The Hogwarts High Inquisitor
The four planned to comb through Chrys' Daily Prophet carefully the next morning to find what Sam mentioned in his letter. But the departing delivery owl barely cleared the top of the milk jug when Chrys made a huge gasp and flattened the newspaper to reveal a large photograph of Umbridge, who smiled widely and blinked slowly at them from beneath the headline.
MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM
DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED
FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR
"High Inquisitor?" Arthur said darkly. "What the hell does that mean?"
Chrys read aloud:
"In a surprise move last night, the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 'The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings on at Hogwarts for some time.' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Alan Clarke. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve of.' This is not the first time in recent weeks that the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, has used new laws to effect improvement at the wizarding school. As recently as 30th August, Educational Decree Number 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. 'That's how Dolores Umbrdige came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts.' Said Clarke last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course she's been an immediate success -'"
"She hasn't been a success!" Arthur said loudly.
"Shush, there's more." Chrys said grimly.
"' - an immediate success, totally revolutionising the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on the ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts.' It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalised with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty Three, which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor. 'This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts.' said Clarke. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post and we are delighted to say that she has accepted.' The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts. 'I feel much easier in my mind now that I know Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation.' said Mr Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and are glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.' Among those eccentric decisions are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the employment of werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and delusional ex-Auror, 'Mad Eye' Moody. Rumours abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts. 'I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step towards ensuring that Hogwarts has a Headmaster in whom we can all repose our confidence.' said a Ministry insider last night. Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the pot of Inquisitor to Hogwarts. 'Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office.' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.' (For a full account of Madam Marchbanks' alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page seventeen.)"
Chrys finished reading and looked at the three boys.
"This is outrageous!" She hissed in disgust. "Fudge now has that toad inspecting the teachers!"
Arthur felt the same about this news as well. This is clearly a way to snoop in on the staff and try to get info on Dumbledore and who's loyal to him. He then noticed that Mike had a grin on his face.
"What?" Arthur, David and Chrys asked.
"Umbridge will have hell when inspecting my mum." He said in delight. "That toad won't know what hit her."
"Let's go." Chrys said, standing up. "We need to see if she'll inspect Binns' class and we don't want to be late in case she's there."
It turned out that Umbridge didn't inspect their History of Magic lesson, which was as dull as expected, and she wasn't even in Snape's dungeon when arriving for double Potions, where Arthur's moonstone essay was handed back to him with a large 'O' scrawled in an upper corner, which meant 'Outstanding'. Snape had a real look of frustration when he handed Arthur back his essay.
"I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your O.W.L." Snape said with a smirk as he swept among them, passing them their homework. "This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in the examination."
He then reached the front of the class and turned to face them.
"The general standard of this homework was abysmal. Most of you would have failed had this been your examination. I expect to see a great deal more effort for this week's essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall have to start handing out detentions to those dunces who get a 'D'."
He smirked as Draco sniggered and said in a carrying whisper "Some people got a 'D'? Ha!"
Arthur simply slid his essay back into his bag.
He was still determined to prove Snape that he's not some dunce and that he's as good as he knows he is as he worked on his Strengthening Solution, making it the clear turquoise that it's supposed to be when finished.
The trio all left when the lesson ended and entered the Great Hall for lunch. They compared their grades, with David getting an 'E' for Exceeds Expectations and Chrys got an 'O' as well.
"Hey, have you guys got any inspected lessons yet?" Jack asked them when he and Kevin joined them.
"Not yet, why?" Chrys asked.
"Because Umbridge inspected our Charms class." Kevin answered.
"What was it like?" Arthur asked.
"Umbridge just lurked in the corner making notes on her clipboard." Jack explained. "And Flitwick, being as kind and generous as he was, he treated her like a guest, and she didn't seem to bother him. She didn't say much. She even asked Alicia a couple of questions about what the classes are normally like, Alicia telling her that they're really good, that's all."
"I can't imagine Flitwick being marked down… he gets everyone through their exams well." Kevin said.
"What do you have this afternoon?" Jack asked Arthur.
"Divination and double Defence Against the Dark Arts." Arthur groaned.
It turned out that Arthur didn't have to wait for Defence Against the Dark Arts to meet Umbridge today. He pulled out his dream diary in a seat at the very back of the shadowy Divination room when David nudged him, making him look and see Umbridge emerge through the trapdoor in the floor.
The whole class, that all talked cheerily, all fell silent immediately. The abrupt silence made Trelawney, who was wafting about handing out copies of The Dream Oracle, look around.
