CHAPTER EIGHT:
THE RISING STAR

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

IT TOOK LESS THAN a day for Freya's suspicions to grow. Not even twenty-four hours after their meeting in Hogsmeade, Umbridge had released a new educational decree, the timing far too eerie to be a coincidence. The next morning, everyone in the newly appointed resistance group was on edge, keeping to themselves as friends and foes whispered the new law like it was the next hot gossip.

Any student found to have formed, or belong to, an organisation, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

Freya wanted to know how she figured it out. Most of the people at that meeting were people she trusted (save for Zacharias and his little group of followers but Freya didn’t have high expectations for them in the first place) people who wouldn’t go telling on them to Umbridge for no valid reason. Hermione had even admitted that she’d jinxed the paper they all signed to punish whoever spilled their secret, and yet no one was shamefully walking the corridors with SNEAK imprinted on their forehead in bright red acne spots. If anything, it had to be someone that was present in the Hog’s Head but wasn’t invited to their meeting. But from what Freya had seen, no one else but the barman was there and he seemed all too happy to mind his own business.

Perhaps it was just excellent timing, but you could never be too careful when it came to Dolores Umbridge.

“Does this mean we have to ask permission to play Quidditch now?” Fred groaned, his nose scrunched up in distaste.

He, George and Freya were huddled together at the end of the Gryffindor table, their voices low in fear that someone would overhear them. The moment Freya had seen Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four pinned to the notice board in the Hufflepuff Common Room, a group of whining second years standing beneath the blasted piece of parchment, she’d rushed off to find the trio or anyone else who might have answers for her. First she came across Hermione, who was cautious but not too worried, and then she found the twins. George was quiet, contemplative as he finished his breakfast, whereas Fred was far too focused on glaring at every member of the resistance who seemed even remotely skittish to finish his food.

If she was being honest, Freya hadn’t even thought about Quidditch until Fred brought it up. But it made sense, as annoying as it was. Quidditch teams were everything that Umbridge had mentioned in her decree. And seeing as she was the captain for Hufflepuff, it would be Freya’s job to speak to the wicked woman about it, no matter how dreadful that idea sounded. And as much as her team despised Umbridge and would complain about it too, they wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t at least try to sort something out for them.

Great, she thought with an anxious sigh as the three reluctantly got up to head to Defence Against the Dark Arts. That’s just what I wanted to do this morning.

And the longer she spent sitting in Umbridge's classroom, bored out of her mind as she listened to her ramble away about the theory of defending one's self against evil curses (there was only so much they could learn at this point -- the previous seventh years were lucky that the majority of their DADA lessons actually involved practicing what they'd spent six years of their lives memorising -- before it started to get repetitive) the worse her anxiety seemed to get. Freya didn't like to speak to anyone if she didn't have to. If Solana didn't drag her out to socialise, Freya would be happy to cozy up in her dormitory after each lesson and waste the day away with her nose stuck in a book, or she'd roam the grounds with a camera taking pictures of the sun shining down through the trees. She might even take a broom out onto the Quidditch pitch and fly around without the pressure of a crowd expecting her to win and her teammates looking to her for all the answers when shit went wrong. Willingly seeking out Umbridge was like willingly facing off against a monster, a festation of her discontent.

"What can I do for you, Miss McKinnon?" the woman in question smiled sweetly as Freya approached her desk once the bell rang. Some students were still packing up but most had fled the moment she finally dismissed them (seven minutes after the bell, mind you. The students who had Snape next were in for one hell of a lecture, especially Gryffindors like Fred and George, though they didn't seem to care as they not-so-subtly eavesdropped from the other side of the open door. Freya doubted they'd even go to class after this.) "Well, Miss McKinnon? I haven't got all day."

"My apologies," she stuttered, doing her best to stand straight and keep her head held up high. Umbridge was like a lion and Freya was a lamb. One sign of hesitance and the lion would have its teeth against the lamb's throat. "I actually wanted to speak with you about Quidditch, Professor. You see, I'm the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and I was wondering if you'd consider offering us your permission to participate in the House Championships this year."

Umbridge laughed, a sickeningly sweet sound that stunned Freya. Had she said something wrong? She repeated the exchange in her head with a frown. No, she'd said what she needed to say, and she made sure that it was worded right so Umbridge would have no reason to say no to her. So why was she laughing? "Oh, Miss McKinnon, you remind me so much of your parents. I went to school with them, you know, Fraser Mckinnon and Estelle Davies. They were the It couple, or one of them, at least." 

