WHELVE
(v.) to bury something deep; to hide
TESSA WAS PRETTY UPSET WHEN SHE HEARD FROM HARRY ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED LAST NIGHT WITH SEAMUS. She was frowning when Harry walked with her in the common room along with Dean, Neville, and Ron.
"Does he think he'll turn into a nutter if he stays in a room with me too long?" Harry mumbled.
"Don't worry about it, Harry," Dean muttered, hoisting his schoolbag onto his shoulder. "He's just . . ." But even he didn't have any excuse for his best friend.
Neville gave him an apologetic look before he and Dean went out, leaving Ron, Tessa, and Harry meeting Hermione as they made their way toward the portrait.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, taking a quick glance at Harry's troubled face. "You look absolutely — oh for heaven's sake."
Tessa turned to where Hermione was crying exasperatedly at, and found a new sign at the common room notice board.
GALLONS OF GALLEONS!
Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings? Like to earn a little extra gold?
Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room, for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs
(WE REGRET THAT ALL WORK IS UNDERTAKEN AT APPLICANT'S OWN RISK)
"They are the limit," Hermione said grimly, taking down the poster.
"It's all good fun, Mione," Tessa said, defending the twins. "There's nothing wrong with it."
Hermione sent her a look but said, "We'll have to talk to them, Ron."
Ron looked alarmed. "Why?"
"Because we're prefects!" Hermione said as they climbed out the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing! Anyway, what's up, Harry? You look really angry about something."
"Seamus — that's what happened," Tessa grumbled as Ron nodded and added, "Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who."
Hermione sighed. "Yes, Lavender thinks so too."
Tessa raised an eyebrow. "When did she say that?"
She flushed. "You were asleep already when I talked to her about it."
"Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry said loudly.
"No, I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down Ron's and my throats, Harry, because if you haven't noticed, we're on your side."
Harry was quiet, and Tessa reached over to give his hand a comforting squeeze. "Sorry," he said in a low voice.
"That's quite all right," Hermione said before remembering something, "Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the end-of-term feast last year?"
The three of them blankly stared at Hermione.
"About You-Know-Who. He said — 'His gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust — "
"How do you remember stuff like that?" Ron's mouth hung open.
"I listen, Ron."
"Tessa has photographic memory, why can't she remember that?"
Tessa shook her head at him. "I remember images and things I see, Ron. Not so much on the hearing."
"Yeah, but I — "
"The point," Hermione pressed on loudly, "is that this sort of thing is exactly what Dumbledore was talking about. You-Know-Who's only been back two months, and we've started fighting among ourselves. And the Sorting Hat's warning was the same — stand together, be united —"
"And Harry said it last night," Ron retorted, "if that means we're supposed to get matey with the Slytherins, fat chance." Tessa opened her mouth but Ron swooped in, "Not all of us are in love with Draco Malfoy, Tessa." She glared at him but shut her mouth.
"Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-House unity," Hermione said crossly.
They made their way into the Great Hall, taking their seats in their usual spots as Tessa's eyes instinctively searched the table in front of theirs, and successfully found him with ease. He was sitting between Pansy, who was trying to feel him up much to the clear annoyance written on his face, and Theo who was glaring daggers at the Slytherin girl as though she was a nuisance.
Until Draco looked up to meet her gaze, and it was as though all his irritation in the world dissolved upon seeing how his lips tugged up to a grin. Sleep well, Braveheart?
Tessa smirked tauntingly, propping her chin against her hand as she winked at him. Wouldn't you like to know?
A roguish grin spread across his face. Well, sweetheart, I really would like to know.
Tessa would have replied, were it not for Harry who had spoken up, "Dumbledore didn't even mention how long that Grubbly-Plank woman's staying." He was glimpsing through the staff table.
"Maybe . . ." Hermione said thoughtfully.
"What?" the three said in unison.
"Well . . . maybe he didn't want to draw attention to Hagrid not being here."
"What d'you mean, draw attention to it?" Ron said with a half laugh. "How could we not notice?"
Before Hermione could answer, Angelina Johnson had come marching over to Tessa and Harry with a grin.
"Hi, Angelina," Harry greeted politely as Tessa stood up to give her a brief hug.
"Hi," she said briskly, "good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."
"Nice one."
"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in."
"Okay," Tessa and Harry said simultaneously and waved at her goodbye as she left to head back to her seat.
"I'd forgotten Wood had left," Hermione hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose that will make quite a difference to the team?"
"O' course," Tessa said, a piece of toast wedged between her teeth as she poured herself a glass of milk. "He's a damn good Keeper, Oliver."
"Still, it won't hurt to have some new blood, will it?" Ron said.
Tessa glanced up at the sound of hundreds of owls swooping in with their parcels and letters for the students. She wasn't all too surprised not to see Tommy, especially when she'd just seen her family yesterday. She should write to Philip soon and ask him if he was coming home to visit for Christmas.
"What are you still getting that for?" Harry asked Hermione who'd received a new copy of the Daily Prophet. "I'm not bothering . . . load of rubbish."
"It's best to know what the enemy are saying," Hermione merely said as she flipped through the newspaper and busied herself with it. "Nothing," she said after reading through it. "Nothing about you or Dumbledore or anything."
Professor McGonagall came over briefly to hand them their class schedule, and Tessa let her eyes skim through it when she let her spoon clatter with a loud groan.
