Screams were coming from the Entrance Hall; they grew louder as you ran towards the stone steps leading up from the dungeons. When you reached the top he found the Entrance Hall packed; students had come flooding out of the Great Hall, where dinner was still in progress, to see what was going on; others had crammed themselves on to the marble staircase.
You pushed forwards through a knot of tall Slytherins and saw that the onlookers had formed a great ring, some of them looking shocked, others even frightened. Professor McGonagall was directly opposite, on the other side of the Hall; she looked as though what she was
watching made her feel faintly sick.
Professor Trelawney was standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upsidedown; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her.
Professor Trelawney was staring, apparently terrified, at something you could not see but which seemed to be standing at the foot of the stairs.
"No!" she shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening... it cannot... I refuse to accept it!"
"You didn't realize this was coming?" said a high girlish voice, sounding callously amused, and you, moving slightly to his right, saw that Trelawney's terrifying vision was nothing other than Professor Umbridge. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you
must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"
"You c - can't!" howled Professor Trelawney, tears streaming down her face from behind her enormous lenses, "you c - can't sack me! I've b - been here sixteen years! H - Hogwarts is in - my h - home!"
"It was your home," said Professor Umbridge, and you were revolted to see the enjoyment stretching her toadlike face as she watched Professor Trelawney sink, sobbing uncontrollably, on to one of her trunks, "until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic countersigned your Order
of Dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this Hall. You are embarrassing us."
But she stood and watched, with an expression of gloating enjoyment, as Professor Trelawney shuddered and moaned, rocking backwards and forwards on her trunk in paroxysms of grief. You heard a muffled sob to his left and looked around. Lavender and Parvati were both crying
quietly, their arms round each other. Then you heard footsteps.
Professor McGonagall had broken away from the spectators, marched straight up to Professor Trelawney and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.
"There, there, Sibyll... calm down... blow your nose on this... it's not as bad as you think, now... you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts..."
"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. "Is there anything you'd like to say?"
"Oh there are a lot of things I'd like to say." Said McGonagall, while holding a crying Trelawney in her arms.
"And your authority for that statement is...?"
"That would be mine," said a deep voice.
The oaken front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. What he had been doing out in the grounds you could not imagine, but there was something impressive about the sight of him framed in the doorway against an oddly misty night. Leaving the doors wide open behind him he strode forwards through the circle of onlookers towards Professor Trelawney, tear-stained and trembling, on her
trunk, Professor McGonagall alongside her.
"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" Said Umbridge, with a singularly unpleasant little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here -" she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes "-an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the
power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she - that is to say, I - feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."
To your very great surprise, Dumbledore continued to smile. He looked down at Professor Trelawney, who was still sobbing and choking on her trunk, and said, "You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers.
You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," he went on, with a courteous little bow, "that the power to do that still resides with the Headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."
At this, Professor Trelawney gave a wild little laugh in which a hiccough was barely hidden. "No - no, I'll g - go, Albus! I sh - shall - leave Hogwarts and s - seek my fortune elsewhere -"
"No," said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sibyll."
He turned to Professor McGonagall.
"Might I ask you to escort Sibyll back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"
"Of course," said McGonagall. "Up you get, Sibyll..."
"T-thank you, Albus! Thank y-you!" Said Trelawney, now with tears of joy in her eyes.
Professor Sprout came hurrying forwards out of the crowd and grabbed Professor Trelawney's other arm. Together, they guided her past Umbridge and up the marble stairs. Professor Flitwick went scurrying after them, his wand held out before him; he squeaked "Locomotor trunks!" and Professor Trelawney's luggage rose into the air and proceeded up the staircase after her, Professor Flitwick bringing up the rear. Professor Umbridge was standing stock still, staring at Dumbledore, who continued to smile
benignly.
"And what," she said, in a whisper that carried all around the Entrance Hall, "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"
"Oh, that won't be a problem," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."
"You've found -?" said Umbridge shrilly. "You've found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-two -"
"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if -and only if- the Headmaster is unable to find one," said Dumbledore. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"
He turned to face the open front doors, through which night mist was now drifting. You suddenly heard hooves. There was a shocked murmur around the Hall and those nearest the doors hastily moved even further backwards, some of them tripping over in their haste to clear a path for the newcomer. Through the mist came a face you had never seen before but Harry had told you about him once before on a dark, dangerous night in the Forbidden Forest: white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes; the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.
"This is Firenze," said Dumbledore happily to a thunderstruck Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable."
Professor Umbridge huffed annoyed but smiled, "Of course!"
