Beta: JGNelson (friend)
Original release date: 07/31/2020
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the canon Harry Potter universe or any other canon universe, in addition to any references to things in the real world that currently exist. AU.
Chapter Seventy Three – Tentative Steps Forward
"Harry, why don't we use the Room of Requirement?" suggests Ron looking up from his Divination homework.
Looking as if someone had hit him in the face with a frying pan, Harry remarks, "Ron, you're a genius. So location has been solved. So now what's left—"
"Potter. You DO remember that Saturday we are doing Quidditch practice, yes? Try not to get weekend detention or we may be looking for a new seeker since we've postponed practices solely because of you and your detentions" states Angelina dangerously as she arrives at the table that Ron and Harry are doing their homework at.
Looking up at Angelina's piercing glare, Harry replies, "Understood. I'll mind my manners around Umbridge, if she does.'
"Potter, I'm being serious. I WILL replace you if you continue getting yourself into detention and missing practices. I'll see you at nine o'clock on Saturday" states Angelina before walking away.
As several seconds pass before Harry looks down at his half finished Divination homework and remarks, "I've lost a bit of my drive to do Divination. So if we use the Room of Requirement to host the organization, then I suppose the next step is to figure out the hierarchy and then what exactly we'd teach?"
"Obviously the head and the instructor would be you" states Daphne taking a seat beside Harry looking at him.
"Me? Why not Hermione? She's just as smart and studious. Then there's Neville, and of course you, Daphne. Ron isn't any slouch either-" begins Harry before being interrupted by Ron, "Mate, I've got prefect duties, Quidditch practice just like you, plus studies. I wouldn't be a good teacher. Besides you and Neville have faced You-Know-Who and survived. So if it is up to me, why not both of you?"
Pausing to reflect on Ron's statement, Harry turns to Neville and asks, "Would you like to co-teach with me then?"
"Of course, it would be fun to. If you don't mind me pitching the start of the…erm, lessons? Sessions? Whatever we call it, I think we should begin with some basic defensive spells such as shield, disarming, before moving to something more difficult such as invisibility, the likes" answers Neville.
"I think that would be a good progression. And after the Dementors in third year, I think a Patronus Charm would be an excellent thing too" remarks Harry getting enthusiastic.
"The thing is how to gain interest without alerting any professors to what we're doing to begin with" remarks Neville thoughtfully.
"And then untraceable contact method to organize when we achieve meetings, and preferably make it a bit random to keep anyone from being suspicious" adds Harry firmly.
"That might make it more difficult for some to come to meetings. I have an idea though for recruitment and contact if we can use the Marauding Network to send information and have people use some form of passphrase or something to decrypt any message we send" states Hermione with a glint in her eyes.
"Decrypt?" asks Ron confused.
"To remove the obfuscation of the message. Basically encrypting a message makes it unable to be read until you decrypt it, generally with a cipher. We can use a public/private key setup to make this a bit more less known to Sirius and Remus since setting up a PKI or Public Key Infrastructure would be a bit more obvious since they would be considered as a Certificate Authority and would probably see a bit of network traffic, in addition to needing to set up another system to handle said requests" answers Hermione cheerfully.
"Uh, what?" asks Ron still confused.
"Basically my suggestion is for us to provide a public key for encrypting our messages to be sent out to club members, and then each one has their own private key to decrypt our message as to limit people from reading our messages and having people like Professor Umbridge know what we are doing" answers Hermione smiling.
Blinking in rapid succession, Ron utters, "Oh" before returning to his homework.
"Sorry, I was just enjoying some articles and books on cryptography over the summer, and this provides an amazing opportunity to utilize what I've read" chirps Hermione excitedly.
"I understand and thank you for that. I guess it's just now to find out if there is any interest in such a club and work on a meeting with interested students" remarks Harry.
"I'll let you know when the interest meeting is and we can go from there, ok?" says Hermione starting to get up from the table.
"Ok" remarks Harry with a smile on his face before returning to his homework.
"Harry, can I speak to you in private?" inquires Daphne a few minutes later, giving a look to the others at the table who get up quietly and leave.
