Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Again, not too much to warn about beforehand with this chapter.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Until the next one,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

~daughter of briganti~

~meet me in the woods~

~chapter 16~

4 September 1995
Hogwarts, Scotland, Great Britain

When Hyleth got to Professor McGonagall's office, she knocked at the door and held out the scroll to her Head of House wordlessly when it was opened. McGonagall gazed at her shrewdly, but ushered her inside, telling her to sit down on the student-side of her desk. She slit the scroll open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out, and began to read as she followed after her. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower.

"Is this true, Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Is what true, Professor?" Hyleth returned, the first part a bit more aggressively than she'd intended.

"Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?"

"Yes."

"You called her a liar?"

"Yes."

"You told her that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back?"

"Yes."

Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, watching Hyleth closely. Then, she said, "Have a biscuit, Potter."

"Have – what?"

"Have a biscuit," her professor repeated impatiently, pointing to a tartan tin of cookies laying on top of one of the piles of papers on her desk.

Hyleth recalled the occasion in her first year when she had been expecting to be reamed by McGonagall for flying so extravagantly during flying lessons without permission or supervision, and had instead been appointed to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She helped herself to a Ginger Newt, feeling just as confused and wrong-footed as she had then.

Professor McGonagall set down Professor Umbridge's note and looked very seriously at Hyleth.

"Potter, you need to be careful."

Hyleth swallowed her mouthful of Ginger Newt and stared at her. Her tone of voice was not at all what the female alpha was used to; it was not brisk, crisp, and stern; it was low and anxious and somehow much more human than usual.

"Misbehavior in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you – you and your family – much more than house points and a detention."

"What do you – ?"

The professor abruptly returned to her usual manner. "Potter, use your common sense. You know where she comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting."

The bell rang for the end of the lesson. Overhead and all around them came the boisterous sounds of the three hundred-some students of the castle on the move.

"It says here she's given you detention every evening this week, including Saturday and Sunday, starting tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said, looking down at Umbridge's note again.

"'Every evening this week!'" Hyleth repeated, horrified. "But, Professor, couldn't you – ?"

"No, I couldn't," Professor McGonagall replied flatly.

"But – "

"She is your professor, and she has every right to give you a detention. You will go to her room at seven o'clock tomorrow for the first one. Just remember: tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge."

"But I was telling the truth!" Hyleth exclaimed, outraged. "Voldemort is back, you know he is. Professor Dumbledore knows he is – "

"For heaven's sake, Potter!" Professor McGonagall returned, straightening her glasses angrily – she had winced horribly when Hyleth had used Voldemort's name. "Do you really think this is about truth or lies? You are emancipated now. In the eyes of magical law, you are an adult. Professor Dumbledore told me about your circumstances after the meeting with Madam Pomfrey about your current spouses' pregnancies last night – and maybe you will be able to get out of your detentions this weekend because of your impending bonding with Ms. Lovegood, I do not know. But you need to look out for you and your own as an adult would, especially since you will be a parent by the end of the school year, and that means keeping your head down and your temper under control!"

She stood up, nostrils wide and mouth very thin, and Hyleth stood up, too.

"Have another biscuit," the professor said, thrusting the tin at her.

"No, thanks," Hyleth said coldly.

"Don't be ridiculous," McGonagall snapped.

Hyleth took one.

"Thanks," she said grudgingly.

"Didn't you listen to Umbridge's speech at the start-of-term feast, Potter?"

"Yeah," Hyleth said. "Yeah...she said...progress will be prohibited, or...well, it meant that the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts." She recalled Hermione's remark at the end of Umbridge's speech as she spoke, which Theo had agreed with.

Professor McGonagall knew what she was recalling, too. She eyed her closely for a moment, then sniffed, walked around her desk, and held the door open for her.

"Well, I'm glad you listen to Hermione Granger and your husband, at any rate," she said, pointing Hyleth out of her office.

Hyleth didn't get much sympathy from Theo, either, much less the rest of their classmates.

When she arrived in the Great Hall and sat down at her usual place, Ginny on her one side and Theo having returned to the other, she heard whispers all around them, and felt the various pairs of eyes gazing at her. While world traveled quickly at Hogwarts, even for the school's standards, the news about her shouting match with Umbridge had especially so.

