This chapter spiraled fast.

Warnings: This story is slash, yaoi, shounen-ai, gay, whatever you want to call it. Harry/Tom Tom/Harry

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Notes 2: Sorry for any mistakes, I'll run this through the grammar editor tomorrow.

Chapter 28: The Cost of Help

'Thank you.' He kissed Aderes again, frowning when he didn't return the kiss or respond in any other way. "Aderes?" He sat up. Did I do something wrong? He scanned the bond. Aderes had barely registered the kiss at all. "Hey."

Aderes looked at him, almost like he was coming out of a trance. "Sorry." He sat up himself. "I need to go talk to someone."

"Wh, what?" It was well past ten already, who could his boyfriend be going to bother at this hour? "Why?" He grabbed Aderes' wrist, the Slytherin finally focusing on him. "What's wrong?"

"I'll explain when I get back." Without saying another word, his body dissolved into a black mist.

"Where did he go?" And who did he need to talk to this late? He looked at Hermione.

"I don't know," she said, her embarrassment obvious. "But I don't think he liked what Sirius had to say about Fudge trying to get Dumbledore arrested."

Aderes had seemed to react to that more than anything else Sirius had said. "He's always fighting with Dumbledore." The more he thought about it though, he knew Hermione was right. Aderes liked to taunt the headmaster and walk into his office without knocking. He seemed to know Fawkes quite well and the phoenix always looked happy to see Aderes. Somehow, Aderes and Dumbledore had some kind of uneasy friendship between them.

Maybe Dumbledore's friends with Aderes Dad? That would explain why the headmaster knew Aderes and had allowed him inside number twelve and had let him start attending Hogwarts during his fifth year. Aderes' parents were probably Order members. "Hermione?"

"Hm?" She looked up from her pile of notes she was sorting through.

"What has Aderes told you about his family?"

"Not much," she said. She slid her notes into her bag. "I was really curious about his father. Unspeakables don't answer to the Ministry of Magic. They're in charge of overseeing experiments and the laws that govern the Wizarding Community as a whole. His father delivered the Time Turner we used to save Snuffles, so I asked about him, but Aderes didn't seem like he wanted to answer any questions about him, which makes sense. Everything his father works on and does is top secret."

He didn't tell her. Hermione had no idea that Aderes had lied about his father. That meant he'd have to ask Draco if he could get him to talk. "What about his mum?"

"He wouldn't talk about her either. I asked if she was an Unspeakable as well, but he just got this weird look on his face and changed the subject."

"Maybe he doesn't get along with his mum," Ron suggested.

"Maybe."

"I'm sure he'll tell you if you ask," she said, smiling at Harry.

I doubt it. "Is Dumbledore friends with Aderes' dad?"

"I doubt he'd have given the okay for a Time Turner if he wasn't. Why are you so interested in his family all of a sudden?"

"Um, well… You know. He's met all my family now. Sooner or later, I'll have to meet his." And he didn't believe they'd accept him or their relationship for a second. If they really were a part of the Order, they'd know just how dangerous it was to date Harry and would never approve. If they weren't, they probably thought Harry was a crazy, attention obsessed jerk and still wouldn't approve.

"His parents got to know how mental he is," Ron said.

"Ron!" Hermione hit him.

"What!?"

"No, he's right Hermione. No one's parents would be happy to hear their kid is dating Harry Potter."

"But…" She didn't seem to know how to finish.

"It's okay. We can worry about it when the time comes." If he ever got a chance to meet Aderes' parents. He had a feeling his boyfriend had no intention of sharing that information with his family at all, but Dumbledore might have warned them so… Well, here's to another sleepless night.

(X)

And so, it begins again, Harry thought staring out at the sea of students inside the Great Hall. Thanks to Ron he'd lost his entire Sunday and thanks to Sirius' warning about Fudge trying to get Dumbledore arrested, his night hadn't been much better. It seemed he'd become so dependent on feeling safe in Aderes' arms that he couldn't sleep well without him. One more bad habit he needed to break.

