章 312: Oleandra Gets a Slap on the Wrist

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" Professor Umbridge asked Harry.

She was baiting him, Oleandra realized. She wanted him to say it, so that she could shut him down in front of everyone.

"Hmm, let's think…" said Harry in a mockingly thoughtful voice. "Maybe… Lord Voldemort?"

A horrified hush fell over the class; even those who had never experienced the horrors of the First Wizarding War had instinctively adopted their parents' taboo of saying the name. The few Muggleborns in the room didn't react as violently, however, but Oleandra simply face-palmed.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter," said Professor Umbridge. A cruel gleam was glinting in her beady little eyes… "Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You may have been told that a certain Dark Wizard has returned from the dead—"

"He wasn't dead," said Harry angrily, "but yeah, he's returned!"

Please don't drag me into this. Please, oh please don't drag me into this.

"Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-house-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," said Professor Umbridge in one breath. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark Wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It is NOT a lie!' Harry insisted. "I saw him, I fought him! He used the Avada Kedavra on Oleandra, she can tell you! She's sitting right over there!"

"Don't drag me into this!" Oleandra hissed loudly.

"Ah, yes," said Professor Umbridge triumphantly. "The most obvious lie of them all. Do you seriously expect us to believe that this young lady survived the Killing Curse, much less one cast by a long-dead Dark Wizard?"

"I survived it, didn't I?" Harry said pointedly. "Why couldn't she do it, too?"

Professor Umbridge turned her gaze towards Oleandra, who gulped nervously.

"Miss Greengrass, was it?" Professor Umbridge said in honeyed tones. "The Minister has sung your praises to me a great many times. I should like us to get to know each other better; perhaps over a cup of tea after class?"

"I'm sorry," said Oleandra stiffly. "I have prefect duties."

"Another time, then," said Professor Umbridge sweetly. "I would be very curious to learn what you've been up to all summer; you clearly weren't dead, as the headmaster falsely claimed…"

What had Oleandra done this summer? Oh, not much, really… She had only used underage magic multiple times in front of Muggles, exited the country illegally, promised to a foreign power that she would overthrow the British Ministry of Magic and overturn the Statute of Secrecy…

"Dumbledore is not a liar!" Harry interjected angrily. "And neither am I!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Professor Umbridge cried. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie, and an obvious one at that. Knowingly telling lies about resurrected Dark Wizards to incite panic will not be tolerated at this school. As you can see, your classmate is alive and healthy, so if anyone is alarming you with fibs, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help; I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.'"

But Harry was not done yet. He stood up and looked meaningfully at Oleandra.

"Tell them, Oleandra," he said. "Tell them what happened that night at the cemetery."

Well, this was it. If ever there had been a moment to take sides, this was it. Professor Umbridge and Harry were both looking expectantly at her; evidently, even she was curious to learn what exactly had transpired that fateful night. But if Oleandra wanted to become a leader in the Wizarding community later on, she could not flip-flop on the subject of Voldemort.

It's not as if she could lie to begin with, anyway.

"The Triwizard Cup had been transformed into a Portkey," Oleandra recounted, as she recalled the events leading up to the conclusion of the third task. "Harry and I touched it at the same time, and it transported us to a graveyard. I was too injured to fight, but I did recognize one person. Peter Pettigrew. He was supposed to have died long ago. He was carrying a small humanoid creature, and it was that thing that cast the Killing Curse at me. I woke up months later, in my coffin; I'd been buried alive. I never did see Voldemort resurrect with my own eyes, but I completely believe Harry when he says he's back."

"Voldemort was the creature in Pettigrew's arms," Harry quickly added. "But now he's got his body and all his powers back, and you know it."

For a moment, Professor Umbridge's face turned completely blank. Gears grinded in her head as she processed the information that had just come to light.

"Is that how it is…" she said slowly, and for one short instant, Oleandra and Harry harboured the small light of hope that she had believed them. "Come here, Miss Greengrass, Mr. Potter," she finally said softly, before pulling out two scrolls of pink parchment and flattening them out on her desk.

Oleandra and Harry obliged, and as they waited, Professor Umbridge quickly wrote a message on both pieces of parchment. Once she was done, she pulled out her wand and tapped on the two pieces of paper, causing them to roll up and seal themselves with pink wax.

Bureaucratic magic…?

"It truly is a shame, I had such high expectations for you," she told Oleandra with a tone full of fake regret. "I truly feel sorry to see you fall victim to the headmaster's whims in such a fashion… But I cannot allow you to poison the other students' minds, so it is with utmost regret that I must take action."

She held out the two rolled up parchments.

"Take these to your respective heads of Houses, please," Professor Umbridge said.

Oleandra and Harry each took the rolled-up messages. Before leaving the class, Oleandra looked back, and saw Tracey and Daphne worriedly looking back at her.

"I'll be fine," Oleandra mouthed, before departing with Harry.

Hogwarts teachers' offices were located at the back of their classrooms, so Oleandra and Harry parted ways in the Transfiguration Courtyard.

"Thanks for telling the truth," Harry said gratefully. "I, er… it must have been terrifying waking up, buried alive…"

"Think nothing of it," said Oleandra with a half-hearted smile on her lips. "I owe you my life, for bringing back my body, so upon my honour, I felt like it was the least I could do. And besides, it was the right thing to do…"

Oleandra turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Harry to wonder why she had not sorted into Gryffindor in the first place like her sister.