55 Actions and consequences
"We need to do something about the Inquisitorial Squad," Hermione told her husband as they snuggled Friday morning.
The Inquisitorial Squad was effectively a sanctioned bully group. Initiated by the new 'High Inquisitor', they had been given powers not even the Head Boy and Girl had. They could assign point deductions and detentions, were automatically believed without any investigation by the High Inquisitor, and even allowed out after curfew. Umbridge had started with the sons and daughters of the 'Imperiused' Death Eaters as they were 'children of fine upstanding citizens' and then proceeded to spread the power throughout Slytherin house.
"You mean Malfoy's goon squad?" Harry scoffed. "Why? Did they actually accomplish something finally?"
"Not yet, but I've been watching them," Hermione sidled up next to him, burrowing under his arm and into his side. "They've started hunting."
"Hunting?" Harry looked at his wife. Seeing the look on his face he pulled her closer.
"I've caught them following girls, Harry," Hermione shuddered. "It's only a matter of time before they catch one alone, and I'm afraid of what will happen when they do."
"You think…"
"They are the sons of Death Eaters, and we both know what they need to do to earn that mark." Hermione tried to mold herself into his side. "I'm afraid of what that upbringing will do to them."
"Well, we already know Malfoy is an ass."
"It's not that Harry." They moved to the couch, snuggling together. Harry wrapped his arms around her, supporting her as she vented the frustration that had been building ever since the Inquisitorial Squad was formed. "Every one of the members is the son or daughter of a supposedly 'Imperiused' Death Eater, which we both know means a death eater with money to buy their freedom. You know how Malfoy is, arrogant and self entitled yet with nothing to back it up."
"You mean his favorite saying is 'when my father hears about this'?" Harry chuckled. "Or how a simple scratch that was fixed in minutes laid him low for months in third year?"
"It's not that, well, not just that. It is the entitlement to a point. They grew up raised on the gospel of the Death Eaters. Pureblood supremacy and the belief that they get whatever they want."
"You think they're going to hurt them?" The humor was gone from his voice. "Or worse?"
"They haven't followed any purebloods yet, and I don't think they will. Whatever happens, they'll see the pureblood females as future wives or mistresses. Girls to keep the lines pure. They followed Katie almost all the way back to the tower last night."
"I thought…" Harry paused. "Actually, I've never really considered her ancestry, she's just a teammate."
"And that is exactly how it should be, love," she kissed him on the cheek. "But for the record she is a half-blood. They have been trying to find a victim, someone they can catch alone and have their way with. I'm afraid of what they'll do to anyone they catch alone. I've caught them trying to follow me as well."
"They…" Harry trailed off, and she clung hard to him, holding his anger in check. For the first time outside a moon, he started to shift involuntarily. His face rippled, and dark hair crept up from his collar. Looking up Hermione saw her husband's teeth lengthen and sharpen, his lip curled in a silent hiss. She felt the rage coming off him, and sent every ounce of love and support to him through their link that she could.
"Yes, we need to fix this," his voice was now iron hard, growling as it left his throat. "Not just because they are a threat to you, but because of what they'll do to any of the girls in the school given the chance. Yes, thinking of them doing that to you brought it home, but you know I would defend anyone against that."
"I do love, I know." She kept pouring love to him as he slowly released the change. His face settled and the fur receded. Slowly he eased his embrace, holding her and returning the love over the link. They felt another presence, like when they found the Room, sending them gratitude.
"Looks like Hogwarts agrees, love. Always knew she was a smart lady, just maybe not as smart as my lady."
"Keep it up and you may get lucky tonight," Hermione slapped his shoulder. "Now let's get planning"
The ambush took place that night.
Hermione began to walk back from the library to Gryffindor tower when she heard them. Harry was meeting with Madam Bones to clarify details of some open cases stemming from her briefing last summer and she had been working on a side project. Had Hermione still been fully human she doubted she would have heard, but with her enhanced hearing it was child's play. She could make out six distinct sets of foot falls against the stone floors of the castle. Hearing Malfoy admonish Crabbe to keep quiet told her exactly who was following her.
With a startled "Eep!", she took off running. She could hear Malfoys curse and bark orders at fellow Slytherins to catch her. She ran and twisted, moving from corridor to corridor, heading for safety. Ensuring she could still hear them, she headed for a deserted part of the castle in the opposite direction from Gryffindor Tower.
