You stood anxiously in the doorway as Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried to activate the Floo Network from the fireplace in Umbridge's office. You weren't exactly sure what was going on or why you needed to leave the school, but you weren't about to abandon your friends when they needed you.
Harry, who had been crouched over in the fireplace, sat back up and huffed. There was soot all over his cheeks and his glasses were crooked. He wiped the ashes from his hands onto the lap of his jeans before standing back up. "Ron, Hermione, you two come with me. (Y/N), go straight to the Owlery, and send word to the Order. Voldemort has Sirius."
"What?" You exclaimed, stepping out of the doorway and into the room. "I'm coming with you guys!"
This was exactly the opportunity you had been waiting for this entire year. Now, you could finally prove that you weren't as evil as your parents by helping Harry rescue Sirius. Why was he trying to rip that away from you?
Harry straightened his glasses and shot you a look. At surface level, it was bitter and tense. But the longer you stared into his soft emerald colored eyes, the clearer it became that his intentions were nothing less than protective.
"Please, (Y/N). It could be dangerous."
Despite his purest intentions, you clenched your hand into a fist at your side and tilted your chin high up into the air. "Harry, when are you going to realize that we're in this together. All of us."
"For once I agree with you, Ms. Firethorn."
Everyone's eyes went wide and you wheeled around to see Umbridge and her army of Slytherin students standing in the doorway behind her. You could see Pansy wedged behind Crabbe and Goyle, her arms crossed in front of her robes with a satisfied look on her face. You glared. She had no-doubt seen the four of you sneaking away from the fireworks display and alerted the others.
It didn't take long for Umbridge to round up the rest of Dumbledore's Army. You and the others were being held tightly in place by your fellow Slytherins. Pansy had the tip of her wand pointed at Ron who looked less than pleased to be in her grasp. Crabbe, obviously careful of his limits, had a loose hold on your elbow.
You had always assumed that he had the same fearful respect for you that he did for Draco just out of association. But now you understood the truth. He knew that your father was closer to Voldemort than his and one bad word could ruin the Crabbe family name in the eyes of their precious Dark Lord forever.
Lucky for him, you didn't feel like struggling. If you had, there were four ways you already pictured your escape to go down and three of them involved cranking back your arm and breaking his nose.
Harry had been bound in place in Umbridge's pink-cushioned office chair. She paced slowly in front of him, every so often kicking one of his sneakers. The room was twice as stuffy with eight or so people wedged inside and if you heard that kitten plate meow one more time, you swore you'd smash it into a million pieces.
"Caught this one trying to help that Weasley girl!" Draco sneered as he entered, shoving Neville forcefully in front of him. You refused to meet his gaze, despite feeling the burn of his eyes on your figure. Instead, you blinked down at Harry, who was taking long deep breaths through his teeth.
"You were going to Dumbledore, weren't you?" Umbridge spat, her face closing in on his.
Harry turned his head away, his eyes closed in what looked like disgust. "No," he answered levelly.
You gasped loudly as she reeled her hand back to slap him flat across the face with her open palm. His glasses fell off of one ear but he did not react physically. Despite his calm response, you struggled once more in Crabbe's meek hold.
"Liar!" She hissed, raising her wand to prod at the underside of his chin. Harry tilted his head back compliantly. A dark shadow took shape in the doorway and you looked over to see Professor Snape standing there. He surveyed the room with a disinterested sneer before addressing Umbridge.
"You sent for me, Headmistress?"
You glared at him but he didn't spare you a single glance. It never sat right with you just how compliant he had been in Umbridge's take-over of Hogwarts. Ever since you discovered that he was in the Order of the Phoenix, you tried to see him as a better person than the rest of your Gryffindor friends made him out to be. But now, you couldn't even bring yourself to justify his disloyal behavior.
Umbridge sighed almost dreamily as she clasped her hands over her chest, stepping back from Harry. "Snape, yes. The time has come for answers, whether he wants to give them to me or not," she said. "Have you brought the Veritaserum?"
"I'm afraid you've used up all my stores interrogating students. Unless you wish to poison him--"
"Don't!" You cried out, wriggling once again in an attempt to break free. Just when you thought Dolores Umbridge couldn't get any more psychotic, you were proven wrong.
