𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 | Harry James Potter x Reader

YR 5 ☆•°~'* 19

A/N - Thank you for 10k reads!! <3

❈🌠➵9¾♌ ⚯ 🗲━━━━━★. *･｡ﾟ✧⁺

They were at the bronze Griffin statue within minutes. Y/N thought of Ron - Mrs Weasley would ground him for life - and how Hermione would feel if she was expelled before she could take her O.W.L.s...

'Fizzing Whizzbee,' sang Umbridge; the Griffin turned and they ascended the moving stone staircase.

They reached the polished door and Umbridge strode straight inside without bothering to knock, still holding tight to Harry and Y/N.

The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him. Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, was rocking backwards and forwards on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation; Kingsley Shacklebolt and a wizard with short wiry hair whom Y/N did not recognise, were positioned at either side of the door like guards. And, to Y/N's extreme distaste, the freckled and bespectacled Percy Weasley hovering excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands.

Y/N pulled herself free of Umbridge's grip as the door swung shut behind them. Cornelius Fudge was glaring at her and Harry with a kind of vicious satisfaction on his face.

'Well,' he said. 'Well, well, well...'

'They were heading back to Gryffindor Tower,' said Umbridge. 'The Malfoy boy cornered them.'

'Did he, did he?' said Fudge appreciatively. 'I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Potter, L/N... I expect you know why you are here?'

Harry was fully intending on responding with a defiant 'yes', but Y/N had caught sight of Dumbledore's face. Though he was not looking directly at her or Harry, he shook his head a fraction of an inch to each side.

'Ye-'

'No,' said Y/N clearly.

'I beg your pardon?' said Fudge.

'No,' said Y/N firmly.

'You don't know why you are here?'

Harry, who seemed to have cottoned on, said, 'No, we don't.'

Fudge looked incredulously from Harry, to Y/N, to Umbridge. Harry took advantage of his momentary inattention to steal a quick look at Dumbledore, who gave the carpet the tiniest nods and the shadow of wink.

'So you have no idea,' said Fudge, in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, 'why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?'

'School rules?' said Harry. 'No.'

'Or Ministry Decrees?' amended Fudge angrily.

'Not that we know of,' said Y/N blandly. 'Unless you passed another one two seconds ago...'

'So, it's news to you, is it,' said Fudge, his voice now thick with anger, 'that an illegal student organisation has been discovered within this school?'

'Yes, it is,' said Harry, hoisting an unconvincing look of innocent surprise onto his face.

'I think, Minister,' said Umbridge silkily from beside him, 'we might make better progress if I fetch our informant.'

'Yes, yes, do,' said Fudge, nodding, and he glanced maliciously at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. 'There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?'