April arrived with the scent of rain on stone and books thick with the weight of spells and formulas. The castle, usually alive with blooming magic and the warmth of spring, now pulsed with anxiety. O.W.L.s were creeping closer with every tick of the clock, and for once, even the common room chatter died beneath the pressure of exams.
Celeste felt it in her bones — the weight of expectations, sharpened by her father's letter still hidden deep in the trunk at the end of her bed. Every essay she handed in had to be flawless. Every answer in class, perfect. Every spare minute, spent revising. She studied late into the night, parchment bleeding with notes, candlelight flickering against the heavy circles under her eyes.
Her parents expected excellence.
A Malfoy did not make mistakes.
And yet, she felt like she was slipping. Like a single misstep would send her spiraling into disgrace. Her hands trembled sometimes when she held her quill. She wasn't sure if it was nerves or exhaustion anymore.
The only escape she had was the D.A. — and even that was starting to splinter.
They'd begun work on Patronuses. For everyone else, it was exhilarating, a challenge, something hopeful. But Celeste?
Celeste couldn't do it.
The charm wouldn't come.
Every time she shouted "Expecto Patronum", she felt it — the hollowness where a memory should live. She tried to summon something happy, something pure... but all her bright moments were either dimmed by fear or buried under the weight of pretending. The spell fizzled into silvery mist and vanished.
No one said anything. Harry didn't push. Hermione only offered quiet encouragement. But it didn't help the ache in her chest when others succeeded and she couldn't.
The Room of Requirement glowed warmly in their last session — too warmly. Like a hearth before the flames turned dangerous.
It was Dobby who burst in, wild-eyed and frantic, his mismatched socks sliding across the floor.
"Harry Potter ... she...she..." he squeaked, his ears flapping in panic. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes! You must all leave!"
Everything fell into chaos.
Chairs scraped. Wands were drawn, hearts hammering as they sprinted through the empty corridors.
But it was too late for Harry.
Draco had caught him — smug and gloating, leading him towards Umbridge with that awful look in his eye - good for him.
By breakfast the next morning, everyone knew.
Dumbledore was gone.
They said he admitted it all — said the D.A. was his idea, his doing. He'd vanished from his office, evading capture like the legend he was. But the silence he left behind was unbearable.
And then, the new decree went up.
——— BY ORDER OF ———
The Ministry of Magic
Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight.
Signed,
Cornelius Oswald Fudge
Minister of Magic
The scroll unfurled itself across the wall outside the Great Hall in enormous letters.
YOU ARE READING
human again / hp.
Fiksi Penggemar"I already forgave you, so why can't you forgive yourself?" She's a Malfoy. He's a Potter. Celeste Malfoy has always walked a fine line between the world she was born into and the one she chose for herself. At Hogwarts, nothing is simple. Not friend...
