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Act II - The Warlock of Hogwarts
Chapter 22 - Susan
"Damn it!" cursed Harry as he nearly tripped against a piece of enchanted armour next to the staircase as he dashed towards the seventh floor. Missing McGonagall's class was manageable, but Flitwick's too? At this rate he'd be summoned to Dumbledore's office before dinner.
And the worst part? It wasn't even his fault.
Well, not totally his fault anyway.
His escapade into the Chamber of Secrets, facing Ananta-Shesha, and the fierce duel that followed had magically exhausted him. He thanked his lucky stars that his newly-gained awareness of the Chamber also came with the knowledge of all entrances and exits β thirty-one β distributed unevenly throughout the school. One of them even opened up through a mirror in the general girls bathroom in the Slytherin Common Room.
Daphne was not amused.
Despite that knowledge, she had dragged him out of a pillar on the third floor, next to the lone window that overlooked the East Tower, barely twenty yards from his private room. He had offered to have her stay the night, given how late it was, only to realise how it'd look. Daphne had blushed like a tomato, and then claimed that Tracey and Pansy would cause a ruckus if she didn't return. Frowning, he had offered her his invisibility cloak, despite her reassurances that she'd be fine without it, what with her best friend being a Prefect. They had also decided to check the Slytherin bathroom opening the next time, just for her peace of mind.
When Harry woke up, he found that he had slept through breakfast and the first class. At least missing Transfiguration was no great loss, given he wouldn't be able to do any class work either way, but Flitwick was another matter. The diminutive professor was about to start boundary charms and he'd be damned before he missed it.
In hindsight, he should have known better than to challenge the universe like that.
"Ooof!" cried a feminine voice, as he ran into someone head-on, lost his footing and fell down upon the floor. Harry groaned, rubbing his nose, and was about to apologise when the other person's identity stopped him in his tracks.
"Watch it you filthy β" Cho began, before her eyes met his. It was almost comical, how those brown orbs bulged out like they'd pop out of their sockets, only to narrow to thin slits. The annoyance turned to surprise and eventually rage, the shock in those eyes transforming into blatant hostility.
"You," she sneered. 'What do you want, Potter? Come to kill me again?"
Harry blinked, taking a moment to register the sudden shift in her expression and another to understand exactly what she was saying. He squinted his eyes, as his brain ran circles, trying to tie bumping into someone with a murder attempt, and came out with nothing. Finally he opened his mouth and chose his next words with great diplomacy.
"You, uh, didn't hurt your head, did you?"
Cho went purple.
Okay, maybe he should've left diplomacy to others.
He picked himself up and offered her his hand. Cho glared at him, then tossed away his fingers and pushed herself up, sneering. Harry idly noted that sneering was just Cho's thing, and made her look like a really angry teddy bear. She should really have taken notes from Parkinson or perhaps Snape. Knowing the git, he probably had 'cloak-billowing', and 'sneering' as part of Slytherin common room culture.
Something to ask Daphne about later.
"Err, sorry. I was running and I didn't see you coming β"
"Of course you didn't," she snorted contemptuously. "You never see or do anything. You just magically get entered into a prestigious tournament and then magically vanish to some graveyard and magically kill people without intending. Isn't that right, Potter?"
Harry considered that for a moment and said, "Yes."
Cho clenched her fists. "Your levity will not change the truth, Potter. I know what you did, and I'll make sure you get your due. Cedric was a hero and you besmirched his name just to β"
"To what?" He demanded, the first tendrils of annoyance seeping into his tone. "To what, Chang?"
"You lied about Cedric! Cedric didn't kidnap you!"
"Have you been living under a rock?" Harry snapped, crossing his arms. "The trial was broadcasted on WWN. Everyone heard it. I never claimed that Cedric did it intentionally. Maybe he was given a potion, maybe he was imperiused. We've no way of proving that. But he did try to kill Krum. He did cruciate Fleur. And he did kidnap me."