"Sure."
"Harry, it seems like you've been distancing yourself a bit recently. Is there something wrong or something you'd like to talk about?" mentions Daphne in a concerned voice, taking a seat beside him on the loveseat.
"What do you mean that I've been distancing myself?" replies Harry confused.
"You've been going to and from meals by yourself and eating quickly, and just in general being less communicative when you're not being confrontational."
Pausing to think, Harry replies quietly, "I HAVE had a bit on my mind. But you don't need to worry about me."
"Harry, contrary to the airs I put on when we are outside of the dormitory, I DO have a heart and I DO care about you and your well-being. Talk to me let me help shoulder some of your burden" Daphne pleads quietly leaning her head onto Harry's shoulder.
As seconds tick by, Harry sighs and replies, "You're right. I'm feeling frustrated about some people not believing that Voldemort is back, this cruel and unusual punishment that Umbridge has given us and how to counter it, the sheer volume of work we've been assigned this year, the designing and set up of this 'club' to actually practice defensive spell work, and of course Quidditch practice."
Remaining quiet for a short bit, Daphne suggests, "Have you thought about that some of this is inevitable or out of your control and that for other items that you have friends and definitely me on your side to help shoulder some of your burden? Let me address the first thing on your mind, some people not believing that Voldemort is back. If you were just minding your own business and then the Boy Who Lived whose family runs a magical store and uses unknown spells to create a network that can broadcast information much more rapidly than before, announces that Voldemort is back, how would you feel? You might just want to disbelieve because you don't know what other spell(s) are at work that could be producing the 'evidence' that the dark lord has returned. Then when you add in that said business also runs a warding educational program and sells defensive magic and designs ward systems for houses, would you not be a bit skeptical that they aren't just trying to make a cash grab?"
"Oh. That…that does sound like a plausible explanation, but they should still believe me."
"Harry, you've provided the truth, you can't just force people to believe what you believe, that is tyrannical. Just keep sticking to the story you've been telling and you'll be fine. Now, let's talk about the second item that is bothering you, the punishments that Umbridge has been assigning us. I've been looking for information regarding what kind of quills she is having us use, but they are definitely not your run of the mill. I think we should talk to Amelia, if not Sirius too. Perhaps one of them has more information, either from the law perspective, or from a dark magic side of things."
Nodding his head, Harry replies, "I think you're right. I guess now it's just stay under the radar of Umbridge and bide our time until we get a concrete plan."
"Agreed. Who should write the letter then?" asks Daphne curiously.
"I'll draft it and then you can look over it and make changes as you see fit, how about that? But it'll be sent via the Marauding Network since there is end to end encryption to make certain nefarious individuals aren't intercepting owl mail" suggests Harry.
"As to your last point, it's O.W.L.s, so I've been expecting the work load. Honestly, using some of the features of the Omni Play for Divination homework randomization, the MageSCP's ability to quickly copy notes and make them viewable on the Omni Play. The unnamed database system for Care of Magical Creatures that Luna has designed and upkept, especially with drawings and information that is provided by people around the world, or since it's technically still being worked on, from Beauxbaton and Hogwarts. And the system of papers and notes that Hermione is spending time on building, trying to relate notes, articles from newspapers, and papers people have written to find keywords and have the system automatically relate them to the topic/search word and help provide information to more easily write papers without pouring over books for hours trying to find just a scarce bit of information. And that's just what I know about from the system, Sirius and Remus started an information sharing service that started off as a network for playing games around the castle, to sharing valuable information for classes and studies for people to use. Harry, take a deep breath, and control your breathing and reflect on what is available. Yes, there is a lot of work involved, but when broken down into smaller steps and tasks, studying, in addition to the technological advancements that you all have helped bring forth makes it so much less tedious to do" states Daphne carefully assuaging Harry's concerns.
