The next few days passed quite quickly. The past few weeks had been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Amelia, with the high points being the DA and Quidditch practise, with low points being that everyone from fifth to seventh years were swamped with homework, which took up most of their weekend time.
She had noticed that her twin brother was almost like a different person - he was making friends with DA members left right and centre, mainly Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott after their incident, who subsequently became acquainted with her, Ron, Dorea and Hermione as well. In terms of herself, Amelia had definitely found a friend in Daphne Greengrass. The girl was so nice in terms of personality, and she even sat with them in Ancient Runes with Tracey, Daphne's fellow Slytherin and best friend. She was a bit shier, but Amelia discovered they shared a love for the Quidditch team, Wigtown Wanderers, which sparked their friendship too. Dorea was the same, in that she'd also bonded with Daphne and Tracey. Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones and Megan Jones were also fast becoming friends with them.
It went a bit skewiff on Wednesday. Amelia, Dorea and Harry sat at Hufflepuff table for breakfast, as Ernie, Hannah and Justin had invited them to. They had a good conversation about future jobs and careers, and even the fourth years all got talking as well. All was well until they went silent and heard a "hem-hem,".
The three of them shared a look of dread. "Have you forgotten what we talked about a few weeks ago, Mr Potter?" Their Defence teacher asked.
"No, Professor." Harry answered.
"Then I think you'll know it is against the rules to sit at another house's table. You three will be joining me in detention tonight, tomorrow and Friday." Umbridge declared, smiling gleefully.
The Hufflepuff's stood up for them. "Professor, they're sitting here at our request." Justin Finch-Fletchley said.
"Yeah, they're our friends." Susan added.
"Hush, my dears, this doesn't involve you." Umbridge talked to them like they were children. "Mr Potter and Miss Black in particular were reminded that the next time they did this would result in a detention, but they elected to disregard the rule anyway."
Amelia huffed, and if looks could kill the woman would be dead.
"Sorry guys," Ernie apologised, "we had no clue she was serious about that."
"'S fine," Harry said, "we should have kept an eye out for her."
"How is there even a rule in place where you can't sit at another house's table? That seems to actively discourage making friends and inter-house relationships." Amelia voiced.
"I read somewhere that unity between Hogwarts houses has been a problem since Godric and Salazaar," Hannah said as they stood up, "something to do with their rivalry becoming infamous, and therefore resulting in Gryffindor and Slytherin students not liking each other."
They said farewell to their Hufflepuff friends and sat down at Gryffindor table, where Ron and Hermione were. "We just got detention for sitting with our Hufflepuff friends," Amelia said in slight rage.
"By Umbridge?" Ron asked
"Who else?" Dorea replied, in a distasteful tone.
It was silent for a few minutes as they ate. Ron was glancing over at Hufflepuff table. "You guys looked quite friendly with them." He said.
"They're great, they stuck up for us." Harry replied happily.
"I wanted to go over, but I just don't know…" Ron mumbled.
"We know Ernie and Hannah, and Susan too. Justin and Megan are decent too." Hermione said.
Harry was convincing Ron that he actually had a bit in common with Ernie, who was a fellow wizard chess enthusiast, when Amelia spotted an opportunity. Professor McGonagall had just walked into the Great Hall. When the woman passed them to make her way to the staff table, Amelia begged a word. "Professor, Umbridge just landed me, Harry and Dorea into detention for the rest of the week, all because we sat with our Hufflepuff friends at their table."
Minerva sighed, and shot a glance at her colleague who was sitting mirthfully at the staff table. She clearly had a witch hunt (so to speak) against her Gryffindor students. "I am aware of this rule, and quite frankly disagree with its unfairness and how it's outdated, but it is a rule nonetheless."
Amelia bit back a groan. "But… can't you say you give us permission to sit at other tables from now on?"
"I could, but even if you do get permission, it will fall on death ears." McGonagall replied, her eyes flickering in the direction of Dolores.
Amelia sighed, this wasn't fair in the slightest. "So we have to have detention then?" Dorea asked.
"Yes. What does she have you do, exactly?"
The three of them shared a wide-eyed look, wondering if this was their chance to tell her about what really went down behind closed doors. Hermione clearly wanted them to tell her now, as she was kicking their legs under the table. "She has us do lines." Harry answered.
Minerva eyed him. "Apart from boredom, I do not see what makes you feel so dreadful about attending them and simply writing."
"She has us there for hours," Dorea said, "which means we were barely able to complete our homework from the first week."
