Chapter 40 – Quid Pro Quo

The rest of the Easter holiday after the students were allowed back outside of the Common Rooms passed by in much the same chaotic way, with various different groups of students embarking on myriad forms of protest and disobedience. Where possible, Harry turned a blind eye, going far enough to completely ignore several troublemakers as they carried out their little acts of destruction.

After all, Harry was totally on board with all of it. The Inquisition needed to be shown that they didn't control everything, that there were still people in the castle who just didn't care about Umbridge and her authority. And it was working.

Especially since most of the teachers had totally bowed out of discipline. It hadn't come to pitched battles in the halls just yet, but Harry reckoned that if the Inquisition didn't budge soon, it would. Some of the fifth years were getting increasingly militant about… well… just about everything, and not even the threat of being forced out before NEWTs was enough for some of them.

But there were only so many days in the Easter holiday, and soon enough it was over. It felt like it hadn't happened at all, but Harry supposed that was what happened when half of it was spent on lockdown and the other half on increased prefect duties thanks to a school-wide protest. Harry had thought that things would go more or less back to normal once the holiday had ended, but it didn't.

Not even close.

In lessons, everyone seemed to be happy enough to behave and get on with everything they were supposed to be doing. That made sense to Harry as nobody wanted to get on the teachers' bad sides as well as the Inquisition's, especially since the teachers were steadfastly refusing to actually do anything to help the Inquisition. The swamp remained exactly where it was outside of Umbridge's office, and as Dumbledore's office was still refusing her entry, Umbridge remained camped out in the Inquisition lounge.

All of that was great, but there was an undeniable tension during lessons especially as the Inquisitors were still attending them. And, of course, Umbridge's interviews were still be conducted, albeit in a completely different location to usual. Harry hadn't been called in again; he assumed that Umbridge felt she had everything she needed to have from Harry but couldn't be sure. Diggory and Thakkar hadn't outright said that prefects were to ignore infractions, especially as they related to anti-Inquisition protests, but it had been heavily implied. Not that Harry needed the push, but he supposed prefects like Hermione might otherwise have been a bit more zealous.

In any case, that meant Harry could knuckle down and get some work done.

Or that's what would have happened if the protests hadn't spread to every last place in the castle, including the library. Harry supposed he could have done his work in the Common Room, but everyone who wanted to avoid the protests was there, so it wasn't especially conducive to hard work or relaxation. That was especially difficult for Harry because as a prefect – and with Umbridge's threat of a Ministry investigation into those fabricated letters looming overheard – Harry was supposed to do something whenever he saw anyone breaking any rules.

He could get away without it most of the time, but in front of everyone at the library… perhaps not. It would be skirting the edge of what Umbridge considered acceptable, anyway.

Harry had considered the Chamber of Secrets which was, after all, a completely secret location known only to a select few and accessible only to Harry. He'd got halfway there one afternoon when he realised that it was a no go – many of the library books he needed to reference were enchanted so that they couldn't be taken outside of the school, and Harry didn't want to find out whether the enchantments considered the Chamber part of the school or not.

Too risky.

So Harry had been forced to simply try to do as much as he could in the Common Room and hope for the best. He wouldn't have been quite so studious if he didn't have the third and final alchemical work as the climax to his exams, but as the Elixir of Evocation was an especially big one – with a reward to match – Harry felt like he needed to really put the work in. Since he knew that Hermione and Theodore would be going at it full speed, and he didn't want to fall behind.

Not behind Theodore, anyway, and Hermione was insufferable when she outperformed him at alchemy. Although Harry supposed that wasn't too different from when Harry outperformed her at anything, so perhaps that didn't matter. But all that meant that Harry could only get snatches of his work done.

As prepared as Harry had been to settle in for the long haul, everything came to a head only a week after the resumption of lessons. Tuesday mornings was a double session of Charms with Flitwick followed by yet another double session of Arithmancy with Vector. Not the worst combination of lessons – that was Wednesday morning, with back to back doubles in Ancient Runes and Herbology – but it was a bit more of a slog than Harry would have liked.

Especially as the corridors to and from lessons looked more like something out of Peeves's fevered dreams than a school.

"Down with Umbridge! Fuck the Inquisition!" screamed one student as she ran past Harry and Daphne, her wand in hand streaming colourful bubbles as she went. "We will not be silenced!"

"Ugh," Daphne said. "I've got bubbles all over my hair now. Honestly, I'm all for a bit of protest but bubbles? In my hair? No, thank you!"

"I'm just after somewhere quiet to go to do my alchemy research," Harry said. "So far, nowhere's good." Harry sighed. Just up ahead was a big group of students camped out in the middle of the corridor blocking the path. He could hear music, and see dancing, so it was definitely one of the musical sit ins.

Which was great when Harry had time to stand and watch… less so when Vector was going over likely OWL topics in the run up to exams.

"Oh, we're going to be late," Daphne said as they approached the blockage in the corridor. "I love the music—really, I do, it's actually really good and it's lovely to hear them all play—but I don't want to miss what Vector's saying about the OWL."