Professor Dumbledore had turned to each and everyoneof you "Don't you all have studying to do?"
---
"This just seems no fair. We keep losing points because of that toad-faced bitch!" You said angrily, looking at the house hour-glasses.
"You could say that again." Said George fro, your right.
"Noticed, have you?" said Fred, from your left but not to you.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had just come down the marble staircase and joined you, Fred and George in front of the hour-glasses.
"Malfoy just docked us all about fifty points," said Harry furiously, as you watched several more stones fly upwards from the Gryffindor hour-glass.
"Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break," said George.
"What do you mean, 'tried'?" said Ron quickly.
"He never managed to get all the words out-" you said.
"-due to the fact that we forced him headfirst into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor." Continued Fred.
Hermione looked very shocked. "But you'll get into terrible trouble!"
"Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him," said Fred coolly. "Anyway... we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble any more."
"Have you ever?" asked Hermione.
" 'Course we have," said George. "Never been expelled, have we?"
"We've always known where to draw the line," you said.
"We might have put a toe across it occasionally," said George.
"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem." said Fred.
"But now?" said Ron tentatively.
"Well, now -" said George.
"- what with Dumbledore gone -" said Fred.
"- we reckon a bit of mayhem -" said George.
"- is exactly what our dear new Head deserves," said Fred.
"You mustn't!" whispered Hermione. "You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you! And George! Think about your" she lowered her voice "pregnant girlfriend!"
"You don't get it, Hermione, do you?" said Fred, smiling at her. "We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first...and if my brother hadn't left his girl pregnant. So, anyway," he checked his watch, "phase one is about to begin. I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch, if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."
"Anything to do with what?" said Hermione anxiously.
"You'll see," said George. "Run along, now."
You, Fred and George turned away and disappeared into the swelling crowd descending the stairs towards lunch. Looking highly disconcerted, Ron muttered something about unfinished Transfiguration homework and scurried away.
"Uhm, George, she is kind of right about Astrid. You can't just leave her-" you said to George
"Dearest (Y/n), we've got it all figured out." You raised an eyebrow at him.
"Why do I feel like you're going to do something stupid?"
"It's what we do best!" Fred laughed.
---
On a night walk with the twins around the castle, after a moment of silence, George spoke,
"Fred and I will leave a month earlier." You stopped to your tracks.
"What?" You looked between them; Fred was scratching the back of his head and George had his arms crossed.
"We made a deal to have our shop earlier -in a really good spot as well- and with a really good price. That's why we are taking you on this walk around the castle. One last time." Said Fred.
"It's our chance, (Y/n/n)!" Continued George, smiling a bit.
"When did this happen?" Your heart started pounding faster.
"A week ago. We got the approval to make it there." George said, looking down
"Sorry for not telling you sooner, everything happened fast." Fred said.
"You'll leave me all alone..." You said, sadness of your two best friends leaving you filled you up.
"But you won't be alone! You'll have Lee, Astrid, the trio, Ginny..."
"Be careful out there!" You took a breath, "Just, don't make something stupid without me." The boys chuckled and nodded, pulling you both into a side hug. And that's when you heard a distant cry. You jogged towards the direction of that cry, the boys close behind you.
Turning a corner, you met a small boy from Gryffindor, sitting at a stone bench and looking down at his wounded hand, Umbridge's doing. You walked over to the boy.
"Hey, what's your name?" You smiled and kneeled in front of him, Fred kneeling beside you and George sitting on the bench beside the boy.
"Michael..." The boy said silently, sniffling a bit.
"Your hand's going to be fine, Michael." Said Fred.
"Yeah, it's not as bad as it seems." George lifted his sleeve where the scar was. "See? It's almost gone, and the pain stops after a while." Michael started crying again but not for long.
In the corner of your eye, you saw Harry approaching, quite upset. On the other end, the most despicable face showed up.
"Uh hem!" Professor Umbridge said, wearing a pink outfit as always. "As I told you Mister Potter," You, Fred and George rose from your seats. The twins walked on either side of Harry as if they were protecting him, but you stayed in your place. ", naughty children deserve to be punished." With a small smile on her face, she walked off.
"You know, George. I've always felt our futures lied outside the world of academic achievement." Said Fred smirking.
"Fred," George smiled "I've been thinking exactly the same thing!"
You turned to Michael, who was still looking at his wounded hand "Come on, Michael. Let's go to the common room and heal you up." You took your hand out for his to take, which he did hesitantly. "Boys, you coming?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Said Harry sarcastically.
