Magic Made- A Fred Weasley Love Story

Chapter Sixteen

"Who's the pink cotton ball with hairspray?" Lee Jordan whispered to Fred and George from his seat across from us, motioning towards the ever changing occupant of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's seat. This year, in it was seated a plump women dressed in full pink wool, with hair sprayed curls hard enough to break a window and an expression of hardly suppressed distaste written across her face.

"And now I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore's boomed throughout the silent Hall. "Professor Dolores Umbridge. And I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing the professor good luck." The Great Hall was completely silent, no person daring to move a muscle, much less wanting to wish anyone good luck at teaching DADA.

"And as usual, our care taker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you-" Dumbledore's voice was cut off suddenly buy a small, light sound from the far right of the professor's table at the beginning of the Hall. The noise sounded in between a meow and a giggle, causing Dumbledore to turn and stare, along with the other occupants of the Great Hall, as Dolores Umbridge herself rose from her seat and strode to the middle platform beside Dumbledore. Claire and I exchanged a few raised eyebrows at the newest professor's large amount of guts.

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." Umbridge's voice was a grating sound, almost like a sickly sweet way to scrub nails along a chalkboard; as if you did so, but while holding numerous bars of chocolate. "And how wonderful it is to see all your bright, happy faces smiling up at me."

I glanced at the group of students nearest to me, whose faces mirrored my own. No one in the entire great hall was smiling, especially not at Dolores Umbridge. But the women, oblivious to the irony in her statement, continued anyway.

"I'm sure we're all going to be very goo friends." She said, a smile as fake as the fur around her neck plastered on her face.

"That's likely." Fred and George said simultaneously as well as a double eye roll, which lifted a smile out of me and Claire and a chortle out of Lee. Fred and George, being the only ones to have spoken at Umbridge's pause, were heard and given a quick stare before the newest professor turned back to the body of students.

"The Ministry of Magic," she continued. "As always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be prohibited." She let out a little giggle as her deafening speech came to a close and paced back to her seat.

 "Did you understand a word of that last part, Fred?" George leaned over and whispered to his brother.

"Not a bit, George, not a bit." And then the food arrived. It went along with our hunger an hour or so later, after the back to school speech was ended by Dumbledore and the achingly full body of students were released to their dormitories for a good night's rest before classes the next day.

"It means, you gits, that magic is forbidden in the corridors." Claire said with a look of complete disgust written on her face.

"And the Ministry of Magic is interfering at Hogwarts." I stated, horrified. We all stared at each other, realizing just how dire of a situation the school was in.

"Yeah, that'll happen." Fred and George winked.

***

"So, final year at Hogwarts? What kind of horrible pranks are we going to leave Hogwarts with? We'll have to start planning now, lads," George waved his arms around "And ladies. It'll have to be the best, and quite frankly the worst, prank Hogwarts has ever seen."