Petrified (Fred Weasley Love Story)

Chapter 4 - The internship

Chapter 4

"Today's the day Char! You excited?" Ryan asked me as he sat down at our table. Delicious breakfast foods were spread out in front of us, including mouth-watering chocolate croissants, jams of unimaginable flavours, bacons, eggs, golden toasted bagels and so much more.

I shrugged, sending a smile at Ryan. "I'm apprehensive but looking forward to it" I told him. He just nodded and dug into the spread before him, his mind completely distracted by the scrambled eggs.

"Do you ever stop eating?" I heard Hermione ask Ron a few seats down from us.

"No" I answered for him. Ron just shot me a playful glare and went on eating his sausage.

"I'm hungry" was his defence, giving a shrug.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Harry walk down closer, coming to a stop just behind Hermione. "Harry" Hermione breathed. I furrowed my brows a little at her tone of surprise.

"May I join you?" Harry asked and this made me all the more confused. Did something happen that night after I left?

Hermione smiled slightly at him, looking at Ron and then back to Harry. I was about to ask what was going on when Umbridge's unmistakable voice carried through the great hall.

"Pardon me professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?"

Professor McGonagall's voice followed. "I am merely requesting when it comes to my students, you conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices."

We all shared a look and walked into the hall where Umbridge and McGonagall where arguing on the stairs.

"So silly of me, but it sounds as if you're questioning my own authority in my own classroom, Minerva," Umbridge said, then took a step up.

McGonagall did the same. "Not at all Dolores, merely your medieval methods," Professor McGonagall said.

"I am sorry dear" Umbridge breathed. "But to question my practices is to question the ministry and by extension, the minister himself. I am a tolerant woman, but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty" she continued.

Professor McGonagall looked shocked and took a step down. "Disloyalty?" she asked. Umbridge took another step up, now being the tallest person in the room.

"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared, Cornelius will want to take immediate action," she told us, the crowd that had gathered. She looked around the crowd, a sickly smile on her pale pink lips. Her eyes swept the room, coming to a stop on Harry.

Professor McGonagall looked at us all and clapped her hands together. "Student, you all have a class to get to I assume?" she said loudly. This confrontation with Umbridge was obviously not something she wanted to have in front of thirty students.

In an instant, everyone had turned to scurry off, not wanting to succumb to McGonagall's anger. I saw Hermione, Ron and Harry walk off together, which I was happy to see.

"Well that was a show" I heard George's voice pipe. I twisted my head to see he was only a couple of steps behind me, trying to catch up.

"Wasn't it just" Fred agreed, appearing on my other side. "What was it about though?"

"Harry," I said. I could feel their questioning gazes before I looked at either of them. "She forced Harry to write will a magical quill that embeds the words you write into the skin of your hand" I informed them.

"That's illegal!" George exclaimed.

"No, it's not. That's how she can get away with it. She works for the ministry, she can do whatever she wants really" I reminded them.