Her head spun around to eye you evilly, face flush with anger. If you hadn't been in a sideways hostage situation, you would have laughed at her expression. "That's it!" She snapped. "I've had it with you foolish girl. You and your silly escapades. How many times must I repeat myself? You shall not speak out of turn!"
Unbeknownst to her, the phrase that once struck fear into your heart had all but since lost its meaning over the course of the year. "I guess the message never really sank in, did it, Professor?"
Her mouth opened and closed rapidly and smile twitched at the corner of your lips. Professor Snape looked between the two of you like he would have rather been anywhere else.
Suddenly, as if coming to her senses, Umbridge snapped her fingers and pointed at you. "Mr. Malfoy, please escort Ms. Firethorn to her dormitory. I'd like to see to her on my own time."
Gulping, you winced as Crabbe thrusted you out of his hands and into Draco's. As you were being led out of the door, Umbridge called after you. "I'm afraid my usual disciplinary practices just won't suffice. Something more...severe...may be in order."
There was a sudden commotion but the door slammed shut behind you before you could observe any of it. With a nearly bruising grip, Draco silently yanked you down the stairs to her office and through the door of the classroom. The corridor outside was empty and you tripped up on your shoes until you turned the corner and he let go completely.
You rubbed your arm where his hand had been. You had no doubt in your mind that there was an imprint of his family's ring on your skin. His face was calm as he looked left and right down the corridor.
"You're not taking me back to the common room?" You ask nervously.
He only shook his head firmly. "Umbridge promised me that you wouldn't be punished again when I joined the Inquisitorial Squad. The old toad broke her promise, so who am I to enforce her silly rules any longer?" He shrugged and looked down at his hand, twisting the ring on his finger. "Besides, you've made it very clear that you've got nothing left to lose."
Blinking up at him, you cocked your head to the side. You couldn't figure out if he was being serious or not. Once you realized that yes, he was being one-hundred percent genuine, a smile broke out on your face and you reached up and hugged him quickly around the neck, pulling away before he could process the quick gesture. "Thank you, Draco."
You were about to turn back around and offer your help to the rest of Dumbledore's Army who were still in captivity when Crabbe and Goyle rounded the corner. They looked exasperated and Goyle had to lean against the wall to regain his breath.
"Headmistress Umbridge left us in charge of the conspirators," he gasped. "But they've escaped."
Draco eyed him sternly, a look of mock-seriousness blanketing his once softened features. "Where?" He spat.
You followed Crabbe's hand as he pointed down the corridor that Draco had pulled you into. Without another word, you ran off in that direction as fast as you possibly could.
You raced past fellow students who eyed you strangely, blood pumping loudly in your ears. You weren't exactly sure where you were going or what you would do when you got there, but there was one thing you knew for certain: Something big was on the horizon and you were going to be there when it finally dawned.
The hallway opened up into the lower-level courtyard. It was completely empty in the shade of the Astronomy tower. You cupped your hands above your eyes and looked all around. There was no sign of Harry or the others anywhere. Had Crabbe and Goyle lied to you in order to throw you off track? Had your friends even escaped Umbridge at all?
Hope had been all but lost when a loud screeching sounded from above. You trained your eyes up to see a hoard of thershals soaring high above the castle. Their velvety, translucent skin shimmered in the light of the sun and you realized that it was the first time you had seen them in broad daylight.
The closer you looked, you realized that they weren't alone. There were people crowded together on their backs. Is that...no, it couldn't be.
There was another screech, this one much closer. You dropped your hands and looked a few yards to the right just to watch as another thershal land softly in the grass of the courtyard. On its back with his hands clutching either side of it's boney neck, was Harry. He pushed up his glasses and maneuvered the beast so that it padded its way a little closer to you. It huffed and billowed hot air out of its nostrils and you fought the urge to give it a quick pat on the nose.
"Don't just stand there," Harry breathed, reaching his hand down to your level. "Hop on!"
(A/N: woop woop another chapter for tonight. I should actually go to bed at a reasonable time for a change, huh? Ok, you've heard from me for the last time until tomorrow night. I promise the next few chapters are very interesting. I might actually finish publishing year 5 tomorrow after school. Goodnight everyone!)