Chapter 12
The Transfiguration Inspection
'Wands away' Umbridge instructed with a smile plastered on her tiny face. 'As we finished chapter one last lesson. I would like you to turn to page nineteen today and commence reading chapter two; common defensive theories and their derivation. There will be no need to talk.' I didn't really see a need to pull my book out and neither did Hermione. Instead we just looked at each other and raised our hands. I had expected Umbridge to ignore us, instead she got to her feet and walked over to us, bent down between us and whispered. 'What is it this time Miss Evans, Miss Granger?'
'We've already read chapter two' Hermione answered.
'Well then, proceed to chapter three.'
'We've read that too, in fact we've read the whole book.' I informed her. Umbridge seemed rattled for the briefest of moments, almost as though she couldn't believe that her students might have read the book assigned to them outside of class. It didn't last before she regained her composure.
'Then you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counter-jinxes in chapter fifteen'
'He says that counter-jinxes are improperly named' Hermione stated.
'He says 'counter-jinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them more acceptable' I finished. Umbridge raised her eyebrows in clear surprise, but I could tell that she was impressed in-spite of herself. Hermione and I shared another look. Time for the fun to begin.
'But you see, Professor,' I started coolly.
'We disagree,' Hermione finished. Umbridge's eyebrows rose higher that I thought possible and her expression turned to ice.
'You disagree?' Umbridge repeated.
'Yes, we do' Hermione said, but unlike Umbridge, Hermione wasn't whispering instead projecting her voice to the whole classroom. 'Mr Slinkhard doesn't like Jinxes does he?'
'But, we think they can be very useful when used defensively.' I finished, a smirk curling around my lips. I knew then that this wasn't going to end well.
'Oh, you do, do you?' Umbridge straightened up, her voice was louder. 'Well, I'm afraid it's Mr Slinkhard's opinion and not yours, that matters in this classroom, Miss Granger, Miss Evans.'
'But,' Hermione and I both went to fight back.
'That is enough,' Professor Umbridge said as she walked back to the front of the class and stood before us. 'Miss Granger, Miss Evans, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor, each.' She put particular emphasis on that last word and the class's unbroken silence was, well, broken.
'What for?' Harry burst out angrily.
'Don't you get involved,' Hermione whispered urgently to Harry.
'For disrupting my class with pointless questions,' pointless questions? Merlin's beard had less of a point than our questions. 'I'm here to teach you using a Ministry-Approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more license, but as none of them - with possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at lease appear to have restricted himself to age appropriate subjects - would have passed a ministry inspection-'
'Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher,' Harry burst out again loudly, 'there was just the minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head.' Wait, what? Did I hear that correctly one of the past teachers had You-Know-Who attached to their head?
'I think another weeks detention would do you some good, Mr Potter.' Umbridge broke the silence that has fallen over the classroom and there was something in her voice which implied that she was enjoying the pain she was inflicting on Harry, I waited up for him every night, to help him with his homework and also to clean the freshly cut words etched into the back of his hand. Which bled worse reach night than the last. Harry seemed to only get more bitter and angry with each and every visit he made to Umbridge's office after hours. Not that I would blame him. However, Transfiguration proved to be more interesting at the very least. It would seem that Umbridge decided to observe our class with Professor McGonagall and I had to agree with Ron, when he said when he spotted her, watching Umbridge futile attempts to crack McGonagall was going to be fun.
'That will do,' She said and we fell silent instantly, an ability Umbridge must be envying. 'Mr Finnigan, kindly come here and hand back your homework, Miss Brown, please take this box of mice, don't be silly, girl, they won't hurt you and hand one to each student,'
'Hem, hem,' Umbridge's pathetic little cough interrupted Professor McGonagall's instructions but McGonagall didn't even so much as flinch. Seamus couldn't look me in the eye as he handed me back my essay, which I had received another O. Lily and Neville managed an E and an A respectively.
'Right then, everyone, listen closely, Dean Thomas if you do that to the mouse again. I shall put you in detention. Most of you have now successfully vanished you snails and even those who were left with a certain amount of shell have got the gist of the spell. Today, we shall be…'
'Hem, hem.' Professor Umbridge repeated.
'Yes?' McGonagall asked turning around.
'I was wondering, Professor, whether you received my to telling you of the date and time of your inspec…'
'Obviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you were doing in my classroom.' Professor McGonagall turned her back on Umbridge and continued her lesson. 'As I was saying; today, we shall be practicing the altogether more difficult vanishing of mice: Now the vanishing spell…'
'Hem, hem'
'I wonder,' Professor McGonagall said, her frustration now evident. 'How you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk while I am talking.' The look on Umbridge's face was utterly priceless, she was completely frozen for a moment before writing, merlin know's what on her parchment.
'As I was saying the vanishing spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge, the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So, you know the incantation, let me see what you can do.' I looked at Lily and Neville, neither of them could keep the grins off of their faces and to be honest I couldn't either. Watching her sit in her corner writing her notes almost too afraid to say anything. Despite the constant distraction of Umbridge both Lily and Neville managed to make decent progress on vanishing their mice. McGonagall wasn't lying when she said that vanishing mice would be more difficult.
'It's a start,' I told Neville, as he placed a headless mouse back into the box. Lily had managed to vanish everything except the tail.
'How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?' Umbridge asked.
'Thirty-nine years this December' Professor McGonagall said as she snapped her bag shut. Umbridge made another yet another note.
'Very well,' she said. 'You will receive the results of your inspection in ten days time.'
'I can hardly wait.' McGonagall replied, her voice cold and indifferent as she headed towards the door. 'Hurry up you lot' she added as she swept passed Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lily, Neville and I out of the room.
