Chapter 5
Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four
The next couple of weeks were filled with lots of studying and quidditch practice. I spent many hours in the library with Pansy, Zabini, and Draco looking up various things for essays in all our classes. Slowly, my marks on essays went up from A's to E's. Once a week we'd all get together in a back corner of the common room and practice Defense Against the Dark Arts spells and jinxes so as to not fall behind. The only two in our group who didn't seem worried at all about school work were Crabbe and Goyle. I was sure that they were not going to get a single passing O.W.L.
Soon the first Hogsmeade weekend approached, and I was looking forward to taking a break from all the school work. On the morning we would be allowed to visit the wizarding town, I finally received an owl back from Sirius. Eagerly, I opened the letter at breakfast.
Chloe,
I am glad you have reached out to me. Knowing you are safe at school has been a huge relief. I was unable to write to you during the summer because you made the decision to spend your summer with… well you know. I could not risk revealing my location to them.
I've heard from your brother that you are refusing to speak to him. Chloe, your brother just wants what is best for you, we all do. You need to be more careful with the people you are associating with. I understand the hurt you must have felt after losing Cedric, but you should rely on your family to help you through times of grief. I encourage you to reach out to Harry and make amends. You need the right kind of people on your side.
Padfoot
I stared down at the letter Sirius wrote to me feeling disappointed and hurt. I knew that he wouldn't have approved my spending of the summer with the Malfoy's, but I had hoped that he would ask how I was doing instead of insisting I was making the wrong decisions. Instead of trying to understand where I was coming from he simply dismissed everything.
"Who's Padfoot?" Pansy asked as she looked over my shoulder.
"Why are you reading my letter over my shoulder?" I asked angrily.
"Sorry," she said as she backed off. "Just curious as to who was writing to you." I rolled my eyes at her.
"You don't see me invading your privacy," I spat at her. I crumpled up the letter and put it in my pocket. Draco gave me a curious look but didn't say anything to me.
"So," Draco said, "what should we do today in Hogsmeade?" He was trying to change the subject for me. I felt a wave of gratitude course through my body.
"Butterbeer?" Zabini said lazily. He seemed to have ignored the entire conversation that had happened.
"Obviously," I said with a small chuckle.
"I want to go to Honeydukes as well," Pansy said.
"Sounds like a plan." Draco said with a small nod.
After breakfast was over we headed back to the common room to change into warmer clothes. Once we were all changed and ready to go we left as a group. I walked next to Pansy in the front of the group. Pansy was telling how she wished boys would pay her a bit more attention.
"I mean," she said as we entered The Three Broomsticks. "I feel like I am ready for a boyfriend."
"Are you now?" I asked.
"Yes!" She sounded exasperated. "You've already had one."
"Yeah, and he died." I pointed out. I felt my heart ache as I thought about Cedric.
"You know what I mean," Pansy said with a pout.
"My relationship with Cedric just happened. It wasn't planned, and I definitely wasn't looking for a boyfriend at the time. Be patient and the right guy will come along for you."
"Do you plan on dating again?" Pansy asked as we sat down in the back of the pub. Draco and Zabini looked up from their conversation at her words.
"I-" I wasn't sure how to respond.
"Afternoon," Madam Rosmerta said as she stopped by our table. "What can I get started for you guys?"
"Butterbeers all around," Draco answered. Madam Rosmerta nodded and walked away, her heels clicking on the pub floor.
Pansy nudged me and said, "so?"
"Does it matter?" I said, feeling trapped. I could feel everyone's eyes on me.
"I want to know if I have any competition this year," Pansy shrugged.
"Who are you interested in?" Draco asked, a smirk on his face. Pansy blushed and shyly looked away from him.
"No one," she said softly. I rolled my eyes at her, clearly she still had a crush on Draco.
Soon Madam Rosmerta returned with our drinks and the conversation of dating finally went away. We drank merrily, enjoying a day without homework or quidditch. Eventually I finished my flagon of butterbeer, my stomach feeling rather warm. Pansy was talking about her mom to Zabini when Draco made eye contact with me and gestured towards the exit with his head.
