Rose didn't think her year could get any worse, and then it did. Umbridge was declared to be the new Headmistress. No one really knew what happened, but they knew that Harry, Rose and Marietta had been the ones to see it and since Marietta was in the hospital wing, they all asked Harry and Rose.
"Dumbledore won't be gone that long," Ernie Macmillan told them after Herbology. "They couldn't keep him away in our second year, they can't keep him away now. The Fat Friar told me that Umbridge can't get into Dumbledore's office. She had a fit when the door wouldn't open."
"Oh, I expect she really fancied herself up there," Hermione said angrily. "Lording it over all the teachers, the stupid, puffed up, power hungry-"
"Do you really want to finish that sentence?" Draco interrupted as he stepped in front of the group, causing them to stop walking. Draco purposefully didn't look at Rose as she glared at him.
"Afraid I'm gonna have to dock some points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," Draco drawled.
"You can't take points from fellow prefects, Malfoy," Ernie reminded him.
"Oh, I know. But members of the Inquisitorial Squad-"
"What?" Hermione interrupted.
"The Inquisitorial Squad, Granger," Draco said, pointing to a silver I badge on his chest. "A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic and are hand selected by Umbridge. Members can dock points. Let's see...five for you Granger, for insulting the headmistress...Macmillan, five for contradicting me...five because I don't like you, Potter...Weasley, your shirt's untucked, so another five for that...oh, and ten for you Granger for being a mudblood."
Ron had his wand out and pointed it at Malfoy before anyone could move.
"Don't!" Hermione pleaded to Ron.
"What about me, dear cousin? Too scared I'll hex you to dock points from me?" Rose asked angrily.
"Hmmm...five points for dating Potter," Draco said before walking off with Crabbe and Goyle, laughing the whole time. Harry quickly grabbed Rose by the waist to keep her from running after him. Rose quickly pushed his arms off as she glared at the retreating figure of her cousin.
"He can't be serious," Ernie said. "He can't dock points...that would completely undermine the prefect system..."
As soon as they entered the Great Hall it was clear that he could. Gryffindor had lost major points. The only house who hadn't lost points was Slytherin.
"Noticed, have you?" Fred asked as he and George came to stand next to them.
"Malfoy just docked us about fifty points," Harry said angrily.
"Yeah, Montague tried to get us during break," George said.
"Tried?" Ron asked quickly.
"He never managed to get the words out. We shoved him headfirst into that vanishing cabinet on the first floor," Fred told them. Rose let out a small laugh at the thought of Montague being shoved into a cabinet.
"But you'll get in trouble!" Hermione gasped.
"Not until Montague returns and that could take weeks," Fred said. "Besides, we've decided we don't care about getting in trouble anymore."
"Have you ever?" Rose asked with a small snort.
"We've never been expelled, have we?" Fred asked her with a grin.
"We've never crossed the line, maybe putting a toe across it every once in a while, but never crossed it," George said.
"But now?" Ron asked tentatively.
"With Dumbledore gone, we reckon mayhem is exactly what the school needs," Fred said.
"You mustn't!" Hermione gasped. "She'd love a reason to expel you!"
"We don't care anymore. We'd walk out right now if we didn't want to do our bit for Dumbledore first. Speaking of, I'd go to the Gryffindor table and stay there just in case a teacher catches you. Phase one is about to begin," Fred told them.
"Oooh, what are you gonna do?" Rose asked.
"You'll see," George smiled at her. Harry felt almost ready to punch the boy when Rose grinned back.
"Run along now," Fred advised them before turning around and disappearing into the crowd with George.
"We should probably go sit," Hermione said worriedly. The group all nodded and made their way to the table, Ernie going to sit at his table. Filch stepped forward before they could actually sit down.
"The headmistress would like to see you, Potter, Black," Filch informed them.
"I didn't do it!" Rose and Harry said at the same time.
"Guilty consciences, eh?" Filch asked. "Follow me."
Rose and Harry sent Ron and Hermione nervous glances before following the caretaker. Filch spent the whole walk praising Umbridge, much to the displeasure of Rose and Harry. He finally stopped in front of Umbridge's office.
