Broken: a Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 28 - Chaos

"Good evening everyone and welcome to another Inquisitorial Squad meeting," Alexia announced in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at eight o'clock on Monday evening. "And a special warm welcome to those new members who join us for their first ever meeting tonight," she added, "you've made the right decision and a great decision by joining."
"Tonight, we will be discussing what is to happen around here now that Dumbledore is gone," Draco said, "We need to get our act together."
"We've decided to assign each of you to keep an eye on a specific group of people," Alexia said, "whether it's first-years or seventh-years, boys or girls, Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors, the people we think cause the most trouble-"
"Or the people who we dislike the most!" Draco interrupted.
Alexia grinned, "-Yes, that too, they're all on this list," she grabbed a piece of parchment and held it us. "Your names are beside the people you need to look out for. Pass this around." she gave the parchment to a new Inquisitorial Squad member who was sitting in front of her.

Draco was scanning the room, "Where's Montague?" he quietly asked Alexia.
"Good question," she said looking around. "Hey, Pansy, did you tell Montague about the meeting?" she called to Pansy who was on the other side of the room.
Pansy shook her head, "I couldn't find him anywhere!"
"No one has all day," one of Montague's friends said. "He didn't turn up at lunch so we thought he might've been getting it on with a girl, you know, classic move of his, but he skipped afternoon classes and didn't come to dinner."
Alexia furrowed her brows, "That's strange."
"I'm sure he'll turn up soon," Pansy said.
"I hope so," Draco muttered.

•••

In the morning Graham Montague still had not shown up. Apparently his bed was still made from the morning before; it hadn't been slept in.
Draco walked up to the Great Hall for Breakfast with some of Montague's friends who he had been discussing his disappearance with. They decided not to tell Professor Umbridge just yet, instead they would search the castle for him at morning break.
At the top of the stairs which brought them up to the Entrance Hall, there was a swarm of students standing around cheering, yelling and whistling. Somebody had set off what seemed to be an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks.

"Bloody hell..." one of the boys muttered, absolutely mesmerized at the green and gold sparking dragons soaring up and down the corridors, radiating light and blasting and banging as they went.
Glittering pink comets with long tails and huge Catherine wheels whizzed through the air and ricocheted off the walls. Everywhere they looked, fireworks were exploding, never burning out or fading but instead gaining more and more energy.
Professor Umbridge and Filch appeared in the Entrance Hall and came to a halt, transfixed in horror. One of the firecrackers suddenly began whirling towards them. They both yelled and ducked quickly, and it soared through the window behind them and out into the morning air.
"Hurry, Filch, hurry!" Umbridge shrieked, "they'll be all over the school unless we do something - Stupefy!"
Red light shot out of the end of her wand and hit one of the fireworks but instead of freezing in midair, it exploded with a huge force and a loud BANG!

"Don't Stun them, Filch!" she shouted angrily as though it had been his incantation.
"Right you are, Headmistress!" wheezed Filch. He dashed into the Entrance Hall cupboards and reappeared with a broom and began swatting at the fireworks in midair; within seconds the head of the broom was ablaze.

Fireworks were going off uncontrollably everywhere. Some had disappeared through an open door and escaped up to the other floors of the school, and the rest still zoomed around the room causing the spectators to run, duck, scream and laugh. The whole school was chaotic. Draco had a very shrewd idea who had set the fireworks off. It was definitely something Fred and George Weasley would do.

All afternoon, the fireworks continued to burn and spread all over the school. Though they caused plenty of disruption, Draco noticed the other teachers didn't seem to mind them very much as it meant Umbridge had to run all over the school, soot-blackened and snarling, answering the summonses of the other teachers, none of whom seemed able to rid their rooms of the fireworks without her.