A New Path
AN: If anyone is interested, I've posted a one-shot outtake from this chapter called A Game of Chess. It got a bit silly so I took it out and extended it so I could post it solo.
Also, does anyone fancy making a cover image for this? With the newest site changes I think it could do with one but don't really trust myself to come up with anything good.
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CHAPTER 6 - Dumbledore's Army
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Hermione didn't raise the topic of Harry teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts for a whole two weeks after her original suggestion, unfortunately for Harry, Voldemort did. At least twice each day.
It was while Harry, Ron and Hermione were sat in the library, looking up potions ingredients for Snape, that she spoke.
"I was wondering whether you'd thought any more about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry."
Harry heard Voldemort's sigh of finally and smiled to himself. The man hadn't liked Harry's idea of waiting for Hermione to raise the topic again. The fact that, as Harry reminded him, it was his own idea to seem uninterested only served to rile the older wizard further.
"Course I have, can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us -"
Harry heard the mental growl at the same time Hermione spoke.
"No, I meant the idea Ron and I had - oh, alright, the idea I had, then - about you teaching us."
Harry pretended to be interested in the book he was thumbing through. "Well, yeah, I had thought about it." "Because you wouldn't let me think about much else."
"Don't blame me for thinking about your future. Someone has to."
Hermione looked at Harry hopefully. "And?"
"And it would be just you and Ron, right?"
"What are you doing?!"
"Quiet. Listen and you will see."
"Well," Hermione looked anxious again, "well ... now, don't fly off the handle again, Harry, please ... but I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort. -"
"That never gets old."
"Shush."
"-pathetic, Ron. It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."
Harry pretended to consider for a moment. "Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you two would want to be taught by me. I'm a nutter, remember?"
"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say. Look -" she leaned in close to Harry, Ron, frowning, followed suit, "you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?"
"Yeah, alright."
Hermione smiled and picked up another book.
As Harry went back to his book he heard another growl, but this one was tinted with a hint of pride.
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Harry still hadn't heard from Sirius by the time the weekend to Hogsmeade came around. He was worried. Would Sirius turn up like he'd teased he would in the summer? Would he not? Harry didn't know which worried him more.
The morning of the Hogsmeade visit dawned bright and windy. After breakfast, the trio queued up in front of Filch, who matched their names on a long list of the students with permission to go.
They set off at a brisk path, passed between the stone pillars with winged boars, and on to the outskirts of Hogsmeade.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Harry asked as they walked through the village. "The Three Broomsticks?"
"Oh - no, no, it's always packed and really noisy. I've told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, that other pub, you know the one, it's not on the main road. I think it's a bit ... you know ... dodgy ... but students don't normally go in there, so I don't think we'll be overheard."
Harry frowned as he heard Voldemort laughing.
"What is it?"
"This girl is hilarious. She's just mentioned all the reasons Not to go the Hog's Head as reasons To go to it."
Harry's frown deepened.
"Should I say something. I mean if it's-"
"No. What's done is done. Just don't raise suspicions any more."
"And there was me thinking tricking Hermione into making the suggestions would keep the suspicion off."
"It would have. You just didn't keep your nose in as far as you should have. Practice makes perfect, it was a good first try."
The three teens walked up to the door of the pub, a battered wooden sign, depicting a wild boar's severed head leaking blood onto the white cloth around it, hung above.
"Well, come on." Hermione said slightly nervously. Harry led the way inside.
It was as far removed from the Three Broomsticks as it could be with its single small, dingy and very dirty room and its largely shrouded customers.
After buying three butterbeers, they retreated to the table furthest away from the bar.
"Are you sure about this Hermione?" Harry asked despite what Voldemort said.
"I've double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out of bounds; I specifically asked Professor Flitwick-" She stopped talking as the door to the pub opened, admitting the first wave of students.
First to enter was Neville with Dean and Lavender. They were closely followed by the Patil sisters with Cho and one of her friends. Voldemort gave Harry a sharp jolt to his scar as he saw the young witch. Next was Luna, on her own and looking so dreamy she might have walked in by accident.
Harry smiled.
I approve. You can court her.
Harry covered his choke with a cough and a swig of his drink.
Next to enter were Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff girl Harry didn't know the name of; three Ravenclaw boys he was sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot, Ginny and then a tall, blond Hufflepuff boy. The wave of students closed with Fred and George Weasley and their friend Lee Jordan, all ladden with bags of Zonko merchandise.
"Just a few, hey Hermione." Harry said to the girl under his breath.
Hermione smiled happily. "Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular."
The meeting passed in a flurry of thoughts and questions, occasionally getting off course only to be steered back again. Just before everyone left, Hermione had Harry's new students sign a sheet of parchment.
