Episode 12. Part 6

Episode 12. Part 6

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"Dolores Jane Umbridge has been appointed Inspector General of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and given the widest powers.

What's in store for our children at school, change for the better or trouble? Expert Opinion."

Survivor Boy threw the latest issue of The Prophet away from him with hatred. Once again, they had implicated him in everything, somewhere making him look good to the public and somewhere leaving gaps so that if he, a national hero, refused to act for the minister, his reputation could be easily destroyed. At that moment, desperately struggling with a migraine, Harold sincerely regretted not making a break for it by grabbing Dudley right after the Hogwarts headmaster disappeared from their rented room. Was it possible to get away from the wizard? He didn't know, but he wished he had tried.

Right now, he was caught between three fires. Dumbledore, who wished with all his might, if not to get rid of the too self-willed hero, at least to use or do his best not to interfere with his plans. The Ministry and Fudge, who supported him while he was against Dumbledore, but realizing how dangerous his reputation was, were quietly accumulating dirt on him, looking for leverage to get rid of him too, if anything. Lord Gont and the Council of Lords, who were also on his side, only as long as he was powerful and influential. But his fame and reputation were fragile. And he had at least his wife depending on him, and at most his cousin and vassals, and his friends as well. What would he do if the castles he had built collapsed? All he had achieved was through his arrogance and self-confidence, and his inflated fame, which made them believe him. He was well aware of that. Especially after Dumbledore had shown how much he knew about the out-of-control hero and how easily he could trample heroism.

And then there was the shit that was going on with Dudley... Harold was sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees.

Fleur, who was combing out her silvery curls, didn't notice it right away. And when she did, she put the comb aside, figuring she could comb it out in the morning. She was used to her husband's strange, though infrequent, mood swings, and had learned that at times when Potter's mood was down and his thoughts were gloomy (judging by the frown on his face) - he should be distracted. Her Harry was not an optimist or a pessimist. He was a mixture of realist and fatalist. He cared little about anything other than his friends and family. Fleur knew he was willing to give up everything he had just so his loved ones would be safe and he himself wouldn't be pestered. Politics, intrigue, fame, finances - he had an excellent grasp of it all, but her Harry didn't need any of it. Sometimes he would forget about it and start worrying in vain about things that might not have happened, or things that were long since in the past. Fleur didn't like it, and she preferred to divert his attention to herself, because it was so nice to know that her Harry was thinking about her and only her instead of thinking about silly things... - Oh, Arry, you look so tired..." she sighed.

He looked up at her with those incredible green eyes, and asked her in a husky voice as if her answer depended on his life.

Fleur snorted. - I promised to ruin your life, wherever you are," she reminded him cheerfully, stepping closer to Harold, forcing him to straighten up. And just as he did so, a thin woman's body occupied his lap. - "Don't think about it," Fleur whispered in his ear in a worried tone, placing her husband's hands on her hips and pressing her body against his. - You're not going to beat them anyway. - She looked into his eyes and barely heard a word: - Lord and Lady Potter spent half the night cursing their morals, the reason they'd bet to hold back, the reason they couldn't afford to lose the damn argument. Harold forgot all about his foolish thoughts...

***

- No, we're certainly not going to learn how to stand up to the Reapers from this pink toad! We have to do something! - Ronald Weasley spoke out forcefully after his Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. Umbridge, given special powers, was brutal. Students were henceforth forbidden to take any liberties. From unbuttoned top buttons of school uniform shirts and rolled up sleeves, to nothing else. No games in the hallways for students to relieve tension after class, no hand-holding with girlfriends, no... Ronald felt like he was in a maximum-security prison, and now nothing was allowed at all.

And he was also being punished, and severely so. His ears were still ringing from the thunderclaps of his parents and two older brothers. Damn Potter had managed to finally poison his life, yes. Ron wouldn't have been surprised to learn that it was Potter who had somehow forced Dumbledore to put up with the Pink Toad's candidacy as one of the professors.

And the lessons? With just bare theory and the injunction not to take wands out of their bags, there was no way they could learn to resist dark creatures at all. And this at a time when Voldemort was actively recruiting supporters! Ron was determined to support Neville's mission and fight evil shoulder to shoulder with his friend. Yes, all he had to do was convince his friend that that was necessary. - Neville asked wistfully, not really interested. He already knew that his friend had thought of something that would get them expelled if they were caught. Longbottom remembered sadly the Pied Piper training, when they first fought each other in all seriousness, as if they were blood enemies, without using only deadly curses, then tested healing spells and potions on those who were injured, and then laughed merrily, celebrating the successful completion of the training. And no one was superfluous, an outsider. Everyone was their own... - Well, we could form our own club, like Potter's," Ronald suggested gamely, delighted with his genius. - Only we would teach ZOTI and martial magic. And you, Nev, will be our leader, as the only one who can defeat the One-To-The-Name.

- Would anyone follow me? - Longbottom snorted skeptically. He didn't like the very idea of creating something like Potter's. He unwittingly perceived it as rivalry. But knowing what the Pied Pipers were capable of, and especially Harold himself, he didn't want to compete with them even mentally. - I'm Neville. Just Neville.

- I'll follow you," a voice came from behind, and Neville and Ronald and Dean turned around. It was Dudley. He was looking confidently into Neville's eyes, as if he was sure it would work out, that it was a good idea. Ronald mentally grinned contentedly: everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Hermione and Rhiona, who were walking a little behind and away from the column of five students, but who could hear every word, looked at each other: the idea didn't smell good. But why was Dudley ready to plunge into it?!

***

- Dud, my friend, did you have a fight with your brother? - Somehow Theodore intercepted his friend after class, pulling him aside and interrogating him. To his surprise, Dudley, instead of answering yes or no, hesitated as if he didn't want to answer. I don't want to distract him with my problems. At Hogwarts, it's because of me. He covered for me in court, or I'd be out too, you know. So he was teaching for my sake, when he could have just stayed home and studied for his exams.

- Theo squinted his eyes: it didn't sound like he was lying. But he thought the words sounded like a poor excuse, not to him, Theodore Nott, but to himself, to his own conscience.

- But you're communicating with Ronald..." the Slytherin remarked cautiously.

- "Yes. Is that a crime? - Dudley snorted defiantly, as if he was offended by Theodore's assertion. - He's actually quite normal. His parents convinced him he'd be friends with Survivor Boy, so he thought he'd be friends with Theodore. He decided that his friendship with the hero was a way for him to stand out from the brothers he'd been modeled on all his life. It wasn't that Harold turned him down. It's just that he didn't understand the offer of friendship, and we weren't interested in him. And Ronald was offended... I'm trying to understand him. And at the same time, I'm looking after Neville. - And that was the answer Nott was happy with. Dudley had never been prejudiced against anyone, so his attempt to assess a potential enemy, Ronald Weasley, sounded plausible. And Neville did need watching while they looked for a way to get him out. Oddly enough, from around Neve or Ron, it was easier to do. Theodore suspected the cousins of a cunning plan behind their backs.

- But you hardly ever talk to us... - Hey, trust your friends. It's for the best, believe me, please," Dudley patted Nott comfortingly on the shoulder and left.

And Theo stared after him for a long time: he still didn't know if Dudley was really just looking out for Neville, or if he had a reason to doubt Harold, and therefore to distance himself from his brother and from them all...

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