"Here we are," Filch announced before knocking on the door and pushing it open. "The Potter boy and the Black girl are here to see you, ma'am."
"Thank you, Argus," Umbridge said with a smile as Rose and Harry entered the office, which was as horrendous as ever. The only change was the wooden block on her desk with the word Headmistress on it. Filch left, bowing as he did.
"Sit," Umbridge instructed. Rose and Harry tentatively sat in the seats across from her desk.
"So...got in trouble for torturing your students?" Rose asked nervously. Umbridge let out a small giggle and Roae felt her heart sink.
"Actually, the Minister agrees with my methods after I explained them," Umbridge told her. Rose tensed her jaw but didn't say anything.
"Would you like a drink?" Umbridge asked them.
"I'm good," Harry said.
"Yeah, I'm not thirsty," Rose told the Professor.
"Have a drink with me," Umbridge insisted.
"Tea, for me," Harry said.
"Same," Rose muttered. Umbridge smiled at them before turning around. Rose could hear her making the tea as she looked to Harry, shaking her head to tell him not to drink the tea. Harry nodded back to tell Rose he understood.
"There," Umbridge said as she handed them their tea. "Drink before it gets cold....I thought we just needed a little chat after the events of last night."
Neither teen said anything as Umbridge sat down. She waited a few moments before speaking.
"Drink up!" Umbridge encouraged. Rose raised the glass to her lips but didn't take a sip. She saw that Harry did the same thing.
"Good...now tell me...where is Albus Dumbledore?" Umbridge asked.
"No idea," Harry said.
"Drink up, drink up," Umbridge encouraged again. "Let's not play childish games. I know you know where Dumbledore is. So tell me where he is."
"I don't know where he is," Harry repeated.
"Neither do I," Rose said.
"Very well," Umbridge said, disappointment coating her tone. "In that case, will you kindly tell me where Sirius Black is?"
"How am I supposed to know? I haven't seen him since I was a baby," Rose lied, shrugging her shoulder to try to make it more believable.
"I don't know," Harry answered. He lifted his cup to his mouth and let some of the tea dribble onto his robes.
"Might I remind you that it was I who almost caught the criminal in the Gryffindor fireplace in October. I know he was meeting you two, and if I had proof, neither of you would be sitting here today. So tell me, where is Sirius Black?" Umbridge said.
"No idea," Rose said.
"Same," Harry said. Umbridge stared at both of them for a second.
"Very well, but may I remind you that all channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts are being watched. Someone is watching every single Floo network, except for my own and-"
Umbridge was cut off by a loud boom outside the office. The floor of the office shook and Umbridge almost fell, causing Rose to hold back a laugh.
"What was...?" Umbridge muttered as she stood up and walked to the door. Rose and Harry both poured their tea out into a bush.
"Back to lunch!" Umbridge told them as she ran out of the classroom.
"Definitely not going to lunch," Rose snorted as she followed after the Professor, Harry not far behind her.
"Brilliant!" Rose gasped when she saw what the boom was. Only one floor down, there were giant fireworks filling the hallways. Filch and Umbridge were standing and staring at them in shock. A firework flew right at the pair so they quickly ducked. A firework in the shape of a dragon flew over their heads and away to another floor.
"Hurry, Filch, hurry!" Umbridge shrieked. "Stupefy!"
Rose watched as the red light exited Umbridge's wand and hit a firework. Instead of freezing, the firework multipled.
"Don't stun them, Filch!" Umbridge yelled angrily.
"Right you are!" Filch agreed. Rose knew that he was a Squib and that he couldn't do any magic. He dashed to a closet and pulled out a broom and started hitting the fireworks. The broom was ablaze within seconds.
"Come on," Rose muttered happily to Harry as she pulled him away, knowing they would get in trouble if they were caught. Harry pointed to a door hidden behind a tapestry and Rose entered it to find Fred and George already in there.
"Impressive," Rose giggled, a bright smile on her face. George grinned back at her. Rose stepped closer to him to allow Harry to enter the room.
"I hope she tried vanishing them next!" George whispered as he wiped tears of joy off his face. "They multiply by ten every time you try!"
