CHAPTER 64

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The next day, Jaiden went to the Great Hall to eat breakfast. When she walked in, she spotted Hermione, Ron and Ginny. She went there and sat down with them.

On her way, she saw Draco and Blaise were sitting with their other friends. They three made an eye contact and sent a smiled at each other.

Last night, they stayed at the Astronomy Tower until it was 2 in the morning. No wonder Jaiden woke up late that day.

"Morning, guys." Jaiden greeted and started to fill her plate.

"Morning." Ginny and Hermione said.

"Morning." Ron said with his mouth full of food. Hermione looked at him in annoyed.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Hermione asked.

"What? I'm hungry." Ron said which made Jaiden laughed a bit.

"Jaiden, you went to bed early last night. We didn't see you after our last class." Hermione said. Jaiden froze for a second before replied.

"Yeah, I'm a bit tired last night and I think i could use some rest." Jaiden said and Hermione nodded. Just then Harry came to them.

"Harry." Hermione said. He looked at them and hesitated at first like he wanted to say something.

"Can I join you?" He finally asked. They all looked at each other. Before they get a chance to reply, they heard Umbridge's voice came from the outside of the Great Hall.

"Pardon me, Professor. But what exactly are you insinuating?" Everyone's attention in the Great Hall went to the door of the hall.

"What's that?" Ginny asked.

"Let's see." Jaiden said. They all agreed and started to go outside to see what happened. There they saw, Minnie and Umbridge was walking to the stairs.

"I'm merely requesting that when it comes to my students you conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices." Minnie said.

"So silly of me but it sounds as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom, Minerva." Umbridge said while taking one more step of the stairs to reach Minnie's height.

"Not at all, Dolores." She said and taking the same step as Umbridge. "Merely your medieval methods."

When Draco came outside, he saw the drama that was happening in that corridor. Then he spotted Jaiden. He pulled her robe a bit to get her attention. Jaiden turned around and saw Draco. He motioned her to come over.

"What?" She whispered once she was at his side.

"What's happening?" Draco asked.

"I don't know. A little argument, I guess." Jaiden said and Draco nodded. When they turned their attention back at the two Professors, Umbridge was facing all students that were there.

"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared. Cornelius will want to take immediate action." Umbridge said and walked away. Jaiden and Draco looked at each other.

"What do you think she will do?" Jaiden asked.

"I don't know." Draco said.

"I'm sure it would be terrible." Pansy said out of nowhere.

"When did you arrived?" Draco asked.

"It's just you who didn't notice me earlier."

The next day, a lot of news went out. It was all about Umbridge will have powers to address the seriously falling standards at Hogwarts school.

Things got worse day by day. Umbridge will walked into a random class and started to interrupt it by asking the Professor. Jaiden noticed too that every time she walked out, she will sneered at her which she just ignored.

One day, after Umbridge interrupted their Divination class, Jaiden made her way to go down to the dungeon for Potions. When she walked in, she didn't see the trio anywhere.

"Jaiden, over here!" Goyle called her. She made her way to them.

"Sit with us." Blaise said and Jaiden nodded. She took a seat in the middle of Crabbe and Pansy. After a few minutes of waiting for other students to arrive, Snape started his class.

On the middle of the class, there was a knock on the door and there was standing a smiling Umbridge. She walked in and started to ask Snape a question that Jaiden surely will burst out at any moment if it wasn't Pansy who covered her mouth.

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, is that correct?" Umbridge asked while walking behind him.

"Yes." Snape replied.

"But you were unsuccessful?"  She asked again with a mock pity.

"Obviously." He replied in annoyed. From Jaiden's seat, she heard that Ron sniggered at Snape's replied which made her want to laugh even more.

After that, Umbridge walked out. Snape who heard Ron laughed at him, smacked the back of his head with a book. Jaiden and her Slytherin's friend laughed silently. Then, their class went like normal.

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, is that correct?" Draco asked them with Umbridge tone which made they sniggered.

"Yes." Jaiden tried her best to mock Snape's voice.

"But you were unsuccessful?" This time Blaise asked with a same tone as Draco.

"Obviously." Jaiden said with, again, Snape's tone. But at the same time, there was a voice behind her. They all looked behind Jaiden nervously with wide eyes.

