Hogwarts Love Story pt 33

Here's part thirty-three! Despite its length, this part is mainly keeping to Rowling's original plot-line. The following parts about the DA in action will certainly be more free!

Part thirty-three arrives, and with it comes more hell from Umbridge; some trouble from the twins; Cailey's OWL exams; an attack on McGonnagle; and Lord Voldermort's capture of Sirius.

Created by: vulturemonem
  1. The news of how Dumbledore had managed to evade both Umbridge, Fudge, and two ministry aurors, one of which being Kingsley Shaklebolt, flew around the castle quickly. I was well-known that only Harry and Marietta, Cho's friend who had snitched on us all in the first place, had witnessed his escaped, assisted by Fawkes the Phoenix, but Harry was stunned by how correct the details that circulated were. "So he grew a pumpkin for a head, did he?" Ron asked as we walked through the corridors after Hermione and I had had Arithmancy and the boys had had Divinations. I spluttered with laughter, and Harry snorted. Hermione, surprise surprise, was buried in the book we'd been told to read for A History of Magic. "No," Harry said. "Fudge escaped unscathed, I'm afraid to say." "What a disappointment," I said with a grin. "I was so hoping that Rita Skeeter could get the chance to mock him some more. He and that lying, twisted gargoyle Umbridge also." "Jumped-up, power-crazy old rat, isn't-" Hermione began, but was cut off by a sneering voice. "Really want to finish that, Granger?" I shot Draco a glare as we turned around, and cursed the fact that he was also a prefect. Else I was sure Ron and Hermione would have docked some points for him being such a prick. Once I'd thought him my friend, but since he'd endangered so much by tripping Harry and taking him to Umbridge I was harbouring considerable resent towards him. "Shut you mouth," Hermione snapped, "or I'll punch your face again." Ron snig gered quietly next to me. "I'll have five points off for being rude about our headmistress, Granger. Five from you because I don't like you, Potter, and five because your shirt is untucked, Weasley. Oh, and you're a mudblood, Granger, so another-" My wand was out an the jelly-legs jinx flew from my lips before I could think. I didn't make a habit of cursing Slytherins, generally, but Draco was going too far. "Watch yourself," I spat, before turning away and grabbing my friends. I hated Umbridge. Of all the people that condo become members of her special squad that could dock points from all other students, she had to do all the Slytherins. I'd had twenty taken by Pansy because I was laughing with the twins - laughing! - and Hermione had had countless ones for being a muggle-born. I didn't like to think about how many Harry had had docked, due to what we all knew he had organised, even if there was no proof.
  2. There was a sudden sound of violent eruptions, and tremors shook the castle. I looked at Hermione, shrugged, and we headed off in search of the mayhem. It was not difficult to find. One floor down, pandemonium reigned. Somebody (and I had a very shrewd idea who - the Weasley twins were always guilty) had set off what seemed to be an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks. Dragons which consisted of green and gold sparks were soaring up and down the corridors, emitting loud fiery blasts and bangs as they went. Bright pink Catherine wheels five feet in diameter were whizzing through the air like so many flying saucers; rockets with long tails of luminous silver stars were bouncing off of the walls; sparklers were writing swear words in midair of their own accord; firecrackers were exploding like mines everywhere we looked, and instead of burning themselves out, fading from sight or fizzling to a halt, these seemed to be gaining in energy and momentum the longer we watched, standing in awe as we laughed loudly. Filch and Umbridge were standing, apparently transfixed in horror, halfway down the stairs. As I looked on,, one of the larger Catherine wheels seemed to decide that what it needed was more room to maneuver; it whirled towards Umbridge and Filch with a sinister "˜wheeeeeeeeee'. They both yelled with fright and ducked, and it soared straight out of the window behind them and off across the grounds. Then several of the dragons and a large purple bat that was smoking in a rather peculiar fashion took advantage of the open door at the end of the corridor to escape towards the second floor. I scanned across the sheer chaos and spotted Fred and George laughing from behind the statue of the one-eyes witch, which seemed to have been singed by one of the numerous blazing products spiralling around the castle. I pointed them out to the friends beside me, and I waved up to them, just as Umbridge tried to vanish one of the fireworks. This only made it larger. Fred winked down at us, and, laughing hard, we headed off to transfiguration, pretending not to hear Umbridge's howls of rage.
