What You Never Knew
Dolores Umbridge: The Woman Who Conquered
1. For the first ten years of her life, she was popular.
In her little town in northern England, Dolores was indisputably the most popular person for miles. Her parents treasured her; her teachers marveled at her intelligence and spotless behavior; the other kids practically worshipped her because of how nice she was (of course, they didn't know the main reason she was so nice was to make people love her). Those were the best years of her life; everyone liked her, and she got whatever she wanted, no matter what it was. She was more influential than even some adults, and all of the townspeople looked up to her.
The power felt good.
2. Her parents were devout Christians.
The Umbridge family attended church not only every Sunday, but every day, if only for half an hour. They were well known amongst the congregation, and the minister frequently made calls to their house to thank them for giving sizable donations to the church. Mr. and Mrs. Umbridge firmly believed in magic- they believed that magic was miraculous when it happened by God, but that any other magic was caused by the Devil. Especially witchcraft.
So you could imagine their shock when they found out that their oh-so-perfect daughter was a witch.
3. She was in Ravenclaw.
Her Sorting was a confusing one; she clearly fit into one house, asked to be put into another, and ended up being put it in a completely different one.
"Umbridge, Dolores!"
A small, slightly round girl pranced up to the stool, her brown hair bouncing, her brown eyes shining. She sat down daintily, flashing a smile to her fellow students so they wouldn't see how incredibly nervous she was when the Sorting Hat was tucked over her head.
Hello, Dolores. I don't believe I know your parents.
Of course you don't. They're non-magical. Muggles, as you folk would call them.
Ah, yes. That explains why I didn't recognize your last name. Now, on to business: What house shall I Sort you into? Let's see… you're extremely ambitious, and you have a rather abnormal thirst for power for someone so young… you know how to successfully manipulate people, and you do this often… Honestly, aside from the fact that you're a Muggleborn, you are a perfect fit for Slytherin! If you were able to conceal your blood status, then I have no doubt that you would thrive in that House-
I want to be in Hufflepuff.
Oh? Why is that?
Well, clearly, they're the innocent House. They're all jolly and stupid. No one would suspect anything out of the ordinary from them; people automatically trust them.
And why does that matter to you?
I plan on having power when I grow up, Hat. No one trusts Slytherins enough to give them a reasonable amount of power; therefore, I refuse to be in Slytherin. Were I in Hufflepuff, then nobody would think twice about putting me in power.
You're reasoning is worthy of a Slytherin. Oh, it has been a very, very long time since I've had a student who possesses all the qualities that Salazar prized most…
Wonderful. Fantastic. I care so much. Now hurry up and Sort me into Hufflepuff.
I'm afraid I can't do that. You have no Hufflepuff qualities; none whatsoever. However, you are fairly intelligent; you care about your schoolwork, and you're quite witty, not to mention clever enough to fool people into thinking that lies are the truth. You could be a Ravenclaw- even though you'd do much better in Slytherin.
Put me in Ravenclaw.
As you wish. I suppose I do have to take your choice into account… "RAVENCLAW!"
4. Her parents disowned her when she was in Second Year.
Dolores had made the mistake of coming home for summer vacation and telling her parents all about how wonderful Hogwarts was, and how much delightful magic she had learned, and how it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Her parents had responded by screaming at her that she was "blasphemous," and "one of Satan's minions," and "a worthless, God-defying piece of trash who they couldn't even look at without being sick."
The neighbors thought that Dolores had moved in with a sickly aunt somewhere in Ireland, in order to help nurse her back to help. They never suspected that Mr. and Mrs. Umbridge had dropped their daughter off at a Muggle orphanage a few towns away, never to see their daughter again.
At that moment, when Dolores watched her parents drive away from her without a second glance, she decided that the Slytherins were right, and Muggles were evil pieces of filth that deserved to die. And, if it was the last thing she did, she would make that happen.
5. The Selwyn family adopted Dolores.
Through the course of her first year at Hogwarts, Dolores had befriended Louisa Selwyn, a Slytherin, and the two frequently sent letters to each other- not that their parents knew, since Dolores was a Muggleborn, and the Selwyn family was strictly pureblood. When Dolores' parents abandoned her, she sent a letter to Louisa from the orphanage, telling her all about her predicament.
Louisa, being the conniving Slytherin she was, instantly came up with a plan. A few days after Dolores had sent the letter, Louisa's family arrived at the Muggle orphanage, ready to adopt the Ravenclaw. At first, Mr. and Mrs. Selwyn had been extremely reluctant to adopt a Muggleborn, but once they heard that Dolores hated Muggles just as much as they did, if not more, and was quite intelligent for her age, they realized what an asset she could become for their cause.
And so they adopted Dolores, and she was, put quite simply, reborn.
