Reflections - Mattheo Riddle

The Same Thing

"Harry, no!" Hermione whispered in a warning voice, tugging at his sleeve, but Harry jerked his arm out of her reach.

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Harry asked, his voice shaking. Kirra's eyes dropped softly as her brother began yelling at the teacher about her friends death

There was a collective intake of breath from the class, for none of them, apart from Ron and Hermione, had ever heard Harry talk about what had happened on the night that Cedric had died (and of course the boys had heard Kirra talking about it breifly, though she didnt like to go into detail or talk about it much). They stared avidly from Harry to Professor Umbridge, who had raised her eyes and was staring at him without a trace of a fake smile on her face.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said coldly, "As was Kirra Potter's though she was fortunate to have survived thanks to the help of various staff."

"It was murder," said Harry. He could feel himself shaking. He had hardly talked to anyone about this, least of all thirty eagerly listening classmates. "Voldemort killed him, and you know it."

Professor Umbridge's face was quite blank. For a moment Kirra thought she was going to scream at her brother. Then she said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, "Come here, Mr. Potter, dear."

He kicked his chair aside, strode around Ron and Hermione and up to the teacher's desk, he shot his sister a look, curious to see how she was reacting to all of this, and it seemed she was just as mad as he was. Harry could feel the rest of the class holding its breath. He felt so angry he did not care what happened next.

Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink, and started scribbling, hunched over so that Harry could not see what she was writing. Nobody spoke. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that he could not open it.

"Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear," said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to him.

He took it from her without saying a word and left the room, not even looking back at Ron and Hermione, and slamming the class- room door shut behind him. Kirra stared at the door that her brother had stormed out of, a look of surprise on her face. 

She felt a surge of pride mixed with concern for Harry, knowing how deeply the loss of Cedric had affected him. Turning her attention back to Professor Umbridge, Kirra found herself seething with anger at the woman's dismissive attitude.

Umbridge's saccharine tone grated on Kirra's nerves, and she fought to maintain her composure. The urge to lash out at the teacher was overwhelming, but she knew she had to tread carefully.

Once Harry had left the room, the tension seemed to dissipate slightly, but Kirra's mind was still reeling from the confrontation. She exchanged a glance with Daphne, who shared her indignation, and then turned her attention to Umbridge.

The professor was now addressing the rest of the class, her voice sickly sweet as she carried on with the lesson as if nothing had happened which only angered Kirra even more. 

Kirra couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in her chest as Umbridge continued her lesson, pretending as though the confrontation with Harry hadn't occurred. The injustice of the situation gnawed at her, but she knew that reacting impulsively wouldn't help.

Glancing sideways, Kirra noticed Mattheo's furrowed brow, his expression mirroring her own frustration. She reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly, silently conveying her solidarity. Mattheo looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of concern and determination.