Chosen

Chapter 23

The next morning I had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors. We all took our seats; I sat next to Hermione with Seamus and Dean in back of us. I glared at Malfoy, who was sitting in the back, before taking my seat. Hermione gasped as I sat down.

"What happened to you neck?!"

"Oh that, it's nothing." I took out my quill and ink.

"What do you mean it's nothing? It's completely bruised up!"

"Hermione, I'll tell you later, just not right now." I objected. She let out a sigh and continued reading whatever book she was holding.

Before class started, Padma Patil made a paper bird that flew around the room.

"Go on Seamus, go on, hit it." Dean intervened. Seamus jumped out of his seat and smacked the bird, making it fly higher. It floated down a little past Crabbe and he hit it with a slingshot. Everyone laughed and then out of the blue, it burst into flames a landing in front of Parvati. We turned around the see Professor Umbridge with her wand pointed up.

"Good morning children." She said. "Ordinary Wizarding Levels, examinations." She spoke as the chalkboard drew. "O.W.L, more commonly known as Owls." She walked to the front of the classroom. "Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and the consequences may be, severe." She giggled pointing her wand at the books as they made their way to our tables.

"Previous instruction on this subject has been disturbingly uneven. "A book landed on my desk. "Now, you will be following a carefully structured Ministry approved book of Defensive magic." I raised my hand high and she looked at me with those dead eyes.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells."

"Using spells?" she seemed surprised. "Well I don't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom." She walked up to my desk.

"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron questioned.

"You will be learning about Defensive spells in a secure risk-free way."

"What's the point of that, if we're going to be attacked it won't be risk-free." Harry pointed out.

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class." She turned back to the center of the classroom.

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge, will get you through your examinations which is what school is all about." She explained. I could not take her seriously.

"And how is theory suppose to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry was getting angry.

"There is nothing out there dear. Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"

"Oh, I dunno, Lord Voldemort." He said and the classroom broke out in tiny whispers.

"Now let me make this, quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again, this is a lie." She started to walk around the room to Harry's desk.

"It's not a lie, I saw it, I fought him." Harry raised his voice.

"Detention, Mr. Potter." She stomped back the front.

"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" I went stiff when Harry said Cedric's name. Hermione glanced at me.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."

"It was murder, Voldemort killed him you must know that!"

"ENOUGH!" she yelled at him. I stood up and clenched my jaw.

"And what do you think you're doing Miss Thyme?"

"Leaving this excuse for a classroom, I refuse to be taught falsely." I spat and headed out of the room with tears coming down my cheeks. I could hear her yelling at me as I walked collapsed on some nearby steps leaning on the wall. I was sobbing silently by now. The thought of Cedric being dead struck me. I must have waited out there for a while, because students were now coming into the corridors. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, it was Harry. I stood up and hugged him.

"I'm sorry Nyx. I shouldn't have mentioned Cedric." He whispered.

"No, it's fine." I broke the hug and looked at him.

"Anyway, I have to tell you that we have detention later with Umbridge in her office."

"Oh great." I said sarcastically. The rest of the day was very boring. After dinner, Harry and I made our way to Umbridge's office. Harry knocked softly on the door.

"Come in." she said. He opened the door and we entered.

"Good evening Mr. Potter, Miss Thyme." I looked around her room and all I could see was pink and cats everywhere.

"Sit." She told us. We took our seats awkwardly. "You two are going to be doing some lines for me today." I reached in my bag to find my quill.

"No, not your quill, you're going to be using a rather special one of mine." She set a quill by each of us. I wonder what she'll be making us write.

"Now, I want you Mr. Potter to write, I must not tell lies, and you Miss Thyme, I must not leave class." I picked the quill and rolled my eyes noticing that we didn't have any ink.

"How many times?" Harry asked annoyed by her.

"Well let's say, as long as it takes for the message to sink in."

"You haven't given us any ink." I was also annoyed.

"Oh, you won't need any ink." She turned her back on us. I started writing and felt a sudden tingling in my right hand (I am left handed). I ignored it and kept writing. My right hand suddenly began to hurt, so I looked down at it and noticed that the words 'I must not leave class' was carving itself in my skin. I winced in pain and looked up at Harry. He gave me a horrified look. Umbridge then came around to look at us.

"Yes?" she asked us.

"Nothing." Harry replied clearly.

"That's right, because deep down you know that you deserved to be punished, don't you Mr. Potter and Miss Thyme?" I clenched my jaw. I can't believe she would do that to us! Harry and I decided not to tell anyone.

I walked out of her office and into the halls. There I heard Fred and George giggling silently.

"Fred, George?" I whispered.

"Oh, Nyx, it's just you. How did your detention go?" George asked, we were all still whispering.

"Oh, it was fine, what are you two up to? It's not Weasley Wizard Wheezes is it?" I figured them out.

"Just be quiet about it, we're going to sell a bunch to some first and second year, maybe if we're lucky older kids as well, you won't rat us out will you?" Fred squinted his eyes at me.

"When have I ever snitched on you two? Come on!" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, we ought to go sell this stuff, see ya round Nyx." Fred waved.

"Yeah, bye." I walked away. God you gotta love those two. I walked down to the dungeons thinking about how I was going to tell Hermione and the others about my bruises.