The Untold Story of Marietta Edgecombe

Chapter 7

let's get on with the chapter since it's been so long :)

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"Evidence? Have you not been listening, Dumbledore? Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?" I looked up, slightly confused, at the mention of my name. Why was I here? And then it dawned on me. I had told Umbridge, tonight was the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army, and she had caught the club in progress. But it, oh god the spots, it caused those horrible spots to appear, and oh god I betrayed everybody and Cho. I took in a ragged breath as I thought. "Oh, she can tell us about six months' worth of meetings? I was under the impression that she was merely reporting a meeting tonight." Yeah, tonight was the first meeting, right? I was still a little hazy on the details. Umbridge turned to me, and I noticed her hand gripping my shoulder. "Miss Edgecombe, tell us how long these meetings have been going on, dear. You can simply nod or shake your head, I'm sure that won't make the spots worse. Have they been happening regularly over the last six months? Just nod or shake your head, dear. Come on now, that won't activate the jinx further..." I shook my head, a little uncertainly, but all the same. No, there weren't any other meetings. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. "I don't think you understood the question, did you, dear? I'm asking whether you've been going to these meetings for the past six months? You have, haven't you?" I shook my head, wondering why she kept asking, as I had just answered her question. "What do you mean by shaking your head dear?" she asked yet again. McGonagall, who I just noticed, said, "I would've thought her meaning was quite clear. There have been no secret meetings for the past six months. Is that correct, Miss Edgecombe?" I nodded again, still confused as to why Umbridge was repeatedly asking. I told her, this was the first meeting. "But there was a meeting tonight! There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! And Potter was the leader, was he not, Potter organized it - why are you shaking your head, girl?" I kept shaking my head, starting to get kind of annoyed. Why was she not listening? McGonagall said, "Well, usually, when a person shakes their head they mean 'no.' So unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign language as yet unknown to humans -" Suddenly, Umbridge had even tighter gripped my shoulder, whirled me around and started to shake me back and forth violently, back and forth. The room was spinning as my head was thrown around, and I started to panic slightly, breathing frantically as the room moved faster and faster. Suddenly, Umbridge leaped back, shaking her hands, and I almost fell backwards from the loss of contact. "I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores," Dumbledore was next to me, and he for the first time sounded angry. Another person from the Ministry, a tall, African-American man, said, "You want to calm yourself, Madam Umbridge. You don't want to get yourself into trouble now." "No." Umbridge said, sounding out of breath. "I mean, yes - you're right, Shacklebolt - I - I forgot myself." I zoned out, still confused but not at the same time, my brain being a little foggy. "Dolores, the meeting tonight - the one we know definitely happened -" the Minister said urgently, as if he was desperate to finish this conversation. "Yes," Umbridge took in a deep breath and seemed to collect herself. "Yes...well. Miss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor accompanied by certain trustworthy students, so as to catch those in the meeting red-handed. It appears that they were forewarned of my arrival, however, because when we reached the seventh floor they were running in every direction. Miss Parkinson ran into the Room of Requirement for me to see if they had left anything behind... We needed evidence and the room provided... The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I knew what we were dealing with." "Excellent. Excellent, Dolores," the Minister replied briskly. " And...by thunder...See what they've named themselves?" He held up the paper. "Dumbledore's Army." Dumbledore took the paper out of the Minister's hand and gazed at the heading. He looked to be thinking, then he suddenly looked up, smiling. "Well, the game is up. Would you like a written confession from me, Cornelius - or will a statement before the witnesses suffice?"

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and that's the chapter! i know i'm evil i love ending on cliffhangers (even though you probably know what happens), anyway as usual leave me any comments or suggestions and i'll update soon!

- paige