Disclaimer: Nothing is mine; everything is J K Rowling's.
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Chapter 40
'How was detention with Umbridge?' Harry heard Hermione ask Ron and Dean when they emerged from the dormitories, the latter still rubbing his eyes.
'Didn't you hear?' Ron exclaimed in delight.
'McGonagall cancelled it,' Dean grinned. 'Apparently she had a blazing row with Umbridge on Friday about it.'
That was interesting. Harry had never known McGonagall to cancel the detentions of another teacher before, she'd been fine for him to spend many hours in Snape's company for a whole array of offences that included, but were not limited to, talking too loudly, silent insubordination and malicious breathing.
'Yeah,' Seamus nodded, slightly less exuberant than the other two, but pleased all the same. 'Umbridge can't give you detentions and dock points for trying to practice spells we'll be tested on this summer.'
Harry shook his head and shared a knowing glance with Neville. Ron and Dean had been attempting to cast the shield charm, very poorly if he recalled correctly, in the empty classroom before their Defence class. Neither of them had the wit to see what was really taking place at Hogwarts this year, and for some reason Hermione hadn't told them either.
He was more disgusted by how terrible their shield charms had been, a damp paper plane could have breached them. Ron's had been a very faintly luminescent patch of air all around him, barely noticeable until all the curtains were drawn across the windows and the lights extinguished, and Dean, he had created an almost impenetrable, blindingly bright area of protection about the same size as Harry's palm. Even Neville's first attempt had been better.
'Well we've got her again now after breakfast,' Hermione reminded them, 'so try not to let her antagonise you into doing something she can actually give detention for.'
'Still can't believe McGonagall cancelled your punishments,' Seamus shook his head. 'I heard that Umbridge was absolutely furious. I bet she's even nastier than normal this morning. You should keep your heads down and stop standing up for him.'
Him was, of course, Harry. Seamus persisted in his belief of what the Ministry said, though he seemed to take the more vicious rumours about Harry and Dumbledore with at least a small pinch of salt. He hated Umbridge, along with almost every other student in the school, and, to maintain peace in the dormitory, he and Ron had agreed not to argue about who was right about Voldemort's return.
'I'm not defending him,' Ron replied, puzzled. 'I believe Dumbledore, and I'm sick of th rubbish that hag spouts at us every lesson. Professor Lupin was our best teacher, though it was a given since he wasn't a moron like Lockhart and was at least slightly sane.'
'Well you should probably keep it to yourself, Ron,' Hermione advised. 'She's going to be going after anyone who appears to advocate Dumbledore's side. Harry's being very clever in not openly disagreeing with her, but still clearly opposing Umbridge.'
It's nice to be appreciated.
Neville nudged him, picking up his stuff and moving in the direction of breakfast. Harry tipped his head in the direction of the other Gryffindors and mouthed Katie at him. He nodded and moved to join the others in their discussion of how unlikely it was they'd pass their OWL with Umbridge around.
They drifted out past Harry in a few moments and he caught a few suggestions from Dean that they practice their spells somewhere Umbridge wouldn't notice. Neville gave him a hesitant nod as they went, and Hermione's hand twitched towards a wave before she thought better of it and slipped it back into her pocket.
It was a few minuted before Katie appeared, slightly disheveled, and bleary-eyed. Harry waved a couple of times until she noticed him and stumbled over, smoothing her hair back.
'Morning Harry,' she grumbled. 'Are we going to breakfast now?'
'I was waiting for you,' Harry reminded her. Katie was normally grouchy until she'd had something to eat.
'Let's go then,' she decided, making a vague attempt at fixing the disarray of her uniform before giving up completely with a shrug.
Harry swept his stuff up from beside his chair in the common room and squeezed out behind the portrait of the fat lady next to her.
'Ah,' Katie cackled, her mood suddenly improving as impressionable first years edged away from Harry, 'vulnerable children, ripe for sacrifing in dark rituals.'
