CHAPTER ELEVEN:
FLY LITTLE BIRD

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   The last DA meeting didn't do well. The whole day for Amandla wasn't good. First, she had Potions, which was never good because of the teacher (Snape). Then, she had forgotten about the essay that had been assigned in Transfiguration. Her class was in an hour, and she had to write it all, with the help of Corey, in that one hour, causing the two of them to be late to the class. Thankfully, Corey was quite the charismatic boy and had talked their way out of detention. And lastly, what made the day even worse before the meeting, Amandla had seen Draco.

    Not in the passing in the hallways way, she could handle that. For Muggle Studies, all students in their year were in the class. Amandla knew why she had taken the class, loving the muggle culture, but she never understood why Draco took it when he put up the facade of hating muggles with all his being. But, because the professor liked projects and partnering people who didn't like each other, the two of them had been partnered for the day. There had been a thick tension in the air, the two of them only talking if necessary. Amandla had decided that this had to be the worst class period she had ever been apart of.

    But then the DA meeting arrived. Amandla thought that she would have a great time there, usually she did. They were practicing the Patronus charm, and Amandla felt confident in it. Lately, because she had decided that staying in her dorm room was better than the possibility of seeing Draco, she had been reading her mother's spellbook. She didn't like practicing them aloud, fearful that someone was listening, so even though it was much harder, she learned the spells without verbally saying the phrases.

    Being confident, she started to say the charm, only to find that no happy memory was important enough. She thought of her friends, Cevira and Corey, a little spark of light appeared from her wand. Then, she thought of her parents, remembering them, but then all of the darkness that surrounded them clouded her memories of them and it wasn't large enough to produce the charm. As a last attempt, she thought of her favorite photograph that she had taken while at the Malfoy Manor of Draco - the one where he was laughing and smiling and nothing in the world mattered.

    Of course, it was that memory that caused the charm to be produced and a stag. It was magical, gliding from her wand and surrounding her, causing her to smile. She saw Cevira mesmerized by it as well, not having created a patronus herself yet. She felt so happy...and then it all came crashing down as Harry yelled at them to run.

    Amandla, at first, was confused, only for him to say that they had been caught. She grabbed the Asian girl's arm, pulling her out of there as fast as she could and running through the hallways before seeing Draco and his friends (the stuck-up squad full of the tattle-tales that Umbridge created), causing her to turn down another hallway and go into the nearest girls bathroom.

    The next day, however, it was heard that Dumbledore had fled Hogwarts and Umbridge had total control of the school. Amandla was crushed by that, hating Umbridge, but Amandla couldn't think of that since it was career day - the day that all the fifth years had to talk with the head of their house to speak out their careers and what they need to score on their O.W.L.s to achieve that dream.

    Amandla sat with Cevira before being called into Professor Sprout's office. She sat down in the seat facing the desk, with the plump woman smiling at her as the toad-like woman (Umbridge) stared at her while clutching her clipboard.

    "Hello, Miss Stature. You're here to have a little chat with me about what you want to do after you graduate, career-wise. We do this so that we can prepare your courses over the next two years for your career."

    Amandla felt incredibly awkward with Umbridge staring at her while Professor Sprout smiled at her kindly. "Well, uh, I think I'd like to become a Healer."

    "Healer! Excellent choice, Miss Stature. Challenging career, having lives depend on you, but a very rewarding career as well," she smiled, "Now, you'll need to concentrate on Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. And get 'Exceeds Expectations' or 'Outstanding' on your O.W.L.s."

    "Hem, hem," Umbridge interrupted, "May I say that Miss Stature does not have high enough grades in Defense class to become a Healer."

    "She did perfectly fine in the past years, and I assure you that she can pull up her grades by the end of this year," Professor Sprout kindly smiled.

    "Thank you, Professor Sprout, and I will," Amandla smiled at her, even though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

    "Your welcome, Miss Stature, you are dismissed," the professor smiled back, and Amandla stood up and left her office.

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    Amandla hated studying with a passion. She hated every bit of it, every hour spent staring at her textbooks seeing the words and jumbling them together until her vision was blurry and she couldn't read anymore. Corey too hated study sessions, and was much more vocal about his disdain to them while Cevira seemed quite alright with them. Maybe she didn't get Caesar-like grades, but she still got the best grades out of all of them.

    Corey was good in class. He was good at doing assignments and loved writing essays, learning new things and all of that, but he was absolutely terrible at exams. He became too nervous that all he could think about was time and how he didn't quite seem to enjoy the meal last night, even though it was his favorite, or how the sky seemed a little grey that day, was the sky unhappy? Oh, he didn't blame the sky, the world was going to shit right under it.

