Harry found himself subconsciously climbing up the stairs of the Astronomy tower after dropping Ria off to her dorm. He walked up to the railing and sat down in his usual place, sighing.
He knew this was a place where he could truly find peace; no disturbances, no Voldemort, no Seer's Curse, no other people, or their opinions. Just oneself, their thoughts, silence, and the stars, if they're lucky.
His train of thoughts was partly interrupted when someone sat right next to him. He spared a small look back at her; who had the same look on her face even after gazing at a starry night sky for the millionth time.
"How dare you come here without me?" She pouted at him. "This was my place first.. you know right?"
He chuckled. "I sincerely apologise, Miss. Edwards.."
Asteria moved a little closer to Harry and linked their arms, resting her head on his shoulder with a content sigh. He redirected his eyes back towards the sky. "You were right," Harry voiced. "Once you find peace in those.." he said, referring to the celestial spheres, "there's no going back."
"Right?" she chuckled in awe. "Like.. it's not even like they exist for us. They're balls of light and fire, billions and billions of miles away, shining so brightly that they could change someone's life. It might be a small one, but it's still a change."
"Can you imagine being someone's star?" she asked, lifting her head off his shoulder, but still eyes fixated on the sky, while Harry looked at her.
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Like.. from the star's perspective?" he asked, making Ria furiously shake her head.
"No, silly! Like metaphorically.. being someone's star.."
"Imagine being looked at with such hope.. and— and adoration, and love. Being a person who affects someone's life by such measures.. that one small interaction— may it be an eye contact, a smile, anything— makes them feel better after a bad day." Harry's face slowly broke out into a small smile, watching her azure eyes light up with exhilaration.
"Being so full of light.. that you give someone strength to make their way through the dark abyss they're stuck in. It must be so.. fulfilling." She whispered, finally looking at him.
Harry nodded ever so lightly. "Being someone a person would wait for, every single day.. sacrificing their nights to get one glance, because they know it would be worth all the wait."
Ria nodded, grinning. "Exactly."
Harry's smile widened a bit. "Beautiful." He muttered, still looking down at the girl while the moon shined upon her. "It would be beautiful."
With a content smile, Ria looked back at the sky. Harry's smile slowly faded away, and he looked down. "I'm sorry too." These words made Asteria look at him almost instantly. "I'm sorry I tried to force things out of you after your tryouts. I should've left the topic when you asked me to."
Ria rubbed Harry's arm comfortingly. "It's okay.. You were only trying to make me feel better." she answered. But deep down, she felt guilty about not telling him. He shared every single thing with her, and her keeping secrets didn't feel like it was fair.
Ria rested her head on his shoulder again, while Harry leaned his head on hers. But to her, something didn't feel right. There wasn't that optimistic aura she received from Harry every time. Instead, it felt like he was cowering under some burden, wanting to get out, but not knowing the way.
"What's wrong, love?" asked Asteria, her voice of concern. Quickly, Harry sat up straight and looked at her in shock, almost as if she had done some kind of miracle. The action did scare Ria to some extent, but she didn't show it on her face.
"How do you do it?" asked Harry helplessly, making her give him a questioning look. "How do you know—" he waved his hand exaggeratingly in the air, "—literally everything about me? You push me when it's needed, you back away when it's not! I— I don't even have to say a word! And then there's me! I mess up after every next step!"
Ria stared at him in blatant shock. "What?"
"I— just— I— I try to do the right thing— I try to make you feel better, and then end up making you feel worse. I then promise I won't do it again, and guess what? I fucking do it again—"
"Woah— wait!" Ria interrupted, "is this what it's about? No.. no!" she chuckled, "Harry— who told you that? You're perfect!"
"Don't lie.. Please." Harry requested, and Ria couldn't help but feel pity for him. Merlin, how he always tried his best..
"I'm not." she said sincerely, cupping his face in a comforting way. "Harry, you're the best I could ever get. You're one of the few people that make me realise my mistakes, and that's a good thing. You bring out the best in me."
"And you know what's the one thing I like about you the most?" She asked. "Whenever something happens that concerns me.. you try, and try, and keep trying. But you never give up on me. And that means a lot more than you realise." she confessed, her voice slightly breaking.
Harry's eyes softened at her loving gaze. He knew somewhere in her mind, the thoughts of her father were nagging her while she said that. And that certainly was true.
She didn't want anyone else to give up on her the way Daniel Edwards had.
"You're enough, Harry. You're more than enough. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
The amount of relief Harry felt in his heart was indescribable. The light Ria was bestowing upon him was working loads and loads more than she realised it was.
He had never heard those words before.
The world had its expectations from Harry Potter; which included his 'family', the Dursleys expecting him to be 'normal', his school and the Ministry expecting him to 'speak the truth', his friends expecting him to 'be fine' even after everything he had experienced, his own godfather expecting him to 'be more like his father'... And the words 'you're enough' felt like a warm hug on a cold, harsh winter night.
