"Professor?" Pansy Parkinson goaded, "I know we need to keep the Muggles out of the wizarding world, but do you think there's really a huge danger we need to protect them from with ghouls and ghosts and stuff like that? They've been managing fine for years. I - do you believe things are more dangerous now?"

"Miss Parkinson, are you asking if I believe Lord Voldemort is back?" She crossed her arms, letting the power of her words sink in. With one simple question, she'd shown all of them that she wasn't afraid of uttering his name. She wasn't willing to back down that easily. She had been an Auror, after all. "Yes, I do. And I believe that shortly we are all going to need to decide where we stand. Eventually we will all need to make that decision for ourselves, based off of our own beliefs, not those of our friends, or our families, or anyone else. That decision rests on your own soul. Now I've done a lot of talking already, and we have yet to do very much learning. Turn to Chapter Three, review the spells you've read about, and try them out. These are all specially designed to be nonverbal spells, so I don't expect any of you to master them out loud, but I want to see a good faith effort."

As everyone split into groups to begin practicing, an owl tapped on the classroom window. Abandoning the group she had been watching, she let the poor creature in, knowing it was anxious for an answer.

Attached is a recipe for a potion to conceal the drinker from Muggle eyes only. Could you look it over?

Hazel took the note back to her desk, making a few annotations. Substitute yarrow for Mandrake root, it's easier to find and makes the hogleaf unnecessary and might cut down the brewing time. Peppermint would make it go down easier - this looks like a particularly nasty one. Other than that, it looks good. XOXO.

As she sent the owl back, Hermione turned her textbook completely transparent. "I wonder who she's writing to so quickly. Do you think Umbridge is already up to something?"

"I don't think they'd be working together," Harry offered as he picked the book up, leafing through it and holding it up to the light. "Ashmore seems like the type to want to fight Umbridge, not work with her. Any idea who's owl that is?"

"I think it's one of the ones from the Owlery, but I'm not sure. It doesn't look like any of the ones I know. I think it's friends with Pig," Ron offered, still trying to turn his quill any less visible. "We know she's in the Order, right? So she's on our side."

"Hopefully," Harry stressed, wordlessly reminding them that they could never be sure who was truly on their side. "We've seen Snape around an Order meeting before, and I know Dumbledore trusts him, but..." He fell silent as Professor Ashmore approached, coming to check on them once again.

"High Inquisitor?" Flitwick mumbled as they walked towards the staffroom. "What kinds of powers come with a position like that?"

Hazel shook her head, confiding that, "When she got here, we already knew the Ministry was trying to meddle at Hogwarts. So they sent someone to quiet everything down, to say that there's nothing going on. There's no real danger if we don't know about it, right?"

"I think she may be the dangerous one at the moment," he said, stopping just short of the staffroom. "Though we must listen to the Ministry as much as possible." They exchanged a knowing glance, walking in to find most of the others already assembled.

Umbridge commanded the room, Dumbledore quietly standing near the wall. He had a pensive look on his face, something mischievous twinkling behind his eyes. Whatever Umbridge had to say, he had thought of it already, and he was currently working on a way around it. She cleared her throat, cutting off the buzz of conversation. Everyone milling about fell into a semi-circle around her, trying to conceal their displeasure.

"Welcome, everyone. This is a very exciting new phase of the Minister's plan to rejuvenate Hogwarts. The falling standards of this school are… displeasing. Disquieting at the very least," she smiled sweetly, every word laden with poison. "The Minister has decided that it is my responsibility to make sure my fellow educators are up to scratch and our students receive the best education possible. Some changes will be for the better, and some old habits will be retained, whereas others, outdated as they are, must be disposed of. We will begin immediately. It is time to move forward, pruning what needs to be pruned along the way."

Some of the professors shifted uncomfortably, knowing that their teaching practices were going to face harsh criticism. Others stared resolutely forward. Hazel glanced to her left, seeing McGonagall's resolve etched into her frown. She couldn't see Dumbledore from where he stood along the wall, but she could tell he was less than pleased, though he wouldn't dare to show it just yet.

