Chapter 301: Peeping Harry and The Twins' Departure
On Saturday, Harry went to Snape's office as usual to study Occlumency. However, Snape had been called away to rescue someone because of a prank by the twins, leaving Harry completely alone in the dungeon office.
During previous Occlumency training sessions, Snape always extracted his most private memories and placed them safely in the Pensieve. This time, with no one watching, Harry found himself overcome with curiosity as he stared at the swirling silver thoughts. Unable to resist, he stuck his head into the Pensieve.
Snape's memories immediately swept Harry back twenty years into the past. He witnessed how young Snape looked during his O.W.L. exams, pale and greasy-haired even as a teenager. At the same time, he saw the timid Peter Pettigrew, the wan-faced Lupin, and the handsome, wealthy Sirius Black.
Then Harry saw the person holding a wand and hanging Snape upside down for all to see, his underwear on display. It was his own father, James Potter.
Harry browsed through three different memory segments in total, watching his father's casual cruelty with growing horror. The memories stopped at the devastating moment where Snape called Lily a Mudblood in his humiliation and rage.
Suddenly, a pair of large hands reached into the Pensieve and forcibly dragged Harry out of the memory.
"You arrogant little brat, just like your father. Lazy and conceited," Snape snarled, his black eyes blazing with fury.
He grabbed Harry by the collar and threw him bodily out of the office. The door slammed shut with tremendous force, leaving only one sentence echoing in the stone corridor: "Your lessons are over."
Harry fled through the castle corridors, feeling more mental anguish than physical pain. He had never expected that his father was truly such a proud and arrogant person, a bully who tormented others for sport.
The devastating memories controlled his thoughts for days afterward. He didn't even listen to Hermione's sensible advice to continue attending Occlumency classes, despite her repeated pleas.
Previously, Harry had felt tremendous pride whenever he thought of his father, but now he only felt heartbroken and ashamed. The heroic image he had cherished lay shattered beyond repair.
Similarly, his idealised views of Lupin and Sirius, whom he had always regarded as father figures and mentors, also crumbled under the weight of what he had witnessed.
From the painful memories, Harry discovered that his mother seemed to actively dislike his father during their school years. This revelation made Harry wonder if his father had somehow forced his mother into marriage, a thought that made him sick to his stomach.
A week passed in misery, and Harry sat listlessly in the Gryffindor common room, staring into the fire without really seeing the flames.
Ginny noticed his depression and couldn't help but approach him with concern. "Harry, don't be so sad about romantic matters. If you really feel regret about Cho, you should go talk to her properly."
"No, it's not about Cho at all," Harry said wearily. "I'm fine with that. It's about my father, and Sirius and the others." He explained his situation to the gathered Weasleys, his voice heavy with disappointment.
"Then you should definitely talk to them about it," George said, flipping over the back of the sofa to sit next to Harry.
"But all communications in the castle are blocked by Umbridge, and the only external contact point is in her office," Harry shook his head hopelessly.
"Hmm, looks like someone needs his big brothers' help," Fred announced, also appearing from behind the furniture.
The twins patted Harry's shoulders together and grinned. "Leave it to us."
The next day, the school opened career counselling activities for fifth years. In the Great Hall, Harry told Professor McGonagall with newfound determination that he wanted to become an Auror.
Hearing this declaration, Umbridge immediately waddled over and mocked him openly. "That's completely impossible, Mr Potter. Aurors won't recruit a student with such poor grades and an extensive criminal record."
"Enough, Dolores!" Professor McGonagall stood up sharply, her Scottish accent thickening with anger. "Is crushing a student's dreams something a professor should do? And if this young man wants to become an Auror, then every single professor at Hogwarts will help him achieve that goal!"
The other professors immediately stood with her in solidarity, as the founding principles of Hogwarts had always emphasised supporting student ambitions.
Seeing that she had managed to anger the entire faculty, Umbridge's powder-caked cheeks twitched twice before she retreated with as much dignity as she could muster.
At noon, the twins found Harry and told him they were ready to execute their plan. They would create maximum chaos in the eastern corridor, giving Harry exactly twenty minutes to make his communication attempt.
"Isn't this wrong?" Harry's heart was full of moral conflict. After all, Professor McGonagall had defended him so courageously. Shouldn't he avoid disappointing her trust?
"Cheer up, Harry. We're Gryffindors," George and Fred said together, patting his back with matching grins. "Sometimes doing the right thing means breaking a few rules."