Aderes had not returned last night, and Harry had still yet to see him this morning. Where in the hell did, he vanish to? Even the bond wasn't giving any hints to his location and he'd tried a few times to talk to him, but if Aderes could hear him, he hadn't replied. The only thing he knew for sure was that Aderes was alive.

Worse, Dumbledore's seat at the staff table was empty. The only good thing, and he never thought he'd be thinking this, was that Umbridge was up there, so she wasn't dead yet. She did look a little off, mentally, grinning from ear to ear, but Harry would take mentally destroyed over dead. It would be harder to convict his boyfriend of that.

Draco sat down across from Harry.

"My boyfriend is missing," Harry snapped, looking from the staff table to Draco. "Where is he?" If anyone knew anything, it would be Draco.

"Good morning to you too."

"Draco—"

"I barely saw him yesterday," he said. "And I haven't seen him at all today."

Not good. "Did his bed at least look slept in?"

"Do you honestly think I could tell? Aderes rarely makes his bed."

Harry opened his mouth to protest and stopped. Aderes came off as an orderly person, but he was no morning person, especially if he was deprived of sleep. The chances of his boyfriend waking up even three minutes sooner than he had to so he could make his bed was unlikely.

This is bad. If Draco and he were both clueless about Aderes' whereabouts, that meant the teen was probably doing something he shouldn't be. He looked at the staff table, groaning. Dumbledore hadn't been nice enough to suddenly appear either. Wasn't my day bad enough having History of Magic and double Potions first thing in the morning? Now he had to worry about his boyfriend having done, well something, and knowing Aderes, not something good. "You're supposed to keep tabs on him when he's in the dungeons."

"Isn't that your job," Draco protested.

Harry scowled, knowing all too well that Draco was right. If he couldn't keep up with Aderes with a direct mental link, how could he expect anyone else to? "You're positive Dumbledore didn't… remove him from the school last night?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you know that I don't?"

Harry exchanged a look with his friends. Hermione gave a slight shrug, while Ron shook his head, mouthing the word 'no' so obviously he might as well have been screaming it. "...Someone reliable gave us a tip last night." He lowered his voice. "Umbridge is trying to get Dumbledore arrested."

Draco's pale face somehow managed to get paler. "That's not good. He must be pissed." He glanced at the staff table, a look of disgust forming when he saw Umbridge. "She'll get us all killed at this rate. If Dumbledore isn't here to keep Aderes under control…." He shook his head.

So, Harry'd been right. Aderes did listen to Dumbledore or at least he valued the headmaster's opinion. For some reason that made him feel like smirking.

"Oh no…"

Harry looked up at Hermione. She was holding the Daily Prophet, both her and the paper shaking.

His first thought was that Aderes had done something horrible, but she wasn't screaming, and the rest of the female students weren't protesting or destroying things, so Aderes' whereabouts probably weren't in the Daily Prophet. "What's wrong?" Hermione handed the newspaper to him silently, her jaw clenched. Dead center on the top of the first page read: Ministry Appoints First Ever High Inquisitor. Directly beneath the words was a huge image of Umbridge. "What's a high Inquisitor?"

"Fudge's revenge," Aderes growled, taking a seat next to Harry.

Harry had to do a quick double take. His boyfriend's hair was slightly out of place and he had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept much. He wanted to ask Aderes where he'd been all night, but his boyfriend looked tense. "Revenge?"

Aderes yawned as he ran a hand through his hair. Harry had to force himself not to smile. Even when he was worried and annoyed with his boyfriend, Aderes could still manage to come off as cute

"Umbridge will have the authority to judge all professors at Hogwarts as to whether or not they are up to the Ministry's standards," Hermione growled. "The Ministry has never had a say in Hogwarts before. Why he believes he can get away with it now—."

"Fudge is panicking. His mental state is deteriorating as more people question his current goals and actions," Aderes said.

"People should have questioned him from the start," Harry said.

Aderes nodded, a hint of amusement flickering across the bond as he opened it.

Harry couldn't see how any of this was amusing. The person in charge of their society was losing more of his sanity by the day and innocent people might die because of it, not to mention the damage already done to the Defense class. He tried to mentally force the bond open more, Aderes raising an eyebrow at him and complying.

'Sorry I didn't make it back last night. Did you sleep alright?' Even his mental speech sounded tired.