"Some changes should have been implemented long ago, such as banning the playing of music during study hours," Umbridge continued. "Items of less than educational value, such as Weasley joke products, will be banned. Our students will be encouraged to dress properly and maintain the image of this school. Discussion of the upsetting events of last year will also be banned, as so much misinformation is being spread, and it is severely affecting our students."

"Our students deserve to know the truth," Flitwick commented. McGonagall immediately voiced her support, many of the others nodding in agreement.

Umbridge was quick to frown, offering an, "As far as the Minister knows, and as far as the Ministry is aware, those so-called events were the fabrication of a deeply injured mind in order to deal with the horrors brought on by an outdated and dangerous tournament. Our students would do best not to have to think about them."

None of the others voiced their dissent, but several exchanged meaningful looks, knowing that the vast majority had seen nearly everything firsthand. Even if they hadn't seen Harry reappear with Cedric Diggory's body, they had heard about it from their friends, their neighbors, and the Daily Prophet. It was undeniable.

As everyone filed out of the staffroom, leaving only Professor Binns to float around, Hazel was lost in thought, intent on returning to the dungeons to get some sleep before Umbridge could decide to ban that too. Just as she turned into the corridor, however, a voice stopped her. "Hazel?" Sev had followed her out, ignoring the other professors. "Do you have a moment?"

"Of course. You must've snuck in after she started, I thought you were still in your office. Wait, you aren't coming back to the dungeons with me?"

She stopped in her tracks, but Sev offered to walk with her, looking over his shoulder as he asked what she thought of Umbridge's meddling in school affairs. "Now hardly seems like the time, though the Ministry is going to do everything it can to keep a lid on the powder keg until it is too late," he offered. "We should hardly be speculating that the Dark Lord is back."

Hazel stopped at the top of a staircase, turning to look him in the eye. "You can't tell her." She glanced at his left arm, knowing that his robes concealed a permanent brand that had only gotten stronger when Voldemort returned. She lowered her voice, though it was well past the hour every student had to be in bed. Even the paintings had ears here, and they definitely talked.

"There is no way to deny it. He's back, and he is getting stronger. We all need to be ready when he… when he makes his next move."

She crossed her arms, asking a pointed question. "That's where you're going, right? Why you aren't coming back with me?"

"Yes," Sev answered, full of regret. "I want nothing more than to go back with you, but I have somewhere to be first." He leaned in to give her a kiss, promising it was a routine meeting, nothing to worry about.

"I always worry about you," she frowned, giving him a hug. "Come back as soon as you can, okay?"

"Ahem." They turned to see Umbridge standing before them. She had just walked up, Dumbledore trailing in her wake. The two of them broke apart as Umbridge turned to the headmaster. "I don't believe I've heard about this."

Dumbledore was quick to jump in. "It's hardly something of consequence for you to know about, Dolores," he said pointedly. "What the staff do in their off-hours is completely up to them."

"While I encourage positive relationships among my coworkers, relationships such as this are hardly appropriate in a school -"

"Our entire lives play out at Hogwarts," Dumbledore reminded her. "Most of the time our students and professors are here, they are not in class. We do not have control over every aspect of their lives, nor should we."

"This is preposterous! What would the students think if they knew?"

"Oh no one would mind. They've been enamored with each other since they were in school." Dumbledore waved it away as Hazel turned pink and Sev grew even angrier, saying, "As long as it does not interfere with their teaching abilities, I encourage it. These two, well, they could certainly teach us all something about devotion. Come along, Dolores, you said you wanted to visit Hagrid before it got too dark."

Dumbledore steered Umbridge out of the castle. She threw a pointed look back at them, as if in warning. This wouldn't be the last time they heard from her. Hazel turned back to Sev, telling him to ignore her. And to ignore Dumbledore, whose comments had made him all too conscious of the fact that the entire staff (and all of the students) knew about their relationship. He didn't mind, but thinking about it too much bothered him. "Get back safe, okay?"

"I'll see you later," he promised, kissing her one last time before taking off for the boundaries of the school, where he would disapparate unnoticed.