Monday. September 9, 1995

Jenna sat next to her brother at the Ravenclaw table, glancing now and then up at the High Table. All of last week had been spent avoiding Umbridge as much as possible. She and Wyatt had steered clear of any places near the classroom or her office, and had taken great pains to walk as quickly as possible between classes, lest she be nearby. But they had her class again today.

She studied the woman, frowning. She looked so kind… so gentle. Despite what Wyatt said, Jenna still felt herself wanting to cuddle up with the older woman, wanting to bury her face in her soft-looking bosom and fall asleep. Would she really have drugged Wyatt? And how could she possibly know anything about…

"Oy. Jenna." Wyatt's voice cut off her train of thought as he slid his Daily Prophet in front of her, tapping the page. She looked down, frowning.

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED

FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR

"…What the arse?" Jenna muttered. "High Inquisitor?"

Wyatt gave her a weak grin.

"Nobody expects the Hogwarts Inquisition!"

Jenna stared at him.

"How have you managed to convince girls to sleep with you?" she asked after a moment. Without waiting for a response, she began to read from 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…" She trailed off, her lips still moving as she continued to read silently.

High Inquisitor? What the arse did that mean?

"The High Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch…" Jenna's eyes went wide. "What?"

"I guess she's going to be nitpicking the other professors, then." Wyatt said, frowning. "I suppose… if that's what the Ministry feels is wise…"

"Do you really think this is a good idea, though?"

"The Ministry wouldn't have appointed her if they thought she wouldn't work out…" Wyatt mused. "She seems to have some… questionable methods, but… If they truly think that she'll improve the school…"

"Wyatt, the woman brought you to tears!" Jenna dropped her voice to a whisper. "And from what I've heard about Potter…"

"Potter… Potter is a magnet for trouble, Jen. You know that. Umbridge is a Ministry official. She's obviously got… clearance on all of this." Jenna caught the slight tinge of doubt in his voice. "When has the Ministry ever really steered us wrong? Contrary to what those other rags might say… the Quibbler, for example… The Ministry's always kept things pretty steady. They've never done anything to lead the community astray…" Wyatt's forehead wrinkled. "This seems… weird. But they know more than we do, Jen. We have to accept that they know what they're doing."

Jenna lowered her eyes, nodding. He had a point. The Ministry had been around for… the entire history of wizardkind, hadn't it? They had to have figured things out by now…

Once again, they got to Umbridge's classroom early. Once again, Umbridge was sitting at her desk.

She smiled as the twins came in and took their seats.

"Good morning, Mr. Harper." Her eyes slid to Jenna, her smile widening. "Miss Harper."

Jenna's cheeks reddened as she hurriedly dug out her book.

"Um… congratulations on your new, er, position, Professor." Wyatt said politely, smiling.

"Oh, thank you, dear." She giggled. Despite her attempts at disliking this woman, Jenna felt her body grow slightly warm at the sound. "I do hope I'll live up to what the Prophet's reported." Umbridge winked.

Jenna felt her stomach swoop and quickly looked down at the desk.

After another class of silent reading, Umbridge cleared her throat as the twins were heading towards the door.

"Hem hem! Miss Harper, might I have a word?"

Jenna turned to Wyatt, wide-eyed.

His jaw tightened. He touched her shoulder.

"I will be right outside." He said quietly. "Right at the door."

Jenna nodded, hesitantly walking over to Umbridge's desk.

Once the other students had all filed out, the older woman closed the door with a flick of her wand.

"Now, then… Miss Harper…" Her voice was sweet, gentle. She smiled up at Jenna. "I… do apologize for not inviting you to join your brother and me for tea last week. I'm afraid that was strictly a… Ministry-related conversation. However, I'd like very much for us to have a nice little chat…" Her hand fluttered up to pat Jenna's cheek. "Just us girls. What do you say, hmm?"

"O-oh. Um…"

"Come by my office tonight. Seven o'clock? I'm administering a detention at five, but…" Umbridge's thumb traced Jenna's cheekbone. "That shouldn't last very long…"

"Um…"

"I'll see you tonight, then, Miss Harper." She ran her stubby fingers down Jenna's jaw. "I can hardly wait to have you sitting across from me." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "See these pretty brown eyes peering at me."

Jenna's body went hot, her heart thudding madly against her chest.

Umbridge smirked, stepping back from the now trembling girl.

"Are you in Professor Flitwick's N.E.W.T class?" she asked softly. Jenna nodded mutely. "Then I shall see you there, my dear. I'll be inspecting him today." She gave Jenna curt nod, dismissing her.

Jenna quickly strode from the room, feeling her blush spread from head to toe.

Wyatt grabbed her arm as soon as she emerged, wide-eyed.

"I couldn't hear anything she was saying." He said softly, leading her away from the classroom. "What did she want?"

"I'm to go to her office tonight." Jenna's cheeks were pink. "Seven o'clock."

"Dear Merlin, Jen…" His voice dropped to a whisper as they walked to the library. "What if she drugs you?"

"What is it you said last week, Wyatt?" She glanced at him. "She's a professor. I have to go." She lowered her eyes. "It would be rude otherwise."

"True… Still… Just be careful, alright? If she starts asking questions about Dad…"

"I'll change the subject. Like I always do." She sighed. "I'll run if I have to."

He smiled.

"That's my girl."

Once they'd settled in at the library to study, they both managed to force Umbridge from their minds as they focused on their Charms books.

However, once they had arrived to the Charms classroom…

"Oh, bloody arse." Wyatt mouthed at Jenna once they'd sat down, both of them watching as Umbridge perched herself delicately in a chair in a corner of the room.

"Oh, right… She did mention that she'd be here…" Jenna hurriedly took out her book. "Well, this should be interesting…"