The rest of the staff dressed quickly and hurried to the main entrance where they found a very angry Dolores Umbridge yelling at the Headmaster.
"You cannot keep me out, Albus Dumbledore! I have an order here from the Ministry. I am to make sure these grounds are safe."
"If I could have the order, please?" Albus asked calmly, holding out his hand. Dolores sighed loudly and slammed the parchment into his hand. She tapped her foot impatiently as he read it. The rest of the staff rolled their eyes at each other, all but Minerva. She kept toward the back of the group, trying to keep her eyes from the woman standing in the middle of all of them. Albus finished reading the parchment and rolled it back up, handing it to Dolores who snatched it from his grasp.
"Well, now you know that this is perfectly legal and I am to stay for a week to make sure Hogwarts is safe for the students. Now, if someone could take my bag and show me to my room, I would like to get a good night of sleep. I plan on starting my evaluations early."
"Ms. Umbridge, I can assure you that Hogwarts is the safest it has ever been. We already have people in position should an attack occur."
"The Ministry feels that they need to have an inside point of view to make sure you are doing everything possible."
"I have spoken with Cornelius and I told him of the action Hogwarts and its staff has taken. He was extremely pleased. I have to wonder why he would send out someone to evaluate our response to the threats placed upon our world."
"I only come to do my job, Albus."
"Great job she did last time," Poppy whispered to Xiomara. Xiomara stifled a laugh.
"Well if you must stay, then I have to ask that you not interfere with our methods in any fashion, including classes, Quidditch matches, or any other celebration that this castle plans on holding."
"Oh, be assured Headmaster, I will do nothing to hurt anyone at Hogwarts," she answered, a quirky grin on her face. She pushed through the staff and stopped when she saw Minerva. "Why, Minerva, so good to see you again. I trust you still don't need that walking stick."
Minerva breathed in sharply. She did not want to lose her temper right now. "I do not, thank you."
"Oh good. We couldn't have the strict Professor McGonagall with a walking stick now could we? Why everyone would think you weren't as strong as you pretend to be!"
Snape's wand was out before Dolores even finished her sentence. He pointed it directly at her and the look of fear crossed her face. Albus gently placed a hand on the potion master's shoulder.
"Severus, it's alright."
Snape slowly lowered his wand but not his glare. Dolores cleared her throat and looked at Minerva again before stalking off in the direction the two house elves had taken her bags. Minerva blinked back the tears as Poppy put an arm around her.
"Min? You alright?"
Minerva nodded and looked at Severus. "Thank you, Severus. I appreciate what you tried to do."
"She's a horrible woman. I wouldn't be surprised if she was working for the Dark Lord himself," he spat.
"That may not be far from the truth," Albus stated simply. He walked over and linked Minerva's arm through his. "Now, I believe we all should get to sleep. We will need to be on guard for the next week. There is much to be done. Goodnight."
All the staff dispersed, saying goodnight and wondering just how much Albus Dumbledore knew about Dolores Umbridge.
Albus walked Minerva back to her quarters. He helped her inside and then kissed her lightly.
"I am afraid I have some business to attend to tonight. I will see you tomorrow morning."
"Albus..."
"Yes dear?"
"What do you know?"
Albus hesitated. "I will tell you when I know for sure that my assumptions are correct. Now, it is time for you to get some much needed rest." He kissed her and then went to the door. He turned back around.
"Minerva?"
"Yes?"
"Do no believe a word she says. You are the strongest woman I know. And just so you know, I would have hexed her myself if Xiomara hadn't put a hand on my shoulder first."
Minerva smiled. "Thank you, Albus. I do love you."
"I love you too. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He left her, closing the door behind him. He straightened up and walked away quickly. There was much to be done. Minerva settled into bed awhile later. She tried to relax in order to put a stop to the ache in her back. She fell asleep, fearing for Albus' safety.
Dolores Umbridge's presence at breakfast the next morning made the Trio and Neville wonder what exactly what was going on at Hogwarts. They spoke quietly about why she was there when Albus stood.
"Students, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Dolores Umbridge who will be with us for the next week. Many of you will remember her from last year."
There were snickers heard from around the Great Hall. Umbridge cleared her throat loudly, causing Albus to sigh and the rest of the teachers to groan. Albus nodded reluctantly as Dolores stood to give another one of her famous speeches. He reached under the table to clasp Minerva's hand. She squeezed it gently and waited for Dolores to finish her ranting and raving.
