Armilla

Chapter Three

The first month flew by and it seemed there was never a spare moment what with classes, extra homework and the exhausting task of trying not to physically harm Umbridge. Terry hadn't been kidding. She was the most ridiculous woman I had ever met. She had become the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. (That gave her the right to delve deeper into everybody else's business uninvited, and behave like an even bigger toad than I initially thought possible.)

Merle wasn't getting better as quickly as expected. But she wasn't getting any worse, which was a relief.

The teachers had been piling on the extra work. My "To do" homework pile was starting to look like a bottomless pit these days.

What was really annoying was the fact that we had no practical DADA lessons. Umbridge seemed to think that all we needed to know was in the book of some snooty-nosed writer who probably had always been too scared to even pick up a wand. The idiot.

The worse lesson came a couple of days ago when we were sitting very quietly reading our 'How-To-Bore-Yourself-Stupid' DADA textbooks. Umbridge was roaming the classroom, making sure we were all doing nothing that would result in detention. She stopped by my desk and looked over my shoulder. I fought back a shudder. I waited for her to move on, as I was doing all that she expected. But she didn't move. Instead she reached into my school bag, which was open and pulled out a three week old newsletter, Righteous Ravenclaw, which had been sticking out from between some books.

"Name please?" she said in a honeyed voice.

"Armilla Kemp." What the hell did she want?

"Miss Kemp, surely you are familiar with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four?"

"Er...yes..."

"Then you would be aware that no student is to belong to any organisation, society, team, group or club without my knowledge and approval of it." Her voice now dripped with venom.

Now I was getting annoyed. Everyone had looked up from their books and was watching the two of us closely.

"I know about the decree," I said quietly, "and I don't belong to any club or anything like that. There is no problem."

"That is for me to decide, Miss Kemp!" she snapped. "The problem here is quite clear. In my hand I am holding what appears to be a newsletter from Ravenclaw House. An organisation formed by students would have produced these. I am exceedingly angry that you are in possession of such an item when you know I don't approve of it."

"But she isn't part of any organisation!" exclaimed Terry.

"Quiet Mr Boot!" she said, actually stamping her foot for emphasis. "Do not interrupt me. Five points from Ravenclaw."

"It doesn't matter that I have it. There is nothing offensive in it," I said. "Professor Flitwick proof read this himself."

Umbridge now drew herself up to her full height (which wasn't much of an advantage on her side). "Be that as it may, you have been caught red-handed in possession of a newsletter printed by an organisation I have not allowed. As the Hogwarts High Inquisitor I have every right to expel you." She smiled nastily.

At this point I jumped up. "What! That is ridiculous! I didn't even print that newsletter! And if you look more closely at it, it is dated before your decree even came into existence. So printing it then was not against the rules."

Umbridge tried not to look defeated, though I could tell she knew I had made a point. "Detention then, Miss Kemp. Be in my office every night at six this week. Be grateful you have not been dealt with more severely. Sit down."

I sat down, fuming. Honestly, I had never heard of anything so ludicrous in all my life. Detention for having a newsletter?

I was in a complete daze as I walked with the rest of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs down to the dungeons for Potions. My anger was so strong that that I felt like my head was spinning and my stomach was doing somersaults which made me miss a vital point Snape made about how to add asphodel to our Transparency potions.

To put it briefly, I stuffed up. I couldn't believe I did it. I was usually okay in Potions because everything normally turned out to be the right colour and texture. But today, my potion hissed and went a sickly shade of green instead of a pearly white - not my desired outcome. Or Snape's. As soon as he saw the colour of my potion he turned on me and let me have it.

"I am quite certain, Miss Kemp," he said silkily, "that I outlined the proper way to add asphodel to a Transparency potion at the beginning of this lesson. Am I to understand that you were not listening, or perhaps felt that you were above being subjected to such simple instructions?"

"I was listening," I said, shifting in my seat under his stern gaze.

He raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Then clearly it is not your hearing that needs to be addressed, but your comprehension of what was said?"

"I did comprehend it, sir. I just wasn't thinking straight when I added the asphodel," I retorted, my face going red. God, what a day.

"Clearly," he said coldly. "Since you can't demonstrate even the most basic skills in potion making today, you will be here on Friday night at seven o'clock where you will stay until you have brewed this potion correctly. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Joy to me. I already had detention every night this week with Umbridge. I swore I must have walked under a ladder or something with all this bad luck. In all the time I'd been at Hogwarts nothing like this had ever happened to me. I was generally one of those people in the background of a situation, not important enough to play a leading role. But twice today I had been the subject of my two most hated teachers.

Maybe I'll go lie down...