Chapter One Hundred and Three - The Hogwarts High Inquisitor

Harry went to sleep Sunday night hoping for a better start to the second week of class. He was bound to be disappointed. When he arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast Monday morning, Hermione was already waiting to deliver some rather startling news.

"Look at this!" she said, spreading the Daily Prophet on the table before them. Harry didn't have to search for the source of her alarm. The news was on the front page, accompanied by a large black and white photo of Professor Umbridge standing by a beaming Cornelius Fudge. The headline read:

Ministry Seeks Educational Reform

Dolores Umbridge Appointed First-Ever High Inquisitor

"That doesn't sound good," Harry commented.

"Historically, inquisitions are never good," agreed Hermione, turning back to the paper and reading aloud, "This is not the first time in recent weeks that Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August, Educational Decree Twenty-Two was passed to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person."

"Well, at least we know how Umbridge got the job in the first place," Blaise observed.

Neville, who had been reading the rest of the article over Hermione's shoulder, added, "Ron's brother seems to be a fan, too. Listen to what he says about Umbridge. She's been an immediate success. Totally revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts… Oh no…"

"What?" prompted Harry when Neville paused, bracing himself for something terrible.

"It says here that the Inquisitor will have the power to inspect her fellow educators!"

Harry supposed there would be some teachers who would calmly submit to inspection by Umbridge, but when he tried to picture Snape or McGonagall in the same situation, his imagination failed him. It seemed too absurd.

"She's the one who should be evaluated!" Hermione said angrily, "We haven't learned anything useful in her class! How am I supposed to prepare for the OWLs?"

Harry bit back his feelings of surprise. Hermione, unquestionably the smartest witch in their year, often spent her free time researching in the library. He thought that she, of all people, wouldn't mind a class that was based on reading from a textbook. Clearly, he had misjudged her.

While Hermione vented her frustration, Blaise had taken the paper into his own hands and continued reading. He suddenly exclaimed in a voice of disgust, "Ugh!"

"What is it now?" asked Millie, looking as though she feared more bad news.

Blaise wrinkled his nose as he quoted, "I feel much easier in my mind now that I know Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation, said Mr. Lucius Malfoy, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. Many of us with our children's best interest at heart… Best interest! Draco doesn't even live with him anymore!"

"He isn't?" Hermione and Neville chorused together.

Too late, Blaise seemed to recall that they weren't supposed to know where Draco and his mother had stayed over the summer. Recovering quickly, he said, "Yeah, his mum and my mum are good friends, remember? When she and Draco's dad separated, Draco left with her."

Hermione looked curious to know what else Blaise had heard from his mother, but before she could inquire further into the Malfoy family drama, Millie changed the subject.

"At least two Wizengamot elders have resigned their posts in protest of Umbridge's new authority," she informed them after reading the conclusion of the article.

Harry glanced at the page himself and read a quote from one of these protestors, a witch by the name of Griselda Marchbanks, who said, "Hogwarts is a school for children, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office."

The article went on to discredit Ms. Marchbanks by alleging that she was linked to several subversive goblin groups. This, if true, was hardly a point against her as far as Harry was concerned. With people like Umbridge serving Fudge, it seemed the Ministry favored a policy that placed wizardkind before all other magical beings. Harry thought this bore a disturbing resemblance to Voldemort's preference for so-called pure bloods. If Ms. Marchbanks opposed both Umbridge and favored goblins, then she sounded like she'd be an excellent addition to the Order. That is, if she wasn't involved already.

"I can't believe Dumbledore would stand for this!" exclaimed Hermione, her voice full of outrage, "Does Fudge really expect our professors to subject themselves to the scrutiny of a woman who can hardly be considered their peer? She's not even a real teacher!"

In an attempt to make light of a bad situation, Harry commented, "I can't wait to see how Snape handles the news. He hated Lockhart so much he blasted him across the room during Dueling Club. Imagine how much worse it will be for Umbridge!"

Unfortunately for Harry, Professor Umbridge did not conduct an inspection of Snape that day. His hope of seeing Umbridge put in her place was disappointed, but at least he was able to focus on his Strengthening Solution without any distractions. In fact, by applying himself to the instructions on the board, he thought he did rather well on the assignment by the end of class. His potion was not the same turquoise shade as Hermione's, but at least he had achieved a thin blue liquid, unlike Neville's, which had attained both the color and consistency of bubblegum.

And so it came as a great shock to Harry when Snape passed over Neville's potion without comment and stopped instead to ridicule Harry's performance.

"I can see that you'll require some additional instruction, Potter," he said coldly, "Stay a moment after class."

