She was furious. All those steps she took, the lying, cheating, manipulating… all for nothing. She had nothing to show. That bitch had taken the steps to bypass every detail she had planned before she could even put into motion. She had done everything, kept her connections close to her chest and now it was going to be exposed because Bones couldn't leave it be.
Her security system she had in place had been removed, the decorative plates shattered when she walked into her office. Her magic quelled under her skin, wanting a target to lash out on. In the end all she did was make it worse. Her contacts had turned and ran, those she had been threatening no longer feared her.
Dolores Umbridge was not easily scared, she knew how to play the game, how to twist the rules, and how to coerce her opponents into doing what she wanted. She had hidden her blood status from her first year in Hogwarts, not that it had done any good within Slytherin. She had no standing, her family were nothing in the big scheme of social politics.
So she did what was necessary. She listened, she watched and waited until the right time to strike. From a lowly intern in the DMC she worked until she had reached the position of Undersecretary to the Minister. She was to be next in line. She had done the work, it was meant to be her time.
When the Dark Lord took over, she reveled in the power given to her. She had the power to shape the future, and she would do it the right way. She had lost count of how many witches and wizards she had helped remove from the magical world. Filthy mudbloods and halfbreeds. Why should she help those who didn't help her.
And now, it was all wasted. All thanks to that Bones witch. Worst of all, those filthy creatures, those goblins had all the evidence to send her to Azkaban at least, or through the veil at worst. At least those who were there would face the same fate as her. Those who sympathized with her wouldn't be able to hide what they too had done.
"Did you hear, Lord Goyle and his son have been caught. I thought they got wiped out in the battle." she heard from where she had been hiding.
"No, that was the Crabbs. Senior was taken out before the fight really began from what I heard. My younger brother recons that they were trying to make it by muggle travel to Russia." a second sneered.
"Well I heard a few of the kids were imperised by the families. Greengrass did, he admitted it before he was sentenced." a third laughed.
It was all Dolores could do to keep her mouth shut. Even the purebloods were being tried.
As she made her way back to her office, she had only one thought on her mind. She needed to pin this on anyone that wasn't her. She was not going to spend the rest of her life surrounded by the filth of wizarding society, regardless of their blood status.
Sitting at her desk, she unlocked the hidden draw where she had placed all the files on every member of the ministry. Taking the self-inking quill she began working her way through the pile. Crossing off all those she knew had been caught or were too light to even think of suggesting their involvement. Forming a list of those she knew were supporters of You-Know-Who, though weren't marked.
As she moved parchment aside a single image soon rose to the top. There a picture of the Potter brat sat. His face still held the roundness of a child. It was his fault, his vanquishing of the dark Lord was what started this.
No, not the battle of Hogwarts, the one back in 1981. The brat had survived when no other could. It was his fault that she was now having to look for alternatives. It was his fault that she was now only days away from being questioned. If she could, she would implicate him in the whole affair. How ironic would it be to have the savior of the wizarding world be the one to take the blame.
But the boy was untouchable. Even when she had the power three years ago, he still slipped through her fingers. She wanted to hurt the boy, even the smallest of pain she would enjoy inflicting on him. There was no family she could implicate, those muggles he had lived with had been hidden by The Order of the Phoenix, and were still hidden now that the war was over.
No she couldn't hurt the boy… but she could hurt those around him.
Tossing the files aside until she found the names she had been looking for. The Mudblood was worthless, but the blood traitors were sitting easy. Weasley had a son, one that worshiped the ideals of Fudge, who worked here in the ministry. Who conformed to what he was told was the truth.
He was the perfect lackey she needed. Slowly she began the process of altering her memories. She would place the boy next to her in the courtrooms. Have him taking the minutes of every interrogation she had done in the name of the Ministry. It would be her word against his, but it would also be her reputation against his. The boy did turn his back to his family after-all.