AN: As always, thanks for all your support, and keep letting me know what you think. It always brightens my day, and also helps to help me make this story better, and my writing as a whole.
Nightwing2013 - Oh, Umbridge is not going to have a good time, as you'll see this chapter. Paperwork will be the least of her problems.
scrappy8 -Yeah, Fudge has reaped his own rewards.
GreengrassRebel -Glad you enjoyed it. I definitely didn't want everything to just get fixed, and things be great, since it's not realistic at all. Yeah, Fudge's influence has definitely spread into other departments., which will definitely be seen soon.
stars90 -You won't have to wait long. You'll see it this chapter.
Arctic Wolf Fury -Accurate as fuck.
Mando-Vet -Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm not sure I'm that good, but I'm humbled you think so.
Guest -You won't have to wait long. You'll see his first interactions today.
Chapter 57
"She looks livid," Katie observed, and Harry nodded as they all surreptitiously looked at Umbridge up at the High Table.
If glares could kill, Harry and all his friends and family, along with half of the faculty would be six feet under the ground. Most of the faculty however, looked pleased with whatever had happened, and seemed indifferent to her glare. In fact, as far as Harry could observe, even some of the faculty that had previously been rather intimidated by her seemed less affected.
"What do you think happened?" Hermione asked quietly.
"I don't know," Harry said.
"It had to have been something with the Wizengamot last night," Angelina said.
"Well, whatever it is, I suspect she's going to be trying to burn off her stress by taking it out on us even more," Alicia said.
"What else is new," Ron and Ginny both muttered.
"I suspect we need to do an even better job of avoiding her," Harry said, seeing Umbridge focusing her glare back on them. "I think we should do everything we can to not let her get any of us alone, too."
"I think we should try and leave before she does too," Angelina said. "Alicia and I will escort Ginny to her class. Ron, Hermione, and Neville are covered."
"And I've got Katie," Harry said, smiling, knowing they had their defensive time after breakfast.
"Yes you do," Katie said appreciatively with a flirtatious wink.
Angelina and Alicia snorted, while Ginny and Hermione giggled, Neville blushed, and Ron fake gagged.
"Come on," Angelina said. "Let's get moving."
They all got up and made their way to the Entrance Hall, bantering back lightly, enjoying what had started as a peaceful morning.
"You'll let us know how it goes at lunch, right?" Angelina asked, leveling a look at Harry, and he chuckled.
"Of course I will, sis," Harry said and he gave both Angelin and Alicia a light hug, before he kissed Ginny easily. "Enjoy potions," he said to her, sarcastically.
She giggled and sighed dramatically. "Not nearly as much fun as you'll be having."
"I am really looking forward to hearing about the rituals," Angelina admitted
"What rituals?" a simpering voice said, and they all turned wearily to see Umbridge smiling at them.
"It's nothing, Professor," Harry said, an air of forced politeness.
"Tut, tut, Mr. Potter," Umbridge said. "I had hoped to have broken that nasty lying habit of yours, but apparently not. Now, what rituals are you going to be doing? Most rituals are highly regulated by the Ministry, and I have no doubt that whatever you are doing must be stopped."
"I'm not doing anything illegal," Harry said firmly. "It's something for my patron."
"Still lying," Umbridge said with a smile.
"No, I'm not," Harry said. "It's something for my magehood."
"Which is something that should not be done while you are a student, Mr. Potter," Umbridge said sweetly. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to keep you busy so that you'll stay out of trouble."
"You can't," Katie said sharply. "Professor McGonagall has written in this next hour as an independent hour for us on our school schedules."
"For mage studies?" Umbridge said. "I don't think so. Not for both of you. So, what is it that you are studying?"
"It's none of your business," Angelina said firmly, stepping up next to Harry, while Alicia moved next to Katie.
"I'm afraid that it is," Umbridge responded. "I must verify that you are not using your undeserved name to abuse the school system. An independent hour must be dedicated to some set of instruction, so what is it? If you do not tell me, I'm afraid I'll have to put you all in detention, and then I will get the answer from Professor McGonagall."
"It's when we study Defense Against the Dark Arts independently," Katie answered with a bite in her tone, and Umbridge's eyes narrowed.
