The High Inquisitor

15th of September, 1997.

Harry entered the DADA classroom on his own that day. Hermione and Neville were sure to follow soon enough though. The first thing he noticed was the presence of Dolores Umbridge. Her pink cardigan seemed to glow in the dark classroom. Harry settled down by a desk and pulled the book Severus had given him out of his bag.

Ten minutes later the classroom was full.

"Rise," Severus ordered them. "We will be heading into the practical classroom for today." He walked over to the door and opened it up. Harry listened to the other students talking as they walked through the door. They had all kinds of wild theories about what would happen. He doubted anyone of them was actually right. It wasn't as if Severus would curse them all.

"Split up in pairs," Severus said as he quickly counted his students. "Potter come up here,"

Harry moved through the crowd. No one was surprised really. Harry had been aiding the Professor in Defence for several years by now. Everyone knew he was ahead in the subject.

Harry drew his wand and faced Severus.

"I wish to see you cast all spells that you should have learnt by now," Severus said. "Any one of them could be part of the NEWT examination. You will perform them non-verbally. He turned to face Harry. "Disarming spell," he said.

Harry flicked his wand and Severus' own wand was ripped from his hand. Harry reached out and caught the wand before throwing it back to the Professor. Across the room, the students cast the spell. Some threw their partner back while others seemed to have some trouble getting the spell to work. Eventually, they spoke the words just to show that they could actually cast the spell.

"Before Christmas, I want to see everyone in this class capable of performing this spell without pushing their partner back. He pointed his wand at Harry and cast the spell verbally this time to demonstrate. Harry smirked as his wand flew out of his hand. He moved quickly and caught his own wand before Severus could grab it.

"Show off," Severus muttered. "Now can anyone tell me why there is or isn't a push back when you cast the spell?"

Draco raised his hand and was called on. "The amount of force placed into the disarming spell will result in a more or less forceful pushback."

Severus nodded and looked at Harry who was still holding his hand up. "Mr Potter," he said while ignoring Umbridge who seemed to want attention.

"This can be used to your advantage. Sometimes more force in a simple spell could knock your opponent out or even kill them if you aren't careful. Let's say you have them with their back to a cliff. Pushing them back could knock them off. Even simple spells can be dangerous if used incorrectly."

"This is why minimal force to achieve the desired result is important," Severus said. His eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance as Umbridge cleared her throat once more. "Now let's move on to the next spell."

Harry had to pull himself together as they continued. Umbridge was trying to interrupt Severus and he would not let her. By the end of the lesson she was red in the face and Severus looked like a cobra ready to strike.

Harry hung back as everyone else left which left him the perfect target for Umbridge. "So Mr Potter, Headboy. How do you feel about your defence against the dark arts lessons? Does it worry you to be placed in front of the class and told to demonstrate spells in front of everyone?" she asked.

"I've been assisting on and off with Defence for three years now ever since Alastor Moody taught. I'm more constant for my classmates than our teachers in a way. It doesn't bother me to be called upon. Professor Snape is a no-nonsense kind of teacher much like Professor McGonagall. He is an excellent teacher for both Potions and Defence since they are both subjects that require your full attention or people might get hurt," Harry said.

"So you don't feel bothered by the danger?" Umbridge asked. "Wouldn't it be better if such a dangerous subject was mostly theoretical? Most of us don't need to fight after all."

"We do not," Harry agreed. "But then where will we find Aurors, Curse Breakers, Healers, Warders and other professionals who are necessary for your society to function? We cannot simply learn all of the necessary magic after school. First of all, it makes it impossible to know if you have an affinity for that type of magic and second it means that you will force these professions to not only teach Defence but also figure out who would be suited for their professions with no guidelines to follow. The only class at school that you could possibly remove is Divination. It isn't really used for anything practical. You either are a seer or you are not. It isn't something you can learn. If you removed defence then you might as well hand magical Britain over to anyone else. A different country, a different species, anyone."

Umbridge moved away from Harry slightly with a somewhat thoughtful expression on her face. She hadn't thought of it like that. "So you are happy with the class?" she asked.

"Professor Snape is an excellent teacher and I hope he can help us get to where we need to be by the end of this school year. For several of us, Defence is pivotal to our future. In our class alone we have those who aspire to become both Curse-breakers and Aurors."

Umbridge nodded slowly. She was starting to see why Lord Malfoy had told her to tread carefully around Harry Potter. The boy wasn't necessarily as big a fan of Dumbledore as most people thought, and he could be reasoned with. It made a disgusting amount of sense that he was the Headboy. It left a bad taste in her mouth. She smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you, how about you run along now, Mr Potter."

