Riddle

Chapter Six

The room was silent. Ron was staring at the woman -who had been sitting next to Dumbledore-like she was a pink rhinoceros.

The woman wore a array of pink clothing that belonged in an old peoples home bin. She had stood up from her chair though it was not obvious because of how small she was. Her eyes were small, and her mouth was starched over her face. Ivy could see her eyes gleam as she beheld the silent hall.

Dumbledore nodded to her and sat down; Neville's mouth opened slightly in shock. Ivy had no clue who this woman was and was quite glad that nobody else did either or why Dumbledore was allowing her to interrupt him. Ivy noted that even the school's teachers were shocked.

"Thank you, headmaster," The woman simpered.

She spoke softly, her voice high and annoying. Ivy would rather listen to someone scraping their nails on a chalkboard than this woman. The woman continued
"For those kind words of welcome."

Ivy fought the urge to gag. Ginny caught her eye and pretended to be sick, they lapsed into silent laughter.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" The woman smiled, Ivy imagined blood dripping from her razor-sharp teeth, "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"
The faces she mentioned looked anything but happy.

Ivy grabbed a napkin and took a pencil out her pocket. Harry looked to what she was doing, curious.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"
The room silently laughed. Ivy heard someone whisper to their neighbour,
"I'll be her friend. As long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan," giggles rippled away from the speaker.

The woman could sense the room getting loader and cleared her throat again. Ivy stopped paying attention and focused on her drawing. She tried not to look to focused so as not to arouse suspicion from the teachers. She glanced that way and caught Dumbledore looking at her knowingly. She gulped and continued.

The woman drowned on as the students lost interest and began doing their own thing. Neville was watching Ivy draw and Ginny was talking to somebody.

Neville giggled as Ivy finished her drawing. Ginny and the boy sitting next to her looked over and snorted when they saw what she had done.

On the napkin was a cartoon drawing of Umbridge. Ivy had exaggerated how wide her mouth was and made her eyes even smaller making her proportions match that of a toad. Ivy had her clutching a whip and blood dripped from her razor teeth. She looked like somebody's demon grandmother.

Neville laughed and took the napkin and the pencil from Ivy. He wrote in block capitals
"You can Kiss the dementors or you can kiss Umbridge!"

Ginny was clutching her stomach. Ron and Harry looked over to see what was going on. Ron saw the napkin, he grinned, he read the caption and burst into laughter. Hermione hushed him still listening to what the woman was saying. His shoulders still shook. Harry took the napkin from him and suppressed a laugh. He passed it along.

Ivy noticed several students clapping and looked up to see Umbridge sitting down again. Dumbledore stood, his eyes gleaming as if he had seen Ivy's drawing too,
"Thank you very much Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," Dumbledore nodded his head to her, while she smugly smiled. Dumbledore began to read out announcements.

Ivy looked around desperately for her drawing. She did not want Umbridge to see it. Something told her that if Umbridge found out who had drawn it Ivy would not live to tell the tale.

Everybody was beginning to leave the hall. Neville handed her back her drawing back. It seemed that most of the Gryffindor table had seen it a few smiled at her but most still avoided her as much as possible. She sighed.

"Don't worry about them, they will come around eventually." Mumbled Neville. She smiled at him, grateful that he was with her. He grabbed her hand,
"Com' on I'll show you to the common room,"
Ivy allowed herself to be blindly let through a maze of corridors and staircases -which moved much to Ivy's surprise- until they reached a portrait of a lady in a pink satin dress. She was round and reminded Ivy of the classical paintings she had seen on trips to the museum with her school. They were the only trips she would go on because they were free.

"No password, no entrance," she looked down her nose at Harry. Neville let go of her hand and began to jog down the corridor to Harry. She followed.

"Harry, I know it!" Ivy smiled at how happy Neville was to be able to help someone. "Guess what is? I'm actually going to be able to remember it for once! Mimbulus mimbletonia!" Ivy remembered the plant from the train. She was going to have to have a shower just to get the feeling of that gloop off her skin.
"Correct!"
The lady looked at Ivy and gasped but before she could mention Ivy's father the portrait swung open towards them. Ivy took a small step back scared to be hit but she need not have worried. Neville grinned back at her as he stepped through the hole in the wall behind the portrait.
"Come on!" He grabbed her hand grinning proudly, "welcome to Gryffindor."