Harry Potter and the Autumn Swan
by Lord Akiyama
a Harry Potter fan fiction story
Chapter Thirty-Six
--
Ever since Amelia Susan Bones became Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she had done her job in such a way that she had the respect of virtually every Auror at the disposal of the Ministry of Magic. If it came down to having to take her side of that of the Minister of Magic, they would back her up without hesitation. Earning her respect meant that an Auror was regarded as a valuable asset to her, the Aurors, and the Ministry as a whole. To lose her respect would bring about repercussions similar to how a proud Death Eater would be treated.
The five Aurors standing before her were receiving such treatment through the hushed tones of the others surrounding them. Amelia would have rather ridiculed the guilty men privately. But her anger got the best of her and decided that right then and there was as best of a time as any to let them know just how unhappy she was with them. She paced about quietly for a moment, letting the severity of the situation sink in to the four who had lost her respect. Four of the five looked truly ashamed of themselves. The other was trying unsuccessfully to hold his head as though what he had done was acceptable.
"I just want to take this moment for the five of you to realize how extremely disappointed I am before I formally punish you," she began to say after a hard sigh. "But first, I want to know how in the hell this whole thing spiraled out of control the way it did. Let's start from the very beginning, shall we? Jackson. What was it that Dolores Umbridge wanted you to accompany her for?"
The ashamed Auror whose name was called shuffled his feet a bit, nervously scratching the back of his head and swallowing hard to say something in the hopes that it would get him into less trouble than he already was. "W-We were c-called by M-Madam Umbridge to assist h-her r-roughly ten minutes b-before the i-incident," he stuttered to say. The pressure of answering to Madam Bones and being leered at by the other Aurors only adding to his nervousness. "S-She said th-that she n-needed help r-removing a tr-troubling individual from H-Hogwarts."
"Andrews," Amelia said, turning her attention to one of the other five Aurors. "Did Dolores Umbridge elaborate on the necessity for having Rubeus Hagrid removed from school grounds?"
The Auror named Andrews shook his head, though with a little more force as the rest of his body was shaking as well. "N-No, ma'am," he answered. "M-Madam Umbridge did not e-elaborate."
Amelia gave a hard sigh before moving on to the next Auror. "Frost," she said. "Explain in detail exactly what happened when you all arrived at Rubeus Hagrid's hut."
Of the five standing before the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Frost was the only female. It was obvious from the tears gently rolling from her eyes that she was the most ashamed. There were few women Aurors and she had lost the respect of the one they all looked up to the most.
"M-Madam Umbridge knocked on the door to the hut," Frost began. "Mr. Hagrid opened and then..." She swallowed hard as she tried not to mix a crying tone in her voice. "And then she said that she wanted to have a word with him. Mr. Hagrid was rather confused about the whole situation, but allowed us all entry. Once we were all inside, Madam Umbridge said that she was giving him one last warning to leave the school grounds or she would have us forcibly remove him."
"Let me get this straight," Amelia said, crossing her arms over her chest firmly. "She enlisted all of you to help her ensure that Rubeus Hagrid had left Hogwarts, by force if necessary, without explaining why?"
"In speaking with Mr. Hagrid, she said that in her role as Hogwarts High Inquisitor he was to be dismissed on the grounds of his noneducational teaching methods," another Auror spoke. This was John Dawlish, the one trying desperately not to look ashamed.
"Is that so?" Amelia asked with a raised brow. "So she wanted Rubeus Hagrid removed from the school grounds because she believed he was not fit to be teaching at Hogwarts. Even though it was secondary in comparison to his primary position as Groundskeeper, am I correct so far?" All five slowly nodded. "Did she have the approval of Headmistress McGonagall?"
There was a moment of silence from the five. The answer was quite obvious that they didn't really know for sure. "I-It was assumed..." the fifth Auror managed to say quietly.
