Being Different Year 5
Cover Your Ears

Terry had been half right, Umbridge wasn’t going to ruin their lives, they were going to ruin hers!

The next morning over breakfast Umbridge was trying to give a speech now that she had been made headmistress.

“Cover your ears Annie,” muttered Irwin under his breath.

Anne nodded and plugged her fingers in her ears, the boys had been up planning all night, Umbridge was going down.

STAMP, STAMP, CLAP, STAMP, STAMP, CLAP

“What is the meaning of this noise?” asked Umbridge glaring at Irwin who was looking around innocently as if he had done nothing wrong.

The noise got louder, as Anthony, Michael, and Terry joined in the second time.

STAMP, STAMP, CLAP, STAMP, STAMP, CLAP

“I will have silence whilst your headmistress is speaking please!” she trilled trying to shout over the stamping and clapping.

STAMP, STAMP, CLAP, STAMP, STAMP, CLAP

More people were joining in there were now at least twenty peoples stamping and clapping being echoed through the Great Hall.

“We will, we will rock you!” yelled Irwin and Anthony over the stamping and clapping.

Umbridge was getting furious, she even tried the sonorous charm, to try and shout over the stamping and clapping.

“We will, we will rock you!”

Before long nearly the whole Great Hall had joined in including a few of the teachers and some of the Inquisitorial Squad.

Umbridge eventually stormed out of the Great Hall unable to give her speech over the sound of the students chanting, stomping, and clapping along to Queen.

Irwin received many high fives on the way out of the hall to his first class of potions. Fred and George’s plan was to annoy Umbridge with pranks. Irwin, Anthony, Michael and Terry instead drowned her out with music. Every single time that she opened her mouth to speak music in or out of class would start playing out of thin air.

Michael and Terry had figured out a way to play the songs without needing a record player. Umbridge would open her mouth and one time they would play Julie Andrews singing The Hills Are Alive and the next time it would be Pink Floyd’s We Don’t Need No Education.

It was making her furious, but as they were casting the spells nonverbally Umbridge didn’t know which one of the students it was. She tried putting the whole of their class in detention, but no one would tell her who it was.

After a few times of this happening, Umbridge just stopped showing up for their lesson, the Ravenclaw and Gryfreplaceor Defence Against the Dark Arts class turned into a dance session with dancing on top of the tables and disco lights.

The other teachers didn’t mind about this as long as they cast muffliato on the classroom door so that the rest of the school couldn’t hear their disco sessions.

The Common Room was even worse, the Ravenclaw Muggle Music Extravaganza sessions had returned. Eight till nine every night the Ravenclaws put their books away and let their hair down only to get the books back out again afterwards.

The best part was that Umbridge couldn’t do anything about it, because she couldn’t break the music player because it was playing out of thin air.

A few days after the rebirth of music into the halls of Hogwarts, Anne was called in to a meeting with Professor Flitwick about Careers Advice.

“Good Afternoon Anne,” beamed Flitwick as Anne came into his office.

“Good Afternoon professor,” said Anne sitting down opposite him.

“So, careers, what are you interested in?”

“I don’t know,” she said pulling at one of her plaits, “I like to read.”

“Your grades are beyond exemplary,” said Flitwick as he looked at her list of grades, “you could go into any career that you want to.”

“Well I don’t really know, I enjoy all my subjects, I’ve always enjoyed History.”

“Maybe you could be a magical historian then?” suggested Flitwick.

“I don’t feel like it would affect enough people,” she muttered, “I want to do something worthwhile.”

“Well you’re a very talented witch, there are lots of worthwhile things you could do, how about teaching?”

“I am interested in education, but I’m not sure if I could stand up in front of a class of students like that. I’d probably have a nervous breakdown.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” he chuckled.

“Tutoring?”

Anne shook her head.

“How about the ministry?”

Anne gave him a significant look.

“Yes, I know,” Flitwick chuckled again, “you haven’t had the best relationship with the ministry. But there are lot of important jobs that are influential within the Ministry.”

“You said you were interested in education?”

