Ginny had to force me to come down to breakfast the next day, while I fought her pulling my body.
"Leave me alooone," I whined and dug my head deeper into my pillow. I wanted to spend the rest of my day just sleeping, and eating candy from my suitcase. The memories from yesterday flooded back to me, and I had to blink away the tears forming in my eyes.
The last thing I wanted to do today was think about Fred, but he was the only person consuming my thoughts. I had woken up several times in the middle of the night, and just started crying into my hands. I had never experienced this kind of pain from being heartbroken, it hurt differently.
I had manifested this incredible plan of what our year at Hogwarts would look like all summer. I created this false sense of reality when I was trapped in our summer cottage, which was now only a distant idea.
Ginny forcefully grabbed the thick blanket I was hiding underneath and tugged me out of bed. A pool of tissues fell out from my lap and I groaned from the sudden movement.
"No I don't want to leave!" I shouted trying to hold onto the door of my dorm so that she couldn't drag me any further.
"You are better than this!" she yelled back.
"No I'm not I'm just the pathetic ex girlfriend now," I frowned and tried to keep my lip from trembling.
"No Violet, if you miss classes today you won't be allowed to lead Quidditch trials." I had almost forgotten. It was finally Friday, the day of the Gryffindor tryouts.
"Okay fine you got me," I agreed and stood up on my own, "just give me 10 minutes to get ready." She huffed, and waited on my bed while I went into the shower.
My reflection was gross, I know most people would describe themselves after a crying session with 'puffy eyes and messy hair' but oh my was my reflection worse. My eyebrow hairs were sprawled everywhere since I rubbed my eyes so much last night. The bags underneath my eyes were showing much more prominently today, and there was also tear stains on random part of my face that had stuck to my cheeks.
Gross.
Once I had washed away everything that I could, I changed into my clean robes. I went to leave the bathroom but since I had some time I decided to do a little extra. I hesitated for a second before reaching into my makeup bag and took the black pencil from inside.
I wasn't very good at applying anything that wasn't a spray or powder, but I needed to do something to distract everyone from my puffy cheeks. I decided to put a thin line at the top of my lid near the brim of my eyelashes. Then, I coated a good layer of mascara on my eyes making the eyelashes lengthen out even further. My eyes now looked more doe-like and less depressing from the crying.
I gave myself a reassuring smile in the mirror and turned on my feet out the bathroom.
"Wow you look pretty," Ginny gaped at me, "are you sending out boyfriend applications because I'll fill one out right now."
I smacked her arm and laughed lightly with her. I had told her what happened this morning when she woke me up at the crack of dawn wanting to talk about her excitement over tryouts. Her advice to me was that I needed to move on and just focus on myself.
I tried to replay that sentence in my head and push any sadness away. Overall, I was pretty excited to use the new gloves Ruby got me for Christmas last year, and test their grip with a real quaffle.
"What ideas do you have for tryouts today?" Ginny asked while we left the portrait and made our way down to breakfast.
"I don't really know yet. I hope I get to organize the chaser tryout though, I have a couple cool drills in mind," I shrugged.
"I hear Aiden is going to be trying out for keeper," she winked and elbowed my side.
"Aiden?" I asked puzzled.
"Yeah he's a sixth year," she explained to me, "And I happened to hear through the grapevine that he thinks you're fit," she emphasized the last word.
"Ew," I gagged, "I don't know who that is but either way I'm not interested."
"Okayyy," she drawled out, ending the conversation.
When we got to the hall I made a nice plate of French toast with loads of maple syrup.
"Oh my gosh this is incredible," I spit out with my mouth completely full.
"Wait how did you get syrup on your eyebrow," Ginny laughed. I just crossed my eyes making a silly face, and she laughed more helping me wipe it off.
"Hey Violet!" Ruby skipped over to me at my table, "congratulations on being co captain that's so exciting!" Normally I would hug her and say thank you but I was too buys staring at the big brown bag she was holding, which oddly represented the shape of a broom.
"Ruby," I stammered, "what are you holding?"
"I begged dad to let me be the one to give it to you," she gave me a giant grin and passed the bag to me.
"Well open it!" Ron said in a hurried voice. I brought the brown package on the table and everyone helped me pull away the paper. Once the broom was revealed I stared at it in amazement.