"Me either," Harry said. He felt churlish for even thinking of it, especially since he had been trying to foment exactly the kind of rebellion against Umbridge that had actually happened… but it was becoming increasingly inconvenient for him. For everyone, really, although that was sort of the point.

Ah, well, Harry thought to himself. They do say to be careful what you wish for…

As Harry got closer, he realised that it wasn't another musical sit in. There was music, yes, but it was an accompaniment to something else. One of the fifth years – a girl Harry only knew from reputation, Guinevere Grimhallow, the sister or cousin of Grimhallow in Alchemy with Harry – was stood atop a little platform delivering a speech. Harry focused on it over the music, let the music fade in his mind as he and Daphne walked closer to the mass of students.

"…it's time we did something about the Inquisition!" Grimhallow was saying. "We've all been at it these past weeks—you've done good work, all of you, you should be proud—but now is the time to really kick it up a notch. We've got them scared, see. And what do you do when your enemy is running scared? Do you let them?"

Grimhallow paused. By then, Harry was close enough to see her properly. She held up one hand, finger outstretched. She wasn't wearing her school uniform. Instead she wore a kind of half-robe atop leather trousers, just witchy enough to not count as mugglewear. It was almost a leather coat, but Harry thought it was probably dragonhide. It shimmered like dragonhide, anyway, and Harry had never seen leather with quite that depth of colour.

She brought her hand down.

"No! No, you bloody don't! You go in and you get your victory!" Grimhallow said. "So that's what we've got to do with the Inquisition. They say the devil always gets his due, yeah? Why don't we make what's due a little more pleasant for us, hey? Umbridge and her poxy Inquisitors—they need to get what's coming to them. And do you know who's going to give it to them?"

A ripple through the crowd of students as they murmured to themselves and each other. The implication was clear: the students were going to give the Inquisition their comeuppance, above and beyond that which had already been meted out. Grimhallow herself – and whatever friends she had in on her plan. That was easy enough to work out that Harry thought even Vince and Greg could have managed it.

"I am!" Grimhallow said. "Well, me and a few friends—and all of you if you're brave enough. See, we've been working hard this past week to figure out something spectacular, something that'll really get the Inquisition going." She made a big show of tapping at the little platform with her foot. "See, this isn't just a convenient little stage for me to talk to you all. We've got a sneaky little nasty in there, all ready for Umbridge and that prick, Arlecchino. And it's not the only one—just the nearest."

As much as Harry wanted the Inquisition – and specifically Umbridge and Arlecchino – to get a nice little fright, he wasn't at all sure what Grimhallow and her friends had planned was the right sort of thing. A 'sneaky little nasty' was not only vague, it was rather ominous as well. That it was contained within a box, and that there were several more of them, only served to worry Harry further.

He looked over at Daphne, and saw that she seemed concerned, too.

"I'm not sure I like where this is going," Harry whispered to her. The crowd seemed to enjoy the mystique of it all, but Harry was wondering just what exactly Grimhallow had planned.

"Neither do I," Daphne said. "Millie was telling me that some of the fifth years in Creature Club were sneaking about planning something all hush-hush. Do you think…?"

Creature Club handled all sorts of creatures, including several that were considered too dangerous for formal Magizoology lessons. Those were only supposed to be handled by a select group of students hand-picked by Hagrid and Grubbly-Plank, but in the chaos… well, Harry wasn't sure all of the rules were being followed. Not anymore.

"Even if they didn't get it from there," Harry decided to say, "they've definitely got something in that box. And other ones as well." He shrugged. "Hard to say whether it's a creature or not. Could be fireworks, I suppose, or experimental dungbombs, or… anything, really."

"Should we do something about it?" Daphne asked. "It's not that I don't agree with the why, but… well… it just seems like it might be a step too far. If it's a creature they could be charged with assault—and that's a proper crime and everything. And it's not like the Grimhallows are all that important a family either. She'd never get away with it."

Harry wasn't overly concerned with Grimhallow's potential punishment. Whatever happened would have been the product of her own actions, after all. But the kind of escalation of scale and severity in the protests that she and her friends represented worried him greatly. Thus far the Inquisition had been unable – or more likely unwilling – to properly punish offenders as it was a massive proportion of all the students. But something like what Grimhallow and her friends had planned would likely tip the scales.

"The thing is," Harry said, "I'm not sure we could do anything about it. Most of the fifth years won't listen to third year prefects normally—doubt they're about to now with everything kicking off. And the teachers… if they know, they're probably bound to go to the Inquisition with it. You know, those stupid rules. And there's no way I'm going to the Inquisition with this one."

Even though, given that Umbridge had a wad of falsified letters implicating him in treasonous activities, he probably should. But it was the principle of the thing, and Harry didn't want to give in to Umbridge until the very last moment – and never if he could get away with it. But even so, Grimhallow's plan seemed incredibly unwise for a multitude of reasons.

Daphne sighed.

"I know. It's not that I don't agree, but—it's just that—it feels wrong to let something like this go, doesn't it?"