"Okay but, seriously, you know what? If we want our relationship to work.." she interrupted his thoughts, wanting to lift up the mood. "we gotta establish some ground rules." She said, sticking her nose up in the air playfully, which made Harry chuckle.
"Ground rules?" He asked, and she nodded. "Like..?"
"Like.. um.." she trailed off, thinking. "Like no unnecessary apologising." She gave him a challenging, playful smile.
"That applies to you too, you know that, right?" Harry smirked.
"I said 'unnecessary'."
"Yeah, exactly." He emphasised, making her roll her eyes.
"Fine, anyway.." she rushed past the fact that he had exposed her. "Another one.. Uh..."
"Oh, I got one." added Harry. "No self-degrading." He said firmly, and Ria gave him an offended look.
"Excuse me, do you mean to say I talk shit about myself?" She asked, making Harry affirmatively nod. "I do not—"
"Ah ah ah!" He interrupted her. "Don't lie, you know I'm right. So yes, no self-degrading."
"Fine, and it applies to you, too. So all that you said earlier?" she asked. "Don't say that again. Don't even think about it again."
Harry raised his hands in surrender. "Alright. But I got one more." Ria nodded, gesturing him to continue. "No more secrets.."
The playful smile Ria had all along disappeared. She opened her mouth to object, but Harry beat her to it. "If it's hurting one of us." He stated, a bit more loudly and authoritatively.
Asteria stayed silent, looking at him helplessly. Umbridge's distant voice echoed back and forth in her mind. "I want you to write, 'I am a hopeless destruction'." Her vision blurred, and she shook her head.
Harry took her wounded hand in both of his. "No more secrets, if it's hurting one of us. Please.. we can't let it get worse."
"Now, now.. dear. I'm only stating what's true." Her voice came back.
I'm not a hopeless destruction.. I don't want to be.
"Ria.. please." Harry pleaded.
She left her breath in defeat and finally nodded, wiping a tear away with her other hand. A little relieved, he gently lifted her hand and began unwinding the bandage. As the words started being exposed, she instantly looked away in disgust.
After comprehending the wound completely, something snapped inside Harry. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to suppress his anger. Because as much as he wanted to shout his lungs out and throw profanities to take his wrath out, he also wanted to make sure Ria was okay.
"Come here." He whispered, wrapping one arm around her shoulder while his other hand still held hers. Ria sniffled quietly, leaning onto his shoulder, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable.
Harry kissed her head. "It's okay, love. It's alright. We'll fight our way out.." He tried to comfort her and kissed the back of her scarred hand.
"Blaise was right. We aren't fighting this the right way.." She finally admitted to herself, sucking her tears back in. "I want to report her, Harry." He nodded almost too quickly, wanting nothing more than to get rid of that bitch.
"We will." He replied. "And remember, you are nothing of what she makes you out to be. Nothing." Ria nodded at his statement, nestling closer to him as a gust of wind flew by.
A familiar, but enraging clearing of throat made the couple turn back and face the devil herself. Harry clenched his free hand tightly in a fist, trying to control his anger after spotting that oh-so punchable face.
"Mr. Potter, Miss. Edwards." Umbridge voiced with her annoying smile. "Why are you here, on the Astronomy tower, hours after the curfew?" she asked. Ria helplessly looked at Harry while he tried to remain calm.
"It seems like detentions aren't enough.. After all, you know what they say.. 'A dog's tail can never be straightened,'" she giggled. "It seems like I might have to amplify the punishment—"
"Pardon me, Professor Umbridge." A figure emerged from the shadows, and Ria internally left a sigh of relief. "I think I heard you wrong.. Did you say 'amplify the punishment'?" Professor Sinistra asked, sparing a quick glance at the pair before looking towards the Professor again. "I don't think of a reason you should."
"Perhaps you forgot the rules of the school, Sinistra. Let me remind—"
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Professor, but I've been teaching here for years, and I do know about the curfew. Unfortunately, Mr. Potter, here, isn't very good at my subject. So I asked Miss. Edwards, who is the best in the class, if she could tutor him on weekends. And as you can see, it's a good night to study Astronomy."
Asteria and Harry were too stunned to speak, but they had managed to keep a calm face. Sinistra stared at Umbridge with a sly look, while Umbridge tried to keep her smile on.
"Well.. it didn't certainly look like they were studying when I came here.." She justified.
"Exactly.. when you came here. They were certainly studying before. It was just that you saw them at the wrong time." Sinistra replied and then walked a little closer to her. "You see, she's lost her brother Cedric in a tragic accident. And when she's reminded of it, leaving her with her closest friend seems like a better and much more sensible option to me." she whispered. "Because, what kind of teachers are we, if we don't care about our students?"
Umbridge calculated her next move cautiously. She didn't want to appear too tough, and not caring about the students. It could be bad for her and the Ministry's image. So instead of saying anything, she just nodded and left the tower.
Sinistra looked back at the pair with a small smile. "Thank you, Professor." said Ria gratefully.
"A little careful next time, dear. She's not the type of person you'd want to have on your bad side." She suggested. "But knowing you, you already might have her on your bad side.. So watch your steps. Now, off, you two." Harry and Ria nodded, hurriedly getting up from their place.
