The Redhead and the Irish

Chapter 54

A few days had passed since...well, 'the fight'. That's how my friends referred to it anyways. I thought it to be more of a war- a war that I was going to win. Because Seamus could scream all he wanted, say whatever he needed to say, but I would refuse to listen. For why would I listen to a person that had charged me at my weakest point? It didn't make sense, did it?

So the past few days I've done as I'd stated; acted as if Seamus Finnigan were dead and gone. I'd avoid him in the hallways, sit with other people during classes and meals and never sat in the common room when he was around. I ignored his shouts, letters and gestures. I turned the other way when he would walk towards me. Never said a word. He was a ghost in my life, occasionally haunting me for a few seconds.

The first Defence Against The Dark Arts class of the year wasn't any different. I sat down next to Lavender, watching the Patil twins send an origami bird into the sky. It was beautiful. "Are you still ignoring Seamus?" Lavender asked out of nowhere. I turned around to face her, a scowl on my face. "I take that as a yes then..." she mumbled, turning her attention back to the paper bird flying around the classroom as some students tried to catch it.

Including him.

With that characteristic half-sheepish grin of his, a gleam of mischief in his eyes. Him. A person that I had called my friend. But not anymore. He was dead to me after all.

After one round of flight around the classroom, the small bird was set ablaze, fluttering down onto Parvati and Padma's desk. "What was that for?" I wondered, glancing at Lavender. She just shrugged.

"Good morning children." a bittersweet voice echoed through the classroom. We spun around to face the owner of the voice, coming face to face with none other than our new teacher, clad in the most hideous shade of pink. She started walking towards the front, writing something on the board with her wand. "Ordinary. Wizarding. Level. Examinations. O W Ls. More commonly known as; OWLs." she stated, reaching the front of the room. "Merlin, her voice is annoying." I mumbled, leaning back in my seat. "And we'll have to deal with it all year." Lavender grumbled, doing the same.

"Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and the consequences may be...severe." Umbridge explained with a sickening smile. "Yeah, as in tutoring sessions with her." a Ravenclaw in front of us whispered. Umbridge didn't seem to notice the muttering and instead gave a flick of her wand, stacks of books floating through the aisles and handing themselves out.

This was already a nightmare. This pink toad was actually under the delusional impression that we were interested in what she had to say. "When are we going to practice actual defences?" Lavender whined, fiddling with her quill. Once again, Umbridge was unaware of the mumblings. "Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven." she continued as a book dropped onto my table. "This looks as if it's meant for a five year old!" I hissed, flicking through the pages.

"But you'll be pleased to know, from now on you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic. Yes?" Umbridge gestured at Hermione, who had her hand shot up in the air. She lowered her arm, glancing at the book. "There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" she wondered. Merlin's beard, she was right! How were we supposed to learn anything without practice.

Umbridge gave a surprised scoff, bending forwards a little. "Using spells?" she giggled, walking towards Hermione. "Well I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom!" she exclaimed, stopping in front of Hermione's desk. Was she serious? Properly serious? But then what was the purpose of this whole class? Ron spoke up, asking the question on everyone's mind. "We're not gonna use magic?"

"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way." Umbridge stated. I couldn't hold it in any longer- I just had to laugh. "Oh right, because why bother learning how to actually defend oneself against the dark arts?" I scoffed, closing the book again. Harry nodded, speaking up as well. "She's right. If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free."

Umbridge turned her back on us, briskly walking towards her desk. "Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class." she snapped. I could hear her take a shaky breath, before turning back to us with that smile of hers. Goodness I wanted to throw up just by the looks of that grimace. "It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations which, after all, is what school is all about!" she explained.

Lavender shook her head, closing the book as well. "And then we venture into the real world and die." she whispered. And apparently she wasn't the only one who thought that. "And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry asked, his voice getting more agitated by the second. But who could blame him? This was just getting ridiculous.

"There is nothing out there, dear." Umbridge smiled. "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?" Bad question. Really, really bad question. "Oh I don't know, maybe Lord Voldemort?" Harry snapped.

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

After a second, mutters and gasps filled the classroom, followed by the falling of a pencil. No one knew what to say. Not even a Slytherin had a smart-ass comment to make. After a few more seconds of whispers, Umbridge finally found the words she had been looking for. She gave a grimace, walking into the aisles. "Now let me make this quite plain-" she started in a hushed voice. "You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This. Is. A. Lie." Yeah right. "It's not a lie! I saw him! I fought him!" Harry shouted, slamming his hands on the desk.

And thus Dolores Umbridge snapped for the first time, and it would be the first of many. "DETENTION mister Potter!" she barked, moving back to her desk. "So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?!" Harry fired back. Ouch. Damn that hurt. Lavender immediately grabbed my hand, shaking her head.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident." Umbridge argued. Now it was my turn to snap. "One caused by the Ministry's ignorance!" I exclaimed. She turned to me, anger visible in her eyes. "Last warning miss Weasley!" And while that might have been enough to make me shut up, Harry James Potter was far from done with the new teacher. "It was murder! Voldemort killed him!"

"ENOUGH!"

 The second snap. Umbridge took a shaky breath, looking at Harry. "Enough." she whispered. Her fists were clenched, her entire body tensed up. "See me later mister Potter. My office." she finished with a sickening giggle. And just like that it was silent once again. I glanced over at the Patil twins, both of them clearly shaken by the teacher's attitude.

"Now. I would like for you to read chapters one through three and take notes on the importance of the protection charm 'protego'." Umbridge explained. The entire class reluctantly obeyed, not wanting to get detention on the first day. I opened the book and started my reading, still not letting go of Lavender's hand. She was just as shaken from Umbridge's outburst as everyone else.

And just like that we continued the class, doing our reading and occasionally scribbling something down. And as the bell rang, we all scurried out of the room. Well, all except Harry of course. As I walked out of the room alongside my friends, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around, only to see Seamus standing there.

"Sorry about dem bringin' up...yknow..." he mumbled. I flinched away from his touch, taking a step towards Hermione and the twins. "You stay the hell away from me." I snapped. And like that, I walked off with my friends following close behind.