'You are not helping,' Harry told her, grinning in spite of himself. The first years edged further still.
'If you become a Dark Lord I'm volunteering myself as Dark Lady,' she decided. 'I love watching them scatter.'
'I think you're likely to get immolated talking like that,' Harry reminded her, pulling her arm to drag her towards the Great Hall rather than letting her stalk down the corridor towards a large group of second year Hufflepuffs.
Katie flushed slightly, realising what she'd accidentally implied, but allowed herself to be steered away with little more than a pout. 'Spoilsport,' she groused. 'They're adorably easy to scare.'
'Have I ever told you that I sometimes worry about you?' Harry quipped.
'Oh, all the time,' she grinned. Katie adopted her most imposing, menacing face, but it fell a long way short of Voldemort's inhuman, pale face. 'And you should,' she whispered dangerously.
Katie slid onto the Gryffindor bench across from the Weasley Twins.
'Morning, Dark Mistress,' they greeted her, bowing low over their breakfasts. 'What evil deeds have you planned for today?'
'She's been scaring the first years again,' Harry grinned, waving a hand towards the nervous huddle that were considering whether to squeeze on the end, or risk walking past their spot.
'Ah,' the leftmost twin sighed, 'that's our Katie, they won't be free from terror until the quidditch season starts.'
'It's about time Angelina sorted tryouts, don't you think?' The rightmost commented. 'Maybe you should tell her?'
'Me?' The leftmost disagreed. 'She's your girlfriend!'
'You're quite right, George,' the other twin replied, 'that's why you have to tell her.'
'Hush,' Katie ordered. 'I'll remind her later.'
'Yes, Dark Mistress,' they replied, bowing low again. Fred misjudged his bow slightly and accidentally dipped the front of his robes in his eggs. Katie giggled and helped herself to toast.
There was a brief lull in conversation as they ate and Errol, the ancient Weasley family owl, collapsed onto the table in front of the twins. They read the letter together, mirroring expressions of disgust growing more pronounced.
'It's from Percy,' they announced. 'Does anyone have a copy of the Daily Prophet.'
Several papers appeared immediately from all angles.
They scanned, moving in tandem, then tossed it across the table between Katie and Harry. 'Percy decided to offer us some advice,' Fred sniggered.
'It's time to let trouble-making and running riot come to an end. Things are changing, and we must change with them,' George quoted in a childish, high-pitched voice.
Dolores Jane Umbridge, formerly Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts has, in a surprise move by the Wizengamot, become the first ever official to hold the position of High Inquisitor.
Harry didn't like where this was going one bit. Umbridge had been doing him plenty of good as she was. The woman had made herself thoroughly unpopular, stealing the spotlight, and providing a useful buffer between the attention of the Ministry and Dumbledore.
This will change everything.
'Have you read this?' Katie shoved the paper further under his nose. 'The High Inquisitor has power over all sanctions and punishments within the school.'
The position of High Inquisitor, Harry read, created by Educational Decree Number Twenty Three also enjoys the ability to determine the sanctions scheme of Britain's education establishments courtesy of the seceding decree.
'She must have written to Fudge over the weekend about McGonagall overpowering her and rescinding her detentions,' Harry surmised. 'Now we've got this to deal with.'
Stupid Ron and Dean, if they'd not been caught this wouldn't have happened.
'This is ridiculous,' the twins echoed Katie's sentiments. 'With that foul woman in charge of punishments who knows what will happen next.'
Harry knew. Anyone who spoke out against the Ministry's version of events would find themselves on the receiving end of increasingly harsh punishments and eventually nobody would dare to speak out. It would stop being worth the risk. The other side of the coin was that Umbridge might just take things too far, and earn herself such a reputation that speaking out against her was seen as the right thing to do.
If she is clever, she will reserve the use of her power for situations in which it seems appropriate and never let the school unify against her.
