Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

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After having given her parents one last hug, Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express and swiftly went about finding a compartment for her to spend her time in. Looking through the windows as the carriages began to move, she saw the backs of a number of students waving good bye to their students but none of which looked all too familiar to her.

Bypassing another couple of carriages, Hermione paused as she saw Harry but then took in the company that he was sharing. Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus, the other boys from Harry's dorm room had managed to all get a seat together and while there was still a seat available she didn't really want to spend the duration of the train ride amongst all of them.

If it was just Harry, she was sure that she could...

Hermione shook her head as she buried those thoughts aside as she turned away from the boys. Her mother had caught her reading books of a more adult nature and consequently her mother had bestowed upon her some wisdom that she had previously had some mild manner of knowledge on. After the in depth conversation she had shred with her mother, Hermione now knew far more than she ever wished to on the subject.

To be fair though it was only a topic she wished to share with...

"Hey Hermione!"

"Hey Susan," responded Hermione, turning towards the young woman who had garnered her attention.

"Looking for a carriage, we've still got room," said Susan, ushering her fellow teenager towards her.

"Thank you," responded Hermione, choosing to take the opportunity given to her. Making the way down, she entered the carriage to find an unusual assortment of people gathered together. Susan and Hannah made a good deal of sense, Hermione had seen the two of them constantly talking amongst one another like the good friends that they were. Daphne Greengrass hadn't particularly been on the list of people she thought that the two Hufflepuff students would associate with. The final member of the carriage however was somebody Hermione was relatively familiar with. "Hello, Luna. Nice to see you again."

"Likewise to you Hermione," mused Luna before turning her attention outside towards the world starting to zip by at an increased pace.

As Susan took her seat next to Hannah and Luna, Hermione placed her belongings in the railing overhead before taking her place next to Daphne. She took a brief moment to analyze those in attendance who partook in extracurricular activities relating to a very specific school club. The previous year, she had confined in Susan that she was a part of Potter Club. During that revelation, Luna had overheard the conversation and then she had become a part of the club herself.

While she wished she could discuss the possibilities of what they could accomplish together this year, the other two members of the compartment were not part of the small unit of individuals. While Hannah was Susan's best friend, Hermione sincerely doubted that Susan had shared such a secret with her, especially given all of the rumors that had surrounded Susan after Christmas.

And Daphne was...just Daphne. While there had been a few extra members of Potter Club brought in that Hermione hadn't been aware of, she was relatively certain that Daphne wasn't one of those who had been brought in. Hermione was aware that Harry did wish to unite all the houses under his banner, but the odds of him choosing more students from their own grade seemed farfetched. Surely if there was a Slytherin amongst the members of Potter Club it would be somebody older in a different year level.

"Was your holiday enjoyable?" Hermione asked of the woman sitting next to her, doing her best to be polite in the situation she found herself in.

"Very much so," responded Daphne with a small smile. "If I may ask, what subjects have you elected to take this year?"

Hermione momentarily paused as she contemplated not so much the question that had been sent her way but rather the person who had said it. The only real interaction she had had with Daphne during her first couple of years at Hogwarts had been when all of the first year girls had met up in the Prefects bathroom and the fallout from that. Their interactions had been calm and polite but that had been over a year ago. "I'm taking both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. How about yourself?"

"Well it seems that we shall be seeing each other in Arithmancy while I shall also be taking Care of Magical Creatures," stated Daphne.

"How did you manage to get your book to..." started Hannah before fizzing out, unable to really finalize what it was that she wanted to ask.

"It's currently restrained," answered Daphne, knowing full well what Hannah was alluding to. "I assure you that I won't be removing the straps until the last possible moment."

"Yeah, mine's tied up with rope and I'm scared that it has eaten its way to freedom," stated Hannah bashfully.

"Wait, you're talking about one of your textbooks," said Susan, shocked at this sudden news.

"Yeah, the Monster Book of Monsters," said Hannah. "It's a monster in and of itself. I have no idea how we're meant to read anything out of it."

"May I see it?" asked Luna, chiming in.

"No!" declared Hannah and Daphne at the same time.

Hermione chose to change the topic of conversation. "So, do you reckon Potter Club prepared something at the end of last term to occur at the start of this school year?"

"Oh that'd be awesome," cooed Hannah, happy for the change of topic.

"They've messed with the closing feast back in our first year, so I wouldn't put it past them to have thought of doing something for the opening feast," said Daphne. "Though I doubt they would mess with the Sorting Ceremony itself, that would be going in a little too headstrong to start with."

"Well, I'm not so sure if they'll try anything straight away," said Susan, her thumbs circling around one another. "From what I've heard, there might be something of an issue in the way."

"I'm sure that whatever level of issue it is, Potter Club is more than capable of tacking it," said Luna optimistically. "After all, they haven't let anything stop them in the past, even when they were framed."

