I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC

Hello guys Badger here. Today is a good day. College is now over, officially and hopefully I'll be going to Uni. Until then, I have roughly three months to work on this story as much as I want. All is well. I also want to thank sylvia2516 on their kind words on the previous chapter, it made me so happy. Silverleone it seems you have competition being my favourite reviewer.

Now, I was told by a friend who reads my story that they were unable to vote on the poll. Is it the same for you as well. If it is, I'll try to fix the problem. If nothing works I'll just remove it. Until then, instead of voting on the poll, leave your answer in the review section.

That is all for now. Read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.

Chapter 59

This woman is going to be a problem, isn't she?

It wasn't long until Harry and James found themselves back on the Hogwarts Express. Harry wasn't sure what Luna did, when she came round, but she definitely helped James. He still seemed cold, but he was more open and wasn't closing himself off from the others. The rest of their holiday was rather uneventful, though there was one meeting for the Order of the Phoenix which, according to Sirius, was a secret organisation Dumbledore founded to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harrys parents were part of the Order. James' father, Malcolm, was also part of the Order, whilst his mother chose to stay out of the fighting as much as she possibly could. Harry and James, naturally, asked to be part of the Order, but Dumbledore turned them down despite protest from Sirius and Remus. They also weren't allowed to be part of the meeting that took place. They asked Sirius what the meeting was, but apparently the whole Order was under an oath and couldn't tell them, though it was obvious that he wanted to.

Harry was on his own for a while, as James and Daphne had to attend a meeting with the other prefects, but now the three were in a train compartment, waiting for a few others to join them. Several Auror patrols were on the platform and the train itself, to watch over everyone and make sure there were no Death Eaters around. Before saying goodbye, Sirius had given Harry a mirror, which he and Harry's father made years back. Sirius found it a while ago and thought it would be easier to communicate that way. All Harry had to do was say Sirius' name and that was it. It wasn't long until the door opened, where the twins and Ginny came through. No words needed to be exchanged for them to know, they were welcome to sit.

"Hello you three" Fred said

"Where is sweet Luna and Susan?" George asked, waggling his eyebrows at James and Harry

"They weren't here when we arrived" James shrugged "I guess they'll be here shortly"

"How are you guys doing, after everything that happened?" Ginny asked

"Oh, we are fine" Harry replied, whilst James subconsciously rubbed the small scar that now resided on his cheek "just tired, Sirius had us training a lot during the holidays"

"Well, I'm glad at least" Fred spoke up "You-Know-Who revealing himself has the whole of Wizarding Britain shook"

"Mum was practically hyperventilating when she found out" George added

"And dad wasn't any better" Ginny finished "Though, I am glad to see Aurors around, it seems the Ministry have been taking this seriously"

"Oh, they are" Daphne spoke up "from what my father has told me, Cornelius is doing everything he can, to keep everyone safe…he has even tripled the DMLE's budget and brought in dozens of new Aurors from pretty much anywhere…even Mad-Eye has come out of retirement to help out"

"Damn" James muttered "I just hope Dumbledore doesn't try to pass of the same rule of only using stunners and putting the Death Eaters in prison…that is why the light were losing the last war because they were being slaughtered by Death Eaters, who were massively outnumbered, whilst the Death Eaters will spend a week or two in prison, before someone broke them out"

"I doubt he will" Daphne shrugged "Even if he does, I think he will lose some of his popularity… especially as some, my father included, believe its only a matter of time until You-Know-Who breaks his followers out of Azkaban…which is where the most insane and murderous have resided in for the past fourteen years"

Their conversation was interrupted, when the compartment door opened, revealing Malfoy and Nott.

"Speaking of Death Eaters" James muttered

"Potter, Badger" Malfoy sneered "I'm surprised to see you here…I would've thought what happened in the graveyard would be enough for you to run away"

"Malfoy, I have better things to do, then talk to you" Harry replied "So, please, kindly piss off"

"I'd be careful, if I were you Potter" Nott spoke up, placing a restraining hand on Malfoy's shoulder "with the Dark Lords return, you should watch your back…things are going to change"

"Is that a threat Nott?" James asked "Because if it is you, yourself should be careful…have the Aurors investigated your father at all?"

Nott's eyes narrowed slightly, his calm demeanour almost breaking, before he throws Malfoy to one side, where the two then disappear down the carriage.

