Author: Muduoduomu

The original story page: http/onebook.php?novelid=3415654

Chapter 64. A small step

On Saturday morning, students got up a little late. It's almost ten o'clock, there were still not many people at the table.

Della and her friends spent more time at the breakfast table because Fred would have to train later.

"It's Saturday." Della accentuated the word and asked George, "don't you have a better idea?"

Angelina was grinning.

George shrugged. "This is the tradition of Weasley's family: Women has the final say."

Fred nodded. "That's it, honey." He said sincerely, covering his heart.

Everybody laughed.

Ron, who was sitting opposite them, with his made-up ex-girlfriend Lavender beside him. After hearing this, Lavender was obviously beyond excited. She blushed, giggled and leaned on Ron's shoulder intimately.

Ron's face was redder than hers. He squirmed and got rid of her, sat down on Harry's another side.

Hermione shook her head and said to Della, "If it goes on like this, I'm afraid they would have another division sooner or later."

Della sympathized with Lavender, unfortunately, they didn't know each other very well. While she couldn't say too much to her, since she barely knew her.

She and herself years ago made the same mistake. When they were in love, they all walked faster than boys. Before boys got involved, they had fallen into too deep.

"Would you like another muffin cake?" Fred asked her, pointing to a new-conjured cake mountain in the silver plate.

"No. I'd like another chocolate pudding." Della took one for herself, picked up the spoon, took a big dig and was about to eat when Professor McGonagall suddenly knocked her goblet with her spoon.

The crisp voice attracted attentions from the whole room, people were looking up.

"Everyone, let's welcome our… inquisitor to have a word to you." There was no smile on her face. Although she was serious all the time, she was not the one who refused to smile at students like Professor Snape.

"This is Miss Dolores Umbridge of the Ministry of Magic." Professor McGonagall said.

Della heard a "familiar" name.

"Dorothy?" She murmured.

Among the many comments on Harry Potter that she had seen, one of them from a foreign book fan was sort of interesting. He said that some names of Harry Potter were ironic, such as the well-known annoying female professor. She was an unmarried old lady, very vicious, and liked the things of pink girl series. Her name was the same as the famous fairy tale The Wizard of Oz: The protagonist Dorothy.

Della didn't find this "Dorothy" when reading the book, there wasn't a name of "Dorothy" in the book. She didn't know who it was mentioned until she saw the film.

Now, the image came back to life, jumped out of the book and stood in front of her.

Snape noticed Della Bush, he had been keeping an eye on her. At last, the forgetful young lady had a "suddenly realized" expression on her face. She stared at Umbridge and seemed to recall something.

She seemed to be the right person.

Snape was happy with it, he didn't have to waste time here. Now that he had found the right person and this person had arrived at Hogwarts, they would have enough time to get another "double" from her.

—Dumbledore thought it's more appropriate than Horcrux.

He immediately said to Professor McGonagall, "I still have a pot of potion being made, so, I'll leave first." For the first time, he gave Umbridge a polite smile before he left.

Umbridge obviously thought that he should wait for her permission before leaving, so she gave Professor McGonagall a hint smile, like a noble lady. She thought Professor Snape was quite ill-bred.

Professor McGonagall looked down at the students as if she hadn't seen her hint.

Umbridge had to stand up and spoke to everyone, she gently and sternly gestured them… go back to their breakfast.

Fred saw Della staring at the magic ministry official on top of her, he said to her, "don't mind. I don't think she will stay long. I haven't seen anyone who's hated by both Snape and Professor McGonagall stay at Hogwarts for a year."

It seemed that jarring on both Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall had doomed her fate.

Hermione was listening, and the more she did, the worse she looked. When Umbridge sat down, she was vexed, "I can't believe it! The minister suspected that headmaster was scheming and plotting, so he sent this woman here!"

Ron looked up blankly, "did she say that?"

Harry shook his head. "No. She just hinted a lot."

Hermione said quickly: "She hinted that headmaster Dumbledore is no longer trusted by the Minister of Magic, while she believed there must be many people loyal to the minister in Hogwarts. Her office door is always open to these people. If anyone wants to talk to her and reveal some secrets, there is no need to worry about revenge, and she will protect them."

Fred cleared out his ear: "I beg your pardon… loyal to the Minister of Magic?" He turned to George and asked, "is there such a person in England?"

George replied solemnly, "Percy?"

Fred was glad, "great! He's graduated!"

The people on the long table laughed it off.

No one will be loyal to the Minister of Magic. It sounded like a Christmas joke.

While Hermione was riled up. Unexpectedly, Della was as angry as she was.

"Dirty politician!" Hermione thought she has found the truth. "The minister has been under attack recently, and he's starting to distract public attentions! He's going to pull headmaster in!"

She took a look at Umbridge above and worried, "there must be someone go to her."

Harry shook his head. "No. At Hogwarts, who will speak ill of headmaster?" Ron: "Slytherin."

There's no doubt.

Although always saying stupid things, Ron was always impressive others when he came to the point once in a while.

Fred wiped his mouth, stood up and said, "then we'll crush them in the next Quidditch game! Come on, bro." He called George.

Quidditch players at the dinner table all got up to training.

Fred was going to say goodbye to his honey. "Honey, see you at noon."

Della had a quick nod to him, approached Hermione and said something in her ear.

