freya mckinnon may share the same face as her aunt marlene, but she was more than just the niece of a war heroine, though no one seemed to see that. no one but george weasley, her rival on the quidditch pitch who quickly became so much more.
...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: COMING FOR YOU (trigger warning: brief mentions of murder and vomit)
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
IF THERE WAS ONE thing that Freya McKinnon knew for certain in the days that followed Umbridge's discovery of the D.A, it was this: Hogwarts was not the same without Albus Dumbledore as the Headmaster.
No, scratch that.
Hogwarts was not the same with a bigoted bitch as the new Headmistress.
Freya, much like everyone else who wasn't one of Umbridge's prized Slytherins, felt like she was walking on constant egg-shells every time she left the safety of the Hufflepuff Common Room. With every day that passed, a new Educational Decree would be added to the endless list of bullshit rules that Umbridge had already created.
There were the more serious ones, the ones that were a cause for concern, like these:
Students must consent to having their post checked for illegal contraband.
Any literature by non-wizard or half-breeds is banned forthwith.
And then the rules that were just plain stupid, like this one:
Boys and girls are not permitted to be within six inches of each other.
Yeah, like that would be easy for her to police.
It got to a point that it was almost unbearable for Freya, the longer it seemed like Umbridge was there to stay. Some days, she found herself fantasising in class as she stared out the window, thinking about the life she wanted to lead the second she escaped this... torture... and into the real world.
She'd have a nice house, preferably somewhere by the sea where she could go out each day and take pictures on her camera. Maybe she'd find herself a boyfriend, and they'd share the space together someday. She'd get a nice job, one that made her happy. And above anything else, everything would turn out okay with her dad. He'd sober up, for good this time. He'd stop disappearing when she needed him. Maybe they'd have a designated day, perhaps a Saturday, where the both of them would be off work so he'd come around for lunch or even just a coffee to catch up.
In theory, it sounded perfect.
In reality, it sounded like a fool's dream, reeking of pathetic desperation.
For ever since the D.A had disbanded, Freya's magic began to spiral again. In the safety of her dormitory, when neither of her roommates were present to see her stumble, not even Solana, Freya had attempted the patronus charm again.
Momentarily, she had hoped.
But that hope died the second she inevitably failed.
And now? Well, now, she struggled to even think of the stupefy charm. She could cast it easily enough, but first she had to wade neck-deep through a whole lot of doubt and insecurity, which really made her small achievement feel pointless in the end.
