TITLE: Beforewards

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Don't forget to leave a review.

SUMMARY: At Kings Cross, Harry meets someone other than Dumbledore. That someone sends Harry back in time to change things. Can Harry, with his future knowledge and new mentor, change his future for good? Or will this time travel not have the desired effects?

CLARIFICATIONS:

'Merlin talking to Harry in his head'

'Harry talking to Merlin in his head'

§Parseltongue§

CHAPTER: 26

"You don't like her, I get that."

Harry nodded in agreement as he and Neville walked down the corridor and away from the Gryffindor Common Room where Ron and Hermione were waiting with anticipation for the plan to begin.

"But I don't understand why you have such a big, well I guess...hatred for her?" Neville said somewhat nervously as he picked at his sleeve of his jumper.

'Of course. Harry we have to remember that in this timeline, Umbridge has not done anything other than try to teach the class theoretically. Her opening speech at the Welcoming Feast demonstrated that she works for the Ministry, but other than that there is no proof of any wrong doing on her part.'

Rolling his shoulders, Harry replied whilst his mind worked a mile-a-minute. "She's working for the Ministry, Neville which doesn't exactly put her in a good light right now."

"True."

"And...hey," Harry nudged him in the side and his friend looked up at him, "Y'know when I said that time that I am sort of in tune with magics?"

Neville hummed, remembering. "Yeah. When they're in chaos, right? That's how you helped me."

"Exactly. That's better now, right? Like, I can see its better but-"

"Much. Thanks, Harry."

"No problem. Anyway, chaotic magic, sure. That's sort of simple to see because it's like a buzzing and all over the place...but Dark Magic? That's even easier."

Neville's eyes popped out of their sockets. His voice dropped to a whisper. "She's a...Dark Witch? Umbridge?"

Harry winced. "Not so much a Dark Witch now. I think it's more a warning that she's capable of it. No morals sort of thing. But it's also that I just get this vibe from her, I guess. Up to no good. And I also got a letter from-" Harry's voice dropped lower so that no one could hear them as they moved down a set of stairs. Neville caught the hint and moved in closer to his side. "-Madam Bones at the Ministry warning me to be careful of Umbridge and Fudge watching me and trying to pick me up for anything and everything, as well as my associates. Which obviously includes Susan and I think that's why she sent me it, but it also includes the rest of you. And if she's going to try and take us all down, well, she's going to have a tough time isn't she?"

When Neville nodded his head and clenched his fists resolutely, Harry smiled and leaned back up to full height from where he had been leaning down to whisper and steeled himself as they moved off of the staircase and down into the corridor that would lead them to Umbridge's classroom. This would be one of the first things that would be something that he and Merlin had no clue what would happen. It was dangerous and risky. But at least he had someone with him, even if that someone was Neville and not...a mountain troll or something huge that could stomp on her easily.

'What do you think? Blood Quill?'

'It is possible. But I believe that she has more hatred for you this time around. You disbanded her classroom and students in the first five seconds of her lesson. I do rather wish you had waited for her to say something derogatory instead of fighting her from the off.'

Harry shrugged. 'Sorry. But every time I see her face I think of the Blood Quill, the locket, the sentencing of Muggleborns, setting dementors on me and whatever else she has done that I don't know about. I probably should have let her incriminate herself because now I have to lie to my friends about a 'feeling I have' but-'

'Well, hopefully she shall incriminate herself today.'

'Yeah. Hopefully. Got my back?' Harry asked as he and Neville stopped just outside of Defence Professor's office door.

'You don't need me, Harry. But yes. Always.'

Neville grinned at him, but Harry could see the hint of nervousness that laid below the surface. "Ready?"

"Born ready."

"Do you think it'll work? The plan, I mean?" Neville asked, nervous but practically humming with anticipation.

Harry shrugged, facing the door. "I guess we'll see. Fred and George said it would. They're not fully compatible with the spells yet apparently but Hermione said she'd fixed that."

"Just trust in Hermione Granger's spell-work then?"

Grinning, Harry nodded. "Nothing different than usual."

Harry raised his hand to knock, but just as he was about to tap the door, it opened with a loud creak. He could hear Neville swallow next to him and nudged him with his arm and the boy straightened up. Harry knocked the door lightly. "Mada-?"

"Potter. Longbottom." Both Harry and Neville jumped out of their skins and Harry had to bite down the smile that threatened to rise on his lips as he heard Merlin's swear echo around his mind. He looked back up to see Umbridge staring him down with cold eyes. A shiver ran down his spine before he could help it and he scowled internally. She did not scare him. Harry had walked, literally, to his own death. He could face a Professor who thought herself above the law. "Enter and sit down. I will be with you in a moment."

