D.A.
The D.A. was gathered in the secret room for another lesson, which had proven exceptionally promising. However, the atmosphere quickly changed drastically when Harry's elf friend, apparated into the room with a frantic pop.
Dobby, Cassi remembered the name. She had gifted him a pair of colorful socks on the fourth-year Christmas, which seemed to enchant him. A rather peculiar elf, he likes freedom.
"Are they coming?" Harry asked calmly.
Dobby let out a worried yelp. "Yes, Harry Potter, they are, they are!"
"Damn it," Cassi gasped.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR!" she shouted exasperatedly.
Harry quickly rose to his feet and, in the midst of panic, yelled, "RUN!"
Everyone rushed towards the exit almost simultaneously, stumbling over each other but managing to make their way through the frenzy.
They couldn't head directly to the dormitories; it was just ten minutes to nine, and that would undoubtedly raise suspicions. They needed to disperse throughout the school.
"Harry, Cassie, come on!" Hermione called out amid the tumult of students pushing to leave. Cassi was gathering her belongings when she tried to leave the room but ended up tripping over her own feet.
"Hopping gargoyles!" she exclaimed in confusion.
"CASSIE?!" Draco appeared behind a vase, looking annoyed. "Are you with them?" he pointed an accusing finger at her.
Harry appeared just behind her but fell face-first to the floor.
"Sticking charm, Potter!" Draco explained, looking quite pleased with himself. "Uh, Professor... PROFESSOR! I've caught two!" the tattletale shouted triumphantly.
"My mum will eat your liver," she laughed, being arrogant, and pointed his finger with disdain.
Cassi was left dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. Indeed, she was in trouble, definitely in trouble.
Umbridge hurriedly arrived from one end, gasping but wearing a satisfied smile. "It's him!" she exclaimed jubilantly upon spotting Harry on the floor.
Draco was helping she up, wearing a rather pleased smile on his face. "Traitor," he whispered to her in a low voice.
"Shut up," she retorted, eager to punch him.
"Excellent, Draco, excellent, very good: fifty points to Slytherin!" roared the pink toad.
"Now, go and see if you can catch anyone else, Draco. Tell the others to search the library for someone who is out of breath, check the bathrooms. Miss Parkinson can inspect the girls' bathrooms. Come on, off you go, and you two!" she added, with a soft yet dangerous voice, as Draco walked away.
"Let's pay a visit to the headmaster's office!"
In a few minutes, they arrived at the stone gargoyle. At this point, Cassiopeia was sure that the others had also been caught.
Harry held her hand anxiously, and she made gentle circles to calm him. "Relax," she whispered softly.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," Umbridge chanted. The stone gargoyle moved aside, the wall opened into two halves, and they rode the stone spiral staircase.
They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge didn't bother to knock; she entered directly, still holding Harry firmly with one hand and Cassiopeia tightly by her scarf with the other.
The room was filled with people. Dumbledore was at his desk, with a serene expression and his long fingers interlocked. Minerva stood beside him, looking stiff and extremely tense, but when she saw Cassiopeia, she almost seemed to have a heart attack right there.
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, rocked back and forth on the spot by the fireplace, seemingly immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt, a wizard in pretty African robes whom Cassi had only seen once before, was also present.
"Kitty!" Minerva shouted and practically ripped Umbridge's hands off her.
"Am I in trouble?" Cassi asked softly.
Minerva didn't answer, but she pulled her close and stood protectively by her side.
Minerva didn't answer; she just held her and stood protectively by her side.
The portraits of the old headmasters and headmistresses were not pretending to sleep tonight. They were alert and serious, watching what was happening below.
Then, her great-grandfather's portrait shouted, "A Black would do better not to get caught! Run faster next time!" Phineas Black yelled with a stern look.
Cassi ignored him. The man was considered one of the cruelest headmasters of Hogwarts.
The Minister looked at them with a kind of malicious satisfaction on his face. "Well, well, well..." he exclaimed.
Ridiculous man. Cassiopeia rolled her eyes.
"He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower," Umbridge said, with an obscene excitement in her voice, the same perverse pleasure. "And he's probably on his way to the dungeons. Sly little snake," she smirked mockingly, and Cassi would have loved to send Morgus to bite her.
"Young Malfoy cornered them."
"Really, really?!" Fudge exclaimed, amazed. "I must remember to tell Lucius. Very well... I hope you know why you're here."
Cassi looked at her friend and saw that he was holding back from saying the most arrogant 'yes' of all eras.
So, she obviously lied for him.
"We have no idea, Minister," she smiled innocently.
The man seemed surprised. Dumbledore was greatly relieved, and Minerva, for the first time, was extremely pleased that her goddaughter was a Slytherin.