"Seems I'm popular."
Harry laughed at Voldemort. The man had enjoyed listening to so many people talking about him fearfully.
"Not sure that counts as popularity." Harry argued back.
"Nonsense. Of course it does." It was said with humour.
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Thanks to the newest educational decree from the ministry, Harry woke up Monday morning happy only to fall into a foul mood upon reading the notice. He understood exactly what it meant. The decree against clubs would mean a lot more problems for Harry, not least for Quidditch which he knew Umbridge would enjoy holding over his head.
Without anything he could do, Harry got on with his day. It was while he was in History of Magic that he finally received a reply from Sirius. Hedwig arrived battered and in pain carrying a short letter. He'd excused himself from class and immediately carried her to the CoMC professor.
"'Today, same time, same place.' Does he mean the fire in the common room?" Ron asked as Harry shared the note with his friends after returning from the staff room.
"Obviously. I just hope nobody else has read this ..." Hermione said uneasily before her first thought returned to her. "Is Hedwig ok?"
Harry nodded. "I think so. I took her to Grubbly-Plank. And I met McGonagall ... I think she thinks someone tried to intercept Hedwig too."
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Later that night, while Harry was trying to concentrate on his potions essay and after the Weasley twins and their fans had dispersed, Sirius appeared in the fire.
"Sirius!" Ron called grabbing Harry and Hermione's attention to the fire.
"Hi." He said grinning, something Harry was relieved to see.
"Hi." The trio said, kneeling down by the hearth. Crookshanks joining in.
Talk of the planned Defence Against the Darks Arts group, arguments against it from Mrs Weasley and suggestions from Sirius on potential locations ensued.
It all ended suddenly with a stubby, short-fingered hand covered in ugly old-fashioned rings reaching out in the fire to grab at the already fled Sirius. The three teens ran for it up to their dorms.
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It was the first meeting of the student DADA. Dobby had been the one to suggest the location and, much to Voldemort's annoyance, they were meeting up in the Room of Requirement.
"What's wrong? It's a good choice. You said so yourself, even if you were grumbling."
Voldemort bristled. "It is. I just don't like sharing secrets with others without receiving something of equal worth in return. And neither should you."
"What are you on about? What secret?" Harry asked confused.
Voldemort growled. "The Room of Requirements. Thanks to you there are now twenty-seven more people who know about it."
"You are too possessive and paranoid sometimes."
"Harry? You're staring into space again mate."
"It's not paranoia."
Harry smiled. "Sorry, Ron. Daydreaming I guess." He turned to look at Hermione who was still sat on a cushion reading Jinxes for the Jinxed.
By the time eight o'clock came around everyone had arrived at the RoR. Within moments Hermione had passed a vote for both the name and leader of the group.
After she had written the voted name 'Dumbledore's Army' onto the list of names she sat once again and Harry, the voted leader, began the first lesson, The Expelliarmus charm.
"Oh, please. I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?" Zacharias Smith said crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
"I could kill that one for you."
"I've used it against him." Harry said quietly, ignoring Voldemort. "It saved my life in June."
"Did you have to tell them that? It'll ruin my image them knowing that."
"Shush. I'm teaching."
When it was clear there were no more objections Harry got the students to pair up and practice using the charm on one another. For the first few moments, Harry teamed up with Neville. After the boy had successfully disarmed Harry once, Harry sent him to join Ron and Hermione.
The rest of the hour passed quickly with Harry wandering around between the pairs correcting those where it was needed. On Voldemort's orders, he asked the twins to meet him in a few days for a secret meeting. They agreed but were clearly confused when Harry emphasised that secret meant just the three of them.
"Well, that was pretty good, but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?" Harry called after the last wand had clattered to the floor.
There were calls of sooner,countered by Angelina's reminder of the need for Quidditch practices. It was decided the next meeting would be Wednesday.
They left in groups of threes and fours and eventually Harry found himself entering Gryffindor tower.
"That was really, really good, Harry." Hermione said and Harry found himself smiling.
"Yeah, it was." Ron agreed.
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"What did you want to meet us for Harry?" Fred asked on Tuesday evening.
"Yeah, normally you're happy to talk in front of Hermione and Ron."
Harry glanced around and raised a privacy veil like the one Voldemort constantly used around him around himself and the twins. He was nervous but Voldemort had persuaded him to try and if it worked then he could try another person in a week or two.
"I've, um- what do you know about death eaters, the dark and, uh, stuff?" He asked.
"Slow it down a little. Too much and you might lose your chance."
The twins frowned. "Harry?" They asked.