Harry met Severus' eyes as he left. He could tell that the Professor didn't like the interruptions even if he had bulldozed over them.

17th of September, 1997.

Umbridge made enemies wherever she went. Most Professors acted much like Severus and ignored her entirely. In Hagrid's case, Harry was the reason for this since he ensured that Hagrid never paid attention to Umbridge when she was present. Most of these Professors didn't express their thoughts on her and her interruptions.

It was late Wednesday evening. Harry had returned from training with the Aurors only to find Hermione sitting alone in the common room. She was writing furiously and tufts of paper surrounded her.

"You look like you could use an outlet," Harry said.

Hermione looked up at Harry, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Hello Harry," she said. "How did it go?" She was clutching her quill so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"Tonk's is just as much of a klutz as always," Harry said. "She messed things up about five times before I could go in and direct her."

"Will you teach her not to fall all over herself?" Hermione asked with a strained smile.

"No," Harry said. "But she is capable of changing what she looks like. Most people turn their heads when a blond bombshell walks into the room. If she then falls all over herself people tend to try to help. I'm trying to teach her how to utilize the fact that she is going to fall over or bump into someone. Plan the unknown."

Hermione shook her head and smiled for real this time.

"What has you in such a state?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked down at the mess she had made and sighed. "It's Umbridge. She went ballistic at Professor Slughorn today. He didn't take it lying down and let me tell you he does not like her, but she is interrupting our classes. I'm trying to I don't know write to someone about it. This is our NEWT year. I can't have her interrupting our Professors every ten minutes with some stupid comment. I want to learn."

Harry sighed. "Don't change," he said. "Should I see if Lucius has time to talk to me? Maybe we can find a way to get rid of her."

"Please," Hermione begged.

Harry chuckled as he headed to the staircase. "Goodnight," he called back before heading upstairs. He brought out A Guide in the Dark and opened it up. Last lesson with Severus they had been discussing the many forms of Dark Arts that existed and why certain spells were considered dark. He found their conversations very interesting.

20th of September, 1997.

Early that Saturday morning Harry headed out towards the quidditch pitch with Kyle. They would be holding tryouts later that morning. For now, they wanted to check the conditions. "So you'll be leading this together with the younger players. You are the ones who will have to play with these guys," Harry said. "Chace, Ginny and I will be around, but the stage is yours."

Kyle took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. He really wanted to go professional after Hogwarts. Being the Captain would help with that. He knew that was one of the reasons Harry had picked him for the position. He greeted the rest of the team as they showed up. "So here we are again," he said. "We're recruiting for two positions this year. Both Chace and Ginny are going into their sixth year and need replacements. Our esteemed Captain plays his last year this year, but Tanya will take over after him. We all know that. Tanya is a great player. Harry has put this on us because he won't be here to play with these players."

"As such Chace, Ginny and I will be here to help if you need us, but we'll take a bit of a back seat in this," Harry said. "Good luck."

Ginny sat down next to Harry as they settled down to look at Kyle. "He is going to do well," she said.

"Kyle will be a good captain," Harry agreed.

"He has had a good role model," Chace said as he bumped Harry. "This is going to be interesting."

They watched as the hopefuls walked onto the pitch. Among them, Harry saw little Marilyn. Tetra was walking with her talking animatedly all the time. He smiled. The team would do Marilyn good if she could get on. It was probably a good thing he had distanced himself. He might actually be biased.

Kyle split the students up and started working with them. He spoke to everyone. Harry and Lucius had made sure that all the teams had decent brooms to work with. Not everyone could afford to buy their own after all. The Captain-to-be ran them all through the rounds. Tetra came wandering over to Harry. "I hope Marilyn makes it," she said as she sat down. "She was so happy after the first flight lesson."

"Which one is she?" Ginny asked.

"The blonde one with a green scrunchie," Tetra said. "It's her turn next I think."

"You're not interested in playing?" Chace asked and Tetra chuckled.

"I'm not really," she said. "And I'm in Hufflepuff so these are the wrong tryouts anyway."

"Oh," Chace said. He couldn't keep track of all the younger students. For a moment he wondered if it really was okay that she was even there during their tryouts, but he realised that Harry knew who she was and had probably recognised her from the start so there was no reason for him to worry about it.

Around midday, Harry took control and had the five remaining prospects sit down with the rest of the team for some lunch. Marilyn was still in the running. She sat down next to Tetra and smiled shyly at Harry. "They say you made the team in your first year," she said.

Harry nodded. "I did. They were kind of desperate to find someone after Charlie Weasley graduated and I was a natural flyer. They bent some rules a little and got me in," he said.

