"Yes, Professor," Anne said flatly.
Umbridge suddenly stood and walked closer, her voice cloyingly sweet. "Actually, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"Of course, Professor Umbridge. If I know the answer, I'll tell you," Anne replied calmly, not looking away.
"Wonderful." Umbridge handed Anne a cup of milk tea. "So, tell me, what have Harry Potter and his friends been up to lately?"
"Oh? Harry Potter?" Anne raised an eyebrow. "To be honest, I'm not particularly close with him."
Umbridge's eyes narrowed slightly, though her voice didn't change. "Oh really, Miss Reeve? I heard you're rather close with Miss Granger, though. Do you know if she and Mr. Potter have been involved in any... special activities lately?"
Anne gave a small smile. "Yes, I do know Hermione Granger quite well. But actually, it's not just her, I'm on friendly terms with the top students in the other Houses too. A few of the more... unique individuals as well."
"The Rolands built their reputation in business," she added smartly. "And in business, connections are everything, wouldn't you agree?"
"Oh? So you don't know what Miss Granger's been up to either?" Umbridge pressed. "But if you don't know what she's doing, how can you be so close?"
"That's not quite right, Professor." Anne chuckled politely. "I know she's at the top of the year, and she spends most of her time in the library. That's all I need to know. If someone's passionate about learning, then it's easy to bond over the things they care about. As for the rest, there's no need to waste time digging."
She leaned back slightly. "Lately I've been swamped with exams, and on top of that, my family's been assigning me a fair number of tasks. I barely have time for socializing anymore."
"Connections are important, of course, but so is one's personal strength and responsibility. Wouldn't you agree, Professor?"
Umbridge gave a wide, forced smile. "It seems Diana's taught you well."
"Thank you for the compliment, Professor." Anne returned a modest smile.
"Well then," Umbridge said as she returned to her seat, "I have something important, something meaningful, to discuss with you."
She clasped her hands under her chin and looked at Anne. "We've formed an Inquisitorial Squad. Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe, Parkinson... they've all joined. I'd like you to lead it. What do you say?"
"Really?" Anne leaned forward slightly, eyes wide. "Me, the leader?" She sounded genuinely surprised and excited. "A Inquisitorial Squad? That sounds impressive!"
Umbridge's expression softened, pleased.
But Anne's face quickly turned troubled. She leaned back into her chair. "But, Professor Umbridge... I'd love to join this valuable and noble initiative to help the Ministry. I really would. But I can't."
"I'm due for a one-month internship with my family over the summer. Family obligations," she said, with a mix of excitement and regret. "I'll be going to the Far East, China, to be specific. So on top of my exam prep, I've also started learning Chinese."
Anne pulled out a thick English-Chinese dictionary from her bag and plopped it on the table. "See, Professor? Chinese is really difficult. I don't have time for much else."
"I'm truly sorry, but I'll have to decline your generous offer," she said apologetically. "Forgive me, Professor."
Umbridge blinked, staring at the hefty dictionary before slowly turning her gaze back to Anne's regretful expression.
"Well, alright then, "
"You're so kind, Professor," Anne said quickly, picking up the dictionary. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to return to the dorms to study. The other professors have been assigning a lot of homework lately, and exams are fast approaching. I want to get good marks."
Umbridge had no choice but to nod.
As Anne descended the stairs, her smile faded. She rubbed her face and muttered to herself, "Haven't faked a smile like that in ages... I hope I didn't overdo the act."
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The next day, as she passed the Gryffindor table, Anne discreetly signaled to Fred and George.
"You two better warn Harry. No, better tell Hermione. Umbridge has her eye on him. He needs to be extra careful."
"Hasn't Umbridge always been obsessed with Harry?" Fred snorted. George added, "Yeah, like a stupid donkey chasing a carrot, completely fixated."
"I'm not joking," Anne said seriously. "And don't say it was me who told you. That's the important part."
"Why not?" Fred and George said in unison. "Did you two have a fight or something?"
"That's none of your business," Anne shot them a look. "You two should focus on finishing your final term."
"We were just saying," Fred and George exchanged glances and said together, "we don't really need N.E.W.T. certificates anyway, "
Anne shrugged. "That's not my problem. It's your mum's requirement."
"Women are impossible to understand," they said, shaking their heads.
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The next month passed quietly. It was now late March, with just over a month left before exams. Anne became increasingly busy, but still made time to visit the greenhouses whenever she could.
Since being appointed leader of the Inquisitorial Squad, Malfoy spent most of his time strutting around the school with his cronies, trying to catch Harry or his friends doing anything suspicious.
March at Hogwarts was still chilly, with drizzles falling often. One night, Anne left the greenhouse late and shivered as a gust of cold wind hit her.
She pulled her robes tighter and fished out a box of hazelnut chocolates from her bag. She popped one in her mouth, closed her eyes, and savored the taste. Suddenly, the cold and the rain felt trivial.
With a quick umbrella charm, Anne made her way back to the castle. After crossing a drafty corridor and rounding a corner, she was just steps away from the stairs leading to the Slytherin common room.
But as she turned the corner, she stopped. Under the dim flicker of torchlight, someone was crouched against the wall with arms wrapped around their knees.
It was half-past ten, well past curfew. The person looked up.
Anne's heart tightened, it was Hermione.
She rushed forward, and before she could even speak, Hermione threw her arms around her. Her legs gave way, probably from crouching too long, and Anne had to quickly support her.
