Educational Decree Number Twenty Four

Arthur felt the happiest during the rest of the weekend in the entire term. Because he, David and Chrys were all up to date with their homework, they were able to lounge in the autumn sunshine.

Arthur especially felt such satisfaction with the fact that they were all planning to resist Umbridge and the Ministry, and that he especially was a key part of this rebellion. He kept reliving that meeting on Saturday with all those people coming to him to learn Defence Against the Dark Arts… how some had looks on their faces when hearing about what he has done, that they don't believe that he's some lying twat, but someone to be admired.

This feeling lasted until the following Monday morning when he and David headed downstairs from their dormitory, discussing about Angelina's idea to work on a new move called the Sloth Grip Roll during that night's Quidditch practice and were halfway across the sunlit common room when they saw a small group of people around the noticeboard.

There was a large sign affixed to it. It was so large that it covered everything else on it like the lists of second hand spell books for sale and the regular reminders of school rules from Filch, the Quidditch team training timetable, the offers to barter certain Chocolate Frog Cards for others etc….

The new sign was printed in large black letters and there was a highly official looking seal at the bottom beside a neat and curly signature.

BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS

All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded.

An organisation, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.

Permission to reform may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).

No student organisation, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.

Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organisation, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty Four.

Signed:

Dolores Jane Umbridge

High Inquisitor

The two boys read the notice and were horrified by what this meant, Arthur's insides pulsed with rage.

"This isn't a coincidence." He said as they parted from the group to speak more privately. "She knows. One of those people in the Hog's Head had to be spying for her."

But then Arthur thought of Cho's friend, she clearly looked like the type to snitch on Umbridge.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. Umbridge seems like the type to have more questionable people spy for her." David hissed. "We need to tell Chrys about this."

They waited for her to come down from the girls' dormitories until she showed up.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked upon seeing their grim expressions.

"Look!" Arthur nodded over to the noticeboard. She looked over and her face turned stony.

"We think one of the people at the Hog's Head told her." David said angrily.

"Well it definitely wasn't anyone who signed to join the group because I put a jinx on the parchment we all signed. We'd know who it was and they'd regret it." She replied.

"And why is that?" David asked curiously.

"Let's just say that it'll make Eloise Midgeon's acne look like cute freckles. Now let's go to breakfast and see what the others think of this."

It was immediately apparent upon entering the Great Hall that Umbridge's sign appeared in all the other common rooms of the other houses. There was an intensity to the chatter along with an extra measure of movement in the Hall as people all scurried up and down their tables, conferring on what they had read.

The trio barely took their seats when Mike, Neville, Dean, the twins and Mary descended upon them.

"Did you see it?"

"D'you reckon she knows?"

"What are we going to do?"

They all looked at Arthur, who glanced around to make sure no teachers were near them.

"We're still gonna do it, regardless." Arthur told them quietly.

"No surprise there." Mike said as he and Kevin thumped Arthur on the arm.

"The Prefects as well?" Jack asked

"Naturally." Chrys said.

"Here come Ernie and Hannah." David said, looking over his shoulder. "And the Ravenclaw blokes and Smith… no one looks spotty."

Chrys was looking alarmed.

"Never mind that, they can't come here now, it'll look suspicious. Sit down!" She mouthed to Ernie and Hannah, gesturing frantically to them to go back to the Hufflepuff table. "We'll talk to you later!"

"I'll go tell Michael." Mary said, swinging herself off the bench. "What an idiot…."

She hurried off towards the Ravenclaw table, Arthur noticing that Cho sat not too far away, talking to her curly haired friend that she brought to the Hog's Head. He frowned at her, still suspicious of her.

The full repercussions of the felt were felt when they left the Great Hall for History of Magic.

"Arthur! David!"

Angelina hurried towards them, looking very desperate.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Umbridge is including Quidditch in this. We have to go and ask permission to reform the Gryffindor team!"

"Are you kidding me?" Arthur asked.

"That toad!" David hissed quietly.

"You read the sign, it mentions teams too!"

Arthur went to History of Magic, expecting Umbridge to show up and inspect Binns, yet she didn't show up.

All there was was Binns floating an inch or so above his chair as usual and prepared to continue his monotonous drone on giant wars.

At some point, Chrys ended up nudging Arthur.

"What is it?" He asked her.

She pointed over at the window and Arthur looked to see Athena perched on the narrow window ledge, gazing through the thick glass at him with a letter tied to her leg.