"Then you came up with the idea to find new players before the old players actually left," Marilyn said. "That seems smart, but isn't it a little unfair?"

"It could get unfair I guess. The problem is that to make this entirely fair we would have to hold tryouts for all positions every year. We wouldn't build any team spirit. We also wouldn't act like real teams do if we did that."

"Do they recruit before someone leaves?"

"I'm unsure, but if they don't they might want to look into doing it," Harry said. "It would give them a bit of time to figure out if that person is right for the team or not."

"So just because you pick someone now they might not stay on?" Tetra asked.

Ginny shrugged. "That is certainly possible," she said. "Hasn't happened yet though."

Kyle waved Harry over sometime later and the two of them walked away from the rest of the group. "Both Fairfax and Dodge are good prospects for chaser. I'm thinking Moore for keeper; she works better with the team than the other two. She's got a unique style and relies a lot on speed, but I think she could do well," Kyle said.

"You could always keep both chasers," Harry said. "We can figure out who works better with the team as we go."

Kyle nodded. "I want to run two more tests, but that is the current thought I have," he said. He returned to the group and put his players through some more tests. He liked both Fairfax and Dodge. They were good players. He would have to see how that went. Moore was a given. He was picking her as the next keeper. She would get as good as Chace if not better with some training. They had two years to train her. He was sure they could manage.

After they hit the showers they headed over to the all-house common room and sat down in a pile with both Marilyn and Tetra in the mix until everyone eventually headed off to join their other friends.

Harry headed out just before dinner. He slipped past the wards and disapparated. The grounds of Malfoy Manor were lush and green. The elf that had greeted Harry had told him that Lucius was outside by the stables. Harry smirked as he saw the aristocrat standing with a whip in one hand and with ridding clothes on. He equipped the earrings and walked up. "You seem to have a bit of a rascal on your hands," he said as he stopped next to Lucius. He knew that the elf would have announced him already so Lucius knew he was coming.

"He is new," Lucius said. "I was hoping to breed him, but I'm getting a feeling that the person who sold him to me lied."

"I would guess they won't live that down," Kato said.

Lucius offered a small smirk. "Now, now, nothing will happen to them," he said.

"Nothing that can be traced back to you at least," Kato said. "I know you too well. You're already plotting."

Lucius didn't comment. He took the coat he had been attempting to place over the horse's back and hung it over the fence to the pen. "Draco was quite happy with your little adventure this summer. He has told me he will certainly not be working in a dragon preserve, but that you were looking to make one for some unusual dragons. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help, will you." He placed his fists on his hips. "Would you like to go for a ride?" he asked. "You have ridden before, have you not?"

"A lot," Kato said. "I would love to."

"Perfect," Lucius said. He called an elf and told them to get his horse ready. "Can I make a recommendation?" he asked.

Kato smirked as he started walking towards the stallion that Lucius had been working on. "Calm my friend," he said softly in Tamrielic. "I am not here to hurt you. How about we go for a run?" He turned so they were facing the same direction before he started running. The stallion quickly picked up his pace and caught up.

Lucius watched as Kato ran next to the horse that he only moments before had problems getting near. He couldn't understand what Kato had said, but the language somehow spoke to him anyway. He mounted his own horse and followed them, slowly at first, but Kato was fast on his feet. Then suddenly, it happened so fast that Lucius wasn't quite sure how it happened, Kato was riding on the stallion with no saddle and no harness yet he seemed to be at home there. For a moment Lucius saw Kato as he had been in Skyrim with his armour on and his sword by his side.

Kato was chuckling when Lucius' vision cleared. "Enjoying the show?" he teased.

Lucius straightened and his horse started moving with barely a direction given. He looked like an elven lord with his long blonde hair. Kato could have seen Lucius being a damn Thalmor if he had been born on Nirn. He wasn't one though, and he had a better heart than any of the ones that Kato had ever met.

"I should have known that you would be able to do the impossible even with horses," Lucius said.

"I'll have to attribute this to Rhavaniel though," Kato said. "She is a woodland elf and they have a way with animals. She taught me what I know."

They rode around for a while speaking a little of this and that before heading inside. Kato had to call Winky over to get clean clothes. He would be returning late to Hogwarts so he should be fine there. Bellatrix and Narcissa were sitting together in the drawing room when Kato entered. He bowed deeply. "Lady Narcissa I hope to see your days worry-free," he greeted her.

Narcissa smiled. "You certainly work to make that happen, Kato dear," she said as she grabbed her sister's arm in a vice grip. "Draco has spoken very positively about your travels. I hope though that he will not take up quite so dangerous a profession himself."

