The Trio Who Returned
Chapter 10
by Technomad
For several hours, the three friends brainstormed. They considered, and rejected, several plans for getting at Dolores Umbridge.
"Trouble is, my friends, that although we're hell-on-wheels in fights, a mass attack by wizards could still take us out," Hermione mused. "We've only so much magical firepower, and like it or not, darling Dolores is still a member of the government. She could yell for the Aurors if we accosted her someplace public."
"Then we'll have to find out a way to get at her in private," Harry answered.
"Yes, but how?" Ron asked. "She's not one to go out of evenings. She's pretty much a homebody. Face it, with that face and figure, does she have any choice in the matter?" He shuddered theatrically. "Even without that personality…I could make a picture of her, and call it 'Chastity Made Simple!'" Hermione scowled at her friend, and Ron grinned a fanged grin at her.
"Now, now, Ron, don't be cruel," Hermione scolded, but her heart wasn't in it. "So, we've got to figure a way into her house. We need an invitation. We can't just go on in. And since we don't have any knowledge of her having any housemates, we're between one rather large rock and one rather hard hard place, at least vis-à-vis her."
"Housemates, she doesn't have," mused Ron. "But what of servants? Does she have any of those? House-elves or the like?"
"You're a genius, Ron!" Hermione grabbed a surprised Ron and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Kreacher! Come in here, please!"
Kreacher appeared, bowing low. "What does mighty masters and mistress want with poor Kreacher? How can Kreacher serve mighty masters and mistress?"
"By sharing your knowledge. Do you know if Dolores Umbridge has a house-elf, or more than one?" Hermione leaned down, smiling as reassuringly as she could. Nobody sane would have been reassured, but Kreacher beamed at her.
"Oh, mighty mistress! Kreacher does not know this, but Kreacher will go and find out! We house elves can go and come as we please, since that makes us more useful servants!
"You might have trouble. Can you go find Dobby, and ask him if he'll come along?"
At the mention of his name by the wizard he idolized, Dobby himself appeared. "Dobby is here! Dobby is happy to help Harry Potter Sir and his friends!" Then his eyes fell on Kreacher. "What is bad nasty elf doing here?" Kreacher whirled to confront his rival, and for a second, it looked like a fight would break out.
"None of that now!" Harry snapped. Both elves snapped to attention involuntarily. "Dobby, Kreacher's now a good house elf. Kreacher, Dobby's a good friend of mine and I expect you to treat him as such. We need you to go to Dolores Umbridge's house without letting her know you're there, and let us know if there are any house-elves there."
"Don't let the elves know why you're there, either," Ron put in. "What they know they'll tell to Dolores, and we don't want her to know anything's in the wind till it's too late."
"Oh, yes, we go! We shall report back in tomorrow evening, after Masters and Mistress are awake!" With that, Kreacher Disapparated, and Dobby followed him a second later.
000
The next evening, when the Trio rose from their deathly daylight slumber, they found Kreacher and Dobby waiting for them.
"Bad Toad Lady has a house elf, Master," Kreacher reported.
"But Bunky would not talk to us. Bad Toad Lady would hit him with a pain spell if he told us anything, Master Harry Potter Sir. Dobby is sorry."
"Hang on," Hermione said, her eyes narrowing and going reddish. "You say that Dolores Umbridge, or Bad Toad Lady, Cruciates her house-elf?" As Dobby and Kreacher nodded, Hermione hissed in rage. "That. Utter. Scum!"
Harry flexed his fingers, wishing they were around Umbridge's fat throat. "When we catch her, people, let's take our time. Anybody who'd abuse a helpless house-elf deserves the worst we can do."
Ron looked thoughtful. "Would it be possible for Bunky to let us in through the Floo, particularly if he didn't know we were…what we are?" All three vampires nodded. They knew that even a badly-treated house-elf, if not liberated like Dobby, would do his or her utmost to defend the Master or Mistress…and none of them really wanted to know just how powerful house-elves were.
Harry had been the only one to see Dobby facing down Lucius Malfoy, but he had told his friends about it gleefully. Lucius Malfoy had been a powerful wizard in his own right, and it told them a lot that he had been backed down by his own ex-elf.
"Yes, he could do that. Or we could go there after Bad Toad Lady is asleep, and start the fire ourselves," Kreacher smiled evilly. "Can poor Kreacher…and Dobby…come to see what mighty masters and mistress do to Bad Toad Lady?"
"Yes, that would be a good idea! The two of you can handle Bunky, while we take care of Bad Toad Lady!"
"So how does this sound? Kreacher and Dobby, you two go to Bad Toad Lady's house tomorrow after we're up, and overpower Bunky without alerting Bad Toad Lady or letting her know anything's wrong. I take it that the two of you are more than a match for him?" Harry leaned down, bringing his face close to the elves' own faces.
"Oh, yes, mighty master! Kreacher and Dobby between them can take down any elf we've ever met!"