"Dear Sirius, Amelia, Remus,
Due to me being vocal in class on the first day with Professor Umbridge, and Daphne backing me up, we both received detention doing lines. Doing lines isn't the issue per se, but we have had to use Professor Umbridge's quills which has led to the lines that we write to be etched onto the back of our hands. Daphne believes that the quills are torture devices, and I'm uncertain, though I know it has to be something since it doesn't use an inkwell and the lines do come out red just like our blood. Any advice that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
-Harry and Daphne"
Reading over the draft on his Omni Play, Harry passes it to Daphne who begins to read over it. "Really? It's so stiff, could you make it any more boring?" remarks Daphne incredulously, turning to look at Harry.
Shrugging his shoulders, Harry replies, "But does it not describe what has happened fairly accurately without including unnecessary details like that Umbridge and I were arguing and the topic that caused it."
Shaking her head gently, Daphne answers, "In some regards you are a bit too much like Remus, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing since you did keep the relevant details in and not include opinion that could muddle things. However, why not include a photo of the back of our hands to also show evidence of such treatment?"
"Why?"
"Just in case there is any confusion on what might be used by Professor Umbridge spellwise" answers Daphne.
Sighing, Harry answers, "Alright, let's include a photo of the back of our hands and then send it to them."
/*elsewhere in the world*/
Hearing a chime from his Omni Play, Sirius starts to get up from his recliner before withdrawing his wand from a robe pocket and summoning the tablet to him. Reading the message over a few times and seeing the two attached photos, Sirius's knuckles turn white gripping his goblet. "Amelia, can you come here?" calls out Sirius, anger laced throughout his tone.
Walking into the room, Amelia answers, "What has gotten you so riled up that you have to shout for me across the house?" before being wordlessly handed the tablet. Reading and then re-reading the message and examining the photos, Amelia states dangerously, "This…this is unacceptable. I don't know what Daphne knows from the Greengrass family and 'torture' but I think there needs to be some form of investigation on this. Either Hogwarts rules, or Ministry of Magic rules, but something is wrong here and needs to be done about the safety and well being of our charges."
Forty some odd minutes later, Harry hears a chime sound come from his tablet and opens the source seeing a response from Sirius. Spotting Daphne heading towards the stairwell, Harry calls out her name and waits for her to come over.
"Yes?"
"Amelia and Sirius sent us some instructions in a reply" states Harry passing Daphne the tablet.
Reading the message then re-reading it, Daphne states quietly, "So they want us to stay out of trouble and inform them if anything changes with our hands basically. While I agree on the general premise, nothing more will come of it without any form of proof that this has gone on in some reproducible fashion or recorded."
Smirking, Harry answers, "And for that I do have an idea."
Eyebrow raising, Daphne asks, "And what is your idea?"
"You remember when you gave me a necklace with a gem that was actually a hidden camera? Other than I wish you were a bit more upfront with what it was, I figure we can use something similar to that, maybe in a few different forms just in case she gets wise to our idea."
Shaking her head, Daphne replies, "But Sirius and Amelia said for us not to antagonize Professor Umbridge."
"And do you think that would have stopped Sirius or my dad from doing it? I say we do it and get irrefutable proof."
Shaking her head Daphne opens her mouth to speak before being interrupted, "And Angelina will boot you from the Quidditch team if you consistently get into trouble and miss practices or even games."
Turning to the source of the warning, Daphne and Harry see Ginny, leaning up against the nearby armchair.
"Then what do you propose?" asks Harry without skipping a beat.
"Recruit others from various houses to help collect whatever proof you need and to minimize Umbridge from guessing at any sort of plan from you all" answers Ginny calmly.
"But with others in on the plan, it greatly increases the chances of her finding out by someone slipping up and blabbing" states Daphne turning to Ginny, crossing her arms.
"And she'll definitely figure it out if you two repeatedly get into trouble" answers Ginny firmly, crossing her arms.
"Then you know of willing participants who will mutilate the backs of their hands in order to try to gain proof that Umbridge is some how torturing students when writing lines? And what if they get caught or their punishment isn't the same?" counters Daphne.
"Why not just install some hidden cameras in her office some how and get the proof whenever some student goes in, without having to recruit people?" suggests Harry.
Receiving dagger filled glares from both girls, Harry answers, "Alright, alright, not that then."
"If you agree to give me a chance to talk to some people, I won't mention either of your names or involvement in this" offers Ginny.