  3. The fireworks continued to disrupt lessons and teachers throughout the course of the afternoon. Not even Professor McGonnagle seemed to mind much. Flitwick had made us all laugh when he said, in his squeaky little voice, "Thank you, Headmistress! I could have got rid of those sparklers myself, of course, but I wasn't sure I had the authority!" Umbridge had emerged from Snape's dungeons looking angry and sooty-faced. This had sent Ron off into peals of laughter, which ended up with Crabbe docking ten points from him. That sobered us all up. Though Fred and George were heros in the common room that week, there was something troubling Harry by that Friday, by which time most of the twins' good work had been cleared up. We were convinced that one of the teachers was keeping some of the crackers captive, however, as they were still seen zooming across to Umbridge's office upon occasion. "Alright, Rivers?" Fred asked loudly, grinning at me. I raised an eyebrow at him, and saw Harry turn his head away from us resolutely, as though the scene between myself as Fred was reminding him of something painful. "Oh yeah, I'm great," I said sarcastically. "We totally haven't got a toad for a headmistress, and we totally haven't got exams in six weeks." "Ah, loosen up. Look what I nicked," he said, brandishing a golden snitch from his pocket, not touching the cool metal with his fingers as he threw it towards me. It took flight, and I grabbed it from the air, understanding suddenly why Harry loved being a seeker so much. "Have fun," Fred said, "and don't waste my stealing skills. We're going off to do some work." I laughed. "Right. Work. Sure," I said sarcastically. Fred tipped an imaginary hat my way, and disappeared. I released the snitch, and then caught it again, repeating the action a few times as I sat there, idly listening to Hermione ask Harry why he no longer had Occlumency lessons. "Will you stop that?" Harry snapped after a few minutes of messing around with the fluttering golden ball. "Bothering you?" I asked. "Yes," Harry replied shortly, before standing up and storming from the common room. Ron and Hermione looked after him, open-mouthed, and I stuffed the snitch in my pocket, before following him out of the room. I ran after Harry as he strode down the staircases, and laid a hand on his shoulder as I caught him up. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Nothing." "Uh huh," I said, rolling my eyes. "Come on, Harry. Have you and Co had a fight or something?" "Yes." "Well, I understand that-" "That's not why I'm annoyed," he said, interrupting me. Harry took a deep breath, and then told me of the memory he'd seen in the Pensive - Snape's memory. I said nothing as he told me about James Potter and Sirius' fun... As they hexed Snape and tried to take of his trousers. Harry became even more distressed as he told me of Lily's reaction to James, and all the things she'd hollered at him. "I don't understand how they ended up married," Harry whispered, tugging at strands of his hair. "My mother hated my father. And everyone's always told me that my father was a great man. Sirius, Hagrid... But then look at Sirius. It all started because he'd said he was bored. And Remus just sat there, not doing anything..." "Harry, your father and Snape hated each other," I said softly. "Do you not think that the actions you saw might have been a bit of an exception?" "But my mother thought he was conceited. And she was right. He was trying to look cool." "Trying to look cool isn't a crime. The only reason Lily would have married your father was if she loved him, Harry. James gave his life trying to defend you and your mother. Would he have done that if he wasn't a good man?" Harry was silent for a moment. "I want to talk to Sirius about it," he said quietly. "With Umbridge watching the fireplaces?" "I- You're right. Is impossible," he groaned. "I didn't say that. I'm sure we can get Fred and George to think of something."