Harry supposed that if he knew exactly what Grimhallow and her friends were planning he'd feel less conflicted about letting it go ahead. If they'd smuggled in Nifflers or something along those lines, the result would be chaotic but largely benign. But there were a great many things that could fit in a box like the one on which Grimhallow stood, and many of them were far more dangerous than Nifflers.

"I know what you mean," Harry said, "but I think we should just sit this one out." As much as he didn't want the Inquisition to get serious about punishments, he didn't want to intervene on its behalf until Umbridge pushed him to. Whatever Grimhallow was up to was her business… at least until it became Umbridge's.

"So we just… walk past like nothing at all is happening and go to Arithmancy?" Daphne asked. She sounded unsure, which was Daphne all over. She wouldn't want to do something like that at all, although she would if Harry insisted. Despite her long list of different vandalisms and secret infractions against the Inquisition she took her job as a prefect seriously. The very idea of letting something potentially dangerous happen with her knowledge would rankle. "We're not even going to watch just to make sure someone is looking out?"

Harry scanned the crowd. If there were any other prefects standing there he knew Daphne would agree to leaving without any fuss at all, as she could consider that her job was being done by someone else. Otherwise, she'd feel guilty. But as Harry looked through the crowd he realised that none of the other prefects were in attendance. There weren't even any Inquisitorial Squad, although perhaps they'd already run off to find an Inquisitor.

Bollocks, Harry thought. There was next to no way Daphne would go with him if he just left, and Harry wasn't about to leave her there on her own.

Harry sighed.

"There's no one," he said. "Just us. So… I reckon I'll just ask her nicely what's in the box. Then we can decide what to do…?"

Daphne chewed on her lip.

"Mm… well… alright," she said. "I'll back you up if anything gets…" she trailed off, looking at the crowd of raucous students.

"Oi! Grimhallow!" Harry shouted, but it was lost over the crowd. So he augmented his voice a little and tried again. "Oi! Grimhallow! What's in the box, then?"

Grimhallow, stood atop her little box, scanned through the crowd for the source of the voice, and when she saw it was Harry, grinned.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Potter?" she said. "You'll find out soon enough when we let it out, won't you?"

Harry blinked.

"Well… yeah," he said. "That's why I asked. It's not dangerous, is it? Only, there's a load of first years about, and…"

"Ooh, perfect prefect Potter!" mocked Grimhallow. "Scared for all the firsties! Don't get your knickers in a twist, it'll all be fine."

Some in the crowd laughed, but others seemed to consider for the first time that perhaps there was actually something dangerous and worrying about whatever it was Grimhallow had in her box. And that was good. If the crowd turned on her Harry reckoned she'd just leave.

Grimhallow didn't stop, though.

"If you're braver than Harry Potter over there," she continued, "come with me—help me deliver this to Umbridge's office! We can all have a good laugh!"

That seemed to perk up the crowd once again, and Harry thought it was over. He could try again, he supposed, but next to the promise of something embarrassing for Umbridge, his calls for restraint were useless. He looked over to Daphne.

"I think this is the best we can do," he said. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a sudden boom from behind her.

"This is outrageous!" called Inquisitor Vipera, brandishing her wand and advancing on the group with several other Inquisitors. "Disperse at once! The corridors are for traversing, not for—not for—" She seemed at a loss for words as to what, exactly, was happening. "Whatever this is!"

"That plan's scuppered!" said Grimhallow. She stepped down from her box. "FUCK THE INQUISITION!" She fled, but not before jabbing her wand at the box. At Grimhallow's words the crowd dispersed, and half a dozen jarveys came flying out of the box.

At the sight of the jarveys – mid-sized ferrety things with a penchant for swearing – Harry relaxed a bit. Jarveys were annoying and vulgar, but they were rarely dangerous and even the most vicious of them only caused minor wounds.

"Shall we go?" Harry said to Daphne, but she shook her had and nodded towards the Inquisitors. Vipera had seen Harry and Daphne, and although most of the rest of the crowd was gone, it seemed she only had eyes for the pair of them.

The jarveys went scampering through the rest of the castle while a handful of Inquisitors followed.

"Potter, Greengrass," Vipera said. "What was going on here?"

Bollocks, thought Harry, again.

"We were trying to get to Arithmancy, Inquisitor," Daphne said, "but the way was blocked off by… by all those students." She paused. "I think they might have been protesting the Inquisition."

Vipera sighed.

"Of course they were, Greengrass!" she snapped. "It's what you're all bloody doing! But what specifically was happening?"

Daphne frowned and got the look on her face which Harry knew meant she was about to say something cross. Which still wouldn't have been rude enough to get her into trouble, Daphne being Daphne, but Harry didn't want to push it.

"One of the fifth years had a box full of jarveys," Harry interrupted before Daphne could speak. "She was making a big show of it. Wanted to release them in Um—the High Inquisitor's office."

"And you did nothing to stop her?" Vipera said.

Harry shrugged.

"I asked her what she was planning and whether it was dangerous, but she wouldn't say," Harry said. He paused. "She said there were other boxes, though. So… it wasn't just her…"

Vipera grimaced.