"Be back in a bit," I said as I stood up.
"Same," Draco said.
"Want us to come?" Pansy asked, looking at the two of us.
"We won't be gone for too long," I said. "We can go to Honeydukes when we get back." She nodded and returned to conversing with Zabini.
Draco and I headed out of the pub and into the chilly street. We walked in silence for a bit, heading towards the shrieking shack. I had my hands in my robe pockets and I could feel the letter Sirius sent me still crumpled up.
"I've been wanting to ask," Draco said as the shrieking shack came into view. "Your letter from this morning, was it from your godfather?"
I let out a sigh before answering. "Yeah, it was."
"You didn't look very happy," Draco said. "Want to talk about it?"
I pulled out the letter and handed it over to him. "Here, you can read it." We stood still as Draco read the letter silently.
"Hmm," he said as he handed the letter back to me.
"What?" I asked, placing the letter back in my pocket.
"Nothing," he said slowly.
"It wasn't nothing," I said as I rolled my eyes at him.
"The letter, it was nothing," he said. "I mean, other than telling you that the people you 'associate' with are bad, he didn't really seem to care about the hard time you had this summer." He elaborated when I gave him a 'are you serious' look.
"He didn't even ask how I was doing, just that I need to make amends with Harry and basically give up on my friends," I complained. "I thought of all people he would understand not wanting to go back to a house where the adults are unwelcoming and even cruel."
"In his eyes my parents are unwelcoming and cruel," Draco pointed out.
"Your parents treated me way kinder than my aunt and uncle ever have," I said with a sigh.
"That may be so, but they associate with the dark arts and the Dark Lord," Draco said as he stared at the shrieking shack.
"Maybe I shouldn't have gone to your place," I said softly. "Maybe I did make a mistake."
"If you had gone back to your aunts and uncles then you would have been attacked by the dementors like your brother. Then you could have gotten in trouble with the Ministry as well. At least at my place you stayed out of trouble. You were safe." Draco looked down at me.
"I was safe, but how long will I be safe for?" I asked. "You-Know-Who's whole thing is about pureblood supremacy, and I am not pureblood."
"If he had plans to kill you because of your blood status he would have done so this summer," Draco said.
"Maybe he's waiting for the right time to kill me," I could feel my heartbeat increase. Tears began to prick at my eyes and I suddenly felt overwhelmed with everything.
"Chloe," Draco began to say but I broke out into sobs before he could finish his thought.
"Cedric would have known what to do," I cried. "But he's gone and I feel so alone. I should have been with him this summer, I should have…" I covered my face with my hands. I felt Draco wrap his arms around me, holding me close.
"You're not alone," he whispered in my ear softly.
"Not even my godfather asked how I was doing," I continued to cry. "Would he have even written to me if I had not written to him first? We've been back at school for weeks and he didn't bother to write to me. He's clearly been in communication with Harry, so why not me?"
"I don't know, Chloe." Draco said as he rubbed my back. "Perhaps like most other people he thinks your brother is more important than you."
"Maybe Harry is more important." I said softly. My tears began to dry up and I pulled myself out of Draco's arms. "It's always been like that, Harry this and Harry that." I wiped my face one last time before taking a deep breath to calm myself.
"Your brother was given fame and glory without earning it," Draco said saltily. "It's not fair that the adults in your life only concern themselves with him."
"You might have a point there," I said with a small laugh. "Let's get back to the others before they wonder where we went." We headed back towards The Three Broomsticks to find Pansy, Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle waiting for us outside.
"You guys were gone for so long," Pansy pouted as we approached the group. "If I didn't know any better I'd say the two of you were in some kind of relationship."
"What? No," I said, slightly taken aback. "Draco and I are just friends."
"Hmm," Draco said softly. I couldn't tell if he was agreeing with me or if he was disappointed.
"Right Draco?" I pressed, turning to look at him.
"Yeah," He said slowly, "just friends." I nodded with agreement, but noticed Zabini looking between the two of us with a funny expression on his face. I gave him a 'what are you looking at' look and he just rolled his eyes at me.