"And Asteria.." Sinistra said again. "I have the star charts you asked for. I think it'll be better if you take them now because.." she looked back, as if checking for any foe, "The Ministry has passed the decree.. Everything that's left of her is going to be confiscated tomorrow."
"You know what?" said Theodore, finally looking up from her hand. "I really hope you learn mind control soon.. We'll make her do the same, but with 'I must not be a bitchy cunt'."
"Shush.." said Blaise immediately, watching as Filch went past them. "I would love to watch that, though."
"That foul hag!" Sophie exclaimed in anger, inspecting Ria's hand. "And— And you've been doing this for over a month, now?" she asked in disbelief.
Ria shook her head, swallowing the food in her mouth. "Not anymore.." she replied, making all of them raise questioning eyebrows.
"Oh.." Blaise voiced in relief. "You're telling someone? Please tell me you're telling someone." And when she nodded, he punched the air victoriously. "Yes.. can't wait to see that hag get what she deserves." Blaise confessed. "You know what? Tell McGonagall! The cat fight would be so damn good. Ugh, she would obliterate her."
Theo chuckled giddily. "Cat fight." The other three gave him a look, and his laughter awkwardly faded away. "Get it? 'Cause.. McGonagall's a cat and uh— Umbridge has cats on her—"
"You— You didn't need to explain it.." Blaise said honestly, making Theo nod in acceptance. "Congratulations, Nott.. You've managed to make another joke awkward."
"Yeah.. sorry." He apologised, going back to his food.
Ria nudged her elbow into Blaise's stomach. "Ow.. I was joking." he whispered, making her shake her head tiredly.
"That bloody bitch." Amelia hissed under her breath. "Ah.. Miss. Henry, I've been wanting to meet you. According to educational decree blah blah blah— Well guess what, you smelly maggot? I don't fucking care."
"All good, 'Melia?" asked Sophie, watching as she served herself some soup.
"Sure! Everything's perfectly fine!" She replied sarcastically. "It's not like that menace is the first face I've seen this morning! And it's certainly not like she just banned me from wearing my piercings!" she stated.
"And guess what? It just got better." She slammed the newspaper in her hand on the table. And the four curiously leaned in to read.
Having already revolutionised the teaching of Defence against the dark arts, Dolores Umbridge will, as high inquisitor, have powers to address the seriously falling standards at Hogwarts school.
"He's not fucking serious, is he?" asked Asteria, her face half of disbelief and half of disgust. "Oh, thank God, I took those star charts already." She mumbled in a low, grateful tone.
"And guess what? She's inspecting classes now!" Amelia added. "Came down to see how we were doing during Charms, asked some questions from the corner of the classroom and then left. Flitwick treated her like a guest until that rude fucker whipped out a measuring tape on him."
The four gasped. Now that was rude.
"Anyway.. I heard Snape graded your homeworks in an O.W.L.s manner. What did you all get?" She asked, knowing well all of them were good at the subject.
The four looked at each other and shrugged, before answering with a collective 'E'.
"'E'? Ria, you didn't get an 'O'?" Amelia asked, slightly surprised since Ria was a top-notch Potioneer.
Asteria shrugged. "Didn't get enough time. I had other things to do."
"An 'E' is still pretty impressive though.." Amelia waved her hand. "At least, better than the 'P' my sister got and... I still can't figure out where her attitude comes from."
"But like.. I'm genuinely confused by the grading system." Ria confessed. "Back in Muggle school we had A+, A-, B+, B- and so on.. So here, top grade's 'O' for 'Outstanding,' " she said, "and then there's 'A'—"
"No, 'E'," Theo corrected her, "'E' for 'Exceeds Expectations.' I like to call that group of students underrated."
Amelia blinked blankly. "Do you even know what underrated means?"
Theo shrugged confidently. "No. What does it mean?"
"So after 'E', it's 'A' for 'Acceptable,'" Ria said, subtly ignoring Theodore, "and that's the last pass grade, isn't it?"
"Yep," said Sophie, "Then you get 'P' for 'Poor', and 'D' for 'Dreadful'. And then 'T'," she concluded.
"'T'?" asked Ria, looking appalled. "Even lower than a 'D'? What on earth does that stand for? Terrible?"
"Troll," said Amelia promptly, and the four chuckled, pretty sure that none of them would get the grade, unless Ria got any worse at Transfiguration, of course.
It was soon that Ria had crossed paths with Umbridge again, and that was during the Divination class. Trelawney had been distributing Dream Oracles throughout the class when Umbridge entered through the trapdoor on the floor.
"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," said Professor Umbridge with her wide smile. "You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?" Professor Trelawney nodded curtly and, looking very disgruntled, turned her back on Professor Umbridge and continued to give out books.
Still smiling, Professor Umbridge grasped the back of the nearest armchair and pulled it to the front of the class so that it was a few inches behind Professor Trelawney's seat. Ria rolled her eyes, being one of the students that sat at the front during Divination.
