Ninja Wizard V 09
By David
Author's Notes & Disclaimer: These marks [] indicate Japanese spoken. All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling. They are not mine, I'm just borrowing them for this fic. Enjoy.
Ninja Wizard V 09
"The Pink Toad Strikes"
The meet in the Hog's Head had been on Saturday morning. Harry relaxed a bit feeling somewhat relieved that now he was believed, thanks to Cedric Diggory popping up and giving his view of the events. Cedric managed to get in touch with people he knew over the weekend and gave Harry his address where mail could get to him. He related the events of what happened to him at the Ministry and why his father decided to leave England. Cedric managed to establish some kind of resistance group against the DE's where he was.
"The most interesting thing to me is the fact that these guys seem to be concentrating their efforts in England, and nowhere else," Cedric told him over a bottle of butterbeer. "Very curious, I say."
Harry nodded. "I agree. We don't get much information as to what's going on outside England, and I think that's because perhaps the ministry chooses to ignore what's going on outside of England for reasons known only to them."
"Fudge trying to cover something up?" Cedric asked.
Harry sighed. "Who knows. Things are building up to some kind of confrontation, and I don't think Fudge is cut out to be a wartime leader. Someone's going to move him out of the way and step in. Either they will kick DE butt or not. Somehow I get the feeling that the Pink Toad is going to be the big boss, and if she is, the Wizarding world can kiss their arse goodbye."
"Dad's told me a few stories about her," Cedric said. "That woman is downright scary."
Harry lifted his head and glanced around. "What I'd like to know is what she has against werewolves and other magical creatures. They have a right to exist just as much as us humans do. Granted there are a few bad apples out there and that doesn't mean all of the good ones should suffer because of the actions of a few. She learned that behavior somewhere, you just don't become a bigot on your own."
Cedric nodded at that. "And not just magical creatures, either. I've heard she can be very insulting to other witches and wizards that she considers not to be proper witches and wizards."
"Well, she's managed to get her claws into somebody and got them to approve of this hairbrained scheme of hers to mold Hogwarts into something that's completely different. I'm curious as to how far she's gonna go with this obsession of hers to remake Hogwarts into her image," Harry sighed. "Right now I gotta very bad feeling the first shot's been fired."
Harry's bad feeling came true Tuesday morning when he observed Filch hanging a sign by the entrance to the great hall. Harry waited for the crowd to thin out before approaching the sign to see what it said. Hermione and Ron came up behind him.
"By Order of The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, all student organizations, societies, teams, groups, and clubs are all henceforth disbanded.
Any organization, society, team, group, and club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three students or more.
Permission to reform may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).
No organization, society, team, group, or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student found to have formed, or belong to, an organization, society, team, group, or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
This is in accordance to Educational Decree Number Twenty Four.
Signed Dolores Jane Umbridge
High Inquisitor
"She can't do that!" someone yelled, setting off a firestorm around him.
Harry nodded and headed into the great hall, Hermione and Ron behind him. He took his usual seat at the far end of the Ravenclaw house table and a cup of coffee popped up in front of him. He sipped it slowly as his mind began to process this newest wrinkle. Finally he looked up at Hermione and Ron.
"Most interesting, I think. We have a meeting in the Hog's Head on Saturday and this pops up this morning. She knows," he said.
"How would she find out?" Ron asked.
Hermione sighed. "There were people inside the Hog's Head that morning, any one of them could have gone up to the castle or sent a letter informing her of the meet."
Harry scratched the side of his face. "Well, she's just fired the first shot in the battle. I say we carry on, but carefully. We need to keep this on the low down. My only worry is that someone in the know will rat us out."
Hermione smiled at that. "When they do, we'll know who the traitor is."
"Oh Merlin, what did you do now, Hermione?" Ron gasped.
"When all of us signed the parchment, it activated a very nasty curse that will put Sandra Wilkin's acne to shame," Hermione giggled.
Harry's left eyebrow went up. "Fascinating."
"So what now?" Ron sighed.
Harry's breakfast popped up in front of him. "We carry on as usual. We try to get the word round that the class will go on as scheduled, and that everybody needs to keep the information secret. Hermione, can you come up with a way to notify people of the times and date of each meeting?"
"Working on it," she said. "I could have something in a few days."
Harry nodded as he bit into a slice of ham. "Good. I'm going to send off a few letters at break. Need to keep our friends informed. What's our first class today?"
"Potions with Snape," Ron informed Harry.
"Oh joy."
The rest of breakfast was done in silence.
Harry carried a mug of coffee downstairs to the potions lab in the dungeons. There were a few Slytherins outside the door and Malfoy was spouting off as usual.