"Is that so... you don't know?" Fudge asked.
"No," Harry repeated firmly, playing along.
"You don't know why you're here?"
"No, sir," Cassi shook her head, pretending to be confused.
Fudge looked incredulously at them and then at Umbridge.
"So, you have no idea," the Minister said with heavy sarcasm in his voice, "why Professor Umbridge brought you to this room? You don't know that you've broken the school rules?"
"School rules?" Cassi comically opened her mouth, looking at Minerva and Dumbledore in shock. "No!" she gasped, as if the mere idea were an outrage.
Honestly, give me my acting award. Cassi thought, suppressing a smile and maintaining the shocked expression.
"I have no conscious recollection," Harry replied softly, also feigning shock.
"So, it's news to you," Fudge said, his voice now thick with anger, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered in this school?"
"Yes, sir," said Harry, displaying a look of innocence and unconvincing surprise.
Umbridge left and returned with a broad smile. "Nothing like a good witness."
"Indeed, Cornelius," Dumbledore agreed solemnly, nodding his head.
Umbridge ordered the other students to leave the room. There was a waiting period of several minutes, during which no one looked at each other, then the door opened.
Umbridge returned and passed by them, holding the shoulder of the Ravenclaw girl, Cho, who was hiding her face in her hands.
"Don't be frightened, dear, don't be afraid," Umbridge said softly, patting her back. "You did the right thing. The Minister is very pleased with you. He will tell your mother what a good girl you've been."
When Cho raised her head, Fudge leaped back in shock, almost stumbling into the fireplace. He then cursed and stamped on the hem of his cloak, which had begun to smolder.
The girl let out a scream and pulled the neckline of her robes up to her eyes, but not before everyone saw that her face was terribly disfigured by a cluster of purple pustules that covered her nose and cheeks, forming the words "SNEAK."
This may or may not have been Cassiopeia's spell. She gave a mischievous smile to her masterpiece. The hex would reveal if someone was a traitor.
"Don't bother with the marks now, dear," Umbridge said impatiently. "Take the robes off your mouth and tell the minister."
But the girl let out another muffled shriek and shook her head frantically.
"Oh, very well, you silly girl, I'll tell him," Umbridge said harshly, re-forming the sickly smile on her face. "Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe here came to my office shortly after dinner tonight and told me she wanted to tell me something. She said that if I went to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find something that would interest me. I asked her a few more questions, and she admitted that there would be a meeting there. Unfortunately, at that point, the jinx" - she impatiently waved at Cho's hidden face - "took effect, and upon seeing her face in my mirror, the girl became too upset to provide me with further details."
"Well now," said Fudge, fixing Cho with what he evidently imagined to be a paternal look. "It's very brave of you, dear, to come and tell Professor Umbridge. You did the right thing. Now, can you tell me what happened at the meeting? What was its purpose? Who else was present?" But Cho didn't want to talk; she merely shook her head, her eyes wide and fearful.
Good for her. Cassiopeia thought. If she keeps going, I'm going to rip that big tongue out of her gossiping mouth.
"Do you have a counter-jinx for that?" Fudge asked Umbridge impatiently, indicating the girl's face. "So she can speak freely?"
"I haven't found one yet," Umbridge admitted reluctantly.
Cassiopeia felt her chest swell with pride.
"But it doesn't matter if she doesn't want to talk; I can continue the story from this point. You must remember, Minister, that I sent you a report in October, informing you that Potter and Gaunt had met with several students at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade..."
"And what's your proof of that?" Minerva interrupted. "Because I can assure you that Mrs. Gaunt spent numerous weekends in my company. So this accusation is baseless."
The toad-like woman swallowed hard.
But then, to everyone's horror,
"But it doesn't matter. I have all the names here. Miss Parkinson entered the Room of Requirement at my request to see if they had left anything behind. We needed evidence, and the room provided it."
She pulled out the list of names that Hermione had pinned on the Room of Requirement's wall and handed it to Fudge.
"The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I realized what we had in our hands."
"Excellent!" said Fudge, a smile spreading across his face.
'Dumbledore's Army'
"Do you see the name they chose for the group?" said Fudge calmly.
Dumbledore extended his hand and took the parchment that Fudge was holding. He looked at the heading written by Hermione months before, and for a moment, he seemed unable to speak. Then, he raised his head and smiled. "Well, the plan failed," he said simply. "Do you want me to write a confession, Cornelius, or is a statement before these witnesses enough?"
Minerva and Kingsley looked at each other. Cassi nudged Harry violently to observe.
"A statement?" the minister asked slowly. "What... I don't...?"
"The Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, still smiling as he waved the list of names before Fudge's eyes. "It's not Potter's Army; it's Dumbledore's Army."