He saw her stiffen. Part of him wanted to just end the conversation right then, but he knew too well exactly what happened when he allowed people to get away with half-truths and suspicions. He had had enough back in second year and fourth year to have a repeat all over again.
"In fact," he said, taking a step ahead, "You want to blame someone? Blame his dad. Amos Diggory. He's the one that left holes in the wards that allowed the portkey in the first place. All because he wanted a holiday package to Greece."
"You take that back!" Cho snarled, whipping her wand out.
"Why?" Harry shot back. "Because the truth isn't funny anymore? Because you planned your future with a Triwizard champion and it all came crashing down? Well guess what, Chang, I'm not responsible for what happened to Cedric, or whatever happened to your grand plans. And I'm certainly not going to take your banshee act anymore. I get it you got betrothed to Cedric last year, but that doesn't give you the right to attack me like that. You want pity, go look somewhere else."
He grabbed his bag and walked past an angry Cho towards Flitwick's room. Seriously, it was just one thing after another. Already he had Umbridge on his arse and Lucius Malfoy plotting with Fudge, not to mention Voldemort in the horizon. He didn't have time or the inclination to deal with Chang's bruised ego anymore than he β
His thoughts vanished as the hair on the back on his neck rose up, as his survival instinct surged and Harry leaped towards his right, his wand spinning in his arms as Cho yelled β
"FURNUNCULUS!"
He didn't even have to cast a counterspell or a shield, because someone else did that for him.
"PROTEGO!"
A wide, silvery wall expanded between him and Cho, the pimple jinx splashing off harmlessly against it, as the shield dissipated. Harry turned towards his right, and saw Susan Bones step in, wand raised at Cho and a pissed-off expression on her face.
Cho gritted her teeth, and shot a volley of curses at Harry, who flicked his wand, and began parrying the spells away. It was a neat trick he had learnt from Sirius. The idea was to create a small bubble of defensive magic at the tip of the wand, and use it to physically deflect the incoming spells with it. The art of parrying was more difficult than it looked, because apart from being faster than your opponent, one still needed to place his wand at a perfect degree to successfully parry the spell and not cause it to break or worse, explode in one's face. It was why only the most duelists chose to hide behind shields even though parrying allowed them to go on the offensive while still defending oneself.
It didn't deserve mentioning that Lord Voldemort was a master of this art. Neither Sirius nor Snape had ever seen or heard of the Dark Lord hiding behind a shield.
Meanwhile Cho continued to attack him.
"SLUGULUS ERUCTO! ENTOMORPHIS! FURNUNCULUS!"
Harry parried each and every one of them with ease. Had this been Sirius, he'd have failed horribly and been forced to hide behind a Protego. The constant target practice in Snape's office had also helped him quite a lot, but honestly, it didn't matter.
Compared to everything he had faced so far, Cho was just β
So. Damn. Slow.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Susan yelled, who clearly had enough. Cho's wand was hurled out of her fingers into the air, and Harry, with the unerring skill of a seeker, caught it, before tossing it to Susan.
"Give me back my wand, Bones." Cho demanded.
"No," said Susan. "Casting spells on the hallways is against the rules. Attacking another student is also against the rules. You've done both. As a fifth-year Prefect, it's my job to see you get punished."
Cho stood her tallest and sneered at Susan, who admittedly, was a little on the short side. "I'm a sixth-year Prefect, little girl. You can do nothing. Now hand over that wand and walk away."
Susan crossed her arms across her chest, clenching both wands in her hand. "You're right. You're a sixth year prefect while I'm only a measly fifth-year prefect. Say, Professor Flitwick would be the right person to solve this disparity, wouldn't he? I'll just go and hand it over to him then."
Cho froze.
"Hem-hem!"
Harry snapped his neck to his right so fast that he feared he had sprained it. Just as he feared, Dolores Umbridge was strutting across the corridor towards them, complete with her ridiculously pink attire, softly swinging her hips like those silly characters Aunt Petunia watched in her sitcoms.
