Unseen Realities ~ Edmund x Reader Hogwarts AU

Dolores Umbridge

(Image not mine)

One Week Later

Things were tense in the Great Hall the night we arrived. There were fewer students this year than usual, and I heard from Cho and a few other girls that many students' parents didn't want them to come back this year. After last year's events, lots of people were on edge.

Even so, Dumbledore did his best to ignore the dreary atmosphere when he stood at the podium to give his yearly speech. It felt strange not to be up with the rest of the choir this year, but I had decided to quit in order to direct my attention to places it was needed most. That meant Edmund quit too and Lucy resigned from toad-caring duties. Our version of a 'normal year' had been completely trashed.

During Dumbledore's speech, he mentioned that Hagrid had taken a leave of absence, much to my surprise. He also introduced a rather horrible looking woman dressed in all pink who was going to take the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Her name was Dolores Umbridge; a rather unfortunate name.

The woman had coughed- or rather squeaked- to get Dumbledore's attention after he had finished his brief introduction of her. He'd paused in the middle of his sentence and moved aside to let her stand at the podium. She had then proceeded to give an uncomfortable speech about friendship and the Ministry's new curriculum that it was introducing to Hogwarts. No one liked her.

After dinner, I made a beeline for the Ravenclaw dormitory, bidding a short goodnight to Lucy and Edmund. Even though I had walked fairly quickly, there were already a bunch of people in the tower who had beat me there. I expected as much, but what I hadn't expected were the dozens of faces that turned to me as I entered.

For a moment, I was afraid I'd intruded on something. Then, as I scanned their faces, I recognized the carefully-calculated curiosity in their eyes. They were looking at me like they half-expected me to burst into flame at any moment. I felt like the center of a carnival show.

Susan suddenly emerged from the crowd, looking a bit more flustered than usual. She grabbed my arm and steered me toward the corner of the room. Her eyes darted around the room as she spoke in a hushed tone, "They're suspicious, none of them know how you knew about Barty Crouch Jr. They're smart enough to question the Ministry's new advances, but they are still searching for the truth. And we both know almost everyone in this room will stop at nothing for that."

My stomach crawled to my throat, "They suspect me. They think I'm somehow involved in Voldemort's return."

"It makes no sense since you're the one who fought against Barty Crouch Jr, but they're afraid."

"I understand," I looked at her gratefully, "Thank you."

She nodded and I got a glimpse of a friendly smile underneath her collected demeanor. When she walked away, only a few people were still watching us but looked away when I made eye-contact. Everyone went back to huddling by the fires and chatting with friends, trying to ignore the tense atmosphere.

I brushed past the lot of them, making my way up the stairs to my dorm. No one was there yet, which was just fine with me. I threw on a set of pajamas and brushed my teeth before falling into bed, hoping to sleep away my worries.

---

"If this is going to be what it's like for the rest of the year, I'd rather move to Beauxbatons." I declared dropping my book bag in front of Lucy and Ed where they sat in the courtyard.

"And leave me?" Edmund smirked, "You would never."

"No, no. She has a point." Lucy shook her finger, "Everyone here is treating me like a war criminal. All I did was save their lives."