"Let's go to Honeydukes," I said quickly, grabbing Pansy's arm. I dragged her over to the store and pushed her inside. The smell of chocolate and sweets filled my nose. Tons of candies filled the shelves along the walls. Other Hogwarts students were wandering the aisles debating which sweets to buy.
"What the hell?" Pansy complained as she straightened her robes. "I know you like sweets Chloe but why'd you have to drag me all the way here?"
"I am in desperate need of chocolate," I said with a smile. I also wanted Zabini to stop looking at Draco and me with that stupid look on his face, but I kept that bit to myself.
We browsed the shop, and eventually bought ourselves a huge stack of sweets that would hopefully last us until the next Hogsmeade weekend. As we were heading back up to the castle I noticed a group of Hufflepuffs talking about some sort of Defense Against the Dark Arts practice group. However, when we drew closer to them they hushed up so we didn't get to hear exactly what they were talking about.
We spent the rest of the weekend working on homework, and practicing spells in the common room. Soon Monday came round and we were all surprised by the new Educational Decree. It was posted on the Slytherin notice board, covering everything else on the board. This was number twenty-four and it read:
By order by the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts,
All Student Organisations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree number twenty-four.
Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor
"So does that mean that Montague is going to have to ask Professor Umbridge if the Slytherin Quidditch team can still play?" Pansy asked as she read the notice over my shoulder.
"I suppose so," I said with a shrug. "I'm not super worried about it, Umbridge seems to like the Slytherins. I'd be more worried about the Gryffindor team, she hates my brother."
"Who doesn't?" Pansy said with a laugh. I playfully rolled my eyes at her.
"Let's go get breakfast," I said, and we hurried off to the Great Hall.
When we reached the Great Hall the room was buzzing with conversation. Students were walking up and down the tables talking to their friends about the new decree. I overheard a group of third years worrying over a gobstones club. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table and noticed a small group of people surrounding my brother and his friends. I watched Hermione wave off the small group of Hufflepuffs I had heard say something about a Defense Against the Dark Arts practice group.
"Good news," I heard a voice from behind me say. I turned to find Draco walking up the table. "Umbridge immediately approved the Slytherin Quidditch team. I went first thing this morning to her office when I saw the notice board."
"That is good news," I said with a smile. "We won't even lose a single practice session."
A few minutes later we headed off to the first class of the day, Charms. When we arrived Professor Flitwick was setting up the classroom for the day's lesson. He was placing bullfrogs on some of the desks and ravens on the other ones. I sat down at a desk, near the front, with a raven on it.
"Good morning everyone," Professor Flitwick said in his squeaky voice after all the desks were filled. "Today we will be learning the Silencing Charm." He continued to explain the uses of the charm and showed us how to cast it.
For the rest of the class he let us practice and by the end only a handful of students were able to silence the animal on their desk. My raven, while not completely silent, was considerably quieter. Crabbe and Goyle's bullfrogs, however, seemed to be louder than what they were when class began.
"For anyone who hasn't been able to completely silence your bullfrog or raven, your homework is to practice this spell." Professor Flitwick said just before the end of class bell rang.
The next class was Potions, so after we were excused from Charms we headed off towards the dungeons. We reached the entrance to the classroom before any of the Gryffindors did and Draco wanted to wait outside for them.
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"I want to rub in the fact that Umbridge approved the Slytherin quidditch team already," he said with a smirk on his face.
"Here they come," Pansy whispered excitedly. I could see Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking down the stairs and towards the Potions classroom.
"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin team permission to continue playing straight away. I went to ask her first thing this morning, well it was pretty much automatic, I mean she knows my father really well. He's always popping in and out of the Ministry. It'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor is allowed to keep playing, won't it?" Draco said in a loud voice as he waved a paper that had Umbridge's signature on it saying the Slytherin team could continue playing. I glanced at the three Gryffindors and saw Harry and Ron's fists clenched. Hermione was telling them to ignore Draco.
