Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or even his wand, I dont like his one much)
Right Here III
The next morning came, and Harry was feeling rather cheerful, knowing that wherever he was Percy was bound to have a rotten night, and the other's kindness, protectiveness and loyalty to him had warmed him to his core. He sat talking animatedly with Ginny about the Holyhead Harpies and their chances in the league this year while Ron helped himself to sausages and talked with Neville about their Transfiguration homework, which had poor Neville stumped. Hermione however ignored all this and was just unfolding her copy of the Daily Prophet when she let out a small shriek of enraged alarm.
"What?" Ginny asked in panic, cursing as she tried to mop up the coffee she had just spilled down herself, glaring at Harry who looked like he was about to snigger.
"This!" Hermione hissed, and thrust the paper towards them in fury.
Harry took the paper, and his green eyes immediately narrowed to slits as he read aloud.
Ministry Seeks Educational Reform
Dolores Umbridge Appointed
First Ever High Inquisitor
"That doesn't sound good." Neville said darkly, listening in as Harry began to read the article.
'In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
'"The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time", said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley (Ron let out a low snarl at the mention of his older brother) "He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve of."
This is not the first time in recent weeks that the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, has used new laws to effect improvements at the wizarding school. As recently as 30th August, Educational Decree Number Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current Headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person.
'"That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts," said Weasley last night. "Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course, she's been an immediate success,-"
"What planet is your brother living on?" Neville demanded angrily, as both Ron and Ginny looked furious.
"Wait, it gets better." Harry said in mock cheer, his eyes still in catlike slits.
'"-an immediate success, totally revolutionising the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on the ground feedback of what's really happening at Hogwarts."
It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalised with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor.
'"This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts," said Weasley. "The Inquisitor will have the power to inspect her fellow educators and make sure they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post, and we are delighted to say that she has accepted."
The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts.
'"I feel much easier in my mind now that I know Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation," said Mr Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. "Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and are glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation."
Among those eccentric decisions are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously reported in this newspaper, which have included the employment of werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and the delusional ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody.
It is perhaps these staffing appointments, along with several nasty incidents that have happened at the school, not the least the tragic accidental death of Cedric Diggory in the Triwizard Tournament in June, that have led to the newly appointed High Inquisitor gaining control of the security of Hogwarts school.
'"There's been loads of nasty stuff in the last few years, ever since Harry Potter turned up funnily enough. Muggle-borns were getting petrified, Sirius Black broke into the school twice, Barty Crouch disappeared on school grounds, and of course Cedric Diggory died in that accident in the maze," says popular, handsome fifteen year old Slytherin student Draco Malfoy. "A lot of us are worried that Dumbledore isn't up to the task of protecting us anymore, we just haven't been able to tell anyone how scared we are, most of the staff are too loyal to Dumbledore, even though he's losing his grip, and the ones who might side with us are constantly shouted down by other teachers."
This ties in to the abounding rumours that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts.
'"I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step towards ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose our confidence," said a Ministry insider last night.
Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts.
'"Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office," said Madam Marchbanks. "This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore."
(For a full account of Madam Marchbanks alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page seventeen)
Harry was shaking in rage, crumpling Hermione's paper in his grip, while the others looked thunderstruck, but Hermione, like Harry, had moved past shock to fury.
"So that's how we wound up with the old cow! Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, so Fudge appointed her to spy on all of us! And now she's able to inspect the other teachers, I can't believe this, this is outrageous!" she spat angrily, too angry now to eat.
"Too right it is, where the hell does she get off telling the other teachers how to do their jobs when all she can do is make us read some dumb book?" Harry demanded, looking up at the staff table.
Up there, the headmaster's chair was empty. However Professor McGonagall was also shaking in rage, her jaw clenched in righteous fury, her paper also crumpled in her hand. Snape was darkly in conversation with Professor Sinistra, eyes glinting with dark fire. Fliwick and Sprout were deep in conversation, Flitwick the angriest any of them had ever seen him, while Sprout's hands were clenched as if she had just slammed them onto the table, which she clearly had as her goblet had been knocked over and was now dripping orange juice onto the floor.