  4. Fred and George came up with an excellent plan to allow Harry twenty minutes in Umbridge's office to talk to Sirius via her fireplace. Not only did they leave an enormous swamp in their wake, but Peeves decided to assist them in wrecking tenor havoc. Harry came out of Umbridge's office looking considerably brighter, though he mentioned that both Sirius and Remus had asked him to take Occlumency lessons again. Hermione looked incredibly smug when he said that, but we didn't get the chance to say anything further, for at that moment, there was a loud, triumphant yell from the courtyard. We exchanged glances and ran to where the unmistakable voice of Umbridge was coming from. Harry looked guilty as he saw the twins standing in front of her. Students were standing all around the walls in a great ring (some of them, Harry noticed, covered in a substance that looked very like Stinksap); teachers and ghosts were also in the crowd. Prominent among the onlookers were members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were all looking exceptionally pleased with themselves, and Peeves, who was bobbing overhead, gazed down at Fred and George who stood in the middle of the floor with the unmistakable look of two people who had just been cornered. "So!" Umbridge said. "You two," she went on, gazing down at Fred and George, "are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school." "You know what?" said Fred. "I don't think we are. George, I think we've outgrown full-time education." "Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" George asked lightly. And before Umbridge could say a word, they raised their wands and said together: "Accio brooms!" I found myself laughing along with everybody else as two brooms which had clearly been locked in Umbridge's office zoomed across the the courtyard to Fred and George. Peeves was floating by my right ear, and I glanced up at him nervously, wondering whether he was about to wreck even more trouble upon the school. But he just stayed there, silently watching on. "If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety- three, Diagon Alley - Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes," Fred said in a loud voice. "Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," George added, pointing at Professor Umbridge with a certain sense of glee. I grinned as the whole mass of students erupted into cheers. "STOP THEM!" Umbridge shrieked, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet into the air. Fred looked across the hall at Peeves, floating on his level above and to my side. "Give her hell from us," he said. Peeves, who I had never seen take an order from a student, gave the twins a quick salute, and watched proudly as Fred flew down suddenly, hovering ten feet above myself and the Golden Trio. "Keep up that good work," he said, grinning at us. He sped down to our level, kissed my cheek, and then both twins disappeared off into the distance.
  5. "God," whispered a horribly-familiar voice from behind me. "You've even got the Weasley twins in your pocket. Can you get any worse?" I snarled slightly as I turned around to see Rebecca. "Can you get any more ridiculous?" I spat. "There is nothing between myself and Fred." By now, Harry, Ron and Hermione had all noticed Rebecca, and all were glaring at her. "Oh, I see," she sneered. "Got your friends to cover your back this time, Rivers." "I didn't need much help cursing you," I breathed, my hand gripping the wand in my robes, "and I will again. Now get lost." Rebecca's nose twitched slightly, and she then turned on her heel and stalked off, her nose in the air as she strutted past the large swamp which the twins had left behind. "What is it with girls?" I moaned as we walked back to our dormitories, following the rest of the crowd. "Rebecca and Cho are both insane. What is their problem?" "Cho?" Harry asked, frowning. "Never mind."
  6. The next battle that we ad to face was the next Quidditch match. Griffendor versus Ravenclaw. If we won this, then we'd actually win the cup again. But we didn't have much chance. While we had decent chasers, our beaters were terrible, and Ron was as unpredictable as the weather. Ginny was a good seeker, but not as good as Harry. It was Ron that Angelina was more worried about on the day of the match, however. As we trudged out onto the pitch, I saw Harry and Hermione sitting in the stands. As Cho and Angelina shook hands, I saw Harry shoot the seeker a glare. Clearly, they'd argued about something or other. Madame Hooch blew the whistle, and I zoomed forwards and caught the Quaffle. I urged my broom forwards steadily as I flew through the people on the pitch. I was in a rage, and as I passed quickly to Angelina, this rage increased as the Ravenclaw beater his a bludger towards Angelina... Which hit her straight in the stomach. Not two minutes later, Roger Davies scored. I looked across to where Harry and Hermione were sitting in the stands, and frowned when I saw them being lead off by Hagrid. I turned my attention back to the game. "Focus, Ron!" I hollered. "Block all of the hoops!" "I'm trying!" he shouted back. Katie Bella through me the Quaffle, and I was once again flying down the pitch as I swerved the Ravenclaw players. I threw the Quaffle towards the right hand hoop, and a huge cheer when through the stands as it went cleanly through. "Great chaser, Rivers," I heard Lee Jordan, the twin's friend, say. I was surprised Umbridge was still letting him commentate. "Pretty girl, too. Shame Diggory got her first-" Jordan was cut off by Professor McGonnagle, as per usual. I grinned to myself at Jordan's words, laughing a bit. I sobered when I realised that Rebecca would have heard him too...