"I can talk to her about drastically reducing the hours you spend with her, if you wish, but I'm afraid I can't do much else." McGonagall's word was final, though you could tell she felt bad for them. They nodded, and their teacher went on her way.
Hermione rounded on them. "Okay, why didn't you tell her the truth after saying you would?"
"People could overhear," Harry said, quickly drinking his tea so that she couldn't question him further.
"Then simply ask if you can speak with her in the Entrance Hall?" Hermione stated as if it was obvious.
Amelia felt awful that they would have yet more detentions - their hands were still slowly healing, and Harry had no clue how many bottles of Burn Paste he had left in his caddy bag - between them, they'd gotten through three bottles over the last few weeks. They then realised they had to tell Angelina - for Quidditch practise was at seven tonight, and Umbridge wanted them at eight, meaning they could only go for just under an hour. Their Captain was angry at first, but when they explained, she felt sympathy for them.
Ancient Runes that morning was quite interesting - for Professor Babbling had them do a group exercise, where she'd give them a new transcript to translate, but to get them thinking more, she had purposefully put in some wrong Runes - their job was to also correct the rune and explain why it was wrong. Babbling also mixed the groups up - Amelia was in a group with Sue Li, Hermione, and Lisa Turpin. Dorea was with Ernie, Terry and Padma, whilst Harry was with Tracey, Stephen Cornfoot and Anthony. Babbling also had it be timed - whichever team completed the task first and got it correct would each earn their House fifteen points.
Hermione was already quite friendly with Sue, but Amelia was only briefly acquainted. She decided to get to know the girl more, for she seemed quite friendly. "I hear Ancient Runes is one of your favourite classes," Amelia said, as they worked through the translation whilst Hermione and Lisa looked for the incorrect runes.
Sue looked up at her, and smiled a bit. "Oh, yeah, definitely up there. I think it's easier than Arithmancy - it's just basically translating."
"You seem to get great grades in Arithmancy too, though," Amelia complimented.
Sue flushed. "Really? I've never really totally understood that class. My dad always goes on about it being such a good subject to take and wants me to do well in it, but he'll be in for a shock if I don't pass it."
The rest of the task, Amelia found herself really easily bonding with Sue, but also made sure to get to know Lisa as well. Lisa was a slightly different customer, in that she didn't really want to open up and talk during a class work exercise - preferring to just work, but Babbling didn't really seem to mind them talking whilst they worked. Harry was talking quite animatedly with his group, and Dorea seemed to be smiling with her group too.
At lunch, the five of them sat down at Gryffindor table. However, Anthony and Terry seemed very eager for them to sit at Ravenclaw's. They explained to them about Umbridge, and they quickly apologised and promised another time.
As Amelia was eating her soup, she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her. She glanced up and looked around, but nobody was really looking. However, over at Slytherin table, she noticed that some Slytherin boys were either staring right at her or half-turned in their seats and looking at her. Feeling slightly awkward, she quickly tore her eyes away and drank from her cup, hoping they'd stop, but she could still feel their stares. Sighing in irritation, she looked up again, but the boys seemed to have gone back to eating. Instead, her eyes locked on Theodore Nott, who was glancing at her for a few moments, but he quickly looked away. Not quite knowing what to think, Amelia shrugged it off.
The rest of the day went by quite quickly, but maybe a bit too quickly, as at ten minutes to eight, Amelia was once again making her way to Umbridge's office with Harry and Dorea. Their Quidditch practise was quite vigorous, so they had cast Freshening Charms on themselves. Dorea was as white as a sheet of paper. "If she tries to hurt you again, we'll let the whole school know of her treachery," Harry promised, and Amelia avidly agreed. Just as they came out onto the third floor, they bumped into none other than Sirius. "Uh-huh, where are you three going? Don't you have Quidditch practise?" Sirius asked them, not looking that impressed, and he probably already knew the answer.
"Umbridge got us in detention for sitting at Hufflepuff table," Dorea told her dad.
Sirius sighed. "I hate that bloody rule as much as anyone else, and support your actions, but she had every right to put you in detention for disregarding her twice."
They all shared a look, and were probably wondering if they should tell him. Sirius caught on to them, and raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Is it only for tonight - your detention?" He asked.
"Nope," Amelia replied, "we're having them until Friday."
"Only three detentions, that ain't so bad." He tried to sound encouraging, but to them it was only three nights of hell instead of five.