"Assumed, Marshall?" Amelia huffed. "Not one of you questioned her on any sort of proof that Headmistress McGonagall approved of having Rubeus Hagrid removed not just from his position as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, but also from his position as the school's Groundskeeper and was to also be removed from Hogwarts entire?" There was no answer from the five Aurors before her. Amelia sighed and brought one hand up to rub the point of her nose between her eyes. "When Dolores Umbridge informed Rubeus Hagrid of what was to be done, how did he respond?"
"H-He was shocked, m-ma'am," Andrews replied. "He said that he had never heard that he had been previously been informed of the decision to have him removed."
"What happened from there, Marshall?" Amelia asked.
"The two bickered and argued over the subject," Marshall replied. "When it got real heated..." He seemed to hesitate for a moment before sheepishly glancing over at Dawlish and then returning his attention to Amelia. "When it got real heated, Dawlish was afraid Mr. Hagrid was going to attack Madam Umbridge and immediately whipped out his wand."
"I made a judgmental decision, ma'am," Dawlish attempted to explain himself. "He appeared to be threatening physical harm to Madam Umbridge and did not want for it to happen."
"Only you shot off a jinx the second took a step!" Frost complained. It was at this point that the five Aurors had shifted their moods from embarrassment to frustration. Frustration with each other. "And he was stepping backwards, not forwards!"
"He's half-giant," Dawlish retorted. "Any kind of movement he made could just as easily have been threatening."
"Then you must have known that because he had half-giant blood those spells were going to bounce off him," Jackson yelled in an angry tone. "Otherwise I wouldn't have ended up getting nipped on the shoulder by that jinx of yours. Not to mention you would've stopped firing."
"How did this end up in all five of your trying to hex him?" Amelia asked firmly.
"Eventually, Hagrid did make a move toward us," Frost answered. "Rather, he went after Dawlish so that he could stop from continuously attacking him."
"He got real mad when a stray Stunning Spell hit that giant dog of his," Marshall added. "That's when he broke out of the hut and threw me a good ten feet. I think it was ten feet. I blacked out the second I hit the ground."
"And this was when Headmistress McGonagall came run down, telling you all the cease fire, was it?" Amelia asked. All five went quiet once more and reverted back to embarrassment. Then she asked the question they didn't want to hear her ask. "Care to explain how it was that the rest of you decided to just turn and fire on her without so much as a warning?"
Not one of the Aurors even dared to answer the question in fear that any word that came out of their mouths was only going to infuriate her further. It was already making the other Aurors mutter silently with anger. To fire upon someone, innocent or guilty, without warning was looked upon as a criminal act. It was as if to say that they were no better than Death Eaters.
Amelia once more sighed and crossed her arms over her chest before speaking. "You are all on suspension without pay," she announced with conviction. "Jackson, Andrews, Frost, Marshall. I expect you all in my office tomorrow so that I can decide just how long each of you will be inactive for. And just because you didn't fire upon Minerva McGonagall doesn't excuse you from suspension for attacking Rubeus Hagrid, Marshall." As the four named Aurors displayed their physical reactions to their punishment, Amelia turned her attention to Dawlish.
"Dawlish, this is twice now that you've been involved with an incident here," she continued. "Within a couple months, no less. You truly believed you were justified in your actions when in reality they were not. Most especially tonight. Tonight was nothing short of inexcusable. Attacking someone for believing they were making threatening advances just because he was a half-giant and then striking the school's headmistress without any form of warning. You are supposed to be an Auror, Dawlish. You are supposed to enforce the law, not break it. This already on top of your involvement with the incident resulting in the disappearance of Albus Dumbledore." She paused to see if the effect of her words were sinking into Dawlish. Then she went for the finisher. "You are suspended without pay indefinitely. And you are to hand over your wand immediately."
