The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter Male Reader Insert

34: Dumbledore's Escape

They were at the stone gargoyle within minutes.

“Fizzing Whizbee,” sang Umbridge, and the stone gargoyle jumped aside, the wall behind split open, and they ascended the moving stone staircase. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, still holding tight to Harry and Y/N.

The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard Y/N did not recognize with very short, wiry hair were positioned on either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes.

The portraits of old headmasters and mistresses were not shamming sleep tonight. All of them were watching what was happening below, alert and serious. As the boys entered, a few flitted into neighbouring frames and whispered urgently into their neighbours’ ears.

Y/N pulled himself free of Umbridge’s grasp as the door swung shut behind them. Cornelius Fudge was glaring at him with a kind of vicious satisfaction upon his face.

"Kingsley!" he barked. "Grab the Mandeville boy!"

Kingsley looked affronted.

"I will condone no such thing," said Dumbledore calmly.

"Oh, you can't deny the boy's corruption now, Dumbledore!" said Fudge gleefully. "Oh, I knew the day would come when I'd finally be able to put him away for good..."

"I'm afraid that while L/N is a student at this school, and until we have discussed his actions tonight, there will be no apprehension of him."

Y/N looked intently into Dumbledore's eyes as he spoke. The old man's eyes were not twinkling, in fact, he seemed to be very well considering apprehension himself. He had never seen such a heavy look of discomfort, guilt, and most of all, pity in the Headmaster's gaze.

Fudge growled, this time turning to Harry. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

“Well,” he said. “Well, well, well...”

Harry replied with the dirtiest look he could muster. His heart drummed madly inside him, but his brain was oddly cool and clear. Y/N gently nudged his shoulder in a show of support.

“I found the two alone in a room by the Hall,” said Umbridge. There was an indecent excitement in her voice, the same callous pleasure Harry had heard as she watched Professor Trelawney dissolving with misery in the entrance hall. “They were clearly waiting for the arrival of guests.”

“They were, were they?” said Fudge appreciatively. “Well, boys, I expect you know why you are here?”

Y/N said nothing. Harry looked as though he intended to stupidly respond with a defiant “yes”: but after a glance at Dumbledore, the boy changed direction mid-word.

“Yeh - no.”

Y/N screamed a curse in his head.

“I beg your pardon?” said Fudge.

“No,” said Harry, firmly.

“You don’t know why you are here?”

“No, I don’t,” said Harry.

Fudge looked incredulously from Harry to Y/N.

“So you have no idea,” said Fudge, facing Y/N this time, in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, “why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?”