When they approached Professor Umbridge's office door, they all braced themselves for another few hours of hell. Umbridge said that they would only be staying until nine, which was an improvement considering she kept them until midnight before, but it was still bound to be awful.
And it was. At five minutes to nine, Umbridge called it a day, and their hands were once again pouring blood after a few weeks of being allowed to heal. The stinging and cramping came back with a vengeance. They tried not to sound vengeful when they left the room.
As they began their journey back to Gryffindor Tower on the other side of the building practically, they had just turned a corner when they noticed that Draco Malfoy was walking the same corridor, in their direction. Harry froze. "Oh no…"
Just as Amelia shot her twin brother a questioning look, did Malfoy call out. "Potter!"
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Dorea sighed in annoyance. The last thing they needed, apart from a detention, was Malfoy coming to ruin their day even more.
"My trouble is not with you two for once, cousin, but with Potter," Draco looked a bit angry. "I heard you were attacked on Saturday night, and that Blaise and Theo were with you. You can imagine my shock when Pansy tells me she overheard you accuse me of being the attacker to Professor McGonagall. Want to explain why you think I am responsible?" Draco sneered at Harry.
"Well, you have the longest track record of trying to get me in trouble, so it stands to reason." Harry held his head high.
"I beg your pardon?" Draco exclaimed haughtily, "Why would I attack you and risk hurting Blaise and Theo? Do you really think I'd be that insipid, Potty?"
"Look," Harry said, "it was partly said in anger, alright? An offhand comment at most. Besides, it sounded like a sixth or seventh year anyway - the attacker, - so there was no real truth to my accusation. It was just that - a guess."
Draco flared up, "False allegations can really impact somebody's image and reputation, Potter, so I'd bloody well hope you don't go around spreading this as a rumour - because trust me, I'll bite back ten times harder. Starting with that club of yours."
Harry bit back a retaliation. Instead, he just stared at the pale blonde boy. "I've had enough of being in your presence for one day. As I am a Prefect, I can now tell you to get back to your common room and not wander the halls like loony's." Draco carried on, looking down at them through his nose, before moving around them and walking away. The three of them shook their heads and carried on walking back to the Tower.
Their detentions on Thursday and Friday passed much the same as the previous ones, and when Friday's one was over and done with, did they properly vow to never get into one again - for their hands were really bleeding quite drastically now. They had to properly wrap their hands in bandages, and waited until the morning to apply the Burn Paste, which at this stage, due to the writing being so deep, only stung it more. However, it held, and that was the main thing.
The next few weeks passed with virtually no bumps, and soon enough it was the first Hogsmeade weekend - which also meant Halloween was upon them. The Senior group of the DA were progressing at a nice steady pace - they finished up on Stunning Spells and soon moved on to learning Protego. Everyone soon grew more in confidence - not just at magic, but at working with people from other houses. Neville, most of all, was like a completely different person: he was confident in working with Terry Boot, Anthony, Ernie, and even some of the girls. Harry still wished that Seamus would join the club - even if only for his own reasons, as he was sure the boy would actually enjoy it. The Junior group were doing fine too - though the first and second years took more time to learn, Harry had come up with an idea: He would simply separate the room into two, with first and second years to one side, and the third and fourth years to another. This way, the fourth years in particular wouldn't have to stand around and wait for the mere eleven year olds to catch up with the rest of the group; they could work at their own desired pace without having to rush anything. Harry was very happy with both groups' progress overall, so much so that he gave them Halloween weekend off, so they could spend it properly relaxing.
Ron pointed out that there was a message on the bulletin board when they went down to the common room early the next morning. It read: "Any student who wishes to sit at another House table may do so, with express permission from their Head of House. (Signed: Minerva McGonagall, Gryffindor House)"
"Brilliant!" Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it, though he doubted if Professor Umbridge actually agreed with it. As they were about to leave the common room, Harry paused. "Hey, since we're a bit early to breakfast, do you want to go out and practise Quidditch?
Ron raised his eyebrows. "Just the two of us?"
"Yeah, why not? That way, we don't have other people watching. I could play a Chaser and we can just focus on you." He suggested.
"Oh, brilliant!" Ron grinned, and they all but ran back up the stairs to their dorm to grab their brooms. When they got down to the pitch, it was a bit foggy and the clouds were grey, but even if they only got ten minutes in, Harry would still count it as progress. He grabbed a quaffle and the two boys kicked off from the ground. He circled the pitch a few times before he then soared towards the goal hoops. He tried to throw Ron off by looking like he was going to aim for the left hoop, but was really going to go for the taller one in the middle. Ron managed to save it, but only just. "I was prepared for you to do that!" Ron laughed as he threw the quaffle back at him.
