Defense Against the Dark Arts was always a hit or miss. There was a new professor every year, each insanely different from the last, so nobody knew what to expect on the first day of classes.

Analeigh sat in one table with Hermione while Harry and Ron were across them, just a row behind theirs. They whispered about the usual teenage drama that had been going around already, gossiping and joking around like regular students. Some of their classmates were even playing with an enchanted paper bird flying across the room, and they were all having so much fun with it that it was a shame that a toad-looking woman dressed in hot pink clothes was going to ruin it moments later.

"Oh, go on, Seamus. Go on, get it!" some Gryffindors were encouraging the sandy-haired boy. Seamus was in the middle of jumping after it when it suddenly burned into flames, disintegrating into ashes right onto the Patil twins' desk.

"Good morning, children." All students whipped around in their seats to find Professor Dolores Umbridge standing behind them with a sickly sweet smile. She made her way down the aisle, pointing her wand at the chalkboard to write on it from afar. "Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. O-W-Ls! More commonly known as... OWLs."

Analeigh cringed hard at her tone of voice, wanting to laugh at it right then and there. Hermione nudged her before she could make a noise, but she also looked highly disturbed by Umbridge.

"Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe."

Umbridge giggled and flicked her wand. The stacks of books piled on top of the teacher's table levitated away from it and began distributing itself to the students one by one.

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven. But you'll be pleased to know, from now on, you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic."

The students were given time to look through their books and the course outlines. Analeigh frowned when she noticed that it all had to do with reading and writing — where was all the practical work this class usually entailed? Lupin always made them use magic in class, and even the fake Moody taught them spells. Hermione seemed to have the same thoughts in mind and was brave enough to raise her hand.

"Yes?" said Umbridge.

"I've got a query about your course aims," said Hermione.

"And your name is —?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read through them carefully."

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells," Hermione said bluntly.

"Using spells?" Umbridge laughed. "Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron said incredulously.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to to speak in my class, Mr. —?"

"Weasley," said Ron, thrusting his hand into the air. But Umbridge turned her back on him as if she didn't see it at all. Before the woman could pass by her, Analeigh stuck her hand out as well.

"Do you have a question as well, Miss —?"

"Heart," said Analeigh. She swore she saw Umbridge's smile twitch when she stated her last name. "Surely, Professor, the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to, I don't know, use magic defensively?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained education expert, Miss Heart?" Umbridge questioned in a falsely sweet voice.

"I don't think any sixteen year-old can be one, but —"

"Well, then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."

"What use is that?" Harry scoffed. "If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free."

"Hand, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge said, her voice suddenly much stricter as she turned away from Harry as well. What surprised Analeigh was that the next person to raise their hand was Dean Thomas. Even Seamus looked almost betrayed that he was going to speak up and defend them, too.

"And your name is?" she said to him.

"Dean Thomas," he replied.

"Well, Mr. Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it? If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free —"

"I repeat," Umbridge said, forcing a smile. "Do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but —"

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed — not to mention extremely dangerous half-breeds."

"If you mean Professor Lupin," Dean piped up angrily. "He was the best we ever —"

"Hand, Mr. Thomas! As I was saying — you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day —"

"No we haven't, " Hermione cut in. "We just —"

"Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!" Hermione did put her hand up, but it was no surprise when Umbridge turned away from her. "It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you — "

"Come on, he turned out to be a maniac, but we still learned how to —" Analeigh began.

"Your hand is not up, Miss Heart!" Umbridge trilled. "It is the view of the Ministry that theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations... which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?"

This time, Parvati had her hand raised. She answered, "Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actu —"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," Umbridge dismissed her.

"Without ever practicing them before? Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough —"

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry said loudly with his fist in the air again.

"This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world," Umbridge said softly.

Harry's blood was boiling. How could a teacher be so ignorant about what's happening outside? How could someone teaching a class like this flat out restrict them from using magic?

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting out there?" he raised his eyebrows.

"There is nothing out there, dear. Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe Lord Voldemort."

Some students gasped, others dropped their jaws, and whispers rang throughout the classroom. Umbridge had become as stiff as a board. It took her a moment to relax and plaster that irritating smile back on her face.

"Now, let me make this quite plain," she said, slowly walking down the aisle again. "You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It's not a lie!" Harry exclaimed, having enough. "I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge said, stomping away from him.