Finding herself in a dead end corridor, Hermione smiled. She cast an illusion of herself cowering in the corner, trying to hide behind a suit of armor, then she transformed. Midnight shook herself, reveling in the cool night air, and jumped into a shadow.
"There you are, you filthy mudblood," Draco snarled as his posse cornered the cowering girl. "Time for you to take a message for us back to your dear Potter."
Crabbe and Goyle advanced, grinning evilly as they approached the figure behind the armor. Draco was already beginning to drop his trousers and the three remaining boys were arguing over who got to send the second message when an ear piercing noise filled the corridor. It was not a scream of fear, it wasn't even human. It was the screeching roar of a panther on the hunt.
Turning slowly, the bullies found themselves facing Harry Potter with an enraged black panther by his side. The boy's ears were flat, unseen behind his unruly hair and he glowed with power.
"If you have a message for me, Malfoy, I'm right here," Harry's icy voice cooled the air by several degrees.
"Nah, I like the way I have it planned," Malfoy blustered. "But since you are here, I'll let you watch and see how your girl likes taking it from a real wizard."
The three larger boys pulled beater bats from their sides and advanced on Harry. At the same time, both Crabbe and Goyle tried to grab the illusion of Hermione from behind the armor. Then chaos erupted.
Breakfast the next morning was going wonderfully until the irate High Inquisitor stormed into the hall. Harry had been enjoying sharing a large strawberry covered waffle with Hermione when the piercing shriek cut through the hall.
"There he is, arrest him this instant!"
Heads turned towards the pink clad and pink faced Umbridge pointing her pudgy fingers at Harry. By her side were Madam Bones and a trio of Aurors, including Tonks. The Chief of the Magical Law Enforcement department followed her wildly pointing finger and turned back to the irate Inquisitor.
"You said this supposed assault occurred last night about eight o'clock?" Bones asked calmly.
"There is nothing supposed about it. There are six upstanding students in the infirmary right now all swearing Potter ambushed and beat them!" Umbridge was quickly going past pink to crimson now. "I want him arrested and thrown in Azkaban for his crimes against such sweet, innocent students. The boy is a menace!"
"Madam Umbridge, I was with Mr Potter last night from around six-thirty until after nine questioning him about another case. As we were in Gryffindor tower and this supposed assault took place on the first floor, I can say it wasn't him," Bones stated with finality.
"I don't care, it was him and you will arrest him or I will have your job!"
"What was me?" Harry interjected, looking between the women. "What are you accusing me of this time?"
"Mr Potter, according to Professor Umbridge, you lured six students into a dead end corridor then proceeded to beat them senseless," Madam Bones explained. "And as I was just explaining to her, you were with me last night when it occurred."
The toad glared at the unrepentant Auror, but turned as the hall seemed to gasp in shock before stilling. Turning, they found the ceiling had stopped projecting the outside sunrise, and was instead showing a bound Draco Malfoy. The boy had been beaten and one eye was swollen shut. He had a gash across his cheek and his left arm was glowing in a magical cast to immobilize an obvious break. The most attention grabbing change however, was the large cluster of acne marring the youths face, spelling the words RAPIST across his forehead.
"What is your name?" a muffled voice asked from outside the view of the image.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy," Draco answered in the flat, even tone of someone under the influence of Veritaserum.
"Why were you in the corridor where you were beaten?"
"To teach Potter a lesson."
"Explain."
"Potter and his half breed slut need to understand their place, we were going to ensure they knew it."
"How?"
"We were going to show his wife what a real wizard was like and then send her back to him broken and bloody. Then he'd know not to mess with us."
"So your plan was to rape and beat Hermione Potter?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"We chased her to that deserted corridor, we had her cornered. Crabbe and Goyle went to grab her from where she was hiding when someone pretending to be Potter showed up."
"Pretending?" the voice interrupted.
"Had to be, Potter was with that Bones cunt, that's why we targeted his wife then."
"Continue."
"Anyway, the fake Potter and some big cat tore into us. I… I don't remember much other than pain after that."
"And had you succeeded? How were you going to avoid the charges?"
"What charges? You can't rape a creature, or a mudblood. Besides, Umbridge told us to do it, gave us permission, and even helped ensure the other teachers were occupied. She'd have made sure nothing ever came of it."
