Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

...

Harry finished penning out his final letter, knowing full well that while what he was sending was rather cryptic, the end result was becoming more and more necessary the longer he thought about it. Up until this point he had plans in place that had been well within his capacity to alter as he saw fit. After his meeting with Pandora however, he had reconsidered a number of options and just how much things had begun to alter.

"Small things," he mumbled, recalling his time spent with Luna's mother. If hundreds of thousands, or possibly even millions, had altered ever so slightly in both the past and what was yet to come, there was no telling just how difficult the search was going to be. He couldn't help but come up with the possibility that Tom may have hidden his ring in a different place, or perhaps enchanted with something more vile and that were Dumbledore to find it, well, it was ominous to think about.

It was however a real possibility.

"You're an elusive man to track down Potter."

"Ah Draco, should I feel touched that you were looking for me?" asked Harry as he sealed up his letter as to hide the contents.

"Spare me your whimsy Potter," scoffed Draco. "I do have matters to speak with you privately."

"Is that why Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum aren't currently with you?"

Draco gave him a blank look having not understood the reference in the slightest. "Should I let them know that you... I assume... insulted them?"

"If they don't get it then there's no fun," shrugged Harry. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"From what I have been told, Dolores Umbridge will be leaving in the coming days but will likely make one last play, some last hurrah in order to garner whatever credit she can with the Minister," said Draco.

"And how did you come across such information?" asked Harry.

"Because she told me herself."

That had not been the answer that Harry had been expecting.

Draco ran his fingers through his hair as he gazed off to the side. "Given who my father is and his position in the Ministry, Umbridge was under the impression that it would be worth my family's while to assist her. Whether she meant she would reward me for my effort or punish my father for her failures wasn't particularly clear but I for one do not like being given ultimatums."

Harry raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "So why tell me all this?" he asked.

"Umbridge's dislike of you is evident and she still wholeheartedly believes that you are the responsible for the clubs baring your name. Nobody would be stupid enough to advertise themselves in such a way which truly goes to tell her level of intelligence. Which is why, I want to to give her the slightest bit of hope before she leaves only to crush it and leave her with nothing. For that, I need your help."

"You want to dangle me in front of her like a carrot before pulling a fast one on her," summarized Harry, having been able to read between the lines. Draco nodded and waited for Harry to continue. A wily smile spread across Harry's face as he stroked on his chin. "What say you tell me your current plans and then we fine tune it to properly embarrass her?"

Reaching into his pocket, Draco pulled out a vial with the internal contents looking more than a little vile. It was a colour though that Harry was familiar with and if it was indeed the potion that he was thinking about, this could be rather entertaining regardless of what it was that Draco had planned.

"All I'm going to need Potter is a few hairs and for you to make yourself scarce for a while."

...

Professor Lupin gazed over the sheer number of students that were taking a break from their regular weekend activities to be with him, learning a spell that was nowhere to be found in the regular curriculum. Rightfully so, given the sheer amount of white wisp on display as students struggled to come to grips with the necessities for the spell. Thankfully, he, along with both other members of the faculty and the head of the DMLE, were patient enough and more than willing to lend their assistance.

"Professor Lupin," said Amelia Bones as she stepped up to where the professor was standing. "There is something irking me and I was hoping that you would be able to provide some insight."

"How so?" asked Lupin as he looked at the woman who was wearing a scowl on her face.

"I've been keeping an eye out for my niece, having thought that she would have been learning with the rest of the students. Not only is she not here but from what I can gather, one of the Hufflepuff students seem to be in attendance. Do you have any knowledge as to why that may be?"

"You know," said Remus as he tapped at his chin. "I did recently hear Pomona saying that the culprit of a serious offense inside Hufflepuff didn't fess up the crimes they had committed, something which sullied the House's name. With Hufflepuff being the house of the loyal and all, Pomona decided to punish the entire house by preventing them from attending today. Such a shame really. Perhaps your niece will be able to give you some insight about it sometime."

