Angelina regarded him warily for a moment, then put them on, and Harry returned his wand to his sleeve.
'They look nice,' Alicia decided hesitantly. 'Would you make me a pair?'
Harry favoured her with a smile, knowing what she really meant, and flicked his wand back out to conjure a second and third pair into existence.
'Now you can all have matching quidditch earrings for a few hours,' he grinned. 'The magic will probably wear off before the novelty does.'
Katie looked up from her essay, which had grown by at least an inch in the last few minutes, to inspect her pair. She poked them around on her palm with the tip of her wand.
'These are really good,' she congratulated him. 'I guess you might be able to help me after all.'
Harry's I told you so moment was curtailed by the distinctively irritating cough of Professor Umbridge and the hush that fell over the common room in its wake.
The Pink Professor was smiling gleefully, flanked by two wizards Harry didn't recognise but knew to be Ministry aurors from their badges. He knew instantly that his plan had worked, because, clutched with triumphant possessiveness in one pale, stubby-fingered hand, was the list he led her to find.
'Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley,' she simpered victoriously, 'you will all be accompanying me to the Headmaster's Office.'
'What for?' Ron called loudly.
'We will be discussing your expulsion,' Umbridge answered sweetly, and a murmur of discontent rippled around the room.
Harry stood up, patting Katie reassuringly on the cheek in payback for her earlier gesture. 'I suppose we'd better go and find out what this is actually about,' he shrugged. He cast a warning glance at the other's as he turned around, trying to convince Ron to stay quiet before he gave anything away.
The aurors said nothing, but stepped out to walk on either side of the group as Umbridge gleefully clicked her luridly pink heels way down the stairs towards the Headmaster's Office.
The others had either taken his warning to heart or realised it was best not to say anything, because the journey remained silent until they reached the already open entranceway.
'Wait here,' Umbridge instructed, disappearing up the stairs with their escort.
'Don't say anything,' Harry ordered the instant she was out of sight.
'She has the list,' Neville fretted.
'Someone must have betrayed us,' Ron decided, and Neville's eyes caught ablaze in anger. 'We'll soon see who it was, Hermione's jinx will make it pretty clear.' The girl in question remained unusually quiet.
'The list isn't dated,' Harry told them, 'at the moment there's no proof we've done anything except sign up the day before joining became illegal.'
Ron's mouth gaped in surprise, then clapped shut and spread into a relieved grin. 'Clever,' he admitted grudgingly.
'It might not be enough,' Neville warned, still enraged that one of their friends had betrayed them. 'There are aurors here, it must be more serious than just an illegal club.'
You don't know how right you are, Nev, Harry thought, ignoring the slight upwelling of guilt at being the responsible party. He could keep Neville and Katie from trouble by declaring no meetings had taken place since the sheet was signed. The name of the group would condemn Dumbledore either way. Everything now hung on the headmaster's reaction.
The excitement climbed another notch inside him.
'Come up,' Umbridge ordered, accompanied by her two aurors.
no
longer
Dutifully the four of them followed her up the spiral staircase, Hermione looked pale, especially with the rings under her eyes, and was biting her lip nervously. Ron looked faintly determined and Neville still looked furious.
Harry hadn't been to the Headmaster's Office since the end of last year, but it had hardly changed. The silver instruments still spun, twirled and swirled on the shelves, and Fawkes still perched over the desk, Harry was fairly sure the bird was eyeing the bowl of lemon drops.
'The Minister will be here shortly,' he heard Umbridge breathe in her most girlish voice yet, 'to pass sentence on these miscreants and expel them from this institution for good.'
'I'm here, Dolores,' Fudge announced, fidgeting in front of Dumbledore's impassive stare.
'I'm afraid,' the headmaster remarked softly, standing up from his seat, 'that you have me at a loss Cornelius.'
'Oh I'm sure I do, Dumbledore,' Fudge crowed. 'We'll deal with Potter and his co-conspirators after we get to the heart of the matter.'
'Of course, Minister,' Umbridge simpered. 'At the suggestion of one of Hogwarts' more conscientious students I discovered this.' She proffered the piece of paper to Fudge who accepted it timidly. 'I have been aware of this group for sometime, but I did not even begin to suspect what we were truly dealing with.'
'Dumbledore's Army?' Fudge gasped, paling and glancing from the list, to Harry, to Dumbledore and back again. The headmaster's expression remained unreadable.
'Exactly, Minister,' Umbridge pulled a sickly smile across her flabby features. 'It's obvious what has been happening here, Potter and his friends have been recruiting to assist Albus Dumbledore in subverting the minds of young witches and wizards. He's been filing their heads with his nonsense and lies while he schemes to steal your seat.'
Fudge was rendered speechless, and Harry rather suspected that it had not been obvious at all to the Minister. For the first time he was quite grateful to Umbridge. His plan had crumbled under the Minister's obtuseness.
nearly
'Well,' he breathed, spinning his hat in his hands, 'well. You four will have to be expelled for your part in running a clearly illegal organisation.'
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