As angry as the other Aurors were, even they gasped in shock to hear her make such a statement. She might as well had him fired. To relieve an Auror of his wand was like saying he was not worthy of being a wizard at all. He would be left naked in a world where everyone else was clothed in magic. By doing so, Amelia Susan Bones was saying that John Dawlish was more than just an embarrassment to the Aurors. He was an embarrassment to wizard-kind alike.
Dawlish was just as surprised to hear what his punishment was. He appeared as though he wanted to appeal. Yet it was plainly obvious that there was nothing he could say that would make her ease up on her stance. In fact, staring at the dark glare she was giving him, all could see that any attempt at an argument would only cause her to increase the severity of his punishment. With reluctance, he sighed and slowly handed over his wand to her.
"I expect you to leave the grounds of this school by the end of the night," Amelia added. "From now on, there will be some serious repercussions if I find you any where near here." She stepped back and looked out to all the Aurors before her. "The rest of you, return to your posts. Dismissed." Amelia then turned and walked away. The further she walked, the less audible the voices of disgust, frustration, anger, and sorrow were heard from behind. This was not a good night for the Aurors.
And with another head of Hogwarts going down, she had to act quickly to get the situation straighted as possible before the end of breakfast the next morning.
--
Cho Chang found the Great Hall to be quite eerie for breakfast morning. Everyone was talking, but they were far from having any sort of excited energy. They were all discussing the same subject. The events that took place the night before. Those who were taking Astronomy last night witnessed as much as they could and immediately told the other students of what had happened. By midnight, all of Hogwarts learned that Rubeus Hagrid, the school's groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor, had been attacked and disappeared into hiding while Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor and acting Headmistress, was now in St. Mungo's when she herself was stuck by four Stunners to the chest while attempting to intervene.
Given that Eddie Carmichael was not exactly the best storyteller, be it of fact or fiction, Cho had trouble figuring out which of what he had said were true and which were false. She did, however, get a very good idea of what the results were from the events he had seen. She remembered Luna Lovegood getting very upset when she heard what happened to Hagrid. Cho knew that Luna would have been even more upset had Herbert the Blibbering Humdinger been in the hut as opposed to having been sneaking into Ravenclaw tower for the night. She could only imagine how Harry Potter was feeling, given that he was taking Astronomy with Eddie when the attacks went down.
Sitting at the far end of the Ravenclaw table with the rest of her friends, Cho was as close to the head table as was allowed. She could see that, aside from the obvious absentees, the other professors who were house heads were missing. The rest of the staff looked quite uneasy, which was understandable given the circumstances that had happened as of late. Even Dolores Umbridge, Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, didn't appear at all pleasant. There was a grin on her face, but it seemed forced. Caretaker Argus Filch was slowly pacing about, watching out of the corner of his eyes to catch any one doing anything other than sitting, eating and talking. There also appeared to be a number of Aurors stationed about in the Great Hall. Something was up.
Moments later, the double doors of the Great Hall opened. In walked the house heads of Hogwarts. Along with a number of Aurors. Along with Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Along with Percy Weasley, Junior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. Along with Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic. The presence of all of them together was more than enough to hush the entire student body at Hogwarts. Only the echoes of their collective footsteps could be heard as they made their way to the head table. Once there, they all stopped and turned to face the students sitting before them. Slowly, and rather nervously, Percy stepped up to the podium and coughed.
"Um..." he managed to utter. "S-Students of Hogwarts..." His eyes darted about, though he would occasionally find himself looking directly at the Gryffindor table. Cho had no doubt he was looking at his younger brother and sister, Ron and Ginny. "As you are all probably aware by now... Professor McGonagall was recently... injured... in an accident... last night..." There was some noticeable hissing sounds that quietly began to echo. No doubt those making them wanted to actually yell if not for the presence of such higher authority figures.