"Oh yes, Madame Umbridge was most pleased to reform the Slytherin team immediately once she knew who I was. It pays to be connected to all of the right people, especially with my father in such a high position inside the ministry and being personal friends with the minister," Draco smirked at Harry.
Harry shrugged his shoulders in a way that appeared to people like he didn't care. "Doesn't bother me since I don't play Quidditch anymore and don't belong anywhere. It's not like the most important thing in the world to me. I'm more interested in learning about magic and how to do it."
That seemed to knock Malfoy back a bit and before the blond could respond, the door got flung open and Snape came out. The hall fell silent instantly.
"Although I would be interested in hearing your petty useless squabbling, I believe my class is far more important. Get inside now!" he demanded.
Harry glanced at the others. It was obvious that Snape was in a mood. As they filed inside and took their usual places, it became obvious why Snape was in a mood. Sitting in the far corner was the Pink Toad as everybody took to calling her behind her back. Umbridge looked up and smiled sweetly at everybody. Harry shivered at that smile. It wasn't a genuine smile, it was one filled with malice. Harry was now more determined than ever to beat her down.
The class got started. Harry ignored the quill scratching on parchment as he worked on the day's assignment, the Strengthening Solution. According to Hermione's information, it was an advanced level potion. Harry was glad to be learning it as he deemed it to be important. He decided to go down to the potions lab in his trunk next chance he got and mix up some in the event he needed it. It would go into one of the many pouches of his ninja utility belt. He glanced in the direction of Umbridge every now and then as Snape floated around the room studying people's potions as he talked about the strengthening Solution. Umbridge at some point stood up and confronted Snape in the middle of the room.
"This class does seem to be rather advanced due to your teaching skills," she began as Snape glared at her, "but I am not so sure they should be learning the strengthening solution. The ministry would prefer it to be removed from the list of approved potions to be taught."
Snape did not react to that. Umbridge continued on.
"How long have you been here?" she asked.
"Fourteen years."
"I understand that you have applied for the post of the Defense Against The Dark Arts the first year and didn't get it?" she asked.
Snape ground his jaw. "Obviously."
"And you have continued to do so each year? Why have you not gotten it?" she asked.
Snape slowly turned to face her and Harry felt the anger coming off the man in waves.
"I suggest you go and discuss that with Dumbledore," he snarled, making the class shiver.
Umbridge didn't seem to be fazed by his response.
"Oh I will," she said sweetly.
Harry wondered if it was possible to become a diabetic from hearing that sugary sweet voice. He went back to his potion as Umbridge began to ask random students about Snape's class. She passed him by, pretending not to notice him. Harry ignored the snub and continued on with what he was doing.
The great hall was buzzing about what happened in Divination this morning. Apparently Trelawney had gotten her inspection notice back and it greatly upset her. Harry sighed and rubbed his face. He knew that sooner or later someone was going to get dumped from the staff and it looked like she would be the first. Harry stretched and made things pop inside his body. It was getting way too cold to go outside so he played around with the idea of going up into the R&R room and creating a summer beach like environment just so he could get warmed up even if it was for just ten minutes. He was glad for the warming spell he learned way back in first year, something he applied to his clothes every morning before getting dressed. He did have to reapply it halfway through the day and made sure others knew of it so they could use it. Harry sat there with a cup of tea and pursued the paper after he was done with lunch, not finding much of anything other than Fudge grandstanding again. Harry wondered just what it would take for him to open his eyes and see what was really going on, but it would never happened as he was too blinded by Malfoy gold. He shook his head and sighed. This was getting too much. He briefly wondered what would happen if he just stood up and walked out of Hogwarts, never to return. Harry knew the school wouldn't last very long as people seemed to depend on him keeping the place safe knowing full well if something were to happen 'oh Potter can take care of it' and keep on. The thought suddenly crossed his mind that maybe somebody in the background was setting things up and manipulating him just to see how he reacted to things. First year had all the earmarks of Dumbledore leading him on from behind. Second year had been a damned book that caused all of the ruckus, Malfoy having planted it. Did he do it on his own, or was he influenced by something bigger in shadow? Third year had been Sirius, and Harry had forgiven him for that, knowing full well that Peter Pettigrew had manipulated things from back then. Fourth year had been the spirit of Voldemort and Dumbledore had tried to use it as a way to strike back at him for having gotten him in trouble. Harry hadn't forced Dumbledore into anything, the man chose to do what he did. And now he was dealing with Umbridge, and wondered if she was getting manipulated by someone in shadow. Too many questions. Not enough answers. It was time to go back to his war room inside the trunk.
Harry and his crew sat around the large table inside his war room. Harry pinned a picture of Umbridge up on the wall and stepped back.