"I mean," Draco said a bit more loud, "if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance. From what my father says they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years, and as for Potter, my father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St. Mungos. Apparently they got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic." Draco made a grotesque fast, his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling. Pansy began to giggle loudly and I had to stifle a laugh. Draco sure knew how to make the strangest faces.
"Neville, no!" I heard Harry cry. I looked back over to them to see Harry restraining Neville Longbottom by grabbing the back his robes. His fists were flailing as he was trying desperately to reach Draco. I looked back over at Draco who had a look of surprise on his face. Harry wrapped his arm around Longbottom's neck and pulled him back. Crabbe and Goyle both walked in front of Draco, flexing their muscles at the group of Gryffindors. Ron grabbed Longbottom's arms and together with Harry the two succeeded to drag him back into line.
"Not funny… St. Mungos… Show him…" Longbottom was saying words in between being choked by Harry.
The Potions classroom door opened and Professor Snape came out into the hall. He looked around and saw Harry and Ron holding Longbottom back.
"Fighting? Potter, Weasley, Longbottom," he said in his sneering voice. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Release Longbottom Potter or it will be detention. Inside, all of you." We filed into the classroom, Draco and Pansy were still laughing quietly.
"You will notice," said Snape in his low sneering voice after shutting the classroom door, "that we have a guest with us today." He gestured towards a dark corner of the room and I saw Professor Umbridge sitting there. "We are continuing with our Strengthening Solutions today. You will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson. If correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend. Instructions," he waved his wand, "on the board. Carry on."
For the first thirty minutes of class, Professor Umbridge watched the lesson and made notes on her clipboard from the corner. Eventually Umbridge stood up and began walking around the classroom towards Snape.
"Well, the class seems to be advanced for their level," she said briskly. "Though I would question if it's advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if it were removed from the syllabus." Snape straightened up slowly and turned to look at her. "Now, how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" She asked, her quill poised over her clipboard.
"Fourteen years," Snape replied, his expression was unfathomable.
"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post I believe," Professor Umbridge asked him.
"Yes," said Snape quietly.
"But you were unsuccessful?"
"Obviously," Snape said as his mouth curled. Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.
"And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you've been at the school, I believe."
"Yes," said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.
"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?" asked Umbridge.
"I'd suggest you ask him," said Snape jerkily.
"Oh, I shall." said Professor Umbridge with a sweet smile.
"I suppose this is relevant," Snape asked, his black eyes narrowed.
"Oh yes," said Umbridge. "The Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers' backgrounds." She walked away and headed towards the table I was seated at with Pansy, Draco, Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle.
She began to ask Pansy questions about the lessons as Snape looked around and headed towards Harry. I watched Snape empty out Harry's cauldron again and assign him an essay on making the potion the correct way.
"Professor Snape is a wonderful teacher," I heard Pansy say to Professor Umbridge from next to me. "He gives clear instructions and makes sure that everyone is doing the work correctly." Professor Umbridge scribbled notes on her clipboard. A few minutes later class was dismissed.
A half an hour later I was climbing up the ladder that led to the Divination classroom. Pansy, Zabini, and I sat together near the front of the class, waiting for the lesson to start. Professor Trelawney was handing out The Dream Oracle again, but she seemed to be in a mood today. She was slamming books down on tables and even threw one towards Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, a couple of guys in Gryffindor.
"Well, carry on," said Professor Trelawney loudly, slightly high pitched and hysterical. "You know what to do, or am I such a substandard teacher that you have never learned how to open a book?" Pansy and I glanced at each other.
"Her review must have not gone well," Pansy whispered to Zabini and me. I nodded in agreement.
"Professor," said Pavarti Patil in a hushed voice, "Professor, is there anything wrong?"
"Wrong?" cried Professor Trelawney in a voice full of emotion. "Certainly not, I have been insulted certainly. Insinuations have been made against me. Unfounded accusations leveled. But no, there is nothing wrong. Certainly not." She took a shuddering breath and looked away from Patil. I could see tears spilling out of her eyes. "I say nothing of sixteen years of devoted service. It has passed apparently unnoticed, but I shall not be insulted. No, I shall not!"