Hermione was freezing. As soon as she clung to Anne, she broke down into tears, sobbing into Anne's shoulder.
Anne's heart ached. She spoke gently, like soothing a child. "It's okay, I'm here now."
Hermione cried for a while before her sobs softened into sniffles, her grip loosening slightly.
Anne rubbed her back gently. "Something bad happened, didn't it?"
Hermione nodded but said nothing.
Anne kept her voice soft. "Want to talk about it? Sometimes it helps to say it out loud."
Hermione shook her head, fresh tears threatening to fall.
"Alright, alright," Anne said soothingly. "No need to talk."
After a while, Hermione calmed down and let go, wiping her tears with one hand.
Anne quickly undid the buttons on her own robe, preparing to drape it over Hermione, hers was fleece-lined.
As she placed it around Hermione's shoulders, her fingers accidentally brushed Hermione's hand. Hermione flinched and gasped.
"What is it?" Anne grabbed her wrist gently. On the back of Hermione's hand was a deep, still-bleeding wound, forming the beginning of a phrase: I must not tell…
Anne's expression darkened, a mixture of pain and fury.
"That ugly old witch, Umbridge did this to you, didn't she?" she asked, her voice low and trembling with anger.
Hermione was surprised, Anne was always polite, always called her "Professor Umbridge." But now…
She let out a small laugh.
Anne shot her a look. "This isn't funny."
Still, she didn't scold her. She helped Hermione sit on the stairs and carefully rolled up her sleeve to examine the wound under the torchlight, I must not tell lies.
"Magic, right?" Anne asked, then answered herself, "No need to say it. If it weren't, it would've stopped bleeding by now."
She laid Hermione's hand gently on her lap. "Don't move."
She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a ceramic ointment jar and some bandages. After dipping a piece of gauze in the white salve, she said, "This'll sting a bit, but it works."
Under the flickering torchlight, Anne applied the ointment quickly but delicately.
Hermione looked at Anne's focused expression and finally spoke. "Anne... DA was discovered."
"Mhm, "
"Because of DA, Professor Dumbledore was removed as Headmaster. Fudge tried to arrest him, but he escaped."
Anne's hand paused, then resumed.
"Umbridge and Malfoy found the Room of Requirement. They even found the parchment with everyone's signatures, under the DA title I wrote."
"All of us were punished," she added, voice heavy with guilt.
"You idiot," Anne muttered.
Hermione blinked.
"I mean it," Anne said, finishing the bandaging and looking up. "I never thought our top student could be such a fool."
"Anne?"
"I'm not wrong," she said, pulling Hermione to her feet and fastening the robe tightly around her. "This wasn't your fault."
"But I left the parchment, "
"Yes, but I doubt you came up with the name Dumbledore's Army all on your own, right? I'm guessing it was decided by a group vote?"
"We discussed and voted on it, but, "
"So you wrote the name. Big deal. It unified everyone, didn't it? Everyone signed because they believed in it. They believed in Harry. They were learning, growing, it felt right."
"As for Umbridge, she's had it in for Harry for ages. DA or not, she would've found another excuse to punish him. She already got him banned from Quidditch. Anything else would've worked. Dumbledore being implicated? She probably didn't even expect that herself."
"And you think Dumbledore didn't know about DA?" Anne raised a brow. "He knew. Maybe not the name, but definitely the purpose."
"And now that he's been removed, do you think he would've left you all here if it weren't safe? If he didn't leave you behind on purpose?"
Anne tilted her head. "Now, tell me, who snitched? The Room of Requirement isn't easy to find."
"Marietta Edgecombe," Hermione said quietly. "Her mum works at the Ministry."
Anne arched an eyebrow. "There you go. With a snitch inside and Umbridge stalking from the outside, no wonder it all came crashing down. But none of it was your fault."
"Besides," she added, "do you really think Dumbledore's going to abandon the students of Hogwarts so easily?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "I've thought about that. I just..."
"Just what?" Anne swung her bag over her shoulder.
Hermione flushed a little. Her first instinct had been to find Anne.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"Alright then," Anne said, pulling up Hermione's hood and taking her hand. A sly grin curled on her lips. "Miss Granger, given that you're wandering around Slytherin territory after curfew, I'm afraid the Slytherin prefect must escort you, personally, to the highest, most isolated Gryffindor tower for... confinement."
Hermione burst into giggles.
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Harry and Ron were pacing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, arguing over where Hermione might have gone and how to find her.
"Those two aren't half bad," Anne whispered to Hermione as they came down the stairs.
Hermione gave a sheepish smile but said nothing.
"Hermione!"
"Where were you?" Harry and Ron ran over, but seeing Anne beside her, they exchanged glances and fell silent.
"Well, I'll be going then," Anne said.
Hermione removed Anne's robe and handed it back.
Anne paused, as if remembering something. "Right!" She handed Harry the ointment and bandages. "The infirmary's closed tonight. You might need this."
She pulled out a small wooden box the size of a palm. Inside were sixteen square compartments, twelve of them filled with neat pieces of dark chocolate.
"Hazelnut flavor," Anne told Hermione. "I made them yesterday. They'll cheer you up." She shot a look at Harry and Ron, who were eyeing the chocolate. "No sharing."
Hermione smiled and took the box gladly.
Anne buttoned her robe, waved, and dashed off down the stairs.
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