Damn it. Why her of all people β
"Hem! Hem!" Umbridge announced. "Spellcasting in the corridors. That is so not done! Miss Bones, ten points from Hufflepuff. Mr. Potter, ten points from Gryffindor and detention tonight."
"WHAT?" Harry demanded. "Cho attacked me out of nowhere, and then Susan disarmed her to stop attacking. Why am Iβ we getting punished for protecting ourselves?"
Umbridge gave him a sickly sweet smile. "I'm afraid there are no witnesses to your defence, Mr. Potter, Miss Bones. I, on the other hand, the Senior Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic, did see Miss Bones disarm Miss Chang, while you had your wand ready and pointed at her. The evidence is clear."
She twisted her wand at Susan, and Cho's wand was snatched away from her hand, and hurled towards Cho who deftly caught it, sneering at her.
"There is no need to fear, Miss Chang. I can completely understand what you might be going through. Facing a dangerous⦠wizard without the safety of your wand in these halls. Rest assured, you're completely safe."
That was it. Staying silent about Voldemort was one thing, but if she thought she could get away with bullying him and his friends, she had another thing coming. He watched as Cho left with a parting sneer and knew that it was time to go full offence.
"Clear, is it?" He snapped. "Well then, I'd like to Floo-call my guardian, Lord Sirius Black and ask him to view our memories. He's a Hit-wizard and clearly understands the law better than an Undersecretary as far as criminal offences are concerned, or did Minister Fudge get you an Auror post too?"
"Ten points from Gryffindor for talking back to a teacher," Umbridge squeaked. "Pensive memories aren't acceptable as evidence."
"But this isn't a criminal case," barked Susan. "This is a schoolyard matter. Pensive memories are perfectly acceptable evidence."
Harry joined in. "Say, Professor Umbridge, wouldn't you like to accompany us to Professor Dumbledore's office? He's the Headmaster, last time I checked."
"That's hardly necessary β"
"Oh no, I bet it is," Harry whispered, taking a step forward. He could understand Fudge's paranoia. He could understand Cho's blind wrath. He could even understand others' fears with his Death-powers. But he drew the line when this toady bitch misused her powers to punish him and his friends out of sheer spite.
"Say Professor, did I hear it right that Headmaster Dumbledore had put you under probation? You failed to protect me from Malfoy earlier, despite me following the book that you recommended to the letter. I was in the Hospital Wing with my bones broken. And now another crazy student attacks me in the hallways and you draw the wrong conclusions."
He smiled. It was a beautiful thing. "Is that enough to send you packing home, Professor Umbridge?"
Umbridge fumed, clenching her wand tightly. "Don't look so smug, Harry Potter. You cannot fool me. I know what kind of freak you are. I'll see that you're expelled from Hogwarts, and no one, not your godfather, not her aunt," she jerked her head in Susan's direction, "and certainly not Albus Dumbledore will be able to stop that."
Harry tilted his head, ever so slightly, and took another step forward, his posture completely relaxed. "I totally understand that, Professor Umbridge. But do you?"
Of all the things he had said so far, this one shocked her the most.
"Your Minister tried to paint me a murderer. Instead I became the Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter."
Another step.
"Lucius Malfoy is a death eater, and despite what happened at the trial, we both know exactly who was responsible behind Cedric's death. You can claim that I'm lying all you want, Madam Umbridge, but when the truth is out in the open, when the Dark Lord resurfaces, can you imagine what will happen to your esteemed Minister?"
And another.
"Can you imagine what will happen⦠to you?"
Umbridge's confident stature wavered. "You β you're lying! He's not back! You're just a lying β"
"You should hope that I am," Harry hissed. "Because if I am not, it will be you heading for Azkaban, Madam Umbridge. And I'll be sure to see you carted out of Hogwarts."
He took a final step and stood inches away from her, and flared his power out. After the number of times he had subconsciously channelled Death, it was now second nature to him. Umbridge flinched and took a step back, all traces of colour vacated from her face.
"...Monsterβ¦" she whimpered.
"You create your own demons, Madam Umbridge. Please remember that."
