Disclaimer: I do not own any characters used in this story, all recognizable names, locations, and characters are property of the wonderful JK Rowling, who was lovely enough to bless us with the Harry Potter books to become obsessed with as I have. (The italics at the beginning of the story are quoted from Order of the Phoenix. My story starts when the italics end, but they were necessary to set up the plotline.)

…

Blood Quill

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Chapter 3

…..

As soon as Harry took his seat in Umbridge's class, he held up his hand to Ron and Hermione.

"I'll tell you guys later, not here." He whispered to them.

"Mr. Potter," Umbridge called across the room. "Whispering in class, I see. Ten points from Gryffindor. And another detention tonight I think." Harry just looked at her for a moment before replying.

"I'm sorry, Professor. It wouldn't happen again." He said innocently.

Umbridge narrowed her eyes at him. "You seem to rather enjoy having points taken from your house, Mr. Potter. Do you not care about Gryffindor House at all?" Harry could tell she was trying to get him to argue with her, or snap at her, or anything that could give her the privilege of assigning him another week's worth of detentions. He would not rise.

"Of course I do, Professor. But I won't argue when points are taken for a good reason." All the Gryffindors in the room turned around to stare at him with an angry expression, so he tried to give them a look that said, "don't worry about it, I'll explain later."

Umbridge's eyes narrowed again. "Right then." She turned to the class as a whole. "Turn to page 58 and begin reading chapter 5. There will be no need to talk." She swept up to her desk and settled herself in her chair, closely watching Harry.

Harry reached under the table and squeezed Hermione's hand reassuringly before opening his book and starting to read.

...

"Professor, a word?" Harry was walking into the Great Hall for lunch beside McGonagall.

"Potter, we cannot discuss this here…" she started.

"I've gotten another detention. Tonight." Harry interrupted.

"For what, Potter?!" McGonagall nearly yelled. "My office. Now." She growled.

They made their way into McGonagall office, but neither sat down.

"I thought we made it clear that you were not to get her attention in any way today!" she yelled. Harry quickly shot a silencing charm toward the door so no one could overhear.

"I didn't, Professor. She tried to get me to rise to her bait and do something that could land me with a week of detention, but I didn't." Harry responded.

"Then how did you land yourself with another detention, Potter!" McGonagall yelled. Harry had a feeling not all of her anger was directed toward him.

"When I sat down I could tell Ron and Hermione were about to ask questions, so I whispered, "I'll tell you guys later, not here." She took ten points and gave me a detention for whispering a sentence to my friends. I was only trying to make sure she didn't find out about everyone…well…finding out about this whole thing." He gestured toward his hand.

"Well I guess I can't fault you for that." McGonagall sat down behind her desk wearily.

"There is a bright side to this, Professor." Harry sat down in a chair opposite McGonagall.

"And what would that be?" McGonagall had her head in her hands, stress finally crumbling her normally calm and collected guise.

"You guys can catch her in action. You can show up in her office when I'm in detention. She doesn't have any idea what's going on, I assure you." Harry replied.

"That doesn't make this any easier, Potter. Just because this gives us an easy way to catch her doesn't mean it makes you slicing your hand open worth it. Keep that in mind, won't you?" came McGonagall's weary reply.

"Yes, Professor."

McGonagall sighed and sat up, leaning back in her chair. "It's very stressful, caring about you, Potter."

Harry snorted. "Maybe that's why so few people do, Professor." He replied.

"You'd be surprised, Harry."

"Would I?"

"I can name quite a few people who care for you. Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, your godfather, Remus Lupin, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, yes, Professor Snape," she added when Harry scoffed. "He cares about you as much as anyone else, Harry. I also care about you. You may not have a family that cares about you back at home, but I assure you that you do here." McGonagall finished.

"Thank you, Professor. But I'm sorry that you all care about me. It'll probably just get you all killed or injured in the future. It's best if no one cares for me at all, that way Voldemort won't hurt any of you." Harry replied.

"I assure you, Harry, it's worth it. Though I won't deny that it's rather stressful caring for you. You seem to attract every bit of danger possible." She laughed a little at this.

"Not on purpose." Harry replied.

"I didn't say it was, Harry." McGonagall stood from her chair, carefully putting her façade back in place. "We must go inform the Headmaster."

