Briar ⋆ Fred Weasley (2)

━ thirty-eight: "ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!"

     Alicia frowned. "She can't take on them all—"

     "LEAVE HIM ALONE! ALONE, I SAY! ON WHAT GROUNDS ARE YOU ATTACKING HIM? HE HAS DONE NOTHING, NOTHING TO WARRANT SUCH—"

     Angelina screamed. Alicia and Briar let out something between a sob and a gasp. Sergeant began to bark again, and Briar tried her best to calm him down.

     Hagrid shouted, "COWARDS! RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT — AN' THAT—"

     A shrilly shriek went, "GET HIM, GET HIM!"

     There was still shouting. Briar stood up, clicked her fingers so that Sergeant would stay next to her, and said, "We should check the common room."

     Angelina nodded. "It won't help anything if anyone tries to sort it out," she said. She took Briar's hand, and the two bolted down the stairs to get to the common room. Like they figured, others had appeared, some trailing from the sofas to the windows. All wore looks of worry. Sergeant loyally sat next to Briar's feet, as she and Angelina paused, realising that they had no game plan other than go downstairs.

     Two sixth years went to go to the portrait, but Angelina and Lee — who had appeared out of nowhere — dived in front of them, blocking their path. "Umbridge will send us all into detention if she knows that we saw that," Angelina said, raising her voice so that the rest of the common room could hear.

     The two they had blocked sat down, pissed off. Briar and Angelina and Lee exchanged looks. Lee and Briar pulled out two chairs, holding onto each other to keep balance as they stood up on them.

     "There's no point giving Umbridge what she wants!"

     "If she sees us in pain, we'll be doing just that!"

     "McGonagall will be fine, I promise, I'd know if not!"

     "Exactly! McGonagall's going to be okay! We all know how tough she is!"

     The portrait began to open. Briar and Lee jumped off of the chairs and shoved them under the table so quickly that Sergeant began barking again. But, instead of Umbridge, like they both feared, it was the Gryffindors that had been out, doing their Astronomy O.W.L. exam.

     Seamus and Dean began explaining what they saw from the Astronomy Tower. Everyone had died down. The usual whispered remarks weren't present. Everyone was worried. Briar kept her hand on Sergeant's head, trying her best to keep him calm.

     "But why sack Hagrid now?" said Angelina. "It's not like Trelawney — he's been teaching much better than usual this year!"

     Hermione sat down, and explained, "Umbridge hates part-humans. She was always going to try and get Hagrid out."

     If Umbridge had succeeded with Hagrid, and she had tried with me, Briar thought, her stomach feeling queasy with worry, surely she'd come back to finish me off?

     Katie added, "And she thought Hagrid was putting Nifflers in her office."

     Lee put a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening. "Oh, blimey. It's me who's been putting the Nifflers in her office. Fred and George left me a couple; I've been levitating them in through her window."

     "She'd have sacked him, anyway. He was too close to Dumbledore."

     "That's true."

     "I just hope Professor McGonagall's all right."

     "They carried her back up to the castle, we watched through the dormitory window. She didn't look very well."

     "Madam Pomfrey will sort her out. She's never failed yet."