"She is currently recovering at St. Mungo's as we speak" Percy continued. "However, this has once more left the Head of Hogwarts position... open. Moments ago, the remaining Heads of Houses at Hogwarts met with the Minister of Magic and the Ministry department heads to discuss and select a new... acting Head of Hogwarts... for an interim period." Percy paused and turned to look over his left shoulder. The Minister of Magic looked to have given him a sigh while Madam Bones, arms crossed over her chest, gave him a nod. Percy then turned back to face the students. "And after careful consideration, it has been decided that the acting Headmaster of Hogwarts will be... Professor Filius Flitwick."
Cho believed that the proper term was stunned disbelief. Virtually every student, even those from Ravenclaw, dropped their jaws in shock. As well liked and somewhat popular Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, was, they never imagined he would step into the role of Headmaster. Not while Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall were around. Even Severus Snape, who every student not associated with Slytherin disliked, seemed like a better choice to be Headmaster than Filius Flitwick. And now here he was, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Even if was only as an interim.
Professor Flitwick gave off a nervous smile, obviously to show that he was just as surprised by the decision as everyone else. He then pulled out his wand and with a simple wave began forming a step ladder from loose boxes and wooden boards. The process causing Percy to leap to the side as the newly appointed Interim Headmaster looked to address the students. With the step ladder complete, he made his way up until he was of appropriate height for speaking from the podium. He took a moment to cough so as to clear his breath before he spoke.
"Good morning, students," he announced. He appeared as though he would be adapting to his new position on the fly and had to figure fast how to act like a Headmaster. "I believe that it's very understandable that you are all as surprised as the rest of the staff are at me taking on the responsibilities of acting Headmaster. I must admit that I myself am just as bewildered. But the decision is final and therefore I humbly take on the challenge of running the school for the time being." There was a low set of applauds heard, most of them coming from the Ravenclaw table. Cho was among those clapping for the head of her house.
"Before the educational activities for the day begin," he continued, "I would like to address some pressing issues. With Professor McGonagall hospitalized at the present moment as Mr. Hagrid having gone missing since the events of last night, both the Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures classes will be temporarily suspended." The murmuring of the students began to take shape as their low voices began to be heard. "And since Professor McGonagall is unable to return to Hogwarts at this time, I will be appointing Professor Sinistra to temporarily head the Gryffindor house."
Cho watched as the Gryffindor table began to murmur just a little louder following the announcement. Aurora Sinistra, Astronomy professor, seemed like an interesting choice to head their house. Then again, there really were a whole lot of options let to choose from. Cho then looked over at the head table to see Professor Sinistra just as surprised at her new position.
"I ask that contact be made with Sir Nicholas as soon as possible so that he may assist Professor Sinistra in her new temporary duties," Professor Flitwick added. He then looked over at both the Minister of Magic and Madam Bones before turning back to the students. "I would also like to announce that by request of the Ministry department heads that the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor be suspended--"
"What?" Dolores Umbridge cried as she immediately rose to her feet in shock. The Minister quickly turned to her and placed a finger on his lips, telling her to be quiet before her outburst could continue.
"... Pending the results of the ongoing investigation at the school being conducted by Madam Bones," Professor Flitwick managed to finish. The murmuring of the students increased in volume as everyone was now getting into full discussion mode over the announcement they had just heard. "I have something to add on the issue!" Professor Flitwick announced, causing the students to quiet down. "While the position of High Inquisitor and the authority that goes with it have been suspended, the remaining Educational Decrees that were recently set in place will still be in effect until a full decision between the staff, the Ministry department heads and the Minister of Magic is made."
The murmuring returned, though not quite at the high volume it had been previously. While Professor Umbridge was no longer High Inquisitor, the Educational Decrees remaining was a subject clearly on everyone's mind that second. They asked one another questions of why they were still in effect and when this meeting Professor Flitwick mentioned would be made regarding what to do with the school rules.
"Before I leave you to continue with your breakfast," Professor Flitwick said suddenly, "I have one more thing to announce. With the recent events that have been taking place in Hogwarts, I have appointed Professor Snape as acting Deputy Headmaster in the event I am unable to perform my duties as acting Headmaster. That is all."