"Okay. What do we know about the Pink Toad?" Harry asked.
Nobody spoke up. Harry turned to Hermione.
"I was able to dig up a little on her," she said. "She was a student here. Joined the ministry right out of Hogwarts. Her father was a janitor at the ministry. At some point he left the ministry just as she started to climb the ladder into the higher levels. A number of people lost their jobs after having confrontations with her. She is very clearly bigoted against anything that's not Wizard or witch kind. She believes she's far more superior than anyone else."
"You got all of that from books?" George said.
"Some of it," Hermione admitted. "The rest is rather obvious from the way she looks down her nose at all of us 'commoners'. As for the way she rose into power at the ministry, all of that's public record. Not too hard to get that information if you know who to write to."
"Very nice, Hermione. Question is, how do we stop her from taking over Hogwarts?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "Something I've been asking myself. She's dirty. That much is obvious. The question is how do we prove it? All we can do at this point is to watch her and document everything she says and does. Sooner or later she's going to do something questionable and we'll be there to record it. Then I can file some kind of protest with the Wizengamot. The Potter Clan does have a seat there," Harry said.
Neville sat up. "I can provide Gran with a lot of the same thing and the both of you can lodge protests together. How are you able to work your place on the Wizengamot?"
Harry smiled. "Very carefully. I read all of the paper they sent me through the Goblins. I'm able to cast my votes through the mail as a lot of the proposals I read have to do with money being spent on useless things. I've done some late nights at my desk working on what they send me. What gets me is the way they write these things. I wish they would write the things in plain English so I can understand what the hell they're saying."
"Gran has the same complaint," Neville said.
Harry sighed and sipped his tea. "Anyway, can two of you get around and set up the first class for this Thursday night after dinner? Time we got this thing off the ground."
"I can," Hermione said.
"I'm in," Ginny said.
"Ginny and I have been field testing something for the club and so far it works great. Final testing will be tomorrow and we can pass it out that night," Hermione said.
Harry smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere. If it's going to be, it's up to us. I can't sit here and depend on either the ministry or the Dumbledork's bird club to fix things. It's up to us now."
"Let's get the job done," Fred stated.
The others agreed and the plan was now set in motion.
The meeting had gone down Tuesday night. Wednesday evening found him in the library in a far corner reading something for herbology class. The book was not an exciting read, and Harry was forced to read carefully as it had been written in Old English. At some point he began to nod off, dropping his guard and not seeing the person hiding behind a suit of armor. His head kept dropping time and time again until he decided he would close his eyes for just a few minutes. The next thing he knew he was standing inside a long corridor without windows. He blinked. How the hell did he get here? He turned to see the door at the end of the hallway and started down it. This was all so wrong. It felt wrong, it seemed wrong, nothing was supposed to be able to penetrate his thoughts. He stopped before the door and started to reach out for it. His fingers barely grazed the doorknob when the voice of his head of security for the castle he kept inside his head spoke up.
[This way, my lord. This place is wrong,] Obata-san said as he appeared next to him.
Harry turned to face him as the corridor faded away and the grounds of the castle appeared. Mariko, the maid, stood there with a tea tray as Obata guided him to a nearby chair.
[What happened, Obata-san?] Harry asked.
The man sat down in a chair opposite Harry and frowned as Mariko poured out a bit of tea.
[I do not know for sure, my lord. For some reason that appeared in your mind. It did not access the castle, but it was enough to alert me. It used a spot just outside the castle walls, being strong enough to alert you and draw you into it. I don't know if it was just a dream or if someone planted it there,] he said as he leaned forward on his left arm.
[Can't be Voldemort, that connection was destroyed when I was barely a year old, just after I arrived at the Hidden Village. Could someone else have established a connection to me?] Harry asked.
Obata scratched the left side of his chin, thinking hard. [It is possible, my lord. I need to go looking.]
Harry nodded. [Please do so. We need to know who or what this thing is and stop it.]
[Very good, my lord. The one known as Dobby approaches you, my lord,] Obata said, and the scene in front of Harry faded away to see Dobby staring intently at him.
"Is Master Harry sir okay?" the elf asked, a worried look on his face.
Harry sat up and reached for the potions book he dropped onto the floor. He stood up and stretched, making things go pop in his body.
"Just working too hard again, Dobby. I really should get to bed, got a long day tomorrow," he said. "Can we count on you to play lookout for us tomorrow night?"
Dobby beamed. "You can count on me, sir!"
Harry smiled at the enthusiastic elf. "I'm glad you're on our side, Dobby."
