Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [5]

⚡️ Chapter 71 ⚡️

With Snape gone out of there, Vega turned her head to look back at Umbridge – who seemed to be feeling the same way as the girl; her chest was heaving with rage and frustration. But the issue was that their angers were directed at things far apart.

"Very well," Umbridge said, and she pulled out her wand. "Very well... I am left with no alternative... this is more than a matter of school discipline... this is an issue of Ministry security... yes... Yes..."

Umbridge seemed to be talking herself into something that Vega did not have a very good feeling about. She was shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot, staring at Vega and Harry, beating her wand against her empty palm and breathing heavily. Malfoy, however, was watching her with a hungry expression on his face.

"You are forcing me, Potter and Lestrange... I do not want to," Umbridge said, still moving restlessly on the spot. "But sometimes circumstances justify the use... I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice... the Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue,"

"No!" Hermione shrieked. "Professor Umbridge – it's illegal,"

But Umbridge took no notice. There was a nasty, eager, excited look on her face that Vega had never seen before. Umbridge raised her wand, holding pointed toward where Vega and Harry were standing together.

"The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!" Hermione yelled.

"Does it matter if it is used against a criminal?" Umbridge talked to herself, her eyes bulging at Vega. "Illegal yes, but accusable... who would the Ministry trust? The coquette kid of escaped Death Eaters who was starting her own little party at Hogwarts like their leader or me, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and the Headmistress?"

Umbridge was panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Vega's body in turn, as if deciding where it would hurt the most. Vega tried to keep her expression intact but her insides were squirming in remembrance of the pain that a Cruciatus Curse had on her back when Voldemort had used it on her just about a year ago.

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," Umbridge went on her frenzy. "He never knew I ordered dementors after Lestrange and Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same..."

"It was you?" Harry gasped. "You sent the dementors after me?"

"Somebody had to act," Umbridge breathed, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Vega's heart. "They were all bleating about silencing you two somehow – discrediting you – but I was the one who actually did something about it... only you two wriggled out of that one, didn't you? Not today, though, not now..."

"You're going to go to prison for all this," Vega warned Umbridge, her eyes darting toward Harry, who was getting worked up. "You won't get away with this,"

"Are you threatening me, Lestrange," Umbridge breathed. And taking a deep breath, Umbridge cried out, "Cruc –"

"NO!" Hermione shouted in a cracked voice from behind Millicent Bulstrode. "No – Vega – Harry, we'll have to tell her!"

"No way!" Harry yelled, staring at the little of Hermione he could see.

"We'll have to, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's..." Hermione said. "What's the point...?" And she began to cry weakly into the back of Millicent Bulstrode's robes.

Millicent stopped trying to squash her against the wall immediately and dodged out of her way looking disgusted. Vega stared; unsure what Hermione was playing at but whatever that was, she did not have a very good idea about it either.