    All in all, his thoughts were on anything besides the answers to questions. Still, he seemed to do better than Amandla, and she prepared more than the two of them combined. She studied everything, but with her selective memory, only keeping the information it adored instead of the information she needed for exams, Amandla was royally fucked when it came to exams. She read the books, she practiced with different tests her friends created, but her selective memory didn't allow her to get 'Outstandings' or 'Exceeds Expectations.' Really, the only class she might get that in was Herbology, and that was still a fat chance.

    Oh, her wish of becoming a Healer were draining even more. Not that she could even become one in the first place, her future was clear, she didn't need to get great grades to exceed in it. The life of a Death Eater seemed bright in her future, like the sun, and it seemed that just like that awfully big star in the galaxy, that would be the thing to burn her alive.

    And then exams arrived. The year passed by too quickly for her liking, the days passing like blinks until she couldn't anymore, her eyes wide on McGonagall as she officially gave the speech about the exams that she was about to fail.

    "Today begins your O.W.L exams. A number of Ministry instructors are here to give them. Exams will takes place for the next two weeks. Exams will be split in two parts, theory and practical application," breathe, Amandla, it's just a test, "I must warn you that the most stringent anti-cheating spells have been added to your exam papers. No student has successfully cheated on an O.W.L in a century, thought every year someone tries. Naturally, cheating will not be suffered and anyone caught will be expelled from Hogwarts."

    Amandla took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, but they weren't having it. She looked at McGonagall who nodded at the fifth years to go to their designated area in the Great Hall, separating for each class. The first exam was on Potions, arguably Amandla's worst class. She knew from the moment that she Ministry worker looked at her with a pointed look that she was going to fail. Still, she told herself to breathe, that everything would be alright. He told them to start, and Amandla looked down at her parchment, reading the first question.

    What is the name of the world's strongest love potion?

    That was easy. They hadn't covered it yet, that was an Advanced Potions work, but she had heard of it one time at Hogsmeade. Two girls were talking about it, saying they were going to charm some boy they liked with it, Amandla was disgusted. Even if they hadn't said that, everyone in the magical world knew of that potion, it was practically famous. She wrote down her answer and moved to the next question.

    What is a common side effect of Pepperup Potion?

    The what potion? Oh, Amandla was royally fucked. She couldn't even remembered reading about that, maybe it felt the tiniest bit familiar, it had probably blurred with another potion that was much more exciting to her than this one. She jotted down an answer that probably wasn't correct before moving on.

    The exam continued until it ended. Thankfully, Potions was the only exam of the day. She handed her exam into the proctor, giving him a shy smile of gratitude before scurrying away. She found Cevira standing next to Corey near the entrance waiting for her. She offered them a smile.

    "The exam was quite easy, I have to say. I mean, some questions were definitely harder than others, but I think I aced it," Corey told them.

   "You always say that, Copernicus, yet you have never received an 'Outstanding' on your exams before, why should this year be any different?" Cevira jokingly asked him.

    "Don't call me that," Corey sent her a pointed look, "And it's different because these are the O.W.L.s and I plan on acing them so I can become the best Auror that you've ever seen," Corey smugly said.

    "Auror....really? I always thought that you'd like to be a professor. You know, since you leave school so much," Amandla laughed. It felt better than thinking about her exam.

    "Yes, Auror. I admit, I did think about becoming a professor somewhere at a muggle university or high school, but I decided against it. I can't handle teenagers now, so what makes me think I'd be able to handle them later?" Corey paused and none of them spoke, "See? Even you agree with me. But Auror, I think I could do that."

    "Think? You aren't really confident about this then," Cevira pointed out, "The Copernicus I know is always confident. He never thinks anything, he knows."

    "Well, you caught me," Corey raised up his hands in mock defeat, "Being an Auror is a dangerous job that not everybody can do. There's no guarantee that I'd be able to become one - or that I'd be good at it. But I can at least try, it's my dream."

    "Sure," Cevira snorted, "When we were eleven you told me that you were going to become a rock star..."

    "I was eleven, Cev, of course I just wanted to become famous then," Corey rolled his eyes, "But now I know that not all things revolve around fame or money, it's about what you love. And I think I'd love being an Auror."

    "Alright, alright," Amandla finished, "If he wants to be an Auror then there's nothing we can do to stop him, Cev, we just have to let him go."

    "You make it sound like I'm a bird that you're letting go of," he shook his head, "Like, 'fly little bird, fly...' or something like that. Or you're just like Luna and you're like, 'follow your dreams, Copernicus, they can lead you into mystical places.'"

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    Officially, exams were over. Officially, Amandla was free from that hell they put her through were multiple hours at a time, and she thought that she did quite good for someone with selective memory whose memory usually didn't select information for exams. Her last exam had been on Muggle Studies, a class that she didn't share with her friends. She was about to meet up with them again when she saw a distressed Harry Potter looking outside the window and his two friends (Hermione looked beautiful, she noted, but she always did) looking at him.