The funny thing was, none of the whisperers seemed to mind her overhearing what they were saying about her. On the contrary, it was as though they were hoping that she would get angry and start shouting again, so that they could hear what she'd said firsthand.

"She says she and Cedric Diggory saw..."

"Don't forget, she reckons she dueled with him, too..."

"Come off it..."

"Who does she think she's kidding?"

"Please, as if..."

Hyleth put down her fork and knife, her hands clenching into fists.

"Hy," Ginny said gently.

"Don't let them get to you," Theo singsonged in a low voice. "Seriously, don't let them get to you."

"Don't you hear what they're saying?" she growled. "They're saying that – "

"You and Cedric were spelled to believe something that isn't really true, if you're not outright insane and spelled him to believe you? Yes, I know," he said. "But I tried to tell you not to give Umbridge what she wants earlier, and it was for a good reason: she wants you to get angry. She wants you to act like you're insane. Because if you do, then that gives her and the Ministry, who she is here spying for, further reason to discredit what you're saying. And you did give that to her, on a silver platter."

"You could be nicer about it," Hyleth grumbled.

"Well, somebody needs to be your conscious, and it can't always be Granger," Theo responded. Hermione startled, though she gave him a tentative smile. Theo kissed Hyleth on the cheek. "I love you, but you really are too reckless for your own good."

Hyleth glanced over at the Hufflepuff table, towards Cedric. She felt bad that she had brought him up in her fight with Umbridge; what she had said was true, yet that didn't mean she wasn't putting an unfair amount of attention on him which could get him into trouble.

But when Cedric realized she was looking at him, he smiled and waved at her. So did Tonks, who was sitting right next to him. Hyleth let out of a sigh of relief; he must've not been holding what she'd done against her.

She checked in with Luna after dinner, who seemingly knew to wait in the Entrance Hall for her, to make sure she also wasn't terribly upset. The detention on Saturday night, after all, could interfere with their wedding night, provided that Hyleth couldn't get out of it like McGonagall and Theo thought she would. "Tell her you have official business for your Houses on Saturday and Sunday night," he'd said. "She won't be able to interfere with it. Well, she can try, but tell her that Sirius will be more than happy to write a note for you confirming it. Just don't tell her what the official business is for – she's not your family or your Head of House, so she doesn't need to know."

"Don't worry, Hyleth," Luna told her with a serene smile and a pat to her arm. "The Blibbering Humdingers know everything will work out for us, you'll see."

Hyleth would take her word for it.

And a bit more than that, too, considering that Luna pecked her on the lips before she went off, skipping and humming a merry tune. It was only by sheer luck that nobody had been around to see it. Hyleth could only think about what people would say, if they caught her kissing an omega who she wasn't bonded to prior to Saturday.

The following day, it was leaden and rainy, but that was no surprise, as so had been the previous one. Hagrid was still absent from the staff table at breakfast.

"'Least we don't have to deal with Snape today," Ron said.

"Or Umbridge," Ginny said.

"No," Hermione concurred. "I'm still wondering about how we're going to be able to pass our OWL if she doesn't allow us to practice in class, though..."

OWLs seemed to be the theme of the day. In double Charms (with the Ravenclaws, which meant that Luna sat in the same cluster as Hyleth's friends, something that had never happened before and earned the confused looks of the other Ravenclaw omega and beta girls, including Padma Patil) and double Transfiguration, the Gryffindor fifth years' first two classes of the day, Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall both spent the first fifteen minutes lecturing the class on the importance of the exams. Then they set to work on reviewing spells likely to come up on the exam or learning new ones, respectively; in Transfiguration, Hermione was the only one out of the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs to not be assigned homework for her efforts with the Vanishing Spell.

Hyleth was particularly bad with the new spell in Transfiguration; in her defense, she kept on getting distracted by Susan Bones. She didn't think the other girl noticed it, but she kept on glancing over at her, wondering if her father had gotten a letter from Hyleth's father yet about setting up a time to meet, and if they had, how soon it would be until that happened...how soon it would be until Susan was asked what she thought about potentially becoming one of Hyleth's spouses.

