Magic? || Years 1-5

Umbridge and McGonagall: Year 5

"You seem a bit glum," Eli commented, throwing himself down on the steps next to Amisty. "What's up?"

"I had another detention with Umbridge last night," Amisty replied miserably, trying and failing to get the old bat's words out of her head.

"May I see your hand?"

Amisty stared at him in surprise.

Eli grinned, though it was dimmer, "I've had my fair share of detentions with her. I know what she does."

His right hand was indeed scratched up with the words: I must respect my superiors.

"Quite the message you have to learn," She held out her own, shifting her gaze away as the silvery scar caught the sunlight. "How many teachers did you annoy for her to do that?"

"Just one," He shrugged, grazing his thumb gently across the top of her hand. She shivered. "Her."

"Seems true to character," Amisty replied, mouth quirking up in the shadow of a smile.

"I don't think the scar is what's making you this upset, though," His eyes regarded her carefully before he hastily added. "You don't need to tell me anything, though!"

"She basically said I'm doomed to die quickly and I doomed my friends to the same fate just by being around them," She mumbled, shifting away from him.

"Why's that?"

Amisty suddenly froze. Eli didn't know.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't've -- "

"It's not you, Eli," She reassured quickly. "I've just... never had to explain this to someone before."

He nodded, but his blue-green eyes were shadowed with worry.

"Do you know what a Wolf Born is?" She asked, immediately flinching away in anticipation of his reaction.

To her surprise, he merely nodded again, "I've never met one, but my father was close friends with one back when he was at Hogwarts."

"That'd be Echo River," She hesitated, uncertain. "She was my mother."

"So your father is Noel River? The one down in Hogsmeade?" Eli asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Yeah... how do you know him?"

"He works at Honeydukes occasionally," He shrugged. "So that makes you half and half, right? Half witch, half Wolf Born."

"Yes."

She waited for a few tense seconds. For him to continue and call her a monster and to leave and to never speak to her again.

"You're looking at me like you're afraid I'm going to hex you," He teased gently, squeezing her shoulder. "I don't really care, Amisty. All I care about is that you don't call the effects of a war you dooming your friends."

"I didn't say anything about this having to do with the war."

"Echo River isn't a name you hear every day," He replied quietly. "There's more than one wizarding family that ended up getting hit by the crossfire."

Amisty looked away, "I thought she was a hero."

"She was!" Eli defended fiercely, eyes flashing. "And don't let that wicked woman tell you otherwise!"

"But -- "

Eli grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers, "Echo River was a war hero most couldn't even imagine. Umbridge told you what she wanted you to hear. Your mother saved more lives than she lost, and she would personally go to each and every funeral to pay her condolences. Echo gave everything she could to this war, and maybe she made a mistake in the end, but she fought, and that's the important part."