The Mute Malfoy

FORTY-ONE

       Dinner after their first encounter with Umbridge was just what Evelyn remembered. Everyone's eyes shifted between her and Harry. Word spread about his outburst and her defending him. Evelyn minded the whispers. She had never done well when it came to people talking about her. She had had her fair share from last year's tournament. She could go without being talked about for the rest of her life. Harry, sensing her discomfort, rested his hand on her knee and squeezed it as a sign to her. She understood and smiled at him.

Harry was more concerned with the way Evelyn was making him feel in the moment. He loved her smile, and not even in a romantic way. She didn't smile as much as he wished she would. Her smile was just as reassuring to him as his gesture was to her. He knew when she was fake smiling, and this one wasn't fake. He felt honored to have been given such a smile directed to him alone. It was definitely helping him get through dinner without having a complete outburst.

"What I don't get is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them." Harry said as he removed his hand from Evelyn's knee.

"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," Hermione said. "Oh, let's get out of here." The whispers had gotten to Hermione as she slammed her utensils and stood up. The other three followed her out of the great hall.

"What d'you mean, you're not sure they believed Dumbledore?" Harry said catching up to Hermione.

"Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened,"Hermione began. "You two arrived back in the middle of the lawn with Cedric's dead body...none of us saw what happened in the maze, we just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-Know-Who had comeback and killed Cedric and fought you."

"Which is the truth!"

"I know it is Harry, so will you please stop biting my head off?" Hermione had hit her limit. "It's just that before the truth could sink in, everyone went home for the summer where they spent two months reading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!"

Their trip back to Gryffindor Tower was silent with the exception of rain pounding on the window panes. Evelyn lingered behind Hermione and Ron with Harry at her side. Hermione did the honors of telling the Fat Lady the password when they had made it to her portrait. Their commons room was almost empty. Most students were still in the great hall having dinner and socializing like normal teenagers. The four teens each took their favorite chairs near the fire side, Evelyn's being close to Harry's, which was a total coincidence. She watched Crookshanks curl up on Hermione's lap then turned her attention to Harry, who had spaced off with his eyes peeled to the fire.

"How can Dumbledore have let this happen?" Hermione rang out shocking the rest of the group. How can he let that terrible woman teach us? And in our OWL year too!"

Harry raised the obvious answer to Hermione questions. "Well, we've never had great Defense Against the Dark Arts Teachers, have we?"

"No one wants the job cause they think it's jinxed." Evelyn chimed in.

"Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us do magic!" What's Dumbledore playing at?

"And she's trying to get people to spy for her," Ron said. "Remember when she said she wanted us to come and tell her if we hear anyone saying You-Know-Who's back?"

"Of course she's here to spy on us, that's obvious, why else would fudge have wanted her to come?" Hermione snapped.

"Don't start arguing again," Harry said cutting Ron's response off. "Can't we just...let's just do homework, let's get that out of the way..." Evelyn could tell Harry was desperate to keep them from arguing, as he was never one to bring up homework.