Hogwarts Love Story pt 28

Here's part twenty-eight. It's almost a year since I first started writing this series, and I feel like I've come a very long way. My writing, certainly, has improved.

I'm not too happy with how the first few questions went. But question six onwards are fine, and I'm pretty pleased with the rest of it. I hope you enjoy this edition!

Created by: vulturemonem
  1. The first few days back dragged by slowly, and Harry's detentions with Umbridge seemed to have been rather uneventful. Well, that's what he said. Personally, I didn't think that old hag was only giving him lines, but both Ron and Hermione seemed content enough to eat up his words. I was somewhat skeptical, but didn't press the matter. It was none of my business anyway. The keeper trials crept up on us fast, and before I knew it, it was the Thursday before.
  2. As I poured over some Transfiguration homework, having mastered the vanishing spell a few days ago, Ron and Harry both entered the common room. I frowned upon seeing Ron's new broomstick in his hand, but my expression changed to horror as I caught sight of the dark red marks on Harry's left hand. "Harry, what happened to your hand?" I asked, laying down my quill. "Nothing," he replied quickly. "Rubbish," I said, taking his hand in my own. I was utterly repulsed by what I saw. 'I must not tell lies' was written onto the back of his hand in his own blood. I stared at him. "So this is what Umbridge has had you doing? Go to Dumbledore," Hermione said. "That's what I said," Ron muttered. "No," Harry said with a sigh. I raised an eyebrow at him. "He's got enough on his plate," Harry continued. "Uh huh," I said, not believing a word that came from Harry's mouth. He wasn't exactly a fantastic liar. "So Ron," I began, turning to him, "Why do you have your broom?" "He was practising for keeper trials," Harry said quickly. "Really? That's great!" I said enthusiastically. It'd be great if Ron made the team, though I'd never actually seen him play.
  3. I had to admit, the following evening, that Ron wasn't a bad keeper. He was by far the best, but Angelina was loathe to choose either of the other keepers. Apparently Hooper was a whiner, and Vicky had said that she'd put her charms class before Quidditch. If Oliver had heard that comment, he'd be furious. In the end, Ron was put up as Griffendor keeper, though Angelina warned me that she expected me to help him out a bit. I didn't have a problem with that, though Ron's opinion could have been anything. When we returned to the common room, Harry and Hermione were talking about Umbrudge and Harry's scar. I decided to ask Harry later. I did, however, hear Harry say something about Dumbledore that hit a nerve. "Yeah, that's all Dumbledore cares about isn't it? My scar," Harry said, laughing bitterly. "That's not true!" Hermione said. "I'm going to bed, tell Ron for me will you?" Harry snapped, striding off. Hermione blinked a few times, and I walked over to her slowly. "What's up with Harry at the moment?" I asked quietly. "I don't know. He hasn't been himself since, you know, the graveyard." I knew what Hermione meant. Harry had constantly been on edge, and had snapped at us several times over the first week back at Hogwarts. His temper had become extremely flammable. I dreaded to think what would happen if Draco really got on his nerves at some point that year, though so far they'd managed to avoid much of a confrontation. For which I was glad. If they went at each other's throats, I didn't know who's side I'd end up taking. I let out a quiet sigh. I was thinking about everything too hard, too often, and it was giving me a headache. I bid Herminone and Ron goodnight, and flopped down on my bed, passing out instantly.