Hermione seemed to be startled by her: "Are you kidding?"

Fred refused to go without his sweetheart's attention, so he stepped in and asked, "what are you talking about?"

Della: "We're talking about handle her."

Hermione shook her head. "No, we're not!"

Fred looked around in confusion, but no one on the table could give him an answer. Even Hermione didn't understand.

"What did I miss?" He asked Della, "are you going to whack that pink toad up there?"

"The Pink-Toad" quickly replaced the real name of Miss Umbridge. Before noon, the whole Hogwarts knew they had had a special inquisitor of the Ministry of Magic. Her task was to inquisite all the "misconduct" of the headmaster and professors in Hogwarts. And her office was next to the caretaker Filch's —to be honest, it was really… funny.

She said several times at the breakfast that she welcomed anyone to visit her at any time, and she would prepare sweet black tea and yummy snacks.

"She seems to think the students in the school are suffering." Hermione muttered, she saw Della have a book in front of her, but obviously, she's not here.

She knocked on the coffee table in front of her. "Wait a minute, you're not going on with that idea, are you?" Della looked up.

Hermione looked at her suspiciously. "Listen, people don't like her. I don't think we need to worry about her. Besides, there are headmaster and professors. Fred is right, if Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall both hate her, the others won't like her neither. She'll be isolated by all the professors, and then…" She shrugged, "she'll be kicked out."

But everything seemed to have begun like fate.

Fred and George were about to open the shop, and the pink-toad was coming — she's going to be against with Harry, and Harry would never give in.

In the end, they would still have to face the pink-toad, and after the fierce conflict, Fred and George were driven out of school.

The thought haunted her, Della could only figure out an idea to get rid of her in advance, which would prevent Fred and George from getting hurt.

She planned to have Hermione to come up with some good ideas, she must be able to have some!

While she forgot Hermione was acute, she should find a reason!

But she couldn't.

In this way, Hermione would not be with her of this nonsense.

She would do her best to persuade her, just like she's doing now.

Della soon decided not to have Hermione to her plan.

She then nodded and said, "of course, I was joking. I won't do that!" She nodded hard to show that what she said was true.

"…All right." Hermione was still suspicious to her.

But she had so many books to read. In the afternoon, when Fred and Harry were going to train again, Hermione went to the library and invited her to do their homework together.

"Is it time for your Transfiguration homework?" said Hermione.

Della yawned, "but I want to go up for a nap."

Hermione added another word making her nervous, "but you never take a nap. You've always had a lot of energy, even if you stayed up till 3 a.m. the day before."

Della: "…emm, I may fell ill today."

Hermione was no stranger to the word "fell ill". "You want me to accompany you to the hospital wing?"

"I'll go myself." Della quickly dropped the subject, was afraid to be seen by her. She stood up and walked out: "don't worry about me."

She came out through the portrait hole and had to go to the hospital wing first. Madam Pomfrey sighed as she poured her a cup of potion, which was again very hard to drink — the colour was like the blood of a cut cockroach.

Madam Pomfrey had to explain: "…it's said that the ingredients changed. I'll remind Severus next time to have another one for you."

Della drained it in calm. She had been taking the potion from Professor Snape for five years, and the whole Gryffindor students didn't had as much as she did alone.

She felt that she should prepare a gift for Professor Snape before graduation.

After leaving the hospital wing, Della didn't go back to the Gryffindor tower, nor the library and the Quidditch stadium outside the castle to watch Fred training.

Instead, she went to the pink toad's office.

She hoped to have a survey first. Knew yourself and your enemy, a thousand battles, a thousand victories!

To get rid of her, she had to investigate.

…All she knew about the "official of the Ministry of Magic who drove Fred away" was above sentence.

She knocked on the door and waited for a while, but there was no response inside. She had to knock again and a third time.

…

There had been no one.

She drew out her wand, pointed to the door lock, and prepared for the first "illegal invasion" in her life.

"Alohomora!" She's pretty good at spells.

With a click of the door lock, it opened and slid out quietly.

Della looked in.

The door was suddenly pushed!

She was frightened, flashed back and clenched her wand. She was hesitated to choose the Petrificus or the Avis. The former one would make people stiff, and the later would temporarily block one's sight and be unable to see who secretly opened the door and wanted to slip in.

"Miss Bush," Snape had only kept a slit, and stood at the door, sheltered the house tightly.

His gloomy gaze gave Della the illusion that he was trying to whip her ass.

Snape murmured to her, as if whispered to a lover — if his words were not so frightening.

"Five points off because you opened the door of a high inquisitor with improper intention."

Della gasped.

"Go back to Gryffindor's common room, or I'll take you another 50 points."

Della was scared away at once.

Watching her run out of the corridor and making sure she's not trying to go back, he closed the door.

He turned back, Umbridge on the sofa didn't give a respond. It seemed like she's falling asleep from her face.

There were two cups of black tea with strong aroma on the tea table in front of the sofa.

One of the glasses was untouched, while the other was taken two sips.

Snape went back to the sofa and resumed to ask her, "name anything more than 50 years you have, whether it's rubbish or antiques."

Umbridge then started with an antique photo frame that her grandmother left her.

Snape had to jot down everything on parchment, therefore, they had to go to her house to steal them out.

Look at these things!

They were all junk!

That's all thanks for Miss Seer not remembering what the Horcrux Umbridge had!