"You're quick on the spot, and that's a good thing." Harry said as he turned back around to do it again.
They carried on for about fifteen minutes, and even though Ron swore and got a bit frustrated whenever he missed a save, or simply dropped the ball, Harry gave him good feedback. "Don't beat yourself up whenever you miss one," he said as they touched down onto the ground, "No Keeper saves every single goal."
"I know, but I'm just thinking back to Wednesday's practise - I could see and hear Angelina's disappointment whenever I missed, and Alicia even told me to get a grip. I now hear their frustration whenever I do something wrong."
Harry hadn't realised that they'd done anything like that - surely they should be grateful that Ron was attending practise in order to better himself? That's what Quidditch Practise was all about. He had half a mind to have a stern word with the girls, as getting angry at someone only doing their best wasn't going to encourage them to feel confidence in their role. "I know they may say and do things like that, but they're just very competitive people. They want the Quidditch Cup this year as much as any Gryffindor. They even get on at me sometimes. They don't think you're bad at all." Harry reassured him as they walked back up to the castle.
When they got to the Great Hall after putting their brooms away, they saw Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner at Ravenclaw table. "Do you want to join them?" Harry asked Ron.
Ron looked a bit nervous, "Erm, okay."
They looked to the staff table, and Professor McGonagall nodded her head at them, giving them permission. "Mind if we join you?" Harry asked them confidently.
"Go ahead!" Anthony said enthusiastically, although Michael Corner looked less happy.
"Looking forward to Hogsmeade today?" Harry asked as he buttered his toast. Ron was straight away munching on a butter croissant.
"Why would we? It's not like it's any different." Michael replied arrogantly.
Anthony eyed the boy. "Well, it's nice to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air."
"It's not like there isn't fresh air inside," Corner said arrogantly. Anthony gave Harry a look which seemed to say "Ignore him,", which he did, for the boy paid them no heed after that. Padma Patil came down not long after, and was pleasantly surprised to see Harry and Ron sitting at her table (her and Parvati had forgiven them for the Yule Ball incident last year). Anthony mainly started talking to Harry about Runes and Arithmancy as they ate. Harry felt a bit bad, as Ron didn't take the subjects so couldn't join in the discussion, but soon Terry came down and they started discussing the Chudley Cannons (Terry came from a family which supported that team), so he wasn't left out for long.
"How are your private Arithmancy lessons with Vector going?" Anthony asked him.
"Pretty smoothly, although the fifth year content so far all sounds like Gobbledygook to me, I'm not sure I understand it that well at all." He admitted.
"Number significance is pretty hard, and my last essay only scored an A, but I was only a few marks off an E." Goldstein said, as if getting an A was illegal for somebody as smart as him.
They carried on talking amongst themselves, and Harry was momentarily distracted when Cho sat down a few places down the table from him. He nodded at her in welcome, being careful not to blush, but it was a bit hard not to. "Going to Hogsmeade today, Harry?" Cho asked.
"Yeah, with my friends." He answered, taking a gulp of coffee to stop his throat from drying.
Cho's smile dimmed a bit, but she quickly regained it. "Nice, there's no DA on tonight, is there?" She asked, buttering a crumpet.
"No DA - besides, you all deserve a break from it anyway, as we're progressing at a fast rate." He answered, and everyone smiled in approval.
"I'm not sure if we'd attend anyway - for we'd all be at the Halloween feast!" Padma quipped, which they all chuckled at: the Halloween feast was always delicious and a hit among everyone. However, Harry tried to mask his sadness of this holiday - for it was coming up another anniversary of his parents death. He was sure Amelia was thinking the same thing. However, he was going to enjoy this day.
When breakfast was done, Harry and Ron met up with Hermione, Amelia and Dorea in the Entrance Hall as they lined up with everyone else, as Filch signed everyone out. The grubby old man was never in a happy mood. He practically snarled at him as he crossed his name on the list. Neville had asked to tag along with them, as Dean and Seamus weren't going until later and he needed to send something off at the Post Office, and they gladly let him come with them.
Hogsmeade High Street was bustling with life, and Harry couldn't wait to be visiting all the shops again. Sirius had given him, Amelia and Dorea a money bag to last them the year. Harry gave Ron about thirty galleons, which he gladly took, as if he'd just been given ten thousand.