"I trust you" answers Harry quickly.
Shooting Harry a look, Daphne replies, "We have nothing finalized such as equipment, so I wouldn't ask too many people."
"Of course" answers Ginny before turning around and heading towards the dormitories.
Waiting several seconds, Daphne turns to Harry and asks, "Are you sure that this was a smart move?"
"If not, we'll find out" answers Harry.
The next morning at breakfast the deafening sound of owls swooping halts conversation briefly in the Great Hall before conversation resumes. Unfurling a rolled copy of the Daily Prophet, Hermione begins reading before gasping loudly.
"Professor Umbridge has been declared, "High Inquisitor" to help raise the falling standards of several aspects at Hogwarts" reads Hermione out loud.
"'High Inquisitor'? Isn't that something like the Spanish Inquisition?" remarks Neville somewhat confused.
"No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition" [1] remarks Harry somewhat sarcastically.
"This isn't going to be good" murmurs Daphne quietly.
"The article continues to say that the High Inquisitor has the power to make new rules/regulations as needed at Hogwarts, even overruling the headmaster" remarks Hermione darkly.
"And is that an issue dear?" comes a sickly sweet voice from behind Hermione.
As if a switch had been flipped, Hermione replies brightly, "Of course not professor, or shall I say High Inquisitor? I'm just trying to puzzle out what you would be focusing on first to improve. And I must say, congratulations."
"Thank you and as for what I shall be attending to first, only time will reveal" answers Umbridge with an overly cheerful smile on her face.
Waiting several seconds to pass, Daphne turns to Harry and asks, "Harry, is there a way to monitor what kind of systems that Professor Umbridge has access at Hogwarts? Like the cameras for after hours, alerts for students being out of bed, etc?"
Smile growing as he processes the request, Harry replies, "I'm not certain, but I think it should definitely be looked into, especially if she can have Dumbledore give her access to that. If she's got superuser access, I think I can make it seem like she has all of the power to do anything but make it so she doesn't."
"Excellent. I've got a plan for that, and I think Hermione and I are on the same page" remarks Daphne giving a wink to Hermione.
"Of course. But another thing, the High Inquisitor, I mean Professor Umbridge, has the power to inspect other teachers. While I don't fear for Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Sprout, Vector, and hopefully Babbling, others such as Trelawny and Binns might not make the cut" states Hermione with a hint of concern in her voice.
"I wonder how it'll be decided for which professor will be 'inspected' first" Harry wonders just loud enough to be heard.
"Guess we'll find out when find out" offers Ron before digging into his breakfast.
Nearly an hour later, Harry and Ron discover the answer to their question when Umbridge strolls into Divination and asks nonchalantly, "Sybil, I assume you have received my notice of being inspected today?"
Having not even given instruction to the class, Professor Trelawny answers somewhat short temperedly, "Of course, otherwise I would be asking you what assistance I could provide you. Class, you will retrieve your copy of The Dream Oracle and pair up and interpret each others dreams."
Instantly pairing up, Harry and Ron pull out their copies and in low tones begin discussing dreams.
"What did you dream last night?" asks Ron as he sees Umbridge walking by tables, pausing briefly enough to take notes.
"Uh, I uh, standing shirtless on the top of a hill, full moon in the sky, wielding a sword. I was, erm, slaying Dementors?" answers Harry glancing quickly over at Umbridge who was nearly at their table.
Stifling a laugh, Ron clears his throat and begins thumbing through pages before offering, "No dementor, but we could say its an…ominous figure? That means a series of unfortunate events unfolding for you. And, um, the sword indicates being a conqueror of what you face. So, you will face a series of unfortunate events but ultimately be victorious?"
Jotting down the dream and Ron's interpretation on a piece of parchment, Harry opens his mouth to speak when an all too familiar voice asks, "Mr. Potter, why did you not have your dream from last night written down before asking Mr. Weasley to 'interpret' it? One could assume that you just made it all up on the spot."