"Well, I'm afraid the hurdle facing them may be a little more, spiteful, than any of the staff," clarified Susan. "My aunt overheard that the Ministry is sending someone to Hogwarts to inspect the school as a whole."

"Inspect?" repeated Hermione, eyes focusing on the teenager sitting across from her. "Susan, just what is happening at Hogwarts?"

...

Harry knew that there was some manner of joy in being forewarned about things ahead of time. Having fallen back through time he had expected to be able to play everything out at his own pace knowing fully well what was going to happen ahead of schedule. Due to information he had received from Pandora, he knew that he should treat every instance of his future knowledge as merely potential guidelines as to what was going to happen. After all, he had changed so much already that he had managed to prevent an entire train of students from being harassed by Dementors this time round. If that wasn't a worthwhile change in history, he didn't know what was.

Essentially, this year was a relatively clean slate. Everything that would potentially have jeopardized him in the previous timeline had already been sorted out and there was no real knowledge of what was to come outside of classes.

Although, that was only limited to what he knew from traveling through time. What he knew from the words of those around him were a different story altogether. Hence, when Albus sat down at the end of his welcoming speech only the pink monstrosity to step forward, he wasn't tempted to throw the cutlery in front of him at her.

He knew why she was here. He knew what she was after. That didn't particularly mean he knew how to deal with the situation however. Ever since he had been informed of the news he had spent sleepless nights contemplating the best course of action. He did have a plan but he would need to see just how she reacted to everything going on, not single outliers. For now though, it was time to see just what she had to say.

"Students of Hogwarts," started Dolores Umbridge, clutching onto her pink handbag. "It pleases me to see so many of you attending these ancient and hallowed halls. The students that attend Hogwarts have been known to go on to do great and wonderful things for the wizarding world and I trust that you all will do just that. To get the best opportunity moving forward, it is imperative that you all focus on your studies and do any extracurricular activities that your predecessors have done before you."

"This however is the reason that I have been brought in to Hogwarts. I recall my time here many years ago where my peers and I watched Quidditch matches, listened to the school choir and even participated in the Gobstones Club. These, and many others, have been a part of Hogwarts and have history deeply etched into these halls."

"It has come to the attention of the Ministry that there have been some new clubs formed," continued Dolores. "While I am all for the growth and unity of our students, members of the Ministry fear that these clubs are detrimental to your experience here at Hogwarts and are even conflicting with your education. I am here to judge these clubs on their merit and to shut down any extra curricular activity that is threatening your very future. I do hope that you will all be honest and truthful with me regarding my efforts and that together we can ensure that you all have the best opportunities going forward."

As she returned to her seat their was a small round of applause from the students, mostly out of respect that she was a representative of the Ministry and not being polite to her could have consequences. Raising his hand to his mouth and lightly biting on his thumb, Harry considered what Dolores had said. From the sounds of it, it wasn't just Potter Club she was targeting but every other club that had formed over the past couple years. While he and his team worked in secrecy to the point where only a handful of them knew who other members were, other clubs were a lot more out in the open.

Last year, the Potter Fan Club had been discovered and while they were still allowed to operate they did so under surveillance. How Dolores would react to the discovery of a group of students gathering to talk about him was pretty easy to predict. It wasn't going to be pretty. Even more predictable and likely much more volatile would be the time when she cornered the Muggle Music Members and demanded that they disband. Unlike the Potter Fan Club, they had backing from professors and had a much larger following with dozens of different students coming in on different days to either participate or simply listen.

As for Potter Club itself, well, he would be needing to get in touch with a few specific members to get their thoughts on the matter. Thankfully, those he needed to speak to all resided in the same house so there was no threat of them being caught by any outside interference. Unfortunately there were many other members of their club who would be awaiting to hear from him. It seemed that he and the invisibility cloak would be getting a workout over the coming days.

...

Albus Dumbledore gazed over the students as their dinner appeared in front of them, watching how a number of them didn't immediately reach for the food in front of them. They were still in discussion however regarding what they had just been told and he didn't blame them.

Undoubtedly, Hogwarts had changed over the last couple of years and he honestly couldn't be more thrilled with the outcomes. It had been many years since he had seen members of separate houses so openly communicating with one another and he had little doubt it was due to the arrival of Potter Club. Whether individual students were a part of it or not, the formation of the club had been felt by every student one way or another.

Now, their was a foe in place threatening the comradery that students shared and he was more than curious to see how this would unfold. Would they succumb to the pressure being placed upon them by a higher power or would the students rise up in rebellion and put their future at risk?

Indeed, this year was going to be quite entertaining.

That wasn't even considering the fact that he had Remus Lupin as a member of staff this year. Heavens forbid the earful he would receive were Dolores to turn her attention to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. Perhaps in order to keep the eyes of the Ministry off of them he could put up a flier or two promoting the formation of a Chess Club or even more scandalous would be a Muggle Board Game Appreciation club.

There wasn't any reason why he couldn't poke the dragon and get some more entertainment out of this after all.

...

Hope you enjoyed.