As Professor Flitwick made his way down the make-shift step ladder, the Great Hall exploded in voices. Students talking, discussing, asking, and gossiping about Professor Snape being that much closer to becoming Headmaster. And that was in addition to the subjects that were thrown out earlier. Cho was about to join in with her friends when she heard a couple voices that captured her attention. She turned back to the head table to see Professor Umbridge and the Minister trying converse privately as they made their way to one of the side doors.
"Why was I not informed of this decision before it was made, Minister?" Professor Umbridge asked, practically in a begging voice. "Couldn't you have given me the warning that this was--"
"Dolores, stop!" the Minister nearly yelled while still speaking in a whisper. "The past few months have resulted in nothing but disaster. Your actions have been a disgrace to the office and whatever it is that you're trying to do to remedy the situation has only made things worse. It took everything I could think of to keep the department heads from having you removed."
"So you just want me to do nothing about Potter?" Umbridge asked.
"If you can do something quickly and quietly about Potter, do it," the Minister replied. "And for Merlin's sake, make sure that whatever you do it is legal. Because from now on I can no longer protect you from Bones. I played my last card to keep you here. You should be lucky you'll still get to be Senior Undersecretary when you get back. Next time you mess up though, I'll be in line for impeachment while she has you removed for good."
"Dolores," said a voice that practically shook Umbridge and the Minister with fear. They turned as Madam Bones made her way toward them with her arms behind her back. "I'm sure Cornelius has explained all that there needs to be explained regarding your current role at the school. But before we make our leave, allow me this moment to tell you to enjoy your time here at Hogwarts while it lasts. Because when the school term ends, you and I are going to have a nice little chat regarding the events from last night. Before the Wizengamot. Minister."
Cho watched as Madam Bones confidently walked away. Professor Umbridge was left with her jaw open while receiving a stern look from the Minister before he followed behind the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Cho immediately looked away from the scene before she could be caught eavesdropping. What she heard was more than enough. The Minister and Umbridge were definitely out to get Harry in some fashion. He needed to be warned.
She just didn't know how soon she would be able to tell him in private. The next time they could bump into each other would be after dinner. And she had a sick feeling that it would be too late by then.
--
"Well, you certainly stirred the hornets' nest, ma'am," Derek Hopkins noted through the two-way mirror. "That attack on the groundskeeper last night must have really irked you. You rarely threaten to take someone to the Wizengamot."
"Fortunately, it is the kind of warning I am able to follow up with," Amelia Susan Bones said in response. "The evidence and witness testimony will, at the very least, get her removed from Hogwarts once the term ends for unprofessional conduct."
"Yet that's not the reason why we're talking right now, is it ma'am?" he asked.
"As you mentioned, it stirred the hornets' nest," she replied. "You can bet Dolores is going to try something before the summer, if not sooner. And we both know who she's after."
"Harry Potter," he said.
"So I need you to watch him as much as you can, Hopkins," she said. "Find some excuse to tail him, if you have to. I strongly suspect she will do whatever it is she plans to do as privately as possible."
"You sure your niece would approve of the things I have and have been doing to do my job?" he asked more out of humorous curiosity than actual concern.
Amelia couldn't help but crack a grin. "You'd be surprised why my niece finds humorous these days," she replied. "Though I'd be just as worried about your nephew."
"He'll be fine," Hopkins replied with a grin of his own. "It'll just be quite the conversation over the summer when this thing is over."
"Until then, we've got work to do," she said, bringing the discussion back to serious matters. "You have the recoding device?"
"Yes, ma'am," he nodded. "I'm still a little uncomfortable about having to operate without my wand, but if that's a necessity for the plan then I'll do it."
"Good," she said. "I'll be on stand by with a few Aurors ready for your word. Do not make contact with me again until either something goes down or the school term ends. Understood?"
"Crystal, ma'am," he replied. "Hopkins out."