"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney." Umbridge said with a wide smile. "You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?"
Trelawney nodded curtly before she, looking very disgruntled, turned her back on her, continuing to give out books.
Still smiling, Umbridge grasped the back of the nearest armchair and pulled it to the front of the class so that it was a few inches behind Trelawney's seat. She then sat down and took out her clipboard from her flowery bag, looking up expectantly, waiting for the class to start.
Trelawney pulled her shawls tight about her with trembling hands and surveyed the class through her hugely magnifying lenses.
"We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today." She said in an attempt back to her usual mystic tones, though her voice shook slightly. "Divide into pairs, please, and intercept each other's latest nighttime visions with the aid of the Oracle."
She made as though to sweep back to her seat, saw Umbridge sit right beside it and had immediately veered left towards Parvati and Lavender, who were in deep conversation about Parvati's latest dream.
Arthur opened his copy of The Dream Oracle to watch Umbridge covertly. She was already making notes on her clipboard. Arthur knew that she was going to make Trelawney's life a living hell.
After a few minutes, she got to her feet and paced around the room in Trelawney's wake, listening to her conversations with the students and posing questions here and there.
Arthur bent his head hurriedly over his book.
"Think of a dream, quick, before that toad comes here." He told David.
"You do it, I did it last time." David retorted.
"Uh… Snape drowning in a cauldron. That will do." Arthur said, making David chortle as he looked through his copy.
"Alright, we've got to add your age to the date you had the dream, the number of letters in the subject… we'll make it Snape."
Arthur looked behind him and saw Umbridge standing at Trelawney's shoulder making notes as the Divination teacher questioned Neville about his dream diary.
"What night did you have the dream?" David asked.
"Last night." Arthur replied instantly, trying to listen to what Umbridge was saying to Trelawney. The two were only a table away from him and David.
Umbridge made another note on her clipboard and Trelawney looked extremely put out.
"Now…" Umbridge said, looking up at Trelawney. "...you've been in this post how long, exactly?"
Trelawney scowled at her, arms crossed and shoulders hunched like she wished to protect herself as much as possible from the indignity of this inspection.
After a slight pause in which she decided that the question wasn't that offensive that she could ignore it, she said in a very resentful tone "Nearly sixteen years."
"Quite a period." Umbridge said, making another note on her clipboard. "So it was Professor Dumbledore who appointed you?"
"That's right." Trelawney said shortly.
Umbridge made another note.
"And you are a great great granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney?"
"Yes." Trelawney said, holding her head a little higher.
Another note on the clipboard.
"But I think, correct me if I am mistaken, that you are the first in your family since Cassandra to be possessed of Second Sight?"
"These things often skip - er - three generations." Trelawney replied.
Umbridge's toad-like smile widened, which worried Arthur slightly.
"Of course." She said sweetly, making another note. "Well, if you could just predict something for me, then?" She looked up inquiringly, still smiling.
Trelawney stiffened, like she couldn't believe her ears.
"I don't understand you." She said, convulsively clutching at the shawl around her scrawny neck.
"I'd like you to make a prediction for me." Umbridge said very clearly.
Both Arthur and David weren't the only ones watching now as they listened sneakily from behind their books. Most of the class stared transfixed at Trelawney as she drew herself up to her full height with her beads and bangles clinking.
"The Inner Eye does not See upon command!" She said, scandalised.
"I see." Umbridge said, making yet another note on her clipboard
"I - but - but… wait!" Trelawney said suddenly, making an attempt at her usual ethereal voice, though any mystical effect was ruined by it shaking with anger. "I… I think I do see something… something that concerns you… why, I sense something… something dark… some grave peril…."
Trelawney pointed a shaking finger at Umbridge, who continued to smile blandly at her with raised eyebrows.
"I am afraid… I am afraid that you are in grave danger!" Trelawney finished dramatically.
There was a pause, Umbridge's eyebrows were still raised.
"Right." She then said softly, scribbling on her clipboard again. "Well, if that's really the best you can do…."
She then turned away, leaving Trelawney standing there rooted to the spot, her chest heaving. Arthur caught David's eye and they both thought the same thing: despite knowing that she was a fraud, they sided with her since they despised Umbridge more. Well, until she swooped down on them a few seconds later.
"Well?" She said, snapping her long fingers under Arthur's nose, uncharacteristically brisk. "Let me see the start you've made on your dream diary, please."