"I'm sure she will," said Amelia sternly. "For something like this to have occurred, I'm sure that somebody isn't very popular in the Hufflepuff common room."

...

"This. Sucks."

"On that Hannah, we can agree," grumbled Megan Jones as she sat on her bed, her knees pressed to her chest. "What sucks even more is that we don't even know why Professor Sprout is doing this to us. I mean, what was this big thing anyway that one of us did? How is someone meant to admit to a crime if the crime itself isn't clear? Surely if it was as big as Professor Sprout made it out to be then surely we would have already heard about it."

"What are your thoughts on it all Susan?" asked Hannah, asking the third person in the room to join in on the conversation.

Susan collapsed on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sheer amount of thoughts that she had on that topic had happened routinely ever since Professor Sprout had sentenced the entire house to be sentenced to remain in the dorm and miss out on learning the Patronus. How such a thing had come about had been on everyone's mind, and there was one singular thought which kept making itself prominent in her thoughts? "Do you think it was Potter Club?"

She didn't mean it, she truly didn't but she couldn't help but shake the possibility. "Really?" exclaimed Hannah in disbelief. "I thought the rumor going around was that it was someone from Potter Club who had done the Patronus in the first place which sparked this whole thing. Surely they wouldn't bring such hope to everybody then rip it away from them?"

Hannah's words resonated with Susan who swiftly pushed herself into a sitting position, clapping at her cheeks. She was part of Potter Club and she had been at the meeting between the members the day after the white stag had been seen. It was clear that it had been a member of their group and that the aftermath was what they had intended. Surely none of them had decided on a whim to sabotage all of the happiness they had done all to screw over a quarter of the student body.

"Are you okay there Susan?" asked Megan, looking at her room in curiosity.

"Yes, sorry," said Susan sheepishly as she composed herself. "That was stupid of me to say. Of course it wouldn't be Potter Club."

"But what you're suggesting is that someone got it into Professor Sprout's mind that one of us did something horrendous, something so awful that she was willing to punish everyone as a result," said Hannah. "I mean, if that's true then somebody has played the mother of all pranks but at the same time, Professor Sprout isn't really going to listen to just any old story. It's not like she would believe anything that the Weasley twins would say."

"So, and this is all hypothetically speaking because none of us really know for sure, someone who Professor Sprout respects enough to believe their word without question, convinced her that one of the students in her care, screwed up big time. Have I got all that right?" asked Megan.

"If that was the case, then just who would she have listened to in the first place?"

For that, none of the three girls had a response.

...

Said person was currently watching in astonishment as Luna Lovegood produced a corporal patronus, the hare in question zipping about the room and inspiring every other student to try harder.

...

Dolores growled out something incomprehensible as she gazed over the students that evening. This was meant to be her big moment, to properly bring order back to these impressionable youths and to show that the old ways were indeed the right ways.

Not only had she failed to put a stop to the atrocities that had already formed, but more horrors had happened under her watch and she had found herself powerless to do anything about it. Even Amelia Bones had had the audacity to assist in such activities despite her position in the Ministry. It was utterly disgraceful! The witch in question was still here but instead of getting to the bottom of this madness, she had chosen to embrace it.

There was one last chance for her to redeem herself and it revolved around one student in particular, one thorn in her side that had been ever present. He hadn't seen anything, nor did she have any proof on the situation but she knew that he was involved. More than involved even! He was the leader, she was sure of it!

Dolores gazed over the students as they chatted about their day, undoubtedly discussing what positive thoughts they had recalled as they tried to cast a spell they had no need to learn. Hogwarts was a place where the students were to learn how to properly operate once they stepped outside into the real world. None of these children had any need to know such a spell. There would be consequences, of that she was sure.

Focusing on the Gryffindor table, her eyes scoured the area for the boy in question. Yet no matter how many times her gaze went along the path, she saw not a hair of him. If he wasn't here, then that could only mean that he was somewhere else in the castle. If he wasn't here, then that meant that she could catch him in the act.

This was her chance.