Steeling himself, Harry smiles and turns to the source and replies, "Professor Umbridge, good morning to you, I hope you're doing well. The reason why I hadn't written the dream down before this was because I like to think long and hard on my dreams, their meaning, and to see if it sparks the remembrance of anything else from said dream. I'd rather write it down once with all of the details and not waste parchment."
Brows furrowing, Umbridge spends several seconds writing before giving a terse thanks before moving to the next table. Facing each other, Harry and Ron share a look before Harry asks, "And what was your dream, or one of them?"
Blinking in rapid succession, Ron hums and haws for a few seconds before replying, "I was flying, on the Quidditch pitch, deflected a goal from Slytherin, and then I was in the common room, large bottles of Butterbeer being popped, and a long buffet of food from the kitchen."
Pausing at the several aspects to interpret, Harry thumbs through the book several times before replying, "Of what I understand, flying is something about leaving your worries behind, there isn't anything about blocking a goal in Quidditch, but perhaps it's the means to justify the celebration with the food which is said to be gluttony? Though that could be iffy on gluttony since you didn't state that the entire buffet was for you."
"Oh, the food was for everyone, everyone was enjoying the feast" answers Ron with a dreamy smile on his face.
As the bell rang signaling the end of class, the students quickly pack up and leave the Divination classroom, no sign of Umbridge anywhere. Making their way to DADA, the students line up quietly outside of the classroom until the door opens and file in to their seats.
"Turn to chapter three, take a foot and a half of notes, and write a two foot scroll on counterjinxes that Slinkhard mentions, their uses, and turn it in two days time" instructs Umbridge from her position behind her desk, giving her normal toadlike smile to the class.
Almost instantly Hermione's hand shoots into the air, causing a few heads to turn in her direction before reading their copies. Several long minutes later with Hermione's hand still hanging out in the air, Umbridge stands up quietly and walks over to Hermione and asks quietly but still loud enough to be heard, "Yes Miss Granger?"
"Professor, I've already chapter three and—" begins Hermione.
"Then read chapter four" replies Umbridge before turning around to head back to her desk.
"Professor, I've already chapter four. In fact, I've already read the entire book."
Turning back around, Umbridge replies, "Then write out three copies of your notes for each chapter, one for you, two for me" before turning around again.
"Professor, I disagree with how Mr. Slinkhard calls counterjinxes what he calls them. I was-" begins Hermione.
"Five points from Gryffindor for disobeying a professor, and one nights detention with me this evening. If I have any more disobedience, it will be two nights instead of one, do I make myself clear?" declares Umbridge with a strained smile on her face.
"Understood professor" answers Hermione before taking her seat and pulling out a quill and a roll of parchment to begin writing her notes down on.
After the bell rings ending the class, Harry asks, "Hermione, why did you do that?"
"I've got a plan" states Hermione with a wink before striding ahead of the rest of the group.
Author note: Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, following. I was going to write the tryouts in, but then had an inkling of an idea that I had already done such a thing, and perused my folder of fanfiction and discovered that I had in fact done such a thing in the Chapter 59 Final document (for some chapters there are multiple versions/copies on my hard drive). In addition I've had this idea regarding the spread of information about the club being encrypted instead of just having mock galleons with meeting times on them so anyone with one could find out information and leak it for some time. I'm in love with technology and information security, so its been something that I've wanted to implement in the series since the beginning (in addition to Harry being a metalhead, though I think most have not enjoyed that, so I've really toned that back). Also I decided to release this chapter with Harry's birthday because…I finally got around to looking around and releasing it. Work has been made on the next chapter. I should stop playing so much Ark and actually get to this series.
[1] – So I was rereading the book and thought that 'High Inquisitor' reminded me of the Spanish Inquisition (you know, this should have tipped me off the, erm, at least two or more times I read the series before), and thought I had heard the phrase before, so I Googled it. This phrase and/or variations belongs to Monty Python. ""Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition" is a memorable quote from the sketch comedy television show Monty Python's Flying Circus uttered in reference to a Catholic tribunal established by the Spanish monarchy in 1481 to ensure Christian orthodoxy." - /memes/nobody-expects-the-spanish-inquisition. I like to give credit where credit it due and since it isn't mine, I must cite it.