  7. The weather began to close in on us as we played, and I realised quickly that it would ultimately come down to who caught the snitch. Ravenclaw, much as I hated to admit it, had a very strong team, but our chasers were playing well. As we scored another goal, the Griffendor stands errupted in cheers. Ron was making some excellent saves, and a chant of 'Weasley is our King' was beginning... From the Griffendor. I liked the motivating, new version much more. After a match of nearly two hours, Ginny caught the snitch. Both her and Cho had been close on its tail all through the match, but a moment's lack of concentration from Cho had meant that Ginny snatched the snitch from underneath Cho's nose. I couldn't contain my mirth as I landed, hugging Ginny tightly, and threw Cho a victorious smirk. Childish, I knew, but whatever. "Well done, Ginny! That was awesome! Did you see Cho's face?" I asked as Cho threw her broom down on the floor angrily. Tears were pouring down her face, and both Ginny and I laughed with jubilance. "Great saves, Ron!" I said, hugging him too. "Thanks." The tips of his ears were red as the sounds of 'Weasley is Our King' were roared through the grounds. I spotted Harry and Hermione walking towards us, and Ron wasted no time telling them - well, shouting at them - that we'd won. "That's great!" Hermione said. Harry looked stunned. "See?" I said, nudging him. "We don't need you after all." Seeing his face, I laughed, and added, "I'm joking." As we headed back to the common, the team all feeling high on adrenaline and the feeling of winning the cup again, Harry and Hermione told us of Hagrid's request. "A giant?" I asked blankly as we sat down. "Please tell me you're joking?" "Nope," Her,I one said. "Grawp is about sixteen feet tall, enjoys pulling up twenty foot pine trees, and know me-" here Hermione scowled "- as Hermy." Ron laughed nervously. "And Hagrid wants us to teach him English?" I asked, incredulously. "Uh huh," Harry confirmed. "And the centaurs aren't happy about it." "I can't blame them!" I said, huffing out a laugh of disbelief. "He's got a giant in the forest! He's gone insane. He's actually gone insane. I want Fluffy back," I added, and Ron swatted me with a book. "Don't joke about that dog," he said, scowling. "But hey, maybe we won't have to do anything. Hagrid might hang on." "Right," Harry snorted. "He's on the Witch's hit list, and we both know it." "And I can't blame her for wanting Hagrid out after what I've just seen!" Hermione burst out. There was a sudden silence around us. "You don't mean that," I said softly, putting an arm around her shoulders. "No, alright, I don't. But why does he have to make life so difficult for himself? And for us?" "We just have to break your promise," Ron said, accepting some food from a passing second year. "But we promised," Hermione said. "Let's deal with that when it comes," I said. "For now, I want some food. Chess, Ron?" I asked with a grin. "Hell yeah!"
  8. The following two weeks were a mass of stress for all of the fifth and seventh year students. Our OWLs were upon us at last, and we had exams set of a period of two weeks. Two weeks during which we were all stressed, and during which we were all cramming in some last-minute revision. I had tried to test Hermione on her Runes, but she'd ended up hitting me with the book, so I left her to it and returned to cramming for Astronomy and Arithmancy... The two subjects that I was least likely to pass. After a few hours sitting out in the sun, we called it a day and left to go to bed. We awoke the following morning all feeling some trepidation. Our first exams were our theory and practical charms. As we came out of the Great Hall, Hermione began to give us a run-down of the questions. "And question twenty-three, I-" "Hermione," Rom said sternly, "It's bad enough doing the exams once. I don't want to do them again." She said no more. Although I managed to over-do the cheering charm slightly, the whole practical didn't go too badly. Our next exams were Transfiguration and then Herbology. Ron found his Herbology examiner exceedingly amusing, and we had a very long discussion about why all examiners were so old, much to Hermione's disapproval. Defence Against the Dark Arts was the only exam I was looking forward to. I couldn't wait to see the look on Umbridge's face when we all performed the spells required perfectly. We all stopped momentarily to watch Harry when he was asked to perform his patronus, and my own examiner said, "An excellent wizard, that Mr. Potter. I don't suppose you can cast a patronus?" With a smug smirk in Umbridge's direction, I fasted my own patronus. While not so impressive as Harry's, I still received a round of applause... And a glare from the toad-woman as I left. Care of Magical Creatures passed with Hagrid looking at us all anxiously, but it was astronomy that held all the excitement really. As we gazed upon the stars, most of which I struggled to remember - this was the subject I was most likely to fail - I spotted something near Hagrid's hut, as had the other pupils. We watched in horror as five wizards and Umbridge began to attempt to attack and stun him. We all gasped, ignoring the protests of the tiny little witch examining us, at McGonnagle strode out. "Oh no," Her,I one whispered softly as four stunning spells were sent straight to her chest. "Cowards," I snarled as she went hurling backwards. "They wanted to get Hagrid at night." "Avoid a scene like with Trelawney," Angelina said later as we retold the tale in the Griffendor common room. "Cowards," I repeated firmly. "And to attack McGonnagle like that... Not exactly young, is she?"
