Golden decorations decorated the Great Hall, twinkling softly in the light. All the tables had disappeared, replaced with a solid black floor. All the students had gathered in the hall, mingling with each other until 12:00.
Hermione hurried over with four glasses of sparking grape juice cradled carefully against her. "Happy New Year, guys!"
Ginny took two glasses and gave one to Harry. "It's only 11:56, 'Mione."
"I know!" Hermione gave one glass to Draco. "Four more minutes!"
"New year, new war," Draco raised his glass. "Raise a glass to freedom."
The four glanced at each other and clinked glasses. "Let's hope the anti-pills work," Hermione sighed after a sip of juice.
Harry and Ginny exchanged a quick glance. "It will," Harry quickly assured her.
"Three!" Hermione squealed.
After a minute of awkward silence and finishing their drinks, Draco spoke up. "This is taking forever. How many more minutes?"
"Two," Ginny groaned. "Can time please go faster?"
"Hey, hey, hey," Hermione scolded. "Be a little happier! It's a new year, new us, new - "
"59, 58, 57!"
A chant interrupted Hermione's rant. The four turned towards the huge, lit up timer in the middle, with all the students crowded around it.
"40, 39, 38!"
"I cannot believe that the year is over and the world still ending," Draco muttered.
"Happy thoughts," Hermione reminded him.
"20, 19, 18!"
"Okay, I'm in a slightly better mood," Ginny perked up. She pushed her glass into Harry's hands are enthusiastically jumped up and down. "10, 9, 8!" She screamed, making a few Ravenclaws glance their way. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS - "
"Gin!" Harry brought Ginny back to the countdown.
"3, 2, 1!"
"Happy New Year!" Hermione squealed, grabbing Draco's hand.
Draco laughed. "Happy New Year, Mia." He kissed her softly, smiling.
"Oh, bad time?"
Gideon Prewett was standing behind them awkwardly, holding a glass of juice. "Uh, we have to check on the potion."
"Hang on, you told him?" Harry interrupted. "Why?"
"We need someone to check on the potion when we can't," Hermione quickly explained. "And he's trustworthy, don't worry."
"No, no, no," Ginny cut them off. "No more talk of saving the world and potions. Depressing. Depressing. Not for me. Come on, guys! New year! Let's get drunk."
"Ginny," Hermione said slowly. "You're, like, 15."
"Yeah, yes," Ginny laughed. "But someone snuck in some butterbeer instead of this bloody awful grape thing, and I'm trying to make us feel happier and everything so off we go! Come on!"
Hermione grabbed her glass and glanced at the other four. "Well, a little fun couldn't hurt."
"Let's do it!" Ginny grinned.
"After we check on the potion!"
oOo
"All 5th years and above, please report to the Great Hall immediately."
Hermione looked up from her book, puzzled. "What could they be calling us for?"
"I think they noticed the firewhiskey I snuck in," Gideon cursed. "And they suspect that only a 5th year or above would be able to do so. Bloody Merlin, I thought no one saw me!"
"I don't think it's that," Hermione said. "Listen - it was Umbridge talking. She sounded kind of... malicious, don't you think?"
"Her? Malicious?" Gideon asked.
Draco gave him a look. "Remember what we said about the Ministry and everything?"
They had decided to not tell Gideon about their role in time travel and the war, instead opting to say they figured out Umbridge's pills were wiping their memories and making them hostile towards Mugglesand were trying to reverse the effects. They had said the bare minimum about the Ministry wiping out Muggles, trying not to scare Gideon away, but he was still pretty shaken up from that.
"Right. I still don't get how you guys figured it out?"
"Uh - "
" - well - "
"Smartest witch of her age," Draco quickly explained. "You know Mia."
"Right, right," Gideon stretched out his legs, reclining on a sofa in the library. "Do we need to go?"
"This is mandatory," Umbridge's voice, magnified came again. "Fifth years and above, Great Hall. Now!"
The trio made their way to the Great Hall, keeping an eye out for Ginny and Harry.
"Hermione!"
They turned to see Ginny and Harry catching up to them. "Hey," Ginny panted. "Any idea what this is about?"
"Something bad," Hermione answered. Umbridge would never take time out of her precious day just to see all their 'bratty little faces'.
Gideon and the four Gryffindors parted ways to sit at their respective house tables. Umbridge was standing at the front with an impatient frown, a mini pink hat positioned on her brown hair. Hermione nearly gagged as she remembered the conversation in the Ministry about fashion trends. It seemed like Umbridge might have been having a bad hair day.
"Ahem," Umbridge coughed. "Listen. The Ministry has decided to enact a very, very, very, special day."
She paused, looking at each table, her voice filled with fake excitement, and a hideous smile etched upon her toad-like face. "In a few days from now, we will be having an open castle day!"
"What?"
"To who?"
"Why?"
"Who?"
"What?"
"Hogwarts will be passed off as an ancient castle that has been remodeled by the kind patron - otherwise known as yours truly - that is to say, me. All of you will students called from all over the world who have sent in letters to learn from a wonderful teacher - once again, me. You have been accepted into this program to show around all the Muggles that come into the castle - "
At this point, a series of protests and shouts of astonishment came from the crowd.
"Everyone will know!"
"Are you trying to expose the wizard community?"
"This is a bloody awful plan!"
"What do you mean, Muggles?"
"I have no bloody idea how to act!"
And finally, the question they all wanted to know - "Why?"
"The Ministry thinks that we have very little interaction with that kind, and they want us to know how to talk with that kind if - Merlin forbid - a chance like that ever comes up. Hogwarts is a diverse community! We have British people - primarily British people, maybe one or two African people, and Tina, the Chinese girl. Are we not diverse?"
"I'm Korean!"
"The point is that we are welcoming of everyone, and though Muggles really have no right to walk in Hogwarts - "
At this point, Hermione glanced at Draco who grimaced. The pill was evidently doing its job, seeing there had been no protests when Umbridge had said that.
" - we still must know how to talk to them, and treat them like they are normal."
"Dolores," McGonagall rose up, her eyes steely. "Muggles are as normal as we are, and have human rights. They do have the right to walk in Hogwarts, and you have no right to - "
She was cut off by a series of boos from the crowd of students.
"Merlin," Ginny whispered. "It's so much more worse than I thought."
Gideon caught their eyes and shook his head.
"We have to work faster," Hermione said. "We need to stop this."
"We will have no class for the next few days - " Umbridge continued.
" - hang on, Dolores, we were not informed of this!" Flitwick interrupted. The other teachers murmured their agreement angrily.
" - the Ministry has decreed so!" Umbridge said in her high-pitched voice. "As planned, we will not have class, and instead devote our day to knowing how to act when the Muggles come in, and prepping the castle as such to welcome these - these people."
"This makes no sense," Hermione murmured. "Why would they do this? What do they possibly have to gain by this?"
"And that is all," Umbridge finished. "Report to your usual classes tomorrow to find out your job!"
The students and teachers filed out until it was just Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ginny and Gideon alone at the Gryffindor table.
After a second of silence, Gideon finally voiced what everyone was thinking.
"What the bloody Merlin is this about?"
Hope you enjoyeddd!
AND ITS STILL FRIDAY ITS THIRTEEN MINUTES TILL SATURDAY BUT IT. IS. STILL. FRIDAY SO I AM STILL ON MY UPDATING SCHEDULE I SWEAR
Okay, yeah!
- ElizaaaAAAaAAa