The pink-clad woman shakily turned around and was about to leave when β
"Oh and Madam Umbridge, neither Susan nor I'll be reporting for any detentions. And we completely expect the points to get reversed and taken from Chang instead. You're a professor, after all. It's your job to do the right thing."
Umbridge shivered and left.
β¦
Harry exhaled. "That went well."
"If that is your definition of going well, Harry," said Susan with a nervous chuckle, "I really don't want to be there when things go bad."
"No," Harry nodded, "you don't."
Susan looked searchingly at his face. "You realise she's gonna come for you even more now? Five galleons she's on her way to report to the Minister about this."
He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I'm a registered Warlock, and have ascended with Peverell family magic. If a professor gets afraid of my family magic, that's on her. Not on me. Also remember, pensive memories aren't admissible in court."
Susan laughed. "That's true. Say, you were going to Charms class, right?"
"Bugger!" said Harry, as they started walking. "Flitwick must have already started. Damn it. He's going to deduct points, isn't he?"
"Well," Susan grinned as she pushed her arm into his. "Good thing you have a prefect supporting you."
A lopsided grin formed on his lips. "Point."
The smile on her face faded suddenly, replaced with a sudden frown. "Hey Harry, I don't see you at DADA classes anymore. Is that also because of this⦠Warlock thing?"
He nodded.
"Oh," she said, and then clammed up altogether. "Fine. Let's go."
"What is it, Susan?" he asked. She had come to his aid without his asking. The least he could do was try to alleviate her worries.
Susan bit her lip. "It's just that it's been three weeks, and Umbridge's barely taught us anything. She just makes us read that stupid book. If this continues, I'm gonna flunk my OWLS."
He arched an eyebrow. He had just seen her cast a perfect protego with minimal wand movement. "Flunk. You?"
She blushed. "Alright, maybe not me, but my friends. Hannah, Megan, Ernie, and students from other Houses too. Like, I was talking to Hermione and she's already going mental about her DADA OWLs. I thought she might have already told you about this."
"About what?"
She narrowed her eyes. "You're not messing with me, are you?"
"I haven't exactly been living in Gryffindor Tower, you know," he said. And if he were honest with himself, he had gotten a little too busy in his personal life, with his studies, training, and Fleur and Daphne. And with his recent discovery of the Chamber, his busy schedule was only going to get tighter. He still had Ron sitting next to him in some classes, while Daphne had begun claiming his partner position in Potions. Between all of that, he had gotten a little⦠estranged from Hermione.
And he didn't know exactly whose fault that was.
"Why don't you tell me what's troubling you?"
Susan bit her lip. "I told you. All my friends are afraid they'll flunk their OWLs. Without actually learning how to cast spells, we'll be sitting ducks when it matters."
"Your aunt is the DMLE Director. Surely she can β"
"Do nothing," Susan snapped. Clearly that was a sensitive matter for her. "...Sorry. I've talked to Auntie, and not even she can do anything. She says that Fudge is breaking no laws here, so her hands are tied. You remember Griselda Marchbanks?"
Harry nodded. She had been the acting- Chief Warlock at his trial. Not exactly on his side, but not against him either. A neutral judge.
"She'sβ was the Head of OWL Exams Authority. But she got struck with Dragon Pox and had to resign. Fudge elected Alecto Carrow in her place, and Auntie swears that woman is worse than Umbridge."
He arched an eyebrow. Personally, he thought Umbridge was worse than Voldemort.
"Thing is, Carrow has changed the OWL syllabus, making it fit with Umbridge's drivel. So I know we won't be flunking OWLs, but we might as well be. None of us will be capable of joining the DMLE or the Auror forces, no matter how many Outstandings we have, because we'd have still learnt nothing."
Harry frowned. They had reached the classroom.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Teach us," she said, looking at him earnestly. "Teach us what Umbridge won't."
"Teach β"
"You don't need to answer right away. But think about that, will you?"
With that, Susan pulled her arm out and walked into the class, leaving a thoughtful Harry Potter behind.
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