Scar Tissue 2.0

Snape's Essay

"You really couldn't see his arm?" Hermione asked the next morning. The trio was in the Great Hall to have breakfast and Harry had told them everything about Draco and Snape's meeting the night before. He had barely slept and more than once, he had wanted to wake Ron up but he doubted he would be cooperative, or in enough of a good mood to listen to him.
     He shook his head. That was what they were the most curious about. That, and some of Draco's words. "Never been around another one before", what did he mean by that? Also, their Head of House, Professor McGonagall, was obviously aware of what was going on. Were the other teachers on it as well? It might explain why they never said anything about his absences.
     "Well, it doesn't really answer any of our questions, it's just really shady," Ron commented between bites of his toast. Harry glanced at him, then at Hermione. She was clearly lost in her thoughts, probably making connections and theories only she could come up with.
     Harry looked over at the staff table. Lupin wasn't there. He had also noticed that back in September, Lupin had been absent and came back at the same time as Malfoy. In October, it happened again but Malfoy had come back a day after Lupin. And now, it was the opposite. Somehow, he knew the answer was right under their nose, but he couldn't figure it out.
     "Still, I'm really curious," Hermione finally said. "Did he say anything else? Anything at all? About Professor Lupin, maybe?"
     Harry didn't answer right away. He was looking at Snape out of the corner of his eyes. His Potions teacher was staring at the Slytherin table, undoubtedly at Malfoy. When Harry glanced at the other boy, though, he just seemed to be in an animated conversation with Pansy Parkinson. He looked very different, suddenly. He was making her laugh loudly and he seemed to be feeling really good himself.
     "Er- I think that was it," Harry told Hermione, thinking hard about the night before. Then, it hit him. "Oh, wait. Just before he left, he asked Snape about something." He rummaged through his memories to make sure he would get his words right. "He asked if Snape knew about... Umbridge? Is that possible?" Harry asked, having no clue what or who Umbridge could be. He wasn't even sure the information was relevant. But Ron and Hermione were sharing the same expression. They were staring at Harry, not because he was the only one who didn't know about Umbridge, but because they both were trying to remember where they had heard that name before. "It didn't sound like it had anything to do with his arm or whatever happened. It's like he remembered about something at the last second."
     "I'm sure it's not the first time I've heard this name," Ron mumbled.
     "What did he say exactly?" Hermione asked.
     "Um, something about... His father told him something happened, related to Umbridge I guess, but that he shouldn't worry, given his situation. He also said that whatever it was about, it sucked," Harry summed up. Hermione frowned and Ron stared at his plate, still thinking.
     "If his father told him about it, it probably has something to do with the Ministry, don't you think?" Hermione said. "Isn't he hardly out of there?"
     Harry shrugged but it seemed like it had made something click in Ron's mind.
     "The Ministry, of course! I know where I've heard the name before, my dad told us about her!"
     "Oh, so it's a person?" Harry said.
     "Yeah, I think her name's Dolores Umbridge. She's the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. He only mentioned her because of... what happened with the car last year," Ron said, lowering his tone, still ashamed and guilty over the inquiry his father had faced at work because of his rash decision. "It's a division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcment," he explained to Harry, who himself had already had to deal with that very same department twice. Once because of Dobby, and the second time because of Marge. "It's the largest and probably the most important department of the Ministry."
     Hermione suddenly stood up and Ron spilled half his pumpkin juice on his robes.
     "Watch what you're do—"
     "I need to check something before class, I'll see you then," she said, hurrying towards the large doors.
     Ron was frantically rubbing his robes, "I hate when she does that," he mumbled to himself. Harry wasn't paying attention anymore. His gaze was following Hermione before he looked at Draco again. The Slytherin boy was staring at Hermione as she walked by. She had visibly caught his attention and he only stopped looking once she had disappeared. Then, he turned to Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, apparently saying something really funny. Except that Pansy didn't seem to be laughing as much as the others. Harry frowned, almost certain he was mocking Hermione. He finally looked back at Ron, who had just begged Seamus to keep his wand away from the stains on his clothes.
     "Do you know if Malfoy's staying for Christmas?" Harry asked.
     "How would I know? I hope he doesn't, I don't need him to ruin it."
     "I don't know, maybe we could try to find out more about all of this if he stays here," he said. Ron didn't truly answer, or at least he kept his thoughts to himself as he kept on mumbling. He started to eat again and Harry got the hint; he didn't want to speak about Draco anymore.