Sirius stepped out of the fireplace and into Dumbledore's ornate office. He knew that all professors stayed behind during the vacations which is why he knew that the ugly toad would be here too.

He'd already told Dumbledore that he'd be paying him a visit, the purpose of which he was yet to reveal.

"Dumbledore," he greeted, his voice frosty. That alone was enough a hint for the old man. While it was Umbitch who had directly punished Harry, Dumbledore wasn't off the hook either. It was his responsibility to keep an eye on the professors and the students. He was currently doing a downright shoddy job.

"Sirius, please sit. What can I do for you?" Sirius sat down in the stuffed chair and regarded the old man with steady eyes. "Yes. There are a couple of things that you can do for me."

"You can start by telling me why you've been doing a piss poor job at protecting your students." Dumbledore looked like he had choked on one of his lemon drops.

"My boy, I don't quite und—"

"It's your job to keep an eye on the students and the professors. A lot has been going on right under your nose. You've been blissfully ignorant to everything that's happened in the past few months. Like I said, you have been doing a rather pathetic job keeping an eye on the professors, particularly the new Professor Toad."

There were few people who could give Albus Dumbledore such a tongue lashing. Sirius Black was one of them. From amongst the Marauders, Sirius had always been the most outspoken one. He didn't hesitate to put people in their place, no matter who they were.

"Professor Umbridge? Is something wrong? Did she do something, my boy?"

Sirius pretended to think. "Now what could she have possibly done? I don't know, Dumbledore, can one consider student abuse as malpractice?"

The twinkle disappeared from the old man's eyes. "Abuse? What did she do?"

Sirius' eyes darkened with a rage that made even Dumbledore flinch. In that moment, the old man was forcefully reminded of Orion Black, easily one of the most formidable men he had encountered. "That bloody bitch tortured my godson for the better part of three months. He has the scars to prove it."

"I am sorry to hear this, Sirius. But, I must ask; why didn't Harry tell me?" Sirius narrowed his eyes at the old man, resisting the urge to over turn his desk and thrash his office. "Are you seriously asking me that? He's tried so many times to try and approach you, to talk. But you, Dumbledore, seemed hell bent on avoiding him. Umbridge is guilty, there's no doubt about that. But you, Albus, are not without blame either."

Dumbledore did looked sorrowful but Sirius felt no sympathy towards the old man. He should have looked out for Harry. "I am truly sorry, Sirius. My actions have caused great harm to young Harry and for that, I apologise wholeheartedly."

Sirius wasn't satisfied. "Your apology will do little to change what's already happened. My godson is the one who suffered."

"I know, Sirius. No one regrets this more than I. I give you my word that I'll speak to Professor Umbridge and the minister regarding this."

"That's not necessary. I've already made arrangements for both of them. Before that, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a word with Professor Umbridge." It wasn't a request. The old man knew it. "Of course, Sirius."

Sirius stood and nodded at Dumbledore. "Then I suppose that'll be all. Good day, Albus."

Sirius swiftly left the office and went straight to the Defence quarters.

Dolores Umbridge was having a wonderful Christmas holiday. Majority of the brats had gone home for the month, leaving the castle in peace. She had been sent by the minister to squash all rumours about the Dark Lord's return and liked to think that she'd done a fairly good job.

The only thorn in her side was that insolent Potter boy. No amount of disciplinary sessions were enough to weaken his resolve. He still spread lies about you-know-who, the annoying little waif.

There was a knock on the door and she frowned. Who could it be? Nevertheless, she slipped on her sweet sickly smile and called out: "Come in."

The door opened and a man stepped inside. He was tall with longish black hair and cold grey eyes. He exuded confidence and authority. She recognised him almost immediately. Sirius Black. He looked much different from that mug shot she'd seen two years ago.

She sniffed disapprovingly. What was an ex-convict doing in her office? "Mr. Black, how may I help you?"

Black said nothing. He regarded her with those steely eyes which seemed to darken until she felt like she was staring into the darkest abyss and she involuntarily shivered.