"Good. Overpower Bunky, start the Floo, and make him look into it. We'll be able to take things from there. And, as I've said, for pity's sake be quiet about it! We don't want Bad Toad Lady to give the alarm or be able to escape!"
The elves nodded, bowed and Disapparated, and the Trio stood up and stretched.
"These restrictions on us are kind of tiresome," Ron drawled.
"It's part of the price we pay for our powers. Personally, I kind of miss being able to walk in daylight," Harry answered. "Not to mention, Hedwig." Sadness passed across his face. After their first night in their new guises, Hedwig, Pigwidgeon and Crookshanks had disappeared, and Harry knew that they wouldn't ever be back. Animals of almost all sorts now hated and feared them.
"I know what you mean. I'd love to be able to cuddle Crookshanks again," Hermione said. She put her arms around her friends' necks, and for a few seconds, they luxuriated in at least having each other.
"Well, tomorrow comes soon. In the meantime, what say we go slake our red thirst?" Harry got up and went to the door, and his friends followed him.
000
The next evening, they made sure to feed before setting their plan into motion. The fireplace was lit, and Harry threw some of the house's supply of Floo powder in. "Umbridge House!"
A strange house-elf's face appeared in the flames. "Bunky is sorry, master, but Mistress is asleep." Staring into the elf's eyes, Harry exerted every ounce of his hypnotic power, willing the elf to become his slave.
"Let us in, Bunky," Harry murmured. "Let us in!"
For a few seconds, there was a battle of wills, invisible to all onlookers, before Bunky's eyes went glazed. "Enter freely, Masters and Mistress!" Harry stepped into the Floo, and after the usual whirling journey, found himself stepping out into a frilly, overdecorated sitting room. He recognized many of the painted plates on the walls from Umbridge's tenure at Hogwarts. The cats and kittens in those plates took one look at him and shrank in horror, hissing and yowling their terror. Behind him, Ron and Hermione came through.
Roused by the uproar, Dolores Umbridge came into the room, dressed for bed. "Who are you and what are you doing in my home? Don't you know that I'm a Ministry official, and a high-ranking one at that?" Then she saw who it was, and her eyes went wide. "You!"
"Yes, 'us,' Umbitch! Time for you to pay for what you did!"
"What I did? I did nothing but what was mandated by the Ministry, you lying little brat! You're worse than I had thought you were…breaking into a woman's home!" Umbridge leveled her wand. "I'm calling the Aurors!"
"Go ahead, Umbitch," purred Hermione, her eyes blazing with rage. "Try calling the Aurors! We can handle them!"
"Shut up and hold still, Umbridge," snapped Harry. He bent his hypnotic gaze on the former teacher. "We want to know where you put a silver locket with the letter 'S' on it! You took it off Mundungus Fletcher! It's my property and I want it back!"
"Well, you can't have it! I'm keeping it!"
"Tell. Me. Where. It. IS! Or I'll have to get rough with you!" Harry showed his fangs. "Would you like to know what we did to Lord Voldemort?"
"Lord Voldemort is much too powerful to be captured by three silly schoolchildren! You're lying again, Harry Potter, and you know how much I hate liars!"
"Come to the cellars at 12 Grimmauld Place and you can see him! Of course, he's not in good shape right at the moment!" gloated Ron. "We were quite rough with him, because he did so many bad things and because he's Lord Voldemort!"
"In any case, we're wasting nighttime," snapped Hermione, not amused by the byplay. "Give us that damned locket, Umbitch, or we'll make you sorry you were ever born!" Hermione pointed her wand. "Imperio!"
Umbridge's face went slack and her jaw gaped open slightly. Hermione preened. "Did you boys forget we can do that, too?" She turned back to Umbridge. "Where is the locket?"
"On my bedside table," murmured Umbridge. Ron disappeared into her bedroom, and came back with the locket. He held it out in the tips of his fingers.
"It feels bad, somehow," Ron whispered. "It's like I can feel the soul bit that was in it."
"Well, we got what we came here for," Harry remarked. "Now, what do we do with Umbitch?"
"I have a great idea," Hermione smiled nastily. She waved her wand at the squat witch. "Umbridge. Pick up that sweater, and hand it to Bunky!" Helplessly, Umbridge did as Hermione told her to do.
Bunky held the sweater and his eyes went wide. "Mistress gave Bunky clothing! Bunky is free!" He began to weep with happiness. "Bunky is free at last!"
"Now that you're free, Bunky, what do you want to do?" Hermione asked gently.
Bunky looked at Umbridge. A slow, evil smile began to spread across the elf's face. "Bunky owes Bad Toad Lady many, many debts, and Bunky wants to pay them off!"
"And on that note, we'll leave," Harry drawled, pocketing the locket. "Kreacher, Dobby, you can help Bunky out if you want. Oh, one last thing…" He pointed his wand at Umbridge. "Finite Incantatem!" With the Imperius gone, Umbridge nearly collapsed, her eyes widening with terror.
As Harry, Ron and Hermione left through the Floo, they heard the first of what they knew would be many, many screams.
END Chapter 10