Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Original A/N: Thanks to MaeSilverpaws1, who is beta-ing this story.

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine

Game

The plan was proceeding slower than she had wanted. It had been two weeks since she had gotten her new post as The Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and the professors were still fighting her authority. She had expected more of the professors to realize that her way was now the law so they better do as she asks. It wasn't so much about changing their curricular, as honestly she didn't care what they taught those brats, but they should have shown her more respect.

Well, now that she had put that idiot Black on probation the other professors should bow down to her will easier. Though she thought that busy body McGonagall was going to continue to be trouble. Even after she had taken away the Animagus lessons, McGonagall still gave her superior looks like she thought the High Inquisitor couldn't touch her. Well, she wasn't about to let Minerva McGonagall get away with thinking that way, the only thing left to do was to figure out how best to attack the annoying professor. A probation would not do, as though McGonagall will be hurt by her lost in status, she knew McGonagall would be hurt more by watching her college suffer and for her to gain more power as the year went on. Oh yes, it was always better when she got to see people suffer when she gets what she wants, and she was going to get what she wanted.

Then there was Harry Potter, she was still trying to figure out how she would make the boy suffer. She had hoped that he would have said something in class, so she could give the boy detention, but the boy had been surprising good at keeping his mouth shut. Still, the boy will slip sometime, and when he did she had the perfect thing planned for him.

She looked up at the clock and got out of her chair, it was now time for Black's lesson, he better make it a good one because it was going to be one of the last he will have. Maybe if she makes enough comments, the boy will try to defend the idiot … yes … that would be good.

O

"Good morning class," Sirius said. "As you know, today's discussion will be on counter jinxes and the importance to learning them."

"Hem hem," Umbridge coughed.

"Yes, madam High Inquisitor," Sirius said cheerfully, "may I help you?"

"I was just wondering if you got my message informing you of your probation and that I would be sitting in all of your classes from now on," Umbridge said clearly. She noticed the students looking back and forth between her and Sirius. She smiled at him.

"Yes, of course I am aware of that, and as you are here to watch me teach, I shall carry on," Sirius said, waving his hands towards his students, "Dean, I wonder if …"

"Hem, hem," Umbridge interrupted again.

"Yes?" Sirius questioned.

"I don't know if you are aware of this, but there is a belief that counter-jinxes and curses are no better than curses and therefore should not be taught," Umbridge said.

"Aw, I see our High Inquisitor would like to start the conversation," Sirius said. "Now as to what you have said, yes I am aware that a few scholars have that views on counterjinxes, the most notable is Wilbert Slinkhard. These few scholars believe, as you have so kindly pointed out, that counterjinx is just a more acceptable sounding name for a jinx. Well, in all essence he is right about that, as a jinx and counterjinx use the same form of magic and technique. The biggest difference between them is that a jinx is made to cause harm. Of course, there are different degrees of jinxes; some cause a small amount of harm such as causing someone to laugh uncontrollably while others have been noted to cause very serious issues such as intense pain. Now, counter-jinxes are so named because they are created to reverse what a certain jinx has done."

Umbridge glared at him again, as she had done before when she couldn't argue with him.

"Now Dean," Sirius said turning back to his class, "tell me the first curse or jinx you can think of off the top of your head."

"Er … Tarantallegra," Dean said.

"Aw, sometimes known as The Dancing Jinx, nice," Sirius smiled. "Can anyone think of what the counterjinx to that would be? And I'm not looking for Finte Incantatem, though that would do it. I want something that would specifically work to counteract the involuntary moment of your legs."

"Well, you could use Petrificus Totalus," Hermione suggested, "though I don't think that's a countjinx, more like jinxing the person more."

"Ah indeed it is, though it would be one way to stop the person from dancing, it would also stop them for moving all together," Sirius said. "Anything else?"

"The leg-locker curse," Ron said this time. "Or is that the same thing. I mean, I know it's a jinx but would the two of the jinx combine sort of balance each other out?"

"Mmmm … that's an interesting question," Sirius said, "let have a demonstration."

"Hem hem," Umbridge coughed, and then said before he could acknowledge her, "am I to understand that you are going to experiment on a student with an untested combination of jinxes."

"Actually I was going to use the test dummy," Sirius said, waving his wand and the cabinet opened up and a dummy stood itself in the front of the room. "As this is an Auror grade and Ministry approved test dummy, I find it an excellent tool to help my students learn. It has been charmed to react as a person would and is a safe way to test our spells."

Sirius again turned away from her, this time he walked to his desk, the normal position he takes when using the dummy and casted Tarantallegra and then moments later the leg-locker curse. The dummy danced around at first before its legs snapped together. Instead of stopping the legs from dancing around they moved as one going in all different directions. He waved his wand again, wordlessly causing the dummy form to stop moving, before turning back to the class.

"Apparently, binding the legs will not stop them from moving, though that was a good suggestion, Ron," he said. "Anyone else?" no one answered him though they all looked thoughtful. "Seamus, do you care for a try?"