"More boxes? Why didn't you—ugh," she said. She turned to leave, then stopped. "Get to—to Ancient Runes or whatever it was!" she said before flouncing off.

"It was Arithmancy!" Daphne called after her.

That was as close to being rude as Daphne got to teachers and staff members, so Harry supposed she really was annoyed.

"Come on," Harry said. "We actually had better get to Arithmancy… not that there's that long left…"

Harry's last lesson of that day was Potions, which always went by without a hitch. Probably because students were afraid of Snape, but it worked out well because Potions was one of the more dangerous lessons and Harry didn't want to end up with jarveys exploding his potion or something like that. All of that meant that Snape had largely avoided all of the unpleasantness surrounding the students' protests and rebellions.

Harry didn't think Snape had even bothered ascending to the upper levels of the castle since the Easter holiday had ended, which was… well, fair enough even if it wasn't the bravest thing he could have done.

"…I will require your essays in our next session together," Snape was saying at the end of the lesson, assigning the class homework. Harry wrote down the instructions dutifully, keen not to get in trouble with Snape. Although their occlumency lessons had been going very well – Snape had even started spacing them out further – Harry didn't want to annoy the ornery potions master if he could avoid it. "They are to be no longer than two feet—anyone who goes over this will be marked only on what comes before the two foot mark. Is that clear?"

Silence.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor Snape," said the class in unison eventually.

"Good," Snape said. He opened his mouth to speak again, but his classroom door flung open and hit the dungeon wall.

"I'm here to collect Potter," said Inquisitor Vipera without preamble. She had Inquisitor Weekes with her. "The High Inquisitor wants to see him."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, has Potter done this time?" asked Snape, looking back and forth between Vipera and Harry.

"Nothing," Harry said immediately.

"He's not in trouble," said Vipera after a moment's hesitation. "But the Inquisitor wishes to speak with him. Now."

"Er… right," Harry said. He gathered his things together but lingered in his seat for permission from Snape first.

Snape waved a hand idly, as if the idea of Harry leaving was of no concern at all. Which was totally untrue, as Snape hated having his authority questioned in any way. So Harry got up and left, ignoring the whispers from the rest of the class.

I wish she could have just waited until I was already on my own, Harry thought to himself as he walked back through the castle with Vipera and Weekes. He didn't try holding a conversation. Weekes was a poor conversationalist and Vipera seemed annoyed, so it felt like a bad time to push.

So the three of them walked through the castle in silence. Students, ghosts, and various members of staff walked past them, some even making poorly-concealed comments about Harry's presence. But they didn't run afoul of any major protests against the Inquisition, something for which Harry was inordinately glad. There was the usual bits and pieces of graffiti, and several students shouted rude things at the Inquisitors, but there were no jarveys at the very least.

"This isn't the way to Um—the High Inquisitor's office," Harry said once he realised they were headed elsewhere.

"The High Inquisitor's office is still—still—inconvenient to use," Vipera said. "So she is using the Inquisition Lounge still."

Ah, right, Harry thought. The swamp. Flitwick and the rest of the Charms department had 'tried and failed' to remove the swamp, and even McGonagall and the rest of the Transfiguration department had had a go. Thus far, all the teachers had declared great difficulty in removing even the most minor aspects of it.

They arrived outside of the Inquisition Lounge not long after that. The corridor leading to it hadn't been spared vandalism either, featuring several quite large messages scrawled across its walls, but nothing quite so grand as anything the Weasley twins had managed.

Vipera knocked hard on the door.

"You may enter," Umbridge said from within.

Vipera opened the door and ushered Harry inside.

"Potter, ma'am," Vipera said, "as requested."

"Thank you, my dear," Umbridge said. "You may leave us."

Vipera left without complaint, leaving Harry inside the lounge.

He'd never been inside before. What he saw wasn't anything at all interesting – it was even a little disappointing. It was just a normal sort of staff room, something which easily could have been found at his muggle school, even. Well, except for the magic mirror commenting on his entrance, he supposed, or the overly large fireplace… A desk had been placed into the room which was clearly not usually there, as some of the other bits of furniture had been awkwardly placed around it.

But even with Umbridge using it as her office, Harry didn't think it had changed overly much. There were no kittens on the walls, after all, just the normal sorts of portraits and paintings which could be found all over Hogwarts.

"Please, have a sit, Harry, dear," Umbridge said, gesturing to a chair in front of her desk. "Would you like some tea? It's jasmine! Or perhaps you'd like a piece of cake—I baked this myself just this morning!"

Harry hesitated. The tea sounded awful, but the cake did look nice. And as Harry wasn't worried about it being dosed with Veritaserum, perhaps he could give it a try.

"No tea, thank you, High Inquisitor, but I will try some cake," Harry said as he sat down. He took a piece of the cake. He could afford to appear comfortable and at ease.

Harry nibbled at the cake. It was actually quite good. Not nearly as nice as what the elves put out, but of a quality he wouldn't have expected from Umbridge. Perhaps she did have some talents.