"As if sitting with you wasn't already tragic enough..." She muttered under her breath, and her partner whipped his eyes towards her.
"What?" Malfoy asked, not having heard her properly.
"Nothing." She shook her head. She watched as Umbridge then sat down, took her clipboard from her flowery bag, and looked up expectantly, waiting for the class to begin.
Professor Trelawney pulled her shawls tight about her with slightly trembling hands and surveyed the class through her hugely magnifying lenses. "We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today," she said in a brave attempt at her usual mystic tones, though her voice shivered. "Divide into pairs, please, and interpret each other's latest night-time visions with the aid of the Oracle."
She made as though to sweep back to her seat, saw Professor Umbridge sitting right beside it, and immediately steered left toward Parvati and Lavender, who were already deep in discussion about Parvati's most recent dream.
"So.. tell me about your recent dream, Edwards." Draco politely attempted.
"That's the problem, isn't it..?" Asteria said in all honesty. "I haven't got one."
He squinted his eyes in confusion. "Wha— Aren't you a Seer? Like— a real Seer?" He chuckled.
"Yeah, go ahead. Louder. Announce it to the whole damn world." Ria said sarcastically, making him roll his eyes. "I have my problems, Malfoy. So, today, we're starting with you."
"Fine.. my recent dream was.." he trailed off, staring blankly into space. Ria watched him curiously for a few moments before he shook his head. Yeah, no.. she'll kill me if I tell her. "I.. I don't remember."
Ria rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Have you ever worked during Divination? Why did you even keep this subject?" she shook her head. "Anyway, let's— let's take a dream that keeps recurring to me.. that I can't quite figure out." she said, watching as Umbridge had left her chair to wander around the class. Malfoy nodded, opening the book.
"Okay.. so.." Ria trailed off. "You need one word only, right.. But I don't know how to—"
"Well.. describe the dream." Draco suggested.
"It's dark.. something shines far, far away. It comes closer, it's a burning bird—"
"It's a Phoenix."
"Yeah, same thing—" she shrugged it off. "It transforms to ash. And that's it." She looked at him.
He was giving her a weird look. "That's it?" He asked, and she nodded. "No, there must be more."
"There's not." replied Ria.
"You're telling me another Phoenix didn't rise from the ashes?" Malfoy asked. "That's pretty weird, if you ask me."
"Oh, it's just a dream." Ria waved her hand in a dismissing way. "Forget it."
Draco chuckled. "Feels pretty odd, coming from you." Ria raised a questioning eyebrow. "Doesn't your thing work on dreams?"
Ria shook her head. "No.. it works on visions." she answered. "And they're two different things." Malfoy gave her a look of disbelief.
"Now," said Umbridge, looking up at Trelawney, "you've been in this post for how long, exactly?" Professor Trelawney scowled at her, arms crossed and shoulders hunched as though wishing to protect herself as much as possible from the indignity of the inspection.
After a slight pause in which she seemed to decide that the question was not so offensive that she could reasonably ignore it, she said in a deeply resentful tone, "Nearly sixteen years."
"Quite a period," said Professor Umbridge, making a note on her clipboard. "So it was Professor Dumbledore who appointed you?"
"That's right," said Professor Trelawney shortly. Professor Umbridge made another note.
"And you are a great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney?"
"Yes," said Professor Trelawney, holding her head a little higher. Another note on the clipboard.
"But I think— correct me if I am mistaken— that you are the first in your family since Cassandra to be possessed of second sight?"
"My bloodline skips— uh— three generations," said Professor Trelawney. Professor Umbridge's toad-like smile widened.
"Of course," she said sweetly, making yet another note. "Well, if you could just predict something for me, then?" She looked up inquiringly, still smiling. Professor Trelawney had stiffened as though unable to believe her ears.
"I don't understand you," said Professor Trelawney, clutching convulsively at the shawl around her scrawny neck.
"I'd like you to make a prediction for me," said Professor Umbridge very clearly.
"That's.." Ria trailed off, "not how it works.." she whispered. Malfoy raised a questioning eyebrow. "We can't summon predictions! They come to us."
"The Inner Eye does not See upon command!" she said in scandalised tones.
"I see," said Professor Umbridge softly, making yet another note on her clipboard.
"I— but— but... wait!" said Professor Trelawney suddenly, in an attempt at her usual ethereal voice, though the mystical effect was ruined somewhat by the way it was shaking with anger. "I... I think I do see something... something that concerns you... Why, I sense something... something dark... some grave peril..." Professor Trelawney pointed a shaking finger at Professor Umbridge, who continued to smile blandly at her, eyebrows raised.
"Ooh.." Ria leaned her chin on her palm in great interest. "Can't wait."
"I am afraid... I am afraid that you are in grave danger!" Professor Trelawney finished dramatically.
There was a pause. Professor Umbridge's eyebrows were still raised. "Right," she said softly, scribbling on her clipboard once more. "Well, if that's really the best you can do..." She turned away, leaving Professor Trelawney standing rooted to the spot, her chest heaving.