"But Professor, who is insulting you?" asked Patil tentatively.
"The establishment," said Professor Trelawney in a deeply dramatic voice. "Yes, those with eyes too clouded with the mundane to see as I see. To know as I know. Of course we seers have always been feared, always persecuted. It is, alas, our fate." She gulped and dabbed at her wet cheeks with the end of her shawl and then pulled a small embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve, into which she blew her nose in very hard.
"Professor," said Patil, "do you mean, is it something Professor Umbridge-"
"Do not speak to me of that woman," said Professor Trelawney, leaping to her feet. "Kindly continue with your work." She spent the rest of the lesson walking among the tables, tears still falling down her cheeks.
The last class of the day was Herbology, where we began to learn about gillyweed. Gillyweed was the same plant that Harry used last year in order to breathe underwater during the Second Task. Professor Sprout pointed that out, but the mention of the Triwizard Tournament brought a sinking feeling to me. I thought of Cedric and had to fight tears forming in the corner of my eyes. Would I ever be able to think of him and not cry?
"You alright?" I heard Draco ask from next to me.
"Huh?" I said, quickly shaking my head in hopes the tears would go away. "I'm fine." He gave me a look of concern but didn't press me.
That night I excused myself to bed early, I felt I needed some time to myself. I closed the drapes around my bed for privacy and let myself feel sad. I missed Cedric, his brown hair intertwined in my fingers, his lips against mine. I curled up under my covers and cried until there were no more tears left. I slept like a baby that night.
Harry's POV
I was attempting to do my Potions essay that Snape assigned me earlier in the day in the Gryffindor common room. Professor Umbridge had not approved the Gryffindor quidditch team, so there was no practice today. Fred and George were demonstrating their skiving snack boxes for a group of students. Between the puking noises and Hermione's disapproving sighs I had a hard time concentrating on my essay.
Eventually the common room emptied, with Fred and George being the last ones to head off to bed. It was just past midnight and I was putting my work away when Ron said, "Sirius!" Sure enough, my godfather's head was in the fire.
"Hi," he said grinning.
"Hi," the three of us said together as we kneeled in front of the fire.
"How are things?" said Sirius.
"Not that good," I said. "The Ministry has forced through another decree which means we are not allowed to have quidditch teams."
"Or secret Defense Against the Dark Arts groups?" said Sirius. There was a short pause.
"How did you know about that?" I demanded.
"You ought to choose your meeting places more carefully," said Sirius grinning. "The Hogshead, I ask you."
"Well, it was better than the Three Broomsticks. It's always packed with people." Hermione said defensively.
"Which means you would have been harder to overhear," said Sirius. "You've got a lot to learn Hermione."
"Who overheard us?" I demanded.
"Mundungus of course," said Sirius. We looked at him, puzzled. "He was the witch under the veil."
"That was Mundungus?" I said, stunned. "What was he doing in the Hogshead?"
"What do you think he was doing?" said Sirius impatiently. "Keeping an eye on you, of course."
"I'm still being followed?" I asked, angrily. "Are you having Chloe followed as well?"
"Yeah, you are," said Sirius. "And just as well isn't it? If the first thing you're going to do on your weekend off is organize an illegal defense group." He didn't look angry or worried. On the contrary, he was looking at me with distinct pride. "As for Chloe, are you making efforts to talk to her?"
"She isn't interested in talking with me," I said with a sigh. "I tried Sirius, really. But Malfoy has his lackey's preventing me from even getting near her."
"She seems to blame Harry for not trying to protect Cedric from You-Know-Who," Hermione added.
"That's ridiculous," said Sirius as he shook his head. "I received a letter from her a while ago, it was just her letting me know she was at school. I wrote her back urging her to make amends with you."
"Well she hasn't reached out to me yet," I said. "Do you think the Malfoy's messed with her during the summer? Maybe they're holding something over her head to keep her in line."
"What could they possibly use to keep her in line?" Hermione asked, sounding worried.
"I don't know," Sirius said slowly, "but I don't like her hanging around with stuck up dark wizards."
"How do we get her back?" I asked. "I miss having my sister around."
