part 5
That night at eight, Celio stood outside Umbridge’s office fiddling with his walkman he had bought off some Ravenclaw in third year. He didn’t really know why he had done it. Probably to drown out the sound of Draco talking in his dorm.
On his last holiday he had gone and recorded a ton of music off the muggle and wizard radios and enchanted them all into one tape on his first day back at school. So now his cheap headphones hung around his neck, playing a song quietly. Harry Potter was storming up to him, and Celio watched him come with hesitant eyes.
“You just had to go and fall asleep and get in here with me, didn’t you?”
“Yup.” Celio responded easily. “Always wanted to spend detention with you. It’s been a longtime dream.”
Potter scowled, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. “Look, this detention isn’t fun. Try not to make her mad or you’ll be in here with me for the rest of the week, and god knows you don’t want that.”
“You don’t know that.” said Celio with a smirk.
Potter went quiet, choosing not to deem the blonde boy with a response. After a moment the bespectacled boy looked at him again.
“I’m serious. This detention is hell.”
Celio turned to him, vanishing his walkman. “Well, at least we’ll have each other?”
The door next to them opened, and in her ugly soft voice, Umbridge called for them.
—
They came out of the room at exactly 12. Harry was shaking slightly as blood dripped down his hand, and Celio’s own hand seared with pain. When Harry went to immediately walk away, he called his name.
“Potter, wait.”
He stopped and turned with fury in his eyes. Not specifically pointed at Celio, but the boy in question was probably about to be his target. As the shorter boy opened his mouth, Celio grabbed his handkerchief out of his bag, enlarged it, and then held out his hand.
“Uh. I’ll just patch it. I’m not gonna curse you. Promise.”
Harry looked at him for a long moment, debating it. His blood drip, drip, dripped against the stone floors.
“Okay.” He said finally, voice tired and posture relaxing. He held out his hand.
Terran made quick work of spelling the blood away and then wrapping his hand in the black cloth carefully and knotting it over the back of his hand. “Well, it’s not amazing, but I’m sure that bright girl you hang out with will have a better idea of healing it than me.”
“Hermione?”
“Sure, her.”
“She always knows better.”
Celio snorted and stepped back. “Uh, yeah. Anyway, see you around, I guess.”
“Yeah.”
Celio turned to walk away.
“Oh, and thanks. Like, really. Sorry I was an arse.”
The blonde turned back, looking at Potter in surprise. They looked at each other for a moment.
“You were.” said Celio with a smile. “But whatever. See you.”
—
The next day they were both bone tired. Celio fell asleep yet again in Potions, which everyone ignored. Snape only ignored him because it ended up being an important lesson to their quiz the next week, so Celio had to scab notes off Zabini.
After lunch was Transfiguration, where McGonagall was inspected by Umbridge. Celio couldn’t pay attention, and his eyes were tracked on Harry Potter’s back.
He wondered why the black haired boy hadn’t actually told anyone what Umbridge was doing. What she had done to Celio and him was illegal, for one, but also unforgivable. Celio had already sent a letter home to his parents detailing it and asking them to bring it up with the ministry.
He pushed it to the back of his mind, watching McGonagall snap at Umbridge and trying not to laugh.
In their very next class that Slytherin had with Gryffindor, Umbridge was back. Tapping her pen against her clipboard, her eyes laser focused on Celio. He eyed her right back.
Umbridge took a different tack in this class and wandered amongst the students, questioning them on magical creatures and Hagrid’s teaching. Most people were able to answer well for Hagrid, which brought a little smile to Celio’s face.
“Overall,” said Professor Umbridge, returning to Professor Grubbly-Plank’s side after a lengthy interrogation of Dean Thomas, “how do you, as a temporary member of staff - an objective outsider, I suppose you might say - how do you find Hogwarts? Do you feel you receive enough support from the school management?”
‘Oh, yes, Dumbledore’s excellent,” said Professor Grubbly-Plank heartily. “Yes, I’m very happy with the way things are run, very happy indeed.’
Looking politely incredulous, Umbridge made a tiny note on her clipboard and went on, “And what are you planning to cover with this class this year - assuming, of course, that Professor Hagrid does not return?”
“Oh, I’ll take them through the creatures that most often come up in O.W.L.,” said Professor Grubbly-Plank. “Not much left to do - they’ve studied unicorns and Nifflers, I thought we’d cover Porlocks and Kneazles, make sure they can recognise Crups and Knarls, you know…”
“Well, you seem to know what you’re doing, at any rate,” said Professor Umbridge, making a very obvious tick on her clipboard. “Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?”
Malfoy hastened to answer the question. “That was me,” he said. “I was slashed by a Hippogriff.”
“A Hippogriff?” said Professor Umbridge, now scribbling frantically.
“You seem awful proud of being an idiot,” Celio snapped. “And whining for weeks.”
Umbridge’s slouchy face turned towards him slowly like a horror film before she spoke softly. “Another night of detention, Mr Terran.”
He rolled his eyes at her. A mistake. “Two nights.”
“It was only because Malfoy was too stupid to listen to what Hagrid told him to do,” said Harry angrily.
“Another night’s detention, I think,” she said softly. ‘Well, thank you very much, Professor Grubbly-Plank, I think that’s all I need here. You will be receiving the results of your inspection within ten days.”
Celio looked at Harry with raised eyebrows only to see the boy’s ears going a little red. He smirked and blew him a kiss, mouthing ‘Another night, hey?’. Harry went very red and turned away from him and refused to look at him for the rest of the day.