Harry hoped she wasn't too clever, or he'd find himself trapped at Hogwarts, unable to find out about the Prophecy and away from Fleur.
'Well,' Fred was saying to Katie and George, 'you know what this means, of course.'
'I do indeed, brother mine. It means we will have to listen to Percy and… not get caught!' They grinned splitting the remaining half of the toast rack between them.
'You're incorrigible,' Harry remarked. 'You really don't want to get caught, though,' he added more seriously.
'We never get caught,' they reminded him, wagging fingers in a manner eerily reminiscent of their mother, 'we just get suspected.'
'I don't Umbridge is going to distinguish between suspects and culprits,' Katie warned, buttering two pieces of toast to make herself a bacon sandwich. 'She tried to get your younger brother Ron and his friend put in detention for practicing spells that are in the Defence OWL. So be extra careful.'
'Yes, Dark Mistress,' they acquiesced. Katie beamed, raising her chin in the air and looking down her nose at the two Weasley twins. 'You're a bad influence, Harry,' they remonstrated. 'Look what you've turned our innocent Katie into.'
'I did nothing,' Harry denied, raising his hands, 'she was like this underneath the whole time.'
'Surely not,' Fred gasped. 'Not our Katie.'
'All those quidditch practice sessions in the rain, the times when she would lovingly hurl the quaffle at us until she got her way.'
'The threats to tell Angelina and Alicia if she didn't get what we wanted.'
'No, Harry,' George shook his head, 'I just can't believe it. I won't.'
'And then there was the time she drank fire whiskey after winning the quidditch cup and hid all our essential pranking supplies in Snape's office,' Fred continued tearfully.
'No that was us, Fred,' George reminded him. 'Katie hid all our essays in McGonagall's office.'
'Ah,' Fred sighed, 'sometimes its hard to remember. She definitely warned the girls we'd switched on our date with them, though.'
'You have a point, Fred,' George conceded. 'Harry, you might be right.'
'We think Katie has been evil all along after all.'
'Don't you three have some classes to go to?' Katie cut in, before her defamation continued any further.
'No,' the twins grinned evilly, 'we're free all morning.'
'Umbridge,' Harry admitted, earning himself some sympathetic glances.
'You'd probably best get going,' Katie smirked, 'don't want to be expelled for being late, do you?'
Harry shot her a half-hearted glare, then helped himself to half her bacon sandwich in revenge.
Bacon thieving is becoming a habit.
Neville was lingering outside the classroom, acting as lookout for the four others within who were trying to cast the shield charm with about as little success as before. Only Hermione was anywhere close to a fully functioning defense.
'Did they leave you outside to guard?'
'I can already do the shield charm,' Neville told him proudly.
'Care to share?' Harry hadn't seen anything since his first attempts at the end of last year.
'Protego,' Neville commanded, and he was instantly surrounded by a glowing demi-sphere of translucent, silver light.
He has been practising.
It wasn't quite as powerful as Harry's own, which could form a wall of light too bright to see past if he poured his magic into the charm, and nor was it perfect, the light trembled and shivered, but it certainly had the potential to be formidable once he'd fully mastered it. He was suddenly rather glad he'd chosen to keep Neville as a friend, the young wizard had potential after all.
The shield flickered, gaps appearing from where Neville's concentration lapsed slightly and then it faded away completely.
The click of pink heels echoed down the hall from around the corner, and Neville quickly slipped in to hiss a warning to the others inside. Harry waited for a moment then wandered in and joined Neville at the back of the room.
A handful of other students joined the, before Umbridge swept into the room, her pink cardigan flaring out behind her and lurid handbag bouncing on her elbow.
'Good morning class,' she greeted them, 'placing her handbag down on her desk and turning to face the class.
Nobody gave her the response she was looking for.
'Now that won't do,' she frowned, the corners of her wide mouth turning down. 'That's not polite at all.'
Is she really going to insist on this at the beginning of every lesson?