"That's a Nimbus 2004," Ginny said ogling. Everyone at the Gryffindor table was looking over at me, even Fred and George, shocked that I got a broom that was so brand new, "oh please let me have a go on it tonight," Ginny pleaded and I finally closed my open mouth.
"This is incredible!" I hugged Ruby tightly, "I'm wearing your gloves tonight too," I told her which made her beam. I left the broom at the table for people to stare at it, while I ran to the staff table.
"DAD I LOVE YOU," I ran to him while the other Professors laughed ay my excited state. I was jumping up and down and hugging him.
"I now expect the best performance at your games," Professor McGonagall winked at me.
"Hey I mean if the rider matches the broom, " I joked. I was in total awe that I was able to fly with a broom like this. I couldn't show my dad how grateful I was.
More people came to gawk at my broom and once the excitement died down, students got ready to go to class.
"We've got that new Professor today," Ron said, scooping up the last of his eggs onto a spoon.
"Umbridge?" I asked.
"Yes I've heard she's foul," Hermione criticized, "I overheard the 7th years in the common room."
"Let's go see for ourselves then," Harry stated standing up. We were the first students to get there and Hermione being her demanded we sit in the front row, whereas Ron and Harry hung back in the middle.
"How are you doing today?" Hermione said knowingly.
"I'm okay. Just trying not to think about it," I shrugged.
"Pst Pine," a voice said from my left and when I turned to the desk behind me I was met with the face of Draco Malfoy.
"Heard you dumped the blood traitor," he smirked making everyone else around him laugh. I could see Ron and Harry confused at the news since I hadn't told them yet and I guess neither did Fred, "get tired of being the one to pay for all your dates?"
"Shut up ferret," I spat as everyone else laughed, recalling last year's incident of Moddy transfiguring him into a ferret.
"Hey no need to attack me," he raised his hands up, "all I'm saying is you wouldn't have to pay for the dates you go on with me," he winked. I turned slowly to Hermione not believing this was happening.
"Okay so thank you for making me throw up in my mouth so early in the morning, but I regretfully have to decline your offer," I rolled my eyes. Before he could say anything the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher walked in.
"Good morning, children," she greeted and everyone just stared back her in silence, "oh no that won't do. When I say hello you respond 'hello Professor Umbridge'. Let's try again!" We all chorused our hello and she stood at the front of the class writing on the chalkboard.
"Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. O-W-Ls. More commonly known as OWLs. Study hard and you will be rewarded," she turned and gave us a sinister smile, "fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe. Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven. But you'll be pleased to know, from now on... you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic. Yes?" Everyone uneasily nodded back her in response, "now proceed to read Chapter 1."
I opened my book and remembered skimming over this during the summer. I originally thought they gave me the wrong book since this resembled a children's picture book, with short statements on each page. Hermione's hand flew up from beside me and I prepared myself for what was to come.
"Yes Miss..."
"Granger," Hermione answered, "there's nothing in here about using defensive spells."
"Yes it wont be necessary to perform spells in my class," she replied in her high pitch voice.
"You mean we're not going to be using magic?" Dean piped up.
"There is no need to use magic as long as you study hard enough and practice the theory."
"But don't we have a practical portion of our OWL's?" Parvarti added.
"Like I said, it's the Ministry's perspective that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient enough to complete your exams."
"How will that help us out in the real world?" Harry angrily said and I could see him sitting up in his seat straighter.
"Students will raise their hand when they speak in my class," she snapped.
"I'm just saying that's not going to help us defend ourselves in the real world."
"And who would ever want to hurt children like you guys," she said in a fake sweet tone.
"Oh I don't know...maybe Lord Voldemort?" My head went down as soon as the sentence left his mouth. Of course I agreed with Harry, the evidence clearly pointed to 'you know' who being back. But he had to know better than try to fight a ministry official whose life goal was to destroy the credibility of Dumbledore and his words.
"Now, let me make this quite plain. You have been told... that a certain dark wizard has returned. This is a lie," she said slowly.
"It's not a lie, Cedric didn't just drop dead. I saw him! I fought him!"
"Detention!" she screamed, "my office, Potter. Tonight," she breathed out before maintaining her composure and giggling once again.
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A/N
Umbridge is truly my FAVORITE villain in the HP series that I just looooove to hate so much <3