Servitium| Theodore Nott

Chapter Four

Ivory left Arithmancy in a better mood, she hadn't spoken with any of the boys in green and had sat by Hermione thoroughly enjoying the lesson and even excited to complete the homework that had been set.

"We'll have to work on it together Ivory, two heads is better than one," Hermione said as they made their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts. "We should go to the library on Wednesday evening before dinner," she suggested and Ivory shook her head.

"Can't sorry, I've got...something to do," she explained remembering that her Wednesday evenings had been snatched by one Professor Trelawney.

"Oh? How about Friday?" Hermione asked instead.

"I'll have to get back to you on that," she responded as they entered the classroom, Professor Umbridge was already sitting at her desk waiting with her hands clasped together and a false smile on her face, she was wearing the same ridiculous fluffy cardigan as the night before, but this time she had swapped the beret for a velvet bow.

"How was the library and Arithmancy?" Fabiola slipped into the chair next to her stuffing her Divination Dream Oracle book into her bag.

"Was alright, Pansy came and asked me if I liked Draco," Ivory informed still disgusted that Pansy had thought that could ever be a possibility.

"No way!" Fabiola guffawed placing her hand over her mouth. "She's crazy."

"Well. Good afternoon!" Umbridge called out once everybody had settled into their seats.

"Good afternoon," they replied but it was barely an audible sound and Ivory hadn't even bothered to make an effort in greeting.

"Tut tut that won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please to reply Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon Professor Umbridge," they all said in unison but Fabiola decided to blow raspberries in her direction which Umbridge didn't notice.

"There now that wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out please. "

"Wands away?" Ron turned around and mouthed an incredulous look plastered on his face. Ivory shrugged, tucking her wand away into her bag and pulled out a quill and some parchment. "Is she being serious?" he continued.

Professor Umbridge turned to her own bag and pulled out her wand which was unattractively short, most likely about seven inches in length, she tapped the blackboard and Ivory read the words, squinting as they registered in her brain.

"Basic Principles? Perhaps she's got her first year lesson mixed up with us," Ivory whispered.

"Who knows," Fabiola grumbled.

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it? The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please." Ivory strongly doubted that they were far below the expected standard, Defence was amongst her strongest subjects, the thought of Umbridge lecturing them as if they were first years made her head hurt.

Umbridge made them write down the course aims, all while scolding them for their impolite manners. "This is bullshit." Fabiola scribbled down the aims in record time before tapping her quill continuously against the parchment in attempts to regulate her growing anger.