|In The Dark|

42

Punishment

ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

"You will all sit here and write I will obey the rules for one whole hour everyday before dinner." Umbridge said. I sat next to Harry and we stared at the carving quill on our desk. "There will be no talking, no crying, and no excuses." she continued. "This is mad." I whispered. He nodded. We were about 15 minutes away from being done when a second year Hufflepuff named Parker started crying. I looked over and there was blood on his hand. The carving was bad. I nudged Harry and he looked over. Then Umbridge started walking towards where Parker was sitting. Oh no. "What is your name, young man?" she asked. He wiped his eyes and sniffled. "Parker Jameson," he said quietly. "Well Mr. Jameson, I believe I was very clear on the rules. No crying." she said. He wiped his eyes again and tried to stop but more tears fell. "I- I'm sorry Miss- I- c-can't. It h-hurts." he stammered. "You should have thought of that before deliberately breaking the rules. I suppose Mr. Potter doesn't seem so great now." she sneered. "He just wanted to help us, Miss." Parker said. "That's it! You get an extra 30 minutes." she spat. His eyes watered and he opened his mouth to speak. "No!" Harry yelled as he jumped up. Umbridge turned her focus to him. "What's that Mr. Potter?" she asked. "Harry, wait-" I whispered, tugging on his arm. "You can't torture these kids by forcing them to carve in their hands and then punish them for crying." he said. "Yes, I can." she said. "Fine, Leave the kid alone. I'll take his extra 30 minutes. Ok?" Harry said. She paused to think and did that creepy giggle. "Very well Mr. Potter. Being the leaders of this group, You and Ms. Lupin can take any extra punishments dealt out in this time, understood?" she said. "No, just me. Not Anna, she didn't-" he started. I stood up and stopped him. "Understood. We'll take any extra punishment just as long as you leave the kids alone." I said. She just smirked and nodded. Finally, Harry and I's extra 30 minutes had ended. We walked out of the classroom and Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Parker were all standing outside. We waited for Umbridge to leave and then we all could talk. Parker gave me and Harry a hug and smiled. "Thank you for taking my extra time. I just- it hurt so bad and I didn't know what to do. I'm really sorry Harry." Parker said. "It's alright Parker. You shouldn't have had to do it at all." Harry said. I nodded and ruffled his hair. "You did so well. You were so brave." I said. He smiled and thanked me. Then he left for dinner. We all headed for the Great hall too. I'm not looking forward to a month of this. "I wish she would just punish us. The younger kids shouldn't have to use the quill. It's bloody awful" I said. "I know. I can't believe the Ministry-" Hermione started. "I think we've established the Ministry is a bunch of fools." Harry said. We all nodded. Then we sat down to eat.
"Belle-" a quiet voice said behind me. I turned around and saw Theo, Draco, Blaise, and Pansy standing behind me. I haven't really spent any time with them since the whole DA thing. "Can we go smoke?" Draco asked. I nodded. "I'll see you guys later," I said. Then I followed them out to our spot. We sat down and we all started smoking in silence. They all just stared at the floor. "I love awkward silence." Blaise said sarcastically. I sighed and looked up. I want to know why you guys did it." I said. They all looked up at me with nervous faces. I inhaled and the smoke burned before speaking. "I know Draco's reason. It was a good one. But Blaise, Pansy, Theo? What's yours?" I asked. "We're really sorry Anna, we just-" Pansy started. "I don't care, just tell me why. You all loved my dad and he's the reason DA was created. You had to know that. Why would you do this? You could've joined." I asked. They sighed and shook their heads. "Draco isn't the only one with shitty parents, Anna." Blaise said. "I know-" I started. "No, you don't." Blaise said. "We were all expected to join the Inquisitorial Squad. It wasn't an option. Our parents may not have tortured us if we didn't but it wouldn't be pleasant." Pansy said. I nodded. "We are really sorry Belle, but we didn't have a choice." Theo said. I gave a small smile and nodded. "It's ok." I said. Their eyes lit up. "Really!" Theo exclaimed. "Yes. I can't blame you for that. This war, it's going to force us to do things we don't want to do. The only thing that will make it worse is if we lose each other." I said. They nodded. "I can't lose you guys." Draco said softly. I hugged him. "You won't." I said. We all went back to smoking and talking. I was just glad to have my friends back. Later that night, Draco and I were sitting in our secret spot and he was quiet. I worried about him. He shouldn't have to be terrified of his own father. It's unsafe, it's unhealthy & I don't like it.

"Draco, I don't want you going back to your house this summer." I said. He looked at me with concern. "What?" he said. "I don't want you going back. What if your father-" I started. "I can't escape him, Anna. And I won't abandon my mother." he said. "Please Draco, he almost killed you last time. And he would have if Theo and I weren't there. You can't go back." I said. He forced a smile and took my hand. "I don't have a choice Anna." he said. His eyes watered and he looked down. "Yes, you do. You can stay with me. I won't let anything happen to you. Please. Draco, I'm begging you. Don't go back there." I said. He shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said as he left.

No, you won't.

It was finally Saturday and I was spending the day with Theo. I got dressed for Hogsmeade and did my hair. I put on some jeans and a sweater, then I tucked my wand into my robe and pulled on my sneakers. When I got to the courtyard, Theo was waiting. He smiled and held out his hand. "Ready?" he asked. I kissed him and took his hand. "Yes." I said. We spent the whole day at Hogsmeade and it was amazing. Then we went back to his dorm. We were sitting on his bed and he kissed me. I ran my fingers through his hair and he pulled me close. "Are you sure you want to?" he asked. "Yes." I whispered. I straddled him and he pulled off my shirt and I did the same for him. "Are you sure, we don't-" he started. "Just shut up and fuck me Theo." I said. He laughed and did just that. We had sex almost every night since. I'm not scared, not with him.

TIME JUMP: 1 MONTH

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Hermione yelled. I heard Ginny groaned and I put the pillow over my head. "Come on, get up! We have our OWL's today!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ugh, do we have to?" I complained. "Yes, now get your arse out of bed before we are late!" she yelled. Ginny and I whined and complained the entire time we got ready and as we walked to the Great Hall. We ate and then went straight to the classroom. I sat behind Harry and he turned around to look at me. "I need to talk to you after this," he whispered. "About what?" I asked. "Something I saw during my lessons with Snape. With my dad, and you Remus and Sirius." he said. "Is it bad?" I asked. "Yes, well no, not good but-I don't know." he stammered. I nodded. "Ok." I said.
Umbridge explained how our OWL's would work even though we've been doing it for 4 years and then we got started. Everything was normal until we heard the explosion in the distance.

And so it began.