I know its been so long! But here is the next chapter!
"I find that highly offensive Mr. Diggory, my teaching experience is by no means subject to your scrutiny." Umbridge screeched to Brice's dismay, who beside Ian, was holding his hands against his ears causing both Robbie and Wendy to have to hide their laugh as best they could.
"Well I find it highly offensive that you are insulting professors like Remus Lupin who taught us to cast shield charms and unarming spells. Especially at a time such as now when Lord Voldemort and his cronies are gathering their forces-" Cedric said, his voice getting a little bit louder as each word spewed. He couldn't help it. The woman was just pissing him off. Her words were as venomous and atrocious as her fashion sense.
"Mr. Diggory I do not think that it is appropriate for the Head Boy to setting this kind of example, by unncecessarily frightening his peers. In fact I think it's very highly inappropriate and I think that-"
"Professor with all due respect, the Heads are picked by the whole teaching faculty. If they all believed that Cedric is capable of being Head Boy, then I quite believe them." Riley Ann, a fellow seventh year Ravenclaw spoke up quickly to interrupt Umbridge's threat.
"Ah Ms. Farrow, didn't your father lose his job at the ministry for misbehavior?" Umbridge said haughtily.
"Yes he did lose his job in the ministry for defending Harry Potter, Cedric Diggory, and Dumbledore but he would rather work in Diagon Alley than take back his words. My mother died before I was even a year old because of You Know Who and his cronies. If she would have evacuated the Ministry in time, she would be alive now, but the Ministry were too proud to admit that their securities had been breached in oder to tell their employees to be prepared for a fight. So my mother died without her wand as she went to deliver papers to the Minister. So if you would please shut up I would appreciate it. Precautions have never harmed anyone and if you honestly think that simply learning from a book is enough to go against a madman hell bent on killing you for pleasure, I hope that you have some strong aurors around." Then without a word, Riley Ann pushed her textbook to the ground before leaving. Just as she left, the bell sounded for class to end.
Umbridge was still sputtering as the rest of the class whispered to each other, looking from Umbridge to Cedric to the door especially when Ian and Cedric went to pick up Riley Ann's books right in front of Umbridge, neither saying a word or acknowledging her.
Cedric tried to remain calm as he walked out of Defense but all he wanted to do was turn around and march right back in and tell the bigoted woman that was a sorry excuse for a teacher that she was a right idiot. No wonder the Ministry was failing in so many aspects of protecting the wizarding community if it was led by the likes of her. How did his dad stand to work with people like her?
"That was worse than I thought it was going to be." Brice cringed, rubbing his ears. "I think the woman managed to insult half of our previous teachers and yet make them all highly appealing, even Quivering Quill. He at least taught us some spells instead of telling us that we were going to be reading from a bloody book all year." Brice muttered.
"Didn't he accidentally burn a textbook once?" Ian questioned as his memories of his third year surfaced. "But Farrow was brilliant I have to say. I think Umbridge actually paled a little at her speech."
"Oh yeah, she did!" Robbie quipped about Umbridge while they all nodded about Riley Ann.
"Those were the days," Ian sighed. "Who knew that He Who- ah whatever, who knew that Lord Evil could be a better professor than some stupid ministry lackey."
"I'm going to fail the N.E.W.T.S.!" Brice suddenly cried causing all of them to stop and look at him.
"No you're not." Cedric answered as he tried to search the halls for Riley Ann to return her books or Hermione and Harry while he was at it. If he had been pissed by how Umbridge has insulted Lupin, well, those two were bound to be worse. "As long as you take time to practice and…" Cedric drifted off when he finally found Hermione and Harry.
"How about we do like we did in Second year and make up our own-" Ian began to say as he took Riley Ann's other book from Cedric.
"Yeah, sure." Cedric said barely hearing Ian.
"Great then you can be our leader and main target again! Say hi to Mimi for me!" Ian yelled loudly as he and the rest moved quickly to their next class, before Cedric realized what they just did to him.
"Wait what?!" Cedric said turning around but his mates had already crossed half the lawn to the other side and still laughing at him while doing so.
!
"Cedric," Hermione cried when Cedric ran to them.
"Hi," Harry said acknowledging him.