  4. The next few weeks followed a painful routine. The first quidditch practise had been a disaster, and Ron hadn't played well at all. The teachers had been keeping our noses to the grindstone, and the load of homework we had was ridiculous. Harry and Ron were both leaving there's until the last minute, despite Hermione's and my attempts to get them working. During one of their homework sessions, Sirius popped up in the fire, to all our surprises. Hermione was horrified to learn that Harry had sent Sirius a letter about his scar hurting, but apparently it was well-disguised. I was surprised by Sirius's response when we told him that Umbridge wouldn't let us use magic. "Ah, well, that figures," he said. "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat." "Trained in combat!" repeated Harry incredulously. "What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?" "That's exactly what he thinks you're doing," said Sirius, ""or, rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing - forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic." There was a pause at this, then Ron said, "That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with." "So we're being prevented from learning Defense Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?" I asked, looking furious. "Yep," said Sirius. "Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge." The conversation continued, and Harry asked after Hagrid. According to Sirius, he'd meant to have returned by now, but hadn't. This, of course, sent worry through us all. Sirius did his best to reassure us, but I for one wasn't all convinced. I hoped Hagrid was ok, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't sure that he was. When Sirius suggested meeting up in Hogsmead the coming weekend, we were all horrified. Sirius didn't seem very happy with our response, even when Harry mentioned that Lucius Malfoy seemed to have recognised him on the platform. "You're less like your father than I thought," Sirius said finally, a definite coolness in his voice. "The risk would've been what made it fun for James." "Look -" Harry began, but Sirius cut him off rather rudely. "Well, I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs," said Sirius, but I was sure he was lying. "I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?" Then there was a tiny popping noise, and Sirius disappeared. Harry looked rather upset by his Godfather's words, and say in brooding silence while Ron and Hermione bickered back and forth. "Harry?" I murmured quietly. "What?" he asked, sounding tired. "Sirius didn't mean what he said. Well, ok, maybe he did," I said hastily upon seeing Harry's facial expression, "But that's not a bad thing. I know you want to be like your Dad, but we both know he did some foolish things at times. You love Sirius, and you want to keep him away from danger. That's a good thing to do. Especially when I know you want to see him." Harry said nothing, so I continued. "I don't know you as well as Ron and Hermione do," I said softly, "But I do know more than a little bit about your parents. I read up about them when we first met in our first year. If it makes you feel any better, what you just did? It sounds like something your mum would have done. Lily would be proud of you. Goodnight," I said, resting a hand on his shoulder lightly, and turning round. It was true, what I'd said, I'd heard from many people that Lily Potter cared more for those she loved than she did for herself. "Cailey?" I heard Harry call out. "Yeah?" I asked, pausing and glancing back. "Just- Thank you." I smiled. "Any time."
  5. Monday morning, we saw on the front of the Daily Prophet that Umbridge had been made High Inquisitor, and would be inspecting all of the teachers. Neville and Ginny had both been with us when Hermione read it, and we'd all been horrified. Ron, for once, had a positive outlook on the whole thing. "Oh, I can't wait to see McGonagal inspected," he said happily. "Umbridge won't know what's hit her." That was indeed something that I'd pay a golden galleon to see, and I had no doubt that I would. I had a feeling that watching Snape being inspected would be interesting too. I had no doubt that Umbridge would comment on Snape's failed attempts to secure the Defense Against the Dark Arts position so many times, and said as much to Ginny. She snickered. "Oh I can't wait to listen to that!" she said, still laughing.
  6. We had History of Magic first, and we're glad to see that Umbridge was not in the class. Hermione and I had Arithmacy next, while Harry and Ron had Divination. As we headed down to Potions, Harry and Ron told us about Umbridge's inspection of Trewlawny. I gathered that it was not an entirely sucessful, for Trewlawny, affair. I sat down next to Draco, and shot him a smile. "Morning Draco," I said, just as our Moonstone essays were handed back. "Morning Cailey," he said, seeming strangely upbeat. I quirked an eyebrow at him, but was more interested in the large, black A scrawled at the top of my sheet. That was encouraging. I'd passed, at least. I glanced over at Draco, and saw that he too had an A at the top of his sheet. "Well done Rivers," he murmured in my ear as Snape started the lesson. I rolled my eyes at Draco's use of my last name, but was more worried about Snape's threats to put in detention anyone that got a D. I was under the impression that it was the lowest grade possible for an OWL, and I hoped that Harry hadn't got a D. Snape hated him enough as it was. "Some people got Ds?" Draco asked, "Ha!" I elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a glare, silencing him. Snape threw me a cold look, and I couldn't resist giving him a slight smile. I heard Ron snort from behind me as Snape continued his speech. Honestly, I was quaking with fear. Having struggled through Potions, we were submitted to an hour of Transfiguration, which was rather entertaining, except for the fact we had to Transfigured mice, and I was next to Hermione. Eventually, after Umbridge had interrupted McGonnagle again, I managed to master it. I had a few bits of stray fur left, but I was pretty happy with the results of my work. Hermione's, of course, was perfect.
