There were also those in the house who thought Harry capable of murder, and Susan wished for the millionth time that her Aunt Amelia had replied to her owl by now. Anyone who could think that about Harry was delusional, she thought bitterly. Last night, his face had been like an open book, displaying all the grief and guilt he was feeling. She remembered the words of Jake, Melissa's boyfriend; how could anyone see a murderer when recounting those events?
Finally, they arrived at the staff room, and Susan, not caring if she landed herself in heaps of trouble, pounded on the closed door.
Susan felt an enormous relief swoop through her body as the door was answered by Professor Sprout. She looked very irate at being interrupted at first, but when she saw the girls' expressions and their red-rimmed eyes, her face changed. "Miss Bones, Miss Abbott," she said in a professional, businesslike tone. "We are currently in the middle of a staff meeting. What do you need?"
"They want to kick Harry out of Hogwarts," Hannah said, her voice shaking with anger and sorrow. "They're saying that him being here puts the whole school in danger because of what happened to Cedric."
"And some are accusing him of murder," said Susan, almost blinded by rage as she remembered Zacharias, Melissa, Malcom, and the group of others that had agreed; the anger swarmed through her anew.
"I think you should come inside," said Sprout, and there was a different tone in her voice now. The cadence was much quieter, but there was a fierceness in it now that hadn't been there before.
Both girls proceeded inside the room, and Sprout had them take seats. She then said to them, "Please explain further as to what you are talking about."
So, through returning tears which they couldn't stop, they did. They told the teachers about the conversation in the Hufflepuff common room, and Jeff's petition. "People were already signing it when we got out of there," Hannah said, her voice full of shock.
"Jeff was manipulating people into it," said Susan, revolted. "He kept scaring the younger students, telling them their friends would die if they didn't sign it, because You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters won't stop coming after Harry."
"It's so awful," said Hannah, viciously wiping tears from her eyes, but it was no use; more began to fall, replacing the ones that were gone. "What do we do?" she suddenly demanded, her voice desperate and imploring. "This is just wrong. Harry hasn't done anything wrong!"
Susan's countenance grew as fierce as Hannah's as she put an arm around the other girl in silent support. "What are you going to do about it?" she asked loudly, her ire at the staff coming to the forefront of her mind. Her eyes, penetrating and desperate, fixed on Dumbledore, who sat at the table looking very somber and sorrowful. "You need to help him! You've barely helped him all year when there were so many people who thought he'd put his own name in the Gobblet," she accused. "You just sat back and let him suffer through that tournament. You didn't even try to see why he was in it at all!"
"You are out of order, Miss Bones," said Professor Vector sternly. "You don't have the right to speak to us like this. We are your elders, and therefore, you should show us the respect we are entitled to."
"There was a moment of long, terrible silence, but Susan remained firm in her convictions. This had gone too far, and she wasn't going to back down now. Too much damage had been done, and she would not see any more added to it. Mustering up her courage, she replied, "Harry deserves respect too, ma'am, but he's not getting it. Cedric's roommate is going to force the whole school to go along with him and sign his stupid petition to remove Harry from Hogwarts. Hasn't he already been through enough? He already blames himself enough for what happened to Cedric. And now he's being accused of murder, and being blamed for having a target on his back! It's no fault of his that he has a bunch of lunatics that want to kill him and will destroy anyone standing in their path!"
"And I was awful to him two years ago," said Hannah, her shame displayed loud and clear. "I'm not going to let anything happen to him now. He didn't murder Cedric, and it's not his fault he died. You need to help him, right now."
"And we will, Miss Abbott," said Sprout, and Susan could see true respect on her face. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "You two are displaying the true loyalty of Hufflepuff. The fact that you have come forward shows your commitment to be there for and support Mr. Potter. And in doing so, you have my support as well." She turned her gaze to Vector, who still looked supremely annoyed at the tone of voice Susan had used to speak to them. "Septima, she has a valid point," she said quietly, her own voice filled with regret. "We barely helped Mr. Potter at all, and that is a situation that needs to be rectified."
Professor Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher, nodded, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. "You have my word that we will help him," she whispered, but her voice still carried through the room. "We won't allow any more harm to come to him."
"We will speak with your housemates right now," said Dumbledore, who had been very quiet up to that point. He steepled his fingers on the desktop, his eyebrows knitted together in deep thought. "We will do what needs to be done."
From the corner of her eye, Susan could see the distrustful expressions some of the teachers, including Burbage and Sprout, were sending Dumbledore's way. The two of them were having a hard time hiding it, and it was this, more than anything, that made Susan's mind up for her.
In the past, it had been easy to trust authority, to reassure herself that the staff would get the job done. But after the year that had just passed, she had realized, with a jolt of alarm and fear, that they didn't know everything and were very fallible, too. And now, her position was only being reinforced by the way some of the staff were staring at Dumbledore, and realizing their own inaction.
And so, as she and Hannah left the staff room, they weren't going to walk away from this. Their mission to help Harry wouldn't stop here; they were resolute and staunch in their decision.
"Hospital wing?" Susan asked Hannah, her steps sure and purposeful.
"Hospital wing," Hannah agreed immediately, walking directly beside her.
Indeed, they were going to go and warn Harry of what was about to happen. They knew it would devastate the already emotionally taxed boy, and they hated to be the ones to do it, but they knew that someone had to. They would, undeniably, be gentle about it, but he had to know. Things were happening too quickly, and keeping the information from him would not be to his benefit.
Because if the staff, including Professor Dumbledore who was said to be the most powerful wizard in existence, couldn't help Harry, Susan Bones and Hannah Abott would make damn sure that they would do everything they could. Dumbledore's motivations were a mystery to them, but they didn't have time to suss them out. It was the well-being of one teenage boy that was currently on the line, and the two girls promised themselves that they would do all that was within their power to save him from the maelstrom.
It was the least they could do, and as they walked towards Madam Pomfrey's domain, an image of a softly smiling Cedric Diggory ran through their minds. They knew, without a doubt, that this was what he would have wanted as well. For him, as well as for Harry, they would achieve their goal.
Nothing would stop them now.
.....
Join my P*atreon and dive into over 60 advanced chapters!
Link: p*atreon.com/Nebula_Scribe (Remove the *)
Plus, enjoy the next two chapters for free—grab them while they're fresh!