Harry Potter and the girl he loved

part three - chapter 4

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" I ask Harry one last time as we make our way to Umbridge's office, "I can fight her off if she gets too much."
Harry laughs, "you're so cute."
"Ugh, it's a blessing and a curse," I joke.

He smiles to himself and we finally reach the door to her office.
"Well, I should go," he sighs.
"I'll wait for you just out here, okay?" I say and he smiles and nods, "good luck."

He enters the room and I hear them exchange a few words. I sit down on a small bench outside and pull out my book from my pocket. I'm currently reading the catcher in the rye.
My mother loved this book and my dad found this copy as he was going through her stuff. I love reading the little annotations she's scribbled into the side. It makes me feel closer to her.

~time skip~

I'm not there for long when the office door opens again. I fold the corner of the page I'm on and replace it in my pocket. Harry steps out looking slightly distant, his eyes burning holes into the floor.
"That was quick," I laugh but Harry doesn't.
"Come on," he takes my hand and we quickly walk out of the room.

"Harry?" I say his name but he ignores me and continues to pull me along.
He does this the whole way until we reach the common room.

"Are you alright?"I ask, now worried as to what Umbridge has done to him.
He looks down at our hands, which are still interlocked.

"Yeah, fine," he mutters and releases my hand, walking to the empty sofa. I quickly follow him and we sit down.

"I'm not asking you to write all of it," I hear Ron say and look up to see him and Hermione approaching Harry and me.
"Oh, please," she says.

"It's just, I've been busy studying for these stupid OWL exams..." Ron sighs, trying to earn a couple of sympathy points.
"I'll do the introduction, that's all," Hermione gives in, smiling at Ron and there's something in the way she looks at him that makes me stop for a second.

"Hermione, you're honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met," Ron says, sitting down next to me, "if I'm ever rude to you again..."
"Then I'll know you've gone back to normal."

Did I just watch Hermione and Ron...flirting?

I smile to myself and stare into the fire.
"What's wrong with your hand?" Hermione asks Harry.
"Nothing," Harry says, putting his right hand on the book he's reading for Hermione to see.
But she doesn't look at it. Instead, she grabs his left hand and holds it in her own.
"The other hand," she says, now examining it.

Her face falls as she looks at it, "you've got to tell Dumbledore."
"No," Harry firmly states, retracting his hand back, "Dumbledore's got enough on his mind right now. Anyway, I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction."

"What is it?" I ask, taking it so I can have a look for myself.
His hand is grey and withered around the centre. I lean in close to see the words, 'I must not tell lies' cut into his skin.

"Oh Harry," I whisper in pity.
"Y/n, I swear it's fine," he speaks softer to me than he did to Hermione.
"Bloody hell, Harry," Ron cuts into the conversation, "the woman's torturing you. If the parents knew about this..."

"Yeah well, I haven't got any of those have I, Ron?" Harry snaps at him and there's an awkward silence where no one knows what to say.
Luckily, Hermione finds the words.

"Harry, you've got to report this," she sighs, "it's perfectly simple, you're being-"
"No, it's not," Harry stops her, "Hermione whatever this is, it's not simple. You don't understand."

He begins packing away his things and Hermione only watches him with an unidentifiable expression.
"Then help us to," she says at last.

 But Harry ignores her and stands up, moving his stuff to go sit by himself. As much as I want to go after him, I know I should just give him time to be on his own, so I stay.

~time skip~

"Do you ever stop eating?" Hermione asks as Ginny, her and I watch Ron bite into yet another sausage.
"What? I'm hungry."

"Harry," Hermione says and I look back to see Harry, who has just walked up to us. He's been pretty distant recently, eating alone, not walking with us to classes, not talking much to us and overall just pretty much just avoiding everyone if he can help it.

That's why we're all surprised when he says, "can I join you?"
Hermione looks at me and then at the others before looking back at Harry. I can tell she's about to say something but stops when everyone's attention is directed in another direction.

"Pardon me Professor but what exactly are you insinuating?" I can hear Umbridge's squeaky voice say and we get out of our seats and walk outside to find her and McGonagal ascending the stairs.
"I am merely requesting that when it comes to my students you conform to the prescribed disciplinary practises," McGonagall says, angrily.
"So silly of me but it sounds as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom, Minerva," Umbridge takes a step up, trying to assert dominance.

"Not at all, Dolores," McGonagall snarls taking two steps up to be on Umbridge's level, "merely your medieval methods."
Umbridge looks taken aback as if this wasn't true, "I am sorry, dear but to question my practices is to question the Ministry and by extension, the Minister himself. I am a tolerant woman but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty."

McGonagall takes one step down.
"Disloyalty," she calmly utters.

Umbridge takes yet another step up.
"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared. Cornelius will want to take immediate action."

Harry leans over to me and whispers in my ear, "what does that mean?"
"I have no idea, but I don't think it means we're getting new bedsheets."

~time skip~

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they got worse. Umbridge was promoted to the Hogwarts high inquisitor or something and now she's taking her 'new responsibilities' incredibly seriously.

She's been patrolling around the corridors and lingering in classrooms trying to keep everyone and everything in order. Last week, in the middle of potions she stormed in and decided to start interrogating Snape, who didn't seem to much enjoy her presence. One thing we could probably agree on.

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, is that correct?" she asks.
"Yes," he grumbles.
Umbridge pouts her lips in fake pity, "but you were unsuccessful?"
"Obviously," Snape says gritting his teeth.

Ron snickers at this and when Umbridge turns to leave, gets smacked in the back of the head with a book from Snape.

Umbridge has also been very disapproving of 'Weasley's wizard wheezes' which is what Fred and George decided to name their small business from which they sell all the awesome prank stuff they make.

Every time some minor inconvenience happens, Filch is up again on that ladder hammering in yet another 'educational decree' which is basically all of her bullshit rules.

Harry and I are in the middle of a conversation as we walk together to the study hall when we see a large crowd, rushing to get outside.
"What in the..." I mutter.

Harry and I follow the crowd and bump into Cho Chang on the way.
"Cho, what's going on?" he asks her.
"It's Professor Trelawney," she replies.

1224 words - 5/6/22

Bit of an awkward cut off sorry, lol.