Ron joined in and groaned annoyedly. "Look at today! History of Magic, double Potions,
Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted . . . "
"Do mine ears deceive me?" Fred piped up and slid into the seat next to Tessa with George on her other side. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?" Fred brought an arm casually around Tessa's shoulders as he propped his chin on his other hand to face her with a crooked grin. "Morning, Tess."
Swallowing her food, she smiled up at him. "Morning, Freddie." His grin widened as she continued to eat to her heart's content with his arm still around her.
"Look what we've got today," Ron said grumpily, shoving his schedule under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."
"Fair point, little bro," Fred said with a hum. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."
At that point, Tessa had stopped paying attention as she finished up her porridge, eyeing Harry's plate to make sure he was eating well. Once she was all done, she sipped her coffee and glanced up — finding herself catching sight of Draco with an ugly grimace at their direction.
Or more specifically at Fred's arm loosely slung over her shoulders.
Draco shifted his eyes over to her, and was momentarily startled to find her already looking at him. He betrayed no emotion as he carefully guarded his expressions. He simply raised an eyebrow at her. You look rather cozy there with Weasley, Valentine.
Tessa felt a reckless fire burn in the pit of her stomach as she smirked at him. Don't tell me you're jealous?
Draco feigned an innocent look. Of course, not.
Tessa shifted ever so slightly to set her cup down, making her move closer into Fred's warmth as she slyly looked over at Draco again whose eyes darkened. You're right — it's pretty cozy.
Draco cocked his head at the side. Teressa Potter, you cruel thing.
"What are you two talking about?" Theo asked loudly, effectively snapping the eye contact between them as he turned over to wave enthusiastically at Tessa. "Hello, daredevil — nice to see you again!"
Draco slapped him upside the head as he muttered, "Keep your voice down, you heathen. And don't talk when you have food in your mouth."
Tessa couldn't stop the giggle that slipped out of her mouth as Theo stuck his tongue out childishly at Draco.
"What's so funny?" Fred asked, and Tessa realized they'd finished their conversation already.
She instantly looked away from the Slytherin table as she shook her head. "Nothing!"
Fred glimpsed over to Draco and Theo who were sitting directly in her line of sight, and he scowled darkly at that before forcing a grin into his face. "Anyways, Tess — we've got to go see to some of our products if they're well enough to be sold."
"See ya, Tessa!" George said before bidding the others goodbye.
Fred lingered for a second longer than necessary, his arm around her as he watched her face. Then he smiled and walked out of the Great Hall with his twin.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
"D'you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked as they set off to their first class of the day.
"Not really," Ron said slowly. "Except . . . well . . . it'd be cool to be an Auror."
"Yeah, it would," Harry replied fervently.
"But they're, like, the elite. You've got to be really good."
Tessa shrugged. "So what? I think you can do it. You'd make an excellent Auror."
Ron looked very delighted to hear that as he said to her, "And you? Still settled on Chief Witch, eh?" With a firm and confident nod from Tessa, Ron added, "My opinion stays the same — you'd be a bloody brilliant one."
Hermione opened her mouth to make a retort about it, but Tessa smoothly cut in, "Your opinion on my profession isn't welcome today; try again tomorrow." She was rude — but she was also fed up with Hermione crushing her dreams.
Harry coughed awkwardly and said, "What about you, Hermione?"
"I don't know. I think I'd really like to do something worthwhile."
"An Auror's worthwhile!"
"Yes, it is, but it's not the only worthwhile thing. I mean, if I could take S.P.E.W. further . . ."
After an extremely uneventful lecture with Binns on their History class, it was finally time for Potions — a subject Tessa only mildly looked forward to because she shared it with Draco and Theo.
"Hey, dork," Tessa cheerfully greeted, sliding into her usual seat as Theo happily opened a conversation about his summer with her.
"You should come over again sometime," Theo said. "In the Malfoy manor. When his parents aren't around, the mother hen brings me and some of the lads in for a swim in his pool. Maybe you two can go and — "
"Settle down," came the cold voice of Snape at the same time Tessa had pushed Theo off of his seat before he could finish his sentence. "Miss Potter, do refrain from violent tendencies, or I'll have to report you to Professor McGonagall."
Tessa blushed as she murmured, "Sorry, Professor." She sent a hasty glare at Theo who was smirking triumphantly albeit rubbing his elbow painfully.
"Before we begin today's lesson," Snape went on, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your O.W.L., or suffer my . . . displeasure."
Neville's gulp was pretty audible by everyone in the class.
"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me. I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye. But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell, so whether you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T. or not, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students.
"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."
The class turned out horribly, just as how Tessa had expected it to be. Harry had forgotten to add a syrup to his draught, leading to Snape forcing his potion to vanish into thin air.
"That was really unfair," Hermione said as they sat down for lunch. "Your potion wasn't nearly as bad as Goyle's, when he put it in his flagon the whole thing shattered and set his robes on fire."
"Yeah, well," Harry said, glowering at his plate, "since when has Snape ever been fair to me?"
Tessa raised her hand slightly. "He still hates me, but I think it's better than when he used to ignore me." Ron put her hand down.
"I did think he might be a bit better this year," pointed out disappointedly. "I mean . . . you know. Now he's in the Order and everything."