--
"Very well," said Dolores Jane Umbridge as she pulled out her wand. "Very well... I am left with no alternative... This is more than a matter of school discipline... This is an issue of Ministry security... Yes... yes..." She appeared to be shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot. Staring at Harry Potter. Beating her wand against her empty palm and breathing heavily. "You are forcing me, Potter... I do not want to, but sometimes circumstances justify the use... I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice."
There was a hungry expression on the face of Draco Malfoy as he listened to the words Professor Umbridge was speaking while holding his wand firmly pointed at Harry Potter. Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Warrington, and the other members of the former Inquisitorial Squad called upon by Malfoy kept Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom secured.
"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," Professor Umbridge managed to say quietly.
"No!" Hermione shrieked. "Professor Umbridge... it's illegal!" It appeared Umbridge didn't take any notice, nor did she care. She had a nasty, eager, excited look as she raised her wand. "The Minister wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!"
"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," Umbridge responded. She seemed to be panting slightly while pointing her want at different parts of Harry's body in turn. Perhaps trying to decide what would hurt the most. "He never knew I ordered the dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same..."
"It was you?" Harry gasped. There was a mixture of shock and anger upon hearing this revelation. "You sent the dementors after me?" He appeared wanting to make some sort of confrontational movement had it not been for the fact that Malfoy still had his wand pointed at him.
"Somebody had to act," Umbridge breathed in a rather yelling tone. Her wand then came to rest pointing directly at Harry's forehead. "Many of us all bleating about silencing you somehow... discrediting you... but I was the one who actually did something about it... Only you wriggled out of that one, didn't you, Potter? Not today though, not now..."
Umbridge then took a deep breath. She had opened her mouth as she was about to say something when something suddenly caught her attention. Her eyes darted to her right, close to the fireplace.
"Malfoy," she commanded.
Draco looked a little unsure, seeing that there appeared to be nothing in the fireplace. Then he looked carefully and nodded to her. With Umbridge pointing her wand at Harry, Malfoy felt assured to drop his wand and march over to the fireplace. He appeared to be running an open hand about in the air. Suddenly, he pulled something back. And what appeared to be nothing, Susan Bones and Wayne Hopkins were discovered to be hiding.
"The hell?" Malfoy muttered aloud before quickly raising his wand up at them. Everyone else in the room were just as confused as he was. Everyone else except Professor Umbridge.
"They probably slipped in while Professor Snape was here," Umbridge said. "No matter. Malfoy, keep an eye on Potter while I deal with this." Malfoy did as he was told, turning his wand to Harry, while she turned her wand to the two intruders. "So this is how Bones managed to keep an eye on me."
"What are you talking about?" Wayne asked innocently, a mixture of fear and bravery in his voice as he spoke.
"I doubt you would give me a straight answer if I asked what the two of you were doing in here spying on me," Umbridge pushed as she approached them. "Though I must say, Hopkins, dragging Bones' niece into all this is quite unfortunate. Now I have the perfect bargaining chip in getting out of prosecution."
"We both know she wouldn't give in to blackmail," Susan said, standing firm before the presence of her captor. "Not even for me."
"Very true," Umbridge nodded. "But that will leave her having the spend the rest of her career, maybe even her life, wondering whatever happened to her young little niece. For as highly respected she is, the loss of a loved one when she could have done something about it would still be as damaging to her reputation as a simple trade for my freedom."
"You leave her alone!" Wayne yelled in an attempt at some sort of bravery.
Virtually everyone who wasn't a Slytherin squinted as they watched him be snatched by his collar and lifted up in the air by his captor. A surprise display of strength from the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic.
"What makes you think you're going to do anything about it, Hopkins?" Umbridge practically screamed with rage. "Huh? I doubt the effects of the Polyjuice Potion you obviously took is going to wear off any time soon, leaving you stuck in quite an unfortunate position! And even if you manage to pull off just a fraction of your fancy Auror tricks, do you honestly believe that I'm just going to stand still and allow you to try to take me down? Just because I'm not an Auror doesn't mean I know a spell or two that would easily trump you in battle! Care to give that a try?"