“Yes sir,” said Anne, “a proper education is one of the most important things a witch or wizard needs.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” said Flitwick smiling, “I’m a teacher.”

“How about working in the Ministry but in the Department of Education?”

“Department of Education?”

“Yes, they are in charge of changing the required syllabuses for OWL and NEWT examination, making sure the curriculum is up to date and relevant. When textbooks need changing, you get to help choose the new ones. One of the most important jobs you would do is moderating the practical and theory papers for the OWL and NEWT exams.”

“Sounds interesting,” muttered Anne.

“And the best part is,” said Flitwick, “that the job is very influential over young wizard and witch’s education, but you can stay behind a desk most of the time rather than having to worry about having a panic attack when giving a class.”

“Where do I sign up?” asked Anne.

Flitwick chuckled slightly again before passing Anne a brochure on Ministry Apprenticeships.

“You want page ten,” he told her as he got ready for his next student.

That evening in the Common Room Anne was surprised to replace Irwin reading the same brochure as herself.

“Are you thinking of joining the Ministry too?” asked Anne.

“Department of Law Enforcement,” beamed Irwin, “I’m going to try and stop the rot of the injustice at its core.”

“Fair enough,” she shrugged.

Anne was halfway through her Transfiguration homework in her room when she heard her mirror calling for her.

“Hello?” called Anne picking up her mirror from the bedside table.

“Anne, thank Merlin you’re there,” blurted Sirius, “this is only a quick one, Tonks has gone into labour, I’ll call you when we know more, tell Harry for us.”

“What’s up Annie?” asked Irwin when he saw a panicked Anne come downstairs.

“Tonks has gone into labour,” she stuttered, as she flopped onto one of the sofa’s

“Its ok Annie,” said Irwin putting an arm around her.

“Harry,” she stuttered, “have to tell Harry.”

“I’ll go,” said Michael getting up to go replace Harry.

“Do you want to stay up and wait?” asked Persephone.

“It is a Friday we don’t have class tomorrow,” said Anthony.

“Ok,” she muttered.

“I have a feeling that we weren’t going to be sleeping much tonight even if we tried,” said Irwin.

The fifth years and Luna all gathered in the girls dorm for once taking a night off from studying. The girls braided each other’s hair in tiny braids, Anthony and Michael played endless games of chess, listening to music the whole time. They had put muffliato on the door so as not to wake anybody by the music.

At five o’clock in the morning, nearly twelve hours after they last called the mirror began to call again.

“Pass me the mirror,” stammered Anne to Irwin.

Irwin passed her the mirror.

“Hello?”

“Anne!” beamed Sirius, “there’s someone you need to meet!”

Sirius looked exhausted but over the moon, he walked over to where the Lupin family were.

Tonks was lying on a hospital bed with her natural coloured hair again, Remus was sitting on the bed next to her holding a bundle of blankets with a tiny baby wrapped up in them.

“This,” said Tonks smiling down at the baby, “is Teddy.”

“Edward Lyall Lupin,” said Remus as the baby clutched onto his finger.

“You had a boy!” exclaimed Anne.

“He’s beautiful,” said Irwin looking at Teddy.

“We promised Harry he could be the godfather to the first boy, but you’ll get the next one,” said Tonks.

“Besides,” said Remus, “I have a feeling that once they’ve had enough of their crazy uncle Harry, they’ll come talk to their favourite aunt.”

“Did you know that James and Lily used to call Moony ‘the most sane uncle’,” said Sirius.

“Sounds about right,” muttered Anthony.

“Look how tiny he is!” said Mandy.

“Did his hair colour just change?” asked Anthony.

“That is more than likely,” chuckled Remus, “my little boy has taken from his mother already.”

“I really want to come home for Easter now,” groaned Anne.

“Anne, Easter is only for two weeks,” pointed out Tonks.

“I thought you wanted to study?” asked Remus.

“I want to meet Teddy though!”

“You can meet him over the Summer holidays,” assured Remus.

“And he’ll love you just as much then,” said Tonks.