"So according to you, Leigh and Diggory nearly died on their own accord?"

"Cedric Diggory and Analeigh Heart were in an accident. The tournament was very dangerous and it got to their heads —"

"I'm literally right here, and it was not an accident!" Analeigh interjected hotly. She had never talked back to a teacher like that, but Umbridge didn't deserve her respect in the slightest. The woman had the audacity to imply that she had gone crazy from the Third Task and that she almost getting murdered was all her imagination. Analeigh was the one who experienced that, not Umbridge — that bloody witch had no say in the matter.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Umbridge said, making Analeigh gasp in disbelief. As if a professor denying them their use of magic in such a hands-on class was bad enough for her first day, she also lost her house points already.

"It was attempted murder! Voldemort wanted us dead, you must know that!" Harry added.

"Enough!" Umbridge shouted, startling everyone. She let out a small huff before lowering her voice. "Enough. See me later, Mr. Potter — my office."

★ ★ ★

"She's a complete pain in the arse! She took ten points from Gryffindor because of what I said and then gave Harry detention, too! Can you believe it?"

Analeigh had just finished ranting to Cedric about that horrid excuse of a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They were sitting by the window of the little nook Cedric found the previous year while doing his prefect rounds, the same one he brought Analeigh to on Christmas Day as well. It had been a while since they got the chance to revisit their 'hideout' since they were busy with the Triwizard Tournament last year and had just gotten back to school that week.

"She really is awful," Cedric agreed, offering Analeigh a Chocolate Frog. She took it from him and grumpily unwrapped it. Cedric smiled fondly at how she looked like a child throwing a tantrum.

"I can't believe we have to deal with her for the entire year," Analeigh complained. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "Did you have Defense Against the Dark Arts today as well?"

"Yeah. Nobody liked her, either."

"Did anybody ask about her course aims, too?"

"I did, actually. Fred and George questioned the whole no magic thing, too — even made fun of her a bit."

"Seeing as you didn't wind up in detention, I'm guessing it wasn't as intense as what happened in my class," Analeigh said with a hint of humor. Cedric chuckled and nodded.

"Nobody brought up You-Know-Who's return, so that's probably why," he said thoughtfully. "I did notice Umbridge's smile was a bit too forced when I was the one who asked her questions."

"It's because she thinks you're mad. She basically said we nearly died because the tournament was too much for us to handle."

"Her presence is too much for us to handle," Cedric said, making Analeigh laugh. "I wonder when Hogwarts will stop getting incompetent wizards and witches for our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher — not including Lupin, of course."

"At this point, I honestly think the post's jinxed."

Cedric glanced at the clock that now read 8:45 PM. He still had his Head Boy duties to fulfill, and curfew was also in an hour.

"It's getting late. I'll walk you back," he said, offering Analeigh a hand.

Grasping it and standing up next to him, she said, "Aren't you patrolling tonight?"

"From nine to ten," he nodded. "I'll be patrolling the sixth floor corridor anyway, so it's not that far from your common room."

The pair walked in a comfortable silence to the Gryffindor Tower. It was fairly quiet in the castle, though there were still some students out and about, chatting away in the halls as much as they could before their curfew. Analeigh quite enjoyed it, wishing for this year to be less chaotic than the previous one — of course, that was quite impossible for anyone associated with Harry Potter.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Analeigh said, already dropping her hand from Cedric's once they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. He pouted at the loss of contact.

"Why do you want to get rid of me so easily?" he whined.

"Because you have a shift in five minutes, Cedric," Analeigh rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Alright, alright."

Analeigh turned away to face the Fat Lady who said, "Password?" She was about to answer when Cedric grasped her wrist and spun her back around.

"Wait," he said. She looked at him questioningly. "The first Hogsmeade trip this term — will you go with me? On a date?"

"Is that even a question? Of course I will."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure Harry and the others don't steal you first," Cedric grinned.

"I think they can handle Hogsmeade without me just fine," Analeigh laughed. "See you tomorrow, Cedric."

"Wait!" She raised her eyebrows at him, wondering why in the world he kept stopping her from entering the common room.

"You're going to be late for your shift at this rate."

"I know, I just..." Cedric leaned down to press a quick, soft kiss on her lips, his hand gently holding the side of her face. When they had parted, Analeigh was bright red in the face. She didn't think she'd ever get used to Cedric doing that to her. "There. Now you can go in."