'Not really. Where were you?'

'I was talking with Dumbledore.' Guilt followed the words.

'Aderes?'

'I wanted to stop the blood inking immediately, but I didn't think it through. Harassing Dumbledore into sending those pictures so soon only made Fudge push harder against him.'

Harry nodded, not entirely sure what to say. If he'd tried harder to keep Aderes from finding out about Umbridge's detention this wouldn't be happening, at least not on the first day of the second week of school. I shouldn't have… how can I even pretend I can stand against Voldemort if I can't handle Umbridge? How did someone even prepare themselves for something like torture though?

'I want her, and Fudge gone.' He looked at Harry, his hatred clear in his eyes.

'I know.' He grabbed Aderes' hand and squeezed it. 'But there has to be some other way than killing them.'

'I don't want to do it some other way!'

'We're better than that.'

Shaking his head, Aderes grabbed a slice of banana bread and started eating it.

Great, now he'd have to watch Aderes even closer to make sure no one died, because the plans and images running through Aderes' head were far to detailed to ignore. How was he supposed to keep up with his homework and study for his O.W.L.S. if he had to spend all his time babysitting Aderes? No wonder Dumbledore is so stressed out.

Breakfast finished in grumbled whispers and a cloud of depression. Harry couldn't understand how Dumbledore, or the Wizarding Community as a whole could allow Fudge to do something like this. Giving the woman who enjoyed torturing students the power to fire other professors meant even the teachers couldn't make her stop unless they wanted to risk their job.

"What should we do," Harry asked, quietly.

Aderes sighed. "If we're going to be accused of something we're not doing, and the accuser refuses to listen to reason, we might as well do it."

Harry stared at his boyfriend, blinking. "Huh?"

"We'll start an army," Aderes said, simply.

"WE—" Aderes slapped his hand over Harry's mouth.

"I refuse to let this thing do what she wants. If you aren't going to help me, I guess you're not the brave Gryffindor I thought you were." He removed his hand from Harry's mouth and stood up.

"It's not like I don't want to do anything," he protested. He wanted Umbridge gone as much of anyone, the woman had made him carve lies into the back of his hand but killing her wasn't the answer and shouldn't even be an option for them to consider to begin with.

Sighing dramatically, Aderes shook his head. "I cannot fault you for your lack of memory on how to deal with such… inconveniences—"

'You're talking about killing someone!'

"You're as stubborn as ever." He shrugged and looked at Draco. "We'll talk in Transfiguration."

"Aderes!" We got to his feet, almost killing himself in the process.

Students around them began to take notice, some of them snickering, others watching intently. More than a few of the girls were grinning.

'I'm not having this conversation with you while you're convinced, you're on the higher moral ground.'

'I'm not letting you kill anyone!'

'And I won't be stopped from doing what's necessary.' Aderes' words and thoughts were so cold they froze Harry where he stood. He smirked, his eyes flashing, before he strode out of the Great Hall, his head held high. Once Aderes was out of sight, the bond shifted close.

Harry stumbled forward without warning, Draco somehow managing to catch him before he hit the floor.

"That arsehole!" He tried to go after Aderes, but Draco held him in place. "Let go!"

"Why!? So, he can go after you," Draco yelled.

"He wouldn't...!" I don't know that. That look in Aderes' eyes had been unnerving and while he'd never actually hurt Harry beyond digging his nails into his arm and opening the bond, a part of him was beginning to think he might if Aderes believed circumstances called for it.

"Potter?" Draco sounded alarmed. No doubt he thought Aderes and him were continuing their fight mentally.

"I'm fine, you can let go," he said, quietly.

"If you run off and do something stupid, it's on you." He released Harry.

"I'm not chasing after him." As much as he wanted to. If he did right now, he might strangle his boyfriend, which felt kind felt hypocritical considering they'd just gotten into a row over not killing Umbridge.

Slowly, he sat back down. Think this through. Who could he ask for help in keeping Aderes out of Azkaban? Hermione was too smart to get involved, Draco too scared, and Ron was too weak. I really don't… But he already knew he had no choice. He was going to have to talk to Dumbledore.