Arthur frowned at this, she should've delivered the letter during breakfast, which they just had. He realised that something's wrong as a sense of dread washed over him.

A lot of his classmates pointed out Athena to each other.

"Oh, I've always loved that owl, she's so beautiful." Lavender sighed to Parvati.

Arthur glanced at Binns, who continued to read his notes, very much unaware of the class' attention not being focused on him.

Arthur then slipped quietly off his chair and crouched down, hurrying along the row to the window, where he slid the catch and opened it up slowly.

The moment the window was opened wide enough, Athena hopped inside, hooting dolefully. Arthur closed the window and crouched low again, speeding back up to his seat with his barn owl on his shoulder.

Upon regaining his seat, he transferred Athena to his lap and held back a gasp upon seeing that her feathers were oddly ruffled, some even being bent the wrong way and that she held out one wing at an odd angle.

"She's hurt!" He whispered, bending his head lower over her. Both Chrys and David leaned in closer. "Something's wrong with her wing."

Athena was quivering; when Arthur made to touch the wing, she gave a little jump and all her feathers were on end as though she inflated herself, gazing at him painfully.

"Professor Binns." Arthur said loudly, everyone in the class now turned to look at him. "I'm not feeling well."

Binns raised his eyes from his notes, looking amazed to find the room in front of him full of people.

"Not feeling well?" He repeated hazily.

"Not at all well." Arthur said firmly, getting to his feet with Athena concealed behind his back. "I need to go to the hospital wing."

"Yes." Binns said, very much wrong footed. "Yes… yes, hospital wing… well, off you go, then, Perkins…."

Once he was outside the room, Arthur returned Athena to his shoulder and hurried off up the corridor, knowing that he had to go and find Grubbly-Plank to try and help Athena.

He peered out of a window at the blustery, overcast grounds, seeing no sign of her anywhere near Hagrid's cabin. He guessed that she must be in the staff room.

With that, he rushed downstairs with Athena hooting feebly as she swayed on his shoulder.

There were two stone gargoyles that flanked the staff room door. When Arthur approached, one of them croaked "You should be in class, Sonny Jim."

"This is urgent!" Arthur said curtly.

"Ooooh, urgent, is it?" The other gargoyle said in a high pitched voice. "Well, that's put us in our place, hasn't it?"

Arthur knocked on the door, hearing footsteps before the door opened and came face to face with McGonagall.

"Why are you out of class?" She asked him.

"It's urgent, apparently." The second gargoyle said snidely.

"I'm trying to find Professor Grubbly-Plank." Arthur explained. "Athena's injured." He gestured to his owl.

"Injured, did you say?" Grubbly-Plank said as she appeared at McGonagall's shoulder, smoking a pipe and holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Yes." Arthru said, lifting Athena carefully off his shoulder. "She showed up after the other post owls and her wing's messed up."

Grubbly-Plank stuck her pipe firmly between her teeth and took Athena from Arthur while McGonagall watched.

"Hmm." Grubbly-Plank said with her pipe waggling slightly as she spoke. "Looks like something's attacked her. Can't think what would have done it, though. Thestrals will sometimes go for birds, of course, but Hagrid's got the Hogwarts Thestrals well trained not to touch owls."

Arthur just had confirmation in his mind that what he saw pulling the carriages were indeed Thestrals, but he didn't care for that right now, he just worried about his barn owl.

McGonagall looked sharply at Arthur, saying "Do you know how far this owl's travelled, Pendergast?"

"From London." Arthur replied.

He met her eyes briefly and based on how her eyebrows joined in the middle, she knew that he was really talking about Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

Grubbly-Plank pulled out a monocle from the inside of her robes and screwed it into her eye to examine Athena's wing more closely.

"I should be able to sort this out if you leave her with me, Pendergast." She said. "She shouldn't be flying long distances for a few days, in any case."

"I understand, thanks." He replied just as the bell rang for break.

"No problem." Grubbly-Plank said gruffly, turning back into the staff room.

"Just a moment, Wilhelmina!" McGonagall said. "Pendergast's letter!"

"Oh yeah!" Arthur said, momentarily forgetting about the letter tied to Athena's leg. Grubbly-Plank handed it over before disappearing into the staff room with Athena, who stared at Arthur as though she was scared for him.

Arthur turned to go, but McGonagall called him back.

"Pendergast!"

"Yes, Professor?"

