Dumbledore's Army
Harry was plagued by dreams about a strange room. He had the feeling that he following Voldemort because once, he felt like he was in a snake called Nagini. It had attacked Arthur and a look on the calender. It was just now.
Erik was outside, when the message came in. He had talked to Hagrid about the success of the negotiations with the giants. It hadn't gone as well as they had hoped. Instead of having the giants as allies the Bonecrusher squad sent by the Cobras had barely managed to get the giants to the neutral stage.
A medical squad working with St Mungo's told him that Arthur Weasley had been delivered in. The Weasleys and Harry had arrived. Erik ordered them to keep a close eye on him.
Christmas was spent at Grimmaud Place 12. Sirius had invoked his right as a share holder so the Daily Prophet was pulling the anti-Harry campaign down and resumed reporting true stories. Percy gave them a heads-up about Fudge's new plan to get Umbridge as the new headmaster.
Apart from that nothing too exciting happened, only that Snape regretted testing the two soul-mates in Occlumancy.
Two weeks after the holidays it got even worse when Fudge signed a decree which abolished every subject not approved by the ministry. So field training was skipped. Hermione convinced Harry and Ginny to lead a study group for DADA.
He had the interested meeting at the Hog's head. He was surprised at the large group. The inn keeper had given them a room in the back where they could talk without being eaves dropped. He, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were the first to arrive. Later Cedric and Cho followed by a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws arrived. Surprised Gasps were heard when Daphne, Blaise and Darco entered. "Are you here to rat us out?" Colin shouted as he saw them after his entrance.
Harry calmly explained how they were the only ones who worked against Umbridge. "With their knowledge of patrol plans they might be able to get us out of trouble. We still have to cause some minor pranks though to keep the toad from getting suspicious." Ginny explained.
Erik observed the meeting until everyone signed the parchment. He kept a close eye on Miss Edgecombe. She was the only one who hesitated to sign. As the group left he deactivated his cloak and followed out to meet Aberforth.
Two days later a decree was signed to forbid any clubs apart from the ones she allowed. Erik added this to the growing stack of complains the coordinators had to work through for the international court. So far it had been minor charges which would either put her on probation or only fine her with a small charge. What Erik was looking for was a major slip to take her out of business for good. He followed the DA meetings and managed to get them out of trouble sometimes by patrolling the corridor at the room of requirement.
Dumbledore watched the DA with interest. They would be a great tool to finally get Umbridge out. He had dropped hints to the inquisitorial squad about the turnable Marietta Edgecombe. Once crossing her he had probed her mind and seeded the doubt about the DA.
The following days more decrees were signed. The quidditch teams were disbanded, apart from the Slytherin which was not a huge problem as the other teams refused to play anyway. Although Harry and Ginny were able to keep their near-prefect status they were still subject to Umbridge's provocations.
After one extremely long session of DADA Harry lost it. "So you mean to say that Cedric and I invented the whole thing?"
"Yes, you attention-seeking boy! I saw you at the hearing. You hide behind others hoping that they will protect you!"
Harry exploded. "So everything since my birth is a lie? Did my parents die by a breeze? Did Quirrell die by a vampire? Was the chamber just a myth? Was Sirius Black responsible for all this and most important: Where did Cedric and I disappear to with the cup?"
Umbridge stood up to put him down but Harry was already ranting in his rage.
"I tell you! Voldemort killed them, fearing of someone to oppose him! Quirrell was possessed. Voldemort in his head. The chamber was guarded by a Basilisk which was awoken by a possessed student, again Voldemort although this time too was only a fraction of his soul. Peter Pettigrew. You were there in the trial. Last year Cedric and I had to fight for our lives along with the other champions. Unless you want to call each of them a liar you have to see the truth!"
"POTTER! DETENTION!" Umbridge screeched.
Ginny was frustrated. She felt the pain Harry was in when he used the blood quill.
~These are illegal! You have the right to refuse.~
~No. I won't give her that victory.~
Ginny hissed in frustration.
It continued the following week. With a wave of her hand she healed his wounds but every night he would return with new marks. When Umbridge got more insistent Erik planted a bug on Harry's glasses. He sent the images to the ICW to add them to the charges.
The next day Umbridge walked in and sat down at the table. The moment she sat down Erik placed his helmet on his head. The following shriek made everyone laugh when Umbridge jumped onto her chair, looking at the mice surrounding her. The other teachers looked rather amused and McGonagall transfigured the mice into matches, that were banished shortly after.
The DA meetings continued. They learned Expelliarmus and Reducto. Other curses like the body binding and the silencing charm. Cedric added the bubblehead charm and some charms from the higher classes. The Room of Requirement gave them all they needed to learn.