(X)

Harry dropped his bag onto the table farthest from Snape's desk, taking in the Potions' classroom. Thankfully there didn't seem to be any signs of Umbridge lurking in a corner, because he hadn't figured out how to keep Aderes from killing the toad, no matter how much she deserved it. Just breathe. He looked at the board. As promised, they'd be making the Invigoration Draught. Judging by the directions it didn't look too complicated. He might actually be able to pull it off without Aderes' help.

"Should be easy enough," Ron said, sitting down next to Harry.

"I should hope so," Hermione said, sitting on Harry's other side. "This is one of the easier O.W.L. level potions."

"Shouldn't we have started with this one," Ron asked.

"Snape was probably hoping to kill a few of us off before the next lesson," Harry muttered. "Has anyone seen Aderes yet?" They'd gone straight from History to Potions and there was only a handful of Slytherin already present, making it too soon to worry. Without the bond being opened though… Wait a minute. He gave a small mental push on the bond. It was definitely closed and for the first time he didn't feel the horrible isolation or like he wanted to puke his guts out.

"Are you okay," Hermione asked.

"Yeah" he said, and he meant it. The bond was shut, and he could function. Maybe I won't lose my mind now if I take the necklace off and leave it in the dorm. Was the necklace safe there though? Probably not.

"I'm sure he just needed time to calm down," Hermione said.

Nodding, he opened his ingredients holder. Given their previous rows, he didn't think they'd ignore each other for too long. Aderes could still get into a lot of trouble during the short time they didn't talk though. Even if Draco was with him, he'd probably just watch Aderes burn half the school down without a single word of protest.

Slytherin began entering the room, most of them laughing. Must be nice not to have to deal with Binns first thing in the morning.

Aderes entered a moment later surrounded by Slytherin girls. Draco practically ran for their table. He sat down next to Ron and started rummaging through his bag angrily. He muttered something Harry couldn't make out and decided now was not the time to attempt a conversation.

Aderes approached them just as the bell rang, looking delighted as he took the seat next to Hermione. He didn't even glance at Harry.

The door to the room slammed into the wall, everyone, but Aderes jumping, the sound vibrating through the room. "You'll be brewing the Invigoration Draught in case some of you managed to forget. Given some of the grades some of you received on your essays, it wouldn't surprise me." All the Slytherin snickered. "A word of warning for most of you. I graded these essays as if they were part of your O.W.L.S." He smiled cruelly. "I expect better results when you start this week's essay on venom antidotes. Those of you who refuse to take this class seriously will find themselves in detention for every D or lower grade they receive. There will be no talking!" He snatched the essays off his desk and began handing out the essays one by one.

"Good work Draco." Snape handed him his essay, offering the teen the only smile Harry had ever seen on Snape.

"Thanks." Harry noted Draco had a small hint of pink on his cheeks.

When Snape returned to give Hermione her essay, he said nothing, despite the large 'O' he could see on her paper. Snape remained just as silent when he gave Aderes his essay, then Ron his, and finally he handed Harry's over.

Harry scanned the top of the paper, his face burning at the large P scrawled across most of the page. In the top right-hand corner was a note. 'I graded your essay based on the parts I know you did. Be grateful I didn't give you a zero for cheating.'Aderes hadn't written anything though, just helped him reword some of his sentences. He'd looked up all the information in his book and written everything himself. Well, he'd known this would happen, no sense in getting too worked up over it, that's what Snape wanted, and he had enough problems without making Snape happy.

Ron didn't seem happy with his paper either. Harry glanced at his grade, saw the 'P' and sighed. At least he wouldn't be failing alone. He placed his essay over Ron's, the redhead making a face. Once Harry's meaning seemed to sink in, his eyes brightened.

The two of them put their essays away and started on their potion.

I knew I'd be on my own sooner or later. Aderes could claim otherwise, but even with his boyfriend's help, he was failing, and Aderes had told him what would happen if he failed. He dared a quick look at Aderes, the Slytherin was staring at his ingredients looking bored.