  7. Umbridge was inspecting Grubbly-Plank during Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry became rather angered when Umbridge began asking Draco about the time he'd been injured in Hagrid's class. Deciding that Umbridge couldn't hurt me too much for speaking once, I decided to stop Harry gaining himself yet another weeks worth of detentions. "Yeah, but Draco, you didn't listen to a word Hagrid told us about Hippogriffs. Nobody else got hurt," I said, nudging him playfully. I hadn't actually been in that lesson, having spent half of my third year in the hospital wing after falling off of my broom during a Quidditch match, the same one that had destroyed Harry's broom, but Umbridge didn't need to know that. She turned her beady eyes on me, and I looked straight back at her. "And you listened to Professor Hagrid and didn't get hurt?" Umbridge asked sweetly, narrowing her eyes. She'd never know if I lied... "That's correct," I said bluntly. I caught Hermione's incredulous look through my peripherals, but I ignored it. She knew that I hadn't been there, but everything I'd said was true. I'd never been hurt in Hagrid's presence. Insert evil grin here. "Hm. So would you care to explain how Mr. Malfoy got hurt?" she persisted. "As I said," I replied cooly, "He didn't listen." "You weren't even in the lesson!" Pansy shrieked suddenly. Well God-damn it. She would remember. Draco had ended up kissing me after he'd broken his arm, much to her disgust. "Is this true?" Umbridge asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes," I mumbled. "Then how can I value anything you just said?" "Because it's true!" I burst out. "Look around Professor. Do you hear any other student saying they were injured by a Hippogriff in Hagrid's lesson? No! Scrap that, nobody, other than Draco, has ever been hurt in any of Hagrid's lessons!" I was on my feet by the time I'd finished, and was practically shouting at her. I was extremely glad to see that I stood an inch taller than her. "Cailey," Draco muttered, tugging on my robes. "So where were you, instead of this lesson?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet. "I was in the hospital wing. I was knocked off my broom by Dementors during a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Dementors that the Ministry out in place to capture an innocent man," I said, becoming increasingly angry again. "Sirius Black is far from in-" "Who told you that? Hm? Fudge?" I snapped. I'd almost certainly got a detention already, so a bit more shouting seemed like it couldn't hurt. "The Ministry have evidence to suggest that Black killed thirteen people in cold blood," Umbridge said, seeming shocked. "Did it never occur to you that anyone could have plastered that evidence there?" "Who would wish to put such evidence there?" she snapped. "A man known as Peter Pettigrew. But," I stressed, "It could have been anyone." "Such as?" "Oh, maybe, Lord Voldermort, t-" I began, but she cut me off. "I think a detention would do you some good Miss Rivers. Come to my office tonight," she said, before turning on her heel and leaving. I was fuming by the time I sat down, and also a little annoyed with myself. I'd started arguing with her about Sirius' innocence, which was a dangerous thing to do. "Cailey!" Hermione said, horrified, "What on Earth did you do that for?" I shrugged. "You shouldn't have done that," Draco said, agreeing with Hermione for perhaps the first time ever. I turned my head towards Harry, exchanging a significant glance. For the first time, I understood how Harry had felt in our first lesson with Umbridge.
