Hello there!
Here is the next chapter for Cruel Angel Thesis, now on the review.
mrs. morgan 35: Oh, thank you.
Now story time.
At the end of the first meeting, Sandaion handed out a fake Galleon's to each of the members of the OW.
"You see the numerals around the edge of the coins?" Sephylon said, holding one up for examination, "On real Galleons that's just a serial number referring to the goblin who cast the coin. On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. The coins will grow hot when the date changes, so if you're carrying them in a pocket you'll be able to feel them."
"You take one each, and when the date of the next meeting is set, they'll all change to mimic it." he continued to explain, "It would look suspicious if people from different Houses were seen crossing the Great Hall to talk to each other too often."
It was already ten past nine, which meant they needed to get back to their common rooms immediately or risk being caught and punished by Filch for being out of bounds. Four handsome oak doors, each had a Hogwarts house flag hanging above them.
"These doors will lead you back to your common rooms. It's a one way trip." he said, "If you need to return here, you will need to use the front entrance."
Once it was only the three Knights and the Gryffindor Six, Sephylon turned to Harry.
"Sorry for putting you on the spot like that, Harry." Sephylon said turning to them, "But it's important for them to have a person their own age they can talk to."
"Yeah..." Harry said understanding his reasoning, "Thanks for... doing this."
"Your welcome." Sephylon said with a nod.
"You know what these remind me of?" Claire said, looking at the Galleon in her hand.
"The Death Eaters' tattoo's?" Sephylon said, "The once Voldemort touches and all their scars burn, and they know they've got to join him?"
"Well... Yes." Claire said.
"I don't make it a habit of marking those who follow me." Sephylon said.
"I suppose the only danger with these is that we might accidentally spend them.", Neville said.
"Fat chance.", Ron said, who was examining his own fake Galleon with a slightly mournful air, "I haven't got any real Galleons to confuse it with."
"Kinda excited isn't it? Breaking the rules." Hermione said, as they were making their way to History of Magic, knowing they were doing something to resist Umbridge and the Ministry.
"Who are you and what have you done to Hermione?" Alex said, making Hermione giggling at his question before he gripped her arm and forced her to look at him, "I said, what have you done with her!?", he added with a more threatening manner, much to the others amusement.
History of Magic was as boring as ever with Professor Binns, continue his monotonous drone on giant wars. Harry and Claire did not even attempt to follow what he was saying today; instead playing tic-tac-toe on a piece of parchment ignoring Hermione's frequent glares and nudges, until a particularly painful poke in the ribs made Claire look up angrily.
"What?"
She pointed at the window. Hedwig was perched on the narrow window ledge, gazing through the thick glass at Harry, a letter tied to her leg. Harry could not understand it; they had just had breakfast, why on earth hadn't she delivered the letter then, as usual? Many of his classmates were pointing out Hedwig to each other, too.
"Oh, I've always loved that owl, she's so beautiful." Claire heard Lavender sigh to Parvati. He glanced round at Professor Binns who continued to read his notes, serenely unaware that the class's attention was even less focused upon him than usual.
Alex, being nearest to the window slipped quietly off his chair, crouched down and hurried along the row to the window, where he slid the catch and opened it very slowly.
He had expected Hedwig to fly towards Harry, so he could remove the letter and then fly off to the Owlery, but the moment the window was open wide enough she hopped inside, hooting dolefully. Alex closed the window with an anxious glance at Professor Binns, crouched low again and sped back to his seat with Hedwig on his shoulder.
He regained his seat, transferred Hedwig to Harry's lap and made to remove the letter tied to her leg.
Only then did they realize that Hedwig's feathers were oddly ruffled; some were bent the wrong way, and she was holding one of her wings at an odd angle.
"She's hurt!" Harry whispered, bending his head low over her.
Claire, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione leaned in closer; Hermione even put down her quill. "Look, there's something wrong with her wing..."
Hedwig was quivering; when Harry made to touch the wing she gave a little jump, all her feathers on end as though she was inflating herself, and gazed at him reproachfully.
"Professor Binns!" Alex said loudly, standing up and everyone in the class turned to look at him, "Harry is not feeling well!"
Professor Binns raised his eyes from his notes, looking amazed, as always, to find the room in front of him full of people, "Not feeling well?" he repeated hazily.
"N-Not at all well.", Harry said firmly, getting to his feet with Hedwig concealed behind his back, as Claire gave him support, "I think I need to go to the hospital wing."
"Yes." Professor Binns said, clearly very much wrong-footed, "Yes... yes, hospital wing... Well, off you go, then, Perkins... Kenneth."
