Ministry of Magic Decree
By order of the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Jane Umbridge (Senior Undersecretary) shall replace Albus Dumbledore as Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This decree is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight.
Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic
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This notice had been posted all over the school overnight. Word around the castle was that Dumbledore had fled after taking down two Aurors, the Senior Undersecretary, the Minister for Magic, and his junior assistant. The decree, however, offered no explanation.
As Anne passed the Gryffindor table at breakfast, Fred and George caught her eye and signaled her discreetly.
"What's up?"
In a small, unused classroom, Anne asked the twins, who were lounging around casually.
Fred lifted his bandaged hand and smiled. "Thanks, Anne."
Anne frowned but hadn't said anything when George quickly added, "Harry and the others didn't tell us it was you."
"Yeah, we figured it out ourselves," Fred said. "Honestly, who else at Hogwarts would use something as fancy as Far Eastern Snow-ink Herb in a healing salve?"
George nodded in agreement and chuckled. "You should've seen Ron's face when we told him the jar he was holding probably cost eighty Galleons."
"Of course, we told him privately," Fred added with a grin, "just to enjoy the look on his face."
Anne sat down lazily, spinning a silver Sickle between her fingers. "I don't really care how you tease Ron. Just tell me, what do you need from me?"
Fred and George exchanged a glance and sat up straighter, suddenly serious.
"We were thinking," Fred began. George continued, "Really thinking."
"Now that Dumbledore's gone, and that awful Umbridge has banned us from playing Quidditch, discovered the DA, and punished us again yesterday..." Fred paused.
"We just can't stay in this school anymore," George said solemnly.
Anne raised an eyebrow and gestured for them to go on.
"We want to give Umbridge a little... send-off," Fred said. "Something fun. Just a little payback."
"Make sure our dear new Headmistress remembers her first day in office," George added with a smirk.
"You're not worried about getting expelled?" Anne asked coolly.
"Come on, Anne," Fred lifted his injured hand again. "You saw what she did to us."
"If it weren't for Mum, and wanting to do something useful for Dumbledore, we'd have left already," George said.
The silver Sickle spun more slowly. Anne looked at the twins. "You've thought this through? You're serious?"
Their eyes lit up instantly. They looked at each other and declared in unison, "Absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent serious."
"Alright then, "
Fred and George nearly leapt out of their seats, high-fiving like they'd just won a match.
"But dealing with Mrs. Weasley... that's on you two," Anne warned, pulling out a stack of silver-embossed paper from her bag. At the top was the Roland family crest and a flowing script in elegant English.
"No problem," Fred said confidently. "Once she hears we've been hurt, and Dumbledore's gone, she'll understand."
Anne finished writing the authorization and signed her full name at the bottom. Then she drew her wand, tapped the family crest, and the seal glowed faintly with silver light.
She pressed the crest to the signature. A delicate silver elephant appeared, raising its trunk proudly.
"All done," Anne pushed the parchment toward them with a smile. "With this, you can withdraw up to fifteen hundred Galleons from Gringotts at any time."
"Amazing!" Fred and George took the paper and examined it closely, clearly resisting the urge to hug her.
Anne stood and shrugged. "Just try not to make Mrs. Weasley too mad."
But before she walked out, Anne added, "Make it loud. Make it spectacular."
To which the twins grinned and replied in unison, "Oh, we will."
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After class, Fanny whispered to Anne, "What were you talking about with Fred and George after breakfast?"
A mischievous gleam passed through Anne's eyes. "You'll find out soon enough. They've planned something 'fun' for our new Headmistress."
As soon as Anne and Fanny entered the entrance hall, a thunderous boom shook the entire castle.
Cheers and screams erupted outside, along with the sound of frantic running.
The two exchanged glances and hurried out into the courtyard.
Chaos.
Someone had apparently lit a whole crate of enchanted fireworks. Green and gold fire-dragons zoomed through the corridors, shooting streams of red-hot spAcks as they exploded with massive bangs. Giant pink Catherine wheels, five feet wide, whizzed through the air with terrifying screeches like flying saucers. Rockets trailed silver star-tails as they bounced off walls. Firework wands spelled out rude words in midair.
Everywhere, firecrackers went off like landmines, not fizzling out but seeming to grow more energetic as time passed.
Moments later, Filch and Umbridge appeared on the stairs, frozen in shock. Just then, an especially large Catherine wheel let out an ominous whirrr and spun toward them. Screaming, both ducked just in time as it shot past and exploded out a window.
Meanwhile, several dragons and a large purple bat billowing foul-smelling smoke made their escape through the corridor's open doors, flying toward the second floor.
"Hurry, Filch!" Umbridge shrieked. "We need to stop them, Stupefy!"
Her wand fired a red beam that struck a rocket. It didn't stop, just exploded violently, blowing a hole in a nearby painting. A melancholy witch inside the picture fled just in time, later squeezing into a frame with some card-playing wizards who scrambled to make room for her.
"Don't use Stunning Spells on them, Filch!" Umbridge snapped, as if it had been his idea.
"You're right, Headmistress!" Filch panted and grabbed a broom from a nearby cupboard, flailing at the fireworks. Within seconds, the broom burst into flames.