"Professor Umbridge."

What could he possibly want with her? She had been present at his trial two years ago, but later, she hadn't bothered to find out what he'd done after regaining his freedom, she didn't care.

"I just dropped by for a performance report, regarding one of the students. I received word that he's been misbehaving in your lessons. It's quite normal for a parent to know about their child's performance, is it not? " He spoke in that same cold voice and smiled at her; a grin that barely masked the sliver of insanity in his eyes.

She coughed nervously. "Of course, Mr. Black. Which student are you referring to?"

"Harry Potter."

A wave of anger washed over her at that brat's name and some of her fear melted away. "Potter?" Her voice was dripping with contempt. "Yes. My godson."

Umbridge took a deep breath before she spoke to this very intimidating man before her. "Mr. Potter spread lies and created fear amongst his fellow classmates. As a responsible professor, I cannot condone such behaviour in my class. I disciplined him as I saw fit."

"And what was the nature of this detention?" The woman gulped audibly and adjusted the collar of her cardigan.

"Lines." The world was barely above a whisper.

"And do these lines have a lasting effect on the student? Such as, I don't know, scars on the back of one's hand?"

She looked at him and saw more than a man who was merely appalled by her teaching methods. She saw a father who's son had been wronged. She'd thought that she was taming the boy but the brat had gone crying to Black and now she was about to incur the wrath of a very powerful man.

"I—"

"Silence." His voice cut her words like the hiss of scalding metal touching the surface of ice cold water. She wasn't quite successful in holding back a flinch. She stared at his rapidly darkening features and realised that Black knew exactly what she'd done.

He spoke again. His voice was calm, controlled and the most terrifying thing she'd ever heard. "I could have the aurors here in less than fifteen minutes."

"W-What? You can't... you can't do that. I was well within my rights to rein the boy in."

"Detention and child abuse are two very different things, Professor. You tormented an innocent boy who only spoke the truth. What you have done is unforgivable. I don't care what your old, fat, useless boss asked you to do. You had absolutely no right to harm my godson. I cannot condone that."

"I didn't know you were—"

"That I was his guardian? Damn right you didn't."

"I thought about how to deal with you. I initially felt would be fitting to make you write a few lines with this little toy right here." He pulled out a quill from his pocket and set it on the table. Umbridge blanched at the sight of it. It was an exact replica of the one currently sitting in her topmost drawer. "How do y—"

"I know about the blood quill? I grew up in the world's darkest family. We Blacks are the pioneers of Dark Magic. You'd be surprised at how much I know about the Dark Arts. Just because I don't practice it, doesn't mean that I'm ignorant."

"I found a way which will prove to be far more effective," his voice curled around the last word. He pocketed the quill. She paled until her normally pink face turned white as a sheet.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't suppose you know this but I recently rejoined the Aurors. Scrimgeour happens to be a good friend. He owes me a favour. Before I came here, I took the liberty of making a request. As soon as I walk out these doors, in less than five minutes, an entire team of Aurors will arrive to escort you to the department. They are gearing up as we speak."

"W-What? You can't do that! The minister won't allow it!"

Sirius chuckled humourlessly and Umbridge shivered. She had crossed the wrong person this time.

"The minister will be far too busy dealing with his own problems to come to your rescue. The elections are less than three months away. When the members of the Wizengamot come to know of this little scheme of his, I have a distinct feeling that he'll be vacating his office much before the end of his term."

"You've bitten off too much this time. It's time to pay the piper, Professor." The grim satisfaction on his face sealed her fate. There was no way out now. If she lost Fudge's support, she would be going down.

"Please, I was only doing my job. You ca—"

"I see we've reached phase two now. Excuses and grovelling. I'd save the explanations for the department, Umbridge. You'll be needing them. Nothing you say will change the cruel fact that you harmed an innocent boy repeatedly just so you could prove your point. My godson."