"I have specifically said that no student is allowed to practice defensive magic without an approved Professor. Seeing as how I am the only approved Professor, then I must ignore Professor McGonagall's overstep and punish you for practicing dangerous magic."
"Is that so?" a male voice said sternly, and they all turned to see Dora and an older gentleman with her. Astra was right in between them, and it wasn't a stretch for any of them to guess that Astra had hurried Dora and the man's progress into the school to aid them.
"Lord Scamander," Umbridge said in surprise before she smiled. "What a pleasant surprise."
"I thought it was time to come observe how you are at this school," Scamander said, and Umbridge's face tightened. "Now, why do you feel you have a right to deny students from independent study?"
"As the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor –," Umbridge started to say.
"Ah," Scamander said, cutting her off. "Your position. Well, we'll discuss that in your office. Perhaps you can let the students head off to their various studies."
It wasn't a request.
Umbridge bit back a scowl and nodded, and Dora smiled at them all, gave a wink and then a nod, so they all hurried off, looking back as Umbridge looked to be a mixture of sweating, and yet furious.
"What's going on?" Katie whispered.
"I suspect Umbridge is being properly reigned in," Harry said with wonder. "The question is how long she will last."
"Not long if Theseus Scamander is the one doing it," Katie said. "He used to teach her subject and was really good at it. That was after he was done being an Auror. He's not someone who she'll be able to bully or placate with honeyed words."
"Good," Harry said with relish. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer person."
They hurried off to the Room of Requirement and it quickly formed into their training room.
"Alright, let's get some quick practice in," Harry said. "I think I've got that shield just about down."
"Me too," Katie admitted.
Recently they had been working on two advanced shields. One was just a much more powerful version of the basic shielding charm, protego. It would hold up much better against hexes and jinxes and more powerful curses. The other specifically would counter piercing and cutting curses, which tended to blow through both the basic shield charm and, depending on the power, the more powerful shield variant. There were several other shields for them to learn later, but for now, these two would be great additions to their repertoire.
They spent roughly half an hour practicing first the more advanced shield charm, contego, and then the more specialized shield, servo. Basically two months of dedicated time, having cut lessons with Umbridge out, had drastically helped both with their offensive and defensive spell repertoire, but also their dueling skills. Harry was still quite a bit better than most of his friends, but they were steadily improving, making it harder and harder for him to fight them, especially in groups, and even one on one, they gave him more of a challenge now. Dueling multiple people had helped Harry in a lot of ways as was. His mobility was as good as it had ever been. His sensing skills were top notch, with even his legilimency starting to help him predict his friends spells and helping his overall area awareness, especially if his friends faltered on their occlumency. Harry's legilimency was truthfully starting to eclipse his occlumency, something he found a bit frustrating, since he knew occlumency was more important. Still, with all the stress, he struggled with occlumency at times.
"Alright, Har," Katie said, lowering her wand, looking excited. "It's time to see your hard work pay off!"
Harry chuckled and nodded.
His girlfriends, sisters, and friends were just as eager to see the fruits of his labor as he was. Today, he was finally ready to complete the first two sets of rituals and obtain his shadow robes and boots. He wasn't ready for the gloves or belts yet, so he was behind schedule compared to what he'd said nearly two months ago, but he was still well ahead of his original deadline from Hades. Besides, the gloves and belts would only take him another month at the most, and that was being realistic, even if Umbridge continued to fuck with his life. With what he saw before they came here, he suspected his, his family, and his friends' lives were about to be a lot more like they were supposed to be. He tentatively wanted to have them done by Halloween, making it so he'd finally have something good happen on Halloween for the first time in . . . well ever. That was only two weeks away, so he couldn't dawdle, but it was very doable. He did already have one belt done.
"Alright, help me with the runic circle," Harry said, flicking his wand and summoning all the materials from where they were stashed on the back wall.
Katie helped him out as they drew out a very complicated set of circles, and then arranged all the items needed to summon the robes within the circle: thestral hair, hellhound fur, hair from a demiguise, moon raven hair, black sand from Erebus, Lethe River water, and acromantula silk.