Harry nodded followed her through her office door, Neville walking in after him. Harry had his hands shoved deep into his pockets and both were gripping tightly onto the elder wand that sat in his left pocket and the phoenix feather wand that sat in his right. If anything went bad, he was prepared and he knew that Neville would have his back. His left hand fingers drifted over the second object in his pocket and twitched for a few moments before switching it on at the back of them. This was it, he thought as he gripped the elder wand again.

The plan was in motion.

The office was just as he remembered. The surfaces were all draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were a few vases filled with dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was the ever so familiar, and creepy, collection of ornamental plates decorated with large kittens wearing different bows around their necks. Harry, though he had seen them previously, stared at them almost as though in a trance, until Umbridge cleared her throat.

He turned his head to face her and bit down the gag that threatened to rise at the sight of her simpering smug smile. Evidently she was pleased that she had managed to get them in for her detention.

"Good evening boys."

"Evening." Neville said stiffly. Harry repressed a grin at the comparison of the way his friend greeted her to the way he had on his first time with Umbridge in detention. Umbridge smiled at him before turning to Harry and narrowing her bulging eyes.

With a massive amount of effort, Harry gifted her with a grim smile. "Good evening."

She clapped her hands together and stared at them as though they were some clever pets. Her head was tilted slightly to the side and she looked as though she had just swallowed a particularly juicy fly. Ever the frog, it appeared. "There, that wasn't so hard was it, Potter?"

"Potter-Black-Peverell, if you wouldn't mind."

Umbridge hummed in the back of her throat, displeased. "In any case, it shouldn't matter what I choose to call you. I am the Professor and therefore of higher rank-" Harry's hands gripped the wands in his pocket tighter and fought the urge to blast her to a million pieces, "-than you students. This brings us to the reason you are both here." She turned to Neville. "Mr Longbottom, would you tell me why you are here?"

"Oh, sure, I guess. We... we were sat by the tree at-"

"Oh no," said Umbridge, smile widening. "Oh no, no no. I did not want a recount of why you think you are here." Neville frowned and Harry waited for the penny to drop that this woman was actually insane. "I want to know why you are here because of what you did. And what you did was use unjust force on a few very good students-"

Neville's frown was much more prominent now, "'Very good'? Professor, I apologise if you haven't had all the facts from Professor McGonagall and Flitwick yet but they attacked us. The Slytherin seventh years, I mean. We were sat by the tree and they just-"

"Mr Longbottom, enough. This punishment is for harming fellow students unjustly. Now, I have assigned two other detentions as you deserve them, however Professor McGonagall has asked to take on your other two detentions and because I cannot, yet, go against the Deputy Headmistress of this institution, you shall be going to her at five o'clock tomorrow and five o'clock on Thursday. Understood?"

Harry and Neville both nodded stiffly. Umbridge's toad-like mouth stretched even further into a fully-fledged grin. She stood. "Now, as I said, this punishment is for harming fellow students without provocation. The punishment must indeed fit the crime, so there is only one thing for it." She held out her stubby hands, gesturing at them both impatiently. "Wands."

Raising his brows, Harry asked, "Professor?"

"Give me your wands. Both of you." Neville, at first, reached into his pocket, but when he saw Harry not moving, he stopped.

"Professor, you realise you cant confiscate our wands."

"And why ever not, Potter? Is this another fake, outdated law that I am going against? No?" Before Harry could answer that yes it was, she continued, rounding her desk as she did so to get closer to him. "I am not going to repeat myself again, so wands out and hand them over to me."

'Merlin?'

'Hand the phoenix over, Harry.'

Harry nudged Neville's foot with his own and gripped onto the phoenix feather wand before bringing it out of his pocket. He squeezed it tightly in apology before letting go of it over her hand. He repressed a shudder as she wrapped her thick, stubbed fingers, on which she wore a number of ugly rings, around it. It felt like a betrayal and as he watched Neville do the same with his wand, the wand he had gotten only a few months ago, he knew his friend felt the same. If not worse, for if she did anything to Neville's new wand that affected his magic in any way, he knew that there would be hell to pay from the boy.

Again was that simpering smile. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now, for the punishment..."

They watched as Umbridge moved back around her desk and began to rummage in her draws and Harry knew exactly what for. He was about to say something, anything, to spare Neville the horror of the Blood Quill when Merlin spoke up in his mind and reminded him.

'The plan, Harry!'

'Oh shit, yeah I forgot. Ok.'

Harry straightened in his seat and cleared his throat. Umbridge's beady, eager eyes looked up and met his and Harry desperately tried to look as nonchalant as he could. He turned to face Neville and stared into his friends brown eyes, imploring him to know that this was the plan starting. "So, Neville, what do you hate about Madam Umbridge?"