The protectiveness in those two words was nearly tangible. It was no secret that the Blacks were cruel people. Only a fool would cross them. Just because Sirius wasn't like the rest of his family, people forgot that ultimately, he was a Black.

"How dare you harm my godson like that! You had no bloody right! I don't care for the reasons behind your actions. They're inexcusable."

That sick smile has been wiped off her face long ago. Now, a sense of dread filled her.

"I might not be able to send you to Azkaban, but I assure you, I will do everything in my power to make your pathetic life miserable."

He stood up, his imposing frame looming over her. "You should not have harmed my godson. Once I'm through with you, you will regret ever call my godson to your office."

Sirius stepped away and made towards the door. In the nick of time, he caught a flash of green light in one of the plates on the wall and ducked just in time to avoid the Killing curse that sailed past his head. "Big mistake."

Quicker than the eye could process, Sirius whipped out his wand and stunned her. Umbridge slumped in her chair as a binding charm washed over her.

Satisfied, he exited the vile office and closed the door behind him.

He ran into Kingsley and the other aurors on his way. He grinned at Sirius cheerfully. "Dumbledore was startled when the six of us burst out of his fireplace."

Sirius chuckled as he imagined the scene. "You'll find her in that ghastly office of hers. She'll come with you willingly, don't worry. She's currently... indisposed."

Kingsley raised his eyebrows curiously but simply nodded to Sirius with a grin before leading his men to Umbridge's office.

Just desserts.

Sirius smirked and walked off to Dumbledore'd office, another idea in his head.

It was well past noon by the time Sirius returned home. He found Harry curled up in his favourite armchair, flipping through a Quidditch magazine.

He smiled indulgently at the boy and ruffled his hair. "You hungry?"

"Starving. How did your meeting go?" Harry had initially been quite hesitant about Sirius going to confront Umbridge but had eventually given in.

"It was far better than I'd imagined. Umbridge won't ever bother you again. You're safe, I promise."

Harry's face broke into a relieve grin before he looked up at his godfather suspiciously. "What did you do, Sirius?"

The man pretended to be offended. "Oi! Have a little faith in your godfather, will you? Children these days." He shook his head mockingly.

Harry rolled his eyes but sobered up quickly. "Thank you, Sirius, really." The man gave him an affectionate wink and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Come on now, kiddo, lunch time."

At lunch, Harry could no longer contain his curiosity. "What exactly did you do about, Umbridge, Sirius?"

Effecting an air of nonchalance, Sirius shrugged and took another bite of his food. "Nothing much, I just called the aurors and asked them to arrest her."

Harry's eyes widened disbelievingly. "No way!" He stared at his godfather with something akin to awe but then just as quickly, his spirit dampened. "What about Fudge? He's her boss and the minister. He won't allow that."

"Don't worry about Fudge. He'll keep his mouth shut if he knows what's good for him. If he wants to keep his post for the remainder of his term,— which is highly unlikely— he will turn Umbridge over to the aurors."

Harry's grin was back in place. "So the aurors are dealing with her right now?" Sirius nodded. "Absolutely. She's never ever going to hurt you again, pup. I've made sure of that."

A lump formed in Harry's throat and he shoved it down. He was so, so grateful to have Sirius as his godfather. "Thanks, Sirius." The man only smiled warmly at him.

Another question popped into his head. "What's going to happen now? Who's going to teach DADA now?"

Sirius smirked knowingly at the boy. "Oh, did I not tell you? I suggested to Dumbledore that he should rehire Remus. After all, most of the students liked him."

Sirius wasn't prepared when Harry practically jumped out of his chair and threw his arms around his godfather. He wrapped his arms around the boy and ruffled his hair. "You're the best, you know that?"

The man smiled fondly at the boy's compliment and slowly released him.

Harry's cheeks burned at his childish behaviour but his godfather hadn't minded one bit. He had missed these hugs throughout his childhood. He gladly welcomed them now.

"I'll be sure to remind you of that."

They went back to their meal and Harry just knew that things would take a turn for the better now.

Epilogue will be uploaded soon.