Harry felt a momentary flash of anger at the injustice of it all, only to realize that Snape merely wanted a pretext for speaking to Harry in private. He lingered after class, as instructed, making a show of stowing away his books in a huff, as if he was upset by Snape's censure of his potion. In reality, he was dying to know what the Potions Master thought was important enough to hold him back for.

"So what is it?" he asked once the classroom had cleared, "I know you didn't ask me to stay after class to sign another autograph?"

Snape ignored his poor attempt at humor and merely stated, "I understand that Draco Malfoy has joined the Slytherin Quidditch team."

"Draco?" Harry repeated, unable to hide his surprise, "You want to talk about Draco?"

Snape nodded. "I am aware that he and Narcissa have been staying at… with him. That is why I have not been delivering my reports there."

"So you don't trust them either? The Malfoys, I mean?"

"Lupin knows my stance. I believe the thrust he has in Zabini's judgment is… misplaced."

"You think Draco's mum is lying?" asked Harry.

"I cannot say for certain," Snape replied smoothly, "Narcissa believes that I am still a loyal servant of the Dark Lord. She knows that I am a confidant of Dumbledore, but she thinks that I am only using my position to spy on him. Lupin tells me that she has already warned the Order of my duplicity to earn their trust. If she had attempted to hide her knowledge of my involvement with the Death Eaters, it would have proven beyond a doubt that she is a spy herself. As it stands, her report convinced Lupin and the others of her sincerity."

Harry thought he understood this line of reasoning. If Lord Voldemort thought he already had a double agent among Dumbledore's followers, why would he need to send another? And Narcissa had tried to expose Snape... He was pleased that his guess had been accurate. In order for Snape to maintain his facade, it would be critical to avoid Mrs. Malfoy. She had to think that the Order was keeping a wary eye on him.

"Hang on," said Harry, thinking it through, "What does all that have to do with Draco? I thought you wanted to talk about him, not his mother."

"I want to know if Draco has said anything to you. Does he know what's been going on within the Order?"

Harry hesitated before he answered. He had suddenly recalled the form Draco's boggart took while they were still at Grimmauld Place. He decided against sharing this detail with Snape, but still stated confidently, "I don't know about Mrs. Malfoy, but I don't think Draco's spying for Voldemort. He just seems… scared, I guess."

Snape eyed Harry carefully before he said, "I would like you to watch over Draco. It will not have been easy for him to leave his father's house."

"Watch Draco? What for?" Harry asked, conscious that he had already been charged with this responsibility by Dumbledore. He found it odd that the headmaster hadn't mentioned this to one of his closest advisors.

"In my current position, I can be of no use to him. He might, however, listen to you."

Harry frowned, he couldn't help but feel that Snape, like most of the people in his life, put far too much faith in his influence over his peers. But he shrugged, stating, "We share a room, we're on the same quidditch team, and almost all of our classes are together. I couldn't avoid seeing Draco if I tried."

"So you'll do it then?" Snape asked.

"I'm not going to be his friend, if that's what you want," Harry said, "But sure, I'll keep an eye on him."

He started to leave, but Snape called him back.

"Your godfather…" he said, chewing on the word like it was disgusting to him, "I heard what happened to him…"

Harry instantly prepared himself for some nonsense. He didn't want to start a fight with Snape if he could help it, but he wouldn't listen to the potions master insult Sirius either.

"Don't tell me you actually care about what happens to him," Harry remarked coldly.

Snape didn't attempt to deny his immense hatred for Sirius. Instead, he asked, "How did Remus take it?"

Harry gaped at him. "Remus? He's fine. I mean, he wasn't there when it happened, so he wasn't…"

"Forget I asked," Snape said, turning away quickly. Harry took it as a sign that he was dismissed, though he would have liked to stay longer. He wondered if Dumbledore also spoke with Snape about the locket. Did he have any idea what it was?

When he finally caught up to his friends, his mind was still brooding over his conversation with Snape. Blaise and Millie were better occupied with Hermione and Neville, busy discussing the results of Snape's moonstone essay. Apparently, Neville managed to scrape a score of "Acceptable" with Hermione's liberal assistance. Blaise complained that his score merited nothing better than "Acceptable" as well, though Hermione encouraged him to consider this as a good foundation to build on.

She then turned to Harry with a smile, "What about you? What score did Snape give you on the essay?"

Harry had been so preoccupied with what Snape wanted to say to him, he hadn't even glanced at the paper returned to him at the end of the class. He fished the roll parchment out of his bag and opened the scroll with some trepidation. In shock, he read the words "Exceeds Expectations."

It was as much as Hermione got herself.

"Unfair!" Blaise complained, "It's because Harry is Snape's favorite! Of course he'd be more lenient with you!"

