Umbridge paced in her office, fuming. One of the house elves that she has on her payroll to spy on students had just reported that a large group of students were meeting secretly to learn "defensive magic" and "countercurses." She couldn't believe that the group had been meeting for months and this was the first she was hearing of it. She knew the Minister of Magic would hold her responsible if the students rose up against the ministry and she couldn't afford any missteps if she wanted to rise to Minister of Magic herself, some day. Thinking through her options, she considered that if the students had been practicing these forbidden spells, they might be able to disarm her if she surprised a whole room of them. No, she had to find another way to break up their meetings. If she couldn't burst in on them as herself, maybe she should arrive as someone else… someone they trusted. And since the house elves could go anywhere, outside the apparent magical laws of the castle, perhaps her elf can get her inside during the meeting.

With resolve etched on her face, Dolores summoned Knobbly to her office while she searched her predecessor's trunk.

At half past six the following evening, Hermione closed and locked Umbridge's office door, then swiftly walked up to the corridor with the painting of the trolls.

As planned, Knobbly was exiting the hidden room. Hermione approached the door, caught it before it closed and carefully entered, not sure what to expect. Hermione hid her surprise at the spaciousness and useability of the room and found a seat on a beanbag near the other students.

"Hermione, I thought you had a detention with Umbridge this evening," Harry said.

"She said she had another pressing matter and changed it to tomorrow night, instead," replied Hermione.

"What pressing matter could an old bat like her have, anyhow?" Dean snorted. "A seminar on how to be the world's worst teacher?"

"No, a seminar on how best to stick her nose up the Minister's behind," Fred chimed in.

Everyone laughed heartily at this except Hermione, who was fiddling with something in the pocket of her robes.

"Expelliarmus!" she cried, disarming everyone in the room. The disarming was immediately followed by a freezing spell which held all of the students frozen in horror, as Harry noticed the short, stubby wand in Hermione's hand. Hermione lazily unfroze the defenseless Harry Potter and asked him if he still thought he was so brilliant.