The fireworks continued to go off for the rest of the day. They would enter the classroom and distract the students, but the teachers didn't seem to mind. Instead of dealing with the fireworks themselves, the teachers would call for Umbridge. Rose enjoyed seeing Umbridge run from class to class, her clothes burnt in places and her hair falling out of its elegant curls.
Fred and George were heroes in the common room that night. Even Hermione went to talk to them.
"They were wonderful fireworks," Hermione admitted once she finally made her way to the twins, Rose coming with her as Ron and Harry sat at a table.
"Thanks," George said as he looked both proud and surprised. "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole stock, we're going to have to start from scratch now..."
"It was worth it, though," Fred added. "If you want to order some it's five galleons for the basic box and twenty for the advanced."
"You'll be rich in no time," Rose told them. George grinned and hugged Rose, spinning her around in a circle before setting her down.
"I know! I'm so excited!" George gasped before lowering his voice to a whisper so Hermione couldn't hear. "It's all thanks to you and Harry."
"We just helped a little. You two did the rest," Rose grinned at him.
"Harry's glaring at me," George noticed. Rose looked over her shoulder and saw that he was right, but Harry quickly looked away when he saw Rose looking at him. She rolled her eyes but a light blush went over her cheeks. She was starting to seriously regret breaking up with Harry, but she had too much of the Black genes in her to admit that she missed him. Plus, it was a little refreshing to take a small break seeing as she was still so young.
"I should probably go back. Let you take orders," Rose said. George nodded and ruffled her hair before gently pushing her towards Hermione, who was waiting for Rose. The two girls walked back over to Ron and Harry.
"What's going on between you and George?" Harry asked as soon as Rose sat down. The girl stopped fixing her hair to stare at him.
"What?" Rose asked.
"Well, you guys kept grinning at each other yesterday and then you got really close with him yesterday when we were hiding after they set off the fireworks, and then today he hugged you," Harry explained.
"He's like a brother to me, and you have no room to talk," Rose snapped at Harry.
"Let's not argue," Hermione sighed. "Let's have a night off from homework. Easter holidays start on Friday so we'll have plenty of time to do it."
"Are you feeling all right?" Ron asked in surprise.
"Now that you mention it," Hermione said with a grin. "I'm feeling a little...rebellious.
"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?" Rose asked as Tillie jumped into her lap.
"I don't know...too much has happened," Hermione sighed.
"Yeah, we need a break," Harry said. Tillie reached over and scratched his hand for no apparent reason.
"Rose! Your cat hates me!" Harry exclaimed. Rose rolled her eyes and took Harry's hand without thinking. The boy froze for a little and Rose quickly retracted her hand as she started to blush.
"You healed him," Hermione gasped.
"Yeah...she's been able to do that for a while," Ron said slowly. Rose shook her head and grabbed Harry's hand, pulling it to her face. Rose pulled his hand so that Hermione could see it better, Harry almost falling into her lap, although neither of them minded.
"I did it...Hermione, I did it!" Rose gasped happily.
"Oh, I'm so proud!" Hermione said, giving Rose a hug.
"I'm so confused," Harry muttered as he took his hand back.
"Good," Hermione and Rose said at the same time.
Rose went to bed that night with a smile on her face, the banging and whizzing of fireworks lulling her to sleep.
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"Why can't you get Occlumency lessons anymore?" Hermione asked Harry two days after the fireworks fiasco. Harry had just told them that he was going to stop taking lessons.
"I told you," Harry said with a frown. "Snape reckons I can carry on by myself now that I have the basics..."
"So you've stopped having funny dreams?" Hermione asked.
"Pretty much," Harry said, but he wouldn't look at Hermione. Rose knew he was lying.
"He shouldn't stop until you stop having them completely!" Hermione said loudly. "You should go back and-"
"No," Harry said forcefully. "Just drop it."
"Do you guys realize there's only six weeks till exams?" Rose groaned, knowing that Harry would want the topic to change. It was the first day of Easter holiday, so Hermione had made them all schedules.
"Blimey! I didn't know that!" Ron exclaimed.
"How can that come as a surprise?" Hermione asked as she messed around with Ron's schedule.
