Undistinguished (H.P.)

Chapter 27: Backlash

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The news was plastered all over the common room before the sun had even risen fully the next morning. 

Dolores Umbridge was the new Headmistress of Hogwarts and after a quick read of the Daily Prophet, Veronica found out that Dumbledore was now on the run and wanted for committing treason against the Ministry of Magic. 

She was shocked at this quick development and knew something big must have happened last night after they were caught in the Room of Requirement, and so went to find Harry before breakfast that morning. 

On her way to the Gryffindor Common Room, Veronica had bumped into the Golden Trio making their way down to the Great Hall, and she rerouted walking up to them with many questions on the tip of her tongue.

Harry had almost finished filling her in on what had happened last night after he was caught by Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad, which involved Dumbledore taking the blame for the DA and then refusing arrest and disappearing in a huge flame after making his opponents unconscious. 

While he was telling the outrageous tale to Veronica, her eyes wide in astonishment and making small gasps at different parts of the story, Harry received a notice from Umbridge and was called to her office for what they later found out was interrogations about Dumbledore and Sirius, the interrogations becoming quite common and spread to all sorts of students.

The days went by slowly and painfully, now that the DA had been busted and Umbridge is officially in charge of the school, Veronica found that she was just sitting around bored half the time. The other half of the time she was busy revising for her OWLs which were fast approaching and in order to do well Veronica knew that she would have to put in a lot of effort. 

Something that managed to keep her and the other students entertained for a little while had been the Weasley twins complete lack of respect for their new Headmistress and the rules she had set in place. The day after Dumbledore's departure they had begun setting off their very own fireworks around the school, which made Umbridge's blood boil the longer it went on for. Especially considering the rest of the staff did nothing to help her regain control. 

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It happened during the Careers Sessions that all fifth years were required to attend. This was where students had to sit down with their Heads of House and talk about what they wanted to do once they'd left Hogwarts, and get guidance on which OWLS and NEWTS were needed in order to achieve this goal. 

Unlike other people, Veronica had no idea what she wanted to do when she left Hogwarts as she usually hated thinking that far ahead. She told Professor Sprout this, and the woman tried to help her figure out what she could do and go from there. 

"Okay you're highest exam marks are in Divination and Charms, do either of those interest you enough for you to go into a career in that area?" questioned Sprout. 

Veronica was clearly very intrigued about her skills of Divination, both Trelawney and Firenze said she had the 'eye' and whether it be a good or a bad thing, she could definitely use it to her advantage in the right workplace. 

However, she decided not to let Professor Sprout know about her affliction with Divination because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore the sharp gaze of Professor Umbridge staring at her from the corner of the room. She had decided it was her duty as Headmistress to sit through these meetings and listen in on the discussions taking place. 

What Veronica didn't understand was why Umbridge was bothering with sitting through the meetings with people like her in it, because she wasn't particularly interesting nor did she think the High Inquisitor even knew her name. Obviously listening in on people like Harry's meeting would be beneficial for Umbridge but Veronica was arguably one of the plainest students at the school. 

She left the careers session slightly underwhelmed, carrying pamphlets for jobs such as receptionist or store clerk, feeling disappointed that not even her Head of House saw potential in her. 

As she was walking down the stairs, heading towards her common room to dump the pamphlets, a commotion on one of the floors distracted her and she followed the noise. 

There she found the corridor had been transformed into a watery, green swampy mess and it spread across the entire floor, not allowing access across to anyone. Before she could even begin to consider what had happened, she noticed Fred and George floating on a plank of wood in the middle of the murky swamp. 

Umbridge appeared behind her panting from the obvious sprinting she did once word had reached her about the swamp, and upon seeing her Veronica shuffled away slightly, closer to the wall. 

Fred and George stood there with huge grins on their faces as the stared down Umbridge, a smug look in their eyes. It seemed they weren't really listening to a word she was saying, frankly neither was Veronica until she heard Umbridge mention whips and she tuned back into the conversation. 

The twins were still chuckling and they quickly announced that they had outgrown their education at Hogwarts. With a wave of their wands, broomsticks flew towards them, that Veronica recognised as the previously confiscated brooms, and they jumped on, flying out of the open window after announcing their new shop on Diagon Alley. 

Veronica had an immense feeling of pride inside of her as she watched, along with the rest of the students, Fred and George fly into the clouds. 

oOo

Only after meeting up with the Golden Trio later did she realise that Fred and George leaving was a team effort, and had enabled Harry some time to sneak into Umbridge's office and use her fireplace to talk to Sirius and Remus. 

Little had come from the conversation but Veronica could tell that Harry was in a much better mood after seeing and talking to the men he saw as family. 

She decided to pull him to the side after dinner, as she was curious as to why he had left out the details of his conversation with Sirius and Remus or even why he went to talk to them in the first place. 

"Harry, what did you want to talk to Sirius and Remus about anyway?" she asked after shooing Ron and Hermione towards the Gryffindor Common Room. 

He looked at her with a bemused look on his face but quickly caught on to what she was asking and his face dropped. He filled her in on the scene he had witnessed during his Occlumency session with Snape of his father bullying and tormenting their potions professor. 

She pitied the boy in front of her as he had grown up without his parents and the first time he sees them properly interact with each other and their friends, is when his father is being mean and rude to his peers, and his mother being rude towards his dad. 

After he finished his story, his eyes had become downcast, playing with his fingers as he seemed embarrassed by his father's behaviour, so she decided to give him a hug. 

"It doesn't matter how your father acted when he was a teenager Harry, we all make mistakes. What's important was that he was a good man, in the end, sacrificing himself for you and the rest of the Wizarding World". As she says this he pulls back slightly to look her in the eyes, their arms still squeezing each other lightly. 

"You should be proud of the man he became, and the person that you're becoming - just like him you are strong and you deserve the world", she whispers, her eyes sending comforting looks his way. 

Harry's careful eyes watched her, and then he slowly began to lean forward, the small space between them getting even smaller. Instinctually, her eyes shut and she leant forward as well. 

Their lips met and the kiss was slow at first, both teens were being wary around each other, but soon they picked up the pace, getting used to the feeling and sinking into the passionate embrace. 

Veronica's hands found themselves in his raven black hair, running it through her fingers as she caressed the back of his head. Harry's hands, however, were remaining at her waist, the only change was his fingers gripping her tightly in response to her strokes. 

Too soon, they pulled away, both flushed and out of breath from the passionate and yet cautious kiss. It wasn't too steamy nor did they turn it into more than just a simple kiss, but as they smiled at each other with their foreheads connected, they realised that it was perfect nonetheless. 

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