  8. That evening, I headed to Umbridge's office with a heavy heart. I wasn't looking forward to whatever she had in store for me. I knocked sharply on her door, and a polite little 'come on' met my ears. I had been the room decorated by three of its previous occupants. In the days when Gilderoy Lockhart had lived here it had been plastered in beaming portraits of himself. When Lupin had occupied it, it was likely you would meet some fascinating Dark creature in a cage or tank if you came to call. In the impostor Moody's days it had been packed with various instruments and artifacts for the detection of wrong doing and concealment. Now, however, it looked totally unrecognizable. The surfaces had all been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each one residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolor kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that I stared at them, transfixed, until Umbridge spoke. "Take a seat please Miss Rivers," she said, indicating a small wooden chair in front of her. I sat down and set my bag next to me. "You are a muggle-born witch, yes?" she asked. Confused, I nodded. "Is there any magical blood in your family. "Yes. My great-grandmother on my mother's side was a witch. I think my uncle, again on my mother's side, was a muggle-born too. I don't really know though. He and my mum fell out," I said with a little shrug. "I see," Umbridge said, scribbling down as I spoke. "And you were sorted into Griffendor. Correct?" I nodded. "You are friends with Harry Potter?" "Yes, I am, and that's not going to change because of a threat," I said, my voice harsh. Umbridge laughed. "My dear, do calm down. Your temper is rivalling that of Mr. Potter's. I am here to give you some advice. Mr. Potter is a dangerous boy. He's feeding you lies. Everything he's been saying about what happened in the graveyard is a lie, and he must not tell lies." I sat back in my chair and levelled Umbridge with a calm look. "No, it isn't. I was there. I watched him come back. If you wish, I can give you the exact details," I said, smiling slightly. "You were in the graveyard? You slipped passed all those Professors?" she asked disapprovingly. Oops. It was true, but I said nothing. Let her take that as she may. "How did you get to the graveyard?" "My friend, Hermione Granger, used a spell to take us where to cup took Harry and Cedric," I said quietly. "Miss Granger was with you? Anyone else?" "Ron Weasley." "I see. I don't know how you can sit there, telling me all these lies-" I cut her off, angrily. "They aren't lies. We both know that," I snapped. Umbridge pursed her lips. "Tut tut. I think you need a little lesson before you leave today," she said, picking up a piece of parchment and a quill. "I'd like you to write 'I must not tell lies'," she said, handing me her vile quill. I shot her a glare. "Are you going to make me write with my own blood too?" I asked, putting emphasis on 'me'. Umbridge narrowed her eyes. "Write. Now." Throwing her a disgusted glance, I picked up the quill and began to form the words. Immediately, I felt a sharp pain in my left hand, but I ignored it.
  9. I continued to write for hours, and Umbridge acted like I wasn't there. Eventually, I looked up at the clock, and was horrified to see that I'd been there for three hours. I wrote my next line, wincing as I felt the sharp pain in my hand again. Blood seeped out a little, before healing over to leave a bright red, throbbing mark. Umbridge walked over and glanced at my hand. "You may go Miss Rivers. Take my advice into account," she said. "Do I have to come back?" I asked, dreading the answer. "No." Throwing her and her office one final, disgusted look, I booked it out of the room and walked back to the common room. Checking my watch, I realised that it was past curfew. Damn it. If I'd just had a detention with McGonnagle, she'd have given me a note or something to avoid trouble. Umbridge didn't even think about it though. I picked up my pace until I was practically running towards the common room, and consequently I ran smack-bang into someone. A someone that I didn't want to see after a detention with Umbridge. "I'm sorry!" I gasped as I hit a tall boy. From my position, I couldn't see who it was. "Cailey? What're you doing up?" asked a familiar voice. "Cedric. Umbridge, erm, let me out late," I mumbled, looking down. "Wait. What?" he asked, confused. "I had a detention with her," I said. "Are you mad? What did you do to upset her?" With a sigh, I recounted the events leading up to my detention with the Toad-Lady. Cedric shook his head. "What were you thinking Cailey? You need to stay out of trouble with Umbridge, she could hurt you." I bit my lip. I was glad that Cedric wasn't angry, yet, but I had a feeling he would be once he learned of what had happened during my detention. We reached the Griffendor common room, and Cedric went to say goodnight, but I stopped him. "Come in, please. I need to tell you what happened," I said. Nodding slightly, Cedric followed me in. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting around a table, talking quietly. The second they saw it was me, they all looked to my left hand. Ron let out one of his famous 'bloody hell's, Hermione gasped, and Harry looked at me with a grim expression. Cedric frowned, so I sat down, motioning for him to do the same. Feeling embarrassed, I told my friends what had happened in Umbridge's office. "What?" Cedric asked, his voice deadly, "Are you telling me, that that woman," he spat the word, "Has been abusing students?" "Basically," Harry said, showing Cedric his left hand. Cedric looked disgusted, and inspected my own hand. He ran his thumb lightly over the red mark, looking furious. "That old hag," Ron muttered.