"Perhaps having someone like Umbridge around will open her eyes to what's to come if Voldemort gains control." Sirius said with a sigh. "The most you can do is to continue trying to get through to her. Be nice, try to show her you are on her side."
"I know I'm changing the subject, but why was Dung hiding from us?" asked Ron, sounding disappointed. "We'd have liked to see him."
"He was banned from the Hogshead twenty years ago," said Sirius, "and that bar man has got a long memory. We lost Moody's spare invisibility cloak when Sturges was arrested, so Dung's been dressing as a witch a lot lately. Anyway, first of all, Ron, I've sworn to pass on a message from your mother."
"Oh yeah?" said Ron, sounding apprehensive.
"She says under no account whatsoever are you to take part of an illegal secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group. She says you'll be expelled for sure and your future will be ruined. She says there will be plenty of time to learn how to defend yourself later, and that you are too young to be worrying about that right now. She also," Sirius' eyes turned to Hermione and me, "advises Harry and Hermione not to proceed with the group, though she accepts she has no authority over either of them and simply begs them to remember she has their best interests at heart. She would have written this to all of you but if the owl had been intercepted you all would have been in real trouble. She can't say it for herself because she's on duty tonight."
"On duty doing what?" said Ron quickly.
"Never you mind, just stuff for the Order," said Sirius. "So it's fallen on me to be the messenger, and make sure you tell her I passed it all on because I don't think she trusts me too." There was a pause of silence.
"So you want me to say I'm not going to take part of the Defense group?" I muttered finally.
"Me? Certainly not," said Sirius, looking surprised. "I think it's an excellent idea."
"You do?" I said, my heart lifting.
"Of course I do," said Sirius. "Do you think your father and I would have laid down and taken orders from an old hag like Umbridge?"
"But last term all you did was tell me to be careful and not take risks."
"Last year all the evidence was that someone inside Hogwarts was trying to kill you, Harry," said Sirius impatiently. "This year there is someone outside Hogwarts who would like to kill us all. So I think learning to defend yourself properly is a very good idea."
"And if we do get expelled?" Hermione asked, a quizzical look on her face.
"Hermione, this whole thing was your idea," I said, staring at her.
"I know it was. I just wondered what Sirius thought," she said, shrugging.
"Well, better expelled and able to defend yourself than sitting safely in school without a clue," said Sirius.
"Hear, hear," said Ron and I enthusiastically.
"So, how are you organizing this group? Where are you meeting?" asked Sirius.
"Well that's a bit of a problem now," I said. "Don't know where we'll be able to go."
"How about the Shrieking Shack?" suggested Sirius.
"Hey, that's an idea!" said Ron excitedly. Hermione made a skeptical noise and the three of us looked at her.
"Well, Sirius, it's just that there were only four of you meeting in the Shrieking Shack when you were at school," said Hermione. "All of you could transform into animals and I suppose you could have all squeezed under the invisibility cloak if you wanted to. But there are twenty-eight of us and none of us is an animagus. So we wouldn't need as much as an invisibility cloak as an invisibility marquee."
"Fair point," said Sirius looking slightly crestfallen. "Well I'm sure you'll come up with somewhere. There used to be a pretty roomy secret passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor. You might have enough space to practice jinxes in there."
"Fred and George told me it's blocked, caved in or something." I said.
"Oh," said Sirius, frowning. "Well I'll have a think and get back to-" he broke off. His face was suddenly tense, alarmed. He turned sideways, apparently looking into the solid brick wall of the fireplace.
"Sirius?" I said anxiously, but he had vanished. I gaped at the flames for a moment then turned to look at Ron and Hermione. "Why did he?"
Hermione let out a horrified gasp and leapt to her feet, staring at the fire. A hand had appeared amongst the flames. Groping as though to catch something, a stubby short fingered hand covered in ugly old fashioned rings. The three of us ran for it. At the door of the boys dormitory, I looked back. Umbridge's hand was still making snatching movements among the flames, as though she knew exactly where Sirius' head had been moments before, and was determined to seize it.