The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

143. Dropping Dead of Your Own Accord

Ron gasped as Lavander Brown uttered a scream. Neville jerked, accidentally knocking over his ink pot. To Althea's surprise, however, Umbridge did not flinch. She was staring at Harry with an oddly satisfied expression on her face.

Coolly, she said, "Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter." The entire class seemed to be holding its breath as everyone looked either at Harry or Umbridge. In an oddly tense voice of forced calm, Umbridge began, "Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard has returned from the dead-"

"He wasn't dead!" Harry interrupted.

"Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-house-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," Umbridge said all in one breath. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This. Is. A. Lie."

"It is NOT a lie!" Harry cried. "I saw him! I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr Potter!" Umbridge cried. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat. This. Is. A. Lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any dark wizard, except possibly Miss Thea's father."

"You can't guarantee anything!" Althea cried suddenly, rising slightly from her seat.

"You will join Mr Potter in detention," Umbridge said with a sickly smile.

Althea was shaking as she sat back down, tangling her hands in her hair as she tried to calm herself.

"If you are still worried," Umbridge resumed, "by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.'"

Umbridge sat back down again, but as Althea finally looked up to try and continue her reading, she sat that Harry had risen to his feet.

"Harry, no!" Hermione whispered.

In a shaking voice that brought tears to Althea's eyes, Harry asked, "So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?"

Several people in the class gasped. Finally, Umbridge's fake smile was gone.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," Umbridge said coldly.

"It was murder!" Harry shouted. "Voldemort killed him and you know it!"

Althea felt her heart pound as she looked from Harry to Umbridge.

In her softest, sweetest voice, Umbridge ordered, "Come here, Mr Potter, dear."

Kicking away his chair, Harry went to her desk.

After writing out a note on pink parchment and sealing it, Umbridge handed it to him as she said, "Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear."

Without a word, he took it and disappeared out of the room. The moment he had left the room, Umbridge subjected them to a long speech about how mentally disturbed Harry was and the falsehood of all of his claims. The entire time, her eyes were trained on Althea, as though daring her to speak.

Much to her disappointment, however, Althea refused to say a word. She was staring at her textbook, keeping both of her trembling hands clutched together under the table.

As they left the class, she quickly said to Hermione and Ron, "Not a word to my mother. Remember your promise."

Then, she went with Neville to grab a quick dinner before retreating into the library. As they were working, Althea couldn't fail to notice how Neville glanced up at her in concern every few moments.

Finally looking up from her essay, she sighed, "I'm fine, Neville, I swear. I just want to forget about it."

Neville said nothing as they continued working. Althea had just finished her introductory paragraph when he finally said, "Althea, that was really brave, what you did."

"Which bit?" she asked, her tone slightly dry.

"Telling her Professor Lupin is your father," Neville clarified. "But...why'd you do it?"

Althea sighed, setting aside her quill before she admitted, "This morning, my mum pulled me aside and warned me that Umbridge would treat me unkindly if she found out Remus is my father. She said it might be a good idea to deny it to her, but...I won't do it. I couldn't live with myself if I denied him as my father. He means too much to me. I know he would have wanted me too, and Mum probably too, but...I told her so that I could never deny him after this. Now, I can't give in to fear. It's out, people know. The whispers have been confirmed."

"Everyone loved him, Althea," Neville said softly, resting his hand over her own. "Discounting Malfoy, I can't think of anyone who would think any less of you, certainly no one who really matters will."

Giving him as much of a smile as she could muster, she said, "We should keep working."

.

"You allowed the child of a werewolf to enter this school?" Umbridge cried, facing Dumbledore with wide, angry eyes. "She didn't even deny it! She proclaimed it, as plainly as could be, as though she were proud of it!"

"From my understanding," Dumbledore said in a cool voice, adjusting his spectacles, "Thea is very close with her father and thinks very highly of him."

"But," Umbridge cried, "is she- is she-"

"If by this sputtering you mean to ask if she herself is a werewolf," Dumbledore interrupted, his eyes flashing, "then the answer is no. She is not a werewolf." Leaning forward slightly, Dumbledore said, "I would, however, remind you that I will not tolerate any discrimination against my students on any basis, including their parentage."

Umbridge sputtered a moment before disappearing out the door. Dumbledore stared after her a moment before another figure appeared.

"Professor McGonagall," he greeted with a small smile. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about Umbridge," McGonagall explained.

"Yes, she was just here," Dumbledore said with a wry smile. "She was just telling me I should never have allowed Althea Black into the school."

"Potter yelled at her in class today and called her a liar," McGonagall said anxiously. "She has given him a week's worth of detentions. Thea has one as well."

With a sigh, Dumbledore admitted, "I foresaw Harry having problems with Dolores, but I admit...I did not expect this of Thea. Please, ask her to come here."