"Won't it cause suspicion if we are seen walking to the Headmaster's office together twice in one day?" Harry asked.

"Probably. That's why we're going to use the floo." McGonagall answered.

"Right." Harry stepped toward the fireplace, but McGonagall held him back.

"I feel I should probably go first. It will be less suspicious, if there is anybody in Dumbledore's office, if I showed up, being Deputy Headmistress. I will signal you if it is safe to come through." With that, McGonagall threw floo powder into the fireplace, stepped in, and yelled "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts!" She disappeared with a swirl of robes.

Harry sighed and sat down in a chair to wait for a signal. He hoped nobody was in the office, it would make things much more difficult if somebody, say Umbridge, was there when McGonagall flooed in.

Meanwhile, in Dumbledore's office, McGonagall stepped forward out of the fireplace, brushing soot off her robes.

"Minerva, has something happened?" Dumbledore asked gravely. McGonagall's eyes swept the room before resting on Dumbledore. As if reading her mind, Dumbledore said, "Nobody is here, Minerva."

With that, McGonagall reached for the floo powder on the mantelpiece and threw it into the fire. She yelled for her office, but she only stuck her hand through, waving for Harry to arrive in the office. After a moment, there was a swirl of green flames and Harry stepped out of the fire, in a slightly less graceful manner than McGonagall had.

"What is it, Harry, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked gravely, standing from behind his desk.

"I'm fine, Professor. We just thought you should know that I was assigned another detention by Umbridge today in class. It's tonight. We, well, I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch her in the act." Harry answered.

"Harry, if you deliberately…" Dumbledore started.

"I didn't get the detention on purpose, Professor. But when I got it, I thought it would be useful." Harry interrupted.

Dumbledore sat back down behind his desk, leaning back in his chair with one hand on his chin.

"It may be, Harry, but that doesn't mean I condone you getting detentions where you are forced to slice your hand open for hours on end." Dumbledore responded.

"Yes, sir."

"Albus, while I hate the idea of Harry having to slice his hand open repeatedly for this opportunity, we can use this. We need a plan." McGonagall spoke up for the first time since Harry entered the office.

Dumbledore looked up. "Very well. Minerva, would you mind going to get Severus. I feel he should be involved in this, since he was here when everything…happened. Harry, would you stay a moment? I would like a word."

McGonagall turned and marched out of the office in search of Snape, closing the door behind her. Once the office door was closed, Dumbledore spoke.

"May I see your hand, Harry? I didn't get a very good look at it earlier." Dumbledore asked.

A bit confused, Harry stepped around the desk, so he was beside Dumbledore, facing him. "Of course, sir." He held out his hand.

Wordlessly, Dumbledore reached out and took Harry's hand, being careful not to touch the cuts on the back. He turned it this way and that, examining the cuts in the strong relief cast by the sun outside.

After a few moments, Dumbledore dropped Harry's hand, a look of disgust on his face. Without a word, Harry turned and moved back around the desk, taking a seat in one of the two chairs opposite.

After a few moments of silence, Dumbledore spoke.

"While I have no wish to argue with you on the topic of who is to blame for this, I must, once again, extend my apologies, Harry. While I may not be entirely to blame for this, it still happened in my school, to one of my students. I student I care about deeply, no less. So, I sincerely apologize that this has happened to you." Dumbledore wasn't meeting his eye.

"Apology accepted, sir." Harry replied.

"Thank you, Harry. Now you should probably go to lunch. As I recall, you missed breakfast, so you're probably hungry. In any case, Professors Snape and McGonagall will be back shortly, and we have much to do. Thank you for your time. You are dismissed." Dumbledore nodded at Harry before standing to stroke Fawkes, who was on his stand.

Harry stood and walked over to the door. With his hand on the doorknob, he turned back around.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Please, don't do anything that could affect your job. Hogwarts needs you."

Dumbledore paused for a moment before answering.

"I promise I will not jeopardize my job." He paused again, just as Harry opened the door and made to walk out. "Thank you for your concern, Harry."

Harry turned back around and nodded at Dumbledore, with a look that clearly said, "it's no trouble sir, I mean it."

After that, Harry turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

…..

"What happened?" Ron whispered as soon as Harry had sat down beside him.