Some of this had been rather tricky to obtain, some had been expensive, and the rest had used up further parts of the basilisk, which was halfway gone, between all the weapons and now materials for everything else. Thankfully the goblins had helped him preserve everything that remained, so he'd have it for if/when he needed it, but still. It would be a shame once it was all used up, since it was an easy source of rare materials that traded fairly well for other rare materials.
Once they were done, Katie stepped out of the circle, and Harry took a slow deep breath as Astra appeared in the room, along with six other hellhounds. They started howling as Harry started waving his wand slowly, reciting a long chant in Ancient Greek. He repeated the chant, over and over again, the hounds howling getting louder, and the darkness growing, extinguishing the light in the room.
Suddenly, the darkness seemed to rush forward and engulf Harry and the robes and he felt icy cold before it started to fade and the Room of Requirement started reappearing, the torches relighting and filling the room. Astra and the other hounds howls became jubilant as Harry stared at the four new robes that had replaced his materials and rune-sewn robes.
Harry smiled wide, feeling a real sense of accomplishment before Katie jumped into him, and he laughed hugging her before she silenced him with a firm kiss.
"Absolutely brilliant, Harry," Katie said, a bit breathless after their min-snog.
"Thanks, Katie," Harry responded, leaning in and kissing her softly. "Now, just one more to go."
They went through the next process, which was very similar, with some slight modifications, but in the end, Harry had his new boots as well. The robes would replace what he normally wore. He could will them to seem normal, but as soon as he was officially a mage, he'd be able to let their magic flow if he so chose. The boots he didn't have to will to act normal. The boots silenced all his movements, whether he was walking normally or running, and like the robes, generated a bit of darkness, helping him use his elemental magic, even on bright days, but they also could be used to generate small footholds of darkness so that he could basically walk in the air or over water, with the darkness supporting him.
"So, you want to test these bad boys out now?" Katie asked eagerly, and Harry nodded happily.
*HP*
Dora, Theseus, and Umbridge walked into her office, and Dora grimaced seeing the pink everywhere, and the pictures of kittens. Theseus didn't react in any manner, but continued to look at Umbridge, who was looking a mixture of angry and nervous.
"So, Professor Umbridge," Theseus said in a professional tone. "What was that that I just witnessed in the Entrance Hall?"
"I noticed those students leaving the Entrance Hall early, looking guilty," Umbridge said, and Dora's eyes narrowed.
"So, you followed them?" Theseus said.
"Yes, Lord Scamander," Umbridge said eagerly, "and I overheard Ms. Johnson –"
"Ms. Potter," Scamander interjected coldly, and Umbridge stopped, eyes wide, realizing her mistake, and licked her lips and nodded.
"Apologies, Ms. Potter say she was looking forward to hearing about how a ritual went," Umbridge said.
"A ritual?" Theseus said blandly.
"Yes," Umbridge said eagerly, "and of course I know that most rituals are closely monitored by the Ministry, so I was attempting to find out what exactly they were doing, but they were blatantly rude and disrespectful, saying it wasn't my business. Mr. Potter even tried to say it was something for his patron."
"And why would you think it wouldn't be for his patron?" Theseus asked
"What could a god ever want from a boy like that?" Umbridge said with a simpering voice. "Clearly that was just a lie to –"
"Professor, you must be under the impression that I care for opinions and theories," Theseus cut her off again. "I don't. A side effect of working in law enforcement for so long. I also will not tolerate blatant disrespect, like you clearly are still doing with Lady Potter. As students, Lord and Lady Potter can be addressed as Mr. or Ms. Potter, but anything other than those titles or Lord and Lady will not be accepted. This is your one warning. Do you have proof he was lying?"
"Well, no," Umbridge admitted, "but –"
"But nothing," Theseus said coldly. "I don't know why you would dismiss him having to do a ritual for his patron. It is a well known fact that he has patronage from Hades. It was one of the reasons why the Minister gave him a partial exemption for that one summer. He is working to become a Mage. It is not my job, nor yours, to interpret why a god like Hades has any interest in him. There is clear proof that the God of the Underworld does. It is not our job to stop him in pursuit of the goal of magehood. How did that spill over to Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
Umbridge swallowed, clearly not happy with how this was going.
