• Serena Black •

"Sometimes a mistake can end up
being the best decision you ever make."

Serena had had to pull herself together the whole afternoon so that she didn't march straight to the Slytherin common room to give Edmund Hall a piece of her mind. After all, it was one thing if he had a problem with her, but then he didn't have to tell off the entire members of the DA.

During dinner, her eyes were fixed on the Slytherin table all the more darkly, while she was already visualising in her head how she would confront him later. The scenarios in her head of how she would bewitch him filled her with such satisfaction that a sardonic grin appeared on her lips.

"Serena, you're really starting to scare me," Ginny said to her with a hint of a laugh.

"And she's not the only one," she heard George mutter and nodded up to the teacher's desk with a dismayed expression. Serena followed his gaze to the other end of the room and realised what he meant without looking closely.

The sweet and almost triumphant grin on Umbridge's face made her heart skip a beat. The fact that she had caught Harry could not be the only reason for her self-satisfied expression and Serena dreaded to find out what else had put her in such a high mood. Because it certainly couldn't be anything good.

"I know that was a bit stupid of me earlier, but can you please stop looking at me like you want to throw me off the astronomy tower?"

The soft voice in her ear made Serena flinch and the anger coursed through her entire body like a drug again, making her lose herself completely in her rage.

Her eyes flashing, she turned round. "How dare you come to this table."

Hall blinked once, the corners of his mouth twitching as if to make her even angrier with his usual smirk. However, he seemed to have enough functioning brain cells and let it go. "You don't have to make such a drama over something so harmless."

"Harmless?" Serena merely breathed the word, but her cutting tone made it sound like a loud scream. With the unpleasant sound of a wooden chair skittering over stone, she rose and stood in front of him. To her satisfaction, he actually took three steps back. "You've ruined everything!"

"Miss Black, stop screaming around here like a toddler. Ten points off for Gryffindor." Serena paid no further attention to Snape, who walked past her without giving her another glance. She was too focussed on the traitor in front of her and she didn't know whether it was anger or disappointment that brought tears to her eyes. She had trusted him in this respect, just as she had trusted Maxon.

"You're not crying now, are you?" was probably the only thing Hall had to say about the matter and actually made Serena almost curse him out in front of the entire school. She probably would have if someone from the DA hadn't shouted at that exact moment, "Oh, look at that!"

A Ravenclaw stood at the double doors of the Great Hall, dubiously trying to hide her face from the gaze of her classmates. The word snitch adorned Marietta Edgecombe's forehead in the form of a mass of festering pimples.

Serena felt the eyes of her study group slowly turn back to her and a blush rose to her face. This time not with anger, but with remorse. "I think there's been a mix-up," she muttered, turning in Hall's direction and scurrying hastily back to her seat next to George. She would have liked to drown herself in her bowl of gruel on the spot.

The twin next to her didn't make it any better, though. He had pinched her cheek like a grandmother and started teasing her with her hasty conclusion, "Did the itty bitty prefect make a mistake?"

"Stop it," she grumbled and plucked his hand from her face, which, judging by the slight tingling, had clearly left a red mark there.

"Never mind," George said in a rather cheerful mood for some reason. "I'm sure the slimeball deserved it for something anyway."

Serena stirred and drew symbols in the porridge in front of her with her spoon, lost in thought. At first she didn't notice Fred across from her shaking his head with mock emotion on his face, "I always knew you two were meant to be together."

"Excuse me?" she asked, confused, not realising at first that he was referring to her and George. Amusement now graced his freckled face before he launched into an explanation, "Georgie's patronus is a coyote, in case you hadn't noticed."

"So?" By now Serena was beginning to feel a little stupid, as she still didn't have the slightest clue what the twin in front of her was getting at.

Fred leant forward with a broad grin and looked at her solemnly, "Foxes and coyotes are both members of the dog family."

Serena almost snorted. That was by far the worst explanation she had ever heard for their being destined for each other. Especially since she didn't believe in it. "Well, Ron's patronus is a dog. Should I marry them both now?"

George, who had kept his nose out of things so far, began to grin a little, "Well, actually, Ronniekins and I already eloped last year."

Serena's face showed mock dismay as she shook her head sadly, "I want a divorce right now."

The word Headmistress was now emblazoned in gold letters on the wooden sign outside Professor Umbridge's office and with it a new order was hung in the entrance hall.

BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Dolores Jane Umbridge (Grand Inquisitor) has succeeded Albus Dumbledore as Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

For most of the students, the order was no longer a surprise, as all members of the DA had learnt late that evening what had happened and thus the reason for Umbridge's triumphant expression the night before. Dumbledore had taken all the blame, so that he had prevented them all from being expelled from the school. However, he had also cleared the way for the toad in pink.

"Fudge must have been really pleased to finally have Dumbledore out of the way," muttered Hailey the next morning, scowling at the wall, on which there was barely enough room for another arrangement.

"Umbridge was probably even more pleased," Serena replied gloomily. "If she keeps doing what she's been doing, I'll do the same and leave too."

"Me too," the Hufflepuff agreed wholeheartedly. "And I'd punch Malfoy in the face first."

"Well, speak of the devil." Nate pointed at a group of Slytherins walking up the stairs out of the dungeons with smug expressions on their faces. When Serena spotted Hall, she quickly ducked away in shame, hoping that he would somehow be put under a forgetting spell as soon as possible.

"Have you heard?" Astoria had joined them with a lowered voice, "Draco and the others have been appointed to the Inquisitorial squad and get to play lawmen."

"They're out of their minds." Hailey looked angrily over at the group of Slytherins and flipped them the bird, which they unfortunately seemed to notice. To Serena's horror, they were now coming towards her, grinning broadly and giving her a hint of evil. They all wore a golden I on their cloaks, which by now looked rather exaggerated next to the other two badges on Hall.

"Let's see..." Malfoy snarled victoriously. "Five points off for Price for her cheeky behaviour."

"You're not allowed to deduct any points from other prefects," Nate said promptly, causing Zabini to laugh maliciously, "Not as a prefect, but as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad."

"So Novak five away for contradicting me. Black, your cloak is crooked, another five for that. And Price is also a mudblood, ten off for that." Malfoy's gaze moved on to Tori and lingered on her for a moment, as if he was thinking hard. But apparently he didn't want to deduct any points from his own house after all.

The group finally left, but not without Hall leaning down to Serena again and whispering quietly to her. "Because of that little misunderstanding yesterday. Ten points off for that." To her surprise, he didn't look the least bit angry, but pure amusement adorned the corners of his mouth and promptly made her blush again. He would probably hold that against her for a long time to come.

The tension in the entire school was almost palpable as they entered the Great Hall. Everyone seemed to vacillate between suppressed anger at Umbridge and her command and dread at what was about to happen. Fred and George, in particular, looked extremely grim, which was not at all typical of them. But they had plans. Big plans.

Just in time for lunch, a mighty bang resounded throughout the castle, rattling the glass in the windows ominously. Serena almost dropped her spoon at the sudden noise and the other students at the tables looked no less startled.

The large oak doors flew open with a second bang. Colourful rockets whizzed into the room and flew through the air, spraying sparks. Dragons, angry and fire-breathing, emerged from the sparks alongside expletives in the air, shrouding them in thick smoke.

The students watched the inferno with enthusiasm and cheered the two culprits who were undoubtedly behind the spectacle. The chaos raged on throughout the afternoon with no end in sight. Wherever Serena looked, firecrackers exploded like mines in the corridors and instead of burning down, the pyrotechnic marvels seemed to grow in power and force with every passing minute.

But nobody lifted a finger to remove it. This task was honourably left to Umbridge. Even the teachers seemed to enjoy watching the new headmistress chase after the fireworks without success.

The two troublemakers joined Serena by the fireplace in their common room after their long and successful day with innocent, yet far more satisfied expressions. "It's about time we had some fun again," Fred grinned hypocritically and lowered his voice, "And that was just the beginning..."

The Gryffindor returned his mischievous smile and froze the moment she realised what it meant. "Wait... You don't mean...?" Her voice almost broke. "Already?"

"We've talked this out for a long time... but I'm sorry, Rina," George whispered and patted her shoulder. "It's not like we're leaving right away. Now that Dumbledore's gone, we still have to get the place up and running."

Serena nodded briefly and tried to lift the corners of her mouth again. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop an oppressive feeling from spreading through her chest at the thought of only seeing them during the holidays. But she would make the most of the time she had left and support them in word and deed. One last time.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, George?" Fred suddenly grinned at his brother and exchanged a meaningful look with him, which the other redhead promptly knew how to interpret, "If it involves more explosions and stinky juice, then definitely."

"What about swamps?" Serena interjected, "Let's send the toad where she belongs."

"Ohhh, that's the marauder in you talking. Wonderful." George closed his eyes in satisfaction and appreciation. "I almost forgot about our portable swamp."