"Well, here goes." Harry told Voldemort.
"I wasn't, last summer, wasn't being held prisoner anywhere."
To Harry's surprise, the twins grinned.
"We know."
"Or more, we guessed."
"So?"
"Details."
"Where were you and -"
"- what were you doing?"
Harry couldn't help it, a laugh escaped him but before he could speak the twins began again in unison. "And you have our word as the Prank Kings of Hogwarts that we will not share anything you tell us with any other beings, human or troll."
Harry laughed. In his head, so did Voldemort.
"I want them. Make them be death eaters, Harry. I beg you."
Harry laughed some more.
Once he had calmed himself, Harry began to tell the twins about his summer, finally glad to be able to talk about it to someone other than the dark lord.
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"I told you not to get involved."
"Shut up."
"I did say but would you listen?"
"I said shut up."
"And now look, no more Quidditch. And you do love your Quidditch.
"I thought I told you to shut up."
"Well at least now you might focus on your studies more."
"You're not helping."
"You've been falling behind what is expected of you."
"No I haven't and you know it."
"Maybe I should be more clear. What I expect of you."
"Now that I can believe. But more to the point. Shut up."
Harry was sat in the Gryffindor common room sulking about his apparently permanent removal from Quidditch by the b- Umbridge. A lifetime ban she called it. He scowled.
"Stop scowling. Right now."
Harry ignored the man.
"Oh for merlin's sake stop sulking. If it will cheer you up I'll go force my death eaters to do something stupid. Like, I don't know, dress up in drag and perform the can can."
Despite himself Harry choked on a laugh. Ron gave him an odd look.
"There, not so hard was it. Continue like that."
"Well," Hermione said slowly. If she had been talking before Harry hadn't noticed. "I can think of one thing that might cheer you both up"
"Oh yeah?" Harry asked sceptically. First Voldemort now Hermione, who next?
"Yeah. Hagrid's back."
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Apprehensively, Hermione, Ron and Harry made their way to their first lesson with Hagrid since his return. Their talk with Hagrid, the night he'd arrived, hadn't gone too well. Despite Umbridge's interruption and Hermione's subsequent pleas for Hagrid to be wary of the witch, Hagrid didn't seem the slightest bit worried. All they knew was he had something in the Forbidden Forest and his cuts and bruises seemed to be constantly fresh.
His appearance as they arrived at the edge of the forest was not reassuring in the least and as if to complete the image he had what appeared to be half a dead cow over his shoulder
"I told you, dangerous new pet." Voldemort said to Harry's agreement. "Have to admit, I'm curious to what it could be that it leaves him like that."
"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily, jerking his head towards the dark trees behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark."
"What prefers the dark?" Harry heard Draco say with a hint of panic to Goyle and Crabbe. "What did he say prefers the dark - did you hear?"
Harry remember the last time Draco had entered the forest, he had not been brave then either, and smirked at the boy's discomfort.
"You were getting on alright with him during the summer." Voldemort pointed out, earning the mental equivalent to a glare from Harry.
"That was one day! Not even the whole of one day! And that was before the Quidditch match." Harry growled. "Don't you have better things to do than watch me all day every day?"
"No."
Harry snorted in disbelief but said no more.
It was only a short while after Hagrid introduced the class to the threstrals that Umbridge turned up. By the end of the lesson it was obvious that Hermione was fuming. Harry was too but was easily distracted by the fact that so was Voldemort. In fact, Harry'd had to suppress several winces as his scar burned fiercely.
"You like Hagrid?" Harry asked of Voldemort after the lesson was done and he could retreat to the Gryffindor tower.
"I do not." Was Voldemort's haughty reply.
"Then what was that about? You were much more reserved in potions and transfiguration."
Voldemort didn't answer straight away.
"Ok, maybe I do like him. But at the same time I don't. He's Hagrid."
Harry laughed. "Because that's not confusing."
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The Christmas holidays came and Harry found himself spending it at Grimmauld Place instead of the burrow as previously planned.
It seemed that Voldemort had been up to something after all and a few days before the close of term it had resulted in Mr Weasley getting injured. Fortunately it wasn't serious, the biggest problem had been that the wounds he received wouldn't heal. Voldemort explained that this was because Nagini had used her venom when she attacked the wizard.
Harry had refused to speak to the man no matter how much he pleaded and in the end they spent several days in mental silence.
"How's Mr Weasley doing?" Harry asked as Sirius entered the room where he was sitting alone.
"He'll be okay. The healers are positive they can create a potion to counteract the poison." Sirius sat down beside Harry. "The word is that you saw it happen. From the snake's point of view." He started. Harry looked up at the man. "Is it true?"
