Let Me Help You (rewrite)

Chapter 1

"As long as it takes for the message to... sink in."

It was Harry's fourth detention that week, and he was still being forced to write the torturous lines of "I must not tell lies", the words etching themselves deeper and deeper into his skin. He was determined to not show any signs of weakness, as he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing he was struggling. He was getting pretty numb to the feeling anyways. Umbridge frowned.

"Is the message not getting through to you, Mr. Potter?" Umbridge asked with fake sweetness. Harry hesitated in his writing for a second before continuing, having been taken by surprise.

"No Professor, it is." Harry lied. Umbridge hummed.

"Hm. Well it looks to me, that the message isn't going through. You've just lied to me." Harry's heart skipped a beat as he stopped writing. What's her deal? What more does she want? Harry looked up, seeing Umbridge thinking.

"You may go for tonight Potter. I will have something for you tomorrow." She said, smiling sweetly, but Harry knew it was filled with malice. Harry gathered his stuff and shrugged his bag on his shoulder, leaving without a word. Once he was far enough, Harry glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was near him, and breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his left fist, trying to stop the stinging somehow as he rushed to the Gryffindor common room. Harry told the Fat Lady the password hurriedly, as she was about to leave. 

"You're lucky I'm not up and gone yet! It's nearly curfew!" Harry just ignored her and stepped into the portrait. As he walked into the common room, a good number of people were still there, either studying or just hanging out. No one noticed Harry come in, which he was internally grateful for. He tried to sneak past, not seeing any sign of his two best friends. That is, until-

"Harry!" Harry hears the familiar sound of Hermione's voice. Thinking fast, he slips his left hand into his pocket. Harry turns around, seeing Ron and Hermione in armchairs near the fire and walking over to them.

"Hey mate, Umbridge keep you late again?" Ron greeted.

"Yeah, thankfully it's just lines though. I swear, my hand is gonna get a cramp." Harry half joked. He couldn't tell them, not when there were more important things to worry about, like Voldemort's return. On top of that, he's got to stay strong for everyone. Besides, they wouldn't want to hear about it. Hermione had a look of surprise and confusion at the same time. Harry looked at her curiously.

"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked, using his free hand to lean on a chair.

"That just seems a bit out of character for her. I mean, if she's totally with Fudge and hates everything to do with the 'lies'" Hermione put up strong air quotes, "-that Harry tells, wouldn't she take a more aggressive approach than lines?" Harry panicked. He knew that Hermione was pretty smart, but he was praying that she didn't figure it out.

"I guess Fudge just has some kind of standard for punishment." Ron countered. 

"Yeah, shocker." Harry said. "Well, I'm kind of tired. I think I'm gonna head to bed." 

"Alright, well goodnight then." Hermione said.

"Night mate, I'll be up later." Harry smiled and said goodnight. As he climbed the stairs and got ready for bed, his mind raced. About Umbridge, his friends, the Order, Voldemort, everything. But as he crawled into bed, he was focused on one thing.

What did Umbridge have in store for him?

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