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Brontide

Chapter Six

Double Charms that morning was an irritable experience. I’d heard previously from a few people that Umbridge would be inspecting our class. At first, I seriously considered swallowing a few Puking Pastilles and staying in the infirmary for the day, but I decided against it. I wasn’t going to let her win. When I spotted She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named sitting in the corner of Flitwick’s classroom, clipboard in hand and that ugly pink bow perched on her head like a bug, I began to wish I’d done it.

All throughout the class, she kept interrupting Flitwick’s lesson on the Flower Charm, asking questions and writing things down on her clipboard. When it came time for us to practice conjuring a bouquet of flowers from our wands, she went around and asked us questions about Flitwick and his class. The urge to curse her out the window pretty much prevented me from conjuring anything.

After a few minutes of practicing, Umbridge found her way over to me. I gripped my wand tightly.

“Hello, dear,” she said in her sickly sweet voice that made me want to upchuck my breakfast, “how do you find Professor Flitwick as a teacher?” Her clipboard was at the ready.

I cleared my throat, putting on a fake smile of my own. “Professor Flitwick is a wonderful teacher who possesses a lot of talent. I believe he could teach even a troll some of his fancy wand work.”

She wrote something down. “And do you find that his classes are instructive and informative?”

“Oh yes,” I nodded, “I’ve learned a ton from him.”

She scribbled down something else. “Do you find that Professor Flitwick’s height and ancestry prevent him from teaching his classes to the fullest extent?”

This time I looked at her with shock. “I beg your pardon?”

“Well - Miss Bains, is it? Professor Flitwick, as the Ministry has researched, has a goblin ancestor some ways back. The Ministry is beginning to wonder if enactments should be made so that only full humans- or should I say, full wizards- should be allowed to teach magic here at Hogwarts.”

This time I actually lost it. “If the Ministry has any sense left in their thick skulls then they shouldn’t even bother inspecting Professor Flitwick! He’s a world-renowned Charms Master, best one you’d ever come across! So if you’re trying to tell me that he shouldn’t teach because of his ancestry then you’re loose in the head. I won’t have anyone discriminate in front of me and think that it’s alright.” At this point I’d neared closer to her, my eyes glaring into hers with cold hatred. I was not happy, not one bit, and neither was she. Her smile was icy and forced, the entire class watching and waiting to see what was about to happen.

“Twenty-five points from Gryffindor, how dare you talk back to me like that? Detention, Miss Bains, my office at noon.” She turned to Flitwick. “I believe I’m done here for today, Filius. Consider yourself having passed.” She strode from the room, her smile never waning the entire way.

I was seething with rage. Professor Flitwick, surprised at my outburst but looking overall grateful that Umbridge had gone, offered me a glass of water, which I happily accepted. Fred and George patted me on the back and cheered and clapped with most of the class. Rae smiled and told me how she wished she could’ve told Umbridge off too. I didn’t know what they were all so happy about; I had detention with Umbridge to look forward to and writing lines using my own blood was not on my list of things to do. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me.

As we were all leaving class an hour later, Fred approached me.

“You, my friend, deserve these,” he said, muttering “Orchideous”, a bunch of brightly colored wildflowers appearing from his wand. I took them with a small smile.

“Thank you, I suppose she had it coming to her,” I said, taking in their sweet scent. People high-fived me on their way out of the classroom, all because I’d stood up to Umbridge. Flitwick looked happy enough to cry and mouthed the words “thank you” to me. I smiled slightly and gave him a small nod before gathering my things, following the others from the room.

I got back to the common room and went upstairs. Transfiguring an old hat into a pretty blue vase, I stuck the flowers inside with some water and put them on the dresser near my bed. Rae came in after me, whistling to herself. She threw her cloak down on her bed and turned her attention to me, noticing the flowers right away.

“Did you make those?” she asked. “They’re very pretty.”

I shook my head. “They’re from Fred, a ‘good job’ present, if you will.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Right, a ‘good job’ present, that’s what it is.”

I rolled my eyes. “I basically told off Umbridge and he gave me flowers, it doesn’t mean anything else.”

“I never said that it meant anything else,” she laughed, lying on her bed in a heap, “look who’s getting defensive.”

“You implied it,” I grumbled, throwing my hair up into a messy ponytail.

I had some time before my detention with Umbridge, so I made my way down to the Owlery. It was chilly outside, gusts of wind hitting me in the face as I trekked across the grounds to the stone tower, my hands shoved deep in the pockets of my coat. I pushed open the old wooden door, the screeches of various owls meeting my ears and a damp smell filling my nostrils. Straw and owl droppings covered the floor. I searched the different cubbies containing the owls, who were either sleeping or staring at me with large, yellow eyes.

