Chapter 8: Fudge's Toady

Not even back at Hogwarts and Rosier's already getting on my nerves. He cornered the Evans twins on the train - calling them the 'm' word and making very lewd suggestions. I was about to go over and give him what for - my Elementalist abilities seemed to be in agreement with me as a chill similar to that of dementors settled over everyone. Turns out, I needn't have bothered. Lily covered him with boils and Rose somehow managed to give him tentacles for arms. If I were James, I'd be very scared of Lily.

"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" asked Ginny. "What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"

"I'll be quite glad if he has," said Luna. "He isn't a very good teacher, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" said Harry, Ron, and Ginny angrily.

"It's all a matter of perspective really, Luna," Leo replied in a much calmer tone. "Not only is Hagrid our friend, but he's also a brilliant teacher -"

"You're only saying that because he loves dangerous animals as much as you do," Draco rolled his eyes.

"That's... not entirely incorrect," Leo finally grumbled, receiving laughs all around.

Rattling and swaying, the carriages moved in convoy up the road. When they passed between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars on either side of the gates to the school grounds, Leo leaned forward to try and see whether there were any lights on in Hagrid's cabin by the Forbidden Forest, but the grounds were in complete darkness. Hogwarts Castle, however, loomed ever closer: a towering mass of turrets, jet-black against the dark sky, here and there a window blazing fiery bright above them.

The carriages jingled to a halt near the stone steps leading up to the oak front doors and Leo got out of the carriage first. He turned again to look for lit windows down by the forest, but there was definitely no sign of life within Hagrid's cabin. He sighed, helping Luna and the others out of the carriage before taking out his wand and helping the former residents of Grimmauld re-enlarge their trunks. Harry tried to stop and stare at the thestrals again, but Leo shook his head and pulled him away toward the castle.

The entrance hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long House tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly to one another, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other Houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and robes.

Leo gave Luna a one-armed hug and Draco a clap on the shoulder as the two departed to their own tables. He then followed the others to the Gryffindor table, waving farewell as he sat further down the table at his customary spot next to Lee Jordan and across from the Weasley twins. They didn't waste any time.

"Notice Hagrid's gone?" Fred asked, receiving a nod from the blonde. "What d'you reckon?"

"I -" Leo stopped abruptly, scowling as he looked up at the staff table. "I reckon you've got to be bloody kidding me."

The twins and Lee turned their heads to follow his gaze. Dumbledore's head was inclined toward the woman sitting next to him, who was talking into his ear. She looked, Leo thought, like somebody had tried to mate a toad with someone like Filch. She was squat, with short, curly, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. I think she may have just ruined the colour pink for me. He sighed irritably as the woman's toad-like face turned towards them slightly as she sipped from her goblet.

"D'you know her?" George frowned, looking back at him.

"Aye, she works for Fudge," Leo replied, twirling his fork and wishing he had something to stab. "Tried to ferret out information about Sirius when he was still on the run and she was at our hearing."

"What the hell is she doing here if she works for Fudge?" Lee questioned in confusion.

"The Ministry appointed her. Some sort of educational decree they passed that lets them appoint someone if Dumbles can't find anyone," Leo explained, making a mental note to send a letter to his father as soon as Apollo returned. "My Dad told me about it yesterday."

Fred was about to say something when the doors from the entrance hall opened. A long line of scared-looking first years entered, led by McGonagall, who was carrying a stool on which sat an ancient wizard's hat, heavily patched and darned with a wide rip near the frayed brim.

The buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away. The first years lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students, and McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them, then stood back.

The whole school waited with bated breath. Then the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song. Leo was disinterested at first until the very end when the Hat mentioned the school was in danger and that the Houses should unite or Hogwarts would perish. He caught Draco's eye across the Hall, and he looked as grim as ever as he looked back.

"Bloody hell, if we're getting scolded by clothing we must be doing something wrong," Leo joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"D'you think the Hat knows about You-Know-Who?" George raised his eyebrows.

"Well, it lives in Dumbles's office, so it probably picked something up -" Leo began, closing his mouth quickly at McGonagall's stern look.

