SNEAK
March 29th, 1996
Seventh Year
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The Hufflepuff prefect was let into Dumbledore's office looking slightly bewildered.
"I'll take that, thank you!" Jo said as she retrieved the list of students who'd taken detention with Umbridge. "Since our petition didn't work, here's evidence of systemic abuse."
"Hey, Ernie," Leili said softly.
"Hey, any idea what's going on?" Ernie Macmillan asked.
"You haven't had detention with Umbridge, right?" she asked, just to clarify.
Ernie had been very objective on the debate over whether Voldemort had returned or not. He reasoned that, since he had not seen what Jo and Leilani had seen, he had no business calling them liars and Hufflepuffs stuck together. He also reasoned that, because he was not there he had no business confirming what they said was true, even if all the evidence pointed towards a big neon flashing sign saying, 'Voldemort is back!'.
"Right," he confirmed. "But Jo said to ask for the names of every student who'd had detention that used her special quill, turns out, it's pretty much all of them."
"That quill carves what's being written into the back of the writer's hand. It's barbaric. And the kids are too scared to say anything; the only reason we're doing this is because Jo found out when she went to serve detention. Since Umbridge has the Minister's personal support, the word of one student won't be enough to kick her out, but if we have the word of every student she's tortured, maybe our thick-headed minister will see some reason."
"Umbridge has been torturing the students who spend detention with her, this piece of paper lists all of their names," Jo said as she handed Dumbledore the list. McGonagall walked around the desk to stand beside Dumbledore, to better see the list.
"Are you sure about this?" McGonagall asked, looking at Ernie, Jo and Leili over the top of her glasses.
"If she's sure, I'm sure, Professors," Leili said. She'd managed to avoid detention by keeping her head down and her jaws clenched. She didn't want to spend any more time in Umbridge's presence than was absolutely necessary, but Jo had always had difficulty controlling her temper.
"I collected the signatures myself, Professors," Ernie said.
"All the same Albus, the ministry will be hard to convince on the word of two teenaged girls…"
"Perhaps we'll take some of the students with us so they can relate the account in person." Dumbledore said, looking over the list. "Thank you, girls, Mr. Macmillan. We will stop this, go back to your common room. Oh, and Miss Montgomery? Do try not to get into any more trouble, and get that hand of yours checked in the Hospital wing, " he smiled sadly at her.
As Leilani walked Jo to see Madam Pomfrey the protean charmed coin in their pockets warmed. They had a D.A. meeting in a few minutes, probably working on their Patronuses one more time before moving on.
xx
Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Fawkes made their way to the Minister's Office to present him with evidence of his underling's corruption. Just in case things didn't go as he was hoping, Dumbledore brought along two students from the list, Lee Jordan and a second year Slytherin, the scars from detention plain on the backs of their hands. Dawlish, Shacklebolt and Percy Weasley served as the Minister's witnesses to what was about to transpire. "Minister," Dumbledore said as he entered the room.
"Ah, Professor Dumbledore, I was just on my way to see you, in point of fact. Weasley, take notes."
"Yes, sir," Percy replied obediently.
"I have come to tell you to remove High Inquisitor Umbridge from my school," Dumbledore declared simply.
Fudge laughed, "Why in Merlin's name would I do that?"
"Because she is using her position of authority to torture my students and I cannot allow it to continue. I said nothing when she took your party line on Voldemort's return but the abuse of children is something I cannot abide. This is a list of students who have been subjected to your subordinate's cruelties," Dumbledore extended the rolled up list and gestured to the students at his side. Jordan brought his fist to his chest, the scars standing stark white against his dark skin.
"See here, Dumbledore!" Fudge whipped out his own piece of parchment, shoving it under his nose. "You've been plotting against me this whole time! How am I to believe what you say when you have been building an army of those same students against me?!"
Dumbledore's Army the page read and a list of familiar names followed. He'd known about the meetings, he hadn't known they'd named themselves after him. It was very flattering. A ghost of a smile twitched his lips. "My doings have no bearing on how a teacher you appointed behaves in my school."
"Good lord man!" Fudge cried. "They have everything to do with it! If you hadn't been conspiring behind my back, she wouldn't have had to take the measures she did!"
"And torturing children is an acceptable measure?" Dumbledore was aghast, Fudge had gone further down the rabbit hole than he'd realized.
"Oh, come, come now! Delores isn't torturing these children!" he laughed, "she's instilling a discipline that we feel has been lacking under your administration! The children don't like it so they come crawling to you to make their lives easy again! You've spoiled them, Dumbledore."
"He doesn't spoil us!" the young Slytherin shouted. "He's good and fair! He works hard to keep the school safe and Professor Umbridge is ruining it!"
Dumbledore smiled genially at his student.
"That was quite an impassioned speech, young lady, but I'm afraid you don't know what you're talking about."
"She won't even let us use magic! How are we supposed to defend ourselves if we never learn?!"
"What danger?" Fudge laughed. "You-Know-Who? He's long dead and anyone telling you otherwise is lying and trying to undermine this administration and I won't have it!" he slammed his hands on the table for emphasis.