Their first stop was to Honeydukes, and they all got a bag full each of a mixture of delicious treats. Ron was delighted when he got Magenta Comstock on a chocolate frog card, as that completed his first edition collection.
Next stop was to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, for they all agreed they could do with more parchment notebooks - Hermione had almost completed a full one and it was only two months into term. They also grabbed some spare quills before paying and leaving.
Amelia and Dorea stayed with Neville as he went into the Post Office whilst Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the book shop. Ron wanted to see if there were any Keeper books in particular, whilst Harry mainly browsed the shelves looking for anything that he might like. He grabbed a book on tips for aspiring duellers, which he thought would be handy for the Junior DA, and tried to look for one which he could use for the Senior's too (he planned to start duelling with them after Christmas). He found one, but also happened upon the official textbook that was meant to be used for OWL Defence Against the Dark Arts. He showed Hermione it. "I could definitely use this for the DA!" he grinned, glad he had found a book like this which would show them exactly what they were meant to learn. Hermione got herself some study guides and past exam paper booklets, whilst Ron found a book written by none other than Denison Frisby (the Keeper for the English National Quidditch Team) which was mostly about different mindsets to have when it came to the Keeper position. They met up with the others and went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, where Dorea decided to have lunch with Fred. Some DA members even joined them - Hannah and Susan were soon talking with Amelia, whilst Hermione, Sue and Lisa talked Transfiguration. Ron even plucked up enough courage to join Ernie and Neville's debate about wizard chess. Harry sat back with a smug smirk, enjoying all the cooperation.
The door opened, and Blaise and Theo entered, bags in hand. They took a table near the bar. The two boys nodded and waved at him, and he waved back. He half-thought about going over to them, but decided not to.
Before long, it was time to get back up to Hogwarts to get changed for the Halloween feast. Their other friends joined them as they walked back up, meaning that they were now quite a large group. Harry glanced back as he talked to Ernie, and noticed that Amelia was in conversation with Theo, and that they got on very well. He was a bit surprised to see Blaise constantly eye Dorea, but thought nothing of it - Zabini was quite a private person, and surely wouldn't publicly eye up a girl.
The Great Hall was decked out in the usual Halloween decorations, but it never failed to impress everyone every year. There was a record player playing both muggle and wizard Halloween songs, though it was neither too loud nor too quiet with the hustle and bustle of the Hall. When they all sat down at their House tables before the start of the feast, Amelia was still smiling. "I saw you and Theo talking," he stated to his twin.
She looked at him. "He's a nice boy, we get on like a house on fire."
Ron gave him a look, and was holding back a smirk, however Harry had no clue what he meant. He was about to mouth to him when Dumbledore started speaking. He marked the start of the ceremony, telling them to enjoy themselves and divulge. With a clap of his hands, the food appeared, and everyone hummed in amazement. It looked and smelled simply delicious, as usual.
Harry found himself soon stuffed to the brim, but Ron kept saying how it would be a shame if the spun sugar skeletons went to waste, so he had two more to appease him. That was his absolute limit. The end of the feast was marked with Dumbledore announcing two sets of entertainment - first, the Hogwarts ghosts would perform their traditional formation gliding, and then a troupe of dancing skeletons would perform the dance The Grand Old Duke of York, which promised to be highly entertaining and he encouraged them to sing along if they knew it. Both acts were very funny, he thought, and it helped to take his mind off his parents, who had been on his mind all day. He noticed Sirius was looking a bit glum up at the staff table too - and wondered if he was thinking of James and Lily on this day too.
Up in the boy's dormitory after they were dismissed, Dean and Seamus were almost clutching themselves laughing as they recalled when the skeletons all fell down at the end of the dance. Harry smirked too, for that had been quite funny, and found it quite nice to hear Seamus happy again. He didn't outright dislike the boy - he just didn't like how he was still blind to the truth. Dean was still talking to Harry, and attended the DA, but he was still very much undecided about who's camp to be in. However, Harry was willing to give Seamus time - the boy had only really been hostile the first few weeks, and just elected to ignore his existence now.
As it was only ten, and he wasn't quite tired yet, Harry suddenly forgot about somebody else who was probably struggling this Halloween - Remus. He felt awful that he hadn't written to him at all - he'd just been that swamped with school work and activities that he'd forgotten entirely. He quickly scrambled to get his parchment notebook out of his bag, along with his quill and inkpot.