With a heavy heart, and a heavy desire for Trelawney's prediction to come true, Ria reached her next class ten minutes later. Umbridge was humming and smiling to herself when they entered the room.
"Wands away," she instructed them all, and those people who had been hopeful enough to take them out sadly returned them to their bags.
"As we finished chapter one last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and begin chapter two, 'Common Defensive Theories and Their Derivation.' There will be no need to talk." Still smiling her wide, self-satisfied smile, she sat down at her desk. The class gave an audible sigh as it turned, as one, to page nineteen.
Boringly, Harry slowly turned the pages over one-by-one, until Ria had nudged him. He looked up at her. She gestured him to look at Hermione, who already had her hand in the air.
Professor Umbridge had noticed too, and also, she seemed to have worked out a strategy for just an event like this. Instead of trying to pretend she had not noticed Hermione, she got to her feet and walked around the front row of desks until they were face-to-face, then she bent down and whispered, so that the rest of the class could not hear, "What is it this time, Miss Granger?"
"I've already read chapter two," said Hermione.
"Well then, proceed to chapter three."
"I've read that too. I've read the entire book."
Professor Umbridge blinked, but recovered her poise almost instantly. "Well, then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counterjinxes in chapter fifteen."
"He says that counterjinxes are improperly named," said Hermione promptly. "He says 'counterjinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable." Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows, and Harry knew she was impressed against her will.
"But I disagree," Hermione continued, making Ria smirk. Oh, this was going to be good.
Professor Umbridge's eyebrows rose a little higher and her gaze became distinctly colder. "You disagree?"
"Yes, I do," said Hermione, who, unlike Umbridge, was not whispering, but speaking in a clear, carrying voice that had by now attracted the rest of the class's attention. "Mr. Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they're used defensively."
"Oh, you do, do you?" said Professor Umbridge, forgetting to whisper and straightening up. "Well, I'm afraid it is Mr. Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger."
"But—" Hermione began.
"That is enough," said Professor Umbridge. She walked back to the front of the class and stood before them, all the jauntiness she had shown at the beginning of the lesson gone. "Miss Granger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor House." There was an outbreak of muttering at this.
"So, what you mean is you don't value students anymore, Professor?" Ria asked, and before Umbridge could turn around, her hand shot up in the air. "Pardon me, Professor. I was trying to get your attention, but you couldn't see me."
"If you do not value us, what is the purpose of all this? To seek attention from the rest of the world?" she asked rashly.
"And that would be five points from Slytherin." Umbridge said, not bothering to answer her question.
"What for?" said Harry angrily. "For having questions?"
"Don't you get involved!" Hermione whispered urgently to him, glaring at Ria afterwards for interfering.
"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," said Professor Umbridge smoothly. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more license, but as none of them— with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects— would have passed a Ministry inspection—"
"Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher," said Harry loudly, "there was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head."
This pronouncement was followed by one of the loudest silences Harry had ever heard. Then— "I think another week's detentions would do you some good, Mr. Potter," said Umbridge sleekly, turning around.
Asteria's jaw dropped to the floor, and she stood up from her seat, but Harry was quick to pull her back down. "Don't you dare say a word." He warned.
"You aren't even lying! This old toad is making it personal!" She whispered, her tone furious.
"I don't want you getting involved." Harry said, and Ria opened her mouth to defend. "Please." He requested. Ria snatched her hand away from her grip and tried paying attention.
The next morning had Transfiguration as the first lecture, and most of the students that hated Umbridge couldn't wait for the showdown. Professor McGonagall marched into the room without giving the slightest sign that she knew Professor Umbridge was there.
"That will do," she said and silence fell immediately. "Mr. Finnigan, kindly come here and hand back the homework— Miss Brown, please take this box of mice— don't be silly, girl, they won't hurt you— and hand one to each student—"
"Hem, hem," said Professor Umbridge, using her same, annoying, preppy tone. Professor McGonagall ignored her.
As Harry got his essay back, he left a breath of relief, spotting an 'A' on it. Ria cringed at her essay, managing an easy 'P'. At least it was expected.
Harry put his hand a little above on her knee and leaned closer. "If you want.. I could tutor you." He whispered, and Ria resisted a smile as she looked at him. He winked, making her lightly push him away and chuckle. "What? I am serious.."
"Shh.." she warned, biting her inner cheeks to conceal her smile. Harry looked ahead, but didn't bother removing his hand. And that made her stomach churn with butterflies.
"Right then, everyone, listen closely— Dean Thomas, if you do that to the mouse again I shall put you in detention— most of you have now successfully vanished your snails and even those who were left with a certain amount of shell have the gist of the spell. Today we shall be—"
"Hem, hem," said Professor Umbridge.
"Yes?" said Professor McGonagall, turning round, her eyebrows so close together they seemed to form one long, severe line.
"I was just wondering, Professor, whether you received my note telling you of the date and time of your inspec—"
"Obviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom," said Professor McGonagall, turning her back firmly on Professor Umbridge. Many of the students exchanged looks of glee. "As I was saying, today we shall practise the altogether more difficult vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell—"
"Hem, hem."