"Er … is there a spell to make someone stand still?" Seamus asked back at him.

"Aw, I like your thinking," Sirius said. "The counterjinx that was made for this was Imperium Tractus, which as the wording suggest it used to help the person the charm is cast on, to control their moments, as Tarantallegra essentially makes you lose control. Sadly, this charm has not been used very often over the past few generations as most people prefer to us Finte, or Finte Incantatem as that is the fix all for minor jinxes."

A half an hour later, and after covering two more jinxes where the class had to figure out what the counterjinx was, Sirius walked to the front of the room and sat against his desk. "That's it for today's lesson. For homework, I want you all to think about the jinx and how they relate to their counterjinx that we have thought of today. I will be giving you a quiz of sorts next lesson and knowing that relation will help."

He got the normal sighs and soft groans that came with the mention of a quiz and homework. At least he hadn't assigned an essay.

"Hem hem," Umbridge said as the students gather their things and Sirius walked over to the horrible toad and then waited for her to talk. "Do you think it's wise to teach this controversial matter when you're already under probation."

Sirius worked hard to keep his expression blank, a look that he had worked on and perfected after years of dealing with his mother. Umbridge was obviously trying to push his buttons by bringing up his probation again. "I believe we already discussed this, and as it is a minatory opinion still, I feel that it was an acceptable lesson to teach."

"And do you feel that it's a good idea to argue with me, the High Inquisitor, who has been given the authority to judge what subject matters shall be taught?" Umbridge asked in her super sweet girly voice that meant she thought she had him beat.

Sirius again had to control himself, as he held back all he wanted to say to this ignorant toad. Once he knew he could control his voice he said evenly, "I feel that it's important to do the best job I can to help my students learn Defense Against the Dark Arts."

It was then that he noticed Harry's glare and how he looked like he wanted to strangle the toad. He wondered if Umbridge wasn't trying to goad him, but Harry. Not wanting to find out, Sirius opened his arms wide, "okay guys, off you go to your next class," he said giving Harry a sharp look before shooing the class out of the room.

"Now that was interesting," Umbridge said, "let's see what's your next class is like."

"Yeah, let's see," Sirius said, not showing any sign of his annoyance and loathing of that idea.

The rest of the day was long, as he tried to teach as he normally did, but Umbridge would interrupt him at least once a class, making sure to point out that he was on probation and questioning if it was right to teach the students the lesson he was on. He was pretty sure that his plan was going to work out brilliantly, but by the end of the day he thought there was a good case for him to just turn her into an actually toad and squashing it.

He found that his class with the fifth years Slytherins to be interesting as he had expected all his students to laugh with Umbridge, or at the least try to make him look worse in class. In the end it was only Draco, his two cronies, and Pansy that had made an effort to imply that he wasn't a good teacher. The rest of the class actually took the lecture seriously. It was oddly pleasing to realize that they thought he was a good enough teacher to take seriously, as it would be easy for them to tank him in this situation.

O

Argh! Sirius Black! How she hated that man. He was supposed to grovel at her feet and try to convince her to allow him to stay a Hogwarts. Instead he was insisting on acting like she had no power over him whatsoever. How could he be so confident when she could take away his job with a snap of her finger?

How she would like to snap her finger now, but she had been told she had to observe him for a month before saying he had no hope. Annoying as that was, there was something nice about the thought of having him sacked a few days before Christmas.

If it wasn't for his eyes, she was sure she would be happy now, but there was just something about them that told her he was planning something. Black, as much as he acted it most times, was no idiot, and he wasn't one to take things lying down.

She sighed; she wasn't going to figure out what he was up to just sitting at her desk. Maybe if she got up and went to dinner, she hadn't spent much time at The Great Hall yet, but making her presence known might cheer her up some.

Her decision made, she got up out of her chair and walked out of the office that Dumbledore had assigned to her. As she touched the cold door handle and closed her door, she turned and strolled down the corridor, looking to see if she could find a student misbehaving. As High Inquisitor, she had been given the authority to punish anyone as she saw fit, but unfortunately she hadn't come across anyone breaking the rules on her walk.

"Good evening, Dolores," Flickwick said, the tiny beast trying to act polite but she could tell that she made him uncomfortable.

She smiled at him.

"Croooaaak!"

Her face drained of color.

"Croak! Rib-bit!"

Her eyes widened, what was happening, she was trying to speak but all that came out was …

"Croak! Croooaaaak riiiiibbbiittt!"

She could hear laughter filling the room, the student all turned to look at her and she opened her mouth to say don't look …

"CROOOAK!"

"Now now, everyone settle down please," Dumbledore was saying to the crowd of laughing students and she could see him turn to face her but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of trying to take of the curse. As she got up to leave the room she heard the Headmaster said in his kindly grandfatherly voice, "Now, now students no need to tease, it just seems the High Inquisitor has a little frog in her throat."