The image on the ceiling faded, returning to the serene morning scene and Umbridge refused to meet Bones's glare. The Auror obviously had erected a silencing barrier, a strong one as she appeared to be trying to break it with sheer volume.
"Excuse me, Madam Bones," Harry called over the din, waiting patiently until the Head of the DMLE turned to him. "Madam Bones, while I understand there is no way to take what just happened as evidence, it does cast the incident into a new light. I therefore, formally request an investigation into the alleged plan to rape and assault my wife."
"I won't allow it!" bellowed Umbridge. "The instigators must be punished, you have your orders Madam Bones, arrest Harry Potter!"
"Orders?" Madam Bones arched an eyebrow at the demented pink toad. "You are not in my command, in fact, due to the necessity of policing not only the general population but the Ministry itself, the only people that can arrest or fire me are the Wizengamot itself. As you are not them, and evidence of a crime has been supplied. I shall investigate. It is after all, as you said, my job."
"Not anymore it isn't," snarled Umbridge. "You'll be fired within the hour."
"Seeing as it takes a minimum of two hours to call an emergency gathering of the Wizengamot, I doubt that." Madam Bones smiled evilly. "There is something else we can take care of right now however."
"Yes, you can arrest that ungrateful, troublemaking little shit!"
"If you insist, I suppose I have enough to hold Mr Malfoy for questioning," Amelia pondered, then signaled two of the aurors. "Please go to the hospital wing and begin interviews with all involved. Now Dolores, the other issue we can resolve is the accusation against yourself of possessing dark objects. I'm sure it's a simple unfounded accusation. We do, however, have an obligation to verify this, Hogwarts is a school after all. Please lead us to your office so we may search it and be done."
"Absolutely not!" The High Inquisitor's face now matched the color of her horrendous cardigan. "I am Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, I will not be treated like some common criminal."
"Madam Umbridge? Does this mean you quit as our Defense professor?" asked Hermione innocently.
"What are you babbling about, you little bitch?"
"Well, the Hogwarts Charter specifically prohibits any professor from having a position in government. I, and I believe most of the school, thought you had left your Ministry position behind. If you are identifying yourself as the Senior Undersecretary, that means you cannot be our Defense professor," Hermione placed an innocent smile on her face, grinning wider inside as the irate witch began to combust.
"I will not be dictated to by some insolent halfbreed piece of mudblood filth!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Everyone froze, the power emanating from the furious Harry Potter stilled every movement and sound throughout the hall. Even Madam Bones and Tonks stopped, turning to look at the glowing boy— no, man — before them. Harry had stood, his eyes now glowed green as golden arcs of power traced over his skin. His ears were flat and his tail straight behind him, the tip flickering ever so slightly.
"You have abused your position in this school long enough. You have attacked and cursed the students under this roof for the last time. And finally, you have vented your hatred upon my wife, something I cannot permit. This school is my home, almost as much as Hermione is, and I shall defend it. Dolores Jane Umbridge, I challenge you here and now to an honor duel, for you have insulted mine for far too long."
"You... you can't. You're just a boy." For the first time, Umbridge's bluster seemed to crack.
"No, remember the results of your assassination attempt last summer? I am emancipated. And as such, once I verified with the Goblins, Lord Potter of the House of Potter. You have cast denigrations upon my wife, the Lady Potter, and for that you shall meet me upon the field of honor, though you have none."
"Harry, you must stop this at once my boy," Dumbledore spoke for the first time in the confrontation.
"Silence Dumbledore, you are forbidden from interfering in my affairs, of which this is one. Do not break your vow. Though I question where your concern was when this witch was torturing students in your care?" Harry's eyes never left Umbridge. "Shall you meet me upon the field? Or do you admit your cowardice and sacrifice your honor and your holdings?"
"You ungrateful little shit."
"I'll take that as an agreement. Fifteen minutes upon the Quidditch pitch." Harry turned to the still stunned students. "The choice to attend is yours, however, I do caution those below fourth year that it will be an ugly thing to witness."
"All students below fourth year-"
"No, Professor," Harry cut McGonagall off, shocking everyone present. No one interrupted McGonagall. "Let it be their choice. With Voldemort's resurrection, the war is upon us and no one is innocent anymore."