Once outside the room, Harry returned Hedwig to his shoulder and the two hurried off up the corridor, pausing to think only when he was out of sight of Binns's door. His first choice of somebody to cure Hedwig would have been Hagrid, of course, but as he had no idea where Hagrid was the only remaining option was to find Professor Jeager and hope he would help.
Harry knocked. He heard footsteps, then the door opened and he found himself face to face with Professor Jeager. "Don't tell me you have been given another detention?" he said.
"...Someone has ever gotten detention during History of Magic?..." Claire wondered.
"Two actually in the year 1988... two fifth year's, Merula Snyde and Sky Justice..." he muttered stepping aside to let them in before getting back on the subject at hand.
"It's my owl." Harry said, "She's injured."
"Injured owl?" Jeager said as Harry lifted Hedwig carefully off his shoulder, "Someone injured Hedwig."
"She turned up after the other post owls and her wing's all funny, look..." Harry said.
Jeager took Hedwig from Harry while Claire watched. "Looks like something's attacked her. Can't think what would have done it, though. Thestrals will sometimes go for birds, but Hagrid's got the Hogwarts Thestrals well-trained not to touch owls."
Going by Harry's expression, Claire figured that her boyfriend didn't knew nor cared what Thestrals were; he just wanted to know that Hedwig was going to be all right.
"Do you know how far Hedwig's traveled, Harry?" Jeager said, putting the owl down on his desk.
"From London, I think." Harry said, "She was delivering a letter to my Godparents."
"You think? You don't know where Sirius and Margaret live?" Jeager said as he examine Hedwig's wing closely, he took his wand as he muttered a spell under his breath and with a snap the wing repaired itself, "There you go, though she shouldn't be flying long distances for a few days, in any case."
"Thanks you." Harry said, just as the bell rang for break.
"No problem. Can't have my apprentice being distracted now, can I?" Jeager said with a wink, handing the owl back to her owner before walking with them and held the door open for them, "Bear in mind. That channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts may be being watched, won't you?"
"We will." Claire said as the flood of students rolling along the corridor was almost upon them.
Professor Jeager gave her a curt nod and retreated into his office, leaving the two friends to be swept out into the courtyard with the crowd.
They spotted Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione already standing in a sheltered corner, their cloak collars turned up against the wind.
"Is Hedwig alright?" Neville asked anxiously, the moment he was within earshot.
"She will be alright." Harry said as he told them what Professor Jeager had said.
"I was just saying, what if someone had tried to intercept Hedwig?" Hermione said, "I mean, she's never been hurt on a flight before, has she?"
As they too went down the stone steps to the dungeons for Potions, all six of them, lost in thought. But as they reached the bottom of the steps they were recalled to themselves by the voice of Malfoy, who was standing just outside Snape's classroom door, talking much louder than was necessary so that they could hear every word.
"From what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years... and as for Kent... my father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has her carted off to St Mungo's, apparently they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic." Malfoy made a grotesque face, his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling.
Crabbe and Goyle gave their usual grunts of laughter, Parkinson shrieked with glee.
"They are as easily amused as usual." Claire said dryly.
The dungeon door opened. Snape appeared there. His black eyes swept up the Gryffindor line, "Inside, all of you."
Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione took their usual seats at the back of the class, pulled out parchment, quills and their copies of 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi'. When Snape closed the dungeon door with an echoing bang, everybody immediately fell silent.
"You will notice." Snape said, in his low, sneering voice, "That we have a guest with us today." he gestured towards the dim corner of the dungeon and Claire saw Professor Umbridge sitting there, clipboard on her knee. She glanced sideways at her friends, her eyebrows raised.
"We are continuing with our Strengthening Solution today. You will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson; it correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend, instructions.", he waved his wand again, "On the board. Carry on."
Umbridge spent the first half hour of the lesson making notes in her corner. Claire was very interested in hearing her question Snape; so interested, that she was becoming careless with her potion.
"Salamander blood, Cousin." Alex said grabbing her wrist to prevent her adding the wrong ingredient for the third time, "Not pomegranate juice!"
"Oh, right. Thanks." Claire said vaguely, putting down the bottle and continuing to watch the corner.
Umbridge had just got to her feet, she strode between two lines of desks towards Snape, who was bending over Dean's cauldron.
"Well, the class seem fairly advanced for their level." she said briskly to Snape's back, "Though I would question whether it is advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if that was 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?", Umbridge asked Snape.
"Yes." Snape said quietly.
"But you were unsuccessful?"
