(o6. poor trelawny)

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THE CHANGES around Hogwarts were subtle at first - a new "Educational Decree" appeared on the wall one morning, then another. Umbridge's inspections began quietly but spread through the school like a pink plague. Now she sat in the corner of the potions classroom, her clipboard ready as she watched Snape prowl between their cauldrons.

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, is that correct?" Her voice carried through the dungeon.

"Yes," Snape replied curtly.

"But you were unsuccessful?"

"Obviously."

Iris crushed her scarab beetles with perhaps more force than necessary, while Jade muttered something unflattering under her breath. They'd been working on the Strengthening Solution all morning, and the fumes were making Iris's veins itch uncomfortably.

Umbridge began making her way around the classroom, stopping at different students. She paused by a Hufflepuff girl whose long red hair caught the dim dungeon light like copper. Iris had noticed her before - she was one of the few Hufflepuffs who actually seemed competent at potions.

"And what do you think of Professor Snape's teaching methods, Miss...?"

"Hollis," the girl supplied. "Isla Hollis. And he's very... thorough." Something in her careful tone suggested she was choosing her words wisely.

Umbridge made a note, then moved to Jade. "Miss Darling? Your thoughts?"

"Professor Snape expects excellence," Jade said smoothly. "Which is exactly what a Potions Master should demand."

Finally, Umbridge stopped at Iris's cauldron. "And you, Miss Greer?"

Iris looked up from her perfectly simmering potion, meeting Umbridge's gaze directly. "Professor Snape is the finest potions maker I know." She touched her arm where the veins pulsed beneath her sleeve. "Some of us need more than just theoretical knowledge to survive."

The pointed comment wasn't lost on Umbridge, whose smile tightened slightly. She made another note on her clipboard before moving on, but Iris caught the barely perceptible nod Snape gave her as he passed by her cauldron.

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As students packed away their ingredients and bottled their potions, Snape's voice cut through the usual end-of-class chaos. "Miss Greer. A moment."

Jade paused in the middle of cleaning her cauldron, shooting Iris a questioning look. "I'll catch up," Iris said quietly. "Save me a seat at lunch?"

The dungeon emptied slowly, the sound of footsteps and chatter fading up the stone steps until only the soft bubbling of storage potions and the drip of water from the ceiling remained. Snape waited until the door closed behind the last student before setting aside his grading quill. His dark eyes fixed on Iris's arm, where she'd been unconsciously rubbing at her veins through her sleeve.

"How is your condition progressing?"

"It's..." Iris flexed her hand, watching the crimson lines shift and writhe beneath her skin like live wires. The morning's potion fumes had aggravated them more than usual. "The potions are working as well as can be expected. Still uncomfortable, but what can you do?"

Snape's expression remained neutral, but his fingers drummed once on his desk - a rare sign of agitation. "Your father wrote to me."

"Did he, sir?" The temperature in the room seemed to drop with her tone.

"He is worried."

Iris let out a sound that was almost a laugh, sharp and bitter as wormwood. "I'm sorry, sir, but I disagree with you there." She gripped the strap of her bag tighter, knuckles white. "He's worried about how the Greer name will look, not about the wellbeing of his daughter. Heaven forbid anyone discover the Greer heir is defective."

She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, suddenly needing to be anywhere else. The dungeons felt too close, too similar to her father's study where he'd lecture her about family pride while she sat, trying not to show how much pain she was in. "I appreciate you checking on me, but you can tell my father I'm fine."

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As Iris made her way near the Great Hall, she heard a commotion of  students running outside, like moths to flame. Iris felt Jade's elbow in her ribs as she found her and they quickly joined the growing crowd in the courtyard.

Professor Trelawney stood in the center, her usual ethereal demeanor shattered. Trunk and bags lay scattered around her feet like fallen stars from her beloved planets.

"What's happening?" Iris whispered, rising on her toes to see over a cluster of Ravenclaws.

"Umbridge," Jade muttered, watching the pink-clad figure emerge from the castle. "Who else?"

"Sixteen years I've lived and taught here," Trelawney's voice cracked across the courtyard. "Hogwarts is my home. You can't do this."

"Actually, I can." Umbridge's satisfaction was palpable.

McGonagall pushed through the crowd then, wrapping an arm around the sobbing Divination teacher. Iris felt Jade tense beside her as Umbridge's saccharine voice cut through the air again.

"Something you'd like to say?"

"Oh, there are several things I would like to say," McGonagall's voice could have frozen flame.

"Father will love this," Jade muttered darkly. "More Ministry control at Hogwarts. Just what he's been pushing for."

"Mine too. Though I doubt even they expected-"

She broke off as the crowd parted like water, making way for Dumbledore's purposeful stride. The headmaster's power seemed to crackle in the air around him.

"Professor McGonagall," his voice carried clearly. "Might I ask you to escort Sybil back inside?"

"Sybil, dear. This way." McGonagall's gentleness was a stark contrast to moments before.

"Thank you," Trelawney managed as they passed Dumbledore.

Umbridge's voice took on that specially grating tone she reserved for challenging authority. "Dumbledore, may I remind you that under the terms of Educational Decree Number-"

"You have the right to dismiss my teachers." The usual twinkle was gone from Dumbledore's eyes. "You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the headmaster."

"For now." Umbridge's threat hung in the air.

Dumbledore swept his gaze across the gathered students. "Don't you all have studying to do?"

As the crowd began to disperse, Jade tugged at Iris's sleeve. "Come on. I don't fancy being the last ones standing here."

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