The bandage dipped in essence of Murtlap soothed their severely irritated skin. Madam Pomfrey had not asked for an explanation, and they did not give one.
Drew considered telling Jack to go to the Hospital Wing, but he was content to be distressed, depressed, and utterly stressed for reasons known to none.
And the days only got progressively worse. More and more students brought back tales from classes and detentions of what new atrocity Umbridge had committed.
The other professors knew how miserable they were, but Umbridge's status prevented them from doing anything, and stopped students from telling them how bad the situation was in fear of getting them in trouble for helping.
At first, some people reasoned that at least she wasn't as bad as Lockhart, but once Umbridge criticized Torch's hair so harshly he made it a natural brown, anyone with sense quickly saw how cruel she was.
* ° * ° *
A week into the school year, Cyndee showed them the Daily Prophet from the owl post. On the front page was the repulsive smiling face of Dolores Umbridge under the headline:
MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM
DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"
"What does that mean?" Drew demanded.
Cyndee skimmed through the article, " 'Educational Decree Twenty-three'...'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch'...'support from parents' — ugh, Lucius Malfoy."
" 'Inspect '?" Blaise asked. "So she has the power to get them sacked?"
"Apparently," Cyndee muttered, still reading. "And Percy Weasley supports this."
Drew wrinkled her nose, "The guy that stole Quentin's Head Boy position?"
"I don't think it works that way, but yes. I doubt his siblings are taking a liking to him now." She passed the paper to Wilby, who'd motioned for it.
As he leafed through the rest of the pages, Malfoy slammed down his own paper, his hand on Umbridge's face, "See this, Mudblood?"
"No, I'm blind," Drew deadpanned.
"Maybe we'll be rid of you soon," he said gleefully. "She has the power to pass new Educational Decrees. Not surprised Hagrid's missing — the half-breed's smart enough to stay away with his own kind."
"Can't say the same about your father."
He purpled, "What are you implying?"
"Relax, I'm not saying he's half-giant. I mean he's a Death Eater, yet he's plastering his name everywhere. He couldn't even keep his position on the Board of Governors. He got sacked for...let's see...threatening to curse people?"
Malfoy glared, "The Wizemgamot ruled that a misunderstanding. And my father doesn't follow You-Know-Who anymore. Never did, because he was Imperiused, in case your muddled brain can't remember."
Drew bristled with anger. Blaise and Cyndee looked ready to leap across the table and stop her, but Wilby didn't move and Drew spat out, "Oh, more like he's rich. He deserves Azkaban."
The other students were staring, and the newfound silence settled over the Slytherin table. Isabell looked strangely uncomfortable. Malfoy's mouth hardened into a sneer, "You'll regret saying that one day. Trust me."
* ° * ° *
DADA classes continued to be dull and unhelpful. Textbooks were usually an okay supplement for learning, but Defensive Magical Theory wasn't even that. The theories it described were basic, and it was full of the author's stupid irrelevant comments like how 'counterjinx' wasn't an appropriate name.
Drew managed to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the classes, and resorted to using the time to revise other subjects and catch up on reading she'd skipped.
In spite of Umbridge's best efforts to hinder their learning, students found ways around her black hole of knowledge. The first to act was Drew's own sister.
Aurora and her friends had gotten people's parents and older siblings to send their old copies of the real textbooks, shrunken and disguised as Royce chocolates. They distributed a few and eventually sold them at a price. It was a black market of knowledge, Ari was pulling in a ton of Galleons, and Drew had never felt more proud of her.
Soon after, Wilby reported, "The Gryffindors have made a secret club."
"If it's secret why do you know about it?" Drew asked, tapping the end of her quill on the library's back table.
He shrugged, "They weren't being that secretive. It's called Dumbledore's Army, and Harry Potter's teaching students real spells. They're recruiting members by word of mouth from all the Houses. Well, no mention of Slytherin, but maybe they'll let us in."
"Doubtful. Besides, we'd be the prime suspects if something goes wrong."
Cyndee's eyes lit up, "So we need someone on the inside."
Drew paused, "Yes, that's an easier idea than disguising ourselves, but I want to actually get in. Being able to practice without the looming risk of getting caught would be great. I bet Potter has a good location."
Wilby took out a journal. He flipped past some notes on Death Eaters and began jotting down ideas. "Polyjuice Potion would take too long. Transfiguring our faces is dangerous, so it should be our last-case scenario. Invisibility would work, but we wouldn't be able to do much besides listen."
"Where are they meeting?" Blaise asked, peering at his notes.
"Hog's Head, but it's not their official meeting place. They're just discussing preliminaries there."
Drew stared at Wilby critically. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you? No way they'd casually talk about this in front of you."
"Well, yeah."
"Next time just up and say so." She glanced at his paper. "Best thing to do is wait to know their meeting place."
* ° * ° *
"Room of Requirement," Aurora said, sliding into the seat next to her in Herbology. Wilby scooted aside to make room for her, then returned to writing in his notebook.
Ari tried to peek at what he was writing, but he leaned away, so she turned back to Drew. "I heard Padma and Marietta talking about it. It's on the seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Walk past the blank wall three times thinking about the D.A., and a door will appear."
"Thanks," Drew said quietly, wrestling with the Chinese Chomping Cabbage. "Are you joining?"
Ari helped hold the plant down as it shed its leaves. "I missed the memo for the first meeting and didn't go, but hopefully yes. Are you?"
"Can't."
"Oh. Right. What are you doing, then?"
Drew didn't answer, and shoved a carrot into the top of the cabbage. "Eat it already, you stupid vegetable! Ari, what exactly is the Room of Requirement?"