By the time she interpreted Arthur's dreams at the top of her voice (all of them, even ones that involved things like drinking water, apparently foretold a gruesome and early death, much to Arthur's annoyance), he felt less sympathy towards her.
Meanwhile, Umbridge stood a few feet away, making notes on the clipboard and once the bell rang, she descended the silver ladder first and waited for them all when they reached their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson ten minutes later.
She hummed and smiled to herself upon entering the room. Arthur and David told Chrys, who arrived from her Arithmancy lesson, about what happened in Divination as they took their copies of Defensive Magical Theory out, but before Chrys could ask anything, Umbridge called them all to order and silence fell.
"Wands away." She instructed them with a smile, those that were hopeful enough to take out their wands, sadly returned them to their bags. "As we finished Chapter One last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and commence 'Chapter Two, Common Defensive Theories and their Derivation'. There will be no need to talk."
She still smiled her wide, self satisfied smile as she sat down at her desk.
The class all gave an audible sigh as it turned, as one, to page nineteen.
Arthur noticed that Chrys had her hand up in the air again.
Umbridge noticed this as well, and seemed to have worked out a strategy for such an eventuality. Instead of pretending to not notice her, she got to her feet and walked around the front row of desks until the two were face to face. She then bent down and whispered, so that the rest of the class couldn't hear "What is it this time, Miss Ranger?"
"I've already read Chapter Two." Chrys replied.
"Well then, proceed to Chapter Three."
"I've read that, too. I've read the whole book."
Umbridge blinked but recovered her poise almost immediately.
"Well, then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counter jinxes in Chapter Fifteen."
"He said that counter jinxes are improperly named. That 'counter jinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable."
Umbridge raised her eyebrows and was clearly impressed, against her will.
"But I think it's wrong." Chrys then said, making Umbridge's eyebrows rise a little higher and her gaze now grew colder.
"You think it's wrong?"
"I do." Chrys said, who, unlike Umbridge, didn't whisper, instead spoke clearly, her voice carrying so that the rest of the class could hear. "Mr Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes. I know that they can be very useful when used defensively."
"Oh, you do, do you?" Umbridge said, forgetting to whisper as she stood straight. "Well, I'm afraid it is Mr Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Ranger."
"But -"
"That is enough." Umbridge cut her off, walking back up to the front of the class and stood before all of them, all jauntiness from her was now gone. "Miss Ranger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor house."
This caused an outbreak of muttering.
"Why?" Arthur said angrily before he could stop himself.
"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions." Umbridge said smoothly. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinion on matters about which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more licence, but as none of them, with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age appropriate subjects, would have passed a Ministry inspection -"
"But the problem with him was that we didn't really learn that much from him, at all." Arthur cut her off, others nodding in agreement.
"Even if that were the case, he still would have passed an inspection, which is most important." Umbridge continued. "Now, please go back to reading Chapter Two, all of you."
Arthur was so glad he didn't mention how Voldemort was on the back of Quirrell's head, knowing that he would've gotten detention for that, not wanting to face an angry Angelina Johnson.
Later that day, Arthur spent his time in the dormitory with Mike, who did all he could to keep Arthur calm, something he was grateful for in more ways than one.
The following day on Tuesday, they had Charms class, which went along fine.
But then afterwards in Transfiguration, Arthur saw that Umbridge was sitting with her clipboard in a corner of the classroom and he inwardly looked forward to how McGonagall will treat the toad.
McGonagall marched into the room, not giving any inkling of Umbridge's presence.
"That will do." She said, making the whole class fall silent. "Mr Finnigan, kindly come here and hand back the homework, Miss Brown, please take this box of mice, don't be silly girl, they won't hurt you, and hand one to each student -"
"Hem hem." Umbridge cut her off, using the same silly little cough she used to interrupt Dumbledore on the first night of term. McGonagall ignored her as Seamus handed back Arthur's essay, which he took without looking at him and saw that he achieved an 'O', which he was delighted about.
"Right then, everyone, listen closely - Dean Thomas, if you do that to the mouse again, I shall put you in detention - most of you have now successfully Vanished your snails and even those who were left with a certain amount of shell have got the gist of the spell. Today, we shall be -"
"Hem hem." Umbridge said.
"Yes?" McGonagall said, turning around with her eyebrows so close together that they looked like one long severe line.
"I was just wondering, Professor, whether you received my note telling you of the date and time of my inspec -"
"Obviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom." McGonagall cut her off, turning her back firmly on Umbridge. Many students, especially the trio and Mike, all exchanged looks of utter glee. "As I was saying: today, we shall be practising the altogether more difficult vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell -"
"Hem hem."