I can't keep up. He pulled out his ingredients, measuring each one with care. Once he had the items put away, he started reading the instructions for the potion. After a third read through he set the book down and lit the fire beneath his cauldron. Honey water and Peppermint first…

By the time class ended Harry had a blue potion to turn in, which was not quite the same shade as Hermione's, but close enough. He deposited his flask on Snape's desk and walked back to his cauldron in a slight daze. Tried as he had, he couldn't ignore the truth dancing in the back of his head. It was only a matter of time before Aderes broke it off.

"Potter?" Draco was frowning. His tone must have caught Aderes' attention, because the Slytherin was looking at him for the first time since he'd left the Great Hall.

"It's nothing."

"You look sick."

"Yeah, I get to spend a full hour after lunch having my death predicted and then I get to deal with Umbridge." No one could expect him to be happy about that.

"That woman couldn't get a prediction of when her tea would finish brewing right," Aderes snorted.

Harry nodded. At least Aderes was being decent. He waved his wand, emptying his cauldron.

"So, how did everyone do on their essays," Hermione asked.

"O," Draco said.

"O," Aderes said.

"Me too," Hermione said, happily.

I don't want Aderes to know. Not that he could hide anything from him. The second Aderes opened the bond back up he'd see the grade, though he doubted Aderes would break it off for one bad grade. Really, he just didn't want to feel Aderes' disappointment, or worse. He didn't want Aderes to lash out at Snape and attack him for bullying Harry. No, from now on, Harry wasn't telling anyone about any of his unfair treatment. Not his uncle choking him, Sirius had almost run off to the Dursley's to kill him. Not about any of the bulling or torturing from Snape or Umbridge, because Aderes was now convinced he was justified in killing Umbridge and Fudge. And he definitely wasn't getting Dumbledore involved in anything, because now the Ministry of Magic himself wanted the headmaster in jail. No, from now on he was going to be a good little Gryffindor, accept whatever these arseholes threw at him and go on with his life.

"What about you two," Hermione asked as they stepped into the hall.

"What do you think," Ron asked, grumpily.

"Whatever grade you got is your own fault," Hermione said. "Now maybe you'll actually try."

Ron hmphed at that and leaned towards Harry. "She just wants to know she's gotten a better grade then us," he whispered.

Harry nodded. If that's what kept Hermione going though, so be it. It's not like he ever expected any of his grades to be anywhere near hers.

"I bet Harry got a perfectly good grade given how much work he's been putting in," Hermione added.

He rolled his eyes at that, mentally cursing when Draco and Aderes turned to look at him. "Better than usual," he said, which wasn't exactly a lie. Most of his essays for Potions fell into the D range, so a solid P was an improvement, but definitely not what Aderes had been aiming for, he was positive.

"Shouldn't you be thanking me then," Aderes asked.

"Eh, yeah. Thanks for all your help lately." He prayed the other professors wouldn't accuse him of cheating.

"That's it?"

"Should I be saying something else?"

"You could be doing something," he suggested, his tone growing cold again.

"Only if you promise not to do things that'll get you sent to Azkaban," he said, simply.

"I guess I won't be helping you anymore then."

"I guess you won't." Really didn't make much of a difference. Chances were good his other classes would prove otherwise, but Aderes didn't need to know that. And Harry could keep him in the dark as long as he didn't open the bond back up. Judging by the look he was giving Harry, it would not be any time soon.

(X)

Okay. He took a breath and let it out. He needed to figure out how he was going to handle everything. Aderes breaking it off no longer seemed like the death sentence it had over the summer, mostly because he was more worried his idiot boyfriend was going to get himself killed if something wasn't done. Regardless if Aderes broke it off, he did need to get his grades up. Chances were he needed high marks if he wanted to be an Auror, though he wasn't entirely sure about that anymore either. The idea of working under Fudge wasn't exactly thrilling, if Fudge would even give him a chance to become an Auror. They'd have to get a new Minister eventually though, but with the way his luck was going though, it'd probably be Aderes.

Harry noticed other students were entering the room now, Trelawney not far behind. Right. He opened his bag and pulled out his wand, whispering the spell to bring his dream journal back.

Ron joined him just as he put his journal on the table. "Fred and George had an inspected class."