Dobby bounced up and down with joy as he led the way out of the library to a secret door behind a statue that opened up into his secret flat. Harry was amazed at the way Hogwarts made it so easy for Harry and his crew to travel around the castle. Ron and Hermione hadn't wasted any time in getting established down in the cave. Hermione had a number of conversations with Slytherin and learned a lot from him and Harry hoped that it was stuff they could use in the defense club. He was sure he would find out tomorrow night. For now he just wanted to go to bed.
Harry got up late the next morning. Not how he wanted to start his day, but there it was. He decided to do his workouts during the free period he had on Thursdays and rushed through the shower and dressed. Miyamoto let him out once he made sure the hall was clear. Harry headed downstairs to the third floor landing, and just as he put his left foot down he felt killing energy directed at him. He didn't waste any time, he went down fast. The purple colored spell missed him by mere inches. Harry rolled over onto his back and speed drew his wand to defend, but the attacker was gone. Harry stood up and tucked his wand away, his mind going at breakneck speed. Questions popped up one after another. He decided to go see Flitwick. Walking into the hall, he spotted the professor up at the high table. He went up there and asked the diminutive professor for a moment of his time. Both of them stepped into a side room. Harry told him exactly what had happened.
"A purple colored spell you say?" Flitwick asked.
Harry nodded. "Yes sir."
He looked up at Harry. "I will have a look around and see if I can detect a magical signature to it. I do not like the sound of this, Mr. Potter."
"I don't like it either, sir. That's why I came to you," Harry said. "I don't know the spells needed to make such a determination."
Flitwick nodded. "I will have to teach you those spells then. For now go about your day. Keep me informed if there are any more attacks on you."
"I will, sir. Thanks for your help," Harry said and stood up from where he was sitting.
Flitwick floated out the door and back to his breakfast. Harry went to his usual spot to grab a bit of coffee and toast. He informed Hermione on the way to class what had transpired.
"See you at lunch!" Hermione called to him as they split up for the first class of the day.
Harry smiled as he turned towards his first class of the day.
Dumbledore nodded at the class and rose. While he had been doing rather well with the class and it seemed to Harry that his mood was improving having noticed his having been depressed a bit of late and wondered if Umbridge had given him a hard time in her evaluation of him, he did stick to the subject he knew well, the history of famous Wizards and Witches having made great contributions to the Wizarding World. Today he was discussing the man who wrote the book "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find them", a book written by the great Newt Scamander.
"Thanks to him and his great courage, we now know more about these magical creatures than ever before. But that was not the only thing he did," Dumbledore began. "He stood up to the Dark Lord Grindelwald and managed to defeat him once."
"Then you faced him," someone spoke up.
Dumbledore raised his head and sighed. "I did, and it hurt me a great deal as he had been one I counted as a friend. His ideals were much different than mine at the time and that caused us to break off our friendship. Doing what is right is never easy. Fighting a friend because of a disagreement is not pleasant, even when that disagreement takes those two people into different directions. He became dark. People were willing to stand up to him in order to defend the magical world at the cost of their lives. They are the true heroes of the magical world and we must learn the lessons they wish to teach us through their actions."
That certainly gave Harry a lot to think about and he became even more determined to teach others the means to protect and defend themselves as Umbridge sure as hell wasn't going to do it.
Harry decided to start off with a pair of simple spells first, expelliarmus and protégo for the first night and then go from there depending on how well everybody who joined did. Harry checked both directions before entering the hall where the room was. He walked past the spot three times, silently asking the question of needing a place to practice defense. The double door appeared just as Hermione showed up with a few people behind her. Harry went to open the door and they went inside. It was exactly what he needed. Against the far wall was a row of targets. On the east side was a row of bookcases, to which Hermione raced up to.
"Never fails," Ron chuckled, "show her books and she just has to check them out."
On the west side were a group of chairs, enough for a group of people to sit in and discuss things. A large chandelier was overhead. The rest of the room was a wide open space.
"Nice," Neville said.
George had gone over to the row of targets and shot off a spell at one of them. The target rang as the spell hit and a number popped up over the target. "Ah, look at that. It tells you how powerful the spell was, Freddy. Take a shot."
Fred sighed as Ron grinned. Fred took up his position and fired expelliarmus and hit the target he had been aiming for. It rang loud and a number popped up, beating George's score by twenty points.
"I'm better than you," Fred chanted.
George turned and growled as Ron and Harry grinned. Harry stepped up and hit his target, getting a much higher number than Fred and George did.
"Whoa," Ron blinked. "Hundred points more than those two combined."
They turned as Ginny led some people in. They blinked at the numbers floating over the targets. Zach Smith immediately took up a position in front of a target and gave it his best shot. He managed to edge out Fred by five points. Ron took a spot and fired off a spell and got a number just below George. Hermione bowed to the boys and then turned to her target, getting a number that beat Zach by twenty points while the girls in the room laughed.