"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots," Ron said sourly. "Anyway, I've always thought Dumbledore was cracked trusting Snape, where's the evidence he ever really stopped working for You- Know-Who?"
"I think Dumbledore's probably got plenty of evidence, even if he doesn't share it with you, Ron," Hermione snapped.
"Oh, shut up, the pair of you," Harry snarled angrily at the two of them. "Can't you give it a rest? You're always having a go at each other, it's driving me and Tessa mad." Without another word, he grabbed his school bag and left the Great Hall.
Tessa had been left frozen with her forkful of shepherd's pie midair to her mouth. Slowly, she set it down as she turned to the duo. "I hate to be that person, but he's right."
Divination came after lunch, and Tessa and Ron separated from Hermione as the two wandered up the trapdoor to her classroom. They spotted Harry sitting in a table, and they made a beeline to him.
"Hermione and me have stopped arguing," Ron informed the bespectacled boy.
"Good," Harry grunted.
"But Hermione says she thinks it would be nice if you stopped taking out your temper on us."
"I'm not —"
"I'm just passing on the message," Ron said with his hands up. "But I reckon she's right. It's not our fault how Seamus and Snape treat you."
"I never said it —"
"Good day," Professor Trelawney said in her usual misty voice as she emerged in front of the classroom. "And welcome back to Divination. I have, of course, been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely — as, of course, I knew you would.
"You will find on the tables before you copies of The Dream Oracle, by Inigo Imago. Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your O.W.L. Not, of course, that I believe examination passes or failures are of the remotest importance when it comes to the sacred art of divination. If you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. However, the headmaster likes you to sit the examination, so . . ."
Tessa bit her tongue as she kept her gaze focused on the tablecloth. There was a horrible flash across her mind of fragments of memories and dreams of Cedric Diggory's death, her mother's initial death of sacrificial flames, the screams that echoed in the air when she saw her mother being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange . . .
Tessa very much preferred no dreams at all these days, when a vague figure of death on one's flesh seemed to haunt her.
"D'you realize how much homework we've got already?" Ron exclaimed loudly as they set off down the corridor once Divination ended. "Binns set us a foot-and-a-half-long essay on giant wars, Snape wants a foot on the use of moonstones, and now we've got a month's dream diary from Trelawney! Fred and George weren't wrong about O.W.L. year, were they? That Umbridge woman had better not give us any . . ."
Tessa rolled her eyes. "Why do I feel like all those homework sound like child play when it comes to the pink toad?"
When they entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, they found Professor Umbridge at the teacher's desk. The class was unusually quiet as they stared at her in a slightly disturbed manner by how she smiled falsely at them all.
"Well, good afternoon!" she said when finally the whole class had sat down. A few mumbled out a response, and she looked displeased. "Tut, tut. That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," everyone replied monotonously at her.
"Kill me now," Tessa growled under her breath to Harry.
"There, now," Umbridge said sweetly. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."
Everyone complied begrudgingly and pulled out parchments, quills, and ink as Umbridge waved her wand to the blackboard. Words began to scrawl for them all to read.
Defense Against the Dark Arts A Return to Basic Principles.
"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" Umbridge said, clasping her hands in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year.
"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."
Course aims:
1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.
2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.
3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for
practical use.
When everyone finished writing, she said, "Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"
Tessa didn't even bother to reply as a dull murmur of collective responses rang throughout the class.
"I think we'll try that again," Umbridge simpered. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply 'Yes, Professor Umbridge,' or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"
"Yes, Professor Umbridge," the class replied obediently despite the snide undertone.
"Good. I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."
"I can't believe she thinks we're far below the standards," Tessa grumbled under her breath to Harry. "To think just last year we were literally being placed under the Imperius Curse."
"I said, there will be no need to talk," Umbridge repeated in a higher octave, sending Tessa a forced smile to which Tessa bit her tongue to keep from commenting.
Umbridge stared at Tessa, waiting for her to reply back with a Yes, Professor Umbridge, but she simply stared back with a cool facade.
"Yes, Professor Umbridge," the toad urged her to say.
Tessa's lips curled up to the barest of smirks. "I thought I wasn't allowed to talk?"
A hint of fury flashed briefly across Umbridge's face before she turned to Hermione whose hand was up in the air for a long time now. "Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?"
"Not about the chapter, no," Hermione said.
"Well, we're reading just now. If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."
"I've got a query about your course aims."
"And your name is — ?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."
"Well, I don't," Hermione said bluntly. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."
There was a lapse of silence in which the others stared at the blackboard with a frown.
"Using defensive spells?" Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"
"We're not going to use magic?" Ron said loudly.
"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr. — ?"
"Weasley."
Tessa scowled as she raised her hand for a question, and Umbridge smiled mockingly. "Well, who would've thought Miss Potter would be the only one here to raise her hand and show respect?"
The whole class turned to glare at her and she flushed and brought her hand down quickly. "Sorry, it's a habit," she murmured before facing Umbridge. "The whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells! Hence the word Defense."
"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Potter?" Umbridge smiled saccharinely to her.
"No, but I've been studying and — "
"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way —"
"What use is that?" Harry said, defending his sister and not liking the way Umbridge spoke in an undermining manner to Tessa. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be in a —"
"Hand, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge turned her back on him, but several people raised their hands as well. "And your name is?"
"Dean Thomas."
"Well, Mr. Thomas?"
