Bella's hand. "We know there are. But you're okay. We'll make sure you're okay."

Are you sure?

"We're sure. You can stay here with us, or you can go back to the herd."

Bella and I watched the porlock look around. He felt the call to go back to his herd, but there were a lot of people in between us and the paddock.

Bella smiled sweetly, running her hand over the porlock's head once more. "Would you like me to carry you over there?"

The porlock nodded and waited calmly as Bella let go of my hand and reached down to cradle him in her arms. We spun around to see that several mouths had dropped open, including Pansy's and Professor Umbridge's. Bella, with her head held high, walked through the group toward the paddock. They watched quietly as she stopped at the fence and placed the porlock on the ground, letting it go.

I had followed, if only to provide a small bit of extra comfort. He looked up at Bella, then back at me. Thank you.

"You're welcome," I replied as I reached Bella and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

The porlock was making its way back to the rock when I caught wind of an errant thought. I spun, hoping to stop what was about to happen, only for the dumbass kid to slip through my fingers and into the paddock with the horses. I, honestly, didn't think the Slytherins were as dumb as this one appeared to be as he ran through the paddock, stirring up the horses. The problem was with the shouting he was doing, he wasn't just stirring them up. These horses panicked, and they started to stampede.

"What do we do?" Umbridge shouted. "We have to get him out of there!"

Bella jumped up onto the fence. She was about to go over when I grabbed the back of her shirt. "Edward, what are you doing? I have to get them calmed down."

"Bella, watch," I whispered, pointing over her shoulder to where the porlock was making his way to the middle of the herd. It was where the child from Slytherin was standing, now scared outta his mind because he couldn't get back out of the paddock.

Bella wasn't the only one who made her way to the fence. Every single student did, as well as Professors Umbridge and Grubby-Plank. Instead of becoming upset with the student, she was going to use his stupidity as a teaching tool. "Watch, children, see what the porlock will do to tame the herd."

We watched as this amazing creature calmly made his way to the center. The horses instinctively knew not to hurt the porlock because they seemed to steer clear of it, which in turn meant that when he reached the student, they steered clear of him too. I couldn't read what the porlock was about to do, so when he started to hum, it surprised me, as much as it surprised everyone else.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, the horses in the porlock's immediate area began to calm down. As they did, the porlock hummed louder. From what I could gather, he started off soft, to reach those closest to him, then they were like a shield from the ones still running around. As he got louder, he reached more and more of the herd until, eventually, they all calmed down, and the student was able to make his way back to the class. He was looking a little sheepish.

It reminded me a lot of Bella when she used her siren powers actually.

Professor Grubby-Plank stood in front of him with her arms crossed after he had climbed over the fence. "Mr. Elin, you will join me in detention after dinner. What you did was very irresponsible and could have gotten yourself, and others, injured had the porlock not gotten them calmed down so quickly." She spun around to face us. "Now, the rest of you, get back to drawing a porlock. And thanks to the reckless actions of some here today …" Professor Grubby-Plank paused, giving pointed looks to Pansy, Frank Elin, and even Professor Umbridge, "… you will all have to write a five-hundred-word essay on why you should never approach any wild animal unless you have been trained to deal with them properly."

Bella snorted as she looked up at me. "Umbridge really can't argue with that, considering she was that the one who set all of this in motion."

I snickered. "Maybe Professor Grubby-Plank should make her write an essay too."

Draco nodded, taking his seat next to Ginny. "It certainly isn't every day when a professor makes as big of an ass of themselves as she just did."

Umbridge grimaced at Draco's words but failed to reprimand him for two reasons. The first was she knew who he was, and that meant she knew who his father was. The second was because she knew he was completely right.

"Maybe it will teach her a lesson," Ginny whispered.

We all burst out laughing, but it was Neville that spoke, making us laugh all over again. "Not a chance in hell."

~*~UHS~*~

Umbridge really has no idea ... Does she? If she did then things might run a little smoother for her. *Snorts* not where our group is concerned.

Let me hear what you think ... see you in a fortnight, Cheers!