"They know. McGonagall found out, and she made me go tell Dumbledore. Snape was in the room when I told him. Now Sprout, Flitwick, and Madam Pomfrey know as well." Harry whispered back, pulling steak-and-kidney pie onto his plate. "Turns out, nearly fifty students have had those…detentions…with her. Over twenty from Gryffindor, roughly ten from both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and three from Slytherin."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed quietly.

"Yeah, I know. But I think McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Snape plan to…interrupt…my detention tonight. That's all I should probably say now, Umbridge is no doubt watching us." Harry finished.

"Right. Excited for practice this weekend? We're gonna crush Slytherin next week!" Ron, thankfully, went into a rumbling speech about Quidditch. Harry could feel Umbridge's eyes on his back.

Tonight's detention was going to be rough. At least, until his other professors showed up.

…..

"Have fun, mate." Ron said over his shoulder as Harry made his way to the portrait hole.

"Oh, good luck, Harry. I hope you don't have to be there for long." Hermione looked worried.

"I'll be fine. See you guys later." With that, Harry pushed open the portrait and made his way into the hallway. He slowly walked toward Umbridge's office.

Sooner than he had hoped, he found himself outside of Umbridge's office door. He knocked.

"Enter." Came the girlish reply from within. "Ah, Mr. Potter." She said as he walked in the room. "You know what to do."

Harry made his way over to the little desk set up for him and picked up the blood quill. Without a glance at Umbridge, he began scrawling "I must not tell lies" onto the paper, refusing to wince or show any sign of pain as the skin on the back of his hand was torn open, blood seeping out and trickling down his wrist.

He went at this for an hour before he felt a slight disturbance in the magical atmosphere. Umbridge, grinning with glee at the pain she was causing Harry, didn't notice. Harry knew things were about to go down, so he smirked to himself as he continued to write line after line on the paper.

After a moment, the office door burst open, and in walked Dumbledore, followed closely by McGonagall and Snape.

"Dumbledore, what is the meaning of…" Umbridge went white as a sheet when she realized what she had been caught doing.

"How dare you harm my students by forced use of a blood quill. You WILL pay for this, Dolores." Dumbledore stated, cold fury etched into every line on his aged face.

While Dumbledore and McGonagall glared at Umbridge, trying to control themselves, Snape quietly grabbed Harry by the shoulders and stood him up. He gently grabbed Harry's hand and examined it before slowly waving his wand over it.

"Severus, you have no right to do that! This child needs punished for spreading lies, I will not have you taking the pain away from him!" Umbridge screeched.

"Enough, woman." Snape spoke for the first time. His voice, though calm, was laced with unimaginable anger "I don't care if Potter killed your mother, nobody deserves to be forced to use a blood quill, especially by someone who is supposed to be helping them, someone who is supposed to be teaching them. Your cruelty has gone far enough, especially when it comes to Potter. So, for Merlin's sake, be quiet." While Snape said this, he had turned to face Umbridge, still holding Harry's hand. When he finished, he turned back and continued waving his wand over Harry's hand, murmuring healing spells under his breath. He then conjured bandages and wrapped them around Harry's now semi-healed wounds.

"I will not stand for this!" Umbridge screamed.

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall yelled. It was the first time she had spoken since she entered the office. She slowly advanced upon Umbridge, backing her against a wall. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it directly at Umbridge's heart. Nobody moved to stop her. "For once in your life, you twisted, evil bitch, I suggest you shut the hell up." She said quietly, rage burning in her eyes.

"I suggest you lower your wand, Minerva. I assure you, the Minister will hear about this…" Umbridge started to protest.

"Oh, for fuck's sake woman, do you think I care about the Minister finding out that I pointed my wand at you?!" McGonagall yelled, lacing enough venom in the word "minister" that Harry nearly flinched. "You have been harming my students, illegally no less. Do you think your precious Minister will be able to get you out of this? Do you think you will be able to stay at Hogwarts, given the fact that you forced nearly fifty students to use a blood quill in your detentions? Me pointing my wand at you is nothing compared to what you have done Dolores, and I assure you I would use it if I didn't want to see you punished for your crimes! You evil, evil woman…"

"Minerva…" Umbridge started. "You know Potter is a horrible boy, you know he deserves punished…"

"Even if Harry was a horrible boy, Dolores, which he is NOT, that DOESN'T mean he deserves to have his hand sliced open every night for two weeks!" McGonagall screamed. She was out of her mind with rage.