  9. Thankfully, we had just three exams the following day. Arithmancy, which both Hermione and I completed quite happily, despite both of us having worrid; Potions; and A History of Magic. Snape was not in the room while we completed the exam, which set both Harry and Neville at ease. As we bottled up our potions and handed in our test papers, I was feeling relatively confident with how my exams had gone. Though we now had to sit through an hour and a half of remembering the most boring notes on the most boring subjects known to mankind. "I wish they didn't ban self-correcting ink," Ron muttered as we headed down to the Great Hall for our final exam. Then we didn't have to worry about the results until July. "That would defeat the point of an exam, Ronald," I said, grinning. Although for this particular exam, I couldn't agree more. I sat a row behind and a few to the right of Harry during the exam, and spotted Lavender Brown wiping away a couple of tears as she flicked through the paper, clearly trying to find a question she could answer. I looked down at my next question and groaned. How was the Statute of Secrecy breached in 1749, and what measures were introduced to prevent a recurrence? I had no idea. Perhaps History of Magic was another exam I should have been more worried about, but having borrowed Hermione's notes for an hour before the exam, I managed to get through it. I was sure I passed, at least. However, as I finished up my own paper, I saw Harry fidget continually, and his quill hardly moved across the page. Eyes wide with horror, I watched as he dropped onto his desk. I alerted the examiner to what was happening, and he woke Harry up quickly. Hermione and I exchanged a panicked glance; Harry had been letting Voldermort into his mind again, and Snape cancelling his Occlumency lessons had made it happen. The look in Harry's eyes as he was pulled out of the room gave me a sense of foreboding. Hermione, Ron and I waited impatiently for the exam to finish, and Hermione was more worried about Harry than the exam, thankfully. We saw him running back from the hospital wing, and I called him over. "What happened, Harry?" I asked as he panted. "What did you see?" "McGonnagle has been moved to St. Mungo's," he gasped as he tried to catch his breath. "You saw that?" Ron asked, looking surprised. "No," Harry said, "but now there's no-one to help us." "Slow down, Harry," I ordered him calmly. "What did you see?" "Sirius," he said, his voice desperately agonised. "Voldermort has Sirius."
  10. *vulturemonem* I don't really have much to say about this edition. It kept mostly to the story-line, as I needed to get through the hundred pages between the end of the last edition and where this one ended. It also sparked my imagination - reading Snape's memory of James and Lily Potter - of what Hogwarts-y thing I could write next. I found myself wanting to know more about what happened between James trying to take of Snape's trousers and having Lily shout at him, and the two of them dating during their seventh year, as told by Sirius and Lupin. It's just something I'm playing with, but it's a project, albeit a smaller one than this one, for me to consider in a year or so. xX

Remember to rate this quiz on the next page!
Rating helps us to know which quizzes are good and which are bad.

Related Quizzes:

What is GotoQuiz? A better kind of quiz site: no pop-ups, no registration requirements, just high-quality quizzes that you can create and share on your social network. Have a look around and see what we're about.