My parents hadn’t answered my last letter yet, so Nestor was absent. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a piece of parchment and my quill, setting them down on the small table in the middle of the room.

I was going to write a letter to Nymphadora Tonks. Tonks, a member of the Order, had befriended me over the summer. She was quirky and a little weird like me, but our personalities meshed quite well. I’d spent a good portion of the summer at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, the house of Sirius Black and the Order's Headquarters. Tonks was over quite a lot for meetings, or just for the sake of hanging out. We’d become pretty close and she told me to keep in touch once I went back to Hogwarts. It was funny because we were both cursed with ridiculous first names, names that we refused to go by.

I gathered my thoughts and wrote:

Tonks,

I already wish it was summer again. You’ll probably hear soon enough if you haven’t heard already, but we have this new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, courtesy of the Ministry. She’s a nightmare, I tell you, and to make matters worse she’s got this new post of “High Inquisitor”, which gives her almost as much power as Dumbledore. I’ve just about lost my mind trying to tolerate the woman. In fact, I stood up to her earlier today and landed myself in detention. It wasn’t my most brilliant moment but what’s done is done; she deserved it, anyway.

Tell everyone I say hello, and I hope all is well. Maybe during Christmas break we can go see The Weird Sisters in concert or something. They were great when they performed during the Yule Ball last year, and you mentioned you were dying to see them. I’ll ask the twins if they can get a hold of Mundungus and see if he has any tickets for cheap.

The next thing I’m going to talk to you about is a bit of a weird subject for me to discuss; I’d appreciate it if this stayed between us. I’m not sure if Rae has confided in you about her suspicions, but she seems to have this idea in her head that Fred and I would make positively dashing offspring. Maybe you know what sparked this sudden thought because I sure as fuck don’t and she’s driving me nuts. I mean, can you believe her nerve? Granted she is my best friend, so of course some outlandish things are bound to be said but this…this just takes the cake.

Do you know what the worst part of it is? She’s beginning to make me contemplate what it would be like to date him! It’s weird and it’s freaking me out, I am so opposed to the idea it’s not even funny. Fred and I are practically related, I’ve known him and George for so long. Maybe you could give me some advice about all of this, set my head straight again. What would you do if you were me? Would you pursue it?


I stopped writing abruptly to take in that last paragraph, wondering whether or not I should cross it all out. I ultimately decided against it.

If there’s anything you need let me know. I’m not sure what I’d be able to do from over here but I’m a good listener and will send sweets if comfort is needed. I’m running out of room, so once again, I hope everything’s alright. I miss everyone like you wouldn’t believe. Stay safe, please, all of you.

Sincerely,
Cassie


I folded up the parchment and looked around at the waiting owls, walking over to a little Screech Owl who’d been watching me with one eye open. Rather reluctantly, he stuck out his leg, waiting as I tied the letter to it. I put him on my arm and fed him an owl nut before walking over to one of the many open windows.

“Find Tonks and give this to her, please,” I said. The owl hooted in response before flapping its small wings and flying off into the pale, cloudy sky.

I watched until he was a microscopic dot on the horizon before picking up my bag again, heading back to the castle for my detention. The emotional weight on my shoulders had been significantly lessened, except I had facing Umbridge to look forward to, and this time no one else would be watching.

***

The door to Umbridge’s office was cracked open. Hesitantly, I knocked, hoping she’d forgotten about my detention and decided to terrorize some other class instead. I heard her chime “come in”, so with a frown I pushed the door open the rest of the way and entered her office.

I was met with a room that was almost as round and pink as Umbridge herself. It was cylindrical with pink walls that matched her outfit, and the sight hurt my eyes. Collectible plates hung all around me, pictures of cats moving around on them and staring at me with lamp-like eyes, meowing persistently to the point where I knew it would eventually annoy me. By the window on the opposite side of the room was a large wooden desk, Umbridge herself seated behind it, sipping a cup of tea. Next to the desk was a nice looking fireplace and beside the door was an ornate grandfather clock. In the center of the room was a singular student’s desk and chair.

“Ah, Miss Bains,” she smiled. The grandfather clock began to ding, signaling that it was noon. “You’re right on time, good, good. Have a seat,” she said, motioning to the desk.

I sat down, putting my bag on the floor beside me and facing the Toad Queen. She stood up and put a roll of parchment on my desk, along with a fancy looking quill.

