The five Professors, he had named, found themselves besieged by upset fifth and seventh years afraid they'd fail their end of the year exams with her as their teacher. In the end, they'd set up a time and a place to teach the practical lessons of defense to the students. Because yes. Professor Sprout did have some ideas about using nature to defend yourself. They arranged a rotation schedule amongst themselves wherein one of them was always watching over the study group. Even Madam Pomfrey arranged to be present to heal mistakes as they occurred as well as teach the rudiments of basic field healing. And when Professor Sprout was leading the Study Hall, somehow all the other teachers involved managed to show up for the lesson. The students taking part in the Revolving Instructor lessons loved it. It quickly became the most popular class in the school.
Madam Umbridge was so busy taking the mickey out of Hermione and Ron because they refused to shut up about the return of the Dark Lord and her teaching curriculum, she didn't pay any attention to the rest of the students. Harry had known those two wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut no matter how many people told them they were simply making life harder on themselves by arguing with her. Hermione was too convinced she was always correct in her beliefs and Ron was simply too hot-headed to ever stop and think before he spoke. Harry often thought about asking Ron if the old adage 'ignorance is bliss' was really true or not. But he figured the question would more than likely go over his head without mussing his hair.
More than once the pair had tried to drag Harry into trouble with her citing he was the one who had seen Voldemort return and could confirm what they were saying was the real truth. But it had never worked because while Harry wouldn't deny their claims, he wouldn't confirm them either. And the swelling of their faces seemed to her to mean they were lying about him being their source of information. Because as she understood it those marks were only to swell up when they were lying again. Which really, they were. While he fully believed Dumbledore had told them he'd confirmed it to himself, Harry hadn't told them any such thing. They'd been told lying to or about him wouldn't be tolerated any more. They'd also been told they could no longer act against him in thought, word or deed. Trying to get him into trouble with a teacher qualified as acting against him. Which was being disloyal to him yet again. While his silence might not have been showing loyalty towards them, the magic of the runes had never called for him to be loyal to them. They owed him loyalty. He didn't owe them.
...
It was well into October now, almost the end of the month and the Unholy Trio were learning full force just how miserable a school year could be when you were always in trouble and had no one really willing to help you or even just be near you. Especially Ron and Hermione. They were used to being the most popular kids in Gryffindor simply because they were always the ones with the freshest word on Harry and his doings. But now no one trusted them. No one would listen to them. No one even wanted to talk to them at all. Other than each other and Ginny, they had no one to talk with or hang out with.
Not that they actually had time just to hang out and talk to their classmates. When they weren't in class or serving a detention or attending a mandatory meeting in Professor McGonagal's office, Hermione insisted on doing research to find a way to punish Harry for hurting them. She was obsessed with the idea. Their waking time was completely full, due to their inability to understand the game was no longer in their favor. None of them would learn to just shut up and deal with the situation.
Hermione kept insisting Harry had used Dark Magic against them when even Professor McGonagal had told them it was Judgement Magic which is neither light nor dark. No one could get it through her head it wasn't Harry's magic that had been used to mark her but her own. She wanted to be the victim here and since she was the one with the ugly tattoo on her face she hadn't asked for, no one could get it through her head she was no such thing. Harry had been her victim for years when he didn't deserve it. Everyone tried to tell her she deserved the mark and to just learn to live with it. But she didn't want to. She wanted to make him remove it and then she wanted him punished. And if no one was willing to punish him for her, she'd just have to do it herself.
Ron just kept ranting and raving. He was angry. Plain and simple. And when Ron was angry, he just couldn't help but share it. Any little excuse to vent he took. The whole school had heard how upset he was over the drastic change in his school life. He completely blamed Harry for his misfortune and not for a second would he hear anyone who tried to point out it was his own bad or lack of judgement that had created the situation that had allowed everyone to find out what a traitorous friend he truly was.
His favorite topic for ranting was Quiditch. He just couldn't understand why Angelina had kicked him off the team. Nor would Professor McGonagal or Madam Hooch make Angelina re-instate him. He didn't see it was exactly the same situation as the times he'd convinced the team to expel Harry. Only this time the allegations were true. And while he did know Harry was a good Seeker, in his eyes, he was a better Keeper than Harry had been Seeker. Every chance he got to corner Angelina, he presented her with new plays she could train the team in and badgered her to let him back on the team so they could win more games.
.....
Join my p@treon and read ahead by more than 60+ chapters.
Link : [email protected]/Sonic_Spectre
Free members can read the next two chapters for free on my p@treon