"I thought they deserved it and it turns out the Cruciatus makes you high off your own power, so yes I did enjoy it," he admitted. "It was also terrifying though, and you saw how it made me sick. Mama made me swear to never use it again, and I don't want to. I regret doing it. I have no interest in hurting people for fun. I don't usually like killing. It's just a thing that happens - I don't feel bad about it, either."
"Also," Harry continued. As terrifying as it was, it was best he get all of this out of the open now. He had already ruined things, a part of him was resigned to the fact that no matter what Ron said, his friends would abandon him anyway. "Um, mama said that I'm reaching the point where because I've done so much Dark magic and I'm starting puberty, I've basically lost my impulse control. Which was already bad, but is now basically non-existent. And for some reason, my mind won't let me practice occlumency, which is the usual fix. So now I keep getting random thoughts about cursing people and sometimes it's all I can think about. So actually, I am a really terrible person and you should probably all hate me anyway."
"I'm not going to hate you, alright. Calm down," Ron rested his head against Harry's as the boy settled from his spontaneous word vomit. "Okay, so you're saying you're going through necromancer puberty alongside being 'emotionally stunted' which gives you the urge to perform unnecessary violence. But, you don't like to do it, and despite all that, you don't want to go around crucio -ing random people?"
"Yeah, basically. It's mostly when I get angry, I get angry a lot. Like Malfoy has been getting on my nerves, I can't stop thinking about hexing him."
"Okay, well this sounds like something we should have Hermione research, but I reckon it's treatable. Nothing you've said makes me think you're a… what was the muggle word… psychopath? It's still not gonna scare me away, sorry Harry. You do need to apologize to Luna though, you were still an arse for disrespecting her."
"I know, I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'll do better, I promise. Will you be mad if I still kill Umbridge? I don't want Luna to get blamed for everything."
They returned their focus to the group of students who were politely ignoring their secret conversation because Harry had brought them Dittany to heal their wounds. Ron sighed. One of the first years was sniffling as another student gently wrapped her healing wound. Lee Jordan, who had thrown a fit about his locks being cut off for being "unprofessional" solemnly held out his hand to photograph the words I will not behave like a thug.
"I'll help you," he decided. "To make sure things are above board."
"Alright," he agreed hesitantly, figuring that mama's involvement was not enough to comfort him. He had to trust Ron, anxious as he was to reveal more of his murderous, apathetic tendencies and risk losing another friend. "Well, she's cursed with um… a thing to steal her magic, so it will take a while, and I want to send over all this quill stuff to the press beforehand."
...
Ron passed on the message that Harry was appropriately repentant as well as explaining his current plan for Umbridge and his mental status. Luna was not in the mood to hear an apology, probably because most of the school was terrified of her at the moment. Ron had assured Harry that the three of them had a long conversation about it and that Harry just needed to give her more time.
So he avoided the library (and the girls) like the plague. He was incredibly worried that he had ruined everything, and that though along with the steady supply of calming potions, made the violent urges easier to manage. He did have a moment where he contemplated strangling Malfoy when he made yet another orphan joke, and he almost lit the restroom on fire after he'd been forced to wait in line for ages only to find the stall a mess and missing toilet paper. But he restrained himself.
In the interim, they waited for Dolores' health and sanity to drain further and the adults drafted an offical sounding blackmail letter to the Minister. Like all evil bureaucrats were wont to do, Umbridge had a horde of meticulous records full of shameless prejudiced rants from her office he'd collected, alongside her dubiously legal Educational Decrees and some of her Blood Quills.
All of this was sent out to the Daily Prophet and the Ministry.
Harry looked over the paper with pride. Hogwarts Education Overhaul's Head Inquisitor Caught Cursing Pureblood Students!
Well, the writing could have been better. The article was not concerned about Dolores' blatant disrespect for non-purebloods, in fact, Harry rather got the opinion that the paper agreed with her, but they did print the accusations all the same. It would be enough.
Speak of the devil - the Inquisitors came into breakfast, chattering amongst themselves. It was very early, without most students yet arriving to start their day, so Harry got an unobstructed view as the group of them tucked into their meals. Alabasandria, who had finished reading over the paper with a barely contained grin passed the copy down the table. All heads turned towards Umbridge once they'd finished reading. The Inquisitor before her, the old man, spit out his tea as he read, moving into a full belly laugh as he passed it down again to Dolores. Her face, already sickly pale, turned a lovely shade of red, then purple. Harry and Ron cackled like the little shits they were and high-fived.
"Dolores," Dumbledore turned towards her, his own newspaper clasped firmly in his hands. Rarely did the students have the honor to see him get this angry. "Shall we have a discussion in my office?"
Harry had never considered a career in acting before, but suddenly he felt a theatrical whimsy come over his body. Unable to resist the temptation this time, he tightened his control over the woman with a silent imperio and Umbridge puppeted his commands perfectly. She huffed and stood, her nose turned upwards in maximum snobbery despite her wobbly posture as her body was barely held together at this point.
....
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