"I wonder…" McGonagall said in cold fury, turning on Umbridge. "...how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking."
Arthur was beyond overjoyed to see Umbridge look as though she was slapped in the face, finally being put in her place for her rude behaviour.
She didn't speak, but straightened the parchment on her clipboard and scribbled furiously.
McGonagall addressed the class once more, very unconcerned.
"As I was saying: the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be Vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So, you know the incantation, let me see what you can do…."
Umbridge didn't follow McGonagall around the class like she did with Trelawney; clearly realising that McGonagall wouldn't have permitted it. But she did continue making notes while sitting in her corner. Once McGonagall told the class to pack away, Umbridge rose with a grim expression on her face.
As everyone filed out of the classroom, Arthur saw Umbridge approach the teacher's desk, making him nudge David, who nudged Chrys in turn, and they deliberately fell back to eavesdrop.
"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Umbridge asked.
"Sixteen years." McGonagall said brusquely, snapping her bag shut as Umbridge made a note.
"Very well, you will receive the results of your inspection in ten days' time."
"I can hardly wait." McGonagall said in a coldly indifferent voice before striding towards the door. "Hurry up, you three." She added, sweeping the trio before her.
Arthur couldn't resist giving her a smile, which she gave back.
Arthur held back a groan when he saw Umbridge beside Grubbly-Plank when they all walked down the lawns towards the Forest for Care of Magical Creatures, with her clipboard.
"You do not usually take this class, is that correct?" Arthur heard her ask when they arrived at the trestle table where the group of captive Bowtruckles were scrabbling around for woodlice, as though they were sentient twigs.
"Quite correct." Grubbly-Plank said, hands behind her back and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I am a substitute teacher standing in for Professor Hagrid."
Arthur exchanged uneasy looks with David and Chrys. Draco was whispering with Crabbe and Goyle, clearly excited about the opportunity to tell tales on Hagrid to someone from the Ministry.
"Hmm." Umbridge said, dropping her voice, though Arthur could still hear her. "I wonder - the Headmaster seems strangely reluctant to give me any information on the matter - can you tell me what is causing Professor Hagrid's very extended leave of absence?"
Arthur saw Draco look up eagerly.
"'Fraid I can't." Grubbly-Plank said breezily. "Don't know anything more about it than you do. Got an owl from Dumbledore, would I like a couple of weeks' teaching work, I accepted. That's as much as I know. Well… shall I get started then?"
"Yes, please do." Umbridge said, scribbling on her clipboard.
Umbridge took a completely different approach in this class by wandering among the students, questioning them on magical creatures. Most were able to answer well and Arthur's spirits were lifted to a degree seeing that the class didn't let Hagrid down.
"Overall…" Umbridge said, returning to Grubbly-Plank's side after her lengthy talk with Dean. "...how do you, as a temporary member of staff - an objective outsider, I suppose you might say - how do you find Hogwarts? Do you feel you receive enough support from the school management?"
"Oh, yes, Dumbledore's excellent." Grubbly-Plank said heartily. "Yes, I'm very happy with the way things are run, very happy indeed."
Looking politely incredulous, if that's even possible, Umbridge made a tiny note on her clipboard and went on "And what are you planning to cover with this class this year - assuming, of course, that Professor Hagrid does not return?"
"Oh, I'll take them through the creatures that most often come up in O.W.L." Grubbly-Plank said. "Not much left to do - they've studied unicorns and Nifflers, I thought we'd cover Porlocks and Kneazles, make sure they recognise Crups and Knarls, you know…."
"Well, you seem to know what you're doing, at any rate." Umbridge said, making an obvious tick on her clipboard.
Arthur was worried about her emphasis on 'you' and liked it less when she put her next question to Goyle "Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?"
Goyle made a stupid grin and Draco hastened to answer her.
"That was me, I was slashed by a Hippogriff."
"A Hippogriff?" Umbridge said, scribbling frantically.
Arthur kept himself from pointing out how it was because he didn't listen to the instructions to approach a Hippogriff as he closed his eyes and clenched his neck so much that it hurt.
"Well, thank you very much, Professor Grubbly-Plank, I think that's all I need here. You will be receiving the results of your inspection within ten days."
"Jolly good." Grubbly-Plank said before Umbridge set off back to the castle.