Oh. No, Freya did not know that, and she didn't particularly care either (more like she pitied her parents for having to put up with Umbridge too.) She was beginning to get impatient as she glanced over at the twins. Solana had joined them at some point, tapping her foot impatiently but refusing to leave on the off chance that shit went down. She might not want to be late to class but she would do anything to have a go at Umbridge where it was warranted. 

"I knew your aunt too. Marlene."

Now, that caught Freya's attention. It was a barely noticeable lift of her head, a raised brow, but it was enough for a pleased smirk to settle on Umbridge's lips as she stared up at her. Freya was supposed to be the one in control here. She was standing, Umbridge was sitting. And yet she could feel the power, the status quo, beginning to shift. She didn't like it one bit.

"Your aunt was actually involved with that wretched Sirius Black," Umbridge hummed, the disgust evident in her voice as she spat Sirius' name like a viper hissing venom. Still, there was calculation present as she watched Freya closely, searching intently for the moment where she let her weak spot show. A clenched muscle pulsed in her jaw. It was happening. "Maybe that was what got her killed, and your poor mother just got caught in the crossfire."

Freya sucked in a breath. But she wasn't done yet.

"If you know something, Miss McKinnon, you should come to me," she murmured. "There's no need to be a fool like your mother and Marlene."

Solana shifted in the doorway, urging to step forward, though she was quickly pulled back by Fred and George. They were both angry too, but they wanted to see what Freya would do first. For a moment, the blonde just stood there in pure disbelief. She knew to expect the unexpected with someone like Umbridge, but it still stunned her. She thought of her mother's soft smile in the picture that her dad kept in his wallet. She thought of Marlene's face in her own reflection, of the life she had laid down for her loved ones. Estelle Davies and Marlene McKinnon were not fools. Freya didn't want to be either.

"I should be heading to class now," she snapped, the 'fuck you' dying on her tongue. There was no way she was going to class now, Snape's wrath be damned. 

"Miss McKinnon," Umbridge called out as she began to walk away. Freya didn't want to stop for her, but she reluctantly paused with her back still facing the woman, eyes locked with George's. He was angry, fuel to the fire, and yet for some reason, the only thing Freya had to keep her focused in that moment. "You forgot this."

With a sigh, she turned around and hesitantly accepted the piece of parchment with Umbridge's writing neatly printed on the front.

I, Dolores Umbridge, High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, give the Hufflepuff Quidditch team lead by Freya McKinnon permission to play in the Quidditch House Championships this season.

"You're welcome, Miss McKinnon," Umbridge said pointedly when the blonde stayed silent.

Taking that as her que, she quickly stuttered out "Thank you, Professor." Then she was spinning on her heel and leaving the room with a grip so tight that the parchment almost crumpled.

"At least you got permission," Fred muttered half-heartedly into the silent kitchen once they'd retreated downstairs. They had to pass the dungeons on the way there, but fortunately, fate seemed to have their backs with this professor and Snape paid them no attention. 

"That doesn't even matter now," Freya sighed and cast the piece of paper aside. It would be worth something to her team but now it felt like nothing to her. "You heard what she said."

"She was testing you," George piped up from beside her. He was off puttingly quiet that day, she noted, but he sat close enough for their shoulders to touch and it set her at ease, at least for a little bit. "Seeing if you took the bait."

"Which you didn't," Solana pointed out. "Any other person would've, I wanted to, but you didn't. It's okay."

"I'm no fool," Freya just repeated with a dark scowl.

And yet, as she said that with the memory of Umbridge's victorious smile in her head and a constant reminder wrapped up in that Merlin forsaken permission slip on the table, she couldn't help but doubt it.

Freya McKinnon was no match for Estelle Davis or Marlene McKinnon. Like every other rising star, she would burn out in due time, Umbridge playing the puppet master.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

A/N: It's been a hot minute. Hi, hello, welcome. I hope you guys are doing well. I've finally updated All the Stars after several months of radio silence. Not gonna lie here, I can't tell you when I'll update again, I just want y'all to know that I haven't given up on this story and that I'm with Freya and you guys for the long haul. Thank you for reading and feel free to let me know what you thought of the chapter <3