𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

OWLs ☾ 5-12

I hadn't seen Harry, Ron, or Hermione all day today. Saturdays were generally fun, but after the amount of restrictions Umbridge has put in place, fun isn't much of an occurrence anymore. I saw the trio this morning, but after they left to take a walk outside, they haven't been back yet. Draco was being distant as well, I think from the shock of us all being caught, but I hoped he wasn't pushing me away. We all need to stick together at a time like this.

-

In the evening, after putting on a sweater I 'borrowed' from Draco, I was starting to get sick of the stark white walls of the common room, so I decided to take a walk. Through the corridors, I began to hear a quiet snivelling, and hushed voices. Rounding the corner, Fred and George Weasley were sitting with a young first-year boy. He was crying, cradling his limp arm. Fred had an arm around the boys shoulders while George was kneeling in front of him. I ran up toward them, a frown falling over my face.

"Your hand's gonna be fine, Michael." George whispered.

"It's not as bad as it seems. See? It's fading already." Fred rubbed a hand on his back.

"You can hardly see ours anymore. And the pain stops after a while." George added. The young boy broke into another set of sobs.

"Are you alright?" I asked, my hair turning a shade of purple. Fred turned to me and nodded, motioning toward the scarring words ripped through the skin on the boy's hand. My heart broke. She was abusing children. It was absolutely barbaric. The boy sniffed, looking up at me with glassy eyes.

"Look, Michael. This is Aurora. She's gone to detention with Umbridge more than anyone, even us." Fred gestured toward me and I gave Michael a little wave.

"Really?" His big eyes went wide, and I gave him a small smile. Pulling up the large sleeves on Draco's sweater, I revealed the worded scarring all up my arms. Michael let out a horrified gasp. The skin of both hands were completely annihilated, covered in the raised grooves and swirls of my own handwriting. The white scarring gradually faded as they went all the way up to my elbows. Fred swore. I had never revealed my scarring like this to anyone, not even Draco. He had seen it, but not when they were this bad. My hands were usually sore, but I eventually got used to it. My skin was lighter from the scar tissue, and they were very prominent against my usually tan skin.

"Bloody hell, Aurora. Are you alright?" George asked, raising an already raised eyebrow even higher.

"Yeah. Don't worry Michael, she won't be able to hurt you like this much longer." I whispered, placing a hand on the small boy's shoulder. Fred gave me a small nudge and a smile, and I could tell he was trying to thank me for helping.

My head snapped up as I watched Harry round the corner of the corridor. His eyes were wide and he looked completely emotionless as he beheld the scene before him. A small cough interrupted my thoughts, and we all turned toward the Gargoyle. Michael stopped his sobbing and began to quiet his harsh breathing. I walked up to face Umbridge. I wasn't scared of her anymore. Michael stayed sitting on the bench as Fred and George took up station on either side of me, Harry coming up beside Fred.

"As I've told you once before Miss Whitethorn, Mr. Potter, naughty children deserve to be punished." I held my bone shattering glare at the back of her head until the tapping of her shoes on the stones had become inaudible. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my thundering heartbeat. I could kill that woman.

"You know, George, I've always felt our futures lay outside the world of academic achievement." Fred learned his head toward his twin, the four of us still facing the place where Umbridge stood.

"Fred, I've been thinking exactly the same thing."

-

The sound of scratching quills and the ominous swinging of the large pendulum at the front of the hall filled the room. The pendulum was keeping time, as Umbridge sat on Dumbledore's throne, watching over us like a snake playing with its frozen mice. I was staring at my Theory of Charms exam with intensity, as I looked over the questions. I had finished about 30 minutes early, which wasn't unlike me, since I loved reading so much. Even textbooks.