There was one member of staff however who did not look furious. In fact she looked smugly triumphant. Dolores Umbridge was sitting there like the cat that got the cream, smiling vapidly around the room, making sure to give the other staff an extra cheery smile as they glowered at her, stuffed into her fluffy pink cardigan, with a pink hat on her head and a sickly cute cat brooch on her lapel. Harry felt a sudden urge to get up and wring her neck, her piggy little eyes were inspecting the room, and he was sure they passed over him. When they did, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and she allowed herself an even more malicious smile, and Harry suddenly felt very queasy as she got to her feet, looking like she had just been appointed Supreme Ruler of the Universe. She strolled to the front of the staff table, where she had made her speech on the first night, and the other teachers stopped talking with each other and looked at her, though Harry was fairly sure that he wasn't the only one that was considering murderous action: McGonagall and Snape (the first time he and Snape had agreed on anything funnily enough) looked as though they were itching to get their wands from their robes and smite her from the face of existence.
"Hem hem." She coughed, and Harry ground his fingers into the tabletop to prevent flexing them, imagining making sure she could never make that stupid little fake cough again…
The rest of the school all fell silent mutinously, and looked at their new High Inquisitor.
"As your new High Inquisitor, it is my sad duty to inspect my fellow teachers. While I myself have the greatest respect for my colleagues," she said sweetly, turning and giving them a small bow (Harry was sure he briefly saw Sprout give her a one fingered salute when she turned away before an alarmed Flitwick forced her hand down), "it means that I will be in several more of your classes than normal. I assure you that if you have any concerns about my new role, any questions and any remarks that are pertinent to whomever I am examining at the time I will be delighted to hear them." She said, completely ignorant of the fact that the entire staff table looked like they had been force fed poison, after all, she was basically implying their incompetence in front of the entire school.
"Yeah, like she's going to listen to anyone who disagrees with what she's saying." Ron snarled, and Harry's heart roared its approval at his words.
"And now we come to a more serious matter. As you may be aware, the role of the High Inquisitor also includes full responsibility for school security. As such, it is my sad duty to announce that changes to security will need to be made. This is in light of the intelligence that we have received from several trusted sources. It appears as if notorious mass murderer Sirius Black is indeed back in the country. Furthermore, it seems that he is in contact, if not direct cooperation, with someone inside this very school and as such we are now going to take every precaution to ensure the security of the students who are under our care, and protect them from the deranged ravings of Black…and his unknown accomplices. Further information will be posted around the school during the course of the day. Good day to you all." She finished with a final smug grin as the entire school broke into excited muttering and chattering.
Hermione's hand darted under the table, digging into Harry's wrist and her eyes were blazing with warning and fury as she looked at him.
"Don't react." She ground out through gritted teeth, and Harry chanced a glance at Umbridge, who was still standing at the front of the school, leering at him, as though waiting for him to slip up.
However, behind her, the four heads of house had exchanged alarmed glances and swept into the antechamber behind the hall, vanishing from sight.
"What does all that mean?" Neville asked, but in alarm, and figuring Harry's temper was about to explode rather violently, Hermione had taken command, and had gotten to her feet, dragging Harry to his too, and it was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Ron only gave one last lingering look to his sausages before following them from the great hall, Umbridge's eyes fixed on them in malicious triumph, leaving a shaking Ginny and a very confused Neville at the table.
XX
The door hammered open and the four heads of house swept in, and Dumbledore, who was reading his own paper with a frown on his face, didn't even try to rebuke them for the abruptness of their entrance.
"She knows Albus!" McGonagall bit out in a panic, and Flitwick looked at the two senior faculty members in alarm.