Fearful that McGonagall might actually hex Umbridge, Harry stepped forward and placed a hand on McGonagall's arm.

"Professor…" he pleaded.

"Ha! See, Minerva, even the boy knows he deserves this!" Umbridge exclaimed triumphantly.

"I don't think I deserve your treatment of me, Professor. What I think is that I rather like Professor McGonagall, and I don't want her thrown into Azkaban for cursing you. While I would love to see you cursed, it is not worth Professor McGonagall, or Professors Dumbledore and Snape, for that matter, losing their jobs. You're most certainly not worth losing some of the best professors in the school." Harry snapped. "Evil bitch." Harry muttered under his breath.

McGonagall, at Harry's plea, and small compliment, backed up and stowed her wand away in her pocket, breathing rather deeply.

Umbridge stood up straight and glared at Harry.

"You've been spreading lies, boy! You deserved to be punished!" she yelled.

"I have not been spreading lies, Professor! Voldemort is back! He killed Cedric last year, and he nearly killed me too! You and your precious Minister can deny things all you want, but we know the truth and we intend to stop him, whether the Ministry helps or not! And even if I had been lying, that doesn't mean I deserve to slice my hand open every night!" Harry yelled. "You're vile and cruel, Professor, and you deserve to be locked up in Azkaban." He finished calmly.

Umbridge's eyes bulged. "Potter…" she started to yell.

"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore yelled, interrupting Umbridge. "We have wasted enough time here. We are going to escort you to the Ministry to be tried for your crimes, Dolores."

"You know I'll get away with this, Dumbledore!" she yelled back.

"Maybe, Dolores, but you will certainly be taken from this school. There's no way the Minister can deny the proof, and there is absolutely no way he will be able to keep you here." Snape responded. He seemed tired, but Harry could detect the rage in his voice.

"Let's go." Dumbledore grabbed Umbridge's arm roughly and started moving her toward the door, while everyone else followed. When they made their way into the hall, Harry turned to make his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Where are you going, Potter?" Snape snapped.

"Back to Gryffindor Tower, sir." Harry responded, a bit confused.

"We need you to come with us to the Ministry. Your hand and memories of your detentions are evidence that we will need. Let's go." Snape turned and began following Dumbledore, Umbridge, and McGonagall once again.

Still a bit confused, Harry followed.

…..

"Harry, a word?" Dumbledore inquired, striding over toward the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"Of course, sir." Harry stood and followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall to his office.

Once they got inside, Dumbledore motioned toward a seat in front of his desk.

"Have a seat, Harry. Professors McGonagall and Snape will be joining us shortly.

Harry sat and began looking around the room. It had been two weeks since Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape had interrupted his detention with Umbridge. He remembered, very vividly, how enraged McGonagall had been. He smirked a bit when he remembered the words McGonagall had screamed at her.

After a moment, McGonagall and Snape entered the office, taking seats in chairs surrounding Harry.

"What's going on, Headmaster?" Snape inquired.

"Just thought I would update you three on everything. Dolores has been sent to Azkaban for a sentence of three years for the illegal abuse of children under her care. Even the Minister could not get her out of some sort of punishment." Dumbledore explained. "I have also found a new professor to replace her. He will be joining us shortly."

McGonagall was grinning at the thought of Umbridge in Azkaban. Snape looked thoughtful.

"Who will be replacing her, sir?" he asked.

"You will see in a moment, Severus. Have patience." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.

After a moment, the flames in the fireplace flashed green and in walked…

"Remus!" Harry jumped up and ran over to the man, hugging him around his waist.

"Hello, Harry!" Remus grinned as he hugged Harry back.

After a moment, he turned to Dumbledore. "Are you sure it is…wise…to appoint me as Defense teacher, Albus?" he asked.

"I'm sure there will be some protests Remus. However, there is no doubt in my mind that you have been the best Defense teacher here in a very long time, and I have no trouble reappointing you. I'm quite used to criticism." Dumbledore replied lightly.

"You're going to be my new Defense teacher?!" Harry asked excitedly.

"Remus chuckled. "It seems so, Harry."

More excited than he had been in a while, harry leaned forward and hugged Remus again.

He couldn't help but think, maybe this will be a good year after all.