“Now, you’re going to write for me exactly these words: ‘I will not talk back’, understand?” she said, prowling around my desk in slow circles. I nodded, picking up the quill.

“How many times do I have to write it?” I asked quietly.

She stopped in front of my desk, leaning down a bit so she’d be level with me. “Until I feel that the message has gotten through to you,” she said with a grin, going back behind her desk.

With a sigh I picked up the quill and began to write ‘I will not talk back’, and the moment the quill touched the parchment my left hand began to sting. Slowly, looking as though someone were etching them into my skin, the words I wrote began to appear on the back of my hand. I then knew what Harry had to experience, and I could safely say it wasn’t fun at all. My hand began to throb not too far into my detention and I hissed in pain, clenching my hand into a fist on the desk. The words had blood trickling from them, as I wrote them over and over again; I will not talk back, I will not talk back, I will not talk back, I will not talk back…

The sounds of the cats meowing and the clock ticking nearly made me mental. Umbridge didn’t move from the spot at her desk, filling out paperwork and humming as she went. My stomach growled at the thought of lunch and I wondered how long she was going to make me do this. My hand felt raw with pain and I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to handle it. It wasn’t until two o’clock that Umbridge decided I’d had enough and sent me on my way, but not before she could spoil my day even further.

"Miss Bains, you’ll be here at the same time every day for the next week. Have a nice day,” she smiled, escorting me to the door. I felt a vein throb in my forehead, ready to pop.

Herbology came and went and I was in such a foul mood I refused to talk to anyone. I knew Fred, George and Rae were looking at my hand the whole time, bloody and carved up like a pumpkin but quite frankly it wasn’t something I felt like talking about. I had another six days of it to get through before I could even think about being happy again. I channeled this anger into Herbology that day, almost ripping out a Venomous Tentacula by its roots.

Transfiguration followed, and I still hadn’t said a word to anyone. We had to turn birdcages into flamingos and back again, and when I transfigured my birdcage the flamingo that resulted ended up with an extra head, which was quite horrifying. Professor McGonagall pulled me aside when class had ended, as I was one of her better students and she could see that something about me was off that day.

“I see, so you had detention with Professor Umbridge today. May I ask why?” she asked, looking toward my hand from the corner of her eye. I tried to hide it with my sleeve.

“She was inspecting Professor Flitwick’s class and she started talking about his heritage, how the Ministry was thinking about having only humans teach at Hogwarts…it made me really mad. I told her and the Ministry off,” I said quietly.

Professor McGonagall was frowning at this but then did something she rarely ever did; she smiled. “While it isn’t wise to go toe to toe with Dolores I can see why you did it, as I myself would’ve reacted similarly. In the future, I advise against getting a detention from her. I now see what it entails and I’m not pleased with it one bit. Torture my students, she will, I will not have it,” she said, muttering the last part under her breath. McGonagall went behind her desk, glancing up at me. “You are dismissed; Miss Bains…do try to have a better day.” I loved Professor McGonagall.

I left the classroom feeling a little better and hurriedly made my way down to the Great Hall for dinner, my stomach grumbling profusely. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, thanks to Umbridge, whose detention caused me to skip lunch. Once I got to the Great Hall, I could see Fred, George and Lee Jordan talking to a bunch of First Years, undoubtedly trying to sell some Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products.

Upon my arrival at the table, they looked up, eyeing me with concern. I gave them a small wave and said I’d talk to them once they were done, making my way down the table to where Rae was seated with Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry. I plopped in between the two gingers.

General greetings were exchanged all around and I wasted no time in filling my plate with chicken legs and steamed vegetables. Rae watched me warily the whole time, her eyes darting from my hand to my face.

I took a large bite from a chicken leg in the most unladylike way possible, chewing and swallowing. “So,” I said between mouthfuls, “detention was bloody awful. I’ve got to go back again tomorrow.”

Rae shook her head in disgust, biting into her dinner roll as though it’d wronged her, muttering “I’d like to carve her up and see how she likes it.”

Ginny perked up at overhearing our conversation. “Who are we carving up?” she asked, a slight gleam in her eye.

“No one, I’m not having my little sister going to prison,” Ron spoke up, being uncharacteristically brotherly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I didn’t know you cared that much about my wellbeing, Ronald.”

I laughed along with Rae, Harry and Hermione. “We’re talking about Umbridge,” I answered, quickly showing them my hand. They all frowned, Harry in particular.

