The Shadows Cast

Chapter 7

Harry stood outside the door to Umbridge's office.  He gently rapped on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in," Umbridge said, her voice muffled by the door.

He opened the door, looking in.  The office had pink walls and hanging plates up and down the wall.  They all had moving pictures of different cats.  The appearance was soft and delicate, but there was something about it that was off putting.  When he opened the door, it was like a wave of anxiety rushed over him; but he had been calm before.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter. Sit." The woman gestured to a chair and desk off to the side. Silently, he obeyed, slipping into the seat.  He looked up at her as she continued to speak.  "You're going to be doing some lines for me today, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at the blank sheets of paper lying in front of him on the desk.  He noticed that there wasn't any ink or quill.  "I...uh.. I don't have a quill."

"No, not with your quill. You're going to be using a rather special one of mine." She stood up, pulling a quill out of the drawer to her own desk.  Handing it to Harry, he took it and she began to pace behind him. "Now... I want you to write, I must not tell lies."

"How many times?"

"Well, let's say for as long as it takes for the message to sink in."

"You haven't given me any ink," he pointed out.

"Oh, you won't need any ink."

Harry decided to take her word for it.  But there had to be a catch.  She seemed so confident, unless all she really wanted to do was have him write it a few times.  Slowly, he began to write the words that she had told him to write.  He glanced at his left hand as it began to tingle. Suddenly, he drew in a sharp breath as pain shot through his hand as the words he wrote imprinted on his hand. Dropping the pen, he clenched his fist.

"Yes?" Dolores asked in fake innocence, now standing in front of him.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

"That's right." She leaned a little closer, looking straight into Harry's eyes. "Because you know, deep down... you deserve to be punished. Don't you, Mr. Potter?"

He could only stare back, unable to form words on his tongue.  Shifting in his seat, he felt very uncomfortable.  Even a little petrified by the woman who stood before him.

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Varian was walking through the halls when he came to the staircase to Sybill Trelawney's classroom.  He took her class the previous year.  Of course, he remembered how the woman disturbed him, but it wasn't exactly her fault.  How she told the futures and how dramatic she could be was unsettling for him.

Hermione came down the stairs, practically running if she were going any faster.  Her face was written with either frustration or disgust.  Perhaps both.  She walked past him, her shoulder bumping into his.

"Well, jeez!" He retorted, but she didn't stop to show she even show she heard him.

Varian heard something and rolling and thumping.  Looking up the stairs, he watched as a crystal ball came rolling down the stair, only stopping at his feet.  Sighing, Varian bent down and picked it.

"Guess I better take you back," he muttered.

Walking up the stairs, he let himself in the classroom as Harry and Ron came bursting out.

"Oh, sorry," Harry apologized.

"What the heck is wrong with you people?  Where's the fire?" Varian ranted.