"When has that ever been true?" Harry asked, "Seems like it wasn't that long ago that he deducted points from me more than any other Slytherin!"

"Yes, but he always took those points from Gryffindor by mistake," Neville observed.

Harry tried to laugh off the situation with his friends, but he was starting to believe there was some truth to Blaise's accusation. Compared with most of their past interactions, Harry's conversation with Snape had been downright civil.

The afternoon wand-making class afforded Harry an interesting opportunity to speak with Cedric. Since they had both agreed not to talk about the Triwizard Tournament until they could meet in Hogsmeade, the pair were free to discuss other topics while preparing wand cores together. Cedric had arrived fresh out of Herbology and had first-hand knowledge of what it was like to be in a class observed by Professor Umbridge.

"It wasn't so bad," he commented, trimming unicorn hairs to the appropriate length for the different wand woods before them, "I thought Professor Sprout seemed a little less cheerful than usual, but I suppose that could have been because of the pants we were repotting. Nasty things, Devil's Snare."

"Tell me about it," Harry said with a shake of his head, remembering his trip down the forbidden corridor his first year.

"What?"

"Nevermind. So she didn't mind Umbridge watching her?"

"You know how Sprout is. She treated Umbridge like a guest and continued the lesson like usual. Then Umbridge asked me a few questions about the class and what we had learned, and that was all."

Harry was almost disappointed to hear this. After the fuss Hermione had kicked up at the idea of the teachers being evaluated, the picture Cedric painted seemed hardly invasive. Was it really such a bad idea to observe how the teachers managed their classes? Perhaps Umbridge would learn a thing or two about teaching from their example.

He didn't have long to wait before forming his own opinion on Umbridge's new role as High Inquisitor. She was waiting for them before their next Care of Magical Creatures lesson, a clipboard in her hand. She had already started to question Professor Grubbly-Plank as the class approached.

"You do not usually teach this class, is that correct?" Harry heard her ask once he was close enough to hear their conversation.

"That's right. I'm substituting for Professor Hagrid," Grubbly-Plank replied easily, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet.

She seemed unconcerned, but Harry exchanged a worried glance with Blaise and Millie. He didn't like where this line of questioning was headed. Umbridge clearly wanted to pump Grubbly-Plank for information on where Hagrid had gone. Fortunately, the professor was as recalcitrant on this subject with Umbridge as she had been whenever Harry asked her the same questions.

"I know nothing of the matter," she said with the same unaffected disinterest, "I got an owl offering me a few weeks' work, and I accepted. It didn't occur to me to ask what happened to Professor Hagrid."

Umbridge pursed her frog-like lips in disappointment, though she refused to give up entirely. She adopted a new strategy for the duration of the class. While the students continued work on their diagrams and discussed the proper care of bowtruckles with Professor Grubbly-Plank, Umbridge moved among them. Sometimes she merely hovered, making note of their progress, but every now and then she stopped to test their knowledge of magical creatures. To Harry's relief, most were able to offer her satisfactory answers.

That is, until she stopped at a group consisting of Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson.

"Have there been any injuries in this class?"

Goyle, grinning maliciously, happily replied, "Oh yeah! Malfoy got slashed by a hippogriff in our third year. It nearly killed him!"

"It was awful!" Pansy chimed in, "I had nightmares about it for weeks afterward! Poor Draco is probably scarred for life!"

Harry glared daggers at the three of them, but his anger went unnoticed. Umbridge scribbled furiously on her clipboard, seeming delighted by the news of a student getting maimed.

"And where is Mr. Malfoy now?" Umbridge asked sweetly, "Not permanently installed at St. Mungo's, I hope?"

Crabbe and Goyle reluctantly pointed out Draco, who was working with Ron Weasley's group again that day.

"We should warn you, professor," Goyle added in a harsh whisper, still easily overheard by any students working in the area, "He hasn't been right since then. Could be that hippogriff hit him in the head, too."

Umbridge was so pleased by this news that she rewarded the trio five points a piece to Slytherin for their cooperation. She then hurriedly sought Draco.

"Is it true you were attacked by a hippogriff in this class?" she asked with poorly concealed excitement, "Do you feel it was irresponsible to be introduced to such a dangerous creature at a young age? Or was it the instruction that failed to prepare you?"

"I… what?" Draco stammered, alarmed at being accosted in this manner so suddenly. He glanced first at Ron, who merely shrugged, then behind Umbridge, where Crabbe and Goyle were watching him with grim interest. They had stopped paying attention to their bowtruckle entirely. Draco's gaze then flickered toward Harry. It was only for a moment, but Harry thought their eyes met.