"How have you been coping with all the recent… fuss?" asked Umbridge while Harry was chewing on the cake. "It hasn't been too inconvenient for you, has it? You are after all about to sit your OWLs."

As pleased as Harry was that the castle had kicked off into a full blown rebellion, he couldn't say it hadn't been annoying. At least in parts. So he could draw upon that to tell Umbridge the truth, even if some of the protests had been quite exciting.

"It's been frustrating," Harry said. "Especially when I've wanted to do some revision, or work on my alchemical projects…"

"I bet it has," said Umbridge, her tone soothing. "It's been such a problem for all of the well-behaved students in the castle! And, of course, it's been a problem for us here at the Inquisition, too. We have of course tried not to enflame matters any further and so have been, shall I say, practicing a lighter touch than usual." She sighed. "But this hasn't worked."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said.

"We endure," said Umbridge with a smile. "But given the situation in the castle I had a thought! You are quite well-liked among your classmates, are you not? And, well, with your particular status… I had thought—and this only if you are comfortable with it—that it might be helpful if you could… perhaps… intervene on the Inquisition's behalf?"

There it is, Harry thought. The favour Umbridge wanted from him. The first of many, maybe. And Harry couldn't refuse. He could do his part half-heartedly, Harry supposed, but that would only be possible depending on what Umbridge wanted him to do.

"I can try to do something," Harry said carefully, "but I'm not sure anyone would listen to me. I've got some friends, but honestly I don't think that—"

"I have thought long on this," Umbridge said, "and I have concluded that it would be a good idea for you to speak in front of the assembled school and ask that everyone… behaves. Tonight, at dinner, perhaps," Umbridge continued.

That night. That night at dinner. Harry didn't relish the thought of that at all, but if it was what Umbridge had her heart set on, it was what was going to happen regardless. And what could he even say? He doubted anyone would listen to him, even if he said something spectacular. The Inquisition had brought the protests on itself, and Harry doubted anyone was prepared to stop just yet.

And certainly not just because Harry had asked that they 'behave', as Umbridge had suggested. That seemed like a recipe for Harry getting laughed right out of the Great Hall.

Is there any way I can salvage this? Harry wondered. Umbridge was dead set on Harry doing or saying something. So Harry didn't think he could persuade her otherwise. But Harry simply didn't think people were prepared to stand down. Quite apart from the fact that most people were still angry, everyone would be afraid of punishments once the immediate fuss had died down.

Punishments that involved the rack, Stinging Jinxes, and even the blood quill. Perhaps even referral to the Ministry, depending on what students had been caught doing – Harry certainly assumed the Inquisition had some choice punishments lined up for people like Grimhallow and her friends.

Although there hadn't been any punishments for the protests so far, Harry doubted Umbridge was prepared to let that go on. The only reason it hadn't happened already was because at least half the students in the school were up to something. But once everything had calmed down Harry assumed Umbridge and her Inquisitors would seek to punish at least some of the protestors.

"If you think that's what's best," Harry offered, hesitant, "but I'm really not sure what I could even say…"

"You shan't be the only student called upon to speak," Umbridge continued. "I have asked Mr Diggory and Ms Thakkar to say a few words as well. They have both suggested that they might discuss the upcoming OWLs and NEWTs, and how the current environment in the castle is not especially conducive to learning. The prefects—and my Inquisitorial Squad—are all overworked by all this fuss, and being students as well, do not have nearly enough time to devote to their studies! Perhaps this is something you can mention as well?"

The problem is that nobody gives a fuck about the Inquisitorial Squad or the prefects, Harry thought to himself. Harry knew that if he dared suggest the protests were causing him difficulty studying people would just say to stop doing his prefect work. 'Let Umbridge do it herself' had become something of a war cry.

And people weren't mucking about in lessons either, so he couldn't say anything about that. The only thing Harry could think of that anyone was actually missing were the extracurricular clubs and activities, all of which had been cancelled for the during of the protests. Harry knew that he himself wanted Flitwick's opinion on his progress in duelling, and he'd spoken with some others from Flight Club who wanted to get more hazard practise in.

But none of that was happening.

"Just a thought," Harry said, "but what about putting the clubs and activities and stuff back on? For everyone to stop all of this they're going to want to know it's not going to be for nothing… and maybe a show of good will will be helpful?" Harry tried to make it sound like a question. He knew that the only way anyone would agree to stop the protests was for them to gain some concessions. A roll-back of some of the new rules, perhaps, and a statement of apology.

Both things he didn't think Umbridge was at all prepared to concede.

"I could say that if all the protests stop," Harry carried on, a bit firmer this time, "then things will go back to normal. That way, people will think they've got something out of it so they'll be happy to stop—"

"We are not interested in negotiating, Harry dear," Umbridge said. "You must understand, we—the Ministry—does not negotiate with terr—miscreants and ne'er-do-wells," Umbridge said, correcting herself mid-word.

Terrorists. Harry fought the urge to laugh. He supposed from a certain perspective Umbridge wasn't wrong, but… well… the moniker felt a little extreme. Especially since Umbridge was a terror in her own right.