Unbeknownst to them a girl entered the office of a professor.
Malfoy knew about the plans as soon as they listened to Edgecombe. When he escorted her out with Daphne they separated on a silent sign. With a quick wave he wiped her mind and replaced them. At least the ones about the meetings after the publication of the decree.
Daphne walked to the prefects bath, running across Hermione in the girl's bathroom.
"Granger!" She shouted. Getting the girl's attention she told her about the problem. "We will deal with it."
The inquisitorial squad stood behind Umbridge when she blew the wall apart. Checking the room there was nothing but two phoenixes which vanished in a flame. Malfoy found a parchment. Curiously he determined that only Harry's and Ginny's names were on it. He hold it out to Umbridge who shouted in victory and took it.
The squad followed her out towards the headmaster's office. On the way Daphne saw a snake on a knight, which watched them interested. When she looked back it was gone. Dismissing it as a hallucination she followed the high inquisitor.
However the attempt to arrest Dumbledore failed miserably when Edgecombe refused to testify. On Kingsley's interrogation she only verified that the group had met in the Hog's head but not anymore since then. "Obviously the four tried to start it but since no body was interested the dropped it again. Without anyone backing them they didn't dare to follow through." Dawlish concluded.
Before the could arrest Dumbledore for the attempt of overthrowing the minister the man flamed away with his phoenix. But not before stating the obvious: "You seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to... what is the phrase? Come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course... but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."
With the next decree Umbridge was made headmistress instead of McGonagall. This was the go for the new series of pranks.
When Umbridge greeted the students the next day they were interrupted by a loud noise. Fireworks flew through the school. Umbridge tried everything she knew and blamed Filch if something she tried failed miserably.
The other teachers did nearly nothing to help her, referring to the decree that they were only allowed to do things related to their subject.
"Now banishing a firework is stuff for the sixth years. I wasn't sure if I could perform in in front of the fifth years. Might give them wrong ideas and they might banish themselves, not that I would complain about getting rid of there incompetent dunderheads." Snape sneered before closing the door. So Umbridge spent her first day as headmistress to follow the cries of help through the castle. Her inquisitorial squad tried to help her apart from the two obvious. It was clear to all students that this was the work of the weasley twins. Draco and Greengrass couldn't held back their laugh when they caught the two and sent them the other way.
Especially the next day, when a full corridor was transformed into a gigantic swamp it was evident the teachers sympathized more with Harry then with Umbridge. They expressed their siding with giving the students points for the most basic jobs like handing them a book or giving more points for an answer. Some students even came to them, asking for detention. This helped as when they got some from Umbridge, they could say that they already had detention. Even as a headmistress, the first detention assign was the only valid for the assigned day. The excuses to get away from Umbridge got stranger every time. Snape gave detention for cleaning cauldrons and sorting the stock so often, that the students mostly sat there and had a coaching session with him. Madame Hooch had them all flying on the brooms and had them to be next Umbridge's office. Even Hogwarts itself seemed to have turned against Umbridge. The stairs changed direction every time she wanted to go anywhere and made her take long detours which was used by the students to prank her. But even the best made faults one day.
The day came when Fred and George, overenthusiastic from their recent success tried to spike her food in kitchen. However they forgot that all house elves apart from Dobby were bound to the headmaster and reported it to them. Their spectacular escape left a cheering school and a fuming Umbridge behind.
Now with the spot of the two best pranksters open nearly every student competed for it.
Comments like "Another lesson like this and I'm going Weasley" filled the corridors.
However the largest prank was one planned and executed by the DA and half of the school.
A strange illness befell the students as soon as they were in one room with Umbridge during lessons. Strong nose-bleeds, puking and fainting was caused by "Umbridgitis"
Peeves, who took the twin's last orders to the heart targeted exclusively Umbridge, Filch and the other members of the inquisitorial squad.
Mrs Norris stalked Harry and Ginny but a look into their eyes and she was running from them as fast as she could. ~Maybe we should use our abilities to prank the toad.~ Ginny suggested.
Harry agreed to pursue the idea however first they had the Career Advice. Hermione got advice to become a Curse Breaker. McGonagall told her that her high scores in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes would certainly help with that. Ron might become a keeper on a quidditch team however he was advised to the Hit-wizards as his skill in strategies would be recognized there.