"Well, it's like Harry and Tessa said, isn't it? If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free —"
"I repeat, do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"
"No, but —"
"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school," she said, a nasty smile stretching her mouth, "but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed — not to mention, extremely dangerous half-breeds."
Tessa growled. "Professor Lupin was the greatest DADA professor we've ever had, and you'll never be a quarter of a person he was."
"Hand, Miss Potter!"
Ron practically beamed at Tessa.
"As I was saying — you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day —"
"No we haven't," Hermione said, "we just —"
"Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!" Umbridge turned away from Hermione and back to the class. "It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you —"
"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" Dean retorted hotly. "Mind you, we still learned loads —"
"Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas! Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" she added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up.
"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the countercurses and things?"
"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," Umbridge said dismissively.
"Without ever practicing them before? Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"
"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough —"
"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry said loudly.
"This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world," Umbridge said softly.
"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting out there?"
"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter."
Tessa slammed a hand against her desk. "So, you're saying, if someone were to attack you right now at this very second, you're going to counter them with theories? Oh, yes, because the Dark Lord would surely balk upon hearing such ludicrous lectures."
Umbridge turned red in anger, but still kept her stupid smile at the Potters. "The Dark Wizard is dead, and would not dare to — "
"Oh yeah?" Harry joined in.
"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?"
"Hmm, let's think . . ." Harry said mockingly, "maybe Lord Voldemort?"
The class gave out a stifled gasp at the use of the name, and Umbridge smiled grimly in satisfaction. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."
Tessa spat, "Harry is right — stop pushing us away from the truth especially about Voldemort — "
"Another ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Potter."
"What — are you scared of his name?" Tessa taunted. "Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort — "
"Twenty points from Gryffindor!"
The class fell silent, eyes flicking between the two Potters who sat side by side in complete fury, and to Umbridge.
"Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead —"
"He wasn't dead," Harry and Tessa cried out furiously.
"Potters-you-have-already-lost-your-House-twenty-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourselves," Umbridge hissed out all in one breath. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."
This brought about an outburst between the two of them.
"It is NOT a lie!" Harry cried out. "I saw him, I fought him!"
Tessa had shot to her feet, shaking in anger. "You would dare call Harry Potter a liar? Harry Potter the boy who lived and faced Voldemort again and again?"
"Detention, Potters!" Umbridge exclaimed triumphantly. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.' "
Umbridge went to sit down on her desk again, but Harry shot to his feet to stand side by side with Tessa. "So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?"
Umbridge looked up to smile sourly at them. "Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said coldly.
"It was murder," Tessa snarled with that vicious killing calm painted on her face. "And I will not let you dishonor my friend's death by twisting the story."
"Voldemort killed him, and you know it," Harry added.
Then in her softest voice, Umbridge beckoned, "Come here, Potters."
Harry kicked his chair aside as Tessa practically flipped hers over a desk. The two stomped their way up to her desk as every single person in the class held their breaths for what was to come next.
Umbridge pulled out a small pink parchment and scribbled on it before tapping her wand on it to seal itself. "Take this to Professor McGonagall, dears."
Tessa snatched it from her as she and her brother stormed out of the classroom without a single word. Harry slammed the door shut as they shared a huff of agreeing spite. They walked down the corridor swiftly, and luckily came across Professor McGonagall herself.
She raised her eyebrows at them. "Why aren't you two in class?"
"We've been sent to see you," Harry said stiffly.
"Sent? What do you mean, sent?"
Tessa held out the note to her as McGonagall slit it open and read it. McGonagall peered at them over her glasses. "Come in here, Potters." They followed her inside her study as the door closed behind them. "Well? Is this true?"
"Is what true?" Harry asked, rather more aggressively than he had intended. "Professor?" he added in an attempt to sound more polite.
Tessa pressed her lips together, remembering vaguely she'd done the same thing to Barty Crouch in the World Cup last year.
"Is it true that you two shouted at Professor Umbridge?"
"Yes," Harry and Tessa said.
"You called her a liar?"
"Yes."
"You told her she disrespected Cedric Diggory's death?"
"I sure did." Tessa nodded rightfully to herself.
"You told her He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back?"
"Yes."
Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk and said, "Have a biscuit, Potters."
Tessa blinked for a moment as Harry's mouth hung open. "Have — what?"
"Have a biscuit," she repeated impatiently, gesturing to the tin of cookies on her desk. "And sit down."
Tessa shared a look with her brother before sinking down to a chair and grabbing a cookie for themselves.
McGonagall read over the note again before saying in a very low and anxious voice, "Potters, you two need to be careful."
Tessa reached for another cookie as Harry chewed slowly and thoughtfully.
"Misbehavior in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you much more than House points and a detention."
Harry asked, "What do you — ?"
"Potter, use your common sense," McGonagall snapped in her stern voice, and Tessa swallowed her cookie. "You know where she comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting. It says here she's given you two detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow."
"Every evening this week!" Tessa repeated, horrified. "Oh, no — no, I don't think I can handle being in a room with that troll — "
Harry cleared his throat loudly. "But, Professor, couldn't you — ?"
"No, I couldn't," McGonagall replied flatly.
"But —"
"She is your teacher and has every right to give you detention. You will go to her room at five o'clock tomorrow for the first one. Just remember: Tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge."
"But we were telling the truth!" Tessa cried out enraged.
