The Sunrise of My Heart

As March bled into a dull, wet April, things at school did not improve much. Umbridge was as awful as ever. I seriously think she was trying to annoy us all to death. Or maybe bore us to death. Either way, she sucked. Divination wasn't very good either. I must admit, I was a bit better at performing Firenze's forms of divination than the other students, but not by much. Where they could only see smoke coming from their flames, I could see vague, half-formed shapes that could have been anything.

I hadn't been dreaming much lately, which was good. Actually, my dreams had gone away ever since Christmas break at Sirius's house. There was something about that place that calmed me and kept my bad dreams at bay. And apparently, the effects were lasting for quite awhile, meaning my sleep was much more restful.

In D.A., we were working on creating patronuses, which was basically my favorite lesson ever. While everyone around me picked their silly little happy memories, I closed my eyes and concentrated on one that I knew would be powerful enough to work, even in the middle of a dangerous situation. I let it fill me up, coursing through my body until it was all of me, and then I spoke the incantation. "Expecto patronum," I said in a calm, steady voice.

Opening my eyes, I saw the giant lion burst forth from my wand, shaking his large mane before standing right next to me. He was huge, his head reaching my shoulder as he stood regally by my side, inspecting the room to make sure there was no danger. Pride surged through me, seeing the magnificent creature, and I smiled.

"Very good," Harry said, walking past.

I grinned. "I know. He's spectacular. I'll name him Orion."

When I saw Dobby enter the ROR, my attention was diverted and my lion faded a bit. Once I noticed how terrified he looked and how much he was shaking, my smile slipped away, and my lion disappeared into a puff of silvery smoke.

As Harry questioned the poor house-elf, dread filled me. Oh, God, no. Umbridge had found out about the D.A. She was coming. We had to leave, but no one was moving. Finally, Harry spoke up, his eyes wide. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" he bellowed. "RUN!"

Everyone ran at once, but I hung back. If someone was to get caught, better me than them. I was pretty certain I could handle Umbridge's wrath better than most of the others. Everyone left, including Dobby, and finally, I did too. As I started to sprint, George grabbed my hand, but I shook my head and pushed him away.

"Go! She'll be less harsh on me than she will on you because I'm a Slytherin!" I said hurriedly. He hesitated for a brief moment, but then he nodded and ran, heading for the library.

I stood still, hearing running footsteps. Were they from a member of the D.A., or were they a member of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad? Moving silently, I hid behind a statue of armor, shushing it when it started to look at me. It turned away again, hiding me from view. From behind him, I saw Malfoy run past. I bit my lip, clutched my wand, and stepped out.

"Hello, Malfoy," I said coldly. "What brings you here?"

He raised his wand at first, but when he saw who it was, he lowered it again. "Catching rule breakers and filthy betrayers to the school. What are you doing?"

"Staying true to this school and to Dumbledore by breaking the rules and betraying the fat toad."

He narrowed his eyes. "So you're one of them? I'm not even surprised." He gripped his wand again but did not raise it.

"Go ahead," I challenged, seeing him grip the wand. "I dare you. Go against honor, loyalty, all of that, just to be in her good graces."

He glared at me and turned away, hiding in a niche beneath a dragon-shaped vase. I rolled my eyes and started to walk away until I heard him step out and cast a spell, and heard him speak to who he had attacked.

"Trip jinx, Potter!" he said in an obnoxiously smug voice. "Hey, Professor! PROFESSOR! I've got one!" he yelled, getting Umbridge's attention.

"Just as you were starting to prove you're not a worthless dickface, you go and pull something like this," I snapped, walking back towards him and Harry.

"It's him!" Umbrdige said excitedly, coming up behind Draco. She paused, looking at me. "Is she one of them too?" she asked Draco.

"No," he answered smoothly. "She was studying in the library for her O.W.L.s."