After half an hour, his letter read:
"Dear Moony,
I am so sorry I haven't written to you at all since school resumed. Honestly, you must think ill of me. I've been extra busy, with school subjects, homework, and most of all the DA. You'll be pleased to know that it's coming along really well - the Senior's are only a few weeks away from perfecting their Protego's, which means I can do Shield Charms with them before Christmas. The Junior lot are a bit quieter, but they're doing great too. We've made so many friends I cannot count all of them on my fingers!
I hope the work for your organisation is also progressing. I've made a friend, Tulip Karasu, who's parents I know have started working at your organisation too. I hope more members join your club the way students are joining mine.
I am still quite concerned for our friend RH - for nobody at school has told us anything regarding his whereabouts, which is obviously concerning us. Do you know anything? We're quite worried, understandably, as it's November as of tomorrow and he's still not shown face.
Halloween today was fun - feast was brilliant, and got a good haul at Hogsmeade too. Was a bit sad thinking about mum and dad throughout the day, but my friends really helped take my mind off things so I wasn't upset for too long. I'm sure you were also thinking about them too.
I've just checked my Astronomy textbook, and I can tell by the moon cycles that your last time of the month was three days ago. I hope it wasn't too sore a cycle, and that you didn't manage to rip anyone's head off.
I wish you well, and hope this letter finds you in better spirits.
Regards,
Little Prongs.
P.S. Who on earth let Padfoot become a you-know-what? He's fun and all but.. Really? ;)"
He had to take into account that apparently, Umbridge was doing random checks on owls being sent out, according to Penny Haywood, so he had to pretty much talk in code. He prayed Remus knew who he was referring to when he said RH - Rubeus Hagrid, - but he was sure he'd catch on. He would send Hedwig with the letter first thing tomorrow morning, and maybe coerce Ron to come with him to keep an eye out. Surely if they went to the owlery at like, six, they wouldn't be caught? Umbridge didn't come down for breakfast until seven usually, so he hoped tomorrow wouldn't be any different.
Neville dimmed the light in their dorm, and Harry found himself not quite tired yet, so stayed up just staring at the ceiling and thinking. He still thought back to the attack on him, Blaise and Theo. It had been just under a month, and the attacker still hadn't been found, and nobody had told them anything since. That made him a bit angry - the person could come back at any time, and attack anybody. What if an innocent first year got attacked walking the halls alone, with spells meant for Harry? He would feel truly terrible.
If it wasn't Draco, then who? It was someone who knew that Harry would be returning from the DA at that time. He wondered if they'd been thrown off by the fact he wasn't alone, as maybe that was why they kept themselves hidden. He mentally thanked Blaise and Theo for hanging back to talk to him, for who knows what might have happened if Harry had walked back alone - it didn't bear thinking of.
On Monday morning, Dorea came down what she thought was quite early to the common room. She was a bit concerned at the amount of commotion she could hear as she was walking down the stairs.
Everyone was gathered around the bulletin board. Peeping over the shoulders of the tall sixth and seventh years, she could see Harry standing near the front. She squeezed her way into the crowd, finally drawing level with him. "What's happened?"
"This Daily Prophet article has been put on the board," Harry said stiffly, gesturing to the offending board, where Dorea could see quite clearly, the headline: MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATION REFORM - DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HOGWARTS HIGH INQUISITOR"
"What the bloody hell is a High Inquisitor when it's at home?" Dorea said darkly. She tried to get closer, to read the smaller writing that was the article itself, but the font was too small.
"The morning post will arrive shortly," Harry said. "Let's get down to the Hall."
As they walked through the crowd and out of the common room, Amelia, Ron and Hermione followed them, almost as confused as they were.
Quickly sitting at Gryffindor table, they waited for the arrival of the owls. Everyone else at all the other tables seemed to be doing the same. As soon as one came for Hermione, she put a knut in the pouch attached to its leg and practically snatched the paper. They then spread it out on the table so they all could read it.
"In a surprise move last night, the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
'The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at the school for quite some time,' says Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley, 'Anxious parents have been crying out for the Ministry to intervene for some time now, given that the school has been moving in a direction that they do not approve of.'"
Ron growled. "Bootlicker."
The article continued. "This is not the first time that Minister Fudge has had to intervene to effect improvements at the school. As recently as the 30th of August, an Educational Decree was put in immediate effect to ensure that the Ministry can select an appropriate teaching candidate if the Headmaster is unable to find one. 'Dolores Umbridge was such a prevalent candidate for the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and she of course has proved an immediate success.' Says a Wizengamot member."