Harry added with his eyebrows drawn together irritatedly. "Voldemort's back, you know he is, Professor Dumbledore knows he is —"
"For heaven's sake, Potters! Do you really think this is about truth or lies? It's about keeping your heads down and your tempers under control!" McGonagall rose to her feet and slid the tin over at them. "Have another biscuit."
"No, thanks," Harry said coldly as Tessa hesitated.
"Don't be ridiculous," McGonagall snapped.
They each took another one and thanked her in a mumbling voice.
"Didn't you listen to Dolores Umbridge's speech at the start-of-term feast, you two?"
"Yeah," Harry said absentmindedly. "Yeah . . . she said . . . progress will be prohibited or . . . well, it meant that — "
"That the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts," Tessa concluded for him.
"Well, I'm glad you two listen to Hermione Granger at any rate," she said, pointing them out of her office.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
"I didn't think you'd actually come — woah, is everything okay?" Draco asked cautiously, patting the empty space next to him as Tessa stomped over with a murderous scowl on her face.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear what happened with me and Harry and that pink toad?" she grumbled, sitting close to him.
He clicked his tongue once. "I had hoped it wasn't true."
She threw her hands up in irritation. "It's not my fault she got on my nerves!"
Draco sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he said in a gentle, reproving manner, "Braveheart — you can't go around flipping chairs and snarling at every person who defies you." Tessa started, but Draco swooped in, "But, I must admit — I've never met anyone as horrible and utterly atrocious as she is, so I don't blame you."
Tessa narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. "I was ready to list down at least a hundred reasons on why you should hate her as well, but at least you see it."
Draco chuckled before saying, "So you have detention with her all week?"
She exhaled deeply. "Unfortunately."
"How ill-fated for me to have Umbridge take you away and avoid detention from me," Draco purred.
Tessa muttered, "I would very much prefer detention from you."
Draco nearly had a whiplash with how swift he turned his head to look at her. But Tessa didn't seem to mind her own words very much as she kept her gaze toward the stars before them.
With another heavy sigh, Tessa made a move to rest her head on his shoulder before pausing. "Can I — do you mind if I — ?"
Draco's eyes softened as he brought an arm around her to bring her head gently down to rest on the crevice between his chest and shoulder. "If you want to hold my hand, hold it; if you want to put your head on my shoulder, do it. You don't even have to ask, Braveheart."
His scent and warmth enveloped her, and Tessa shifted closer to be more comfortable in his arms. Her eyes fluttering shut, she relished in his presence as she mumbled, "What would I ever do without you to keep me sane at nights?"
There was mild amusement in his voice as he teased, "Crash and burn?"
Tessa laughed, her shoulders shaking as she said, "Who knows — that might've actually happened to me." She opened her eyes again, and they fell on his pale hand laying on his lap. Quietly, she reached over to take it in hers, running her thin fingers along his own. "You have very attractive hands," she complimented, feeling him still around her. His fingers were long and thin, and the heavy black ring adorning one of his fingers made his hand even more appealing.
She was running a finger down the veins on his inner wrist, when Draco suddenly flipped their hands so their palms were against each other. His breath was hot in her ear when he whispered, "Is this payback for what I did yesterday?"
She shifted in his arms to meet his gaze, their faces close and noses slightly grazing. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she crooned in a faux innocent voice, purposely biting her lip.
His eyes darkened as they flickered down to her mouth. "You're killing me here. You know that, don't you?"
"Performing violent acts toward prefects," Tessa purred, leaning forward to him. "That deserves a detention, I believe."
Draco's arm slid around her waist to draw her closer, moving to bring his mouth directly over her ear. "It's a shame I don't get to have you all to myself for a whole week."
She nearly cried out a sudden gasp when he dipped his head lower to brush his lips over her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut involuntarily as she said breathlessly, "Sharing is caring."
He smirked against her skin. "I'm a generous person, but I don't like sharing you."
He suddenly pulled away from her, and she didn't even realize she'd been gripping his shirt tightly until he took her hands in his. When she opened her eyes, she found him watching her with that devious grin on his lips yet a breathtaking sort of fondness in his eyes for her.
"You should go to sleep soon," he whispered. "I don't want you to fall asleep in class tomorrow."
Tessa nodded, her mind still buzzing with a delicious feeling from what he'd done to her earlier.
Draco got to his feet and gently pulled her up. "Come on," he said in an endearing voice. "I'll walk you back to your dorm."
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
"Oy, Potters!" Angelina called putting angrily as she stomped her way to Tessa and Harry who'd just arrived in the Great Hall. They had detention with Umbridge in a while, and they planned to eat dinner early.
"What now?" Harry muttered wearily as they both turned to face Angelina.
"I'll tell you what now. How come you've both landed yourselves in detention for five o'clock on Friday?"
"Oh yeah, Keeper tryouts!" Tessa flinched at Angelina's glare as realization dawned on Harry's face. "Sorry."
"Now they remember!" Angelina snarled. "Didn't I tell you two I wanted to do a tryout with the whole team, and find someone who fitted in with everyone? Didn't I tell you I'd booked the Quidditch pitch specially? And now my Seeker and Chaser decided they're not going to be there!"
