Amour

ENSNARE

At first there was a muted sound of something pecking at the outside wall of the Room of Requirement,that Hermione's ears picked up.Then the sound increased to a distinctive thud that made the students all around to stop what they were doing and turn their heads towards the direction of the noise.Fred and George ,who had been boasting about how they had managed to give Filch the slip countless times that week with the help of the many products from their joke shop,stopped short and looked up;Neville had a look of pure terror,while Harry and Ron quickly came to the side of Hermione,ready to defend her from anything that was on the other side.The thudding grew louder and louder till the wall shook and then collapsed under a spell,shattering to huge blocks of brick.To their utter dismay,Umbridge was standing on the other side,with a look of triumph and anger pasted on her face,with students (mostly Slytherins,including Malfoy and his group)at her back who had volunteered to join her inquisitorial squad,dragging a member of the DA beside them.They saw that that hufflepuff girl's face had gone completely red out of embarrassment and an inscription ran across her forehead saying 'Snitch' and there was no doubt in anybody's mind as to what had happened.........................................
Snape sighed in haughty derision as he heard Umbridge's voice in the microphone go,"All teachers are requested to arrive at the Headmaster's office this instant."He was debating whether it was another new rule of hers or whether she wanted to dismiss another teacher,while going up the spiral staircase to Dumbledore's office when he sensed something was wrong.He was the last one to arrive but he was puzzled to see that Cornelius Fudge was also present and Dumbledore had just come out of his chambers,looking amused and confused.Snape was about to ask what was happening to McGonagall when Umbridge burst into the room,Malfoy close at her heels,dragging  Hermione by the collar,and Crabbe and Goyle close behind with Harry and Ron,struggling in vain to get out of the clutches of those big boys.Snape was utterly perplexed by the scene unfolding in front of him,even more so by the look of shame in Hermione's face,who looked as if she had already accepted the thing she was being accused of."Mr.Malfoy,that is no way of treating a girl.She is your classmate and you have no right to manhandle her like that.Let go of Ms.Granger immediately."Dumbledore told authoritatively.But Umbridge's sugary sweet voice,that was now even more sharp with anger,pierced through the air,"Mr.Malfoy has every right to do so as he is under my orders.These students have been caught red handed engaged in an illegal act of the formation of a students' organisation."Saying this she threw a piece of paper at Dumbledore's face.He caught it,whisked his eyes through it and didn't look the slightest bit affected by it and passed it over to McGonagall.She gasped and looked worried and Snape quickly snatched it from her hand to read it himself.On the top of the page it was written in bold letters 'Dumbledore's Army' and the rest of the page contained the signatures of the supposed members,leading with Hermione's name.He turned his eyes to Hermione again,with contempt and chagrin but she could not meet his eyes.This is exactly what I was worried about.That she would go on to do something that'll cause more problems.She is going to get expelled!"There you go Minister,I was suspicious of her from the very beginning and see,she has gone on to form her own group of accomplices to rebel against the ministry."Umbridge said,pointing at Hermione."She is not to be blamed.We talked her into it."Ron shouted while thrashing in Crabbe's arms."Yeah,Hermione was only leading us because she is the best among us.We only formed this group because you were preventing us from learning magic to defend ourselves.We volunteered to join."Harry said in defence."We all did." Dumbledore's office door opened and the rest of the DA came through.They all said their bits in defence of Hermione and even Neville mustered up the courage to say,"If you're going to expel her,you have to expel us too."Hermione was on the verge of tears but Umbridge,nostrils flaring,turned to Fudge."Forget about expulsion.I have given you conclusive proof that Albus Dumbledore has been secretly trying to manipulate the ministry and take over your job.And now he has empowered the youth of his school to help him acquire that end.He and his minions have been plotting this for a long time."Dumbledore still held the amused expression on his face and quipped,"Naturally.""No Professor!He had nothing to do with this,it was my idea.It was all me."Hermione protested."Ms.Granger hold your tongue."Snape warned,so that she didn't make the situation worse."There is obviously some kind of a misunderstanding, Minister..."McGonagall pleaded."Thank you Ms.Granger but the parchment clearly says 'Dumbledore's Army' so I should be the one held responsible.Minister,if anyone is to be questioned, it should be me and me alone.These students were merely following my orders."Dumbledore said.Snape couldn't understand what he was playing at."I'm afraid you would have to come with us Albus.You are charged with treason against the Ministry of Magic and you would be kept in Azkaban until your trial."Fudge said gravely.There was a flicker of fear in Dumbledore's face but he quickly recovered by saying,"As entertaining as that might be,I have no intention of going to Azkaban prison."Umbridge scoffed and Fudge warned,"Don't make us force you Albus."Dumbledore smiled slyly and replied,"I'd like to see you try."Then,before the minister and Umbridge could advance towards him,Dumbledore clapped his hands in the air and Fawkes the phoenix soared through the room and landed on him and both of them dissappeared in a blast of fire and a puff of smoke leaving the rest of them in a state of shock and bewilderment.................................
After Dumbledore made his escape from Hogwarts,Fudge proclaimed Dolores Umbridge as the headmistress and left the place.Umbridge stood up at the podium and declared that no quidditch would be held,no teacher was allowed to speak about anything except studies with the students and that the OWL examinations would be held under her supervision in the Great Hall.According to her,Hermione because of being everyone's favourite had always gotten good grades but she would prevent any form of partiality in the OWL exams.All the teachers,Snape being the loudest among them,assured her that that wasn't the case and that Hermione had reached her position simply based on her talents and the fact that she was the brightest witch of her age.Nonetheless,all the teachers had to consult her before setting the exam papers and evaluation was to be held in a round table discussion that would be presided over by her.Snape protested a little when she strictly banned Hermione from carrying on with her Occlumency lessons with him but he had to give in in the end.He could see the look of dejection in Hermione's face but his hands were tied.Then the members of the DA were taken to the hall where they were made to write lines with that enchanted quill which drew blood from their body as ink,while Umbridge seated herself in Dumbledore's chair and sipped her tea,smiling fervently at the punished students.On his way back to his room,Snape peeked through the door and witnessed the obvious agony of the students.Some of the girls were even fainting as the quill cut through their skin,while the boys looked up at Umbridge with malice in their eyes as their hands bled.He looked over at Hermione at the front,who was putting up a brave face and enduring the pain she had already experienced once before.Snape averted his eyes from this cruel punishment and nicked one of those quills from Filch and went back to his room.There,closing the door,he sat at his table with a piece of paper and started scribbling with that quill.He wanted to feel the same physical pain,if not the stress,his lover was encountering."Hermione"he wrote,filling the whole page and felt the jab of the blade that snipped through his skin.Only he had magicked it so that instead of his hand,it lacerated on his chest,directly over his heart.