Ginny and Harry had one together. Due to their closeness and skills Erik decided to watch this session. Both expressed their wishes to become aurors. Unsurprisingly Umbridge sat in a corner and interrupted them. When she threw in that Harry had a criminal record Minerva pointed out that Harry had been cleared. Erik added his part in by stating that Task Force Cobra had a junior division which took people in who were proven trustworthy in an exam. He got her goat when he pulled out two badges and gave them to the two students, welcoming them to the junior training program.
"We even have wizards and witches who are considered illegal animagi in britain. However since they are employed by an international organization the ICW-laws apply which state that a wizard or witch is not forced to reveal their form." He winked at Harry and Ginny who both knew that the Lieutenant was interpreting laws in a generous way to have them covered.
However Umbridge had a fit over it. Stating that the minister wouldn't allow this. Umbridge turned red when she entered the argument, accusing of Minerva being part in the coming coup-d'état against Fudge and how the professor wanted the undersecretary position.
"Potter, Weasley, I will assist you to become an Auror if it is the last thing I do! If I have to coach you nightly, I will make sure you achieve the required results!"
After this heated argument Harry felt guilty about his plans to break the rules again. He knew that Umbridge could have him expelled for hat he had planned. Ginny reassured him that it was one thing to follow the rules but it was something completely different to do the right thing. ~Remember Erik's lesson at the beginning?~
Erik watched the numbers of pranks pulled on the headmistress. While the illness was the largest the best was yet to come.
It has taken a lot of preparation but with the help of Dobby, the teachers and Erik Harry and Ginny managed to charm the knights and personal belongings of the toad to do nasty things to her. The ink she used disappeared after being subjected to darkness, the ink was from Snape. With advice from McGonagall they charmed her cat plates to include Lockhart and his ego from before the chamber.
But the biggest trick was to change her voice that every time she said "Points" she croaked instead.
At one point she invited Harry to her, to talk about Dumbledore. From his highten wolf senses which were due to his animagus form he could smell the veritaserum in it. However Snape had slipped him the antidote during their last detention. He downed the whole cup and asked for another which Umbridge was happy to refill. However she got nothing useful as he told her the most far fetched story about Dumbledore having a weapon but no one knew what it was. When she asked about Sirius Black he lied that he didn't know why he should know or care about him.
"I was the one who nearly caught Black in the floo network."
"So why should I care. I spent the whole night with Ginny. It isn't a secret that we are an item."
The biggest problem came when she used this information to make Ginny's life hell. Deducting points, or croaks in this case was getting on the red-heads nerves. Slytherins stalked her, trying to get in Umbridge's good graces. She managed to keep her cool during full two weeks but when Umbridge had a heated argument with Erik while Pansy tried to poison Ginny. She and Harry had hold back long but this was an attempt on their lives. With a sudden and fast spin she pinned the Slytherin onto the ground. Hissing she revealed her fangs at the frightened girl. Umbridge saw this and shouted. "Miss Weasley! Hundred croak from Gryffindor! Let her go you blood-traitor! I will have your family banished for this!"
This was the last nail in her coffin. A Weasley could bear insults against him- or herself. But to a Weasley it was the last drop when it came to family. Before Ron could jinx her Ginny flamed through the room and pinned Umbridge against the wall.
"Never insult my family again. You might treat me as you please but the moment you threatened my family you sealed your fate!" she growled before she threw Umbridge through the table. The crack of the breaking wood had the full hall's attention. Before she could do something else Harry was behind her, holding her. ~Don't do anything you might regret later.~
Ginny stood there for a moment, leaving Umbridge enough time to retreat behind her line of the inquisitorial squad. Then she punched the ground. A large crack formed as the stones caved in. The large crater was left when she flamed herself and Harry out of the hall.
Erik watched the show. He recorded Umbridge's reaction and decided that now was the time for the ultimate revenge of her in the name of all students. But first he had to convince Ginny about his plan.
Ginny sat on the bed, Harry in her arms. He hugged her back.
~You did what you had to.~ He said, telling her that he wouldn't look at her any different.
~I showed them what I was. I am dangerous. I could have killed her and all the Slytherins in my rage.~ She trembled as she looked at her hands.
~But you didn't. You listened to me. This makes you special. Something different from the monster the myths are about.~
She broke crying. ~But it could have been so easy. Catherine told me to control my temper. I could have killed you in a moment and not even notice it.~
~And yet, you didn't.~ He continued to console her.
A knock on the door got their attention. Erik stepped in. "Ginny. A capture order has been put on your head. Umbridge wants a trial to get you executed."
Ginny gasped, too shocked to do anything. "However this might be our only chance to get revenge." Erik continued. This spiked her interest. "How?"
The soldier grinned deviously. "Turn yourself in. Let me handle the rest."