She was waiting to read out the list of first years' names and giving the whispering students the sort of look that scorches. As per usual, the muttering came to an abrupt end. With a last frowning look that swept the four House tables, McGonagall lowered her eyes to her long piece of parchment and called out,

"Abercrombie, Euan."

A terrified-looking boy stumbled forward and put the hat on his head; it was only prevented from falling right down to his shoulders by his very prominent ears. The hat considered for a moment, then the rip near the brim opened again and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Leo clapped loudly with the rest of Gryffindor House as Euan Abercrombie staggered to their table and sat down, looking as though he would like very much to sink through the floor and never be looked at again. Slowly the long line of first years thinned; in the pauses between the names and the Sorting Hat's decisions, Leo spared the occasional glance at Umbridge, whose expression remained impassive. Finally, "Zeller, Rose" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and McGonagall picked up the hat and stool and marched them away as Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old hands — welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore sat down neatly and threw his long beard over his shoulder so as to keep it out of the way of his plate — for food had appeared out of nowhere, so that the five long tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread, sauces, and flagons of pumpkin juice.

"So, what d'you know about that lady, Leo?" Lee inquired as they piled food on their plates. "Did your dad say anything about her?"

"No, I only met her once and then saw her again at my hearing," the teen frowned up at her again.

"A hearing?" Lee looked intrigued. "What did you do this time?"

"Harry and I got attacked by dementors in a Muggle neighbourhood – had to fight 'em off with Patronuses," Leo shrugged, stuffing a potato in his mouth. "Umbridge - that toad woman – looked pretty shifty when Dad brought it up."

"You think she had something to do with it?" the twins asked incredulously.

"Bit of a coincidence that they showed up two days after she came sniffing round the house," Leo snorted. "Dad's of the same mind, but he says we don't have enough evidence to do anything about it. Pointing fingers at Fudge's toady would get us in trouble."

"Well, if we can't get her in trouble," Fred began.

"Then we'll just have to make trouble for her," George finished with a mischievous grin.

"That's the plan," Leo chuckled. "You see, this is why we're friends."

The other three grinned broadly and the conversation fell into what they would do to Umbridge. When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the hall was starting to creep upward again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as they all turned to face the headmaster.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students — and a few of our older students ought to know by now too."

Leo noticed Dumbledore glancing at him and his friends and gave an unabashed smile in response.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause that Leo and his friends didn't join in.

Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the —"

He broke off, looking inquiringly at Umbridge. As she was not much taller standing than sitting, there was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking, but then Umbridge said, "Hem, hem," and it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat back down smartly and looked alertly at Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair, and McGonagall's mouth was as thin as Leo had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts. Leo stared at her apprehensively.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

She gave another little throat-clearing cough ("Hem, hem") and continued: "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

"The year hasn't even started and I hate her more than Lockhart," Leo whispered to his friends, who quietly snickered.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

Students exchanged looks at this; some of them were barely concealing grins. Leo didn't even bother trying to hide a derisive snort. Fat chance of that. Umbridge cleared her throat again ("Hem, hem"), but when she continued, some of the breathiness had vanished from her voice. She sounded much more businesslike and now her words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Umbridge paused here and made a little bow to her fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back. McGonagall's dark eyebrows had contracted so that she looked positively hawk-like, and Leo distinctly saw her exchange a significant glance with Sprout as Umbridge gave another little "Hem, hem" (Leo was prepared to ask her if she'd like a cough drop, but McGonagall seemed to read his mind and gave him a rather severe look) and went on with her speech.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation..."

The quiet that always filled the Hall when Dumbledore was speaking was breaking up as students put their heads together, whispering and giggling. Leo, however, was paying unusually rapt attention, reading between the lines of nonsense she was spewing and trying to find the hidden message beneath it all. 'Progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'... that makes it sound like we're going back instead of forward. That explains the Slinkhard book.

Umbridge did not seem to notice the restlessness of her audience. Leo had the impression that a full-scale riot could have broken out under her nose and she would have ploughed on with her speech. The teachers, however, were still listening very attentively, and Hermione – who was further down the table - seemed to be drinking in every word Umbridge spoke, though judging by her expression, they were not at all to her taste. He noticed Draco seemed to be wearing the same sort of look on his face.