"Yeah? How was it?" Harry hadn't been able to handle Aderes glaring at him whenever he talked and Dumbledore hadn't shown, so he'd finished his food left.

"They said Umbridge didn't say much, just kept writing on her clipboard. It was Flitwick's class though," he said, shrugging. "Who can find anything wrong with him?"

"Depends if she's racist," Harry pointed out. No one had any proof, but the entire school was pretty sure Flitwick had goblin or elf blood in him.

"You don't think she'd…" His face darkened. "Guess someone like her would," he muttered.

"Anything happen after I left?"

"Not really. Hermione told Aderes you two needed to have a proper talk instead of just glaring at each other. Said he needed to consider your feelings, especially after last year."

He decided Hermione was one of the best friends anyone could ever have and that he owed her for trying to convince Aderes. Maybe he'd buy her a book or something else she might want at Hogsmeade.

"How did he take it?"

"Said Hermione needed to mind her own business. Then she got annoyed and told Aderes it was his own fault if you dumped him."

"Oh...wow." He owed Hermione the whole bookshop. He was sure he had a stupid grin on his face now.

"What do you think she'll predict today?"

"That she's going to get fired," Harry said, as he watched Umbridge enter the classroom through the trapdoor. She did not look pleased at having to enter a room in such a way.

"This should be good," Ron whispered.

"Maybe she'll trip and fall." That would solve the issue of Aderes doing anything to her. At this rate I might as well go join Voldemort, he scolded himself.

"She does have short legs," Ron said, sounding hopeful.

The room went silent as Umbridge pushed herself through the door. Harry had always wondered why the Divination room didn't have a handrail inside to steady yourself as you came in, but now he was glad it didn't.

Movement to Harry's left had his breath catching. Shite. Aderes was here. How had he known Umbridge would be watching his Divination class with the bond shut?

"What's he doing here," Ron asked.

"I don't know."

"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," Umbridge attempted in her overly sweet tone, but ended up grunting as she pulled her foot onto the floor. She ignored the quiet laughs, that frog-like smile forming. "Now then, I believe I sent you a note on Saturday about the date and time of your inspection?"

Professor Trelawney nodded.

"Splendid."

Oh no… If Umbridge had sent warnings out ahead of time on Saturday, that meant Aderes probably knew Umbridge's entire inquisition schedule. What was he supposed to do if Aderes shoved her out the window? As much as he didn't want Aderes to become a murderer, he wasn't about to try and save her and risk Aderes pushing him out too.

"Just a few questions then," Umbridge said. She walked past Aderes. Harry expected the worst, but Aderes merely watched. "You've been teaching at Hogwarts for how long now?"

"Sixteen years," Trelawney said.

"Appointed by Dumbledore, I assume?"

"Yes."

Umbridge wrote something down on her clipboard. "Alright. And you're related to the famous seer, Cassandra Trelawney?"

"Yes," Trelawney said, proudly. "She was my great-great-grandmother."

"And the only one in your family to possess the sight until your powers presented themselves?" She arched an eyebrow.

Trelawney coughed. "Yes, the gift of sight often skips eh, generations."

"I see." Umbridge gave a small laugh and wrote some more on her piece of paper. "What is your lesson for the day?"

"The students keep dream journals," she explained. Harry noted Trelawney's voice had lost all of its usual 'mysticism'. "We use the Dream Oracle by Inigo Imago to interrupt those dreams and see glimpses into our future."

"Uh-huh… And is this all you do?"

"We also read tea leaves," Trelawney said, quickly. "And palm reading."

This isn't going well. Trelawney might as well have been telling Umbridge she was teaching her students how to be charlatans to trick Muggles out of their money.

"Well then… I suppose the only thing left is for you to predict something," she said, her awful 'I've got you now' smile in place.

"Predict something?"

"Yes, with your amazing abilities, that should be quite easy."

"She's got Trelawney by the throat," Ron said, shaking his head.

The other students seemed to be thinking the same thing. No one was reading the Dream Oracle or even pretending to interpret their dreams at this point. Parati and Lavender both looked like they might push Umbridge out the window before Aderes managed to.