Snape's lip curled, "Obviously."
Professor Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard, "And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"
"Yes." Snape said quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.
"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?" Umbridge asked.
"I suggest you ask him.", Snape said jerkily.
"Oh, I shall." Umbridge said, with a sweet smile, "The Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers backgrounds." she turned away, walked over to Parkinson and began questioning her about the lessons.
Snape looked round at Claire and their eyes met for a second. She hastily dropped her gaze to her potion, which was now congealing foully and giving off a strong smell of burned rubber.
"This... droop is extremely out of character for you Kent." Snape said, emptying Claire's cauldron with a wave of his wand, "You will write me an essay on the correct composition of this potion, indicating how and why you went wrong, to be handed in next lesson, do you understand?"
"Yes." Claire said.
"Maybe I'll skive off Divination." Harry said glumly, as they stood in the courtyard after lunch, the wind whipping at the hems of their uniforms, "I'll pretend to be ill and do Snape's essay instead, then I won't have to stay up half the night."
"You can't skive off Divination." Hermione said severely.
"Says the person who walked out of Divination!" Alex said indignantly, "Ring, ring, hello it's the pot calling the cauldron, I just wanted to say your black. Well I just wanted to say I fucked your wife."
"...It's a good thing your charming, Alex." Hermione said loftily, "I just think she's an absolutely appalling teacher and a real old fraud. But Harry's already missed History of Magic and I don't think he ought to miss anything else today!"
"Nobody cares about History of Magic." Alex said throwing his arms up, "By the way, do you want me to add Trelawney to the kill list?"
"Okay, there is something wrong with you." Hermione said sternly as the others laughed as she and Claire left for Arithmancy.
"Maybe I skip Divination too..." Neville said, "I don't feel like going."
"Oh sure, leave me and Ron to fend for ourselves in that classroom." Alex said sarcastically, with a smirk, "Maybe we can hide out in Jeager's office and do our homework there."
"So how was Divination?" Claire asked quietly when they sat down at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry, Alex, Ron and Neville each exchanged a look, making Claire know they didn't went to it, "Don't let Hermione know. She will flip her shit."
Umbridge entered the room as she spoke, wearing her black velvet bow and an expression of great smugness. "Good afternoon, class."
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.", they chanted dully.
"Wands away, please." But there was no answering flurry of movement this time; nobody had bothered to take out their wands, "Please turn to page thirty-four of Defensive Magical Theory and read the third chapter, entitled 'The Case for Non-Offensive Responses to Magical Attack'. There will be..."
"No need to talk." Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione said together, under their breaths.
"I have thought about it, Harry." Claire said, "I think Umbridge has been reading your mail. There's no other explanation."
"You think Umbridge attacked Hedwig?" he said, outraged.
"I am sure of it." Claire said, "Watch your frog, it's escaping."
Harry pointed his wand at the bullfrog that had been hopping hopefully towards the other side of the table "Accio!", and it zoomed gloomily back into his hand.
Charms was always one of the best lessons in which to enjoy a private chat; there was generally so much movement and activity that the danger of being overheard was very slight. Today, with the room full of croaking bullfrogs and cawing ravens, and with a heavy downpour of rain clattering and pounding against the classroom windows.
"I've been suspecting tis ever since Filch accused you of ordering Dungbombs, because it seemed such a stupid lie." Claire whispered, "I mean, once your letter had been read it would have been quite clear you weren't ordering them, so you wouldn't have been in trouble at all. But then I thought, what if somebody just wanted an excuse to read your mail? Well then, it would be a perfect way for Umbridge to manage it, tip off Filch, let him do the dirty work and confiscate the letter, then either find a way of stealing it from him or else demand to see it. I don't think Filch would object, when's he ever stuck up for a student's rights?"
"Harry, you're chocking your frog." Alex said.
Harry looked down, he was indeed squeezing his bullfrog so tightly its eyes were popping; he replaced it hastily upon the desk.
"Silencio." he said.
The bullfrog on which he was practicing her Silencing Charm was struck dumb mid-croak and glared at him reproachfully.
"Very good, Mr. Potter!" Professor Flitwick said with his squeaky little voice, making Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione all jump, "Now, let me see you try, Mr. Weasley."
"What? Oh... oh, right." Ron said, very flustered, "Er... Silencio!" He jabbed at the bullfrog so hard he poked it in the eye: the frog gave a deafening croak and leapt off the desk. It came as no surprise to any of them that Ron and Neville were given additional practice of the Silencing Charm for homework.
That's the chapter, hope you enjoyed.
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Mischief Managed.