Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [5]

⚡️ Chapter 63 ⚡️

Umbridge's office, now so very familiar to Vega from her endless detentions just last year, was the same as usual except for the large wooden block lying across the front of her desk on which golden letters spelled the word HEADMISTRESS. It was obvious that the castle was fighting back and had not allowed Umbridge into the office so all she could do was use her lousy office as the headmistress' office now.

As they entered the room, Vega's eyes fell upon Harry's Firebolt, and Fred's and George's Cleansweeps, which were chained and padlocked to a stout iron peg in the wall behind the desk. Umbridge was sitting behind the desk, busily scribbling upon some of her pink parchment, but looked up and smiled widely at their entrance.

"Thank you, Argus," Umbridge said sweetly.

"Not at all, ma'am, not at all," Filch said, bowing as low as his rheumatism would permit, and exiting backward. Vega blinked in dislike as she looked away from the care-taker.

"Sit," Umbridge said curtly, pointing towards two chairs, and both Vega and Harry sat down on their respective chairs from last year.

Then, Umbridge continued to scribble for a few moments. Vega watched some of the foul kittens gambolling around the plates over Umbridge's head with a passive expression, wondering what fresh horror she had in store for them now.

Tha Black Quill?
Or something new now that she was the Headmistress
and didn't have to listen to anyone?

"Well now," Umbridge spoke up finally, setting down her quill and looking like a toad about to swallow a particularly juicy fly. "What would you like to drink?"

"What?" Harry asked, quite sure he had misheard her, while Vega had to told her expression slipping as she realised what this insinuated.

"To drink, Mr. Potter," Umbridge responded, smiling still more widely. "Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?" As she named each drink, she gave her short wand a wave, and two cups or glasses of it appeared upon her desk.

"No, thank you," Vega interjected into the conversation, knowing fairly well what was going on through Umbridge's mind right now. "We're fine,"

"I wish you to have a drink with me," Umbridge replied forcefully, her voice becoming more dangerously sweet. "Choose one,"

"Fine... tea then," Harry said, shrugging.

Vega watched in silence as Umbridge got up from her seat and made quite a performance of adding milk with her back to them. However, it was clear to Vega that Umbridge was trying to distract them away from her left hand. And when Vega saw it move suspiciously – she knew that those cups of tea had been spiked with something.

It still looked like that Harry hadn't grasped the situation, and he was looking around the office so distractedly that Vega couldn't warn him. She slipped her wand out of her pocket and angled it to point at Harry, muttering the incantation.

By the time Umbridge bustled around the desk with the tea, smiling in sinisterly sweet fashion, Vega had arranged a safe way out for herself and Harry. Vega was almost offended that people didn't realise that she wasn't this stupid.

"There," Umbridge said, handing it to them. "Drink it before it gets cold, won't you? Well, now, Mr. Potter and Miss Lestrange. I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night,"

Neither Vega nor Harry said anything in response. Umbridge settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, "You're not drinking up!"

The tea cup had no strange odour, or colour – that confirmed to Vega that Veritaserum had been used in the tea. She pursed her lips as she brought the cup up to her lips.