A half-hearted good morning, Professor Umbridge, rang out, mostly from the vulnerable looking students at the front.
'Today we will be continuing with our reading,' she announced with a satisfied smile as the room groaned. 'Please turn to the next chapter, and copy out all the relevant, key passages at the bottom of each page.'
'Anything that's not a picture a four year old could have drawn, then,' he heard Neville mutter to himself and he had to suppress a smile.
Retrieving Slinkhard's worthless compilation of nonsense from his bag, Harry propped it up open on the edge of his desk and pulled just enough of his things to make it look like he was doing as Umbridge instructed.
'I managed to get a copy of the curriculum off of Hermione,' Neville whispered, when Umbridge turned away to loom over Dean and Seamus who were unwisely sitting at the front still.
'What does it say?' Harry asked.
'It says that if things carry on like this then the only ones who are going to even pass will be us and Hermione. There's a list of almost twenty spells you can be asked to demonstrate, of which the shield charm is one of the simplest, and Umbridge isn't going to be teaching us about any of them.'
'Sure about that, are you?' Harry smirked. 'She might have a change of heart.'
'We had a peek at her lesson plan when we got here before she did,' Neville made a small disgusted sound in the back of his throat.
'That bad?'
'Once we have finished copying out every written word from this,' Harry hadn't seen that much anger in Neville's eyes since they had talked about Barty Crouch, 'she's going to teach us to run away from our problems.'
'You're serious?'
'Officially it's called conflict avoidance and fleeing,' Neville bit back a laugh. 'There's a bit on iguanas too. I thought we'd be free of those lizards once Quirrell was replaced, and his pet was gone.'
'I miss that iguana,' Harry sighed nostalgically. 'It used to escape and hide on top of the cupboards. Parvati was terrified of it.'
'I was terrified too,' Neville pointed out, slightly embarrassed.
'It was a big reptile, there's no reason to be ashamed,' Harry smirked, reaching out to pat Neville on the cheek.
'You've been spending too long with Katie,' Neville grumbled, brushing of Harry's hand.
'The first years are almost as scared of her as they are of me now,' Harry remarked. 'Can I have a look at that curriculum?'
Neville glanced down to the front of class where Umbridge was supervising Ron's very slow, half-hearted attempts to copy out of the textbook.
'Here,' he murmured, slipping the sheet of paper to Harry under the table.
He took a glance down the sheet, making a mental note of the recommended books, then passed it back. At the front Ron earned himself another detention for accidentally misspelling the title of the book as something that looked suspiciously like A Hundred Ways to Let You-Know-Who Win.
'We can get some of those books out of the Room of Requirement,' he decided. 'It'll be easy to learn them on our own up there and I can help you if you struggle with any of them.'
'Thanks,' Neville smiled, then he looked sharply back down at his work and tucked the curriculum out of sight. 'Incoming,'he hissed quietly.
Harry quite deliberately knocked his ink pot over his blank piece of parchment and made an extravagant show about trying to save his work as Umbridge approached.
'What are you doing, Mr Potter?'
'I spilt ink on my work,' Harry explained slowly and carefully, holding up the dripping piece of parchment, spreading the mess further. The drops joined up to run over and down the edge of the desk, drawing close to Umbridge's spotless, pink shoes.
'That was clumsy of you,' Umbridge tittered, 'you'll have to start again, won't you?'
'I know,' Harry nodded amicably. 'Would you mind vanishing the ink for me, Professor Umbridge? I'd do it myself, but I don't want to injure anyone by using magic in the classroom.' He couldn't have poured more false concern or innocence to his tone if he had tried.
'I'm sure your attempt will be safe, Mr Potter, but I'm glad you had the wisdom to ask for the approval of one more knowledgeable than yourself before attempting anything,' Umbridge simpered.
'If you're sure, professor,' Harry responded, simulating nervousness.
Raising his wand he tentatively spoke the words to the vanishing spell, and wordlessly banished the ink off the desk to spray Umbridge's pink cardigan and shoes in dark blue.