"But how could she know? I mean we all know that Sirius is innocent, but how could she know that he is in the country, and worse, in contact with someone within these walls?" he demanded, running his hands through his white beard in total dismay.
"Severus?" Dumbledore asked, peering over his spectacles, and Snape retorted with an ugly look.
"Are you questioning me headmaster?" he asked, his voice deadly, and Sprout stood between the desk and Snape, in case curses started flying.
"Severus, we all know how Remus left the castle, and Sirius was better at pressing your buttons than Remus could ever hope to be. All he is asking is…"
"I know what he is asking Pomona. The answer, Dumbledore is no. I would not be so foolish as to admit such a thing to Dolores Umbridge." He snapped, effectively ending the conversation, and Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"I apologise Severus, I had to be sure. We know Lucius Malfoy recognised Sirius when he dropped Harry off on the platform, but this, this speaks of a more intimate knowledge than any of our erstwhile Death Eater foes should have." He mused, and Sprout shook her head in disbelief.
"But who could it be though? The only people in Hogwarts who know that Sirius is innocent, and Harry's godfather, and is hence in contact with Harry are the four people in this room, Hagrid, the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry themselves, and none of them would sell out Sirius or Harry, so how in the name of Merlin's saggy testicles does Umbridge know? None of them would ever betray Harry!" she exclaimed, and Snape, who had been glowering out of the window, then turned, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Not all the Weasleys Pomona are loyal to the boy Pomona." He whispered, and McGonagall placed a hand on her heart.
She had always liked Percy the least out of all the Weasleys herself, finding him uptight, arrogant and stuffy, but she had never anticipated that he would betray his family, which Harry was virtually part of, in such a way.
"Percy." She croaked weakly, and Dumbledore closed his eyes in despair, shaking his head at the boy's poor choices.
"Percy Weasley's poor choices aside, we now have a problem. If Dolores is now in charge of school security we must-" Dumbledore said, but was interrupted by Umbridge herself opening the door to his office, and smiling at her fellow teachers.
"Ah, you're all here, excellent." She said in her sweet voice, bustling into the room, and Flitwick glowered at her.
"This is a meeting between the heads of house and the headmaster Dolores, so if you'll excuse us…" he began, but she gave him a pitying smile.
"I'm afraid not Professor Flitwick. As High Inquisitor, I also have the right to sit in on any meetings among the different members of the faculty, and even between the teachers and their students to ensure that the relationships are quite within the proper bounds of what is expected from the custodians of the next generation of magical children. After all, the werewolf Remus Lupin seems to have had far too close a relationship to Mr Potter for a start, as apparently does Rubeus Hagrid, should he ever return to work from his still unexplained absence. The Minister is quite keen for such ill-advised relationships to be stamped out, like little bugs!" she simpered cheerfully, and McGonagall brought herself up to her full height.
"Dolores. The students in our care look to us to do more than teach them, they look to us to be a mixture between authority figure, confidant, teacher, advisor, even parent at times, and we each respond directly to the needs of that particular student. And as for Harry and Hagrid, Hagrid was the first wizard he ever met, and was his first friend in the wizarding world. And as for Remus, he is an old friend of Harry's father so he is technically an uncle of sorts to Harry, and above that, he is one of the best Defence teachers we've ever had, and his own aptitude for the subject also made it easier for Harry to establish such a good relationship with him, there is no impropriety at place here!" she stormed, and Umbridge only smiled wider.
"Really Minerva? I'm afraid I shall have to be the judge of that, when I sit in on such meetings. But that isn't why I'm here," she insisted, savouring the furious expression on McGonagall's face, "instead I'm here to inform you of the new security regime that I will be implementing. As I said to the students, the Ministry has reason to believe that Sirius Black is at large once again, and even worse, is cooperating with someone inside this castle, perhaps some misguided student," she suggested and McGonagall felt her stomach collapse in terror, "so as a result we must now take extra precautions in order to ensure the safety of our students. We will be increasing patrols at night, any student caught out after hours will be dealt with by me personally, we will be enforcing strict curfews, late night quidditch practices will be discontinued as will any other late night clubs. And now, regrettably, I come to the part that will meet with the most resistance. I have summoned Dementors to the school." She told them, though she didn't look regretful at all, instead she looked delighted, her eyes glinting with victory.