Arthur kept himself to a corner in the common room the rest of the day, punching the wall, imagining she was punching Draco and Umbridge in their faces. It was only when Mike came over did he stop and felt numb from the pain as he looked at his knuckles, which were red and raw.
"That stupid toad and that stupid incest git!" He hissed as Mike rubbed his knuckles.
They stayed there until nearly midnight, joining David and Chrys.
"That woman is nothing but pond scum." Chrys said. "Me and David were just talking. We must do something about her."
"I naturally suggested poison." David spat.
"Of course, we're not doing that, since we'd get in all kinds of trouble. I meant more about how we're not learning any Defence from her at all." Chrys said.
"Well, what can be done about it?" Mike asked. "Until the end of the year, we'll have to endure her mediaeval methods."
"I was actually thinking…" Chrys said tentatively. "...that we should just do it ourselves."
This made all three boys look at her.
"What do you mean by that?" David asked her, not fully understanding what she's saying.
"Well, we're supposed to be preparing ourselves for what's out there, just like Arthur said in our first lesson. We have to make sure we know how to defend ourselves. And if we're not because of Umbridge and the Minister being a paranoid twat… we're gonna need a proper teacher, one that can show how to use the spells and correct us if we're doing it wrong."
"But who can we have as our teacher?" Arthur asked, knowing that they can't have Lupin since he's busy with the Order.
"It's obvious, really. You." Chrys replied.
There was nothing but silence, other than the light night breeze that rattled the window panes behind David and the fire guttering.
"No… I'm not teacher material." Arthur shook his head.
"But you're the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts, you're perfect to be our proper teacher." Chrys said.
"Even better than you?" Arthur asked, perplexed, considering she's the best of their year.
"Yeah. You beat me in our third year, where we had the only teacher that actually knew the subject. But I'm not referring to test results, I'm referring to what you've done!"
"Yeah… you've saved the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort and Quirrell." David said.
"But that was just luck, not skill -"
"And you killed that Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, as well as destroying Tom Riddle." Mike added.
"Because Fawkes was there with me, I -"
"You fought off a hundred Dementors at once -"
"That was really just a fluke, and the Time Turner -"
"And you literally fought against Voldemort -"
"ENOUGH!" Arthur roared angrily, seeing that all three of them were all smirking for some reason. "It may sound great when you just say it all like that, but it was nothing but pure luck! I didn't even know what I was doing half of the time and I nearly always had help!"
The three still smirked and it made Arthur's temper reach a boiling point, they just don't understand what he's been through.
"Don't you dare sit there and grin at me like you know better than me, I was there, wasn't I?" He said heatedly. "I know what went on. I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defence Against the Dark Arts, I did it all because help came or because I made the correct guess. Otherwise I just blundered through it all, not having a clue what I was doing - STOP LAUGHING, YOU IDIOTS!"
He now got to his feet, seeing red and the smirks on their faces all vanishing.
"None of you know what it's like! None of you! You didn't have to face him. It's not memorising a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like in class. All that stands between you and death is your own brains and guts, you'd have to make split second decisions that could change everything, either from being murdered or watching someone you care for or love die in front of you. That isn't taught in class, what it's like to deal with that, and you three act like I'm some clever little boy to be standing here, alive, as though Diggory was some stupid moron, like he messed up. You just don't understand, I could've died just like him if Voldemort didn't need me -"
"We weren't saying that." David said, very aghast. "We weren't disrespecting Cedric."
Mike looked speechless and couldn't come up with words, so he looked to Chrys for help.
"Don't you see, Arthur?" Chrys asked timidly. "This is why we need you to teach us… to know what it's like to face Voldemort."
Arthur sighed, calming down and sat back down with his head in his hands.
"Just… think about it, please?" Chrys then said quietly before she left to go to sleep.
Arthur was just unable to speak, feeling guilt for having another outburst be thrown at them again.
David then got to his feet and left as well.
Arthur then felt Mike's hand grab his and pulled them away from his face and made him look at his purple eyes.
"You may not like it, but you really are our best choice for this. You know firsthand the dangers we are about to face." He said softly before he too left.
Arthur sat there on his own silently for a short while until he forced himself to his feet and went up to the dormitory.
His restless night was once more filled with dreams of the corridor of Level Nine and the door to the Department of Mysteries and he awoke the next day with his scar prickling again.
Simply put, McGonagall right did what had to be done and put Umbridge in her place. This book truly is THE book for highlight moments with McGonagall. And she's my favourite character, so it's extra satisfying.
And Arthur's rant at the end is truly eye opening for the three to hear, but he had to say it.