"Sorry boys," Hermione grinned as she twirled her wand.
Harry stepped back and let people have a go at the targets until all twenty five had their scores registered on the nearby chalk board. Harry turned to the group.
"That's not bad for a start. The reason I beat all of you with that much higher number is because I practice on a daily basis. The more I worked at using my magic…" Harry said.
"The stronger you got," Zach finished the statement.
Harry nodded to the boy. "Exactly. That's what all of us need to do. Practice and get our magical cores to grow and stretch. It's kind of like doing weightlifting, a muggle sport, to improve your physical muscles and build up strength in your bodies, something I do as well. So for tonight, I would like us to start out by using a simple spell to try and improve those number for the next fifteen minutes. Then I am going to borrow something from Lockhart and start out with a simple spell combination, the expelliarmus and the protégo spell. If you stop and think about it, both do kind of complement each other as they are defensive spells. One disarms, the other blocks spells. Learn those two and work them to the point where you can do both in seconds without thinking about them. If you can cast them without saying the actual words, even better."
"Silent casting," Neville said.
Harry held out his fist to Neville and they bumped fists. "You got it, Neville. Silent casting is very possible, it's just a matter of powering up the intent to cast the spell mentally. I've been working on that with very simple spells and managed to do it with one spell, and after really concentrating at it."
"If you can do it then so can we," Zach said.
Harry nodded. "Gonna take a lot of work."
"So let's get to it," Zach challenged, and turned to a target.
"Expelliarmus," he intoned and cast the spell.
It hit the target giving him a slightly higher number, and the evening went from there. Harry called it quits just before ten and Hermione handed out a galleon to each person.
"If you look at the numbers on the front of it you will see a date and time. That's the information you need to know when we meet again. The coin will heat up for a moment and that will tell you the next class has been set. Try to make it if you can. If not, come see one of us and we'll tell you what you missed. Now that all of us have been in this room, it will let you back inside so you all can practice what you've learned here or work on your spell casting or just to read up on something and work on it on your own. If you do that, please be willing to share with the rest of us, okay?" Hermione said as she passed out the coins.
"Nice piece of magic, Granger," Zach complemented her. "Kinda answers my question of how you guys would notify all of us for the next group. Hell yeah, I'm in all the way now."
"Good. It's not so much as how we can score on the year end exams, it's how we can protect ourselves and others," Harry said.
People nodded to that as they left the room, Dobby playing the lookout. Harry was the last out and he looked back and smiled. This was going to work out just fine.
And it did. In the next two months, people worked hard at learning and casting the spells once it set in that they had complete freedom to do it. Even little Colin Creevey was getting into it, increasing his casting scores as he learned new spells. He even took the opportunity to teach the Impediment Jinx. Parvati Patil found the Reductor Curse that she used in the class, and turned one of the tables into sawdust. Neville discovered the Confundus spell to confuse the target temporarily. Even more people were stepping forward to teach new things and Harry couldn't be any happier. Things were going extremely well at that point. Letters from home indicated the DE problem had been slowing up. Harry didn't know if that was a good thing or not, he would find out over the Christmas Holidays. No word from Voldemort and Harry started to wonder if the Idiot-Who-Must-Be-Named had given up. Something deep inside of his spirit and soul wasn't convinced of that. Keith hadn't come up with anything new other than the usual chatter going on and hints of possible attacks here and there. Harry had gone out on the grounds to look for Hagrid and he still hadn't returned. Harry began to worry and decided he would go see McGonagall. He went to the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office and made an effort to get him to move aside or at least pass a message to McGonagall which he refused to. Harry simply nodded and said he would find another way to talk to her. Harry eventually found her in her classroom.
"Mr. Potter," she nodded to him.
Harry smiled. "Lady McGonagall."
"How can I help you Harry?" she asked.
Harry took a seat. "I am concerned about Hagrid. I know I don't take any of his classes, I still consider him a friend. He's been gone for some time and I hope he's okay. Have you heard from him?"
McGonagall sighed. "No I haven't, I'm sorry. Last I heard from him was that he went to go help a friend of his. Said he wasn't sure when he would get back. I have no idea how to contact him."
"Damn. I was hoping he sent you a letter or something," Harry sighed.
McGonagall offered him a biscuit from a tin she had on her desk. "Have you tried Dumbledore?"
"No, and I prefer not to have any kind of conversation with him. His class has been extremely interesting, the best it's ever been, and he does keep his distance from me, I just prefer not to have any kind of conversations with his is all," Harry said.