"I'm surprised spells didn't fly" Ginny said "Malfoy seemed ready to hex the two of you"

"With Lucius on the run, it's not surprising" Daphne replied "Apparently, there is a one million galleon bounty on his head…usually, bounties don't go for that much, but as Lucius was a member of You-Know-Who's inner circle, they can make an exception"

"This is also why I want to keep a close eye on Malfoy" James spoke up "I fear he may be stupid enough to try something…though I must say, I'm still surprised Nott's father has been investigated…he was a known Death Eater"

"My father says they are planning to investigate all known Death Eaters" Daphne said "I'm sure he will be investigated soon"

"They better" James muttered "Well this is going to be a fun year"

It wasn't long until they were back at Hogwarts. When they entered the Great Hall, Harry and James immediatley saw that there was a new teacher. How could they not? She was wearing robes that were so pink, it was giving them a headache, not to mention she resembled a toad. They were certain that they saw her with the Minister during the Final Task, but couldn't remember. They watched the sorting. The fact that only two students went into Slytherin this year, was not lost on anyone. All quiet conversation stopped, when Dumbledore stepped up to the podium.

"Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts" He said "I'm sure you have all read the Daily Prophet…I'm sure you are worried, but you have nothing to be scared of, the best Ministry workers are doing everything they can to deal with the situation…now, as I'm sure you may have noticed, we have new Hogwarts staff…On behalf of the Ministers request, Miss Delores Umbridge will be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor this year…"

Dumbledore was cut off by Umbridge clearing her throat, as she made her way to the podium, standing in front of Dumbledore, who was looking at Umbridge, as if she had just massively offended him.

"Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome" Umbridge said, the sweetness in her voice obviously fake to anyone "and its lovely to see all your happy faces, smiling up at me"

Students were looking at Umbridge, like she was crazy. If you looked across the Great Hall, it was obvious that no one was smiling. They looked uncomfortable.

"Great" Daphne whispered "Our new Defence Professor is delusional"

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young wizards and witches to be crucial…I offered myself for the job, to help all you promising students with your future…together, we can preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and stop practices that ought to be prohibited…thank you"

There was a scatter of applause, as Umbridge made her way back to her seat, gently rubbing her arm. Harry and James didn't applaud. They just sat, staring at their new Defence Professor.

"I don't like her" Harry said, after a moment

"Glad its not just me" James replied "Once we are in our dorm, contact Sirius on the mirror…he must know something about this woman"

Harry was waiting in his dorm room, mirror in his hand. He was waiting for a while, until the door opened and James entered, looking more then a little tired.

"Sorry about that, dealing with the First Years took longer then expected" James sighed

"Don't worry about it" Harry replied, holding the mirror up in a way so both of them could be seen "Sirius Black"

The mirror glowed a faint green for a few second, before their reflection morphed into Sirius, who looked a little surprised.

"Harry, James" He greeted "Are you okay…I wasn't expecting you to call so soon"

"We're fine Sirius" Harry reassured "We had the…pleasure of meeting our new Defence Professor"

"Oh, that didn't sound good" Sirius muttered

"That depends" James replied "What do you know about Delores Umbridge?"

"Oh no" Sirius grimaced "Dumbledore hired that woman?"

"On behalf of the Ministers request, apparently" Harry shrugged

"Hmm, maybe Cornelius wants to get rid of her" Sirius replied "It wouldn't surprise me…anyway, Umbridge has recently become the new Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and, lets just say she isn't exactly popular in the Ministry…her bigotry and discrimination to Magical Creatures and anything that isn't a Pureblood is well known to practically everyone, and she doesn't hide it either, often speaking her views and beliefs out loud for all to hear"

"So our new Defence Professor is a racist, great!" James replied, sarcastically "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Only that you should be careful" Sirius said "Umbridge has given many uneasy feelings in the past, and recently, some have noticed she has been acting strange…I don't know the full story, all I ask is that you are careful and, if anything happens, knock her down on her ass…you have my permission"

Done!

If you remember, I had been working on this chapter, when I realised I hadn't written and posted the previous chapter, so it was quick and easy to finish this one.

In this chapter we have more information on the Ministry. Aren't we all glad to see the Ministry are actually doing something instead of ignoring Harry and Dumbledore like they did in canon. Lucius is also still on the run and only I know what awaits him in future chapters.

Umbridge has now revealed herself to be the new Defence Professor. I'm sure you know what's coming next.

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER - considering her character in canon, how big of a problem do you think she will be for Harry and James? (Leave your answers in the review section)

Nothing else to note here. All I can say is, I don't think you guys are ready for what I have planned for the Order of the Phoenix. Will things play out similar to canon, or will things go differently? I guess you'll have to wait and see. That is all for now, I hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next one.

Badger out.