"A success?" Harry complained loudly.
The rest of the article was utter rubbish. Of course, Lucius Malfoy had something to say about it, as his name was weasled into the article about halfway through, and had nothing but praise for the Ministry's decision, calling Dumbledore's decisions "eccentric".
Dorea's heart fell when she got to near the end of the article, as it read: "Among those eccentric decisions are undoubtedly the staff appointments that Albus Dumbledore has made over the years. Some of them include the employment of proven WEREWOLF Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, and half-crazed ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Alastor Moody, although if Harry Potter has anything to say about it, he'd insist the man was Barty Crouch Junior!"
Harry clenched the paper, as did they all. But there was ever more slander to come. "If you thought they were bad decisions, then you'd be gobsmacked to learn about the new Astronomy professor at Hogwarts - for it is none other than Sirius Black! 'Sure, the man may be proven innocent, but I don't feel entirely comfortable knowing that a man with those previous convictions, framed or not, is teaching my children.' Says concerned parent Mr Smith, speaking from his family home in Gloucester.
'It's a good thing that my child is no longer of an age where Astronomy is a mandatory class, else I'd march right up to the Headmaster's office and demand Black's removal!' says Mrs Irma Montague, mother of a seventh year student, rightfully outraged.
It's quite amazing, really, that Mr Black actually has supporters. 'If the kids at Hogwarts like him, and if my daughter feels comfortable around him, then bugger what anyone else thinks, I say.' Says Mrs Abbott, mother of a fifth year student. (For a full account of Mrs Abbott's outrageous campaign for greater rights of house-elves, turn to page eighteen.)
'Black is a proven innocent man, who is well within his rights to have a job for crying out loud. I fully support him being a teacher whilst the usual Astronomy teacher is on a sabbatical. Apparently most of the kids love him - according to my daughters, so I don't know why other parents are even complaining when there's clearly no problems.' Is the opinion of Jamal Tuttle, 39. (For information regarding Mr Tuttle's laughable claim that goblins are wrongfully treated in our society, turn to page twenty-four.)
"I've had it up to here with that paper, honestly," Dorea raged, refusing to read it anymore. Harry had too, and soon enough it was only Hermione reading it.
"Well, at least we now know how we ended up with Umbridge! Fudge forced her on us after all!" Hermione was talking fast, which meant she truly was in a bad mood. "It's utterly outrageous!"
The article had also mentioned how Umbridge was due to carry out inspections of all the Hogwarts teaching staff, yet the woman wasn't present to inspect Binns for History of Magic first thing, nor Potions. Professor Babbling must've expected her to turn up during Ancient Runes, as she kept eying the door, but she didn't. As they were lining up for another dreadful Defence lesson did Ron have some information. "She appeared during Divination," he explained to them, and a few people were listening, "Trelawney was a nervous wreck, and really didn't do herself any favours. It started out okay - Umbridge asked us about our dream diaries, and questioned Trelawney about how long she's been teaching. It all fell apart when she asked Trelawney to predict something. She had nothing at first, but then said there was something dark and grievous in Umbridge's future."
Harry chuckled. "I'd loved to have been there. That wouldn't have gone down well."
"Probably gave her no marks at all." Ron agreed.
The woman soon turned up, her heels clicking off the hard floor, and let them into the classroom. She appeared in a jolly good mood, as she even graced them with a smile. Probably because she's technically just sacked Trelawney, Dorea thought grievously. She didn't like the subject that Trelawney teached, but she did feel somewhat bad for the woman. Parvati and Lavender will be gutted.
The double period was once again spent reading in utter silence. Dorea felt herself falling asleep more by the minute. When Umbridge walked up and down the rows of tables to see where everyone was at, Dorea quietly skipped five pages ahead - for she was still on the first page. There was no point reading this dumbed-down textbook. Harry had managed to find the textbook that was used in OWL level Defence at the weekend, and he was going to use it for the DA, which she felt good about - they wouldn't be too far behind after all. When Professor Umbridge loomed near them, she felt her hand begin stinging again, and a lump formed in her throat.
At dinner, they entered the Great Hall. Amelia seen Daphne sitting at Slytherin table with Tracey. "Will we sit with them?" She asked.
"I think I'm gonna sit with Ernie tonight…" Ron quickly said, as if he was afraid sitting at Slytherin table would cause great unrest.