Before Jaiden could turned around, her head being smacked by Snape. "Focus on your book." Snape said.

"Yes, Professor." Jaiden said with Snape's voice. Snape glared at her but Jaiden just gave him an innocent face and smiled. Snape rolled his eyes and left them which made all of them laughed at Jaiden after that.

Days went and by, but Umbridge's little game still didn't stop. It was getting worse day by day. Sometimes, Jaiden got detention without any reasons at all and she couldn't fight her. The others tried to convince her to tell his father but she didn't want to.

She said that his father must have other things to think about. Instead, after every detentions she have, she went to Snape and he will help her with her wound.

There was one day that Umbridge tried to sack Professor Trelawney but she didn't make it. After that incident, Jaiden alongside with the trio went to go back to their common room.

"That foul, evil, old gargoyle." Hermione said once they all settled down themselves in front of the fireplace.

"We're not learning how to defend ourselves. We're not learning how to pass our OWLs. She's taking over the entire school." Hermione continued. They all just stay silence until,

"Harry." Sirius's voice came from the fireplace. They all looked at the fire and saw Sirius's face.

"Sirius." Harry said and rushed to the fireplace. "What are you doing here?" Harry asked once he was at the front of him. The others followed after.

"Answering your letter. You said you were worried about Umbridge. What's she doing? Training you to kill half-breeds?" Sirius said.

"She's not letting us use magic at all." Harry said.

"Well, I'm not surprised. The latest intelligence is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat." Sirius said.

"Combat?" Ron asked from behind the sofa. "What does he think, were forming some sort of wizard army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks. That Dumbledore is assembling his own forces to take on the Ministry. He's becoming more paranoid by the minute." Sirius said.

"That others wouldn't want me telling you this, Harry. But things aren't going at all well with the Order. Fudge is blocking the truth at every turn and these disappearances are just how it started before. Voldemort is on the move." He continued.

"Well, what can we do?" Harry asked.

"I'm sorry. I don't know, Harry. But for now, it looks like you're on your own." Sirius said and Harry nodded. Sirius turned his gaze to Jaiden who zoned out with a worried plastered on her face.

"You alright, Jaiden?" Sirius asked but Jaiden didn't hear him. That time was when they all looked at Jaiden. Hermione nudge her to get her attention.

"Huh?" Finally she snapped out from her thought.

"I asked you if you were alright." Sirius said.

"Oh..yeah, I'm fine." Jaiden said and smiled at him. He could saw that her smile didn't reach her eyes and he immediately knew something was up.

"Did Umbridge gives you any trouble?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. But, honestly she's so annoying." She lied smoothly and the trio changed look with each other.

Sirius chuckled. "Sure she is. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired. It's full moon tonight. How's Dad?" She asked.

"He's in bed. He looked tired too." When Jaiden heard that her father was in bed, she raised her eyebrow at him. Sirius who knew what she meant, gave her a look that said, 'Don't you start it.'

Jaiden chuckled. "Okay. Send Dad my regards. Tell him I love him and to be careful tonight." Sirius nodded.

"Will do."

"Bye, Pads. Love you." Jaiden said.

Sirius smiled. "Love you too." And he disappeared.

They all got up and went to follow Hermione who went to stand in front of the window.

"He really is out there, isn't he?" No one replied anything. "We've got to be able to defend ourselves. And if Umbridge refuses to teach us how, we need someone who will." Hermione said and turned around. They all looked back at her.

Hermione looked at Jaiden with hope in her eyes. "What?" Jaiden asked.

"You have to teach us." Hermione said.

"What? No, Hermione. What makes you think that I can teach you?" She said and went back to the sofa and sat down.

"Just in case you forget, Jaiden, you're the top student in our year. Surely, you can teach us." Ron said and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, guys. I can't do that."

"Don't worry, Jaiden. You're not going to do this alone. Harry will be teaching us too." Hermione said.

"What-?" Hermione elbowed him. "Yeah, I'll teach with you."

"If you're not convince yet, we'll going to seek for someone that will willingly teach us tomorrow. But if there's doesn't, you have to teach us too."

Jaiden sighed in defeated and nodded. "Okay. But I'll not be joining you tomorrow."

They all nodded. "Don't worry. You rest, we will go and find someone." Ron said and Jaiden nodded.

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