Harry shook his head. "No." He looked around as if suddenly realising something, wishing he could cast a privacy charm. He lowered his voice. "He told me. He says he wasn't intentional. That Mr Weasley just got in Nagini's way."
Sirius nodded. "Nagini's his familiar's name, right?"
Harry hummed agreement.
Sirius slouched down closer. "Look, about what we talked about." He paused, took a breath. "I'll side with you, you know that. I failed you once and I won't do it again but it's, well, with him,"
"I understand." Harry answered looking down to the floor.
Sirius picked his chin and raised his face to his own. "So, what's this plan the two of you've got?"
Harry chuckled breathily. "It's not my plan. Not really. He hasn't said all that much about it."
"But..."
"But it's to do with finding out what Dumbledore knows or thinks he knows."
Sirius nodded. "Right. Gotcha. I can see how that would be important."
Harry smiled at the older wizard. "You don't have to pretend." He told him. "It's a big adjustment. I know. I've been through it."
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On the very last day of holidays, during a wizard chess match between Harry and Ron, Harry had a surprise visitor. Mrs Weasley had called him down to the kitchen, citing that Snape wanted a word.
Shocked, Harry made him way downstairs. He entered the room to find Snape and Sirius sat at the kitchen table, a letter lay open between them.
"Er," Harry said, to announce his presence.
"Sit down, Potter." Snape ordered.
That didn't go down well with Sirius and several snide remarks were bounced back and forth between the two men as a result.
"The Headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish that you study Occulmency this term." Snape said once he had successfully won this particular verbal battle.
Harry had to force himself to remember to act like he had when Voldemort had first raised the topic. He also tried to remind himself that, though both Sirius and Snape were on his side, neither knew about the other.
"Study what? Why do I have to study Occul-thing?"
Snape sneered before answering, but only the second question. "Because the Headmaster thinks it is a good idea. You will receive private lessons once a week, but you will not tell anybody what you are doing, least of all Dolores Umbridge. I will expect you at six o'clock on Monday evening, Potter. My office. If anybody asks, you are taking remedial Potions."
Snape stood and turned to leave. Sirius was about to interrupt with a question but Harry cut him off with a shake of his head.
After Snape had gone, Harry turned to Sirius. "It's okay." He said so quiet it was barely audible. "It's part of the plan."
"His?" Sirius asked curiously.
It was at that point that several Weasleys entered the kitchen so Harry simply nodded.
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School had started again and Harry found himself following Ron around while begging the boy to share the supposed knowledge he'd gleaned while visiting his father in hospital.
"Come on Ron, I know you know something. Tell me. I'm your best friend."
Ron stared at Harry's pleading expression. "Ok. I'll tell you what I heard," Harry beamed, "if you can beat me at a game of chess." His face fell.
Harry thought for a moment then nodded. "Alright." He said.
"Deal?"
"Deal."
They shook on it.
Ron went to get his chess set.
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"So what do you know?" Harry asked the following morning.
"You cheated."
"Come on Ron, the whole of Gryffindor was watching. They would have said if they saw me cheat."
"Yeah, okay, but since when were you so good at chess?"
Harry shrugged. "Guess I got lucky."
"Yeah yeah."
Hermione decided to enter the conversation at that point. "Ron, you made a bet. Yes, Harry got lucky but he still won, so pay up or risk falling on the wrong side of public opinion."
"What?"
"Someone who goes back on their word."
Ron's ears reddened slightly.
It turned out, much to Voldemort's amusement, Ron didn't actually know all that much. It almost all revolved around what the order members individually, rather than Dumbledore, thought Voldemort was planning for Harry and, of course, Harry knew better than all of them on that count.
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The news of the multiple death eater breakout from Azkaban spread through the school like wildfire. Everyone had something to say and this time it wasn't only Harry who stood on the receiving end of the gossip.
"I don't know how you bare it." Susan Bones was saying to him during their Herbology class. As a relative of not one but three of the death eaters' victims she was having a hard time. Not for the first time that week, Harry was glad of the warning the dark lord had seen to give him. The man hadn't been warning him of the breakout so much as informing him that his soon to be tutor, Rodolophus Lestrange, was finally free, but it was the thought which counted.
Harry held back his reply to Susan knowing that the girl just wanted to talk.
It wasn't long later that he found an urgent reason to question the dark lord. Unfortunately, since his Occulmency studies had started with Snape, the man didn't seem to be as present as he had the term before. When Harry had questioned it, Snape suggested that perhaps the dark lord wished for Harry to practice without any additional hindrance that his constant watching may produce. It was a good reason but that didn't mean Harry liked it.
