Chapter 5 Hogwarts
On Sunday Percy took the Knight Bus to Hogwarts. He normally wouldn't work on Sundays, but he was feeling the pressure to either show results in his investigation or be under investigation himself. It was too bad, because he had to break a date with Penelope Clearwater. It seemed like they were drifting apart now that so much of his spare time was being taken up by the job.
From what he had heard around the office, Percy knew that Dumbledore was back in charge as Headmaster and that Dolores Umbridge was no longer acting as either High Inquistor or Headmistress. In fact, Umbridge was in the hospital wing following some sort of unfortunate centaur attack in the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps he could learn something by visiting her.
Percy went straight to the hospital wing on arrival and spoke to Madame Pomfrey.
"There's someone I'd like to visit here," he told her.
"Oh yes, your brother Ron," Madame Pomfrey said. "He's recovering very well from the brain attack. Come right in."
Percy was shocked; he hadn't known about Ron. Was a brain attack something like a nervous breakdown? He covered his surprise and thanked Madame Pomfrey.
Ron and Hermione were in adjoining hospital beds. They were sharing parts of the Sunday Daily Prophet. Ron had the sports section and Hermione was rereading the details of the news story "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns." The other students who were visiting them earlier in the day had left. In a bed across from them was Professor Umbridge, looking quite blank.
"Hullo, Ron," said Percy.
"Percy? What are you doing here?" said Ron. "Come to admit you were wrong? How does crow taste?"
"Well, it's clear the Ministry was wrong about quite a few things," said Percy, gesturing at the newspaper headline. "And so was I. How are you doing?"
Ron showed his forearm. "I have some welts from the brain's tentacles, but they're getting better. I can do math in my head now. Listen: the square root of nine is three, the square root of ten is three point one six two two seven seven..."
Hermione reached over and pinched his arm.
"Ouch! Thanks Hermione. I'm supposed to try to stop thinking about stuff like that. I get carried away sometimes."
"You must have tangled with the brains in the Think Tank," said Percy. "They're trying to make the magical equivalent of a computer."
"Yes, didn't you know what had happened?" said Ron with a trace of suspicion in his voice.
"All I heard was that you had suffered some sort of brain attack," said Percy.
"And why visit me when you didn't visit Dad at St. Mungo's?"
"Well, it was complicated, politics you know..."
"Politics! Dad could have died and that's all you care about!" said Ron in a rage. "Why don't you go over there and talk to Umbridge? She's more your sort."
"As a matter of fact, I intend to," said Percy huffily.
He walked over to Umbridge and called her name. She seemed unresponsive, staring into space. Bits of twigs were in her hair. Percy leaned over her and tried to rouse her again, "Undersecretary Umbridge?"
Ron made a clip-clopping noise with his tongue and Umbridge suddenly sat straight up, bumping into Percy's head. She looked around wildly, then settled back on her pillows when she saw no centaurs.
Ron and Hermione chuckled. But Percy had heard the crinkle of a piece of paper under a pillow. Pretending to straighten the pillow, he got the paper out and pocketed it without them seeing.
"Whatever you may think, Ron, I do care about Dad and the rest of the family," said Percy stiffly.
"You sure don't show it," said Ron. He turned his face away.
Percy left and went to a lavatory where he could read the paper in privacy. It was a single sheet torn from a clipboard. The writing was scrawled and almost illegible.
"I, Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Headmistress Dolores Umbridge, am writing this in case I don't survive the night. I am writing from a cage in the Forbidden Forest where I am being held by filthy half-breed centaurs. There is a weapon in the woods that Dumbledore intends to use to gain power. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were trying to communicate with Dumbledore from my office fireplace to tell him it was ready. Under duress Miss Granger confessed, but before she could lead me to the weapon we were attacked by these animals. They want to kill me but I think they are waiting until the stars are right. Superstitious savages! I warned them there would be terrible consequences if I am killed, but they won't listen to me. Before the end, I'll use a charm I have to hide this note. It will reappear near my body in 24 hours. If someone loyal to the Ministry of Magic finds this note, take it to Minister Fudge immediately."
There was a second paragraph below it, even more hastily written.
"Dumbledore has arrived! He's trying to persuade the monsters to let me go, but I think he wants to kill me himself or obliviate my mind. He told them that when he gets his way centaurs and other magical creatures will be treated with respect and have equal rights with humans -- how absurd! It's not enough for the monsters. They still want to kill me. But one of the half-breeds just said it forsees that killing me now will cause a major disruption in the stream of time -- I'm saved! I'll use the charm on this note to keep Dumbledore from finding it. Curse Dumbledore! He'll probably try to undo all the good work I did, like sending that incompetent Sybil Projectra Trelawney packing to Hogsmeade once I became Headmistress. If the Ministry of Magic gets this note, make sure to put in another High Inquisitor like me."
A final note, scrawled with dusty bits of twig in block capitals:
"GOT NOTE BAK. VERY MIXD UP NOW. GETTING OUT OF HERE SOOON TO FIX CAREER KNOTS. KNOTSKNOTSKNOTSKNOT."
Percy left hastily for Hogsmeade. There was a lot to think about in the note and he hadn't really processed it all yet. But the opportunity to talk to Sybil Trelawnley away from Hogwarts had to be taken now.