Care of Magical Creatures was much quieter than it had ever been, with Hagrid being gone and Malfoy continuing to keep to himself. Professor Grubbly-Plank was a competent professor, Hyleth had to acknowledge, even if she was slightly biased against her because of Hagrid; she introduced them to Bowtruckles, creatures which were a nice change of pace from the boring Flobberworms or the deadly Blast-Ended Skrewts. Their single hour of Herbology was also focused on OWLs, and not much else, with an essay assignment given at the end of class, one of many.

Angelina was less than pleased with Hyleth at dinner, because she'd become the new Quidditch captain for the Gryffindor team and intended to have Keeper tryouts on Friday. Since Hyleth's detention was at seven o'clock, it theoretically shouldn't conflict with the Quidditch tryouts too much, because they were at five, but Angelina wasn't impressed. "Isn't there any way you could get out of it?"

"I'd try, but I have to get out of two other detentions over the weekend. I don't want to piss her off more," Hyleth said.

"For what?"

"You'll find out."

"Fine, then," Angelina said. "Whatever."

At five to seven, Hyleth bid goodbye to her mates, Luna, Hermione, (a very reluctant) Ron, Neville, Cedric, and Tonks, as they had been doing homework together in the married wing, with the two seventh years giving the fifth years tips for their OWLs while bemoaning about their NEWT exams, and set off for Umbridge's office on the third floor. When she knocked at the door, Umbridge called in that sugary voice of hers, "Come in."

Hyleth entered the office.

Now, she had known this office under its most recent three previous occupants. Each had decorated it in their own way – Gilderoy Lockhart had plastered beaming portraits of himself everywhere, Remus had kept various Dark creatures in a cage or a tank throughout her third year, and Barty Crouch Jr. disguised as Moody had had it packed with instruments and artifacts for the detection of wrongdoings and concealment. But under Umbridge, the office was almost utterly unrecognizable. The surfaces had been draped in lacy covers and cloths, there were several vases of dried flowers, each on its own doily, and on the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with its own kitten that wore a different bow around its neck. Hyleth had never seen anything so girly in her entire life.

"Good evening, Ms. Potter."

She nearly jumped out of her skin, turning around to look at Umbridge. The beta woman was wearing a set of robes remarkably similar to the cloths she'd set about the room, making her blend in all too easily.

"Good evening, Professor Umbridge," Hyleth said stiffly.

"Well, sit down," Umbridge said, pointing towards a small table draped in lace. She'd already drawn up a straight-backed chair. A piece of blank parchment was laying on the table, apparently waiting for Hyleth.

"Professor Umbridge," Hyleth said, without moving. "Before we start, I have to...erm, inform you of something."

That was something else Theo had told her to do: "Don't ask for permission. Make sure you're informing her, not asking her if it would be okay."

Umbridge's eyes narrowed. "And what's that?"

"I'm really sorry – " that was a lie, but better to try to come across as somewhat remorseful than not at all " – but I won't be able to attend my detentions on Saturday or Sunday. I have official business as Heir Apparent to my Houses to attend to."

"Do you now?" Umbridge simpered. "What for, if I may ask?"

"You can't," Hyleth said. She squared herself up as shock crossed over the professor's face. "As a Ministry official, Professor Umbridge, you should know that how a House, or Houses in my case, conducts itself is a private matter. My godfather and Regent for the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Lord Sirius Black, can write you a letter affirming I can't attend our detentions if you don't believe me."

"Hmm. There'll be no need for that," Umbridge said, making Hyleth blink in surprise. She hadn't expected it to go over that easily. "As long as you're willing to reschedule the detentions, that is. Let's say, we can start your one on Friday early? At five o'clock?"

Horror flashed through Hyleth's system. That was when the Quidditch tryouts were!

She opened her mouth to speak.

"Well, Ms. Potter?"

...And just like that, her mouth shut again.

It wasn't worth it to try and persuade Umbridge any further. Hyleth didn't know what she would do if she tried. Better to stop now while she was ahead.

Merlin, Angelina was going to kill her for having to miss the tryouts entirely; she'd reserved the Pitch for them. She could only hope she wouldn't be too brutal about it.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge. That works with me. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I can be understanding, dear," Umbridge said as Hyleth dropped her schoolbag next to the straight-backed chair and sat down in it. "Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Ms. Potter. No, not with your quill," she added as Hyleth bent down to open her bag. "You are going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are."

She handed Hyleth a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point.