"What?" Umbridge stood ramrod straight, glaring deeply into Harry's soul and he tried to not wince at the ferocity he could feel ebbing off of her. Neville didn't have such concerns evidently as his wince was obvious, to Harry anyway as he was staring straight at her. He hoped Umbridge didn't see that and hoped against all hope that Hermione and Ron were ready.

Neville swallowed his nerves and sat back up against his chair. "Physically or as in personality? I mean, I despise both parts of her, but I need you to be more specific if you want me to list them."

"Hey! Thats an idea." Harry eyed Umbridge warily out of the corner of his eye. "Lets make a list. Shouldn't be too hard, it is obvious after all. I'll start."

Umbridge bristled and threw their wands down onto her desk with a clatter. "Potter! Don't you dare-"

"Practically the double of Trevor the toad." Harry said, determined. Neville's eyes shone with mirth and Umbridge spluttered from behind her desk. "Only much more slimy."

Neville pretended to think for a moment. "Oh I don't know, there are so many to choose from. The constant cough." Then, surprising even Harry, he turned to face Umbridge, "Do you need a cough drop, Dolores? Or is there just a constant itch back there, that you cant scratch. I could help with that, just give me back my wand, I know several spells that can cut itchy throats - oh sorry, I meant cure itchy throats. Apologies, I don't know what came over me."

With Merlin chortling inside his mind and Umbridge turning more and more purple, reminding him of his Uncle Vernon, Harry continued, palming the flesh coloured item in his pocket. "Shame we don't have our wands, also a shame that we don't have any cough drops. None that are safe for animals to ingest, anyway. Not that it would stop her from coughing in our faces every five minutes. Anything else?"

"The neon pink of her cardigans is incredibly disgusting."

"Oh, I so agree. Causes bile to rise in my throat."

"They look like they should smell like Hermione's cat does. Or like your owl, Harry."

"I think Hedwig would find that offensive, Neville! A more accurate description would be that her stench is only equal to her droplets."

"So...owl shit?"

"Exactly like owl shit."

"Speaking of owl shit-"

"Of course! Her incredible ability to make everything Cornelius Fuck-up says sound somewhat intelligent."

"Somewhat intelligent? That's being kind."

"I'm trying to be nice, Neville. Do you want me to be rude?"

"I'd like you to be honest."

"Ok. Fair enough." Harry turned in his seat to face Umbridge, who was white with fury, practically vibrating as she began to lift her wand towards him, and he smirked. "The intellect that most humans seem to possess you don't. Stupid doesn't quite cover it, I don't think. I'm not sure how you have managed to become anything in the Ministry of Magic, let alone Senior Undersecretary to... well to Fudge. I suppose that makes sense. Fudge is the worst Minister I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. In fact, why is he even Minister? Didn't he go through a minor Department? Wasn't he that shit at h-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Umbridge bellowed and Harry was shocked into silence as he saw Neville try desperately not to laugh as spittle flew from the woman's mouth as she pointed her wand at them. Harry was confused why Neville wasn't more concerned, he didn't know that Harry had another wand on him, but then Harry saw that Neville was holding onto both of their wands. He had obviously snatched them when Harry was insulting Umbridge and Fudge without either of them noticing. Pride for the previously nervous and shaking boy filled Harry and he shot him a grin as he turned back to face the wand pressed almost against the space between his eyebrows.

Harry crossed his eyes to keep it in his sights and Neville snorted quietly. Umbridge had begun a tirade and Harry clutched the fleshy ear-shaped object in his pocket tightly to make sure it got every word of what she said.

"You are insolent, diabolical, arrogant CHILDREN!" Umbridge's voice became more sweetly girlish as it always did when she was furious and Harry tried his hardest to take great pleasure in it as she pressed her wand hard against his head. "You are children and I am the Senior Undersecretary for the Min-"

"For the worst fucking Minster since-"

'Unctuous Osbert. Widely seen as too much influenced by purebloods of wealth and status. Forced from office.'

"-since Unctuous Osbert! Easily manipulated, incredibly stupid, only looks after himself because who gives a shit about anyone else, right? Anyone whose not a pureblood Malfoy with ten million galleons available to be bribed with! Voldemort's not back, you all say-" Umbridge's wand was now pressed right up against Harry's head and he forced it back by pushing against it. It burned hot against his skin, mirroing the redness of Umbridge's face. Neville was no longer laughing, but instead, as Harry could see out of the corner of his eye, lifting both his own and Harry's wands surreptitiously so as to defend them both if need be. "-which is exactly why everyone hates Fudge and exactly why he will be forced out by-"

"By WHO Potter!? Who is going to force out the greatest Minister that Britain has seen in centuries!?" Umbridge's stale breath cast across his face and Harry bit back a reply so that he didn't breathe it in. "You and your band of sixteen year olds? That's right, we know about your merry band of misfits and you training them. You meet with students who should be in my class and compete in an illegal society to learn spells and curses to topple the Ministry! So tell me, Potter-" She seemed to have forgotten that Neville existed. "-tell me who is going to force out Cornelius Fudge!"