Clearing his throat, Draco responded in a stronger voice, "That was just a misunderstanding. It was only a scratch. In fact, if I had been following Professor Hagrid's instruction, I probably would have avoided the accident entirely."

Umbridge's ugly smile lost a little of its sparkle, but she continued to fix Draco with a look of indulgence as she said, "I'm sure it must have been very frightening for you, all the same. Perhaps you suffered some shock when it happened? I shouldn't wonder if your memory of the events…"

"Have you spoken to my fa… To my mother?" Draco interrupted, "She knows the full story. If you want an official report, the Ministry already conducted an investigation into the matter."

Umbridge, with a look of irritable disappointment, turned away from Draco without a word. No doubt she was frustrated that he hadn't played along in her scheme to have Hagrid sacked. But since Fudge himself had overseen Buckbeak's trial and exoneration, there wasn't more she could do.

Draco turned back to his work, but not before meeting Harry's watchful eye a second time. Harry mouthed the word, "Thanks."

"Draco's sticking up for Hagrid now?" Blaise muttered into Harry's ear on the pretext of stopping their bowtruckle from making a break for the trees, "Now I really have seen everything."

Umbridge did not return to the castle with the students at the end of their class. Harry watched as she lingered a little longer, calling Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy to her side. No doubt she wanted to dig up more dirt on Hagrid, and those three were the only ones who had given her anything to work with. He gathered up his books with a feeling of dread. He was starting to think it a blessing that Hagrid was still gone. At least he didn't have to face Umbridge's scrutiny head-on.

His sour mood as he made his way back to the castle was nothing compared to Hermione's when she pulled him aside and demanded, "Harry James Potter! What's this I hear about you practicing Defense Against the Dark Arts in secret?"

Harry's immediate response was to glance at her prefect's badge with alarm, wondering if she was planning to give him detention for practicing magic outside of class.

"Keep your voice down!" Harry begged her, conscious that there were other students still trailing past them, some even watching their confrontation with unguarded interest.

"Don't you tell me to lower my voice!" scolded Hermione, "How dare you not invite me and Neville? You should have told us sooner!"

"I… Excuse me?" Harry stammered.

"We need proper training for what's out there! Plus, we'll never be ready for our OWLs at this rate!"

Harry didn't need to ask what she meant by "what's out there." He knew what dangers lurked outside the walls of Hogwarts. But this merely forced him to admit that their practices were nothing special.

"Millie's teaching us some spells she knows, but that's all," he insisted.

Hermione turned her face promptly to Millie, who had stopped nearby to watch Harry get lectured with a grin on her face.

"Well, what do you have to say? Will you take on two more pupils?"

Millie's grin faded now that she had become the target of Hermione's righteous anger. With an accusing glance at Harry, she said, "I'd like to know how you found out about it."

"Don't look at me!" Harry protested, before turning to Hermione and adding, "I mean, I wanted to invite you. I really did! But then Blaise said…"

"Blaise is the one who told Neville. Neville told me," Hermione interrupted with an ironic quirk of her brow.

Harry and Millie both turned to stare at Blaise, who had the decency to look sheepish as he admitted, "Neville was telling me how worried he was about failing his OWLs. I might have mentioned that he just needed some practice… But in my defense, I called it a study session! Hermione makes it sound like Millie's teaching a proper class!"

"It's nothing like that," Millie was quick to assert, "I'm good with hexes and jinxes, but I've never been in a real duel. If it's a teacher you want, Harry would be better suited."

"Me! But you taught me everything I know about defensive magic!" Harry protested as once more, all eyes were turned toward him.

"I didn't teach you the disarming charm," Millie reminded him.

It was the one piece of knowledge Harry had retained from Lockhart's short-lived Dueling Club, and Harry hardly thought that made him a qualified instructor. He was about to say as much, when Blaise added, "And Remus didn't teach us the Patronus Charm. He only taught you, Harry."

"But that's only…" Harry started to say, but then he noticed the look of admiration on Hermione's face.

"You can cast a patronus, Harry?" she asked in awe, "But that's an incredibly advanced spell? Tell me, is yours corporeal?"

"It's a stag," Blaise said, answering for Harry with a look of pride.

Hermione was astonished, and Harry knew then that it was useless to argue. With a sigh, he said, "Alright, you and Neville can join us. I'll teach you what I know, but I warn you, Millie's the master. Not me."

Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck, delighted that he had agreed to help them. Harry felt that he didn't deserve her thanks, but he enjoyed the hug all the same.

"Just one more thing," Harry warned, "It can only be the two of you. No one else can know about this."

"... Of course," Hermione said after a beat. Harry viewed that moment of hesitation with foreboding, certain that Hermione was already forming other ideas.