"I want you to write, I must not tell lies," she told her softly.

"How many times?" Hyleth asked with an creditable imitation of politeness.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to sink in," said Umbridge sweetly. "Off you go."

She moved over to her desk, sat down and bent over a stack of parchment that looked like essays for marking. Hyleth raised the sharp black quill, only to frown.

"Uh, Professor, you haven't given me any ink," she said.

"Oh, you won't need ink," Professor Umbridge responded, sounding like she was holding back a laugh.

Hyleth placed the point of the quill on the parchment and wrote: I must not tell lies.

She let out a gasp of surprise – of pain. The words had appeared on the parchment in what appeared to be shining red ink. At the same time, the words had appeared on the back of Hyleth's right hand, cut into her skin as though traced there by a scalpel.

Yet, even as she stared at the shining cut, the skin healed over again, leaving the place where it had been slightly redder than before, but quite smooth.

Hyleth looked round at Umbridge. She was watching her with a smile that was almost uncanny.

"Yes?"

"Nothing," Hyleth said quietly.

She looked back at the parchment, placed the quill on it once more, wrote I must not tell lies, and felt the searing pain on the back of her hand for a second time; once again, the words had been cut into her skin, and once again, they subsequently healed over seconds later.

And on it went. Again and again, Hyleth wrote the words on the parchment in what she knew had to be not ink, but her own blood. And again and again, the words were cut into the back of her hand, healed, and reappeared the next time she set quill to parchment.

Because of Umbridge's comments about rescheduling her Friday detention at five o'clock to make up for the ones she would miss on Saturday and Sunday, Hyleth had thought that this one would only last an hour at the most. But she was working well past sunset at five past eight, well after darkness had fallen outside Umbridge's window.

Hyleth did not ask when she would be allowed to stop. She did not even check her watch. She knew Umbridge had to be watching her for signs of weakness, and she was not going to show any, not even if she had to sit here all night, cutting open her hand with the quill...

"Come here," Umbridge said at last, after what seemed like an eternity.

Hyleth stood up. Her hand was stinging painfully. When she looked down at it, she saw that the cut had healed, but that the skin there was red raw.

"Hand," Umbridge said.

Hyleth extended it. The beta woman took it in her own. Hyleth repressed a shudder as she touched her with her thick, stubby fingers, on which she wore a number of ugly old rings.

"Tut, tut, I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet," Umbridge spoke, smiling. "Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow night, won't we? You may go."

Hyleth left her office without a word. The school was quite deserted; a quick look at her watch told her that it indeed was past midnight. Grimacing, she took the stairs up to the fourth floor and went off to the married wing, walking as briskly as she could. She hadn't had any time to practice her Vanishing Spell or do much with the majority of her other homework. At least she'd gotten a good way through one of her essays...

When she walked into the common room for the married wing, she was not surprised to find her mates asleep on the couches, looking like they'd tried to stay up and wait for her to come back, or their other friends gone. She felt guilty, although that emotion was not her primary concern for long, as she took in Theo's slightly paler complexion than what it had been since he'd gotten pregnant...the sweat sticking to his brow...

"Al – Alpha?" he yawned upon her gently shaking his shoulder to wake him up. Ginny stirred, too, rubbing at her eyes as she sat up.

"Are you alright?" Hyleth asked him tenderly.

"What – ? Oh. Fine." He sniffled, and moved to get out his handkerchief. "Well, actually, I got a little...queasy earlier. 'Think it's just the beginning of the morning sickness. It doesn't only occur in the mornings, you know. My mum got it the most in the evenings, she said."

"But you'll – ?"

"Yes, yes, I'll go to Madam Pomfrey tomorrow, if it makes you feel better," he snapped.

She sighed in relief yet again. It did.

"How did your detention with Umbridge go?" Ginny inquired tiredly. "She kept you awfully late."

Hyleth thought about telling them the truth, really she did. But with it being so late and Theo apparently having been under the weather, she decided not to. She wasn't going to keep the truth a secret from them forever, by no means. She was just...going to let it rest until tomorrow. She'd probably tell them in the morning, and if not then, in the evening.

Right.

"She just made me do lines," she said. Before either of them could pry her further, she scooped Theo up into her arms, making him let out a startled noise. "Come on, let's get you two into bed."

Word Count: 3,545