"Harry, you and Ron go on ahead, you two can't afford to be late to class. Snape will really have your heads." Hermione ushered them.
"Okay…" Harry said glancing at Cedric before grabbing Ron.
"Wait, no." Ron tried to protest but Harry just kept moving him.
"We don't have that much time Cedric, you're going to be late to class."
"I know but Mimi just, the woman's horrid. I mean absolutely foul. Try to keep Harry in check. I think Riley Ann Farrow and I just pissed her off but we did so with saccharine politeness but I'm sure now she's out for blood and if Harry lashes out,"
"Of course," Hermione said biting her lip. "You're not in trouble are you?"
"No, Riley Ann stood up for me just in time to save me, I think. But just, Harry's angry and I don't want her feeding off his anger."
"I know, I'll do my best. I'm trying all I can to make him see that we're on his side… shoot, Cedric, I have to go. Snape." She said biting her lip nervously.
Cedric laughed before quickly pecking her lips chastely. "I know, run!"
Hermione shook her head as she did so, half way there, she looked back giving Cedric one more smile.
Cedric shook his head as he watched her go before striding himself to Herbology where Professor Sprout would more than likely forgive him for being late when he told her about Umbridge. From his conversation with his House Head the other night when she came to the Heads Room to talk to him about his duties, she'd even expressed to him that she did not trust Umbridge as far she as could throw her. That he was going to have to watch himself around Umbridge. And this was Professor Sprout who said it. One of the kindest, gentlest souls he knew. If Professor Sprout couldn't trust Umbridge…
!
Hermione didn't think that she could ever hate a professor but she honest to god hated Umbridge and she told Cedric that she would try to help Harry calm down. But it seemed that having Hermione speak up was the last thing that Harry needed as he was reminded of the the girl that had looked so much like his best friend, who no one but he and Cedric saw and remembered, because she was killed right in front of them.
Cedric had told Harry about him and his dad trying to search for the girl's identity and see if her family was missing her anywhere, but it seemed every time they put in the papers to the ministry, the next day they disappeared and no trace at all of the missing papers could be found. Ian had even tried once but the same happened. The papers were being lost on purpose. And Harry knew why. Because the Ministry did not want to explain how a young muggleborn girl could be killed by the killing curse if not by Voldemort and his followers? Who else had the motive to kill a girl such as that but the man that detested unpure blood more than anything else?
"How could he get detention on the first day of school!" Hermione yelled as she and Ron left the classroom. "And I told Cedric that I would try to… ugh! I'm going to the Library!" Hermione cried before storming off leaving Ron staring at her.
"Nutters, that girl is still nutters. The Library, how is that going to help Harry's mood?" Ron said to himself before walking towards the Great Hall for lunch.
!
During lunch Cedric looked around furiously for any signs of Hermione or even Harry but neither could be seen. He heard the whispers though. The Fifth years this year were quite the gossipers compared to his year, who kept silent in respect for Riley Ann and her mother's death.
Only seeing Ron, Neville and Ginny, he made this way towards them hoping to inquire about the two that he had come to care for, though in completely different ways.
"Do you guys know where Harry and Mimi, I mean Hermione are?" Cedric asked.
Ron looked up at him in mid bite before going onto biting his sandwich.
Ginny looked at her brother before sighing as she glanced up at Cedric. "Yes, Harry's in the dorm and Hermione's at the library."
Cedric's brows furrowed. "And neither have eaten have they?"
"No," Neville answered unsure. "But I'm going to bring Harry a sandwich as soon as I finish mine."
"Oh okay, thanks Neville." Cedric grinned making the Gryffindor boy quite flustered, not like some of his female admirers but the fact that Cedric has so offhandedly said his name, like as if they were friends. Neville barely had any friends outside of his dorm group as most of his peers considered him incompetent in many ways. But to have Cedric treat him as so.
"Then I guess I get the task of trying to sneak food past Madame Pince." Cedric said before walking away from them, not knowing that he was making Neville stutter as he thought that he had just done something wrong. Luckily Ginny assured him that Cedric was completely fine, in fact would probably enjoy his difficult task indeed.
Hope you guys liked it! And I will do my absolute best to update much much sooner next time I promise!