McGonagall knew it was still a sore spot with Harry and decided not to dwell on it any more than she had to. "The Gryffindor /Slytherin match is coming up soon in a few days. Who are you pulling for?"
Harry had to smile. "Gryffindor, of course. Rumor has it that there's a fair bit of betting going on."
McGonagall's eyebrows lifted. "Do tell."
"Gryffindor's the heavy favorite, the odds are too good to even try to bet. I'd settle for Gryffindor kicking butt," Harry said.
"Are you planning to watch the game?" she asked.
Harry thought about that for a moment. "Not entirely sure as I do have a fair bit of work to do before the holidays. I really should take a bit of a time out from all of that."
"Oh please do. It's not good to overwork yourself. Did that once myself and it cost me. Never again," she stated. "Now dinner is about to start, so off with you."
Harry had to smile. "Yes, my lady."
He stood up and bowed before going out the door. McGonagall sighed and shook her head. If only he was twenty years older… He certainly was a gentleman.
Harry took a spot at the end of the Hufflepuff table and relaxed as a cup of tea popped up in front of him as Ron sat down in front of him.
"I really and truly love magic," Harry commented as Ron grinned.
A tall mug of hot chocolate popped up in front of Ron. "Really not a big fan of tea or coffee. Prefer this instead. It does warm the spirit and soul just like tea does."
Harry had to agree with that one. Hermione joined them a moment later and Harry related the conversation he had with McGonagall.
"So are you ready for the game?" Harry asked Ron.
Ron sighed. "I hope so. Angelina's been working us extremely hard. I swear that girl is so obsessed with Quidditch like Oliver Wood was. She's scary."
Hermione and Harry laughed at that.
"So who's running the betting pools?" Harry asked.
Ron leaned in closer. "Lee Jordan is. He's just as good at it as Freddy and Georgie is."
Hermione shook her head and sighed.
Harry grinned and turned back to Ron. "Heard the odds are extremely stacked against Slytherin so the betting's moved off in other directions."
"The blighter's taking bets on how long I'll stay on my broom!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry grinned at that. "Sounds like something Fred and George would do."
Neville joined them. "Talking about the big game?"
"We are," Harry said. "Why, what have you heard?"
Neville sighed. "Rumor is that they Slytherins are cooking up something special for the game. Don't know what it is."
"Knowing those slimy snakes I'm willing to bet it's gonna be something interesting," Ron said.
Harry had a sudden bad feeling it would involve Ron. "Well, we'll find out."
Dinner began showing up in front of people. Harry had decided on broccoli beef with rice so he picked up his chopsticks and dug in. Ron shook his head and turned to his dinner, a rack of ribs and dug in. Neville opted for a rich stew and enjoyed it. Hermione decided on a tuna stroganoff. The hall was quiet for a bit as people dug into their dinners. So far the evening had gotten off to a good start.
Up in the library Harry leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. The essay he had been working on for McGonagall was kicking him in the ass as the assignment he was supposed to write about was a tricky piece of transfiguration. Harry decided he would bring it up at the next meet and throw it out there to get opinions about it. They had been taking a few minutes in each meet to discuss various class assignments and making an effort to help others get past those sticking points. Harry was in a quiet corner of the library and he was extremely tired. He slowly nodded off as he tried to focus on the book in front of him. And then suddenly he found himself in that same hallway once more. It was dark this time, barely any light to see by. Harry saw the door once more and now he was seized by the desire to open that door to see what was inside. Just as he reached for it Madame Pince woke him up. Harry jumped up and looked at the older lady glaring at him.
"Sorry Lady Pince," Harry apologized.
He loaded up his backpack and picked up the book he had been reading. He put it back where he had gotten it and the lady nodded to him as if she approved of him putting the book back. Harry left the library and checked the hall to make sure it was clear. A grinning clown resembling Fred opened up his painting and Harry stepped through it to his flat. The dark figure stepped out from the shadows once Madame Pince walked away and snarled in anger. The Dark Lord would not like this.
Game Day. If there ever was just one thing that got people fired up, it was Quidditch, and today was no exception. The great hall was louder than ever. Harry joined Gryffindor house table and watched Ron pick at his breakfast.
"Come on Ron, Eat a little something, okay?" Harry nudged him.
Ron nibbled at a bit of sausage, making Harry sigh. "A little more, come on."
Ron managed to eat the whole thing and Harry knew that was as good as it was gonna get.
"Now listen up, Ron. Got some stuff to tell you," Harry said, leaning forward on his arms that were crossed in front of him.
A couple of the Gryffindors listened in.