Dumbledore got to his feet, an aura of intimidating power emanating off him, fire etched in every line of his face.
"I will not allow Dementors inside my school Dolores." He informed her, and she gave him an indulgent smile.
"I'm afraid headmaster, you don't have any choice. As High Inquisitor, and until the ongoing threat of Sirius Black has been dealt with, I am in charge of the security of Hogwarts. You see, Cornelius felt that with your irrational opposition to Dementors,"
"Irrational? You can't be serious, how are we supposed to teach with those monstrosities floating around, feeding off the students!" Flitwick roared, but Umbridge merely swelled herself up.
"-Irrational opposition to Dementors, you would be unable or unwilling or incapable of taking the necessary steps to protect the students, which is why he has given me such powers!" she bellowed, savouring the defeated look on Flitwick's face.
"Then they will stay outside the grounds." Dumbledore demanded through gritted teeth, and Umbridge let out a simpering laugh.
"Oh I'm afraid not headmaster, you see from out there they wouldn't be able to do what needs to be done. Rather, they will be inside the castle, actively looking for any signs of collusion or contact with Sirius Black. They will join the staff in the patrolling of the corridors, and they will also be conducting thorough searches of every common room and of the student's belongings, to ensure the safety and security of the school. Good day to you all." She simpered, triumphant to the last and waddled from the office, flashing them a last gloating smile as she closed the door, leaving the stunned staff in her wake.
Silence reigned in Dumbledore's office for a g-ood ten minutes before any of them could get over their shock and anger in order to speak again.
"Dementors…inside Hogwarts. I'm…I'm…I'm appalled." Sprout breathed weakly.
"You're appalled? I'm appalled." Flitwick whispered weakly.
"It's just…it's…" McGonagall stuttered.
"Appalling." Snape finished, looking very disturbed (which as a former Death Eater was rather hard to do).
"We need to fight this, that's all, parents won't be happy about this we'll rally them, we'll…" Flitwick began, trying to restore some semblance of order.
"We'll do nothing Filius." Dumbledore sighed, hating every single syllable, cold fury blazing in his eyes and across his face.
"What? Do nothing? How-?" McGonagall breathed, unable to believe her ears, and Dumbledore's nostrils flared in anger as he began to pace like a caged animal.
"We can do nothing. In charge of security as she now is, I'm fairly certain Umbridge will soon be investigating all mail coming in and out of the castle. She will not allow word of what she's done to get to parents. We will need to wait for the holidays for parents to become aware, and with the way the wind is blowing, I fear it may not be enough." He muttered to himself, and the other staff looked alarmed.
"But Albus, she'll have those foul creatures patrolling the school, entering the common rooms, it puts them all in danger, look what happened to Barty Crouch Junior, we must stop this!" she stormed, and he laid a hand on his shoulder, looking immensely grave.
"I know Minerva." He told her, trying to calm her.
Snape got to his feet, stroking his chin musingly.
"I fear we may have made a grave mistake in underestimating Dolores Umbridge. This is, after all, a master stroke." He admitted, and McGonagall looked at him, as though already dreading the answer to the question that she was about to ask.
"A master stroke how Severus?" she asked, feeling nauseous and he turned, emulating Dumbledore as he paced into the centre of the room.
"It's clear that she at least has some idea of which students are in touch with Black, hence the presence of the Dementors. As such she has summoned them to the school, and has backed us into a corner, meaning we can do nothing about them. We will now have Dementors patrolling the caste and are unable to do anything to prevent it. And Potter, who escaped an attack by Dementors and hence made the Ministry look foolish when he was cleared of all charges in the summer, is affected with greater severity than any other student in the castle. They affect him so badly that he collapses." He told them, though he did smirk a little at the thought of Harry collapsing.
"You think she's brought them here partly to get back at Harry for getting off?" Flitwick asked darkly, and Snape nodded.
"Yes, but there is another aspect to the plan. With Dementors patrolling the corridors, even being able to conjure a full Patronus, Potter won't be able to fight them all the time, and I'm fairly sure Dolores will quickly prevent him from doing so anyway, which means he will inevitably collapse due to their influence. And if word gets out that he is collapsing at school…"
"Umbridge will have the Prophet report that he is enduring a pain in his scar, which will further destroy any credibility Harry has left. You're right Severus, it is a master stroke. I'm going to kill her." McGonagall vowed in a voice of determined calm.
"We have to do something Albus." Sprout begged, but she could tell that it was no good, Umbridge had them good and cornered.
"I'm afraid we can do nothing Pomona. Hogwarts is about to come under garrison by Dementors." Dumbledore growled, his voice uncharacteristically harsh as the pink clad figure of Umbridge strolled towards the gates in order to let her pet Dementors in.
XX
"Well how did you both do?" Hermione asked hesitantly as they left Herbology, where Professor Sprout seemed to be in rather a foul mood and even Neville, who got on with her best, didn't dare linger as she seemed to be in such a foul mood. Several times it seemed though she was trying to speak to Harry, but whatever had gotten her riled up prevented her by making her so mad she could barely speak.
"I got an E." Harry replied, relieved that he didn't have a bad Herbology grade to add to his History of Magic and Potions ones, and Ron shrugged.
"An A, but Hannah got a mark more than me and she got an E so I just missed it. What did you get, an O as usual?" he teased, and she went slightly red, smiling in pleasure as they headed up towards Defence.
However, as they continued discussing how Herbology at the very least seemed like it wouldn't present too many problems in the near future, Harry suddenly came to a stop, that horrible feeling in his stomach, no they couldn't be here, not here inside the castle, they were meant to be safe here, Dumbledore…
But there they were. Two Dementors, their tall shrouded forms, turned their sightless gazes onto him, their pale and rotting hands extending from their cloaks, grasping towards him greedily. Their low, sucking, rattling breaths filled the corridor, and Harry felt so cold, the hair on his arms and the back of his neck rising, he was shaking with cold and dread…
He barely registered Hermione and Ron drawing their wands in alarm, Ron forcing Harry behind him protectively, as the Dementors swooped towards them, their breaths chilling Harry to the core, they couldn't be here…
"Stand aside you silly girl!"
"Not Harry, please not Harry!"
"Stand aside! Avada Kedavra!"
"Kill the spare!"
"I can touch him…now!"
"Bow to death Harry."
No, he was losing consciousness, he was slumping against the wall, he could hear his other classmates behind him, crying out in alarm, Neville joining Hermione and Ron with his wand raised, the others following suit…all of them, even Seamus, determined to protect him…
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry gasped weakly, but to his immense relief, Prongs erupted from his wand, charging towards the Dementors who slowed to a stop, and-
"Finite Incantatem!" a sickly sweet voice yelled, and with a wave of her wand, Umbridge vanished Harry's Patronus.
Emerging from her classroom, Umbridge looked at the assembled Gryffindors, all of them looking horrified and terrified in equal measure, Ron crouching beside Harry while Hermione propped him up, trying to get him to respond. Her puffy eyes widened in malicious pleasure as she came down upon them, though to her credit she did point away from the class, and the Dementors reluctantly swooped up the corridor.
"Harry, Harry…here." Ron insisted, pressing a chocolate frog into his best friend's hand, and Hermione looked at him incredulous.
"Do you produce them?" she demanded, wondering where the hell he had gotten that from, and Harry hastily gulped down some chocolate, which he then felt like bringing back up as Umbridge descended upon them.
"Professor, there were Dementors!" Seamus spluttered in rage, and she flashed him a gloating smile.
"Of course there were Mr Finnegan. They are here on my orders. That is what I meant by further security you see. Until Sirius Black and his accomplices within Hogwarts are caught, the Dementors will be acting as extra security. So, for drawing your wands on Ministry representatives, ten points will be taken from each of you. Now go inside." She ordered and the entire class looked outraged, and it seemed to dawn on Umbridge that they were all still holding their wands.
"Now! And wands away!" she insisted, and griping bitterly and throwing nasty looks at her, they retreated, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville in the corridor with her.
"Feel better?" Hermione asked worriedly, stroking Harry's hair as he nibbled on some chocolate and he nodded a little.
"Inside, Longbottom." Umbridge ground out and Neville brought himself up to his full height, and the trio were delighted to see her retreat slightly, he'd gotten a lot taller over the summer.
"You won't get away with this. It'll come back and bite you." He told her with relish and with a final glare at her, he retreated inside, leaving her spluttering indignantly behind him, which she dealt with by turning on the other three.
"Eating isn't permitted between classes Mr Potter. Evanesco." She said sweetly, and the chocolate frog vanished from his hands, which she was thrilled to notice were shaking.
"He needs that to recover from those things that you've invited here!" Hermione spat, her hair seeming to crackle with electricity.
"Mind your tone Miss Granger. Now Mr Potter, you might have gotten away with your illegally learned spell during the summer, but for the foreseeable future, the Dementors are here to ensure school security. So, I'm going to tell you now, any further Patronuses on your part, and I shall put you in detention. As it stands, fifty points from Gryffindor for attacking them. Now get inside." She bit out, and Ron shot her a look of deepest loathing before leaning down to help Harry.
"He is not an invalid Weasley." She said, expecting him to stop, but Ron simply ignored her and helped support a still weak and shaking Harry into the classroom while Hermione looked at Umbridge in revulsion.
She then turned smartly, robes billowing and slammed the classroom door, leaving a gloating Umbridge outside.
XX
The entire class was furious, even Seamus and Lavender, who didn't believe Harry's claims about Voldemort, were furious, simmering in rage at how cruelly Umbridge was treating them, and about the fact that she had allowed Dementors into the school, while she sat, sipping tea behind her desk, a look of vindicitive triumph about her, which increased every time she saw Harry shivering in his seat, all but leaning on Ron, who kept exchanging dark looks with Hermione, who had gouged massive nail marks into her book she was so angry.
"He needs the hosipital wing." She hissed under her breath, and was quite heartened to see that everyone was sending Harry concerned looks, but rather than being concerned for themselves, they were clearly worried for him.
In all fairness to them, Harry did look awful. He was weak and shaking, the unexpected appearance of the Dementors and their very presence in the school combining with his par for the course foul mood these days, and making him even worse than he already felt. He couldn't hold his quill his hands were shaking so much, he was very white, and felt bone weary and he was slumped in his chair, and he couldn't even muster the strength to glare at Umbridge, and currently the only thing keeping him from collapsing was the fact that he was lying against Ron, but even that wasn't doing him any favours, he was too cold to even appreciate the fact.
"He needs chocolate, once he gets that he'll be fine." He insisted, though he too looked very concerned about Harry.
"I can still hear him…torturing me, murdering Cedric. Maybe it's getting better though, I can't hear him murdering my mum." Harry mumbled, sounding very weak and tired, and Ron exchanged a devastated look with Hermione, how bad must he feel that it was a good thing that he was only hearing a more recent murder.
"I don't know if it'll help Ron. Can't you feel it? There must be more Dementors in the school than the two we saw, its permeating the whole room. I can hear…I can hear stuff, if I try really hard." Neville muttered under his breath behind Harry and Ron's table and Harry tried to talk to Neville, as he had an inkling of what he was hearing but his strength failed him.
"Neville's right, and they're floating around outside the school too, Parvati saw them when she came in, they're everywhere. Not to mention, they're probably gravitating towards her since she's their boss." Hermione ground out, her expression murderous.
"And is evil as all hell." Neville added just as there was a knock at the door.
"Enter!" Umbridge, who had been about to separate the four who were whispering at the back, even though none of the rest of the class had so much as opened their books, called resentfully, and McGonagall entered, her sharp eyes taking in the whole scene before turning her attention to the High Inquisitor.
"Excuse me Professor Umbridge, but I wonder if I might borrow Potter?" she asked, and Umbridge's eyes narrowed.
"Potter still has half of his lesson left to complete Professor McGonagall." She replied in a voice of poisoned honey, clearly furious.
"I am aware of that Professor, I do write the student's timetables you know. However there is something pressing that simply cannot wait, so I need to take Potter from class. And as it applies to Mr Weasley and Miss Granger too, I'd best take them too." McGonagall said smartly, and Harry perked up a little, and couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was quite enjoying poking the honey bear.
"Potter still has a class to complete." Umbridge said in a voice of determined sweetness, and McGonagall looked slightly bored by her line of argument.
"I know, however there is something pressing that I must discuss with them." She told her, and Umbridge's eyes widened in delight, thinking that she had caught McGonagall out.
"Are you forgetting that as High Inquisitor, I am entitled to sit in on private sessions between students and teachers to ensure that everything, is as it were, above board?" she asked soppily, and McGonagall nodded.
"Of course you are. However, to do so would detract from you 'valuable' teaching time," she sniffed, looking around at the students, most of whom still hadn't opened their books despite the presence of their head of house, "and it's rather hard for you to get to work on the slipping standards of the school if you let them slip yourself." She pointed out sardonically, and Umbridge swelled in impotent rage, realising she'd been outmanoeuvred.
"Very well, Potter, you and your friends will report back here…" she began, but McGonagall held up a finger.
"If I may Professor, classes will soon end for the day soon, it would be easier for me just to dismiss them. See you at dinner." She said cheerfully, and with a majestic gesture, chivvied her students from the room while Umbridge slammed her fist on her desk in impotence, to the sound of delighted sniggering as they left the room.
"Thanks professor, but she'll get you back for that." Ron told her, and McGonagall's slight smile faded as she sighed wearily.
"I know she will." She said tersely as she led them to her office.
They entered the corridor and two Dementors turned their sightless eyes towards McGonagall and her students, and she raised her wand, eyes flashing dangerously.
"Get out of this corridor, or you will be made to." She warned, and reluctantly the soul sucking fiends slinked away in defeat allowing her to open the door and herd her students inside.
As soon as the door was closed, Ron helped a still weak Harry into a chair as McGonagall cast her cat patronus, having it patrol the door.
"Professor, this is awful, she's set loose Dementors inside the castle!" Hermione suddenly raged, and McGonagall's eyes flashed furiously.
"You think we're any happier about it than you are Miss Granger? It's why Fudge put her in charge of school security, so she could inflict those abominations upon the school. Here Potter, have a couple of chocolate gingers, that'll put the colour back in your cheeks, and I need you alert for what I'm about to tell you." She said, reaching into her desk and extracting a small bag of chocolate covered pieces of ginger and as soon as he ate them he started to feel better, which meant that he got his fight back.
"She can't be serious, bringing those things into the school!" he stormed and McGonagall looked slightly bored by his outburst.
"Potter, do try to understand, we have no power over her! You think any of us want them floating around? It's why Fudge gave her control of school security, it's part of her master stroke. You see, she now has Dementors within Hogwarts. She has an inkling that several students within the castle know about Sirius and I'm afraid she probably has quite a shrewd idea of who those students are. As such, the Dementors have been summoned to scare the students who would otherwise resist her into capitulation, but more so in order to get to you. You escaped the Ministry's brand of 'justice' in the summer and she wants payback for that. What's more, you and Professor Dumbledore are the focal points of the reports that You-Know-Who has returned. By bringing Dementors here, knowing their effect on you, she will be able to attribute any collapses on your part which may be due to the Dementors to your scar acting as an alarm bell. She'll make you a figure of ridicule and further destroy your credibility, which means in turn…"
"She'll make sure that even less people believe me." Harry groaned, and she nodded grimly.
"Yes. Now, Umbridge is going to be policing the school, and using the Dementors to effect that. Dementors will be patrolling the corridors at all times, though particularly at night. She will be on the lookout for anybody using a Patronus, so I'm afraid Potter that…"
"Wait, he has to just sit back and let them hurt him?" Ron demanded, and McGonagall closed her eyes, as though praying for patience as she kept getting interrupted, but she nodded.
"I'm afraid so. I know it's terrible, but there's nothing we can do to stop her now, so you must be careful, do all you can to avoid them. Umbridge won't hesitate to stick you in detention if you repel them even if it is to protect yourself, and we can't give her even more reason to go after you. I'm sorry Harry, but there is literally nothing we can do to protect you from them." She said, looking sickened by the very thought.
"But the Patronus…" Hermione began, but Harry shook his head.
"No, I can't use it, because I'm probably the only person in the school except the teachers who can, right?" he asked tiredly, and McGonagall nodded.
"I'm afraid so Harry. It also makes our job harder, with the Dementors here, they will now be looking for any and all Patronuses, which means we are going to find it even harder to communicate than we already are. Which brings me to my next point. You need to leave here and go back to your dormitory, and hide any and all things that connect you even remotely with Sirius." She told him in a hushed voice, and Ron looked at her, his expression foreboding.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously, and her usually stern demeanour seemed to melt as she looked incredibly scared and apologetic.
"Tonight, Gryffindor tower is going to be searched by Umbridge and the Dementors for any evidence that its inhabitants are in contact with Sirius." She whispered, and Harry shot to his feet, looking frantic.
"She can't do that!" he protested, his heart hammering and Hermione nodded fervently beside him.
"Professor, only the head of house, the matron and the headmaster have the authority to enter the common rooms, you know that, and to let the Dementors into where we all sleep,"
"Hermione! I know all this but we are powerless! I detest this as much as you do, if not more, I certainly don't want Dementors in Gryffindor tower, particularly when there is even the remotest possibility of them finding anything linking you lot to Sirius, but she has all the power now! I am doing everything I can to protect you and your fellow students from her excesses but I can only do so much. Now please, all three of you be silent while we talk this through! Harry, what do you have that could link you back to Sirius, letters, items, gifts, any of it?" she asked insistently, and Harry struggled to think.
"I-I don't think so, I've not got any letters, and the only things that I have from him are my penknife and my-my Firebolt." He admitted with defeat, and he had to admit, despite the seriousness of the situation, it was quite amusing seeing McGonagall's eyes widen in alarm at the thought of her seeker losing his broom to the toad.
"Very well…the knife isn't that bad, that can be easily hidden but the broom…take it to Madam Hooch, tell her I told you to get it checked over because of the Dark Lord returning, say we can't be too careful, we must throw her off the scent. But we need to try and find a way to alert Sirius, if he tries to contact you…" she breathed, and Harry chewed his lip, terror for his godfather filling him.
"Hedwig…" he suggested, and she frowned, looking concerned.
"Umbridge will surely try and intercept her." She dismissed, but Harry shook his head.
"I can write in code, it'll be fine." He assured her, and while she wasn't convinced, she did nod her assent.
"Alright. Do what you can, I will escort you back to Gryffindor tower in case she tries to take her frustration with me out on you. I know none of you like this, I myself detest it, but we can do nothing." She apologised helplessly, and led her defeated students back to the common room.
I decided to split this section into two, so my notes will be in the next part!