Chapter 36: A Threat Delivered

The door slammed against the wall in almost visible fury. Umbridge instantly looked up from her class paper work to reveal the disturbance to her work. She did not appreciate the person's obvious lack of respect for her privacy and in the middle of the night! She deserved respect for no other reason than that she represented the Ministry at this god forsaken school filled with radical youth and their leader Headmaster Dumbledore. It turned out to be Harry Potter one of her fifth year students. Her superiors had told her to watch him because they believed he might be a major disturbance to their mission here at Hogwarts.

She had perceived no threat in him at all before this moment. She believed they thought that he may be a disturbance because he didn't care for his sister very much at all. He had almost led the Girl-who-lived to certain death multiple times in fact! The only sign of dissent in him had been his aptitude to sit beside the boyfriend of that Bones girl. She had felt satisfaction as she administered her form of detention to her. She hadn't made a sound of protest of course she was an insufferable Bones and would never admit pain or discomfort.

That Lovegood girl though had all but writhed in pain and distress. Umbridge had truly enjoyed that, she was certain the girl had learned her lesson. She wouldn't be a disturbance anymore in class. She would be perfectly quiet and submissive if her prediction was correct. Umbridge's superiors had also warned her about the Lovegood since her father had died in one of the recent incidents. She had more reason for rebellion than the Bones girl. Susan just had a strong righteousness that had been passed down from her aunt no doubt. Soon she would have her broken as well.

All this went through her mind as the Potter boy practically stomped into the room. An icy fury was painted across his face. It almost made her twinge in fear. She had never witnessed such a look on the face of a teenager. It was a look she had seen on the faces of defendants in the Ministry courts. It had painted their faces as they made death threats on the members of the jury. It had never shaken her resolve the criminals were never going to touch her. Her Ministry position assured her of that fact.

Before she could detect the Ravenclaw student had his wand out in his hand. It sent a shiver running down her spine. This was definitely different than those other encounters. She could practically see green flames burning in his emerald eyes. It made her want to cringe down in fear. What power did this fifteen year old have over her? This must be what people felt being in the vicinity of You-know-who. Now she could see why her superiors had given her warnings about him. This boy could certainly be an obstacle in their path.

"Petrificus Totalus! Now you are going to listen to me and you shall listen well or your miserable excuse of a career is forfeit. I just met Luna Lovegood a dear friend of mine. I found her fighting tears. What caused those tears you may ask? She informed me that it was a reaction to your cruel and unusual form of punishment." Harry began to pace in front of the immobile frog of a woman. His face was painted with a sneer of contempt for her. Her features showed the fear she had held as she had stared down his wand.

"Now I am going to supply a solution to this problem. You will never punish another student in this cruel and unusual way or you shall face more than my wrath alone. No you will face the fury of the Order of the Thestral. We will not permit punishment for expression of one's opinion especially when that opinion is no doubt a correct analysis of the situation. We need to know how to defend ourselves when the time comes." He stopped pacing and stopped in front of the desk and stared her in the face as he said, "I wouldn't take my threat lightly, Professor Umbridge."

Before he left he used a non verbal spell on her. She figured that it somehow would make her forget who had given her the warning somehow. He had already showed proficiency with magic. She wouldn't be surprised if the twit had come up with his own spell. She could certainly see reason for the Ministry's warning concerning him. She still puzzled over his connection with the Lovegood girl. There was certainly something there to be reported to her immediate superiors. She could still recall the incident perfectly she guessed that the Ravenclaw's spell had failed.

She got up from her desk and decided to go inform Headmaster Dumbledore on what his student had done to her. This was sure to get him in more trouble with the Ministry when it was revealed to the general public, she thought as she strolled to the hidden stairway entrance to his office. She envisioned the look on the senile old man's face the day that the Minister himself came to relieve the man of his position. Victory would taste oh so sweet upon her lips. She would surely take his place as administrator of the school.

When she came upon the Goblin statuette at the entrance to the Headmaster's stairway she contemptuously said the foolish candy based password to reveal the flight of stairs. She took them two at a time to tell the Headmaster about her problem. She would so enjoy the look that would spread across his old and wrinkled visage. Merlin it would feel so good, she thought to herself, Potter's given me all I need to remove this senile old man. The Ministry will recognize his uselessness in handling his students. They would be forced to remove him because of the public backlash.

She came upon the door to the Headmaster's personal office. She knocked with a sneer painted across her features. A whisper of "come in" filtered through the door from the office. Umbridge practically slammed the door in exuberance. The white haired wizard looked up from his current paperwork in shock. He kept his cool remarkably well asking her, "Is there a problem Ms. Umbridge that I can help you with?" She put on her best angry face when she was really jubilant that she had finally found a reason to replace the old man.

"Sir I had a little situation in my office mere minutes ago…"Midsentence she stopped speaking. She tried once more to make out the words Harry, Potter, and threat. Her façade of fury transformed into the real thing. That little twerp of a Ravenclaw had succeeded in keeping her quiet. To answer the questioning look on Dumbledore's face she said. "A student came in to protest my detention methods. I felt that you should be aware. Thank You and Good Night sir." She said as she made a hasty retreat from the room. She left Dumbledore shaking his head in bemusement.

()()()

Harry slipped into the Ravenclaw Common Room after answering the guardian's riddle of the day. He found Luna waiting for him curled up on a plush high-backed chair. It appeared that she had dozed off over the wait. He decided not to wake her and covered her with a stray blanket. Then he crept up to the dormitory to get some sleep of his own now that he had dealt with Umbridge. He was sure that he had scared her. He was confident that his spell would keep her quiet. If it didn't well he hadn't been giving her a performance. He would make her beg for death if she tried to touch Luna again.