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***
"Again," Umbridge's voice rang through my ears for the hundredth time. I rubbed my tired and swollen eyes, letting a yawn slip through my lips, making Umbridge tighten her posture and repeat her order.
"Hello, can you help me, please?" I drawled on, and she tutted. It was the second week of voice lessons, and we had just gotten past the first phrase out of hundreds more. Along with Umbridge's studies and criticisms, my homework had begun to pile up. Not just for her class but many others. The only class I was able to get by was Divination, and that was because Professor Trewlany had taken a liking to me.
With me focused on the lessons and taking twice as long on my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, I had hardly any time to do anything else. And this was only the first few weeks of school. Surprisingly, none of my friends had noticed my frantic behavior. Or at least didn't speak up about it. However, George and Angelina would occasionally send me suspicious glances after running up the stairs to "do my homework".
"More breathy, we want it light as a feather and effortless but not too smooth that your accent slips," Umbridge corrected, and I tried to follow her advice. She shook her head with a displeased expression before taking a sip of her tea and having me repeat it.
This went on for another hour, and, like usual, I left her classroom daydreaming about everything I had to do when returning to the common room. Despite my dread to attempt Umbridge's homework again, I rushed to the Fat Lady and mumbled the password.
Like most nights, many students were scattered across the room either studying, playing wizards chess or gobstones, or complaining about their workload. In the corner was Fred, George, and Lee in hushed whispers, the twin's several clipboards spread across the table they sat around. Angelina was nearby in a conversation with Katie Bell, a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
I avoided their corner as much as I could, but once Lee saw me, he made certain that the rest of them knew of my presence. "Hey," Fred exclaimed, and I forced a smile on my face as I neared them slowly.
"Hello," I said robotically.
"How're you doing? Learn anything new while studying?" George asked, and I shrugged.
"Was Daviss a gentleman?" Angelina teased, and I hummed.
"I am going to go study," I muttered as quietly and clear as possible. I ran up the stairs and to my dormitory, where I sprawled my books across my bed and began trying to catch up.
***
"Something is not right with her," Angelina whispered to the boys as they watched Nadeleine sprint up the stairs. Fred and Lee and gone back to what they were initially doing, but George was just as confused as Angelina. George nodded as he stared at the staircase.
"What do you mean? That's regular old Nadeleine," Lee trailed off as he scribbled some order information on a form.
"She doesn't look like herself. Have you seen her eyes recently? They look as if someone is forcing them open. And the way she stands is new as well," Angelina stated.