A tiny fraction of what you deserve for insulting Fleur.
'Oh, professor,' he gushed, feigning distress, 'I'm so sorry, here,' he raised his wand again, 'let me try again.'
'I think that's quite enough, Mr Potter,' she replied, her voice very strained. 'Finish copying out the chapter, I'm going to have to go and change.'
The door of the classroom swung slowly shut, then the class burst into laughter.
'That was brilliant, Harry,' Neville grinned.
'Thank you,' he inclined his head graciously.
Umbridge didn't return before the class ended, and not a single word was written on she'd departed. Even Hermione's quill found itself on the desk untouched, but that was probably because she was busy scolding Ron for not being able to go a lesson without getting detention for something so stupid. Harry suspected he would have ended up with one eventually, just so Umbridge could make an example of someone, but he'd made it easy for her.
He trailed Neville, Hermione and Ron back to the common room, vaguely aware of the heated discussion they were holding and Hermione waving the Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum animatedly at Neville who was trying to convince them of something.
'Why can't you act more like Harry does, then?' Hermione's scolding of Ron had only been interrupted by whatever Neville had suggested.
'Because she deliberately tries to get me in trouble,' Ron spat. 'It's not even close to fair.'
'Well you should just ignore her,' Hermione sighed. 'Now you have to have detention with her, and I bet she comes up with something horrible for you.'
'Mimbulus Mimbletonia,' Neville said to the Fat Lady, who swung aside for them all to enter the common room.
'We can't just let her get away with spouting all that nonsense,' Ron declared, 'she's poisoning the students against Dumbledore and when You-Know-Who attacks he'll take everyone by surprise and we won't even be able to defend ourselves because she wants us to run away.'
'So we practise the spells on our own,' Neville suggested.
'We tried that,' Ron disagreed. 'We'll just get detentions, and now she's in control of them McGonagall can't overrule her.'
'So don't get caught,' Neville shrugged. 'I know somewhere we can go she won't find us.' He shot a glance back at Harry who nodded to let him know it was ok.
'Where?'
'It's on the seventh floor,' Neville told him, 'you can cast all the defensive magic you want there and she'll never know if we don't want her to.'
'Will you help us with our shield charms?' Hermione asked. She was speaking quite humbly for her, Harry thought.
'I never thought I'd see you asking Neville for help,' Ron laughed, 'but seriously, Nev, will you?'
'Yeah,' he nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. 'I'll try. We-er-we can go now if you want?'
'Let's do it,' Ron agreed, clapping Neville on the shoulder. 'We can grab Dean and Seamus from the Great Hall on the way.'
Harry drifted past them on his way up to the dormitories, that was every boy from their room, so he had a chance to speak to Sirius while they were gone.
The mirror Snape had passed to him was a the bottom of his trunk, disillusioned and slid underneath the lining so anyone who might search through it wouldn't be able to feel the glass.
It worked in a very similar way to his locket, they worked in almost identical way, only Sirius was a lot less attractive company than Fleur.
'Sirius,' Harry whispered into the mirror, fogging its surface with his breath. It flared white and he hurriedly wiped the misting off with the sleeve of his robes.
'Harry,' his godfather sounded both overjoyed and relieved at the same time. 'You took your time?'
'I've been busy,' Harry explained apologetically. 'Are you still safe under Dumbledore's fidelius charm?'
'Yes,' Sirius looked quite displeased. 'I'm tucked up all safe and sound in this dirty house where I can't do anything that might alert the Ministry to my location.'
'At least you're safe,' Harry smiled. 'No dementors in there, are there?'
'Had a boggart and a whole flock of doxys to get rid of when Remus helped me tidy over the summer, but for the large part this house is mostly danger free, as long as you remember not to go in the library or to touch anything in a glass display case.'
'What kind of house are you in?' Harry asked, curious. It sounded like a repository for dark books and dangerous items.
