LATIBULE - F.WEASLEY

16

Maggie's hand was in agony the next day. She could practically feel the dark magic scarring her skin. The healing potion she would drip on it lessened the pain but only for a short while. The wounds were deep which meant she had to use the potion sparingly to ensure blood wouldn't seep under her skin.

"Hey, how was detention?" George asks, plopping down next to her on the sofa in front of the permanently lit fire.

Maggie shrugs, her eyes watching the dancing flames with no emotion on her face. In her hands is the most recent copy of the Daily Prophet. Plastered on the front page was a picture of her grandfather accompanied by an article dishonouring him and posthumously removing his Order of Merlin that he had received for his 'dedication to his duty during the Wizarding War at great personal loss'.

All of Maggie's personal business was on display for the world to see and she was sick of the pitying glances shot her way. How the Prophet had managed to get this information was beyond her but they had and now Maggie was reaping the consequences of reporters sticking their nose in where it wasn't needed.

But Maggie had her suspicions about how the information got leaked. It was no coincidence the tapes had managed to get supposedly tampered with according to Umbridge and then merely a day after she was told that news, all of her personal business was leaked on the front page.

"Will you stop gawking at her, she's not an animal in a zoo!" George snaps at a group of younger students who scurry away.

"Thank you," Maggie sighs. "They've been sat there for half an hour. They think I'm deaf"

"Stupid twats," George grumbles. "What happened to your hand?"

"Hm?" Maggie looks up at George.

The wizard reaches out and grabs her wrist gently, pulling her hand up to inspect the carvings on her hand.

"Did you- did you hurt yourself?" George whispers.

"What? No!" Maggie shakes her head. "Umbridge has a taste for medieval torture"

"Umbridge carved this into your hand?"

"Nope," Maggie shakes her head. "She makes us use blood quills"

"But those are banned!"

"I don't think she cares,"

"We can't let her get away with this," George says, his voice low but filled with resolve.

"I appreciate the chivalrous sentiment, George, but it's not that simple," Maggie replies.

"Why the hell not? She's torturing you!"

"What?!"

"Marvelous," Maggie sighs as Fred hurries over to examine her hand. "Look, Ministry officials high ranking get away with so much shit. It's a waste of time"

Fred's face contorts with anger as he inspects Maggie's hand. "This is brutal! How can they allow this? We should tell someone, maybe Dumbledore or McGonagall-"

"They can't do anything. The Ministry is watching closely, and Umbridge has their support."

"That's bollocks!" Fred exclaims, his frustration evident. "She can't just do that!"

"She can and she does," Maggie shrugs. "She's a law unto herself"

"We can't let her just get away with this," George insists, his jaw clenched.

"Look, it's a few scratches in my hand, they'll heal. It's no big deal,"

Fred shakes his head, his expression stern. "Maggie, it's more than just a few scratches. This is about standing up to literal child abuse. If we let her get away with it, who knows what she'll do next?"

George adds, "We're not just doing this for you. We're doing it for every student she's going to torture with those quills. We need to expose her for what she is."

"It doesn't matter if we do that!" Maggie snaps. "You don't understand. Do you think it's a coincidence that all the evidence I gave for the inquest has been tampered with? The Ministry is full of corruption. If we find the evidence, it'll go up in smoke!"

"She hurt you," Fred's voice is low. "She won't get away with this"

"You can't oppose her!" Maggie shakes her head. "One whisper in the Minister's ear, she can have your father out of a job!"

Fred clenches his fists, anger and frustration visible on his face. "So, what? We just let her get away with everything? I have to sit and accept the fact that she's hurting you?"

"That's exactly what you have to do," Maggie shakes her head. "She'll make it so your father never gets a job again. That's the kind of power you want to go up against!"

"I won't just sit back-"

"Yes, you will!" Maggie snaps. "You will sit back and keep your head down! We are students who are powerless. She is the Minister's lapdog, she has more power than any of us ever will"

Fred clenches his fists, visibly frustrated. "Alright, Maggie, we'll be smart about this. But we won't let her get away with it forever."

"No! No planning, no trying to undermine her. I mean it, Fred!"

George raises an eyebrow. "You can't expect us to just let her win, Mags."

Maggie looks at both of them with a determined expression. "I expect you to survive. That's more important. We need to finish school and graduate, and then maybe we can do something. But right now, we're kids. We can't take on the Ministry. Look at what they've done to Dumbledore, the most respected wizard in the world. They've reduced him to a senile old fool. I will not have her ruin everything you've worked so hard to build"

"Alright, Mags," Fred concedes reluctantly. "We'll play it your way for now."

"But we're keeping an eye out," George adds. "If there's a chance to strike back without getting us all in too deep, we're taking it."

"Fine,"