Short stories

Me vs Umbridge

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed. Not to mention, extremely dangerous half-breeds." I looked up and glared at her. "Hold on, are you talking about Lupin?" She turned to me. "Hand, Ms.?" I smiled. "I don't need to raise my hand and if you truly want to know my name, it's Lia Pritchett." I walked over and several students gasped at me. "I'll tell you this once and only once, never insult Remus Lupin again." She just smiled at me. "And why not?" I smirked. "Because you don't want to see me pissed. Ask any student or teacher here and they'll tell you that I can be very scary when I get mad or protective." She turned back to the students and opened her arms. "Well? Is it true?" Everyone nodded and Ron raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Weasley?" She asked and he lowered his hand. "When she gets mad, she gets scarier than a dementor and Professor Snape combined." I smiled at him. "Thanks Ron." He nodded, smiling back to me. "I know these kids better than you do. I know what they've learned and what they need to learn. I can teach them everything." She scoffed lightly. "I'm the teacher here. You're, what exactly?" She turned back to me and I grinned. "The permanent substitute. That means that if something happens to you or any other teacher, I take over." I explained and some kids laughed. "May I see your wand?" My grin faltered a little. "I don't have one, never did." She smiled. "Well, then you obviously can't teach here. You don't have a wand." I was still grinning but it fell to a small smile, which I aimed at Harry. "I never needed one." She stopped smiling and the students grinned at me. "Why not? You are a witch aren't you?" I shook my head. "I'm not, technically. I was born with magic, yes, but I never needed a wand to use it. Like this." I held my hand out and ten or fifteen butterflies flew out of my palm. They flew around the room and landed on a few girls. Then, a fire erupted from my hand and I blew it out. "That was a mistake." A portrait nodded at me and I winked at him before he left. A few minutes later, he came back and Dumbledore burst in the room. "Hey, Dumbledore." I greeted him and he nodded at me. "What's the problem?" I shrugged. "Never said there was one except her rather crappy teaching. Oh, and her insult of Lupin." I glared at her again. "She insulted Lupin? How?" Fire licked my hand as a slight anger filled my mind. "Called him a half-breed." I told him and he glanced at my fists. "Careful thinking, Lia. You know he's not so don't take it to heart." She glanced at him as my fire disappeared. "Technically, he is. He's a werewolf. Half human, half wolf." I ignored the students and Dumbledore as I grabbed her pink collar. "Don't ever say that again. He couldn't stop a werewolf from biting him at the age of five, ok? He didn't know how to protect himself but now he does. No matter what you say, we all know it's not his fault that he's a werewolf. He never wanted to be." Dumbledore forced me off of her along with a few students and I struggled until I realized that McGonagall was there. I let them hold me back. "He studied hard and passed every exam with flying colors just to prove that he was more than a werewolf. That he was more than the monster he turned into under the full moon. That he was more than a half-breed." I snarled at her. "But that did nothing for him! Being at the top of his year, passing everything with everything he had. None of it mattered because he still couldn't get a job because of the stupid laws against him! Because no one in the Ministry wanted to give him a chance!" I started yelling but finally calmed down enough for everyone to let me go. The students stayed close to me though, in case I attacked her again. I almost did but I held myself back. "I'm done." I whispered before I walked over to Harry. Everyone stared at me. "What do you mean?" A student asked and I turned to them. "I'm done trying to obey the Ministry." I turned to Umbridge and the others. "Next time you see Fudge, you can tell him that I said to take all his laws against werewolves and everything to do with capturing Sirius Black and shove it up his ass. I'm done trying to reason with him for Black's innocence." I snarled at her again and shifted into my wolf to lay at Harry and Ron's feet. The room was silent until after Dumbledore and McGonagall left. The students sat down and Umbridge stared at me. Soon after, class ended and I followed Harry to his next class, still in wolf form. Once he settled in, someone came running up and said Dumbledore wanted to see us in his office. We left and got there soon enough. I shifted once I was inside and Dumbledore sighed at me. "Lia, you can't pick fights with her or Fudge until everything's settled." I crossed my arms as my face blanked of emotion. "It's not going to until he's finally dead." I said and he looked at me. "This again? You haven't changed." I resorted to my one-word answers and comebacks. "Obviously." He sighed again. "Can you try not to pick fights with her?" I shook my head. "Of course not. What do you want me to do?" Harry glanced between us and I gave him a look, saying 'I'll explain later'. He nodded and I focused back on Dumbledore. "Banishment." They looked surprised at me. "Banish her? I can't." I nodded. "Yes." He rubbed his forehead. "You know I can't. She was officially appointed by Fudge. I can't banish her." I nodded again while giving him my signature look. "Yes." He caught my gaze and searched my eyes. "I don't have that power." I smirked at him. "I do." He shook his head. "Only if she's a threat to Harry, you can. If she's not, then you can't." I shrugged. "Give her time. She'll prove to be a threat to Harry and Hogwarts." I turned and started walking out. "Come on Harry. I'll help you with homework." We left and I turned back into a wolf. The next few hours consisted of class and lunch. After that, we headed to his dorm and started working on homework. I was helping with his Transfiguration work when a portrait started talking to me. "Why do you pick fights with the Ministry?" I glanced at him and then back at the spell we were working on. "Because it's run by fools who think they can do anything." I answered and Harry glanced at me. "Why do you think they can't?" I looked up at the portrait. "Because there needs to be a balance to life. A choice needs to have both good and bad. The Ministry chose to refuse Sirius Black a trial. The bad outweighed the good with that because they made him live in torture even though he was innocent. Because they made me wait without knowing what was happening to him or Remus or Harry. Because they left me in the dark about the safety of my charge and that is reason enough to make me go insane." I knew that he knew what I was talking about. He was a former charge of mine and an ancestor of Harry's. He knew exactly what could make me go insane and he knew that the knowledge of their safety made me calm and collected. "I know." I scoffed. "I don't think you do. Back then, it was two months. This time, it was twelve years. I was so close to insanity that when Dumbledore told me he was here and he was safe, I thought I was dreaming. I had to see for myself and I promised myself that I'd protect him without fail until we both died." I whispered and he nodded. "I knew, even back then, that you'd die protecting the line. I also knew that there was a prophecy about your death, one not even I could postpone." I stared at the glass we were using and thought about his statement. I shook my head to clear my thoughts when I noticed Harry was looking worried. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired is all." He smiled. "You should go sleep. I'll be fine going to dinner." I frowned. "As tempting as that is, I wouldn't be able to. Not with how things are happening these days." He packed up his stuff and we headed to dinner. After we ate, Harry and I went back to his dorm and I shifted into my wolf. He settled into a deep sleep fast and I curled up beside him. I made sure that my chin rested on his side and my tail wrapped around his ankle. If someone tried taking him while we slept, I would be able to wake up and stop them without disturbing him. 'I swore, not only to myself, but also to his parents that I'd protect with my life. I just hope I'll always be there for him.' That was my last conscious thought before I drifted off.