'The home of a most ancient and noble family,' Sirius grinned. 'I can't tell you much about it, obviously, but I can tell you it's in London, and that the Order of the Phoenix is using it as its headquarters. Only useful thing I've been able to do,' he added darkly.
'I have no idea what the Order of the Phoenix is,' Harry pointed out.
'You don't?' Sirius looked perplexed. 'Why haven't you been told? Your father, mother, Remus and I were all part of it in the last war. It's a group Dumbledore started to oppose the Death-Eaters in ways the Ministry can't.'
Dumbledore's followers, Harry surmised. I knew he had his own secret group.
'What does it do?' Harry asked, hoping for a glimpse into Dumbledore's plan. The headmaster had not spoken a word to him since the end of last year.
'Mostly we warned the Ministry of where attacks would come and guarded places of crucial importance, but right now we're trying to make sure the Ministry opens it's eyes before it's too late. Well, all the other members are, I just sit around in here disposing of dangerous artefacts and priceless family heirlooms. One day I'm going to get that portrait, too,' he mused, an almost dreamy expression in his eyes.
'Sounds fun,' Harry smirked, knowing Sirius must be bored out of his mind.
'So why have you been so busy?'
'The Ministry appointed Dolores Umbridge as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, she's here to make sure we don't learn anything useful and to try and undermine support for Dumbledore in Britain's next generation of students. I'm making her life difficult,' he explained.
'I've heard of her,' Sirius' face twisted in distaste. 'She's a half-blood who's obsessed with trying to be as pure as possible, hates magical creatures, non-humans, muggles and anyone who associates with them. Umbridge is personally responsible for some of the most bigoted pieces of legislation ever to pass through the Wizengamot, including a law that makes it all but impossible for Remus to get a job anywhere.'
'I know how much she hates anyone she believes to be less than human,' he agreed icily. It took all his self-control and occlumency exercises to stop him from cursing her when she spewed her prejudiced drivel at the students, but he knew Fleur would be disappointed in him if he lost his temper over that.
'Be careful of her, Harry,' Sirius warned. 'She's only a half blood, but still managed to rise quickly through the ranks of the Ministry from obscurity to a position that's never been held by anything other than a pure-blood before. Fudge is a bumbling idiot incapable of seeing beyond his own aspirations as Minister, but Umbridge is a nasty, slippery piece of work with connections in all the wrong corners of the Wizengamot.'
'Duly noted,' Harry grinned. 'So openly embarrassing her in front of a whole class would be a bad idea?'
'What did you do?' Sirius sighed. His attempt to act like a responsible adult lasted only as long as it took him to remember all his own misdeeds and a wide grin soon spread across his face.
'I spilt ink everywhere and when I tricked her into giving me permission to try and vanish it, I sprayed it all over her instead,' Harry explained, smiling proudly.
Sirius roared with laughter. 'Good one, Harry.'
'She didn't look very happy with me, but I did nothing wrong.'
'It was a bad idea,' Sirius told him, remembering he was meant to be the mature adult of the two of them, 'best to keep your head down until things get straightened out with the Ministry. We don't need to make things worse than they are.'
'I'll stay out of sight as much as I can,' Harry promised.
There was a loud thud from Sirius' side of the mirror and a horrible shrieking started up in the background.
'I have to go,' he told Harry, 'but use the mirror whenever you want. I've nothing else to do around here except shut that painting up and try and think of ways to destroy it.'
'Bye, Sirius.' Harry held the mirror further away from himself to wave.
'Shut up, you old hag,' he heard his godfather roar before the mirror returned to showing only his only reflection.
Perhaps I should ask him to tell me how he gets rid of the painting, Harry mused.
It could be useful for figuring out how to strip away some of the more annoying enchantments on Slytherin's frame.
I still need to buy another clock, Harry realised with a groan.
AN: Please read and review, thanks to everyone who does!