“Oh, well, in that case, carve away,” Ron said, earning him an elbow to the side from Hermione. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Don’t encourage murder, Ronald. Honestly,” she sighed, shaking her head. “She is a horrible woman, though. None of this is fair.”

We small talked about the state of the world and any news we might’ve missed until the twins came over. Lee had gone off to chat up Angelina. I remembered telling him that I’d help him, and I made a mental note of doing that later on.

“Good evening, ladies,” the twins said in unison, ruffling our hair before taking their seats in front of us.

“Hello, tosspots,” I smiled, “how was your day? Did you wreak havoc upon any unsuspecting individuals?”

All the individuals,” Fred grinned, filling up his plate with shepherd’s pie.

“It was glorious, really,” George said wistfully, looking as though he were recalling said adventures.

“Not really, though,” Fred added with a shrug.

“We just worked on a few prototypes-“

“Blew some things up-“

“Did a bit of selling, here and there-“

“Tried to evade Umbridge the whole time, really, it’s like a boggart’s crawled up her skirt-“

“And that was basically it,” George finished, stuffing mashed parsnips into his mouth.

“How was detention with the Hell-Beast?” Fred asked.

“Oh, it was a date to remember. We’ll be having another one tomorrow,” I said dryly, scrunching up my nose. “Don’t I look thrilled? I should’ve nabbed one of her cat plates and thrown it off the Astronomy Tower, if only I had the chance.”

“Can we please stop with all this talk about that woman?” Rae piped up. “Sorry, but you’re all going to give me nightmares and its bad enough I have to see her when I’m awake.”

After dinner, we slowly walked up to the common room, our stomachs full to the point of bursting. Rae and George were trying to trip each other, pushing one another around and making a group of younger students scatter like mice. Lee had found us, his smile a bit forced.

“No luck with Angelina, I presume?” I whispered, moving out of George’s way.

Lee shook his head. “Nothing yet, are you still going to help me or what?”

“Yes, yes, don’t get your knickers all bunched up, I’m working on it,” I hissed, having worked on absolutely nothing thus far. I figured the best approach would be to just talk to her, which was easier said than done since she always had friends around.

Fred came into the conversation. “Working on what? You’re not trying to get him a date with Angelina, are you?” he asked, frowning at me.

I opened my mouth to protest, only Rae and George had knocked over a suit of armor on the floor we were approaching and the pieces of it were tumbling down the staircase. I cursed as an arm nearly took me out and I jumped out of the way, running up the staircase and trying to avoid being knocked over like a bowling pin. Rae and George had already darted out of sight, knowing damn well Filch wouldn’t be far behind. I hurried after them, not wanting to be accused of guilt by association.

I finally made it to the Fat lady’s portrait, out of breath and clutching a stitch in my side, Fred and Lee not far behind me. We could hear Filch yelling from floors below us, obviously not happy to have to clean up the mess. The Fat Lady eyed us all with interest.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Wimblewarts,” I wheezed, impatiently waving my hand. She gave us entry to the common room and I collapsed onto the nearest sofa, letting out a sigh of relief. My god, I was out of shape. Either that or I ate too much and was paying the consequences. Fred and George were slumped on either side of me; Rae and Lee each sat on a squishy armchair.

“Nice going, you two,” I grumbled at George and Rae.

“It was his fault,” Rae muttered.

“Was not,” George protested, “you pushed me into it.”

“I don’t care about who pushed who or who did what,” I grumbled, “All I care about right now is how enormous I feel and the fact that this school year is turning into one giant turd.”

Fred and George each threw an arm around my shoulders.

“Cheer up, mate,” Fred said.

“It could be worse,” George pointed out.

“We’ve all got each other,” Lee said with a smile. I felt a small smile tug on my lips. He had a point; I couldn’t be completely miserable with my friends around, they simply wouldn’t have it. We had to stick together through this and come out okay in the end. It was essential.

“Maybe Umbridge will be forced to leave?” Rae said hopefully.

“Maybe,” I sighed, stretching out my legs, “McGonagall wasn’t happy when she found out how her detentions go, maybe she’ll be able to get her sacked.”

It was empty hope, I knew from the look in Fred and George’s eyes when they exchanged glances.
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Hello again! Here's chapter six. Soon I won't be able to update as often, because I don't get much time to write and all the stuff I had pre-written for mibba is almost finished. I do know where the story is going and what I want to happen, it's just a matter of getting there and finding time TO get there. Thank you to everyone who's read this so far. To new readers; welcome! Feel free to leave me a comment if you'd like c: