this took me far to long to do, so sorry about that.

onto the chapter:


PART SEVEN

The Care of Magical Creatures professor was known for being eccentric, a half-giant, and not very good at teaching, according to the words being tossed around in hushed tones. Sasuke frowned, noting that Dolores Umbridge was following the group of students with a predatory sort of glint in her eyes. An Inspection.

A quiet part of him had to admit, he was a little bit curious, and a little bit uneasy of how it would go. But regardless of what happens, it'll probably be entertaining, he figured. The shinobi looked down the hall, towards the general area of the kitchens. After a moment's hesitation, he slipped out of the castle, trying to ignore the bite of far too cold air, and shunshin-ed towards the woman.

"Have you come to watch the Inspection?" she asked, holding a pink quill in her stubby-fingered hand, the slight widening of her eyes the only reaction to the Uchiha's sudden appearance.

Sasuke nodded, unable to keep his eyes off the quill in his peripheral vision, unable to remove the sight of I will not disrespect my betters written on Luna Lovegood's hand, glistening red on pale white. It was a stupid sentiment - seeing as the quill most likely was not cursed - and Uchiha Sasuke was not a stupid person (as much as a certain knuckleheaded ninja liked to claim otherwise).

The two walked on in silence until they entered the Forbidden Forest, where Umbridge's grip on the quill shifted and the hard light in her eyes brightened in a way that the shinobi registered as similar to the way that Orochimaru had looked when he was in the middle of an experiment. A little too wide, and lit up with a goal that they knew (or thought they knew) they would accomplish.

Sasuke turned away and leapt into the trees, determined to not go within seven feet of the witch if he could help it, and moved to the front of the group. Milling about were strangely draconian horses, skeletal in appearance, with large, leathery wings that he recognized to be thestrals.

The "lesson", was more of a platform for the Ministry woman (he refused to even think of her name, white hot anger mixing with the secondhand embarrassment he shared with the onlookers) to humiliate the half-giant. Distantly, he remembered that she had a grudge against anything not wholly a magical human, having made a number of laws that chipped away that the rights and lives of non-humans and non-magicals.

After a sudden realization, and without a word, he returned to the castle and made a beeline for the nearest unused classroom. After a moment of silence, the room was filled with the sound of a small "poof" and a cloud of smoke as a copy of Uchiha Sasuke stood before him.

The Kage Bunshin was a move he tried not to use for petty reasons, but for similarly petty reasons, he was willing to take advantage of it.


It was sometime in the middle of the night that Sasuke returned to the castle and dispelled his clone. Snapshots of the day filled his mind, and he let the flowing information run its course before shoving all the irrelevant thoughts away before pulling his concentration to the task at hand.

Who definitely has, or had, detention with Umbridge? Those who immediately popped into mind were Harry Potter - but he had no intention to work with the "Chosen One" - Luna Lovegood - he quickly brushed off that option, unwilling to force the strange witch into his plan - and the two Weasleys. Both pranksters and prone to holding long, bitter grudges…

… And reckless, as he realized when he found them sneaking around the halls.

In other words, the perfect choice, Sasuke reasoned. "Any reason why you're up this late?"

The twins, to their credit, were quick to suppress any shock or dismay. "Well, I should say the same to you," one replied evenly, "Why are any of us up at this ungodly hour?"

"Figuring out a way to get rid Dolores Umbridge, but I need to know where the Black Quills are kept, what times she's not in her room... and if I'm found out, I need you to take the fall, as I'll be disguised as one of you."

The duo exchanged a look.

"The toad keeps the Black Quills -"

"- In one of the cabinets on her desk -"

"- Although which one it is, exactly -"

"- We have no idea -"

"- She won't be in her room while doing those Inspections -"

"- Or during mealtimes -"

"- But the place is definitely protected -"

"- So we're not sure what you'll accomplish."

The shinobi just let a small smirk tug on his lips and left the twins behind, set on Gryffindor Tower.

The third part of his plan was Hermione Granger, who possessed a relentless, ruthless streak when it came to "justice". And, as anticipated, it wasn't hard to convince her to start putting together a case for the Defense Professor's corruption. (Once she was fully alert, anyways.)

He had just told her to put together a story or two and force somebody to put their name on it, and then find somebody to publish it. Preferably the Daily Prophet, or somebody closely affiliated, but Sasuke understood politics and how that idea might not work out (the newspaper/tabloid was the Ministry's mouthpiece, after all) , though when he voiced that concern to the young witch, she merely smiled knowingly and told him that she would find a way.

Again, a formidable force, once awakened.


aaand the plot thickens. somewhat. i really wanted to see umbridge crash and burn.

and this proves to be a good basis for doing something about marrieta edgecombe (the one with "sneak" written across her forehead, for anyone who, like me, couldnt remember)

disproportionate retribution; something a reviewer asked me to do

(yes i take minor requests. or took. seeing as i have a plot now, im not as flexible)

anyhoo, thanks for reading, please review.