"We didn't decide not to be there!" Harry said, defending himself and his sister. "We got detention from that Umbridge woman, just because I told her the truth about You-Know-Who, and Tessa defended and backed me — "
"Well, you can just go straight to her and ask her to let you off on Friday, and I don't care how and which one of you does it, tell her You-Know-Who's a figment of both of your imaginations if you like, just make sure you're both there!"
She stormed away before either of them could retort back to her.
"You know what?" Harry said to Ron and Hermione when the two entered the Great Hall to sit with them. "I think we'd better check with Puddlemere United whether Oliver Wood's been killed during a training session, because she seems to be channeling his spirit."
Tessa stabbed her fork in a lamb chop. "Makes me miss Oliver."
"What d'you reckon are the odds of Umbridge letting you two off on Friday?" Ron asked with a skeptical look on his face.
"Less than zero," Harry said glumly
"We can offer to do two more detentions or something," Tessa said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice before reaching over to refill Harry's cup as well.
Harry nodded distractedly and added, "I hope she doesn't keep me too long this evening. You realize we've got to write three essays, practice Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, work out a countercharm for Flitwick, finish the bowtruckle drawing, and start that stupid dream diary for Trelawney?"
Ron groaned and glanced up at the ceiling. "And it looks like it's going to rain."
"What's that got to do with our homework?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised.
"Nothing," Ron mumbled, his ears reddening.
Five minutes before five o'clock, Tessa and Harry made their way to Umbridge's office. She had slowed down her pace when passing by the Slytherin table, locking eyes with Draco who'd wished her a good luck and an amused warning to not aggravate the toad any further.
"Come in," Umbridge called out in her sugary sweet voice upon hearing them knock on the door.
Tessa walked in right after Harry, and resisted the urge to hurl her guts out upon seeing the preposterous decorations of the office. It was draped in lacy covers and cloths, vases of potpourri, and walls filled with collections of ornamental plates with kittens on each and every single one of them. They were all staring so intensely at Harry, and had hissed and recoiled when Tessa entered.
She smirked, feeling the beast inside her roar in an overprotective manner.
"Good evening, Harry and Teressa Potter."
Tessa had to bite her tongue to not make a snide remark on Umbridge's flower-patterned robes.
"Evening," Harry said stiffly as Tessa mumbled back.
"Well, sit down," Umbridge said, gesturing to the table that held two chairs and parchments.
Tessa and Harry shared a look, and he pouted slightly up at her. She narrowed her gaze at him for a split second before giving in. She coughed awkwardly. "Professor Umbridge? Er — before we start, we wanted to ask you a — a favor."
She smiled saccharinely. "Yes?"
"Well, Harry and I are on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And we're supposed to be at the tryouts for the new Keeper at five o'clock on Friday and we were wondering whether we could skip detention that night and do it another night instead . . ."
"Oh no," Umbridge said with a very wide smile. "Oh no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, Potters, and punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you two will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that the both of you are missing something you really want to do. It ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you."
Tessa's blood boiled, and she replayed Draco's words in her head again and again. With a killing calm, she dropped her school bag on the floor as she slid into the seat next to Harry. Her brother didn't bother hiding the venomous scowl on his face as he plopped into the other seat.
"There," Umbridge said sweetly, "we're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Potters. No, not with your quill," she added, as they bent down to open their bags. "You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are."
She handed them each a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point.
Umbridge turned to Harry. "I want you to write 'I must not tell lies,' " she turned to Tessa, "and I want you to write 'I must not defend liars'."
Anger surged inside Tessa as she steadied her breathing and counted to ten.
"How many times?" Harry asked with a bite in his tone.
"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to sink in," Umbridge said sweetly. "Off you go."
"You haven't given us any ink," Tessa said, trying not to snarl.
"Oh, you won't need ink," Umbridge said with a simpering giggle.
It was truly a miracle that Tessa hadn't thrown the quill like a dart at the toad.
Tessa shared a scowl with Harry but pressed the tip of the quill on the parchment and wrote: I must not defend liars.
Almost at the same exact time with Harry, Tessa gasped in pain. Tears sprang at the corner of her eyes as she brought her left hand up before her. At the back of it, the words she had just written appeared as though it had been cut into her skin. The cut was barely there, the skin healing over it, yet it was still red.
Tessa snapped her eyes to Harry, noticing he was experiencing the same thing she was. They both looked over at Umbridge with a slight curl in their lips. This woman was absolutely, bloody mental.
Umbridge smiled unnaturally wide at them. "Yes?"
"Nothing," Tessa growled under her breath.
Furiously, Tessa bent down to write on the parchment again and again as she flinched in pain as the words cut deeper and deeper into the back of her hand. She didn't know how long she'd been writing, it was already dark outside and the paper was drenched in her blood.
"Come here," Umbridge said after a very long time.
Tessa rose to her feet and stalked over with Harry right next to her.
"Hand," Umbridge said, taking each of their hands in her own. The cut had stopped bleeding now that Tessa stopped writing, but the words were still visible on the red skin. Umbridge ran her stubby fingers over the raw flesh, and Tessa nearly winced in pain. "Tut, tut, I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet," she said, smiling. "Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we? You two may go."
Without a single word, Tessa and Harry snatched their bags and left her office. Tessa made sure to slam her door shut with a bang that made the kittens on the plates hiss.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
"SHE'S BLOODY INSANE," Tessa seethed furiously as she stormed up the Astronomy Tower. After she left her bag in the common room, she was too angry to even bother with homework. The first thing she thought of was wanting to warn Draco about her.