Harry raised an eyebrow and stood from his chair, Umbridge shoved her wand desperately back into his head and Harry sneered at her while he palmed the elder wand in his pocket and waved to Neville to get behind him from behind his back so Umbridge couldn't see.

Well, this wasn't quite part of the plan to get her riled up, but it would work so long as Hermione and Ron could hear everything through the wireless-extendable-ear Fred and George had given to them and Hermione had fixed up.

His silence while gesturing to Neville seemed answer enough for Umbridge and she laughed, a high giggle that made the hairs on Harry's arms stand up.

"Very well," she said and pushed her wand further into his head. Harry knew that he would have a dent there now. Wonderful. No scars on his hand but a new scar on his forehead, as though he needed one. "I am left with no alternative... this is more than a matter of school discipline... this is an issue of Ministry security and the security of Cornelius...yes...yes..."

'This is eerily familiar.'

'You don't think...'

'She is much more erratic than last time, Harry. You've prevented her from imparting her... wisdom onto your classmates and students in other years. She despises you. Time Magic always has a way of keeping... certain events included in the timeline. Perhaps this is one of them.'

Umbridge began shifting her weight from foot to foot, staring at Harry like he had grown a third head, pressing the tip of her wand deep into his skull as he stared at her straight back. However, this time Harry did not feel the powerlessness he had last time this very event had occurred as he watched her. He knew what was coming.

"You are forcing me, Potter... I do not want to," said Umbridge, looking very much like she did want to and Harry knew she did, "but sometimes circumstances justify the use... Cornelius will understand that I had no choice... he will..."

Neville was now standing behind Harry directly so that the woman couldn't see him. Harry heard the door unlock and Neville's whispered spell to do so.

"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," said Umbridge quietly. Harry was expecting it, and Umbridge took no notice of Neville's gasp of indignation and the raising of the two wands in the boy's hands. There was the same nasty, excited look on her face that Harry had seen before. It was almost comforting, to see something so familiar, something that reminded him of his old life. Umbridge was still talking to herself, and Harry's frantically waving hand behind his back prevented Neville from casting.

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," said Umbridge, who was now panting slightly, eyes gleaming. "He will be pleased, oh so pleased..."

Harry began a count down on his fingers behind his back.

Three.

The woman was continuing and Harry wanted to keep her talking, to keep her spilling as much as she would, "He never knew I ordered dementors after you last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel you, all the same but only you went and destroyed that plan with your lordships, and all that shit. You dont deserve power, Potter! You're a measly little boy who spills nasty lies like the Dark Lord returning!"

"It was you?" gasped Harry. "You sent the dementors after me?" He tried not to cringe at the obvious falseness in his voice but Umbridge didn't seem to notice.

Two.

"Somebody had to act," breathed Umbridge, her hand holding the wand was steady as she looked back to her desk and knocked the framed picture (creepy) of Fudge over as if the Minister could see through it. It fell flat onto the desk. "They were all bleating about silencing you somehow — discrediting you — but I was the one who actually did something about it..."

One.

Taking a deep breath, she cried, "Cruc —"

"Now Neville!" Harry yelled as he reached zero on his fingers and Neville's spell came flying over his left shoulder and it hit Umbridge directly in the face. She screeched loudly, wand leaving Harry's head as it fell to the floor with a clatter. The woman clutched at her rapidly swelling face and Harry, with a great amount of humour, recognised it as the one Hermione used when they were taken to Malfoy Manor in his past life.

He felt hands grab at his shoulders and turned quickly to see Neville dragging him out of Umbridge's office and throwing his wand to him. Harry caught it and followed Neville out of the door, closely it after him and pointing his phoenix feather wand (that spread warmth through his hand as it recognised him as its owner) at the lock.

"Colloportus!" Harry yelled just as the handle was pushed down from the other side. The door sealed itself shut with an odd squelching noise. The handle continued to move up and down rapidly as Umbridge tried to get out and after them both.

Harry stuck his mouth up next to the keyhole, smiling in relief at the feeling of his plan working. "I'm afraid that none of us are looking for any more friends, Dolores. Thanks so much for your help. You've made me realise that I definitely do not want a career in the Ministry. Really opens up my options!" Harry called through the door and Neville laughed loudly from up the corridor. When Harry looked up at him, he gestured for him to follow him quickly.

Harry stood straight, cast a quick silencing charm on the room, and jogged up the corridor, following Neville through the twists and turns that led to the seventh floor, where they would be meeting Hermione and Ron outside Dumbledore's office.

Where they would finish Umbridge before she had even started.