"What? Can't you tell I'm busy?" Was the reply Harry got after several long hours of mental prodding.
"It's important."
"Well be quick. I have the rescued death eaters here and I have to deal with them before they go out and do something stupid."
"Wouldn't blame them, what is it? Thirteen, fourteen years in Azkaban?"
"Exactly. So? What do you want?"
Harry shuffled for a second, reorganising his thoughts. "You told me to get allies."
"And?"
"Well, they, I think there may be something you might not like about to happen. To counter what the ministry are saying. Hermione's-"
"Look. Is it certain?"
"N-no, I don't-"
"Do you even know what the girl has planned?"
"No."
"Then think for yourself, Harry. Don't forget you have to act for Dumbledore's sake like a helpless little Gryffindor golden boy. If there will be damage, talk to Snape and limit it, but don't break your cover. Understood?"
"Understood. B-"
"I have to go. I'll talk to you again soon."
And then Harry was alone in his head again. He went back to pretending to not care about the gossip.
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February seemed to come quickly. It found Harry sat in a booth of the Three Broomsticks opposite Rita Skeeter.
"Hermione? What is this about?" He asked one of the other two people present, the second being Luna. Harry kept his newly learnt mask up in case the ex-Prophet-journalist got any ideas.
"Oh, so she hasn't told you either?" Rita didn't look good. It appeared she hadn't had a very good time of it recently, however, from the look in her eyes, as she looked Harry over, her hunger for headlines was still going strong.
It transpired that Hermione wanted Harry to tell Rita everything that happened in the graveyard and for Rita to write a, truthful, article that would then be published in Luna's father's paper, The Quibbler.
Harry had to hold in his nervousness at the prospect. It wasn't his happiest moment and, that aside, he knew Voldemort wanted his reappearance to remain secret.
"Well, I've already told the world. Either they believe me or they don't. One article can't make that much difference, unless there's something Hermione's not told me." Harry said in his mind. Not that he expected an answer from Voldemort but he did want to tease the wizard in response to the prolonged silence. "No, anything else would be out of character."
"Ok. When do we do this?"
Hermione smiled serenely, Luna stared dreamily at Harry and Rita pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill with a half-hearted smile.
The subsequent release of the article days later caused a huge stir among the student and teachers at Hogwarts, and, by the sounds of it, the outer world too, but Voldemort remained oddly quiet.
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It was one day in April that Harry changed the numbers of his fake Galleon to the date and time of what would turn out to be the last meeting of the DA. Hermione had developed a way of communicating the time and date of the next meeting using the Protean charm on fake Galleons. A method that was inspired by the dark mark, something which, at the time, Voldemort was equally flattered and annoyed by.
The lesson itself went fine, everyone improving greatly. Harry had now collected many allies among the group but not all. There were some students that he couldn't bring himself to trust with his secrets and one or two he felt he couldn't trust at all, but it had been only the Weasley twins so far he had entrusted with his biggest secrets.
It soon became clear that his wariness of one particular person was justified when, near the end of the lesson, Dobby appeared with a warning. Umbridge had discovered them.
The students fled instantly, fleeing down the corridors.
Harry had only just made it out of the door when he was tripped up by a jinx from Malfoy who, with a far too pleased grin, called Umbridge.
Immediately, Harry found himself in Dumbledore's office facing the Minister of Magic.
"The fool."
Harry hid the smirk that played at his lips, Voldemort was back.
Fudge and Umbridge were talking over Harry about the DA. As if to prove Harry's guilt, Umbridge summoned her informant. Cho's friend, Marietta.
Thanks to the jinx Hermione had put on the list of names, Marietta's face was covered in pustules which appeared to spell the word 'sneak'. Harry had to force himself not to laugh or praise Hermione as the girl refused to speak causing Umbridge to talk for her.
Harry watched as Dumbledore ran rings around Fudge and Umbridge using their own rules, twisting the questions to suit him and simply playing them. By the end of it Dumbledore was gone, taking the blame of the DA with him.
"I guess I don't need to impress upon you how manipulative the old fool can be, do I?" Voldemort asked as McGonagall ushered Harry out of the office.
"Nope. But I kind of noticed already."
"What I do apparently still need to tell you, though, is to stop being so careless. That was too close. And I don't like having to leave it to the goat to safe you."
"I would have gone to live with you though if I'd been expelled right? You'd have got me out if they'd arrested me?"
Voldemort chuckled. "Yes brat, just don't take that as a reason to get expelled. Even though those Gryffindors are, I suspect, extremely annoying company."
So the week ended with Umbridge crowning herself the new headmistress of Hogwarts.
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AN: I realise this isn't my best but at least it's done.