Draco who had already been sitting up there had jolted in surprise by her arrival. He glanced up as she took her place next to him. "Was it that bad?" he asked gently, eyes roving across the weary planes of her face.
"You have no idea," Tessa grumbled. "Don't ever try to cross her or she'll give you hell for it."
Draco was worried now as he looked at her in alarm. "What did she let you do?"
"Lines — she made us write lines," Tessa said vaguely, exhaustion suddenly weighing down on her.
He lifted a skeptical eyebrow at her.
"That's all — just lines," she mumbled, not knowing why she didn't want to let him know she got hurt. With a tired sigh, Tessa reached up and loosened her necktie when Draco grasped her wrist.
"Tessa, what the hell is this?" his voice was empty of amusement and filled with a stern clarity as he kept his gaze hard on the words cut into her hand. Very gingerly, he let his thumb graze over the hurt and she winced in pain. He snapped his eyes back to her as he whispered, "Tessa, did she do this to you?"
She looked away in slight embarrassment as her lower lip quivered.
His features softened as he said, "Braveheart, you can tell me."
With a hesitant pause, she finally admitted, "Yes."
Just like that — the familiar killing calm slipped into Draco's face as he said smoothly, "I'm going to kill her." Tessa's eyes flashed in alarm but Draco mumbled, "I won't do anything, calm down. I know how much you hate it when I step in your fights." He let out a long sigh before saying, "Promise me you'll tell me when you've had enough, okay? I can always do something about this — or at least try my best to."
Tessa smiled, her heart squeezing pleasantly in her chest. "I promise."
Draco glanced down again at her hand, before pulling it up to bring his lips down chastely against her knuckles. Her cheeks flushed as he mumbled against her skin, "I'll find you a tin of salve tomorrow morning. Come back to me after your detention, and I'll have you healed again."
Tessa nodded, her insides an absolute mush as she softened. "I will."
He dragged his eyes back up to lock with her hazel ones. "I hate seeing you hurt, Braveheart. It pains me, too."
Tessa's lips curled up to a grin as she crooned, "Draco Malfoy being as cheesiest as ever. What book have you been reading?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Way to go in ruining the moment." He chuckled deeply before helping her to her feet. "Let's get you to your room."
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Umbridge was furious on Thursday night when Tessa walked in with a healed hand. She'd made her write extra lines as Harry waited for her to finish. They were walking back to the Gryffindor Tower when they bumped into Ron who was clutching his new Cleansweep Eleven behind his back.
"Ron?" they cried out simultaneously.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked.
"Er — nothing. What are you doing?"
They sent him a flat look as Tessa said, "What are you hiding here for?"
"I'm — I'm hiding from Fred and George, if you must know," Ron replied. "They just went past with a bunch of first years, I bet they're testing stuff on them again, I mean, they can't do it in the common room now, can they, not with Hermione there."
"But what have you got your broom for, you haven't been flying, have you?" Harry asked.
"I — well — well, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, all right?" Ron said defensively. "I-I thought I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now I've got a decent broom. There. Go on. Laugh."
"I'm not laughing," Harry said blankly.
Tessa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would we laugh? It's a brilliant idea!"
Harry nodded. "It'd be really cool if you got on the team! I've never seen you play Keeper, are you good?"
"I'm not bad," Ron said, relieved at their reactions. "Charlie, Fred, and George always made me Keep for them when they were training during the holidays."
"So you've been practicing tonight?"
"Every evening since Tuesday . . . just on my own, though, I've been trying to bewitch Quaffles to fly at me, but it hasn't been easy and I don't know how much use it'll be. Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect."
"I wish we could be there," Tessa said bitterly as the three of them set off for the common room.
"Yeah, so do — Harry, Tessa, what's that on the back of your hands?"
Tessa quickly hid her hand as Harry looked away. "It's just a cut," he said lamely, "it's nothing — it's —"
It was too late — Ron had already reached over to grab their hands to see what had been carved into them. He looked as though he would throw up when he carefully dropped their hands. "I thought you two said she was giving you lines?"
So they told him the whole truth about what they'd done in her office, and of how she made Tessa write extra when Draco had healed her hand.
"The old hag!" Ron said revoltingly as they entered the common room. "She's sick! Go to McGonagall, say something!"
"No," Tessa said instantly.
Harry added in explanation, "We're not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to us."
"Got to you?" Ron repeated. "You can't let her get away with this!"
"I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her," Harry said.
"Dumbledore, then, tell Dumbledore!"
"No."
"Why not?"
"He's got enough on his mind."
"Well, I reckon you should."
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Tessa and Harry were sprinting up the steps on Friday night after detention with Umbridge. Their hands were bleeding, yet all they could think of was the terrible feeling Harry got when the pink toad touched his arm.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia!" Harry said at once upon arriving before the Fat Lady portrait.
As the door swung open, a roar of sound echoed to them and Ron approached them with a beaming face. "Harry — Tessa, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!"
"What? Oh — brilliant!" Harry said distractedly as Tessa pulled him in for a brief celebratory hug.
"Have a butterbeer." Ron handed them bottles. "I can't believe it — where's Hermione gone?"
"She's there," Fred said, pointing over to where Hermione sat on an armchair, fast asleep with a bottle in her hand.
