The Tale of a Gaunt

Detention with Umbridge

Arabella was walking down to Umbridge's office at five o'clock the next afternoon.

She opened the door to the office to find Harry, Umbridge and the room completely unrecognisable. It was pink and the entire room was circled with pictures of cats on plates.

"Good afternoon, Miss Gaunt. Sit" Umbridge said in that false sweet voice.

Arabella took her seat in front of Umbridge's desk.

"Now, we're going to do some lines today" Umbridge smiled.

Arabella reached for her quill.

"No, not with your quill. You're going to use a rather special one of mine" Umbridge smiled, giving them two black quills.

Arabella picked the quill up.

"You haven't given us any ink" She told her.

"Oh, you won't be needing it" Umbridge said, with the tiny hint of a laugh in her voice.

Arabella looked at the paper.

"What do you want us to write?" Harry asked.

"How about 'I must not tell lies'?" Umbridge smiled.

"How many times?" Arabella asked.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to sink in. Off you go" Umbridge smiled, walking to the opposite side of her desk. She bent over a stack of parchment which looked like essays for marking.

Arabella started writing on the parchment.

I must not tell lies.

Suddenly, Arabella let out a gasp of pain. The words on the parchment seemed to be in shining red ink. But even more alarming, the words had begun to appear on the back of Arabella's opposite hand in the exact same handwriting.

Arabella looked at Harry out the side of her eye, he seemed to have had the message carved into his hand, too.

The pair of them looked at Umbridge.

"Yes?" She asked, her toad-like mouth stretched into a smile.

"Nothing" Arabella said. She looked back at the parchment.

Arabella started writing again, and the searing pain in her right hand came again. However, she kept writing. The pain became worse and worse as it dug deeper in the back of her right hand.

After a few moments of pain, Arabella's left hand gave in and stopped writing, the pain in her right stopped immediately.

"Come here" Umbridge said, gesturing at them to come around the desk to her. They did as they were told.

"Hands" Umbridge said as they approached her.

They held out their hands. Umbridge held them with her stubby fingers, in which she was wearing a number of ugly old rings.

"Tut, tut. I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet. I suppose we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we?" Umbridge said.

Arabella exited the room and made her way back to the Slytherin common room.

After arriving at the entrance, she went in. She made her way straight to her dormitory.

After entering, she went straight to her bed.

The next day, she went back to Umbridge's office.

She once again wrote the same sentence, blood was running down the back of her hand and more was gushing out the more she wrote.

The same routine went on for the next few days.

One day, Arabella's cut had gotten so deep that she could've sworn that it had just her skin to cut away from making a full hole in her hand.

That day, after Arabella had finished the lines, she walked back to the Slytherin common room. She sat on the sofa next to the fireplace.

After a few moments, Dylan sat next to her on her right.

"Hi" He said.

"Hello" Arabella said.

"How was detention with Umbridge?" Dylan asked.

"It was alright"

"Well, at least it's only lines" Dylan said.

Arabella nodded.

"Anyway, I'm tired, I'm off to bed, I'll see you tomorr-" Dylan started, but to Arabella's annoyance, he had felt the scar from the quill.

Dylan looked at Arabella's right hand. "What's that on your hand?" He asked, picking it up.

"Nothing, it's just a cut" Arabella told him.

Dylan's face all of a sudden became shocked.

"I thought she was just giving you lines?" He asked.

Arabella sighed, and told him the truth.

"That old hag! She's insane, you have to tell someone! Tell McGonagall!" Dylan exclaimed.

"No, I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to me" Arabella told him.

"Dumbledore then?" Dylan suggested.

"No"

"Why not?" Dylan asked.

"He's got enough on his mind already" Arabella told him.

"Alright then. I'm going to bed" Dylan said, getting up and leaving.

After a few minutes, Arabella went to her dormitory to bed as well.

The next day, Arabella went to the Owlery after writing a letter.

Before tying the letter to Lunaris, she checked the letter over.

Dear Ominis,

How are you? The first week back here has been a nightmare.

We've got a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. If you want a comparison, then imagine my parents and Phineas Nigellus Black combined and you'll get what she's like.

I hope you are well,

Arabella

Arabella then folded the letter up and tied it to Lunaris. She then watched as the owl took off into the sky and disappeared over the hills towards Ominis.