Even the Slytherin students were rather taken aback by the display of anger Dolores Umbridge was unleashing on the seemingly helpless Wayne Hopkins. Watching as the Hufflepuff student kicking about in the air in the hopes of slipping out of her grip.
"I see you don't have your wand with you, Hopkins," Umbridge continued to hiss. "So how is it that you plan on protecting Bones' niece, Mr. Hero? Let alone make contact with Bones herself!"
"She already knows about this, Madam Undersecretary," said an unexpected voice. Everyone turned in shock to see Susan Bones standing with a knowing grin on her face. The kind that had Umbridge immediately widen her eyes rather frantically. "Oh, and would you be so kind as to put my nephew down?"
To say Dolores Umbridge was bewildered would be an understatement. She immediately looked at Wayne Hopkins, who looked back at her equally surprised. She barely hand enough time to look back at Susan Bones when the door creaked open.
"I would listen to Hopkins, if I were you, Dolores," said the all too familiar voice. Everything immediately turned to see Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, standing in the doorway with a group of Aurors behind her and Professor Severus Snape holding open the door. "Lest you think child endangerment is too light of a crime for you to be caught committing in front of me."
"Wha...?" Umbridge uttered in a panicking tone as she slowly let Wayne Hopkins down to the ground. "H-How...?"
"Nothing fancy, really," Amelia replied to the question Umbridge was having trouble asking. "A two-way mirror that continues to run active for as long as the person on the other side keeps it open. A recording device no one would think twice about, like say a hair scrunchy tied to a ponytail." All the students looked over to a grinning Susan Bones, or rather the Auror disguised as Susan Bones, holding up a still active two-way mirror in one hand and pointing at the hair scrunchy with the other.
"I-Is that really you... Uncle Derek...?" Wayne asked the Auror disguised as Susan, in a state of disbelief and a little bit of embarrassment. He was almost afraid to look at the would-be Susan in the eyes.
"Sorry, kid," the would-be Susan said, placing a firm hand on Wayne's shoulder. "Part of the job. And I doubt your parents would have enjoyed me trying to act like you. Most especially your mother."
"Even I'm aware that everyone assumed I wouldn't dare put my niece in harm's way," Amelia began to explain to Umbridge. "Having Derek disguised as a student few would suspect is tricky enough. But to have him disguised as my niece worked out much better as no one would imagine me using her as a spy and therefore wouldn't suspect her. Besides, it allowed me to spend some quality time with Susan that I never had the chance to given my career."
"If I may interrupt, Madam Bones," Professor Snape said. "I believe the other students have heard enough of this and should therefore be returning to their respective towers."
"Very well," Bones said with a nod. "They're free to go."
"Wait, even the Slytherins?" Ron asked in a complaining tone. "They get to go unpunished?"
"Not quite, Mr. Weasley," Snape replied, though with a hard glare at Ron. "While they participated in this despicable act against their will, that doesn't excuse them from knowing just how disappointed I am." He then turned his glaring gaze over to his students, Draco Malfoy in particular.
Amelia and the Aurors step aside as they allow the students to migrate out of the room. Only three remained in place. The would-be Susan Bones, since she was really Derek Hopkins in disguise. Wayne Hopkins, who obviously still in a state of shock over his uncle being in disguise. And Harry Potter, who apparently still had questions that he wanted answers to. Something Amelia picked up right away with a smile.
"I had my suspicions about her after your hearing," Amelia began to say as Aurors filed in the room and approached Dolores Umbridge. "When she was appointed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, I had to send someone in to keep a watchful eye on things knowing that she would try something."
"The quill?" Harry muttered after a moment's thought.