"... because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

That bitch. Leo seethed as she sat down and Dumbledore clapped, the staff barely following his lead. She's going to be interfering with what we're learning. He exchanged a significant glance with Draco across the Hall, and the look on his face clearly said that he had come to the same conclusion. Leo flashed him a smirk worthy of James Potter and received one in return. Looks like we'll have to teach her a few lessons of our own.

There was a great clattering and banging all around them; Dumbledore had obviously just dismissed the school because everyone was standing up ready to leave the Hall. Leo bid farewell to his friends and ran to catch up to Harry as Hermione and Ron went off to see to their prefect duties. Walking beside him, they exited the Great Hall and ascended up the staircase, discussing Umbridge's speech and what it would mean for Hogwarts. They both finally agreed the Marauders needed to be informed at once as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

They exchanged a look. Neither of them knew the password. Thankfully, they were rescued by an unlikely hero.

"Harry, Leo, I know it!" someone panted from behind them, and they turned to see Neville jogging toward them. "Guess what it is? I'm actually going to be able to remember it for once —" He waved the stunted little cactus he had shown them on the train. "Mimbulus mimbletonia!"

"Correct," said the Fat Lady, and her portrait swung open toward them like a door, revealing a circular hole in the wall behind, through which the three Gryffindors now climbed.

The Gryffindor common room looked as welcoming as ever, a cozy circular tower room full of dilapidated squashy armchairs and rickety old tables. A fire was crackling merrily in the grate and a few people were warming their hands before going up to their dormitories; on the other side of the room Fred and George Weasley were pinning something up on the notice board. Leo and Harry waved good night to them and headed straight for the door to the boys' dormitories, Neville following them.

Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had reached the dormitory first and were in the process of covering the walls beside their beds with posters and photographs. They had been talking as Leo pushed open the door but stopped abruptly the moment they saw him and Harry. Leo just assumed they were talking about him and shrugged, unconcerned as he walked over to his trunk.

"Hi," Harry said, moving across to his own trunk and opening it.

"Hey, Harry. Hey, Leo," said Dean, who was putting on a pair of pyjamas in the West Ham colours. "Good holiday?"

"We've had worse," Leo replied vaguely. "You?"

"Yeah, it was okay," chuckled Dean. "Better than Seamus's anyway, he was just telling me."

"Why, what happened, Seamus?" Neville asked as he placed his Mimbulus mimbletonia tenderly on his bedside cabinet.

Seamus did not answer immediately; he was making rather a meal of ensuring that his poster of the Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch team was quite straight. Then he said, with his back still turned to them, "Me mam didn't want me to come back."

"What?" said Harry, pausing in the act of pulling off his robes.

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"She didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts."

Seamus turned away from his poster and pulled his own pyjamas out of his trunk, still not looking at them. Leo undressed quickly and put on his dark red and gold Gryffindor pyjamas Sirius had gotten him over the summer. He sat on his bed, eyeing Seamus warily. He had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with the Prophet.

"But — why?" said Harry, astonished.

Seamus did not answer until he had finished buttoning his pyjamas.

"Well," he said in a measured voice, "I suppose... because of you two."

"Let me guess," Leo began in an irate tone. "She's been reading the Prophet and thinks Harry and I are lunatics?"

Seamus looked up at him. "Yeah, something like that."

"You'd think that – given the Prophet has reported that my uncle is a mass-murdering lunatic the past two years – people would take whatever that thing says with a grain of salt," Leo snorted, falling back in his bed and preparing to close the hangings.

"Yeah... well... maybe you lot could tell us what did happen that night when... you know, when... with Cedric Diggory and all?"

Seamus sounded nervous and eager at the same time. Dean, who had been bending over his trunk, trying to retrieve a slipper, went oddly still and Leo knew he was listening hard.

"What are you asking us for?" Harry retorted. "Just read the Daily Prophet like your mother, why don't you? That'll tell you all you need to know."

"Don't you have a go at my mother," snapped Seamus.

"I'll have a go at anyone who calls us liars," said Harry.

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"I'll talk to you how I want," said Harry, as he snatched his wand back from his bedside table.