"But... but..." Understanding suddenly illuminated Fudge's face. He stepped back, horrified, let out a whimper, and jumped away from the fireplace.
"You?" he whispered, stamping on his flaming cloak. "That's right," confirmed Dumbledore pleasantly. "You organized this?" "I did." "You recruited these students to... to an army?"
"Tonight was going to be the first meeting," said Dumbledore, nodding his head. "Just to see if they would be interested in joining me, the best students. I now see that inviting Miss Chang was obviously a mistake." Choo nodded in agreement. Fudge looked from the girl to Dumbledore, his chest swelling.
"So, you have conspired against me!" he yelled.
Harry seemed about to protest, so Cassiopeia pinched him so hard he turned pale and glared at her.
"Shut up," she whispered softly.
"Dawlish, Shacklebolt, you'll take Dumbledore! Arrest him!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Dumbledore winked at them before rising with his finger raised. "Ah, I thought there might be some trouble," he said softly as he walked behind his desk. "You seem to be under the false impression that I-what's the phrase?-roll over and take it. But I can assure you, that's not the case. I have no intention of going to Azkaban," he said patiently.
"That's enough!" the toad-like woman shouted.
Dumbledore raised his hands, and his Phoenix flew towards him, disapparating together in a burst of fire.
"Oh, you may not like him, Minister. But you can't deny it. Dumbledore has style," commented Kingsley Shacklebolt.
(...)
The next day was an absolute chaos.
BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as the head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The above order is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight.
Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic
The notices were posted all over the school overnight, but they didn't explain how everyone living there seemed to know that Dumbledore had outwitted two Aurors, the High Inquisitor, the Minister of Magic, and his junior assistant to escape.
The only topic of conversation throughout the castle was Dumbledore's escape, and although some details had been altered in the retellings, everyone knew, for example, that Harry, Cassiopeia, and Choo were the students who had witnessed the scene in Dumbledore's office, and now that the Ravenclaw girl was in the hospital wing, the questions were directed at the two of them from all sides.
But to her greatest despair, it happened at breakfast. Cassiopeia received a Howler. She hadn't received a scolding from Minerva or her own mother, but there was Narcissa's voice screaming at the top of its lungs in a gray envelope, scolding her for not mentioning such an incident and especially for being discovered by Draco.
The only bit of satisfaction was a small percentage of the shouting being directed at Draco himself for knocking her down on the floor. He looked all sullen with his arms crossed.
"I'm going to tell her that you almost hurt my pretty little face," he teased childishly, pouting.
Draco stuck out his tongue and didn't talk to her for the rest of the morning. The childish squabble only stopped in the afternoon.
"I saw what happened to the Ravenclaw girl's face. Something tells me it was you," he commented in the common room while she was reading a book.
"Did you like it?" she asked with a mischievous smile.
"Teach me?" he requested with a grin.
"Get your wand," she said with a wicked gleam in her eye.
(...)
Cassi was in the Slytherin common room when she saw the notice on the bulletin board.
CAREER GUIDANCE
All fifth-year students should have a brief meeting with their House Head during the first week of the summer term to discuss their future careers. The schedules for individual consultations are listed below.
Cassiopeia scanned the list and found that she was expected in Snape's office at half past two on Tuesday afternoon, which would mean missing most of her classes if she didn't have a Time-Turner.
She and Draco, like all the other fifth-year students, had spent a good portion of the last weekend of the Easter holidays reading all the career information that had been left in their House.
She picked up a pamphlet with a bone and wand crossed on the cover, the emblem of St. Mungo's.
"It says here that to become a Healer, I need at least an 'E' in my O.W.Ls for Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts," she said.
Draco widened his eyes slightly. "Well, for you, that would be ridiculously easy. But are you thinking of becoming a mediwitch?" he asked curiously.
"I'm not sure yet... I really love the field, but I believe my calling is... Diplomatic," she commented, feeling bored as she examined another Ministry pamphlet.
"As a Minister?" Draco asked, getting excited as he leaned forward.
"No!" Cassi grimaced in distaste. "But maybe Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot... I really like the diplomatic career, and one of the last Leaders of the International Confederation of Wizards was a Brazilian like me, Vicรชncia Santos" She said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Ambitious," Draco commented with a smile.
"Well, I am a Slytherin," she grinned mischievously. "But what about you?" she asked curiously.
"Don't laugh," he nervously pleaded. "My father would probably disapprove... He wants me to go to the Ministry like him, but- I really want to be a mediwizard," he said with a broad smile.
"Draco, that's amazing. If Lucius doesn't approve, your mother certainly will," she beamed. "Just like me. I'm very proud of you, and I'm sure you'll be an incredible wizard no matter what career you choose."
Draco looked like he might cry and hugged her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.
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