"We can always hope," Kato said. "If he does I will be there to keep him safe. You have my word on that Narcissa." He settled down in an armchair. A soft hiss from the corridor outside had him turning his head. "What are you looking for, dear?" he hissed. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Bellatrix sitting up straighter as a big serpent made their way into the room. They looked around at the ladies before their yellow gaze landed on Kato. "You spoke?" she hissed.

"I spoke my Lady," Kato hissed. "You seem upset."

"My human has abandoned me with these fools. They do not know how to care for my splendour," the serpent hissed.

Narcissa watched Kato nervously. She had not been happy when it became known that the Dark Lord would be living with them on a semi-permanent basis. She had been even less thrilled to know that this serpent would be staying in her house. She knew that Nagini was poisonous and deadly at that. It made her uneasy.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Kato asked the snake. He rose from his chair and watched as the serpent slid over to him and came climbing up his body. She was heavy.

It was this scene that Lucius walked in on a moment later. He stopped at the door with an almost unreadable expression on his face. Maybe he was worried maybe he was scared. It was hard to tell.

"I will see you for dinner Lucius," Kato said. "Lady Nagini is unhappy about her living arrangements. I'm going to try to fix it for her."

"Of course," Lucius said. He certainly wasn't going to stop Kato from making the twelve-foot snake he had living in his house happy.

"The Dark Lord will hear of this," Bellatrix said. She grinned at Lucius. "You allow this man to touch his familiar. He will not be happy."

"Or he will be very happy that someone made sure that Nagini wasn't displeased while he was away," Lucius said calmly.

"I was unaware that he could speak parseltongue," Narcissa said.

Lucius nodded slowly. "I have heard him speak it before, but I can't say that I have been thinking about it much," he said. "The fact that he can speak to dragons always seems to trump anything else."

Thankfully, Bellatrix wasn't present for dinner. She knew that the Dark Lord wanted to stay on Kato's good side for some strange reason. He was just a brat with an attitude who needed to be taken down a peg as far as she was concerned. She would happily do it too if they would just let her. Thankfully, Narcissa had convinced her sister that such actions would not be appreciated so she had chosen to retire rather than spend more time near the brat.

Kato joined the Malfoys a short time later, without Nagini, and sat down with them to eat. At first, they kept the conversation light-hearted. They spoke about Draco and their plans for the near future. After the main course had been consumed however and they were seated with their drink of choice, the conversation turned more dire. A ward was erected to make sure they could not be overheard.

"Is Nagini pleased now?" Lucius asked.

Kato nodded slowly as he considered what to say. "She just wanted a comfortable place to rest and the right food. I spoke to one of the elves and they fixed it without issue." He paused for a long while. "She is one of the objects that needs to be dealt with if we are to succeed," he said.

"You are unhappy about that," Lucius commented.

"She is a living being. I think that she might even have been human at some point. I don't like the idea of killing her because of something he has done to her."

"But you will if you have to?" Narcissa asked.

Kato smiled sadly at her. "Yes, if there is no other way I will. I can't risk everyone else on one being. It might be wrong to kill her, but it would be worse to hesitate and see others suffer because of it," he said. Then he shrugged. "That is not why I came here, however." He met Lucius' gaze. "Can something be done about Dolores Umbridge or do I have to do it myself?"

"When the Minister expressed worry about Dumbledore I suggested he send someone to evaluate the school," Lucius said. "I didn't think he would send his undersecretary. She is a vile woman, always has been."

"I remember how she tried to put Love potions in the drinks of powerful and rich boys at school," Narcissa said. "Thankfully, she never managed to get anywhere with that."

Lucius nodded. He had vague memories of something of the sort as well thinking back. "Is she a problem?" he asked.

"She keeps interrupting class. Some Professors like McGonagall and Snape just ignore her and keep running the class as if she wasn't there, but most of the others are quite bothered by her. It makes it hard for the students to focus."

Lucius sighed. He had told Cornelius to send someone discreet. Umbridge was anything but, and it would come to haunt him. "I'm not sure there is much I can do," he said.

"What if her behaviour started to become erratic and unstable? Could you convince the Minister to switch her out in that case?" Kato asked.

Lucius considered it for a moment. If he spun it right and made sure that Cornelius could lay all the blame on Umbridge then it should work. "That is a possibility," he said. "Do I want to know how you will be achieving this?"

Kato grinned mischievously. "Oh, I don't think so," he said. "Don't worry though. No one will get hurt. I am the Headboy after all." He tried to look saint-like but the remnant of the grin still lingered, completely ruining the look.

Lucius shook his head slowly he guessed he was better off not knowing for now. He had no idea what Kato might do with his skills he could probably drive Umbridge mad.