The Sight Of Eternity With You

Million Dollar Baby

Harper chuckled slightly, nodding. "I should ramp up our production then...this decree is going to make a lot of students suddenly skipping classes."

"We should go deliver these to Celeste and Alexandria to post in the Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms..." Harper called, rubbing her hands together as she looked over her notebook, hastily writing down the scents she smelled.

"Well...it was a nice relaxing first week," Victor muttered over her shoulder. "What a shame."

"See you in the morning for Herbology then," taking two of the signs for herself and slowly walking toward the dungeons.

Walking through her lively common room an hour later, she walked over to the giant board where announcements were plastered.

"Oh that screams trouble," Fred commented, making Harper jump a mile in the air.

"Hermione may have a point about the Ministry interfering here," she frowned with a sigh.

"Come on, time for our meeting," Fred smiled and waved her toward the stairs, taking them two at a time to his dormitory. Lee and George sitting on the floor against their beds, loads of sweets in a circle between them. Harper sat between George's legs, leaning into his chest and kissing the hallow of his jaw when she looked up.

"Where have you been?" Lee asked, tossing Harper a sugar mouse.

"Oh, around," she stuttered, not wanting to reveal her secret room just yet. Lee made a face as the twins began pulling out parchment and writing utensils.

As they talked about products and what things should be shelved and worked on, Harper's mind went to the educational decree. The anxiety that traveled through her body made her shiver slightly, which resulted in George taking his quilt from his bed and wrapping it around them.

She smiled at him, trying to keep her mind on the current conversation.

****
Harper sat beside Alicia as they got their wands out for the day's Charms lesson. Something about the air in the classroom spelled trouble, Harper had explained the decree to the group over breakfast, including her speculations as to why move of power was given to the toad in pink. As Harper got ready for class, she heard the last noise she wanted to hear that day.

"Hem hem."

Every single pore in her body turned to ice at the sound, all heads turned to the doorway as the pink nightmare with an obnoxious velvet bow and polished badge on her collar appeared with a clipboard.

"Good morning, I'm here to begin my classroom inspections," Umbridge explained.

"Right," Flitwick nodded and turned to the rest of the class. "Today we'll be working on refreshing our memories from last year, today is reducto. But, non-verbal."

Harper met Alicia's gaze and the two glared, Flitwick began the class as normal, completely ignoring the woman as she scratched a quill rather loudly against her clipboard. Any questions she had Flitwick answered as if she were a student, unperturbed by her presence.

"Is she going to inspect all the professors?" Alicia whispered, Harper sighed inwardly knowing that Sybill would be a wreck about this. "But what for?"

"I have a few ideas," Harper hissed back.

What's toad face doing here?!

Harper let out a slight gasp at Fred's thought, she had been much better at her occlumency, however the cold pit forming in her chest rocked her concentration, the jolt from the thought made Umbridge give her a quizzical look, the woman turned to her clipboard and scribbled hurriedly.