"They were not being forthcoming on what they were doing, and Miss Bell claimed that the hour was built into their schedules as an independent study. They were not forthcoming on what they were studying. I have seen Mr. Potter and his friends take advantage of the system, and I was ensuring that they were not doing so."
"In what way would they be taking advantage of the system with an independent study hour?" Theseus asked. "They receive no credit from that. Unless things have changed, the only thing an independent study block of instruction does is mandates a set of hours that detentions or other school related activities can not be set. Do you truly believe that Mr. Potter and Ms. Bell are trying to avoid detention in the first hour of certain days?"
Umbridge gaped.
"Now, let's get to why you seem to think you can stop them from studying defensive magic independently."
"It's a safety concern," Umbridge said swiftly. "All students must be overseen by a Professor to practice magic!"
"Do you know that they are actually practicing magic?" Theseus asked, and Umbridge frowned. "They could simply be studying theoretically, could they not? You didn't even ask, from what I saw. Besides, I find your reasoning to be flawed. While yes, a Professor should oversee magic, this is less true for NEWT students."
"I don't agree, Lord Scamander," Umbridge said.
"Well, why not?" Theseus asked, leaning forward. "All of your seventh years are of age. They could practice this magic at home, on their own, if they choose. Every one of them could drop out of Hogwarts tomorrow, use whatever magic they want, and still take their NEWTs if they so choose. Half of the sixth years are in the same boat. Like it or not, these are young adults who are given more freedom due to their age and experience."
"They are children, and they will be treated as such," Umbridge responded firmly. "Cornelius agrees –"
"I don't think you understand your position," Theseus cut her off coldly. "The Minister has no say in anything to do with this school. Surely he told you? Well, if you didn't understand, then let me tell you now. I'm not, nor is the Wizengamot happy with how you and the Minister have handled this. You are not qualified to teach here, so your opinion is irrelevant. Minister Fudge's opinion is irrelevant. I want facts, not opinions. The fact is, by records, you have done a very poor job as the Professor in only two months."
Umbridge stood up angrily. "I have been an exemplary teacher! The students are learning approved Ministry material."
"On what grounds do you claim to have been an exemplary teacher?" Theseus asked, looking almost incredulous, and Dora was basically shaking with glee. "In your first two weeks, fifteen of the best students in this field dropped out of your NEWT course."
"That is not true," Umbridge said.
Theseus opened his hand, and wandlessly, instantly summoned a set of files, which impressed the hell out of Dora, and slightly cowed Umbridge.
"In your first day on the job, you lost Harry Potter, Angelina Potter, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Fred and George Weasley, Marina Witcher, and Jericho Rook," Theseus said. "Do you deny this?"
"Those were hardly some of the best students," Umbridge said with derision. "They simply couldn't cut it and failed out."
"Do not presume to lie to me Madam," Thesus said coldly, his magic flaring, and Umbridge's eyes widened. "They can't fail on the first day. You can also not call them slackers since you didn't evaluate them."
"Apologies, Lord Scamander," Umbridge said. "Regardless, how can you judge them to have been some of the best students? You never evaluated them either."
"I have their OWL results," Theseus said. "Are you saying that the system we've used for over two hundred years can't tell when people are gifted in a subject?"
"Of course not, Lord Scamander," Umbridge said nervously, "but I'm sure it must be some mistake, or Potter must have cheated some–"
"Which is it?" Theseus cut her off. "Is Lord Potter incapable of the subject or is he smart and competent enough to beat the stringent anti-cheating enchantments on the OWLs? Do you claim that upwards of fifteen students managed to cheat on the DADA OWL in the last two years?"
Umbridge stared.
"You can't have it both ways, Madam," Theseus said. "I can think of a couple ways someone might beat the testing, might being the key word, but the magic is far beyond an OWL student. If they could do that magic, they wouldn't need to cheat. The fact is that every student I just named achieved O's on their OWLs, and are in the top ten for duelists in their age range, in our national dueling circuit. Every one of them. They are clearly gifted, and they, plus seven more NEWT students, five of which were in their final year, dropped your class within the first two weeks. That is a direct reflection on your abilities as a teacher."