"Hopkins saw what happened using an Invisibility Cloak," Amelia said with a nod. "I did what I could to keep the Educational Decrees from being outrageous, though I apologize if they were nevertheless a problem for you and your friends."
Harry then looked over to see the disguised Derek Hopkins apparently trying to explain things with his nephew. "So the whole time an Auror was you're niece?" he asked Amelia.
"Not all the time," she replied. "There were moments where we could slip my niece back into place while he would go off doing something else. Like your D.A. meetings." Harry perked upon the mention of Dumbledore's Army from her. "I meant it when I said that I was very impressed that you were able to produce a true Patronus at your age, Harry. Hearing that you were going to help other students learn what you have learned was something I didn't want Susan to miss out on."
"Thanks," Harry managed to say in response.
"Otherwise, she was being home schooled for the year while Derek took her place here," Amelia continued. Then she formed a grin on her face. "Although it appears Susan and Wayne sort of developed quite a friendship this year, so we had to figure ways in which she could be slipped back in so that Derek wouldn't have to feel too uncomfortable around his nephew."
"Really?" Harry noted as he took a peek over at the Hopkins for a moment. He decided to change the subject before anything strange images popped into his head. "So what happens now?"
"She's getting away!" an Auror yelled. Harry and Amelia looked just in time to watch a blur of pink zip past them and out the door while the Aurors gave chase.
"Corner her in the Forbidden Forest," Amelia called out, apparently in no hurry to follow them. She then turned her attention back to Harry. "We've shut the Floo Network down knowing she might attempt this. And given how terrible she is on a broom, I doubt we'll be catching her trying to fly out of here."
"But why the Forbidden Forest and not any where else in the school?" Harry asked curiously.
"With all the Aurors who are still stationed here?" Amelia added. "No, she'll want to get as far away from us as possible before making any sort of escape. Given that the path to Hogsmeade is also guarded by Aurors, the Forbidden Forest is one of the few places she could go to try to hide out in. Unfortunately, this means the end of our conversation. Hopefully we'll meet again and have the time for me to answer your questions."
"I hope so, too," Harry said as he began to leave. "And thank you."
"Just doing my job, Harry," Amelia said before watching him exit the room. She stood in place for a moment before walking over to the Hopkins, though Derek was still in disguise. "Everything all squared away with you two?"
"About as much as can be said," the would-be Susan Bones said. "Though I think your niece will have to fill in the rest."
"You know what's strange Uncle Derek?" Wayne asked, though seemingly rather hesitant to even make mention of it. "I thought Susan and I were going to kiss tonight. Yet you were her tonight..."
"Well, that's something I can promise your parents are never going to know about," Derek chuckled with a sigh and a firmly placed on his nephew's shoulder. At the same time, he was wondering if Amelia laughed as hard as she was laughing now.
So apparently this one reviewer went and blew off on me over my spelling and grammar mistakes. Now, I am far from a perfectionist when it comes to those two. Hell, I make a lot of mistakes. The idea of having a beta reader does not make me comfortable, so I try my best to correct my mistakes as I go along. Only this guy was real mad that for the longest time I had misspelled Hermione. Frankly, I'm not comfortable with going back and physically correcting the spelling on all the previous chapters as there's still a lot of writing I have left to do. A whole lot, really, given how many chapters it is taking to cover my rewrite of book five. When I finally complete this sucker, I will find time to correct those spelling errors. Until then, it's just going to have to wait. Now, having said that, keep sending in those reviews. I want reviews. And don't forget to spread the word. Next up, the Battle of the Department of Mysteries aka the ultimate fate of Sirius Black in my story.
Update: I don't normally bold stuff except for the title, but I felt I needed to get this point across. If you still think I'm a lazy writer for not immediately correcting my spelling errors, that's fine. Just know that I will correct them. First, I want to finish this story.
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Harry Potter and all the characters, locations, and world created and copyright © JK Rowling. This story was created out of pure fun and enjoyment, so please don't sue or place an Imperius Curse on me.