This woman… He turned to the corner Aderes had been standing in. He was still there, his arms folded across his chest. I'm going to regret this. He turned back to Umbridge and Trelawney, hoping this would help, rather than make things worse for the woman. Even if she was a fake, her class was the easiest one at Hogwarts and one he could pass without any help. "She's predicted a ton of stuff for me. Like I was going to be betrayed by someone I considered a friend and Ron did, about five days later. She predicted stuff for you too, right Ron?"

Ron looked like he'd been cursed. "Um… yeah, she told me I'd get a new pet and a week later a friend sent me a baby owl as a gift."

"Professor Trelawney works very closely with Lavender and myself," Parvati said. "She's helped us both avoid a lot of bad luck."

Umbridge didn't look pleased. "Wonderful," she said, dryly. "So predict something for me then."

Trelawney glanced at her students, then back at Umbridge. "Umm… you're going to get wet, soaking wet in two days."

"...I'm going to get wet in two days?" She started laughing. "I do believe the Daily Prophet said it was supposed to rain that day."

She's not even trying.

Trelawney thought for a second and leaned in close to Umbridge. When she stepped back, she was nodding. "You have the scent of darkness around you. Someone who wishes you great harm, but you can't figure out who. They're watching you."

Okay, that was a little better. Plenty of people wished Umbridge harm. Pretty much every single person in the tower right now.

"Are you threatening me?"

Aderes had come up beside Harry, no doubt so he could hear the conversation better.

"Maybe help her," he hissed under his breath.

Aderes did not need to be told twice. His shadow form crossed the room fast until he was behind Trelawney. He placed both of his hands on either side of her head.

I meant help Trelawney!

Trelawney's eyes suddenly went white. "You're…in danger… You broke a law… more than one…" Trelawney took a step towards Umbridge, but it looked more like a doll being pulled by strings.

What is he doing?

"The secret you're trying so hard to hide will not be kept. You'll be betrayed by the man you trust most, and it will end in your death!" Trelawney's voice came out in a hiss at the end.

Umbridge brought her clipboard as if to shield herself from the words. "HOW DARE YOU-!" She took another step away. "Threatening a Ministry official! I'll make sure you're in Azkaban by tonight," she shrieked.

"Professor Umbridge-" Harry tried.

She whirled on Harry. "You! You and this woman are working together to try and scare me, but your tactics won't work! I'll have you expelled and this woman fired!"

"STOP!" Harry jumped to his feet, Umbridge directing her attention back at him just as she stepped over the trapdoor. She dropped out of sight, her screams and grunts filling the room as her body bounced and slid down the steps. Harry ran to the trapdoor wincing when he saw the blood splattered on the stairs and railing.

Damnit! He went through the trapdoor and ran down the stairs. The further down he went, the more blood he found, as well as pieces of her cardigan and hat. He was pretty sure there was a piece of something else on the railing besides her hat, but he didn't want to really think about it and kept going. Halfway down he heard a loud squishing sound that made him stop for a half a breath before going on.

"Shite…" He slowly stepped off the staircase. Against the wall across from the stairs, Umbridge lied in a pool of blood, her right arm pointing in the wrong direction. She'd probably broken it trying to grab the railing to stop her descent.

"Is…is she alive," Ron asked, coming up beside him and looking rather pale.

"I, I think so…" Hesitantly, he moved towards her. The other Gryffindor students had followed and were watching from the safety of the stairs. He knelt and put his hand over her mouth. "She's breathing! Does anyone know a healing spell?"

"I can do a minor healing spell," Dean said, pushing his way through the crowd. He stopped next to Harry, looking like he might puke.

"Dean!"

"R, right." He pointed his wand at Umbridge. "Episkey!"

With a sickening cracking sound, Umbridge's arm righted itself. Dean turned away and lost his lunch.

"We need to get Madam Pomfrey," Harry finally said.

"I'll go get her!" Neville took off running down the hall.

"Is there anything else we should do," Ron asked.

"I don't know, I'm not a healer," Harry yelled. "Is Professor Trelawney awake?" The Gryffindors on the steps shrugged.

"I'll go check," Seamus said. He dashed back up the stairs.

How could this happen? And where had Aderes run off to!?

(TBC)