---
It was just like the night when Trelawney had been sacked. Students were standing all around the walls in a great ring (some of them, you noticed, covered in a substance that looked very like Stinksap); teachers and ghosts were also in the crowd. Prominent among the onlookers were members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were all looking exceptionally pleased with themselves, and Peeves, who was bobbing overhead, gazed down at Fred and George who stood in the middle of the floor with the unmistakable look of two people who had just been cornered. You were behind the shadows with their brooms beside you.
"So!" said Umbridge triumphantly. She was standing just a few stairs in front of him, once more looking down upon her prey. "So - you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"
"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fred, looking up at her without the slightest sign of fear. Filch elbowed his way closer to Umbridge, almost crying with happiness.
"I've got the form, Headmistress," he said hoarsely, waving the piece of parchment you had just seen him take from her desk. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting... oh, let me do it now..."
"Didn't know you were into this sort of thing." You said now standing out from the shadows.
"Eh hem! Very good, Argus," she said. "You three!" she went on, gazing down at you, Fred and George, "are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."
"You know what?" said Fred. "I don't think we are."
He turned to his twin.
"George," said Fred, "I think we've outgrown full-time education."
"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," said George lightly.
"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" asked Fred.
"Definitely," said George.
And before Umbridge could say a word, they raised their wands and said together:
"Accio brooms!"
Fred turned to you "You sure you won't be coming along?"
You thought for a second; getting to live and start a new life with the twins or stay and protect the victims of Umbridge.
"If you come, you'll have to leave Astrid behind and she needs you more than she needs me right now." Said George
"He's right. We'll join you after our NEWT's, I promise." You kissed Fred's cheek. "Write to me!"
"Always." Fred smiled.
A loud crash was heard from somewhere in the distance. Fred and George's broomsticks, one still trailing the heavy chain and iron peg with which Umbridge had fastened them to the wall, were hurtling along the corridor towards their owners; they turned left, streaked down the stairs and stopped sharply in front of the twins, the chain clattering loudly on the flagged stone floor.
"We won't be seeing you," Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.
"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," said George, mounting his own.
Fred looked around at the assembled students, at the silent, watchful crowd.
"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety three, Diagon Alley - Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes," he said in a loud voice. "Our new premises!"
"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," added George, pointing at Professor Umbridge.
"STOP THEM!" shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet into the air, the iron peg swinging dangerously below. Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd.
"Give her hell from us, Peeves."
And Peeves, who you had never seen take an order from a student before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset, leaving behind them the hope for little children to tolerate Umbridge.
The story of Fred and George's flight to freedom was retold so often over the next few days that you could tell it would soon become the stuff of Hogwarts legend: within a week, even those who had been eye-witnesses were half-convinced they had seen the twins dive-bomb Umbridge on their brooms and pelt her with Dungbombs before zooming out of the doors. In the immediate aftermath of their departure there was a great wave of talk about copying them. You frequently heard students saying things like,"Honestly some days I just feel like jumping on my broom and leaving this place," or else, "One more lesson like that and I might just do a Weasley."
Fred and George had made sure nobody was likely to forget them too soon. For one thing, they had not left instructions on how to remove the swamp that now filled the corridor on the fifth floor of the east wing. Umbridge and Filch had been observed trying different means of removing it but without success. Eventually the area was roped off and Filch, gnashing his teeth furiously, was given the task of punting students across it to their classrooms. You were certain that teachers like McGonagall or Flitwick could have removed the swamp in an instant but, just as in the case of Fred and Georges Wildfire Whiz-bangs, they seemed to prefer to watch Umbridge struggle.
Then there were the two large broom-shaped holes in Umbridge's office door, through which Fred and George's Cleansweeps had smashed to rejoin their masters. Filch fitted a new door and removed Harry's Firebolt to the dungeons where, it was rumored, Umbridge had set an armed security troll to guard it. However, her troubles were far from over.
Inspired by Fred and George's example, a great number of students were now vying for the newly vacant positions of Troublemakers-in-Chief. In spite of the new door, somebody managed to slip a hairy-snouted Niffler into Umbridge's office, which promptly tore the place apart in its search for shiny objects, leapt on Umbridge when she entered and tried to gnaw the rings off her stubby fingers. Dungbombs and Stink Pellets were dropped so frequently in the corridors that it became the new fashion for students to perform Bubble-Head Charms on themselves before leaving lessons, which ensured them a supply of fresh air, even though it gave them all the peculiar appearance of wearing upside-down goldfish bowls on their heads