Miss Quinn

128 ~ A Proper Teacher

Emma arrived at Umbridge's office directly after dinner, still carrying her bag and wearing her uniform. Harry entered just before Emma was about to knock, so she waited for him to cross the classroom and join her at the door. The longer she could postpone this detention, the better.

Harry looked at her quizzically. "Are you ready?"

Emma shook her head. "Don't have a choice, though, do I?"

Harry turned the knob and pushed the door open, not even bothering to knock. Emma followed him inside, and immediately gagged. The walls were all painted pink, and fancy dishes hung all around the room, containing images of moving cats. Dolores Umbridge sat behind her pink desk wearing her pink outfit with that god awful pink bow in her hair, smiling like someone who truly enjoyed punishing innocents. Emma wondered why the woman bothered denying the Dark Lord's return when she'd make a great asset to his forces anyway.

"Hello, children," Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice. "Sit."

Emma and Harry sat, each at one of the two school desks Umbridge had in her office.

"I don't suppose we're going to chat, are we?" Emma asked sarcastically, though she hoped they were. Chatting with Umbridge was better than writing lines for her. Emma had seen the back of Harry's hand.

"You are a funny one," Umbridge said, still smiling. "No, you'll both be writing lines for me today. Potter, the usual. Quinn... well, let's just say I expect better from supposedly one of the most powerful witches in the world. How about you write 'I will respect my superiors'."

Emma snorted. "And by that, I'm sure you mean 'I won't ask invasive questions that make my teacher look bad in front of her entire class'."

Umbridge's smile widened. "Precisely, Miss Quinn. Though that's rather long, don't you think? I say we keep it short and simple."

Emma held her gaze. "Fine by me, Professor."

Emma and Harry were both handed a blood quill and a piece of parchment. Harry took a deep breath and started writing 'I must not tell lies' across the top.

Emma felt Umbridge's eyes on her, so she picked up the quill and placed the tip of it against the parchment. She told herself that she'd been through Hell already, literally, and that this was nothing compared to that. She told herself that she'd gone through more pain than this in her life. That she could handle more pain than this. And then she wrote, in the neatest cursive she could manage, 'Curiosity is not a sin.'

Umbridge obviously wasn't paying close enough attention to what Emma was actually writing, because she sighed contently when Emma inhaled sharply at the stinging in her hand. But instead of being dissuaded, it only made Emma more determined to make it through the whole detention writing a phrase Umbridge hadn't approved. Just to spite her. Just to show that she didn't have full control over anyone, especially not Emma.

After writing 'Curiosity is not a sin' about ten times, Emma finally watched the skin on her hand be carved away in the same strokes Emma herself had written on the paper. Emma could see why it delighted Umbridge. It was truly fascinating to watch, despite the fact that it hurt like twenty knives all at once. But Emma persisted. She wrote the same phrase, over and over, for at least an hour, before Umbridge stood up to check on their progress.

She went to Harry first, and asked him if it had sunk in yet. He mumbled a gruff affirmative, not meeting her eyes.

"Good," Dumbridge said clearly. She clicked over to Emma and peered down at the brunette demigod-witch with displeasure in her beady eyes. "And you, Miss Quinn?"