Leo immediately sprang up from his bed, putting a hand on Harry's chest to stop him and staring him down. Harry glared back, but Leo held his ground until Harry huffed, looked away, and sat on his bed. Only then did Leo turn away from him to give Finnigan a stern look that would've made McGonagall proud.

"Look, you and your mum can believe whatever you want – it's not my job to tell people how to think," he said firmly. "But keep your bloody opinions to yourselves. We don't need your negativity infecting the rest of us, Finnigan."

"And what'll you do if I don't, Black?" Finnigan snapped, stepping forward a pace. "Going to curse me -"

"Don't tempt me, Finnigan -"

"What's going on?"

Ron had appeared in the doorway. His wide eyes travelled from Harry, who was sitting on his bed glaring angrily at Finnigan, to Finnigan, who was standing there with his fists raised. They then settled on Leo, who looked seconds away from turning into a lion himself and tearing into the boy.

"Finnigan was being a git – he and his mum believe the Prophet – and I was just about to put him in his place," Leo replied, his eyes never wavering from Finnigan.

"You know what?" said Finnigan heatedly, casting Leo and Harry each a venomous look. "I don't want to share a dormitory with them anymore, they're mad."

"That's out of order, Seamus," said Ron, whose ears were starting to glow red, always a danger sign.

"Out of order, am I?" shouted Finnigan, who in contrast with Ron was turning paler. "You believe all the rubbish they've come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon they're telling the truth?"

"Yeah, I do!" said Ron angrily.

"Then you're mad too," said Finnigan in disgust.

"Yeah? Well unfortunately for you, pal, I'm also a prefect!" said Ron, jabbing himself in the chest with a finger. "So unless you want detention, watch your mouth!"

Finnigan looked for a few seconds as though detention would be a reasonable price to pay to say what was going through his mind; but with a noise of contempt, he turned on his heel, vaulted into bed, and pulled the hangings shut with such violence that they were ripped from the bed and fell in a dusty pile to the floor. Ron glared at Finnigan, then looked at Dean and Neville.

"Anyone else's parents got a problem with Harry and Leo?" he said aggressively.

"My parents are Muggles, mate," said Dean, shrugging. "They don't know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I'm not stupid enough to tell them."

"You don't know my mother, she'll weasel anything out of anyone!" Finnigan snapped at him. "Anyway, your parents don't get the Daily Prophet, they don't know our headmaster's been sacked from the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards because he's losing his marbles —"

"My gran says that's rubbish," piped up Neville. "She says it's the Daily Prophet that's going downhill, not Dumbledore. She's cancelled our subscription. We believe Harry and Leo," he said simply. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, looking owlishly over them at Seamus. "My gran's always said You-Know-Who would come back one day. She says if Dumbledore says he's back, he's back."

"Your gran's a smart woman, Nev," Leo smiled at him. "Guess you get that from her."

Neville turned red but looked pleased all the same. Nobody else said anything. Finnigan got out his wand, repaired the bed hangings, and vanished behind them. Dean got into bed, rolled over, and fell silent. Neville, who appeared to have nothing more to say either, was gazing fondly at his moonlit cactus.

Leo walked over to sit beside Harry while Ron bustled around the next bed, putting his things away. Harry still looked shaken and upset, but Leo thought he knew what would cheer him up. However, he didn't say anything until Ron got into bed and extinguished the last candle in the dormitory. He waved his wand, muttering a spell so no one else would hear them.

"Wanna go for a run, Blitz?" Leo grinned.

Harry was silent for a moment before Leo saw his head nod. Leo rose from his bed and dug in his trunk, pulling out the Marauder's Map as Harry took out his Invisibility Cloak. The two disappeared under the cloak as Leo opened the Map and they made their way downstairs and out of the common room. The Fat Lady looked bewildered to find no one was there, but the two ignored her as they continued down the Grand Staircase, through the entrance hall, and out the great oak doors.

They made their way down the lawn, stopping at Hagrid's hut where they stowed the Map and Cloak before running toward the Forbidden Forest. As soon as they were hidden under the trees, they fell forward, turning into Blitzen and Aslan before racing off through the forest.