Mischief not so Managed

14: Umbridge

Lia:

It was a cold afternoon as we headed out of our last class. "Ange, it's freezing" Katie groaned from beside me, "please, don't make do this"

"sucks to be you" I laughed.

"you have to come and watch" Katie whacked me with her potions book. "I'm not doing this alone"

"Ow!" I laughed rubbing my arm for affect "I'm not freezing my ass off today if I have to do it on Saturday as well"

"even better" said Alicia "It's meant to rain at the weekend"

"why?" Katie groaned. Angelina and I couldn't help but laugh at our friend, who despised playing in any weather that wasn't blistering heat.

"I'll be in the library" I laughed "have fun Katie!" I called to them as they took a left and headed towards Gryffindor tower. I had a monster of a Herbology essay due tomorrow that I had been avoiding since Pomfrey assigned it. Umbridge's voice was rattling through the school on the rolling intercom, it was going through my head at this rate. Merlin only knew where Dumbledore was, none of us could figure out why he hadn't gotten rid of her yet. She had tried to throw Trelawney out of the castle a while back. It was the first time any of us had seen him. The corridors were quiet, eerily so. I walked towards the library, a group of boys turned the corner ahead of me, six of them. the blonde in the middle gave them away as Malfoy and his posse.

"Ah, just who we've been looking for" he declared across the hall.

"can I help you Malfoy?" I rolled my eye.

"Umbridge wants to see you" my skin started to crawl.

"why?" I spat.

"I guess we'll see soon" he smiled, Crabbe grabbed my arm.

"let go of me or loose an arm, you choose" I glared. But Blaze had grabbed my other arm before I could say anything else.

"Get off of me" I yelled.

"lets move" Malfoy strode down the hall ahead of us.

I kicked and screamed the whole way to Umbridge's office, right up until the moment they threw me in front of the stairs of her office. She opened the door her sickly sweet voice filling the DATDA classroom. "Hello dear, care for a cup of tea?". Malfoy shoved me up the stairs. I was lucky I wasn't wearing my robes or I would have fallen right over them. "sit"

"I'd prefer to stand" I kept my voice as polite as possible, although I was failing miserably.

"sit" I didn't need to be told a third time. She stood beside the fuschia chair I was seated in. I had never felt so uncomfortable as the eyes of what felt like a hundred cats on china plates hung about the room. "now dear, Jones is it? Your mother works for the ministry"

"yes" I swallowed the bite in my tone.

"you must tell me of your extra curricular activities" Umbridge crooned.

"I don't have any, not anymore" I smiled "you banned them all"

"ah, yes, certain activities are viewed by the ministry as, inappropriate"

"I see" I smiled.

"but you fill your time with other activities I assume" she forced a smile.

"study, unfortunately" I took several deep breathe. She was after the DA, we knew she knew something, but she was out for blood.

"what are you and your friends up to, Ms. Jones?" her tone became harsher.

"Professor, I don't know what you're talking about"

"what is Mr. Potter up to?" she almost screamed at me.

"you're terrified of him, aren't you? Of Harry" I breathed, I leaned back in the chair to get as far away from her as possible.

"scared?"

"you know he's telling the truth"

"he is lying" she muttered. "he imagined the whole affair, The minister can assure y-"

"did you ever meet Cedric Digory?" I cut her off, "or do you just disregard his murder for fun?"

"A tragedy". I took a deep breath.

"he sat next to me in Herbology, and across from me in Transfiguration. We would race to see who could transfigure McGonagall's quill first before she noticed. I always won" I took a deep breath again "He was the kindest and bravest soul I ever had the pleasure of meeting"

"enough" she yelled, I was getting scared, but I didn't back down.

"he was one of the best Quidditch players the school had ever seen and he was a loyal and honourable friend and he was murdered" I could see the fury boiling under her skin "how dare you cast him aside, devalue his life because you are scared, because you are a coward". Smack. My face stung as it whipped to the side. She had hit me, she had smacked me across the face. My eyes watered. She had hit me.

"tell me what I need to know Ms. Jones" she crooned.

"Over my dead body" I spat. She took her wand from the desk.

"Legilimens" my head exploded as she looked inside of it. Memories flashing past. Quidditch matches, Christmas, kisses with George. I knew what she was looking for, but she couldn't find it. But then I was there. Standing on the steps of my childhood home, watching my Mum cry over my Dad's body and the sound of a car screeching in the distance. I felt a dull pain in my hands, but my head exploded.

"Dad" I screamed "Dad". Suddenly I was back in her office screaming for real. I dug my nails so far into my palms that there was blood gushing down my hands. "Daddy, Daddy" I sobbed. She opened the door of the office.

"out" I could barely stand, everything hurt. I looked to the door to see Cormac standing there, his face pale. Tears streaked down my face.

"she wasn't as much help as you thought she would be Mr. McLaggen"