"When you get out there, the only thing that should be on your mind is to track the Quaffle the best you can. Ignore everything. Ignore the silly Slytherins. Ignore the ones on the field. Ignore Malfoy. They are nothing. Block out everything that you hear. The only thing you need to hear is the sound of your own voice telling you to beat them, to win this thing, to stop them from throwing the Quaffle in through the rings. Don't let anything distract you. It's just you, the Quaffle, and whoever has it. You can do this. Keep saying that in your head. I can do this. I can win," Harry said.
Ron looked up at Harry and he saw the light of determination in his eyes and knew that he had gotten through. Ron nodded to Harry and Harry nodded back.
"Come on, Lion Boy. Time to kick butt," Harry grinned.
Ron grinned and made an attempt to growl like a lion. The Gryffindor table slowly cleared and people began walking to the stadium. Fred and George caught up with Harry.
"What you said…" Fred began
"To ickle Ronnikins…" George continued.
"Was spot on…" Fred said.
Angelina had caught up to them. "Thanks Potter."
Harry smiled and nodded. Perhaps coming out to the game had been the right thing.
Harry took a spot in the stands reserved for guests. Luna, Neville, Hermione, and Ginny joined him. It was kind of weird to him to be on this side of the game, and yet here he was. Harry turned his attention to the start of the game. Then the balls were released, and the game was on. The game set a whole new level for nasty. The Slytherins did everything they could to take down the Gryffindors, keeping Madame Hooch busy so she wouldn't see the other blatant fouls committed. Then a Slytherin grabbed the Quaffle and headed towards Ron. The Slytherins began to sing, taking Harry by surprise.
"Weasley is our King
He cannot save a thing
This is why all Slytherins sing
Weasley is our king"
And it went from there. They got louder as the Slytherin got closer. Harry shifted his attention to Ron, and saw him sitting on his broom looking completely relaxed. The Slytherin got close and then flung the Quaffle at one of the rings. Only then did Ron react, slapping the Quaffle away in time, making the Slytherins scream out in rage. Angelina grabbed it and took off before the Slytherins had a chance to react. Ron had a slight smile on his face. Harry leaned back in his seat with a smile. Ron would be alright. The lyrics would change from time to time as Slytherin tried to get a score but Ron managed to protect the rings every time no matter what the Slytherins tried. All of those summertime pickup games in his backyard had trained him well. Finally McLaggen managed to catch the Snitch inches from Malfoy's right hand, ending the game. The Slytherins exploded, screaming defiance and curses. Harry smiled as Ron was surrounded by his teammates. Harry left the stands and went down to the field to congratulate Ron and came up to what was a heated confrontation between George, Fred, and McLaggen and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Harry didn't catch all of the words but enough to figure out they were insulting Molly Weasley, the house they lived in, and the Weasley Family in general. People were trying to hold the three Gryffindors back but Fred got in the first blow and then all hell broke loose. McGonagall was right there in seconds and broke it up. Harry had managed to stop Ron from getting involved. Ron glared at him and Harry sighed, knowing this wasn't going to end well. Harry followed the Gryffindors back to the castle and then up to McGonagall's office.
"They were goaded into it, Miss McGonagall, by the insults heaped onto them," Harry began.
McGonagall glared at Harry, shutting him up. She turned back to Fred, George, and McLaggen.
"Do you three idiots know what you have done?" she snarled.
Silence.
"The three of you physically attacked those three Slytherins, giving them the opportunity to create even more trouble for us," McGonagall snarled.
Harry frowned. "Malfoy and his boyfriends insulted the Weasley Family and McLaggen's mother. There was no honor in what they said. Just because they lost the game."
McGonagall turned to Harry and before she could say anything, Umbridge spoke up from the doorway.
"Such a dreadful display of poor sportsmanship!" she declared. "Something must be done."
Harry could see a red color slowly rising in McGonagall's face and knew her Scottish temper was about to blow. He stepped back and motioned for the four others to do the same. Umbridge moved past Harry and she started fumbling around in her purse.
"Detentions will not solve this problem," she said. "So I came to help administer the punishments."
McGonagall stood up and got into Umbridge's face. "The Gryffindors are my house. These are my students. Therefore, I choose the punishments, not you."
Inner Harry was jumping up and down in joy at what McGonagall just did. She managed to put the Pink Toad in her place. Umbridge ignored what McGonagall said and continued to fumble around in her purse obviously looking for something.
"Oh, so sorry, but you are mistaken, Miss McGonagall. I do have the authority to hand out punishments according to Educational Decree Number Twenty Five that Minister Fudge sent me just this morning," Umbridge smiled sweetly. "Oh, here it is."
She removed a rolled up scroll and unrolled it while clearing her throat.