  10. "I can't believe she's doing this," Hermione said suddenly, standing up. We all looked at her as she walked over to the window where rain was hammering down on the ground, splashing the ground with mud and debris. "Not only does she abuse her students, she prevents us from using magic. We'll all end up failing our OWLs at this rate," Hermione said slowly. "I suggest poison," Ron said, grinning. "No. We need a teacher, a proper teacher," she said. "If you're taking about Remus," Cedric began, dropping my hand, but Hermione shook her head. "I know he's busy with the Order and everything. But we need to do this ourselves," she said, biting her lip. Then it hit me. "Oh," I said, a grin spreading across my face. Hermione nodded. "Someone with real experience using defensive spells in the real world," Hermione continued. But this moment, Ron and Cedric were both smiling too. I was glad that Cedric didn't seem to have a problem with Hermione's plan. "Who?" Harry asked, puzzled. Ron rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious Harry?" I asked softly, "She's talking about you." "Me?" Harry asked. "Yes. You're the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts in the years," Hermione said. "And think about everything you've done," Cedric added. "What?" Harry asked. "Hm, let's think," Ron said, "First year, you defeated Voldermort and got the Philosopher's stone. Second year, you killed a Basilisk and killed some Voldermort similar. Third year, you fought off a hundred dementors at once. Last year, not only did you manage to battle your way through the Tri-Wizard tournament, you escaped from Voldermort when he rose to power, saving us too," Ron said. "Yeah, but most of that was luck. It's not like school, where you just throw a few spells around, and-" "We weren't saying it was," I said soothingly, "And you don't have to do it. However, I for one don't really want to die the second I leave the castle," I finished grimly. "If anyone should be teaching, it should be Cedric," Harry said, "He's involved in the Order, and you're taking the subject for NEWTs." I turned to Cedric. "He's right. You two should do it together," I said, nodding. "I think it's a great idea," Cedric said, "But Harry should help." Harry looked skeptical. "Think about it," Hermione said, smiling anxiously. Harry nodded, and the Golden Trio headed up to bed a few minutes later. "I suppose I should go," Cedric said with a sigh. "Yeah. I'll see you later Cedric," I said, kissing him once. "Bye Cay."
  11. (vulturemonem) That wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. As I flicked through the book, I realised that there isn't a particularly exciting plot for the fifth year, and at the moment, I'm following it quite closely. The first few paragraphs of this I had to force out, but by question 6 I was really enjoying myself. This is the first time I've written a whole edition in a day for ages, and it felt really good. The detention with Umbridge wasn't planned, but Cailey decided that she wanted to be rebellious. Who was I to argue? I've also realised that early on, I made rather a large mistake. I said the Oliver Wood was dating Katie Bell. This is incorrect, as Katie is still at Hogwarts. I can't remember who it was in my mind, but as Cailey is basically taking Alicia's place on the Quidditch team anyway, I'll go back and edit it, adding Alicia as Oliver's girlfriend. Ok? Sorry about that. For a Harry Potter obsessed freak, that was a big mistake to make! Oh, and hp4evr, your character will be appearing very soon! xXvulturemonemXx

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