She glanced up and down the corridor, seeing students coming from both directions.

"Bear in mind…" She said quickly and quietly, her eyes on the scroll in his hands. "...that channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts may be being watched, won't you?"

"Yes." Arthur said before the flood of students rolled along the corridor being almost upon them.

McGonagall gave him a curt nod and retreated back into the staff room, leaving Arthur to be swept out into the courtyard with the crowd.

He spotted David, Chrys and Mike all in a sheltered corner, their cloaks turned up against the wind.

Arthur then opened the scroll as he hurried to them seeing five words in Sirius' handwriting:

Today, same time, same place.

"Is Athena alright?" Chrys asked anxiously when he was within earshot.

"Where'd you take her?" Mike asked.

"To Grubbly-Plank. I also met you mum, listen…" He said, going on to explain what McGonagall told him, none of them seemed surprised, if anything, they exchanged significant looks.

"We were thinking that Umbridge intercepted her." Chrys told him.

Arthur's face scrunched up in white hot fury and rage at the fact that that toad laid her disgusting fingers on Athena. Then she had to have read Sirius' letter, magically resealing it to make it seem like it wasn't opened.

He showed them Sirius' letter and they all grew concerned, knowing it was referring to the common room fireplace.

"She's gonna be watching the Floo Network." Chrys said when the bell rang. "And what makes it bad is that we can't warn him to come."

They all trudged down the stone step to the dungeons for Potions, all four growing worried.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, they heard Draco's voice, who stood just outside of Snape's classroom door, waving around an official looking piece of parchment and talking much louder than was necessary so that they could hear every word.

"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission to continue playing straight away, I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry… it'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?"

Both Arthur and David kept themselves from punching that pale git.

"I mean…" Draco said, raising his voice a little more, his grey eyes glittering malevolently in Arthur and David's direction. "...if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance… from what my father says, they've been trying to make Benjamin Merlon sack for some time now… and as for Pendergast… my father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St Mungo's… apparently, they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic."

Draco then made a grotesque face, his mouth sagging and his eyes rolling. Crabbe and Goyle gave their usual grunts of laughter while Pansy shrieked with glee.

Something ended up colliding with Arthur's shoulder hard, knocking him sideways. He realised that it was Neville a split second later, charging straight for Draco.

"Neville, no!"

He leapt forward and seized the back of Neville's robes; Neville struggled frantically, his fists flailing, trying with desperation to get at Draco, who looked extremely shocked for a moment.

"Help!" Arthur flung at both David and Mike, who got their arms around Neville and dragged him back, away from the Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle both flexed their arms as they stepped in front of Draco, ready to fight.

Mike seized Neville's neck as David did with Neville's arms and the three boys all dragged Neville back to the Gryffindor line.

They forced him against the wall and let him go, seeing that Neville's face was scarlet. He panted heavily, speaking incomprehensible.

"Not… funny… don't… Mungo's… show… him…."

They settled themselves when the dungeon door opened up and Snape appeared. His black eyes swept up the Gryffindor line before doing the same with the Slytherin line.

"Inside, all of you." Snape said in his cold, sneering voice.

"We had to stop you." Arthur muttered to Neville. "Crabbe and Goyle could've pummelling you to the ground."

Neville didn't say anything as he snatched up his bag and stalked off into the dungeon.

"What in Merlin's name was that about?" David asked in shock as they followed Neville.

Arthur didn't answer as he knew exactly why the subject of people in St Mungo's because of damage to the brain was distressing to Neville, though he swore to Dumbledore that he would never tell anyone about Neville's secret. Even Neville didn't know Arthur knew.

The trio took their usual seats at the back of the class, pulled out their parchment, quills and their copies of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. The class around them whispered about what Neville did, but when Snape closed the dungeon door with an echoing bang, everyone fell silent instantly.

"You will notice…" He said with his low, sneering voice. "...that we have a guest with us today."

He gestured towards the dim corner of the dungeon and Arthur saw Umbridge sitting there with her clipboard on her knee. He looked over at David and Chrys. Snape and Umbridge, the two teachers that he hated the most, he didn't want either to triumph, he hated them both that much.

"We are continuing with our Strengthening Solution today. You will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson; if correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend, instruction -" He waved his wand again. " - on the board. Carry on."

Umbridge spent the first half hour of the lesson making notes in her corner. Arthur was able to keep his ears open for when she spoke with Snape as he focused on his potion.