"The High Inquisitor will henceforth have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions, and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts, and the power to alter such punishments, sanctions, and removal of privileges as may have been ordered by other staff members. It is signed by our Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge himself. I will have it posted by the great hall entrance in time for lunch," she smirked. "So, now to the matter of my judgment. I think a lifetime ban is in order for these three. I will be confiscating their brooms immediately."
McLaggen stepped forward and got into her face. "You can't do that!"
Umbridge stood her ground. "I can and I just did, Mr. McLaggen." She raised the scroll in her hand. "This gives me the authority to do so."
McLaggen's eyes turned red with anger as he really got into her face. "I'm not done with you yet, bitch."
He walked to the door.
"Mr. McLaggen, your broom please," Umbridge beamed at him.
Harry blinked. Is this… woman even for real? McLaggen calls her out and she didn't even blink. McLaggen turned back to her and nodded. "Very well. You want my broom, you can have it."
He proceeded to break off little bits of it starting with the bristles and ending with the handle, dropping the pieces onto the floor as he did so. McGonagall, Fred, George, and Harry blinked in shock. Harry never knew it was possible to do that to a broom. McLaggen turned to McGonagall before leaving her office, and he simply nodded to her.
"I will be calling for a vote of no confidence against you," he said and stormed out.
Fred and George simply dropped their brooms on the floor and walked out. Harry glanced back and saw McGonagall sagging against her desk. He felt badly for her, but there wasn't anything he could do for her at the moment.
Harry sat at his desk that afternoon after having written a letter to Sirius about what he had witnessed. Miyamoto sat there and watched Harry for a few minutes.
[I have never witnessed anything like this before, anywhere, Harry, and I have been here for ages,] he said. [I am concerned as to how these events will affect things.]
Harry nodded slowly as he sipped his tea. [I am concerned as well. I am debating a course of action in response to today's action but I have no idea just what kind of reaction it will get me with the Wizengamot, so I have written the Dame Longbottom asking for advice as well as Sirius and Gring. Hopefully they can advise me on it.]
[What did you have in mind?] Miyamoto said.
Harry sighed. [To introduce a resolution condemning Umbridge and her actions.]
Miyamoto nodded as he crossed his arms and sat back. The room was silent as he considered Harry's words. Finally he leaned forward.
[I see two ways that could go in. The Wizengamot could act on it as a number of them do have their kids here. The second is they could reject it due to the fact that Umbridge and Fudge seem to be of one mind on this high Inquisitor business. They certainly have more than enough influence in the Wizengamot to get people to go their way. Dumbledore's actions of the last four years where you are concerned has raised more than enough concerns as to what is going on here. Fudge and Umbridge do see you as a threat to them, even though you gave him your word that you will never seek the office of minister. That right there would be enough for them to get people to reject your resolution,] Miyamoto told him.
Harry sighed. [That scenario has crossed my mind, Tomotsu. Damned if I do and damned if I don't.]
Harry stood up and moved into the living room where he sat down on the couch and put up his feet onto the coffee table. He examined the situation from every angle possible and came up with nothing. He closed his eyes and sighed. The holidays were coming up. He hoped the school break would give people a chance to relax and think about other things.
Monday morning. Harry went down to breakfast and found the hall buzzing with excitement. Harry sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione joined him.
"Have you seen the paper this morning?" Hermione asked Harry.
Harry sipped his coffee. "No I haven't. Why? What's happened?"
Ron handed him his copy. "Your copy got here before you did. Sorry, mate."
Harry nodded as he took it and opened it up to the front page. The articles on the front page made him pause. He lowered the paper and blinked at Ron and Hermione before reading the articles. The first one talked about Educational Decree Number Twenty Five. From there it led into the events at the Quidditch game Saturday morning. Then the announcement from Umbridge about the lifetime bans from Quidditch. Next up was the announcement of a billion galleons lawsuit from the McLaggen Family accusing Umbridge of attempting to sabotage Hogwarts and showing Slytherin House favoritism for not banning Draco Malfoy and his two friends from Quidditch, accusing Lucius Malfoy of conspiring with Umbridge and minister Fudge of attempting to interfere with Hogwarts, and then accusing Fudge of not stopping the so called 'High Inquisitor' of Hogwarts from causing emotional damage to staff and students with her so called 'Educational Decrees' and then calling for a vote of no confidence against McGonagall. Harry glanced up at the high table. McGonagall was in her place as usual. Umbridge was there but with one unusual exception. The two chairs on either side of her were empty. It was obvious now the staff hated her guts. Harry immediately reconsidered his resolution to the Wizengamot and instead decided on an article to the Daily Prophet in regards to governmental interference with a school.
This were about to get a lot worse.
Next Episode: Hagrid returns, Harry's Dream, Holiday Break