"Well, she said she was pleased when I told her," Ron muttered.
"Come here, Ron, and see if Oliver's old robes fit you," Katie Bell called out to him. "We can take off his name and put yours on instead . . . "
As Ron left, Angelina approached Tessa and Harry. "Sorry I was a bit short with you earlier, Potters. It's stressful, this managing lark, you know, I'm starting to think I was a bit hard on Wood sometimes. Look, I know he's your best mate, but he's not fabulous," she said bluntly. "I think with a bit of training he'll be all right, though. He comes from a family of good Quidditch players. I'm banking on him turning out to have a bit more talent than he showed today, to be honest. Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper both flew better this evening, but Hooper's a real whiner, he's always moaning about something or other, and Vicky's involved in all sorts of societies, she admitted herself that if training clashed with her Charm Club she'd put Charms first. Anyway, we're having a practice session at two o'clock tomorrow, so just make sure you're there this time. And do me a favor and help Ron as much as you can, okay?"
The two nodded distractedly as Angelina left, and they hurried over to sit on either sides of Hermione who woke up with a jerk.
"Oh, Harry — Tessa, it's you . . . Good about Ron, isn't it? I'm just so — so — so tired," she yawned. "I was up until one o'clock making more hats. They're disappearing like mad!"
Tessa looked around and realized that the hats had been picked up by house-elves, who could perhaps be unaware of what they were supposed to mean.
"Listen, Hermione," Harry said abruptly, "We were just up in Umbridge's office and she touched my arm . . ."
When Harry finished, Hermione said slowly, "You're worried that You-Know-Who's controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?"
Tessa's voice was low as she said, "It's a possibility, isn't it? Either that or she's really just a mad bitch."
Hermione rolled her eyes at what Tessa said before sighing. "I suppose so. But I don't think he can be possessing her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he's properly alive again now, isn't he, he's got his own body, he wouldn't need to share someone else's. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose . . . "
Nobody said anything for a moment, and Tessa's eyes wandered over to Fred, George, and Lee who were juggling empty butterbeer bottles. Fred caught her eye, and he boldly winked at her as though proudly showing off he was the best among the three in juggling.
Then Hermione spoke up again, "But last year your scar hurt when nobody was touching you, and didn't Dumbledore say it had to do with what You-Know-Who was feeling at the time? I mean, maybe this hasn't got anything to do with Umbridge at all, maybe it's just coincidence it happened while you were with her?"
"She's evil," Harry said flatly.
"Twisted," Tessa added spitefully.
"She's horrible, yes, but . . . Harry, I think you ought to tell Dumbledore your scar hurt."
Harry was frowning thoughtfully to himself as he said, "I'm not bothering him with this. Like you just said, it's not a big deal. It's been hurting on and off all summer — it was just a bit worse tonight, that's all —"
Hermione sighed. "Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore would want to be bothered by this —"
"Yeah, that's the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn't it, my scar?"
Tessa grimaced at that. "Harry, that's not true — "
"I think I'll write and tell Sirius about it, see what he thinks —"
"Harry, you can't put something like that in a letter!" Hermione interrupted, looking alarmed. "Don't you remember, Moody told us to be careful what we put in writing! We just can't guarantee owls aren't being intercepted anymore!"
"All right, all right, I won't tell him, then!" Harry said irritably. He got to his feet. "I'm going to bed. Tell Ron for me, will you?"
"Oh no," Hermione said, looking relieved, "if you're going that means I can go without being rude too, I'm absolutely exhausted and I want to make some more hats tomorrow. Listen, you can help me if you like, it's quite fun, I'm getting better, I can do patterns and bobbles and all sorts of things now."
"No, I don't think I will, thanks," he said. "Er — not tomorrow. I've got loads of homework to do." With that, he clambered you the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
Slightly disappointed, Hermione turned to Tessa who quickly shot to her feet with her hands up. "Mione, you know I'd love to help — but I'm honestly behind in homework as well. And that's coming from someone who always puts behind homework." She waved and made her way up the stairs. "I'll see you upstairs."
With a very weary sigh, Tessa walked up to her room as exhaustion overcame her. After getting ready for bed, she settled beneath her covers and rubbed a slight bit of salve over her cuts. Not too much to completely heal it. Tracing a finger along the petals of her sunflowers, she let sleep take over her.
A/N
So I asked my cousin who does she think I resemble most with: Tessa or Catherine. And she said, well you're mean, and Tessa's meaner than Catherine, so you're Tessa. WOW okay
And it's pretty funny how we were watching half blood prince yesterday, and she pointed at the screen and went: "oh look it's Tessa's boyfriend!" AND LIKE THE IDIOT I AM, STARED AT DRACO AND WENT: HE'S WHOSE BOYFRIEND?
BECAUSE FOR A SECOND I TOTALLY FORGOT WHO TESSA WAS RIP im so sorry my child
Btw for those who skip to prisoner of azkaban of Goblet of Fire, and don't understand what happens and either comment on James cheating, or ask when and where Philip came in and who he is, and other stuff — I honestly have nothing more to say than to please read from the beginning of Reckless and Brave! It's not that much chapters anyways for sorcerer's stone and chamber of secrets, and will really help you understand the latter parts.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment, and follow my profile for more updates and teasers and spoilers! Thank you for reading!!!