Granted, some of the fifth years had been growing increasingly radical, and the although the group occupying the Charms corridor had moved to the Music Alcove, the occupation was still going strong. It was just a bit more musical. But thus far no one had done anything especially terrible, even if Harry knew there were dangerous plans being made.

Contingencies, the plotters had called them. Although not to Harry's face – he'd just taken to listening in where he could find the time.

"This last intervention is the final thing we are trying before the aurors must be called in, you see," Umbridge said. "It would be regrettable for things to get so far, but…" Umbridge sighed, that fake little sigh she did when she wanted to seem approachable and relatable. "What must be done must be done. You understand, of course. You're a clever young man."

That's a bluff, Harry realised immediately. Umbridge may have wanted to bring in the aurors, but she hadn't, and Harry didn't think that decision had anything at all to do with her restraint. She likely wasn't allowed. Or perhaps she hadn't even asked, for fear of the situation being so out of control that it reflected too poorly on her management.

But how can I get something out of this? Harry wondered. He knew what he wanted: a loosening of the rules, an amnesty for everyone involved in the protests, and a return to something much more normal. An end to the physical punishments would be nice, but Harry didn't think he could swing that. To Harry, those conditions seemed like the only things that would end the protests without actual violence.

The problem was that Umbridge needed to agree to such terms.

Flattery, perhaps? Umbridge was susceptible to it. Harry had watched Umbridge go gooey eyed and weak-kneed at a few choice words from Lockhart. If Harry could do something similar – but without the flirting – maybe he could get what he needed.

"Of course I understand, High Inquisitor," Harry said, conciliatory. "But I just wonder… So far, punishment hasn't changed anything. I don't think people are prepared to listen to that—not unless the aurors really do come in. And if it gets that far… that won't look very good. I know you wouldn't let it get there unless it was really necessary—you're much too clever to do anything that doesn't need to be done—but it seems to me that avoiding the aurors would be a really good idea. You've got so much more experience than I do in, well, everything so I know you know what you're doing—but it feels like to me like the only way the protests are going to stop is if the protestors think they've won. At least, a little bit."

Harry shrugged.

"I'm not saying you should, you know, roll back all the rules and give out special awards or anything like that," he continued, "just maybe… I don't know, offer an amnesty for stuff done during the protests, maybe let people hang out in groups again."

"Ah, you are such a kind-hearted young man," Umbridge said, "but I am not sure that such a thing is the right course of action. You see, Harry, dear, it does not do to reward bad behaviour—that will only result in more bad behaviour in the future. While it was a good idea and I commend you on your initiative, I do not think it is something we should be doing."

"I understand, High Inquisitor," Harry said. "I just thought that it would be good to offer them that because clubs and stuff are going to come back anyway once everything calms down. So it's not like the Inquisition would have been giving anything away. And with an amnesty…" Harry said, and then he made an exaggerated pause. A show of hesitation. "Well, I know I haven't been involved—or any of my friends since we all support the Inquisition—but there's been so many people in the protests that I don't think they can really all be… er… punished anyway. So the Inquisition won't be giving anything away but everyone will think they've got something good."

Harry smiled at Umbridge.

"But you obviously know better than I do—you've been doing this sort of thing for so long. So if you really don't think that would work… I'll get up and say something else, and then you can bring the aurors in. I'm sure they'll be able to sort everything out really quickly."

Harry was certain Umbridge didn't want to call in the aurors. Even if Fudge agreed to send them in – which Harry thought was far from assured – the very fact that Umbridge had needed them to keep order in the castle was such a poor reflection of her that she'd never want to do it. Or only in the most dire of circumstances, which Harry didn't think the school had quite reached. After all, Umbridge had an army of Inquisitors at her beck and call and an infinite capacity to pass Education Decrees – if she couldn't maintain order at a school with all that, she would look pretty useless to those in power.

Harry glanced up at Umbridge, checking over her expression for any positive signs. She certainly looked as if she were considering his words. Whether or not she'd go for it, though…

"There is merit in your suggestion, I suppose," Umbridge said after a few moments. "It would do well to appear magnanimous—an offer of something which was to be given anyway could perhaps go a long way… Hmm…" She tapped on the edge of her desk. "What would you say? I would leave the announcement to you, my dear—I think it would be better received coming from a student. It would, of course, also boost your own reputation amongst your peers—something which we could both use to our benefit. Mm?"

Music to my ears, Harry thought. It seemed as if Umbridge truly believed – or perhaps just hoped – that Harry was really on her side. Well, she could believe that for as long as Harry needed her to. And possibly longer, if he could see any benefit to it.

"I could maybe say something like…" Harry began, thinking. "Something like this: 'Although I've supported the Inquisition and its aims, after watching the protests I realised that some of the rules have been a bit much. I was convinced by some of the points people were making, but everything has just got really out of hand. Some of the things happening have been really dangerous. So I decided to go see the High Inquisitor.'" Harry paused. "And then I'd say something about, you know, how you agreed to an amnesty and clubs coming back if people agreed to stop the protests. Because, er, you know—the Inquisition listens and cares, and isn't afraid to learn."

Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. I just thought maybe that would work. It's just my view from down here. But if you think it's a bad idea…"

"We will try this," Umbridge said after a long silence. "I am cautiously optimistic that your intervention, along with that of Mr Diggory and Ms Thakkar, will be just what we need to get things back on track! And if it does not… we shall have to escalate matters."

Harry certainly hoped it wouldn't come to that. If he had to get up and spew some nonsense about how he supported the Inquisition and Umbridge, he at least wanted it to work. He'd got her to agree to an amnesty, anyway. That was something.

Assuming she kept her word.

"So… I'll be saying something tonight?" Harry asked after a few moments. "In the Great Hall?"

"Yes," confirmed Umbridge. "You, Mr Diggory, and Ms Thakkar. We shall do it at the start of dinner. Arrive early, and we shall sort everything out then."

"Right," Harry said. That was… not ideal. In fact, it was pretty grim, all things considered, but he couldn't refuse and he did at least have some positive words to say. "So I'll just say what I said to you just then? Something like that, anyway?"

"Yes, yes," said Umbridge. "Something like that will do—perhaps include more about how you wish the Inquisition to succeed and about how it's helped you personally—and I shall be very happy."

Umbridge glanced over at the clock on her wall.

"Ah! It is well after breakfast: you must be getting on to your lessons!" she said. "But I shall say—I am pleased how we could come to an arrangement. You have been very helpful; I am quite sure you will go far, Harry dear."

Harry inclined his head.

"Thank you, High Inquisitor." He felt sick at the words, but it was best to appear gracious and thankful. He stood up and left, heading off to his lessons for the day, the precise wording of what he would say in front of the assembled school whizzing around his mind.

Harry arrived at dinner early. Much earlier than usual, so early in fact that there was nobody waiting for the Great Hall doors to open. Well, nobody apart from Umbridge and a handful of Inquisitors – although notably not Yaxley – along with Diggory and Thakkar.

Maybe he's been shafted, Harry thought. That would be a very fine thing indeed, although it was probably a much less interesting reason.

"Wonderful," Umbridge said. "We shall proceed into the Great Hall!"

A wicket gate Harry was sure had never existed before swung upon at a wave of Umbridge's stubby little wand to let them all through, and they passed into the Great Hall and ascended to the Head Table dais.

Both Diggory and Thakkar appeared just as unhappy to be part of what Umbridge had planned as Harry was. Neither of them had said anything more than vague greetings and short words to Umbridge whenever she'd attempted to draw them into a conversation.

Harry wondered why they'd agreed to say something. Harry assumed they just couldn't say no to someone like Umbridge. Big as she was at the Ministry, it would be a bad idea for most to cross her in such a personal way.

Perhaps Umbridge had something on them both, but Harry didn't think so. By all accounts Thakkar was the very definition of a model student, and Diggory wasn't far behind.

Maybe they really did just want all the chaos to end. They were about to sit NEWTs.

"Now, once everyone has sat down I shall make an announcement," Umbridge said once she'd watched Harry, Diggory, and Thakkar shuffle along the front of the High Table to their position in front of Umbridge's throne. Her Inquisitors took up positions behind her chair. "When I am finished I would like you to say your words of… encouragement. Ms Thakkar, you will go first, followed by Mr Diggory, and Harry shall go last. Is this agreeable?"

"Yes, High Inquisitor," Thakkar said, although she didn't sound too happy about it. Getting up to speak in front of the entire school was bad enough at normal times, but with a student population double the size and with it riled up as it was…

Ugh, Harry thought.

"Excellent!" said Umbridge. She settled into her oversized, golden chair and after that, it was just an awkward wait until the beginning of dinner. As soon as the Great Hall doors opened students and teachers came flooding in.

At first, people didn't seem to notice that Umbridge, her Inquisitors, as well as Harry, Diggory, and Thakkar were already present. Usually, everyone arrived for dinner at the same time. But gradually people noticed.

If he concentrated, Harry could even hear what some of them were saying above the din. But he made a conscious effort not to do so, as there was no point in torturing himself with rumours and no doubt unkind comments.

And after he said his piece there would be many more.

Umbridge stood and coughed once the Hall had grown quiet.

"I know that you do not wish to hear from me," Umbridge said in what Harry thought was a rare display of self-awareness from the odious witch, "and so I shall be brief. The Inquisition requests—no, I request, personally—that we put the recent spate of unpleasantness behind us all. I know that you are ill-prepared to listen to me. It is my sincerest hope that you will at least listen to your peers, who have elected to say a few words before you this evening."

She sat back down.

Thakkar froze as she looked out at the gathered students. Harry didn't blame her – there were at least two thousand unhappy, rebellious students sat at the four House Tables and they were hardly interested in listening to anything from one of Umbridge's lackeys. Which Harry was quite sure everyone would now categorise the Head Boy and Girl – and Harry himself.

