𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 124

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR
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-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH HARRY ESCAPES

. . .

His heart had been sat in his throat from the moment he stepped foot in the office, although he was temporarily relieved from that tension as he returned to the familiar sights of the Grimmauld Place kitchen. Despite it's dim appearance and the reminder that it was in fact a secondary prison for his godfather, and was perhap even worse than that of Azkaban; it was nothing but filled to the brim of memories of his childhood - and that Jane faced days of her life stuck in a place that seemed so purely unlike her - it was a home to him now.

By the end of the school year, once summer came and Umbridge faced her inevitable fate (surely not even a Ministry official could avoid the fact that for as long as people could remember, the position was cursed), he would be spending days there. He could only hope that the season would brighten the halls, and by then there was a way for Sirius and Remus, as Harry hoped, to join them in Little Whinging at the manor.

But until then he would take what he could get, and that was Jane sat by the hearth in the dimly-lit kitchen of Grimmauld Place, smiling as she played with the stitched corner of the tea towel she was sat on as they talked about the stupid cupid tradition and watch with a certain endearment in his eyes as she began to speak on the status of the house-elves that provided each and every meal under the roof of Hogwarts.

 It was at that moment, just as he saw the crinkle of a smile and pleasure come across his girlfriend's face at his mode of goodbye when he heard the telltale, continuous click of those stupid, pink kitten heels on the stone floor.

It could be no one else, quite literally, who would wear heels throughout the halls of Hogwarts. The corridors were simply too lengthy, the staircases too plentiful - and sure, plenty of the professors had a pair of boots or two that seemed to have that same echoing effect, but the sound of Umbridge walking down the hall was unmistakeable; it was obvious, and it was terrifying. From a brief moment of blind panic his head became clear and Harry seized the Invisibility Cloak and tugged it over the mop of his hair, fingers sweeping up the spilt dusts of Floo Powder from the mantelpiece and skirted away from the fire.

His back flattended against the stone wall, careful not to bump any of the framed, meowing pictures of cats and ignoring the hiss of protest as his elbow accidently jutted out. His eyes were trained on the door, heart pounded in his ears and anxiety settling in his stomach, and he knew that if he played this right he could manage to get out without harm, without getting himself in even more trouble. Perhaps, if he was careful, he could even find out more than he bargained for, and if he was even luckier, could swipe a particular quill from her grasps on his way out. That would save plenty of them a world of pain - and he did not believe he could hide full the truth from Jane much longer; his hand was constantly settled in a bright white scar.

Umbridge was muttering something to herself, he could hear that now, as she approached the door to her office and used the same spell he had used to enter. He believed it presumptuous for her to assume that no others would attempt to enter the pink hell of its confines because a simple spell available to them in first year could not provide much. 

If he played this right, he could be in Hogsmeade within the hour. If not, like Quidditch, he would be banned from going all together. The door swung open, and Umbridge stepped in, a scowl covering her face. Clearly, the Valentines from Fred and George did not go down well. There was a cupid's arrow sticking out of the carefully styled hair that only made her look more like a frog, and Harry didn't know if it was funnier to leave it in there or to watch as an invisible entity plucked it out of her hair. 

But he had only a moment to leave, and just as the door was swinging to a close behind her, he managed to slip out, heart thumping in his chest as though it was close to breaking free. His steps echoed as he stepped into the hallway and for a split second, it looked as though Umbridge would turn around and somehow see him but with by insane miracle, the door clicked shut just as she turned to look, and Harry took off down the corridor at a run. 

He had to meet Ron and Hermione after such a delay, and hope that his stop-off at Umbridge's office wouldn't cause him some sort of grief in the near future. 

As of then, though, he was happy to have risked it all for her.

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a/n
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