"Lord, she reminds me of covid." Ria muttered, having severe traumatic flashbacks. "Wait.. did she start covid and blame it on someone else?"
"Do you need a cough drop, Professor?" asked Minerva, turning around slowly.
Umbridge stared blankly at her. "No, of course not."
"Then, I wonder," said Professor McGonagall in cold fury, turning on Professor Umbridge, "how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I rarely permit people to talk when I am talking."
Many students, including Ria, Theo and Ron, slapped their hands to their faces at the look Professor Umbridge had on her face. She did not speak, but straightened the parchment on her clipboard and began scribbling furiously. Looking supremely unconcerned, Professor McGonagall addressed the class once more.
"As I was saying, the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So— you know the incantation, let me see what you can do..."
"See? And she lectures me for losing my temper with Umbridge! I mean— how could one possibly stay calm around her?" Harry said to Ria under his breath, but he was grinning; his anger with Professor McGonagall had quite evaporated.
"Well.. she can't exactly be given detentions now, could she?" She asked, making Harry playfully roll his eyes and return his gaze towards McGonagall.
Professor Umbridge did not follow Professor McGonagall around the class as she had followed Professor Trelawney; perhaps she thought that Professor McGonagall would not permit it. She did, however, take many more notes while she sat in her corner, and when Professor McGonagall finally told them all to pack away, rose with a grim expression on her face.
"Well, that felt good," said Theodore with a content expression on his face.
"I know right.." Ria answered, nodding.
As they filed out of the classroom, Harry saw Professor Umbridge approach the teacher's desk; he nudged Ria and Ron. Ron nudged Hermione in turn, while Ria pulled her two best friends by their collars, who surprisingly stayed quiet as they eavesdropped on the two Professors.
"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Professor Umbridge asked.
"Thirty-nine years this December," said Professor McGonagall briskly, snapping her bag shut.
Professor Umbridge made a note. "Very well," she said, "you will receive the results of your inspection in ten days' time."
"I can hardly wait," said Professor McGonagall in a coldly indifferent voice, and she strode off toward the door. "Hurry up, you all," she added, sweeping them all before her.
"Can't you, like, turn her into a toad or something, Minnie?" Ria asked. "I mean, we can throw her in the Owlery and watch as owls fight over her! It would be fun!" The other five sniggered at her imagination, and Ria could have sworn she saw Minnie give her a smile back.
When Ria had thought Harry's detention had finally ended, he had landed his arse back in there for one more night. It was nearly midnight when she had found herself waiting for Harry in the Gryffindor common room, along with Ron and Hermione.
"So, you're telling me." Fred started. Oh yeah, the twins and Amelia were here too. "You write on paper, but it gets carved on your skin, too." He asked, sitting across from Ria, who was glaring into the fireplace.
"Something along those lines.." Ron shrugged, making his move in wizard chess against George.
"Wicked." The two grinned.
"You two sound sadistic, you know that, right?" Amelia asked. She watched Ria as her other hand covered the scar. Her fingers would involuntarily trace the words, making her mind repeat them over and over again.
The flames in the fireplace went ablaze for a moment, and Ria diverted her gaze. Amelia gently took her hand and surveyed the scar. She seemed to be deep in thought for a moment.
"I have an idea." Hermione spoke up from beside Ria, but it seemed like she only wanted the girls to listen. "And I'm gonna need your help, Ria."
"What?" She asked. Hermione began explaining her plan. And Asteria didn't know if it was absolutely brilliant or absolutely barbaric.
Amelia stared at Hermione impressively. "You know what? If it weren't for Daphne's existence, I would have dated you." A light blush came across Hermione's face at the appreciation.
Certainly, someone didn't do that enough.
"Hermione, he won't listen." answered Ria. "I mean, it's a really great plan, and he's perfect for it, but—"
"Bullshit." Amelia interrupted. "If Harry listens to anyone, it's you. You're his girlfriend, Ria! You won't even need sugarcoating to convince him. Just bat your eyelashes and it's done."
"And tell him you'd be teaching, too!" Hermione suggested. "You're brilliant with practical work for subjects!"
"What? No!" Ria denied. "I'm only good at Potions, Astronomy and Magical Creatures! How's that gonna help?"
"Oh, shut up!" Ron voiced, his eyes still on his game. "You're the first student in our Charms class to make a complete and unbreakable shield."
"Yeah, no shit. Flitwick bragged about you in our class for an entire week." Fred chuckled, taking Ria by surprise. Oh, did he?
"You also prepared Harry with charms last year and you're an Enchantress! So, you are basically a superior witch!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Okay, but who told you I can teach, though?" Asteria asked in panic.
"Just— Just try, please!" Hermione answered desperately. "Just try to get Harry to agree, first." Ria nodded hesitantly. But all their heads turned towards the portrait door as it opened.
As Harry entered the common room and walked towards them, Ria leapt up from her seat. She winced, noticing the red stained scarf around his hand. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Ria had authoritatively shushed him down.