6. She loved Arthur Weasley.
He was one of the few boys who were actually nice to her, consistently. He was nice to everyone, in fact. Who cared if he was a blood traitor? Who cared if he wasn't the smartest, or the handsomest, or the richest? In Dolores' eyes, he was smart and funny and kind and perfect.
But he was in love with Molly Prewett, and had been since Second Year, and showed no sign of growing out of it anytime. Dolores was many things, but she was not a boyfriend-stealer. Besides, Molly made Arthur happy.
That almost made seeing their wedding announcement in the Daily Prophet bearable. Almost.
7. It was Remus Lupin's fault that she hated half-breeds.
Her adopted father, Xavier Selwyn, was a Death Eater, just like the men in the Selwyn family had been for years. Dolores, since she didn't have the Dark Mark herself, rarely went to any battles. Sometimes, though, she ended up there by chance.
Dolores had been doing shopping for her brand-new apartment when she heard them. The screams. The wails of terror that could only precede the arrival of Death Eaters. Smirking, Dolores did what any intelligent woman would do and pushed through the crowds of witches and wizards to a seat by the window, calmly sitting down and sipping a cup of tea that someone had left sitting there, eagerly waiting to watch the action.
Sometimes, she knew, the best way to hide was to be in plain sight.
Her eyes drifted from Death Eater to Death Eater until, finally, she found the figure she was looking for. She could recognize the wand anywhere: unusually long, a shade of brown that bordered on red, intricate designs carved up it. She smiled, leaning back in her chair to watch Xavier fight off a tall young man- fresh out of Hogwarts, she would say- with short brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.
As Dolores watched, coolly sipping her tea, she noted that the boy was a skilled duelist. Uncommonly so, in fact. He showed prestigious skill that she had only seen a handful of times before. Her gaze shifted to Xavier again, only to see his wand a blur, moving back and forth like a whip, sending curses while blocking some at the same time. He actually looks like he's struggling, she thought with a frown.
And then, it happened.
The young man sent a curse that sent Xavier flying backwards, slamming into a pile of bricks that, before the attack, was being used to build a new shop. To Dolores' horror, he slumped forward, his body limp, his wand falling out of his grasp.
Quickly casting a glamour charm over herself so she wouldn't be recognized, Dolores darted out of the shop and to her adopted father's side, putting a hand on his chest.
It wasn't moving.
She checked his pulse with two fingers, and it was completely still.
"No," she murmured, her now-blue eyes wide. "No. Xavier! Xavier, wake up! It's me, Dolores! Wake up!"
Nothing.
A single sob making its way out of her throat, Dolores kissing Xavier's forehead, stood up, and Apparated home. There, she looked up all the information she could about the young man who had killed Xavier Selwyn, the man who had been a father to her for half her life. She found out that the young man was Remus Lupin, an eighteen-years-old Hogwarts graduate. And a werewolf.
As soon as she found that out, she knew what to do. Using her Ministry position, she created laws to make life as difficult as possible for Remus Lupin and other half-breeds. It was the least she could do to avenge her adopted father.
8. Above all of her other students while she taught at Hogwarts, she hated Hermione Granger.
It wasn't because Hermione was such good friends with Harry Potter, the boy who was causing her Minister so much trouble, and Ron Weasley, the son of Dolores' once-love. It wasn't because Hermione was basically the reason that she got captured by centaurs. No, it was because Hermione was a better version of what Dolores could have been.
Had Dolores lived up to her full potential as a student, then she knew she could have been exactly like Hermione Granger. Abnormally bright; loyal; well-liked; and so much more.
The only difference was that Hermione was brave enough to let herself shine. Dolores wasn't.
9. She worshipped Voldemort.
He had given her the opportunity she had always wanted: the opportunity to get revenge on Muggles. Sure, she was prosecuting Muggleborns, not Muggles themselves, but it was basically the same thing. The fear on all of the Muggleborns' faces had delighted Dolores; she had been in absolute power, for the first time, over hundreds of people. The job was what she had always dreamed of: power against Muggles.
And Voldemort had given that to her, even if it wasn't for nearly a long enough time. For that, she would always worship him.
10. She escaped Azkaban.
It was very sudden: one day, Dolores was sitting in her cell, glaring at the guards who passed her cell. The next, the guard walked by her cell, only to find it empty. There was no sign of any damage; Dolores had simply vanished.
Outside, a toad swam in the waters surrounding the wizard prison, to the opposite shore.
Dolores Umbridge was hated by most, respected by some, and trusted by perhaps a handful of people. Nevertheless, she had succeeded in all of her goals in life: She had gotten a position of power, avenged Xavier Selwyn, achieved revenge against Muggles, and even escaped Azkaban.
Her methods may not have been liked, legal, or approved of. But Dolores Umbridge was, indisputably, The Woman Who Conquered.
To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of this chapter. I don't think it's the best one I've ever written, though I do like the ideas themselves. But I'd gone too long without an update, so I decided to do what I could. So, what do you think? Please review! Even if you hated it!
-Joelle8