He winked cheekily before walking away from her, his hands casually shoved into the pockets of his trousers as he did so. Analeigh shook her head as if it would help remove the blush on her face, then turned to the Fat Lady.

"Finally," the woman said. "Password?"

"Oh, sorry," Analeigh winced and cleared her throat to utter the password. Once she did, the Fat Lady swung the portrait open and Analeigh was able to step inside.

The Gryffindor common room was filled with a lively atmosphere when she entered, almost as if there was a party. It was usually warm and cozy, so she wondered what was going on that got everybody so hyper and excited in the evening. She soon realized who was behind it when she heard the Weasley twins' voices boom throughout the room.

"Skiving Snackboxes," Fred was telling Nigel, a second year boy.

"Sweets that make you ill," George then said, sitting on the other side of Nigel.

"Get you out of class whenever you like."

"Obtain hours of pleasure from unprofitable boredom!"

Analeigh's eyes widened at the row of students all trying Fred and George's creations. One of them had an enlarged jaw that drooped down to his chest as if it was made out of melting clay.

"Care for another?" George offered him. The boy beside the one with a drooping chin also popped a candy into his mouth, but that one made his face break out into boils. The twins soon spotted Analeigh walking into the common room and beamed at her.

"Hey, Leigh!"

"Wanna try a Nosebleed Nougat?" said Fred.

"Or both a Fever Fudge and Puking Pastille to top it off?" George suggested.

"Try all of them!" Lee Jordan said next, running up to her with a box full of treats. "Well, maybe not a Fainting Fancy; Diggory isn't here to catch you when you fall."

The three boys chuckled heartily and continued to offer her their candies.

"I think I'll pass, but maybe Crabbe or Goyle would be good test subjects," Analeigh suggested with an entertained smile. She didn't want to land herself in the hospital wing on her first week back at Hogwarts, but she had to give credit to Fred and George; their Skiving Snackboxes looked good and the products were actually working based on the number of students that were, well, puking and bleeding around the common room.

While Fred, George, and Lee considered giving some Slytherins their creations to test them out, Analeigh walked over to the fireplace where she saw Harry was sitting in front of. It seemed that he had just come back from his first round of detention with Professor Umbridge. Hermione and Ron were on their way there as well, talking about the loads of homework they were given even though it had only been a few days since the term began.

"I'm not asking you to write all of it for me. I've been busy studying for these stupid OWL exams," Ron was saying.

"I'll do the introduction. That's all," Hermione gave in.

"Hermione, you're honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met. And if I'm ever rude to you again..."

"I'll know you've gone back to normal."

Analeigh chuckled at their interaction, signaling her presence.

"How's Cedric, Leigh?" said Hermione.

"Kinda busy with patrolling and other Head Boy stuff, but of course, you prefects would know that," she teased them as they gathered around Harry who was in the middle of reading something. Once they had settled down, Harry's hand instantly caught Hermione's attention.

"What's wrong with your hand?" she asked.

Harry tried to hide it from them, but the action only sparked their curiosity even more.

"Nothing," he said, showing off his right hand.

"The other hand," Hermione demanded, pulling it out from under the book. Their faces warped into shock when they saw that the back of Harry's hand was severely wounded. What's worse was that the cuts engraved into his skin read: I must not tell lies.

"Holy Hippogriff," Analeigh said. "That blasted toad did this to you? These are what she meant by doing lines?"

"You've got to tell Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"No," Harry said, pulling his hand away from Hermione's hold. "Dumbledore's got enough on his mind right now. Anyway, I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction."

"Bloody hell, Harry, the woman's torturing you," Ron pointed out. "If the parents knew about this —"

"Yeah, well I haven't got any of those, have I, Ron?"

Analeigh, Hermione, and Ron shared concerned looks.

"Harry, you've got to report this," Hermione said cautiously. "It's perfectly simple. You're being —"

"No, it's not," Harry snapped. "Hermione, whatever this is, it's not simple. You don't understand."

He stood up abruptly and began packing up his things.

"Then help us to," Hermione tried. But Harry was already walking away from them and disappearing into the boys dormitory.

A/N: Hi everyone! I've decided that I'm going to try and update once a week instead of whenever I just feel like it HAHA I wanna more consistent with this book bc I sometimes forget to write and post if I don't follow a schedule 😅 Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!