"Why on earth would you do it again?" She asked, but there was severe worry instead of irritation. And Harry's mind travelled back to the Care of Magical Creatures' class.
"Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?" Umbridge asked.
Malfoy hastened to answer the question. "That was me," he said. "I was slashed by a hippogriff."
"A hippogriff?" said Professor Umbridge, now scribbling frantically.
"Only because he was too stupid to listen to what Hagrid told him to do," said Harry angrily.
Both Ron and Hermione groaned. Professor Umbridge turned her head slowly in Harry's direction. "Another night's detention, I think," she said softly.
Instead of defending himself, he just apologised. She sighed and made him sit down on her seat and crouched down, slowly aiding his hand. He was pleased to see them all, especially Ria, and Hermione because she looked a little sympathetic instead of furious.
"Here," she said anxiously, pushing a small bowl of yellow liquid toward him, "soak your hand in that. It's a solution of strained and pickled murtlap tentacles. It should help."
Harry placed his bleeding, aching hand into the bowl and experienced a wonderful feeling of relief. Crookshanks curled around his legs, purring loudly, and then leapt into his lap and settled down.
"Thanks," he said gratefully, scratching behind Crookshanks's ears with his other hand.
"I still reckon you two should complain about this," said Ron in a low voice.
Harry and Ria looked at each other. "No," the two answered. "I mean, yes— we wanted to, before. But she's High Inquisitor now—"
"Does it matter? McGonagall would go nuts if she knew—"
"Yeah, she probably would," said Harry. "And how long d'you reckon it'd take Umbridge to pass another Decree saying anyone who complains about the High Inquisitor gets sacked immediately?"
Ron opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out and after a moment he closed it again in a defeated sort of way.
"But you can't just keep quiet about it." George added.
"But we can't risk our strongest allies either." Ria replied.
"She's an awful woman," said Hermione in a small voice. "Awful. You know, I was just saying when you came in... we've got to do something about her."
"I suggested poison," said Ron grimly.
Amelia raised her hand. "Uh— I still think torture would be better."
"No... I mean, something about what a dreadful teacher she is, and how we're not going to learn any defence from her at all," said Hermione.
"Well, what can we do about that?" said Ron, yawning. "'S too late, isn't it? She got the job, she's here to stay. Fudge'll make sure of that."
"That's not the case, Ron." Asteria said. "This is the time when we need to make sure we know how to defend ourselves, because anything can happen. That's the thing we need the most, and we're not getting it. And that can turn out worse than we imagine."
"Well," said Hermione tentatively. "You know, I was thinking today..." She shot a slightly nervous look at Harry and then towards Ria, who just threateningly widened her eyes, as if warning her again to not drag her into this. "I was thinking that— maybe the time's come when we should just— just do it ourselves."
"Do what ourselves?" said Harry suspiciously, still floating his hand in the essence of murtlap tentacles.
"Well— Ria!" Hermione nudged her. Ria gave her a look of disbelief. "Tell him!"
"Tell me what?" asked Harry.
"Er— what if we learn how to defend ourselves.. By ourselves?" Ria awkwardly put forth the question.
"..I think we should come off it," said Harry, making Hermione glare at him. "You want us to do extra work? D'you realise Ron and I are behind on homework again?"
"This is much more important!" said Hermione.
"I didn't know you thought there was anything in the universe more important than homework," taunted Ron.
"Don't be silly, of course there is!" said Hermione, and Harry saw, with an ominous feeling, that her face was suddenly alight with the kind of ambition that S.P.E.W. usually inspired in her.
"It's about preparing ourselves," Ria explained to Harry, "like you said in Umbridge's first lesson, for what's waiting out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we learn nothing for a whole year—"
"We can't do much by ourselves," said Harry in a defeated voice. "I mean, all right, we can go and look jinxes up in the library and try to practice them, I suppose—"
"No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books," said Hermione. "We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong."
"If you're talking about Remus.." Harry began.
"Well, he is a good option, but no. We're not talking about Professor Lupin," said Hermione, exchanging nervous glances with Asteria. "He's too busy with the Order and anyway, the most we could see him is during Hogsmeade weekends and that's not nearly often enough."
"Who, then?" said Harry, frowning at them.
Asteria heaved a deep sigh. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked nervously. "We're talking about you, Harry."
There was a moment of silence, when Hermione, Ron, Fred, George and Amelia looked back and forth between Ria and Harry. A light night breeze rattled the window panes behind Ron and the fire guttered.
"About me what?" said Harry, and Ria sighed exasperatedly.
Amelia chuckled in amazement. "Wow, Ria! When you said Potter was oblivious, I didn't know you meant this oblivious. How did you deal with this for two years?"
"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, offended.
"I'm talking about you teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts!" Ria exclaimed, finally wanting to get over with the point.
Harry stared at her. Then he turned to Hermione, who looked determined. He looked at Ron, ready to exchange the exasperated looks they sometimes shared when Hermione elaborated on far-fetched schemes like S.P.E.W., or when Ria explained her crazy visions and theories. However, Ron did not look exasperated.
