when i met you

81

"God, you're such a suck up to her!" Lexi groaned as she and Cedric took the long way from the greenhouses to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Am not!" Cedric made a face of faux offense.

Lexi ignored him, "Maybe it's because you're a Hufflepuff."

Cedric rolled his eyes, "Maybe she just loves me that much."

"Who would love you that much?"

The Hufflepuff took the Gryffindor's hand, "You do."

Smiling, the young woman looked up at him, "I do."

The couple entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom with the rest of their class and found Professor Umbridge already seated at the teachers desk, wearing the fluffy pink cardigan of the night before and the black velvet bow on top of her head.

The class was quiet as it entered the room; Professor Umbridge was, as yet, an unknown quantity and nobody knew how strict a disciplinarian she was likely to be.

Cedric pulled Lexi by her hand to the middle left side of the room, the twins behind them, Lee and Angelina in front of them, and Amber and Alicia next to them. Surrounded by their friends.

"Well, good morning!" she said, when finally the whole class had sat down.

A few people mumbled "good morning" in reply.

"Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted back at her.

Lexi could practically feel Fred and George screw up their faces behind her as they said it.

"There, now," said Professor Umbridge sweetly. That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Any lesson that began with "wands away" had never been a fun one. Lexi groaned internally as she tucked her wand down one of the long grey socks she wore.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts

A Return to Basic Principles" was now written on the blackboard.

"Now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by:

Course Aims:

1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.

2. Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used

3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

For a couple of minutes the room was full of the sound of scratching quills on parchment. When everyone had copied down Professor Umbridge's three course aims she asked, "Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class.

"I think we'll try that again," said Professor Umbridge. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, 'Yes, Professor Umbridge', or 'No, Professor Umbridge'. So: has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"