He added the salamander blood when he saw Umbridge get to her feet in the corner of his eye.

"Well, the class seem fairly advance for their level." She said briskly to Snape's back. "Though I would question whether it is advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if that was removed from the syllabus."

This made Snape straighten up slowly before turning to face her.

"Now… how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" She then asked, her quill poised over her clipboard.

"Fourteen years." Snape replied, his expression being unfathomable. Arthur still focused on his potion.

"You applied first for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Umbridge then asked Snape.

"Yes." Snape said quietly.

"But you were unsuccessful?"

Snape's lip curled.

"Obviously."

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.

"And you have applied regularly for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"

"Yes." Snape said quietly, barely moving his lips, looking very angry.

"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?"

"I suggest you ask him." Snape said jerkily.

"Oh, I shall." Umbridge said with a sweet smile.

"I suppose this is relevant?" Snape asked, his black eyes narrowed.

"Oh yes…" Umbridge said. "...yes, the Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers' - er - backgrounds."

She turned away and walked over to Pansy Parkinson, questioning her about the lessons.

Arthur felt Snape look at him, making him look up at him and their eyes met for a second before he looked back down to focus on his potion still.

After lunch, Arthur and David went to have Divination and sat in their seats in the hot, overperfumed atmosphere of the classroom.

Trelawney once more handed out copies of The Dream Oracle, yet she seemed to be in a temper because she slammed a copy of the book down on the table between Arthur and David before sweeping away, her lips pursed; she then threw the next copy of the book at Seamus and Dean, narrowly avoiding Seamus' head, she then thrust the final one into Mike's chest with such force that he nearly slipped off his pouffe.

"Well, carry on!" She said loudly, her voice high pitched and even hysterical. "You know what to do! Or am I such a substandard teacher that you have never learned how to open a book?"

The whole class looked at her truly perplexed, then at each other.

Arthur knew what was the reason for her being like this. As she flounced back to her high backed teacher's chair, her magnificent eyes were full of angry tears, Arthur leaned his head over to David, whispering "She's got her inspection results."

"Professor?" Parvati asked in a hushed voice (her and Lavender heavily admiring Trelawney ever since they started the subject). "Professor, is there anything - er - wrong?"

"Wrong!" Trelawney cried in a voice that throbbed with emotion. "Certainly not! I have been insulted, certainly… insinuations have been made against me… unfounded accusations levelled… but no, there is nothing wrong, certainly not!"

She took a shuddering breath and looked away from Parvati, angry tears spilling out from under her glasses.

"I say nothing…" She choked. "...of sixteen years of devoted service… it has passed, apparently, unnoticed… but I shall not be insulted, no, I shall not!"

"But, Professor, who's insulting you?" Parvati asked timidly.

"The Establishment!" Trelawney said in a deep and dramatic wavering voice. "Yes, those with eyes too clouded by the mundane to See as I See, to Know as I Know… of course, we Seers have always been feared, always persecuted… it is - alas - our fate."

She gulped, dabbed at her wet cheeks with the end of her shawl and then pulled a small embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve, blowing her nose so hard that it sounded like Peeves was blowing a raspberry.

"Professor…" Parvati said. "...do you mean… is it something Professor Umbridge -?"

"Do not speak to me about that woman!" Trelawney cried, leaping to her feet, her beads rattling and her spectacles flashing. "Kindly continue with your work!"

She spent the rest of the lesson striding among them all, tears still leaking from behind her glasses, muttering what sounded like threats under her breath.

"...may well choose to leave… the indignity of it… on probation… we shall see… how she dares…."

"It seems that you and Umbridge now have something in common." Arthur told Chrys quietly when they met in Defence Against the Dark Arts. "She knows that Trelawney's a fraud… she's put her on probation it seems."

Umbridge then entered the room as he spoke, wearing her black velvet bow and an expression of real smugness.

"Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." The class chanted drearily.

"Wands away, please."

There was no answering flurry of movement this time; no one had bothered taking out their wands.

"Please turn to page thirty four of Defensive Magical Theory and read the third chapter, entitled 'The Case for Non Offensive Responses to Magical Attack'. There will be -"

" - no need to talk." The trio said altogether under their breaths.

"No Quidditch practice." Angelina said in a hollow tone when the trio entered the common room after dinner that night.

"Are you serious? But I didn't even do anything!" Arthur replied, horrified.