"Students, I am very glad to be back at Hogwarts among you. I am here on Ministry business. I am afraid that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned and it is the Ministry's wish to keep all students safe and sound behind these castle walls. I am here to evaluate the actions that have been put into place. If there is any concern among you, please come speak to me. I will be available at any time and I would like to hear your thoughts on what the adminstration of this school has done."
Harry turned and saw Malfoy snickering with Crabbe and Goyle. He caught Harry's eye and sneered at him before turning back to his partners in crime. Harry turned to Hermione and Ron.
"This is bad. Look at all the professors."
"Yea, we're in trouble with the ole toad here again," Ron said.
Hermione was deep in thought. "You know, this could be a trick of some sort."
"A trick? What are you getting at, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Umbridge could be here saying she is working for the Ministry when in reality, she's working for..."
"Voldemort," Harry finished for her. "It makes sense! We should ask Professor Dumbledore tonight when we go to his office after dinner."
Ron gulped nervously. "You think...I mean you really think, that she's here because of him? You think this is his way of getting into Hogwarts?"
Harry nodded. "Voldemort can't trust Malfoy anymore. He failed last time. He needs someone else, someone who was working with the Ministry. Someone that no one would expect."
"But don't you think Dumbledore knows that?" Ron asked.
"I think he does. We just have to find out," Harry said. "That will be our first order of business with Dumbledore tonight. Keep your ears open for what people are saying about Umbridge being back, especially Malfoy."
The Trio went to their first class and made sure to listen closely to what everyone was saying. That night, they and Neville met in Albus' office where he was waiting for them.
"Welcome. Please, sit down." After they took their seats, Harry quickly spoke up.
"Professor, we were wondering about Ms. Umbridge being back."
"I see," Albus said calmly.
"We think that she's here for other reasons. Reasons that don't deal with the Ministry of Magic." When Harry saw that Albus wasn't going to say anything, he continued. "We think she's working for Voldemort."
Albus took in all the student's faces and nodded. "I have to agree."
Their faces all turned to shock. "You do?" Ron asked. His nerve level had just gone through the roof.
"Yes, I do. But, you must not say a word of this to anyone, not even a Professor. Do you understand?"
They all nodded.
"Professor, why are you allowing her to stay if you know she is working for the Dark Lord?" Hermione asked.
"Ah, I wondered when someone would ask that. There is a method to my madness," Albus replied light-heartedly. He stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of the four students. "You see, I am quite sure that she is working for the Dark Lord, yet I do not know just how yet. When Professor McGonagall was injured last year, I had a feeling that she was working with Voldemort. When she showed up this year after Lucius' failed attempts, I knew for sure that Ms. Umbridge has turned to the Dark Side. However, I have not come to a conclusion as to her placement in his plans for an attack."
They soaked in this information and tried to come to their own conclusion about Dolores Umbridge's real job in Voldemort's plans.
"I will need all of you to be extra careful. There is no need to take any unnecessary risks this week. I have eyes watching Ms. Umbridge at all hours of the day. She, however, does not know that. The problem is that she will be walking these halls every night. So, I suggest we hold off on lessons for this week. Professor McGonagall will be speaking with all of you daily when she takes the Gryffindor's back to the tower. Please, do not hold anything back from her. She is my second in command and will report to me. Dolores does not think that is odd. She knows how much I trust Professor McGonagall. That is why she was targeted last year."
"Professor, can I ask a question?" Neville asked quietly.
"Of course, Mr. Longbottom."
"Well...you said Professor McGonagall was targeted, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did."
"But, last year, it was said to be an accident. She said Professor McGonagall started it."
Albus straightened and the twinkle left his eyes. "Who said that?"
"Ms. Umbridge. I heard her talking with the other professors. She told them that Professor McGonagall came out hurling curses and in order to save themselves, they had to stun her."
"But we saw it happen! Professor McGonagall didn't do anything. They just shot her down!" Harry said defensively.
"Mr. Longbottom, I will ask that you no longer listen to anything Ms. Umbridge says. What she says is filled with lies. And for the record, Professor McGonagall was hit with four stunners because she tried to help Hagrid. She did not even have her wand out. She was hit...she was hit because Dolores Umbridge wanted her out of the way," he said sadly.
The four students saw the change in Dumbledore's demeanor and remained quiet. Albus cleared his throat and eyed them all.
"Now, you will need to go back to the dormitories. I will be speaking with you all soon. Thank you for coming."
They all said goodnight and walked out of the office. Albus sat heavily in his seat. He leaned back and tried to clear his mind. There were many things he would like to say and do to Dolores Umbridge to make her suffer like she had made his Minerva suffer. All in good time, he thought. All in good time.