Then the two sprinted toward the eastern tower with bags full of explosive fireworks.
Harry's conscience remained conflicted, but he ultimately decided that contacting Sirius was more important than following school regulations. He ran through the castle corridors to Umbridge's office and blasted open the door with a well-aimed Blasting Curse.
Racing to the fireplace, he stuck his head directly into the flames and called out desperately.
"Harry?" In Grimmauld Place, Sirius looked up from his evening drink in surprise. "What are you doing here? How did you get access to a fireplace?"
Lupin also hurried over when he spotted Harry's head floating in their fire.
"Sirius, Lupin, I saw both of you in Snape's memories." Harry hesitated, then told them everything about what he had witnessed in the Pensieve, his voice breaking with emotion.
"Harry, you must understand that everyone has their foolish youth," Lupin said quietly after a long moment of silence. "We weren't proud of everything we did as teenagers."
"As for Snivellus, he wasn't nearly as harmless as he appeared in his own carefully selected memories," Sirius added defensively. "After all, he spent all his time studying Dark Magic and hanging around with future Death Eaters. Your father became an excellent person in his seventh year, and that's when your mother finally fell in love with him."
Sirius recalled those distant days and showed a slight, nostalgic smile. "They were perfect for each other by the end, Harry. Don't let one bad memory destroy that truth."
"Listen carefully," both men said seriously together. "Your main task right now is your studies, and you absolutely must remember to continue attending Snape's Occlumency classes, no matter how much you dislike him!"
They firmly pushed his head back through the flames before he could argue further.
Meanwhile, in the eastern tower, the twins were scattering fireworks everywhere with wild abandon, turning the entire school into a spectacular mess of explosions and chaos.
Umbridge tried desperately to catch them, but they kicked her directly into the magical swamp they had created earlier with advanced Transfiguration. She sank up to her waist in the boggy mess.
"Haha, old hag, enjoy your bath!" George lobbed another firework into the swamp for good measure, sending up a shower of sparks and foul-smelling water.
But their glorious rampage soon faced interference when Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad arrived in force and managed to corner them.
"This good show can't be ruined by you lot!" Peeves suddenly materialised above the fray, wielding a large wrench as he began unscrewing the massive chandelier overhead.
Professor McGonagall appeared with a stern expression and subtly reminded him, "You're turning it the wrong way, Peeves."
Getting the hint immediately, Peeves quickly loosened the chandelier in the correct direction. The massive fixture came crashing down and knocked out two Inquisitorial Squad members in a shower of crystal and metal.
Malfoy successfully dodged the falling debris thanks to Parkinson's quick push, but the twins seized this perfect opportunity to draw their wands with theatrical flair.
"Accio brooms!"
Two confiscated broomsticks came flying through the air directly into their waiting hands. The twins mounted their racing brooms and began wildly throwing fireworks throughout the Great Hall while swooping and diving like professional Quidditch players.
Umbridge struggled desperately to climb out of the swamp, mud and weeds clinging to her pink robes. She arrived at the Great Hall in a fury, only to find that the fireworks had already blown the surrounding area to magnificent pieces.
The twins spotted Umbridge's approach and grinned at each other with perfect synchronisation. Together, they lit their largest and most impressive firework yet.
The massive explosive burst into brilliant life, forming a detailed silver dragon that swooped directly toward the terrified Umbridge with realistic roars and flashing eyes.
Umbridge screamed in genuine terror and ran toward the Great Hall doors as fast as her short legs could carry her.
But an old man leaning casually against the doorframe quietly stuck out his foot at exactly the right moment and sent her tumbling.
The silver dragon swallowed Umbridge in one spectacular bite before exploding with tremendous force, throwing her against the wall and shattering every single Educational Decree that had been mounted there.
Filch slightly tipped his hat to the twins in acknowledgement and quietly walked away, whistling tunelessly.
George looked up at Peeves, who was hanging above the crowd in the entrance hall like a malevolent spirit, and rose to the same height as Fred on their broomsticks.
"Give her hell from us, Peeves!" they shouted in unison.
Then the two brothers flew triumphantly out of Hogwarts castle as fireworks continued exploding behind them in the sky, forming a huge, glittering "W" that could be seen for miles around.
Inside the castle, Peeves saluted the departing twins with obvious respect before turning his attention to making Umbridge's life as miserable as possible.