"The protests have got to end," Thakkar said after a few moments. "I understand why they happened, and I feel the same frustration with some policies as everyone else has. But—but everything has got out of hand. The Inquisition has been—it's just been—the Inquisition was put here so it could help," Thakkar said, stumbling over the words. "The principles upon which it was founded are good ones, and we need to remember that."

Harry didn't think it due to nerves: more likely she simply didn't want to praise the Inquisition at all. But no doubt that had been Umbridge's condition, as it had been for Harry.

"But everything has gone wrong. Some people have been getting hurt—just this morning I had to take a first year to the Hospital Wing because of a misfired spell." Thakkar took a breath. "I think if everything keeps going on the way it is, someone is going to get seriously hurt. And then it won't just be school punishments—it'll be something much more serious. And I don't want that to happen to anyone here. So, please… please consider stopping the protests. There has to be a better way."

"Suki's right," said Diggory, stepping forward. "I know it's been good to get rid of your frustrations and everything like that, but it's gone too far now. The Inquisition is trying to improve things here at Hogwarts. Implementation hasn't gone as planned, and understandably, people disagree with how it's been done. I'm not here to talk about that; the protests have been quite effective in showing that. But… We can't keep up with this. People have been getting hurt and the prefects just can't keep up with it all. I know some of you will say we should just stop working, but we can't. And not even because it's against the rules—it's not about rules and regulations. We genuinely want to keep everyone safe. It's not fair that someone should get hurt on the way to Charms because someone else set off fireworks. It's not fair that anyone should get attacked by a niffler."

He sighed. "And look—exams are right around the corner. I know most of you won't have important exams to do, since that's just for us third and fifth years, but we've got really important exams coming up. And it's not just OWLs or NEWTs—there's TITs and CATs to think about as well. And the Wandwright's lot haven't been able to do any official sessions with their teachers since all this started. I can't make you do anything, and I don't expect you to just listen to me because I've told you to," Diggory continued, "but I do want you to just think about it, that's all."

Shit, Harry thought. My turn. He stepped forward a bit once Diggory had finished, then looked out at the sea of students. Looking out at the crowd Harry understood exactly why Thakkar had frozen.

He'd never stood up and spoke in front of that many people before. It was quieter than the Great Hall ever got – it seemed as if everyone really was listening. But once Harry stepped forward there were whispers. Not audible, but a low buzz. Harry assumed it was because Diggory and Thakkar made sense to say something as Head Boy and Head Girl, but Harry was just a prefect.

Except for the… unique circumstances… surrounding him. Well, there was nothing for it but to say his piece. And he reckoned he could get away with being a bit less complimentary about the Inquisition, so long as he wasn't rude. And he was occluding, anyway, shunting some of his less than helpful thoughts about everything to one side to make everything easier.

"Cedric and Suki are both right," Harry said. "I'm not against what the Inquisition is trying to achieve, not in principle. I think there's some merit to the ideas. But like everyone else I've had my frustrations with the implementation. Some of the reasons people are protesting are really important, and it's obvious that people feel like they've got no other choice but to do what they've been doing. And I think that's fair. But the protests have started to get dangerous. So I decided to go and see the High Inquisitor because she's… she's always been very reasonable to me."

Harry felt dimly aware that part of him felt sick saying the words, but he'd gone over them with Blaise and Tracey multiple times and they'd decided that they needed to flatter Umbridge. It would make him look like a prat to the school, but it was Umbridge he needed to keep on side.

Thank God for occlumency, Harry thought.

"So we spoke about what had been happening these past few weeks," Harry continued. "And she agreed with me that if the protests stopped, if everything calmed down—there wouldn't be any need for anyone to get punished. No Stinging Jinxes. No detentions. No referrals to the Ministry. And definitely no reason to get the aurors in. And as soon as everything's stopped, clubs and activities can start back up again." Harry hadn't considered the Wandwright's lot, but they needed that for their technical exams. "People can start having tuition again. We can start back at Duelling Club, Flight Club—Art Club too, and Charms Club, and everything else…"

Harry shrugged. "You don't have to listen to me—or any of us really. But I think it's time to stop. The Inquisition is willing to forget about everything if things calm down. That's no need for aurors, clubs start back up… things go back to normal. That's what we wanted, wasn't it?"

Once it was clear Harry was done, Umbridge stood again.

"Thank you," Umbridge said. "What Harry says is true: the Inquisition—I—have agreed to support a full amnesty for any and all things which have occurred during these protests. We will allow clubs and activities to begin again. And we will consider a loosening of the restrictions regarding certain locations in the castle. The Inquisition is not above learning from its mistakes. Please, consider what your peers have said, and make the right choice. Now, dinner may be served."

Dismissed, Harry, Thakkar, and Diggory shuffled all the way back along the table filled with teachers on their way back to their respective tables. On his way past Lockhart took the opportunity to wink at Harry, while Remus offered a subtle nod of the head.

The Hall had erupted into noise as soon as Umbridge was done, and Harry couldn't help but catch some of the content as he walked by. Fortunately, none of it seemed to be concerning him – it was about the idea of an amnesty.

Harry wedged himself in between Blaise and Tracey, and settled in to try and enjoy his dinner.