"Move, on, then," she commanded me, but she was no longer interested in me at all. "Excellent," she was saying, staring at Harry. She continued to beam and award Slytherin for Draco's works, yadda, yadda, yadda. "You hop along and see if you can round up anymore of them, Draco," she said. "You," she pointed at me, "help him." Then, she grabbed Harry, forced him to stand up, and dragged him away the same way Draco was pulling me.

Draco grabbed my arm and dragged me away. I stared at Harry, pulling against Draco's hold and trying to get back to him so he wouldn't have to face her alone.

"Stop squirming and let's go," Draco hissed at me. "Or would you rather get caught and expelled like Potter?"

"Better to take consequences for my actions than to let others face them for me," I answered coolly. I opened my mouth to tell Umbridge I had been a part of the D.A., but Draco put his hand over my mouth and continued dragging me away.

"Are you bloody mental?" he growled as he dragged me, removing his hand when we were out of earshot of her.

"Let me go," I snapped, tugging my arm against his hold. He was surprisingly strong, however, and did not release my arm.

"Do you really want to explain to your mom that you got expelled for participating in an illegal school group that went against Ministry decrees?"

"My mom would understand," I answered honestly, knowing she would. Still, I stopped struggling. She would still be disappointed, and I really didn't want to get expelled. With a sigh, I let Draco drag me all the way to the library. "I'm a coward," I muttered to myself. "And Umbridge is a filthy bitch. I hope an ogre shits on her."

"Go to the dorm," Draco snapped at me, rolling his eyes.

"Make me, mum," I retorted, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Oh, very mature."

"Fine, I'm going," I said with a sigh. "Good night, Draco. Try not to let the D.A. kick your ass. Because we can. We're awesome ninjas now. Ta!" I moved away, going down the hall. Once I got to the stairs, I hesitated, and then changed my course. Instead of going down to the Slytherin common rooms, I went to the Gryffindor ones. On my way, I ran into Harry, being escorted by McGonagall back to the dorm.

"Harry!" I said, running over to him. They were both covered in dust and there was an unreadable expression in McGonagall's eyes. "What happened?"

"Dumbledore took the blame for starting the D.A. They were going to arrest him, but he managed to escape," Harry answered, looking guilty about Dumbledore taking the blame for the D.A.

"Where did he go?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"We don't know," McGonagall answered. "But at least he's free." She looked at me and then turned back to Harry. "I think you can make it on your own from here, Potter. Good night." She left us then, looking very worn out.

"Harry, fill me in on what happened after Umbridge dragged you off." And so Harry told me all about how Cho Chang's friend, Marietta Edgecomb, had betrayed all of us, and about Hermione's freaking awesome jinx, about Kingsley's help in keeping us all from getting expelled, the whole shebang. He ended his story with Dumbeldore's sweet escape.

"Wow," I said when he had finished. "Dumbledore is one bad-ass dude. I wish I was that cool." I glanced at the clock and frowned, realizing it was way past time for me to get back to my own dorm. "Night, Harry. I should go back to my own room before people start to get suspicious. Great lesson today, by the way. Even with the sucky end. Your teaching skills are awesome. You taught us so much more than we ever would have learned with that God-awful toad trying to brainwash us." I left, creeping silently back to the Slytherin rooms. When I got there, I was unsurprised to find Draco sitting up in the darkness, alone.

"You certainly took a long time in getting here," Draco answered, gazing at me.

"I took the scenic route," I answered jokingly.

He rolled his eyes. "Are you ever serious? Or do you take everything as a joke?"

"Oh, I can be serious as the grave when I want to be. I just don't ever feel like it." I paused, considering staying with him and talking, but my body demanded sleep by forcing me to yawn. "Anyway, good night, Draco. I'll see you in the morning." I went to my bedroom, careful not to wake Pansy while I undressed and got into bed. I closed my eyes, thinking about the events of the day. It had been very stressful and crazy, but still not a horrible day, all things considered. I went to sleep with a smile on my face, happy thoughts flitting through my mind. Like Umbridge getting crapped on by a fat ogre.