"You won't even listen to us," Lee Jordan said in hushed tones, shaking with anger.
"I see," Dumbledore said, putting a hand on Lee's shoulder.
"Yes. Now, Albus Percival Wulfric Brain Dumbledore, I am placing you under arrest for the high crime of conspiring against your government, you are hereby removed from your post and will be sent to Azkaban to await your trial."
The two students gaped open mouthed at the audacity of their minister. Arresting Dumbledore? How could he?
"No," Dumbledore said.
"No?" Fudge repeated in astonishment. "What do you mean 'no'? I'm arresting you, you can't say no to that!"
"I mean, dear minister, you seem to be laboring under the impression that I will 'come quietly'. I have no intention of doing so."
"You're expecting your precious students, your little soldiers to save you, eh? Back in October, she sent me a letter informing me as to your little operation, and she is, right at this moment, breaking up your little army! There's no help coming for you Dumbledore!" Fudge cackled, feeling rather like he'd won. "No help at all! Duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!" Percy dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him, and Fudge turned back to Dumbledore.
"Cornelius, I have absolutely no intention of going to Azkaban. I could break out, of course — but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."
Fudge made a small choking noise and then looked around at Kingsley and Dawlish. Dawlish gave Fudge a reassuring nod and moved forward a little, away from the wall. His hand drifted, almost casually, toward his pocket.
"Don't be silly, Dawlish," said Dumbledore kindly. "I'm sure you are an excellent Auror, I seem to remember that you achieved 'Out-standing' in all your N.E.W.T.s, but if you attempt to — er — 'bring me in' by force, I will have to hurt you."
"Enough of this rubbish!" Fudge cried, pulling out his own wand. "Dawlish! Shacklebolt! Take him!"
A streak of silver light flashed around the room. There was a bang like a gunshot, and the floor trembled, Lee tackled the young Slytherin, covering her head with the arm that wasn't covering his own. A second silver flash went off in quick succession. Fawkes screeched, and a cloud of smoke filled the air. When the air cleared, the office was in ruins and the tree men were just beginning to stir.
xx
The girls were mostly silent until the meeting, sticking close together, but not saying much. Practicing Patronuses required happy memories, thus the girls were forced to perk up, until Dobby slammed headfirst into a nearby wall.
"Dobby has come to warn you…"
Slam!
"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked, crouching down to his small friend's level and grasping one of Dobby's skinny arms firmly.
"She… She…" Wham! went Dobby's free fist into his nose, Harry quickly caught that arm too.
"Who is 'she', Dobby?" Harry asked. "Umbridge?" Dobby nodded and lurched forward to whack his head on Harry's bony knee. "She doesn't know, she hasn't found out about this? About the D.A.? Is she coming?"
Dobby wailed, "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!" he stomped his bare feet as hard as he could on the floor. Everyone stared, transfixed in terror until Harry's voice spurred them into motion, he was telling them to run, so, they ran.
Out the door and down the halls, some of them made it, some of them didn't. Draco's trip jinx caught Harry. Inside the room, Leili grabbed Susan Bones, who was about to be trampled, and pulled her between herself and Jo.
"We are going to calmly walk out of here, no one will see us; we will not be caught as long as we do not make a sound, got it?" Jo whispered in the red head's ear. Susan nodded and then felt an egg crack over her head. Both Jo and Leili took one of her hands and they quietly walked out the door and to their common room.
By the next morning the entire school knew that Dumbledore was gone and how he had taken on the minister, his assistant, and two Aurors and then vanished in a flash of Phoenix flame (details of which may have been slightly exaggerated).
Of course there were other rumors surrounding the incident but the important facts were: Dumbledore was gone, Umbridge was in charge, every member of the DA had detention (which everyone was seriously considering just not attending), the girls had acted too late and it was Cho's friend, Marietta Edgecomb, who had told Umbridge about the DA.
"Oh my god! She's like—like oil, everything just rolls off her. Like water on a duck! Nothing we do has any effect!" Leili seethed.
Marrietta was in constant tears, ridiculed by almost every member of the DA, she had 'SNEAK' written across her face in what looked like very painful boils. Jo and Leilani did not agree with each other about Marietta.
Jo was of the opinion that Marietta was a traitor and deserved no sympathy. Jo loathed a traitor above all other things.
Leili was less sure. Marietta had betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge, true, but she wasn't gloating about it, if anything, the girl looked more miserable. If she had betrayed the army out of malice, then surely she would take more pride in her actions, wouldn't she?
But on the other hand, how dare she betray them!? If she'd kept her big mouth shut, the minister would never have had the opportunity to do what he did! Why didn't the list work? Concrete proof of Umbridge's willingness to torture should have earned Umbridge a one-way ticket out of the school and instead they ended up with her leapfrogging over McGonagall to become the new headmistress.
I know this probably wasn't the effect you were hoping for, Luna. Sorry. Umbridge will go away soon, I promise. I could have gone the other way with this, have evidence of torture get Umbridge booted out and I strongly considered it but I've got four more chapters after this already written that I would then have to either scrap or rewrite. Sorry if it disappoints.