"I dunno..." Ron muttered. "There's been a lot going on..."
"Here you go," Hermione said as she handed Ron his schedule. "If you follow this, you should be fine."
"You've given me an evening off every week!" Ron said brightly.
"That's for Quidditch practice," Hermione informed him. The smile fell off of Ron's face.
"What's the point?" Ron grumbled. "We've got about as much of a chance of winning as Dad has becoming Minister of Magic."
Hermione didn't say anything as she looked to Harry, who was staring at a wall.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked softly.
"Oh, what? Nothing," Harry said quickly as he grabbed a random book and pretended to read it.
"Hey, I think you have one of my pony tail holders still. Let's go see," Rose said as she grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him up to his dorm room. She made him sit on his bed as she sat on Ron's bed across from him.
"What's up?" Rose asked. Harry sighed deeply and hesitated before answering.
"I saw a memory of Snape's...of my parents and Remus and Sirius and Wormtail," Harry admitted.
"What was the memory?" Rose asked softly.
"They...they had just finished an exam, so they were outside. Our dads were being horrible to Snape, teasing him and doing some sort of spell to make him hang upside down in the air. Remus and Wormtail didn't really say anything to stop them either. But my mum did...your mum was with her, but she didn't really say anything. When my mum defended Snape, he...he called her a mudblood," Harry answered.
"They bullied Snape?" Rose asked quietly.
"Yeah..." Harry mumbled. "But I think the worst part was seeing how much my mum hated my dad. Your mum seemed to hate your dad too...it was horrible."
"Should...should we ask my dad about it?" Rose whispered. She knew that her dad and Sirius had never gotten along, but she didn't know that her dad had bullied Snape. She also didn't know that her mum used to hate her dad.
"I don't know how we would," Harry said with a sigh.
"This sucks," Rose grumbled. Harry went to reply but Seamus came out of the bathroom, dripping wet and not wearing a towel.
"Seamus! Merlin!" Rose yelled as she covered her eyes before she could see something she didn't want to, Harry doing the same.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was in here and I forgot a towel!" Seamus apologized. Rose could hear him running back into the bathroom and slamming the door.
"I'm gonna...go boil my eyes," Rose said as she stood up. Harry nodded, a disgusted look on his face. Rose quickly ran to her dorm where she jumped on her bed.
"What's up with you?" Lavender asked.
"Is it Harry again?" Parvati questioned.
"No...I accidentally saw Seamus naked," Rose admitted, her voice muffled by he blanket.
"WHAT?!"
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"Did you really have to tell everyone, Rose?" Seamus groaned the next day.
"I just told Lavender and Parvati...and Hermione. Blame them for telling everyone," Rose said with an awkward look on her face. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't see anything."
"I'm sure if I hadn't come in when I did you would've seen something of Harry's," Seamus teased.
"Oh, suddenly I did see something and it's barely an inch!" Rose said as she stood up and walked over to Hermione.
"Wait! Rose!" Seamus pleaded before groaning and turning to Dean to complain.
"What's up with him?" Hermione asked.
"He was being annoying and I reminded him of something," Rose said simply.
"Okk...did you see the board? We have career advice with Mcgonagall soon," Hermione said.
"Yeah, mine is on Monday, but I'll have to double check the time," Rose answered.
Career advice was all anyone could talk about. Rose got into the habit of tuning people out when they mentioned careers. She was sitting in the common room with the quartet when Fred and George suddenly appeared, George throwing an arm over her shoulders as he sat next to her.
"Hey," Fred said to Harry as he sat next to him. "Ginny's had a word with us about you. She says you need to talk to Sirius."
"What?" Hermione said sharply.
"Yeah," Harry said, trying to sound casual.
"It's going to be very simple. We're going to cause a diversion tomorrow," George said with a smile.
"We can use the fireplace in Umbridge's office," Rose said.
"And I can use the knife Sirius gave me to open the door! It can open everything!" Harry added.
"Everything is falling into place," George said.
"Just find your way up to Gregory the Smarmy's corridor at five o'clock tomorrow," Fred said.
"Awesome," Rose whispered, ready to see her dad again.