Students in the courtyard burst out laughing, and it wasn't until they'd laughed themselves out that Anne and Fanny finally made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Fred and George really outdid themselves," Fanny whispered, though her tone shifted. "But if they get caught, Umbridge will definitely expel them."
Anne smiled. "They don't care anymore. I gave them the authorization this morning, they can open a shop in Diagon Alley anytime now."
"Wow. They must be over the moon," Fanny said with a grin.
The fireworks raged all afternoon, spreading through every corner of the school. Though they caused chaos, especially the firecrackers, most of the teachers didn't seem to mind.
As a result, Umbridge spent her entire first afternoon as Headmistress running from classroom to corridor, trying to meet teachers' demands to remove the fireworks, none of whom seemed able to do it themselves.
As the dismissal bell rang, Anne and Fanny headed to dinner and happened to cross paths with a disheveled, soot-streaked Umbridge, who was stumbling out of Professor Flitwick's classroom.
"Thank you so much, Professor!" Flitwick's squeaky voice rang out. "Of course I could have removed them myself, but I wasn't entirely sure I had the authority."
Smiling, he shut the door right in Umbridge's grimy face.
Anne and Fanny shared a look and bit back their laughter as they passed her.
"Good afternoon, Headmistress," they said sweetly.
Umbridge forced a smile in return. Once she was out of sight, the girls finally burst out laughing.
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The next day, fireworks were still zipping around. As Anne made her way to Herbology, she saw a group of small, pink, winged pig-shaped fireworks circling Umbridge's office on the third floor.
The laughter was nice, but it didn't lighten the burden of schoolwork.
April arrived. Easter Break was the last holiday before exams, just two days long. But no one was in the mood for fun.
The common rooms were packed. The library, even worse. Fifth- and seventh-year students were buried in books and revision, driven nearly mad by the pressure.
Anne overheard a struggling student complaining that the "Path to Top marks" series didn't go up to fifth year. "Those worksheets helped in years one to four, if there was a fifth-year set, maybe I'd stand a chance," he muttered.
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On the last afternoon of Easter break, Anne returned some books and was heading back to her dorm to work on Ancient Runes with Fanny, until the beautiful weather outside the library caught her eye.
She turned and strolled to the lakeside.
The afternoon sun shimmered on the water. Younger students were splashing around, and a few were even swimming with the Giant Squid.
Under a cluster of beech trees on a grassy slope, students laughed and relaxed.
Anne squinted at the sunlight and smiled, choosing an empty spot under one tree. She sat down, leaned against the trunk, and stretched out on the grass.
Sleepy, she pulled a thin booklet from her bag, draped it over her face, and drifted off to the sound of rustling leaves and distant laughter.
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Some time later, she felt someone quietly sit down beside her. Whoever it was moved carefully, trying not to disturb her.
So Anne dozed off again for a while.
When she woke, she didn't move right away. She lifted the booklet from her face, eyes still closed, then slowly opened them.
Hermione sat beside her, hugging a thick book, and smiled. "Afternoon, Anne."
"Mm... afternoon," Anne murmured. She sat up, tucked the booklet away, pulled out a water bottle, and took a few long gulps.
"Ahh, " Anne sighed and stretched. "This was perfect. Napping in weather like this is heaven."
Hermione held out a beautifully decorated Easter egg. "Here, it's from Mrs. Weasley. She said it's to thank you for everything you did for Fred and George."
She gave Anne a playful wink.
Anne accepted the egg with a calm expression. She glanced at Hermione's hand. "Is your hand all healed?"
Hermione nodded. "Completely. No scars at all."
"Good," Anne said, cracking open the egg. Inside were neatly wrapped candies and chocolates.
Anne unwrapped a honey drop and popped it into her mouth, smiling at the sweetness. "Mmm. So sweet." She offered the egg to Hermione. "Want one?"
Hermione picked the same kind, unwrapped it, and tasted it. "Honey drops?"
Anne nodded and leaned back lazily against the tree, watching the younger students splash at the lakeshore.
Hermione followed her gaze, smiling at the playful chaos.
A breeze blew across the lake, rustling the leaves. A few bright green ones fluttered down from the trees.
The candy melted slowly on their tongues, sweet and warm.
One leaf drifted gently onto Anne's head. She plucked it off, held it up, oval-shaped, small, and bright green.
Through it, she could see Hermione sitting just ahead of her, quietly holding her book, occasionally chuckling at the distant noise.
In that moment, it felt like the vast blue sky and everything beyond it was just a backdrop to the girl in front of her.
Anne's heart began to race. A strange, bold thought surfaced like a seed breaking soil.
Snapping out of it, Anne smiled to herself. She tucked the leaf into her booklet, packed it and the egg into her bag, and stood.
Hearing movement, Hermione turned to see Anne extending her hand.
"Time for dinner," Anne said with a dazzling smile.
Hermione wasn't sure why, but something about Anne felt different.
Not that she minded.
She smiled and took Anne's hand.
Hand in hand, the two walked back to the castle. At the Great Hall, they said goodbye with a smile.
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