Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Keeper
Prompt: Forgotten families - Umbridges
Word Count: 1236
Dream Come True
Dolores Jane Umbridge walked into the dark and gloomy shop situated in the middle of Knockturn Alley.
At fourteen years old she was an average witch without hope of achieving much, especially in the potions department. Professor Slughorn frequently reminded her that her ability paled in comparison to that of her father… a father who was happy with a dead end Ministry job and never sought out or accepted offers to rise through the ranks.
Her father doted on her younger brother and it infuriated her. After all, what was so special about a nasty, selfish six year old brat? He was ugly, he was needy, and always rubbing it in her face that her father loved him more than her, despite the fact that he showed no evidence of being a wizard, or at least that's what Dolores was ensuring her father believed. But despite all of this, and all Dolores' best efforts, her father still held hope that he would show magical powers before he turned seven.
It wasn't even that difficult to hide the fact that her brother was showing signs of magic. He had only used it a couple of times, and never in front of their mother or father. Dolores had to make sure that her father didn't see any of his magic so he could finally be disowned from the family along with her filthy Muggle mother. Sometimes Dolores wondered what had possessed her father to marry such an abomination.
She trailed her hand along a dusty shelf as she browsed the shop, picking up an object every so often.
A dreamcatcher in a glass case caught her eye. Dolores confidently walked over to it, opened the case and removed it. It appeared to be nothing remarkable but something about it called to her.
"Put that down, little girl," a voice said.
Dolores looked up and saw a middle aged man walking over from behind the counter.
"Why?" Dolores asked. "Valuable, is it?"
"Priceless," the man replied, removing it from her hands.
"Why? What does it do?" she asked, curious as to what was so special about something which appeared to be so ordinary.
"Little girl—"
"I am not a little girl," Dolores snapped. "I am a Pureblood and I demand to be treated with respect."
"Apologies, child," he replied. "This dreamcatcher is said to be a powerful artefact. It has a dark history—one which has been struck from all the history books."
"What could be so dark about that?" Dolores asked, frowning.
"It is no ordinary dreamcatcher," the shop owner whispered. "It is capable of stealing the magic of a witch or wizard, rendering them a Squib. Legend has it, it was invented by Morgana Le Fey herself and she successfully used it on all of Merlin's offspring. She even attempted to use it on Merlin himself but in the process she discovered the limits of the dreamcatcher."
"What are the limits?" Dolores asked, completely entranced by the dreamcatcher which could be the answer to her prayers.
"It cannot remove the powers of an adult witch or wizard," he replied. "In fact, over the years, it has been discovered that the dreamcatcher can only remove the powers of a witch or wizard under the age of seven."
"How does it work?"
"The knowledge of how it works has been lost," he answered. "But that is not to say it is not impossible to activate it."
Dolores watched as the shopkeeper placed the dreamcatcher inside the glass case she had removed it from before turning his attention back to her.
"Now, what is the purpose for your visit?" he asked.
"I require some acromantula venom for my father," Dolores lied. "He tells me you are the best at acquiring these types of potions ingredients."
"Indeed we are; your father has excellent taste," the shopkeeper replied. "I believe we have some in the back room. One moment."
The shopkeeper turned on his heel and walked behind the counter into the store room.
Once she was certain he was out of earshot, Dolores took the dreamcatcher out of the case, determined to discover how to use it.
She took her wand from the inside of her cloak and pointed it at the object. "Gemino," she whispered.
Dolores placed the original dreamcatcher inside her cloak, and the duplicate inside the case, before walking over to the counter to wait for the shopkeeper's return.
"How much venom does your father require?" he asked when he returned to the counter.
"Half a pint," Dolores replied, knowing that it would cost more than he could expect her to have on her person. "How much?"
"Fifty galleons," the shopkeeper replied.
Dolores feigned shock and disappointment as she said, "My father only gave me thirty galleons. I'll have to leave it for now and return later when I have enough."
The shopkeeper frowned and muttered, "Typical time waster."
Dolores offered the man a sickly sweet smile before turning and leaving the shop, feeling eager to discover the secrets behind the dreamcatcher.
~o~o~o~
It took three weeks and lots of research, using her father's extensive library, not to mention excessive amounts of tinkering with the dreamcatcher, but Dolores had finally figured out how to activate the dreamcatcher—which meant she could finally use it to remove her brother's magic.
Dolores couldn't quite believe that no one had been able to figure it out before. The incantation to activate it was so simple—it was essentially Latin for 'steal magic.' The only extra piece of information you needed to activate the dreamcatcher was that you need to imbue it with your own blood first.
"One little cut," Dolores muttered to herself as she grabbed the knife and sliced the palm of her hand.
She held her hand above the dreamcatcher and squeezed it into a tight fist and allowed her blood to drip on to it. Once she had allowed enough blood to fall onto the dreamcatcher, Dolores grabbed her wand and sealed up her wound.
"And now to activate it," she whispered, pointing her wand at the dreamcatcher. "Magicae furantur."
A huge smile crossed her face as it glowed brightly before returning to its original state. Now all that was left to do was hang it by her brother's bed whilst he slept and let the dreamcatcher steal his magic. And the best part about it is that no one would be any the wiser.
~o~o~o~
7 weeks later
"Orford, please reconsider," her mother begged, clinging to her son.
"There's nothing to reconsider," her father bit back. "You have given me years of unhappiness and a Squib son. Now leave my house and never return. Your bags are already packed by the door."
"Dolores, please make your father listen," Ellen requested, turning to her daughter.
"Why?" Dolores asked. "You're a disgusting Muggle. Merlin knows why he married you in the first place. Leave!"
Dolores felt nothing as her mother's eyes filled with tears as she moved towards the front door. All Dolores could feel was euphoria.
Her plan had succeeded.
She was free from the burden of a Muggle mother.
She was free from the irritating little brat she had the misfortune to call her brother.
And she had managed to render her brother a Squib.
Dolores knew that when she looked back on her life, she would always see this day as the best day of her life.