She explained, and Drew nodded. "Okay. Easy enough."
"What?"
"How would you like to join the Slytherin Army?"
* ° * ° *
The S.A. was assembling nicely. Drew stood outside the Room of Requirement at eight o'clock, on the day after the D.A.'s second meeting. Not a lot of people showed, and the ones who did were hesitant. Drew understood why. Umbridge had just banned clubs, so people weren't sure if the S.A. was worth the gamble.
Among the Slytherins were Torch, Graham, Jack, Blaise, Cyndee, and a handful that Drew had never talked to.
There were students from other Houses too. Aurora had brought her friends, so there was Sue Li and Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw and Sylvia Svee from Gryffindor. Morfinus had also arrived, probably per Jack's request.
"If you betray us, you're dead," she threatened him. "Literally dead. Buried-in-the-dirt-dead."
"Jeez," he laughed, "alright."
She glared at Jack. "If he betrays us, you're dead too, Jarvis."
"Hear that?" Morfinus nudged him.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Discrimination. It's not like Gyffindor is the house of liars."
Aurora was staring at her with narrowed eyes so she decided against threatening Sylvia too. She explained how to enter the room, then herded everyone inside.
She stood in front of the materialized chalkboard. "As you all know, this is a club where we'll be learning defensive spells because Umbridge's class is an absolute cesspool. And I guess we can't call it the Slytherin Army. Any other suggestions?"
"I like the S.A.," Aurora spoke up, "it sounds a lot like 'essay' so if we talk about it in public it doesn't sound suspicious. Maybe the Student Alliance instead?"
"Sold," Drew said immediately as Wilby wrote it on the board. "We shouldn't waste time on this so let's just move on. Everyone must keep this a secret, obviously. If you rat, everyone else will find out who you are using every method available and kill you."
She smiled and waited for a second to let the message sink in. "First order of business: we need an easier way to find out what the D.A. is learning every meeting. Yes, we could come up with our own lessons, but Harry Potter's the one that has all the experience and knows the best spells."
Torch looked about to volunteer an idea, but changed his mind. "Er, how are you finding out right now?"
"Eavesdropping, but it's been kind of risky. And it takes time."
"We can get Jinx to do it," Wilby suggested. "She could sneak in with them and report back."
"Brilliant," she patted him on the head. "Moving on. Aurora found out that last week they did the Disarming Charm, and yesterday did the Impediment Jinx."
"Both are really good spells to learn," Aurora added, "so we should do half and half. Maybe have an extra meeting, too."
"Right," Drew said, "so the first one's incantation is Expelliarmus, as you all probably remember from the Duelling Club. Find a partner and get to it. In ten minutes we'll switch to the jinx."
* ° * ° *
Weeks went by. More and more students joined, with a sprinkling of those from other Houses friends with Slytherins. At its peak, there were four dozen members.
Cyndee stole the D.A.'s idea and made fake Sickles that changed to show the meeting time. "It was really hard," she grumbled, "it's N.E.W.T. level. For the first few both Blaise and I had to say the incantation to make it work."
"What? And Granger did it all by herself?" Drew asked.
"Apparently," she shrugged, then smiled mischievously, "you also owe me now."
Drew sighed, "Fine."
"I thought Slytherins were the creative ones," Aurora told Drew, turning the coin over in her hand. "After Ravenclaw, of course."
"What's the point of coming up with an original idea when taking the D.A.'s is much more practical? Nobody's getting hurt. If there's an opportunity, take it. Don't waste time."
She smirked, "A very Slytherin thing to say."
"Hey, we're the best House for a reason."
"I'll have to disagree with you there."
They exited the Room of Requirement together, and the door sealed itself into a blank wall. Jinx was sitting outside licking her paws and standing guard under the tapestry. If anything were to happen, the cat would tear up the fabric. A duplicated version of it inside would get shredded as well, both warning the S.A. and providing a distraction to whoever was outside.
Drew picked her up, and the feline turned jet black and purred. "You're finally in a good mood," she muttered, petting her.
Aurora ran off to find her friends, and Drew met up with Wilby at the stairway. Jack was also there, leaning on the rail and shooting nervous looks at Morfinus, who was sitting on it with his feet hooked around the balusters as he leaned backwards.
"Good meeting," Wilby told her absently.
She was about to say thanks, but got interrupted by Jack objecting, "It was mostly me."
That was true. Jack knew a lot of the spells they were doing, and he'd gone around giving advice and correcting stances and wand movements. He'd gradually took over as the leader, and she could practically feel his confidence level rising.
Morfinus rolled his eyes, but Jack looked pleased. "I finally feel like I'm as good as Xavier."
"Sure, Jonathan."
* ° * ° *
Despite the S.A.'s success and Drew's surge in popularity, none of it mattered in the Slytherin Dungeon, where Malfoy and the other pureblood supremacists made their nest.
As much as she tried not to think that way, Drew started to feel like she didn't belong anywhere. She was still the sole known Muggle-born in the dungeons.
She didn't care before, but it became so obvious now. People she once thought were alright showed their true colours. Pansy never walked by her without pretending to barf. Millicent stopped speaking to her.
On top of that, with the exception of the S.A. members, non-Slytherins had gotten more hostile with her House (understandable, what with Malfoy spewing his blasphemous opinions at every opportunity).
It was only worsened by Umbridge's power causing all the bigots in Slytherin to gather their bravery. They were no longer the meek minority that the majority was ashamed of, but a powerful and vocal group with a pink bitch to back them up.