"If I'm not allowed to judge their abilities as a student in such a short time, how can they judge my abilities as a teacher?" Umbridge asked heatedly.
"Because it's already documented that that was when you weren't teaching," Theseus said, eyes flashing. "You were having them read a book and had put out the guidance that no practical magic would be done."
"It was a Ministry approved –" Umbridge tried to retort.
"No, it was a Minister Fudge approved program," Theseus cut her off again. "The Education Authority had no say in it."
"Clearly you have already been tainted about me," Umbridge said, glaring at Dora. "I must approach the Wizengamot for a less biased evaluator."
Theseus laughed, and Dora glanced at him in surprise.
"Madam, I don't care about Lady Potter's opinion about you," he said, and Umbridge's eyes widened. "Everything I know about you is what was revealed at the Wizengamot or is undisputed fact based on hard evidence." He held up the files. "I don't care for your politics, your opinions, or your actions unless they affect the school and the Ministry. That is where you crossed the line. You came here as a Ministry representative, and you have shamed us by not keeping your personal opinions separate."
"I have only done as directed –" Umbridge said.
"I don't care," Theseus cut her off harshly. "With all due respect madam, you came here to try and quash Lord Potter's opinion on the return of Lord Voldemort."
Umbridge flinched harshly and glared. "He is not back!"
"I don't care," Scamander said again, his magic flashing, to her shock. "His opinion has nothing to do with his work here as a student. By all accounts, he hasn't even spoken of that event except when you verbally baited him to do so, which was what you wanted so you could punish him. He is a student. His opinion, since it has not been proven false or true, is not relevant. You can't continue to call him a liar because you have no proof. You have used your position to punish someone based on your own opinion. This will end now."
"I will appeal to the Wizengamot –" Umbridge started to say.
"By all means, do so," Theseus said, cutting her off again. "I am dedicated to the Ministry. Nobody can dare to claim otherwise. I have my own problems with Albus Dumbledore, but that didn't stop me from teaching her and being his colleague. Professional and personal relationships and opinions do not mix. I am here because you are hurting the Ministry, the Ministry that I have served in one capacity or another my entire life. I don't care about Lord Potter, so long as he is not actively trying to hurt the Ministry, but you are doing so by actively trying to hurt him. Protest to the Wizengamot all you want, but Minister Fudge will not be allowed to weigh in with you, and if you do so, my vote is going to be your immediate dismissal both from Hogwarts and from the Ministry."
"A vote House Potter and House Black will happily back," Dora said, and Umbridge glared at them both.
"You can't do this!" she said. "I'm a pureblood –"
"No, you're not," Scamander said, cutting her off, to her horror. "I've read your file. Do not presume to lie to me. I don't give a damn about blood purity, and even respect those who do it correctly, holding themselves to higher standards which produce gifted witches and wizards, but I will not tolerate those who try and use it as a justification when they don't fulfill the requirements themselves and use it to reward mediocrity."
"You can't –" Umbridge said weakly.
"You have no options, Madam," Theseus said firmly. "I am here to evaluate you as a member of the faculty, but more than that, I intend to properly teach you to do this job. That includes your instruction as well as your behavior. You will no longer embarrass the Ministry. I will not tolerate it. I will find out how your students stand, and then I will weigh on whether it is best to assist you in helping them pass their OWLs or whether it is more prudent to remove you forthwith. For the coming weeks, I am going to turn you into a Professor. Impress me or I will remove you. Make no mistake, Madam, if you are removed from this position, you will not have a job at the Ministry any longer."
Theseus stared at her coldly, and Umbridge swallowed nervously.
"Am I understood?" he asked, and she nodded. "You will leave House Potter and their friends alone, unless they are completely out of line. If that happens, I will verify, by veritaserum or memory if needed, whether they were or not. If they were, your punishment will stand. If they were not, you will face whatever punishment they were going to be given. Then you will face another administrative punishment here at the school and in the Ministry."
"That's not fair," Umbridge said angrily.