On Sunday Percy took the Knight Bus to Hogwarts. He normally wouldn't work on Sundays, but he was feeling the pressure to either show results in his investigation or be under investigation himself. It was too bad, because he had to break a date with Penelope Clearwater. It seemed like they were drifting apart now that so much of his spare time was being taken up by the job.
From what he had heard around the office, Percy knew that Dumbledore was back in charge as Headmaster and that Dolores Umbridge was no longer acting as either High Inquistor or Headmistress. In fact, Umbridge was in the hospital wing following some sort of unfortunate centaur attack in the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps he could learn something by visiting her.
Percy went straight to the hospital wing on arrival and spoke to Madame Pomfrey.
"There's someone I'd like to visit here," he told her.
"Oh yes, your brother Ron," Madame Pomfrey said. "He's recovering very well from the brain attack. Come right in."
Percy was shocked; he hadn't known about Ron. Was a brain attack something like a nervous breakdown? He covered his surprise and thanked Madame Pomfrey.
Ron and Hermione were in adjoining hospital beds. They were sharing parts of the Sunday Daily Prophet. Ron had the sports section and Hermione was rereading the details of the news story "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns." The other students who were visiting them earlier in the day had left. In a bed across from them was Professor Umbridge, looking quite blank.
"Hullo, Ron," said Percy.
"Percy? What are you doing here?" said Ron. "Come to admit you were wrong? How does crow taste?"
"Well, it's clear the Ministry was wrong about quite a few things," said Percy, gesturing at the newspaper headline. "And so was I. How are you doing?"
Ron showed his forearm. "I have some welts from the brain's tentacles, but they're getting better. I can do math in my head now. Listen: the square root of nine is three, the square root of ten is three point one six two two seven seven..."
Hermione reached over and pinched his arm.
"Ouch! Thanks Hermione. I'm supposed to try to stop thinking about stuff like that. I get carried away sometimes."
"You must have tangled with the brains in the Think Tank," said Percy. "They're trying to make the magical equivalent of a computer."
"Yes, didn't you know what had happened?" said Ron with a trace of suspicion in his voice.
"All I heard was that you had suffered some sort of brain attack," said Percy.
"And why visit me when you didn't visit Dad at St. Mungo's?"
"Well, it was complicated, politics you know..."
"Politics! Dad could have died and that's all you care about!" said Ron in a rage. "Why don't you go over there and talk to Umbridge? She's more your sort."
"As a matter of fact, I intend to," said Percy huffily.
He walked over to Umbridge and called her name. She seemed unresponsive, staring into space. Bits of twigs were in her hair. Percy leaned over her and tried to rouse her again, "Undersecretary Umbridge?"
Ron made a clip-clopping noise with his tongue and Umbridge suddenly sat straight up, bumping into Percy's head. She looked around wildly, then settled back on her pillows when she saw no centaurs.
Ron and Hermione chuckled. But Percy had heard the crinkle of a piece of paper under a pillow. Pretending to straighten the pillow, he got the paper out and pocketed it without them seeing.
"Whatever you may think, Ron, I do care about Dad and the rest of the family," said Percy stiffly.
"You sure don't show it," said Ron. He turned his face away.
Percy left and went to a lavatory where he could read the paper in privacy. It was a single sheet torn from a clipboard. The writing was scrawled and almost illegible.
"I, Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Headmistress Dolores Umbridge, am writing this in case I don't survive the night. I am writing from a cage in the Forbidden Forest where I am being held by filthy half-breed centaurs. There is a weapon in the woods that Dumbledore intends to use to gain power. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were trying to communicate with Dumbledore from my office fireplace to tell him it was ready. Under duress Miss Granger confessed, but before she could lead me to the weapon we were attacked by these animals. They want to kill me but I think they are waiting until the stars are right. Superstitious savages! I warned them there would be terrible consequences if I am killed, but they won't listen to me. Before the end, I'll use a charm I have to hide this note. It will reappear near my body in 24 hours. If someone loyal to the Ministry of Magic finds this note, take it to Minister Fudge immediately."
There was a second paragraph below it, even more hastily written.
"Dumbledore has arrived! He's trying to persuade the monsters to let me go, but I think he wants to kill me himself or obliviate my mind. He told them that when he gets his way centaurs and other magical creatures will be treated with respect and have equal rights with humans -- how absurd! It's not enough for the monsters. They still want to kill me. But one of the half-breeds just said it forsees that killing me now will cause a major disruption in the stream of time -- I'm saved! I'll use the charm on this note to keep Dumbledore from finding it. Curse Dumbledore! He'll probably try to undo all the good work I did, like sending that incompetent Sybil Projectra Trelawney packing to Hogsmeade once I became Headmistress. If the Ministry of Magic gets this note, make sure to put in another High Inquisitor like me."
A final note, scrawled with dusty bits of twig in block capitals:
"GOT NOTE BAK. VERY MIXD UP NOW. GETTING OUT OF HERE SOOON TO FIX CAREER KNOTS. KNOTSKNOTSKNOTSKNOT."
Percy left hastily for Hogsmeade. There was a lot to think about in the note and he hadn't really processed it all yet. But the opportunity to talk to Sybil Trelawnley away from Hogwarts had to be taken now.