The Devil You Know | Wizarding World

chapter fifteen | who's the bad guy?

Hogwarts had not been the same since Professor Umbridge stepped into the position of headmistress.

Since then, everything that made the school fun and unique was no longer there. The woman put even more strict rules on the students, along with all of the classes to have very little hands-on learning as possible. On top of that, all of the talking portraits throughout the castle had been taken down by Filch himself, leaving Hogwarts to be just as lifeless as ever. Needless to say, the school was in shambles. However, the ones who got the worst of this living hell was Dumbledore's Army.

Rosie had lost count of how many detentions they served in the Great Hall after dinner over the last few weeks, but it was clear that Headmistress Umbridge thought the punishment had yet to fit the crime. During the late nights everyone had to do lines, letting the message literally sink into their skin. After each session, the students would massage their wrists and clean off the blood once the burning sensation had passed, then having to repeat the routine all over again the next night. After a while, Rosie got used to the pain, along with everyone from Dumbledore's Army not speaking to her. Hell, even Neville didn't say much to her anymore, which came as a shock and sadness to follow. And because she wasn't talking to her Slytherin friends, either, Rosie was officially alone, but was slowly becoming okay with it.

When she was tired of being stuck inside the castle, Rosie found the time to go walking along the castle grounds, seeing it as a good escape, even if it was only for a short amount of time. She would sit on the shore of the Black Lake, where it was a good spot to be alone with her thoughts, as hardly anyone ever came around to interrupt her. With the weather warming up, Rosie was outside a lot more, feeling like she could breathe again. She hated suffocating inside the castle, the one space she and so many others felt safe. Now, it was more like a prison for most of the students and teachers, and Headmistress Umbridge seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

Rosie took her usual stroll along the shore, then decided to head for the water instead of sitting down. She glanced down at the rocks and attempted to skip them along the water, though she was not having much luck with succeeding. The more she kept trying, the more frustrated she got.

"Having trouble there?"

The girl turned around to find Adam making his way over. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't when her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. "I'm still figuring it out," she answered once he stopped next to her.

"I can see that," he replied, chuckling a little. "Need any help?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

Adam let out a sigh. "You're still mad at me, I presume." It wasn't a question, as if he already knew that was the case.

Of course Rosie was still mad at him. In fact, it seemed like she was always mad at her Slytherin friends nowadays. She had gotten used to not talking to any of them this year, something she never expected to happen. But with things being different now, she didn't look at them the same way anymore. Really, she didn't know what to think of them, and whenever they came to mind, she only became annoyed and confused by it. And locking eyes with Adam only made it worse.

"What do you want, Adam?" she finally asked.

"I want to apologize."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." He paused, adjusting his stance. "I should've talked to you first before telling Gavin about your secret organization. But there's a reason why I did."

Rosie scoffed, turning to pick up another rock. "It better be a good one."

Adam sighed. "He was tired of seeing what Umbridge was doing to Hogwarts."