Hermione had already planned to sit with Sue and Lisa, so elected to go to Ravenclaw table instead. In the end, Harry, Amelia and Dorea sat with their pale-blonde friend. She looked dead impressed. "We were wondering how long it would take you to sit with us," Daphne remarked, grinning.
"We didn't want to risk Malfoy's wrath." Harry said as they sat down. People down the table were glaring at them.
"He can't get angry at you if we're here," came a voice from behind them, and it was soon revealed to be Blaise, although Theo Nott and Barnaby Lee were with him too. Blaise smiled at her in welcome warmly, and she did the same back.
Dinner with their Slytherin friends was quite entertaining, as a few of them had stories regarding Umbridge inspecting their classes. Astoria, Daphne's sister (who was in Ginny's year), started telling them about how Umbridge inspected her Ancient Runes class earlier in the day, and that Babbling answered her questions in the most monotone voice possible. Umbridge, as if Babbling's brilliance could ever be doubted, then asked her to translate a Runic sentence - which Babbling managed to do in less than a minute, much to Umbridge's annoyance. They all laughed quite mirthfully as they imagined Professor Umbridge turning purple as a result of being unable to purge Babbling of her job.
Dorea and Amelia chatted with Daphne, and they reckoned that Umbridge would most likely turn up to inspect Muggle Studies at some point. Professor Burbage would likely pass the inspection, as the woman was very knowledgeable, so that was another definite teacher who wouldn't be sacked.
Dinner was always quite a long affair, and Dorea soon spied Harry getting his Potions essay out. She had half a mind to finish hers off, as she needed one more paragraph and a conclusion to do, but shook that off.
Theo Nott squinted his head at Harry's essay, and read it. "That part isn't necessarily true," he said, pointing to the second paragraph of his essay.
"Oh, really?" Harry asked.
"Yeah - the first venom antidote that you mentioned isn't actually that effective against snake venom, but nonetheless you can still include it. Make sure you mention that bit." Theo supplied.
Blaise added, "I'll show you mine, Potter. You also want to vary some words that you use - instead of using 'because' you could use 'due to' or 'whereas'. Trust me, teachers hate seeing that word used over and over. Examiners too."
Dorea was impressed. "You two are pretty smart, you know!"
Blaise smirked. "Snape would never let us be anything but,"
"How does that explain Crabbe and Goyle then?" Amelia added quietly, and despite themselves, they burst out laughing. Draco and his gang were glaring at them from down the table, as if they were in the library and not the Great Hall.
Soon enough, Blaise Zabini was adamant for Harry to copy his essay. However, two minutes later, Dorea spied Umbridge getting up from her seat, and was soon marching her way between Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, on a mission. Dorea knew exactly what she was about to do. "Harry, Professor Umbridge is coming!" Dorea said to her godbrother. But it was no use.
"Cheating on homework is not acceptable, Mr Potter." Professor Umbridge now stood behind Harry.
"He's not cheating, Professor, I'm helping him." Blaise was quick to mention.
"Are you sure you aren't being forced to say that, Mr Zabini?" Umbridge asked sweetly.
Theo scoffed. "He is literally helping Harry of his own free will, Professor, he's not being held under Imperius, I can guarantee you that."
Umbridge was taken aback slightly by Theo's cheek. "Well, if that's the case, then both show me your essay's so I can make sure there is no word-for-word copying going on."
The two boys handed her their essays. Dorea hoped that Harry had taken the initiative to change a few words here and there. He apparently had. "Very well, I can see there has been no blatant copying from Mr Potter. However, may I remind you that homework tasks are meant to be your own work." Professor Umbridge said, handing their essay's back, before smiling and walking back to the staff table. Sirius was looking in their direction, and was clearly a bit confused. Draco and his goons were in clear disbelief that Harry hadn't gotten in trouble.
"I can't believe you'd force me to say that, Potter." Zabini remarked, faking a hurt voice.
"Give me your homework, Zabini." Harry tried to put on a bully voice, however the two boys just barked laughter.
When dinner was over, everyone was dismissed. As they joined the slow crowd of people making their way back to their common rooms, Daphne sounded concerned. "I have this weird feeling,"
"What of?" Amelia asked.
"It's strange, but I feel like our school life as we know it is going to be altered. You know, due to the Ministry intervening.. But it could just be nothing." Daphne answered.
Dorea kind of knew what she meant. "Yeah, and her becoming a High Inquisitor? It doesn't sit right with me."
Little did they all know, the Ministry was about to make drastic changes.