"I know, I know." Angelina said miserably. "She just said she needed a bit of time to consider."

"Consider what?" David said angrily. "She gave Slytherin permission, why not us?"

Arthur had an idea why. She enjoyed holding the threat of no Gryffindor Quidditch team over their heads and didn't want to let go of it too soon.

Arthur slumped down into a chair, getting worried knowing that Sirius will appear in the fire later.

There was so much noise in the common room. Both Jack and Kevin seemed to have perfected one type of Skiving Snackbox and took turns to demonstrate it to a cheering and whooping crowd.

Jack took a bite out of the orange end of a chew before vomiting spectacularly into a bucket they placed in front of them. Then he would force down the purple end and the vomiting would stop instantly. Lee Jordan, who assisted in the demonstration, lazily Vanished the vomit at regular intervals.

With the sound of retching, cheering and the sound of the twins taking advance orders from the crowd, Arthur found himself being relieved of his worry about Sirius.

Eventually, after a long white, the crowd around the twins dispersed before they and Lee sat up and counted their takings, which took longer. It was well past midnight when the trio, as well as Mike, had the common room all to themselves finally.

Jack had closed the doorway to the boys' dormitories behind him, ratting his box of Galleons. The four then gathered around the fire until Sirius' head appeared.

"Hi." He said, grinning.

"Hi." The four repeated. Crookshanks purred loudly and approached the fire, trying to put his face close to Sirius', despite the heat.

"How're things?" Sirius asked.

"Not good." Arthur said as Chrys grabbed Crookshanks away from the fire. "The Ministry has now forced another decree on us, meaning we're not allowed to have Quidditch teams -"

"Or secret Defence Against the Dark Arts groups?" Sirius said, leaving a short pause.

"You had someone spy on us at the Hog's Head, didn't you?" Arthur glared at him.

"Of course."

"But it was better than the Three Broomsticks." Chrys said defensively. "That's always packed with people -"

"Which means you'd have been harder to overhear." Sirius said. "You've got a lot to learn, Chrys."

"Who spied on us?" Arthur demanded.

"Mundungus, of course." Sirius said, laughing at their puzzled expressions. "He was the witch under the veil."

"So you're still having that pathetic follow me?" Arthur said, offended and betrayed.

"Yes, and just as well, isn't it, if the first thing you're going to do on your weekend off is organise an illegal defence group."

Sirius didn't look angry or worried, he actually looked prideful.

"Why would Fungus hide from us?" Mike asked.

"He was banned from the Hog's Head twenty years ago and that barman's got a long memory. We lost Moody's spare Invisibility Cloak when Sturgis was arrested, so Dung's been dressing as a witch a lot lately… anyway… first of all, David, I've sworn to pass on a message from your mother."

"What's that?" David asked.

"She's warning you and the others to be careful if you are taking part in this secret group. She worries that you'll get expelled and have your futures be ruined. Of course, she knows that she can't exactly order you to not partake, but she also wants you to do what's right and show Umbridge that she has no control. She would've told you this through an owl if it wouldn't get intercepted and she can't say it herself because she's on duty tonight."

"Anyway, how are you organising this group?" Sirius then said. "Where are you meeting?"

"That's the issue right now, we don't know where to go." Arthur replied.

"How about the Shrieking Shack?"

"There's no way all of us, as there's many who joined this group, can sneak through the gap in the Whomping Willow, plus the place is too small." Chrys pointed out.

"Fair point." Sirius said, looking slightly crestfallen. "Well, I'm sure you'll come up with somewhere. There used to be a pretty roomy secret passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor, you might have enough space to practise jinxes in there."

"But the twins said it's blocked. Caved in." Arthur shook his head.

"Oh…." Sirius frowned. "Well, I'll have a think and get back to -"

He broke off. His face was now tense and alarmed. He turned sideways, as though he was seeing something the four couldn't.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

Sirius suddenly vanished.

"What the -?"

Chrys made a horrified gasp and leat to her feet, as did the three boys.

They saw a hand appear amongst the flames, groping to try and catch something; it was a stubby, short fingered hand covered in ugly old fashioned rings.

The four ran for it. At the door to the boys' dormitories, Arthur looked back at Umbridge's hand that still made snatching movements along the flames, clearly knowing that Sirius was here moments before, trying to seize him, but failed.

No one gets to harm Athena and get away with it! Thankfully, the jinx on the DADA post will ensure that she doesn't stay at Hogwarts.