Her march was not a slow one and caught the attention of a number of people, most of whom chose to ignore her. She didn't mind, she needed not the approval of those around her when her objective was so clear. She would prove he was the miscreant she believed him to be!

Stepping out of the Great Hall, she looked both left and then right before catching a glimpse of someone wearing a cloak covering their appearance. "Halt!" she shouted, picking up her pace as she made chase. Turning around the corner, she saw that the numbers of cloaked individuals had grown. Three of them in fact. This was happening! This was happening now!

She needed to catch them in the act. Everything would be right if she could actively catch them right here and now!

Pulling out her wand, she continued to give chase and continued to watch as their numbers continued to grow until there were at least ten of them. This was it!

The final turn she took led to a courtyard and she sped into it, only to realize just what she had found herself in. With a dozen cloaked individuals facing her. Raising her wand, she addressed them with as much authority as she could muster. "By order of the Ministry of Magic, I demand that you remove your disguise this instant and reveal yourself!" she commanded, aiming her wand straight at the person in front of her.

Slowly, they raised their hands before gripping onto the top of their hood and removing it, a vicious smile spreading across her face. "I knew it!" she proclaimed boldly as she looked at the culprit. "Harry Potter, I knew that you were the one behind all this!"

Harry, for the most part, simply stood there and shrugged, choosing not to say anything in that moment in time. "Nothing to say for yourself boy?" probed Dolores, determined to get some kind of reaction out of him. "Of course not, what could you even say? You've been caught in the act and there isn't anything you can do about it. I will have you marched right in front of the Minister of Magic and Hogwarts will once again be the establishment that it is meant to be!"

Once more, Harry said nothing as he stood there without so much as a single care on his face. "Well then," said Umbridge as she decided to take a different approach. "While it is all well and good throwing your own life away, I wonder just who else you have condemned to a lifetime of misery because they decided to follow you. You there, reveal yourself?"

The cloaked individual in question turned to look at Harry who simply gave them a nod to do so. Umbridge couldn't contain her glee as the person reached up to show just who they were.

Her glee shattered immediately as she found herself looking at Harry Potter. "No," she said softly as more people began to reveal themselves, each of them wearing the same face as the one who had haunted her dreams for so long. "No. No! What is this? What. Is. This!"

"To be fair," said the person who originally revealed themselves to be Harry. "We didn't brew Polyjuice Potion, we're not that patient but it's not that hard to buy some outright. After all, what's wrong with spending a few coins to have a good laugh."

Dolores' rage filled scream rang through the air as she shot her wand at the person who had talked. The rest of them watched on as 'Harry' was blown through the air, crashing on the ground some feet away from where they had stood as the effects of the Polyjuice Potion began to vanish.

"You attacked me!" they proclaimed as brown hair turned blonde.

"We'll go let the head of the DMLE know that Dolores Umbridge attacked a student!" said two of the Harry's rushed off, sprinting away while Umbridge stood there flabbergasted.

"Dolores Umbridge, I will have you removed from the Ministry! My father will hear about this!"

Watching Umbridge's face drop as she stumbled backwards was positively priceless. As for Malfoy, it felt so long since he had uttered those words that they almost felt foreign on the tongue. Regardless, his plan had worked flawlessly and when both Amelia Bones and Dumbledore heard of what had happened, word would swiftly reach the Minister of Magic.

Dolores Umbridge would not have a leg to stand on and there was a good possibility that he as the victim, would receive a rather large compensation from the Ministry for one of their officials having attacked him. She would undoubtedly lose her position of power, opening it up for somebody else who would be informed repeatedly that they had him to thank for their promotion.

All around Hogwarts, people were actively making plays in regards to how they could best prepare themselves in new and exciting ways for when they graduated. Why shouldn't he utilize whatever resources he could in order to give himself an extra step up for when he left Hogwarts himself?

...

While all this had been unfolding, Harry himself had been in the Gryffindor Common Room, staring at the roaring fire as he wondered whether or not having sent an invite to Pandora Lovegood had been a good idea.

...

Hope you enjoyed.