    Deciding to walk up to them, she asked, "You alright there, Harry? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

    "Voldemort!" Amandla flinched at the name that just spewed from Harry's mouth, "He's got Sirius! In the Department of Mysteries!"

    The three looking at him paled, Amandla more than the others. No, no, no...he couldn't have Sirius, she needed him. He was the only one who knew, probably the only one after figuring out who didn't scream at her. At that time, no one else had figured out, but she guessed that would be their reaction. They would scream and claim that she was just like her a family - that she was a Fitzgerald.

    "How do you know?" Hermione asked him after a moment of needed silence.

    "I just saw it," Harry responded. While his friends seemed to understand, Amandla was confused.

    "Wait - what do you mean, you just saw it? You aren't - I mean, I don't think - you're a Seer, right?" Amandla asked him.

    Hermione shook her head, "No, he isn't a Seer. He just has a connection - a link - with V-Voldemort."

    She flinched again as Harry asked them, "How're we going to get there?"

   "To the Department of Mysteries?" Ron asked him, a bewildered expression on his face.

    "We've got to do something!" Harry yelled in their faces, although it was quiet enough not to drag attention to them.

    "Uh, no we don't!" Amandla interrupted, "If anything, we shouldn't do anything about it. If we do, it's a suicide mission, do you have a death wish, Harry? Because I certainly do not."

    Hermione sent her a look, "How'd Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without being seen? I mean, he and Sirius are the two most wanted wizards in the world..."

    "Yeah. They can't just waltz into the Ministry of Magic!" Ron added on.

    "It just seems so unlikely, Harry!" Hermione gently said, her way of kindly telling him that he was wrong.

    Harry glared at her, he glared at all of them with such fury that it made Amandla flinch, "I won't let Sirius die!"

    They walked around the corridors, only to find the twins, Ginny, and the youngest Lovegood sibling. "We heard Harry yelling. What's up?" Ginny asked them.

    "Voldemort's broken into the Department of Mysteries. He's got Sirius there!" the Potter boy paused, "He could already have the weapon!"

    "Think, Harry! Voldemort knows you! He knows you'd rush off to save Sirius," Hermione tried to knock some sense into him.

    "There isn't anyone else, Hermione! Everyone from the Order is gone!" Harry yelled at them again.

    "Anything we can do to help?" Ginny offered, shuffling her eyes to the twins and Luna.

    "No, there isn't!" Harry snapped at her, filling with rage that no one believed him and was ready to drop everything to save Sirius right at that moment.

    "Shove off, Harry. They're just trying to help you, no need to bite of their heads," Amandla snapped back, seeming to calm Harry down the tiniest bit as he looked at her in shock. Amandla didn't like the type of girl who spoke back, but she did. Sometimes.

    "Actually, Harry, I think they can help..." Hermione added in awkwardly.

    "How?" Harry eagerly asked his friend.

    "Before we do anything, we need to establish that Sirius really isn't at Headquarters. Which means we'll need to break into Umbridge's office," Hermione smiled and glanced at the twins, "For that, we'll need a really good distraction."

    The twins grinned at her. "Right you are, Hermione. Think we can whip something up, George?" Fred asked.

    "Might be able to," George grinned wickedly with his twin, a hint of mischief in both of their eyes.

    "Just give us a few second," Fred added on, finishing the sentence the two were creating between each other.

    "Mind you, it's got to be really good!" Hermione sternly told them, they shrugged it off.

    "Not to worry, Hermione. We've got something that will outdue everything else we've done here combined," George told her.

    "It's been too quiet around here anyway," Fred nodded his head, agreeing with his twin.

    "Time we did some real damage to this place," George finished, but Amandla had begun to get whiplash looking between the two of them.

    "We'll also need to keep everyone away from her office," Hermione said to the group.

    Ginny brightened at that, "We can do that! Me and Luna'll guard the hallway."

    "And I can get Corey and Cevira, then we can help the two of them guard," Amandla added. Hermione smiled.

    "We'll probably only manage five minutes or so," Hermione looked at Harry.

    "That's all we'll need," Harry confirmed, smiling at their efforts to help.

    The twins straightened then. "Right. You've got ten minutes to get to Umbridge's office. And whatever you do, stay away from the Astronomy Tower for the next couple of hours," Fred informed them.

    "Unless they spread, in which case, I'd get out of the castle for a while," George finished and the two of them grinned wildly. Amandla didn't even want to know what they had planned.

    The group nodded at each other before going their separate ways. Amandla went to find her friends, a nagging feeling in her heart that she was going to go to the Department of Mysteries. She didn't know what would happen there, but she could guarantee that it didn't feel good - at all.

btw, i actually did take the buzzfeed patronus and answered the questions as amandla and she did in fact get a stag.