As soon as she left Dumbledore's office, Bella danced down the steps to Umbridge's (her new!) office and told Umbridge to clear out. "You have one hour. Problems? Tell Dumbledore. I'm acting on his orders."
"I am Senior Undersecretary to the-" began the pink mosquito with an ear-piercingly high-pitched voice.
"I am the new Defense Professor. I assure you, I am very qualified. Would you like to find out for yourself?" asked Bella dangerously, fingering her wand.
"N-no," said Umbridge. "Er…five minutes, please."
A few moments later, Umbridge and her trunk were outside the office and the classroom was devoid of any of Umbridge's 'touch-ups'. And another five minutes later, she was gone from Hogwarts, with Peeves chasing behind her with ink pellets.
Bella sighed with satisfaction. This was how it was done. As she entered the bare office, she quickly switch the lighting from pink to a cool blue, colored the walls different shades of purple and black, transfigured the boring old desk into a dark violet worktable, put up some pictures of her friends and family that were invisible if anyone who didn't know her personally looked at them, unpacked her trunk, set up the wardrobe and leaned back in her black velvet chair. She pulled out the pocket mirror from her robes. "The Dark-" she stopped as there was a knock on the door and stuffed the mirror back into her pocket.
Just then Professor Dumbledore came in. "I see you have setted in. Quite a nice shade, isn't it, purple? And Bella, I also wanted to know - have we met before? You sound awfully familiar - I just can't put my finger on it!"
Bella froze. If her secret was discovered this early, then she might as well clear out. "No, you must have seen someone who looked like me. I know this muggle actress…" said Bella carefully.
"Ah, yes, of course!" said Dumbledore. "Well, see you at breakfast tomorrow." And with that, he swept out of the room with his starry purple robes.
She made sure that Dumbledore was definitely gone, before saying to her mirror, "The Dark Lord."
Voldemort's face appeared on it almost immediately. "So, tell me, Bella. Did it work?"
"Yes!" she said gleefully. "Do you like my new office?"
"Er…very nice," said Voldemort, wincing slightly; there was too much color - even if it was just purple and was tastefully decorated.
"I fully intend to give them a proper education, though. The quality of their teachers…I'd say the only decent Defense teachers in the last few years have been Remus Lupin, and he was a werewolf, and Barty Crouch Jr. And he was a Death Eater."
"Really?" said Voldemort. "So it does mean that Potter got away with only luck."
"Perhaps. I will be able to tell you my observations while teaching." Bella was inwardly looking forward to this job very much. She rather liked teaching, but the only people she had taught before were Death Eaters, and they weren't that intelligent. Students, though…
"Well, good night, Bella, and I wish you luck. Defense was always my favorite subject, too. Actually, I had even applied for the Defense post after Professor Merrythought retired, But Dumbledore wouldn't let me take it." said Voldemort.
"Really? Well, good night to you too, my lord."
"Do a good job Bella. Those of magical blood must be sufficiently educated."
And with that, the mirror showed her own face again and she lay down on her hovering bed. A good night's sleep was always important. Especially for big days such as tomorrow.
The next morning, Bella put on her usual black robes and walked into the Great Hall. Being here brought back memories. As she walked into the hall, a silence fell throughout the students seated at their house tables. She cast a fond look at the Slytherin table. She really was home again.
Dumbledore stood. "I regret to inform you that Professor Umbridge has had to leave-" This invited a very large round of applause and cheering that did not stop for five minutes. "Yes, yes, I am certain that you will all wish her success in her future endeavors." he said with a twinkle in his eye. Nearly everyone snorted. "May I introduce to you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: Professor Bella White."
There was a tumultuous applause from every table. Umbridge must've been really horrible, she thought.
She decided that she wanted to start off with an impression that showed her true personality. There would be way too many things to pretend about otherwise. "Hola, everybody! So I'm your new Defense teacher, and I hope I'll be better than Umbridge. But even if I was, it wouldn't be saying much, would it? Ah well…" she bowed theatrically and sat down at the teacher's table next to Professor McGonagall.
There was a collective appreciative chuckle. "Yes, it would!" called out one of the Weasley twins. "Moody and Lupin were the only decent ones we've had so far!" said the other.
"They're right for once," said a bushy, brown-haired girl who was sitting next to yet another Weasley and Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.
At the table, Harry and Ron exchanged glances. "She looks interesting. Much more fun than Umbridge, anyways!" grinned Ron.
"She reminds me of Tonks," said Harry, narrowing his eyebrows. "Looks like her, too, if you think about it. Only, her hair isn't pink, and it's curly."
"I hope she's a good teacher," said Hermione. "Bella White…there's something odd about that name, though. I feel like I've heard it before somewhere."
"Come on," said Harry. "Our first lesson's Defense! Great! I actually didn't think I'd be ever saying that this year."
"Let's go," said Hermione. They walked back to the common room, washed up and picked up their bags.