He shrugged slightly. "Yeah, that's the idea."
"The idea?" said Harry.
"You," said Ron. "Teaching us to do it."
"You're in with them?" He asked, then a grin appeared on his face. "Oh, you're all pulling my leg, aren't you?" He took a discreet look at all of their faces; their serious faces. And his grin faded away. "But I'm not a teacher, I can't—"
"Yeah, Umbridge isn't either," Amelia shrugged. "But look at her 'teaching' and getting a fat stack of money. Honestly, if you remove that annoying cough, the Ministry and all the other bad things, I aspire to be like her." she said, making the twins snigger.
"Not the time, 'Melia." Hermione whispered, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Harry, you're the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione.
"Me?" asked Harry. "No, I'm not, you've beaten me in every test—"
"Actually, I haven't," said Hermione coolly. "You beat me in our third year— the only year we both sat for the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry. Look what you've done!"
"How d'you mean?"
"You know what, I'm not sure I want someone this stupid teaching me," Ron said to Hermione and Ria, smirking slightly, and Amelia and the twins agreed. He turned to Harry. "Let's think," he said, pulling a terrible concentrating face. "Uh... first year— you saved the Stone from You-Know-Who."
"But that was luck," said Harry, "that wasn't skill—"
"Second year," Ron interrupted, "you killed the basilisk and destroyed Riddle."
"Yeah, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up I—"
"Third year," said Ron, louder still, "you fought off about a hundred dementors at once—"
"You know that was a fluke, if the Time-Turner hadn't—"
"It was still impressive!" Ria said, almost shouting. "It's not easy to form a corporeal Patronus. Mum, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, your parents, Sirius and Remus, they couldn't do it until they were almost nineteen or twenty-ish. You did it when you were thirteen!"
"Last year," Ron spoke up again before Harry could, "you fought off You-Know-Who again and saved Ria—"
"Listen to me!" said Harry, almost angrily, because Ron and Hermione were both smirking now. But Ria wasn't quite sure if it was a suitable expression to have at the moment.
"Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck— I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help—"
"Ron, Hermione.. I think you need to stop." Ria muttered to them.
"Don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do. I was there, wasn't I?" he said heatedly to the two. "I know what went on, all right? And I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defence Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because— because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right— but I just blundered through it all, I didn't have a clue what I was doing— STOP LAUGHING!"
Asteria flinched and backed away quickly, for the bowl of murtlap essence had fallen to the floor and smashed. Harry was breathing heavily, standing on his feet with anger boiling in his head.
Crookshanks streaked away under a sofa. Ron and Hermione's smiles had vanished. Fred, George and Amelia had remained quiet all along, and they praised themselves internally for that.
"You don't know what it's like! You— neither of you— you've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorising a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something? The whole time you know there's nothing between you and dying except your own— your own brain or guts or whatever— like you can think straight when you know you're about a second from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die!"
"They've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that— and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Cedric was stupid, like he messed up— you just don't get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me—"
"We weren't saying anything like that, mate," said Ron, looking aghast. "We were just—"
"Well, it did sound and look like that! You just sit there— grinning like idiots like I hadn't almost died! Like Ria hadn't almost lost all her magic and died—"
"Alright, enough!" Ria yelled ragefully, and the flames in the fireplace ablaze wider for a moment. Harry turned to look at her, body still shaking with anger. "Enough." Ria said again, a little softer but with the same authority.
She turned towards the small audience. "All of you. Leave. Now." She ordered. "Please." she added, looking at Ron and Hermione's panic-stricken face.
Fred, George and Amelia made their way out of the common room, as the twins always insisted on dropping the girl to the Dungeons. Hermione and Ron apologised to Harry before hesitantly walking away to sit in the other corner of the room.
Harry plopped back on the loveseat he had been sitting and breathed out, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead while Ria mended the jar back with a 'Reparo'.
"Thanks." He said genuinely. "Thanks, I needed some peace." Ria shrugged, conjuring some water to wet a cloth, and began cleaning his wound.
"Anytime." She said with a small smile, sitting on the seat across from him. But he held both her hands and pulled her to sit next to him. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down for a hug.
"Are you okay?" She asked, comfortingly rubbing his back as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. He nodded, and Ria nodded back assuringly. "I don't think they were having a go at Cedric, Harry." she said softly.
When he didn't respond, she sighed. "Harry," she said, "don't you see? This.. this is exactly why we need you.. We need to know what it's really like facing Voldemort."
"We need to make sure, when we face him again, we are prepared. And this is the only way we see, at the moment." Ria continued. "I promise I'll be there to help whenever needed. But will you at least think about it?"
After a long pause, Harry nodded, making Asteria smile. She glanced over at Ron and Hermione, who had been waiting for a response, and nodded. The two left their tense breaths and Hermione leaned on Ron in relief. "Thank you." said Ria.
Harry left her shoulder for a moment just to look at her. "Can you stay for a while?" He asked timidly. Harry smirked, watching as a smile grew on Asteria's face. Taking it as a sign, he quickly pecked her lips and went straight back into her comfort.
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