Daylight || Harry Potter

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Ugh. I'm so sick of all of this extra homework Snape's given us. If he doesn't let up, I'm gonna do a Weasley."

I snorted and looked over at Karl. He, Ernie, and I were hanging out in the library and doing homework. Well, trying to, anyway. I'd planned to bring Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but Harry and Ron wanted to procrastinate and play chess, and Hermione had to go to her own career advice meeting with McGonagall.

I liked hanging out with the two Hufflepuffs. They were fun to talk to. And since Ernie was a prefect and Karl tended to blend into the background, they were always able to get their hands on the latest gossip. I wasn't sure why Lavender and Parvati hadn't reached out to them yet; they'd have a field day talking about all of it together.

"Is that what everyone's saying now?" I asked Karl.

He nodded, and Ernie said, "Oh, definitely. The Weasleys have left behind quite the legacy."

"And a swamp," Karl added dryly.

"And a swamp," Ernie repeated with a nod. "I'm pretty sure Flitwick or McGonagall could fix it easily with a flick of the wand, but they hate Umbridge just as much as we do. And they love to see her and Filch struggle."

"You know, I don't actually have class in that area," Karl said, "But I like to take Filch's little boat across it anyway."

I snickered. "Oh, I should start doing it."

"You should," Karl agreed. "I love watching his face. I don't think I've ever seen that shade of red before."

My snickering increased in volume. "That man's blood pressure must be insane. You sir, are a school hero."

"Just doing my part for Fred and George," Karl said with a shrug.

"You know," Ernie piped up, "Rumor has it that a few of the students have been teaming up to take Fred and George's old throne. Become the new Troublemakers-In -Chief, you know."

I scoffed. I doubted anyone would be able to instigate the level of chaos the twins were capable of. They could try, but Fred and George's creativity and determination were unmatched. The only person I thought could even dream of doing such a thing was Lee Jordan, Fred and George's usual partner-in-crime.

"I know, right?" Ernie said, a grin on his face. "I highly doubt anyone could replace the Weasleys."

"Still, it would be interesting to make a little trouble, don't you think?" Karl asked.

"What?" Ernie demanded, whipping his head to look over at Karl.

"I have a few ideas," Karl said. "For ways we can screw around with Umbridge."

"Ooh," I cooed, leaning forward, eager to hear about it. Whatever Karl had planned, I was sure it was good.

Ernie wasn't so convinced. "Absolutely not. What if you get caught? You could get detention, and we all know exactly how Umbridge does detention."

He and Karl both glanced at the scarred letters on the back of my hand, both from Harry's detentions and mine: I will not tell lies. Now that Umbridge had complete control, it was no secret that she forced students to write lines in their own blood with Blood Quills. Several students had tried to write home about them so that something could be done about it, but with Umbridge frisking the owls and censoring mail, no word about the Blood Quills got out. Our only hope would be to report her over the summer.

"I just wish my grandmother wasn't basically sending me to voicemail," I said. "Though I bet Umbridge is pretty well protected by her best buddy Fudge. He'll probably try to claim that we have no evidence."