"As fair as you taking away a House's Quidditch practices after already taking points and giving detentions, or only assigning detentions with a blood quill to those of lesser blood or status," Theseus said mildly. "I'm not here to be fair, Madam. I'm here to clean up this mess. Stand in my way and I will crush you. Are we understood?"
Umbridge licked her lips. "Understood."
"Good, I believe we have the fifth years this morning," Theseus said. "I look forward to seeing their progress, since it is a very important year for them."
Umbridge nodded weakly, and Dora grinned, which got a slight glare from Umbridge.
"I'd like to see your lesson plans, and I want every faculty evaluation you have completed," Scamander said. "I'd also like to see any graded assignments that you have not yet returned."
"Of course, Lord Scamander," Umbridge said, and she moved to gather them for him.
All Dora could think was that Harry, Angelina, and their friends were about to have a lot more free time on their hands, or Umbridge would be gone soon.
*HP*
Ron and Hermione walked into DADA, and were surprised to see Dora there. She smiled at them, and they approached her, warily looking at their vile Professor who was glaring at them.
"Wotcher," Dora greeted them.
"Hey, Tonks," Ron said. "What are you doing here?"
"With Theseus Scamander," Dora replied, a bit more quietly. "We're evaluating Umbridge. She's being reigned in."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Hermione said with a sigh.
Dora nodded. "Take your seats, you two. We can talk later."
They moved back, and took their seats, but like many of their classmates, they eyed Theseus and her, something which seemed to infuriate Umbridge. Finally, everyone was seated, and Madam Umbridge stood in front of the class.
"As you can see, we have guests," Umbridge said, nodding to Dora and Theseus. "They are here to evaluate this course to determine how it might be improved. I expect you to show them the respect they are due. Now, please open your books to chapter ten and begin reading. There is no need to talk."
There were grumbles and despondent looks as the students did as she directed, and Dora's eyes widened more and more when fifteen minutes went by and Umbridge did nothing but sit at her desk watching. This had to be the absolute dullest class she'd ever been in. Even Binns was better than this.
Clearly, Theseus was of the same opinion because his expression grew more and more stern as the minutes ticked by, especially as he reviewed a set of essays written by all the fifth years. Finally, with only fifteen minutes left in the class, he stood up and moved to the front of the class.
"Alright students," Theseus said, and they all focused on him instantly. "Who can summarize what you learned in the chapter today?"
Dora chuckled softly as Hermione swiftly raised her hand, and Theseus eyed her, before shaking his head slightly and turned to one of the other students. Dora knew then that he was looking to make a point. He looked at Ron, right next to Hermione.
"Young man?"
"Er -" Ron said nervously, and Hermione looked a bit put out. "It was on anti-charms and how to use them."
"And what is an anti-charm?" Theseus asked.
"Something that counters a charm," Ron said dully.
"So, why does Mr. Slinkhard refer to them as anti instead of counter?"
"I don't know, sir," Ron admitted.
"10 points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley," Umbridge said angrily.
"10 points to Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley," Theseus said, surprising the class and causing Umbridge to gape. "I want to see how this class is doing and see where your minds are. I can't do that if you fear reprisal for telling me the truth. Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't just knowing about what spells can do what things. It's not even necessarily knowing how to use certain spells. Every magical discipline has something different about it. Transfiguration takes creativity and an ability to think abstractly, yet also keeping with precision and paying attention to fine details. Charms require a broader style of thought, and often more intelligence to truly master the subject. One must have strict control of their magic and their desires, and you must truly understand theory to make charms truly useful, since many charms are simply derivations of others. Defense though is about critical thinking, about analyzing a situation and reacting. Defense takes charms, curses, hexes, jinxes, and transfigurations because you cannot limit yourself when trying to survive a dangerous situation. I honestly could care less if you're all able to perform every spell needed for your OWLs, as long as you're able to think critically and analyze a situation to judge whether you must flee and how you can do so, whether you have no choice but to fight, and how you can survive, or whether you can hide, and the methods to do so."
Theseus paused, surveying the students who were all looking at him with rapt attention.
"Now, does anyone have something they wish to share about this course of instruction you have had so far, this year?"
Hermione looked a little nervous, but she raised her hand.
"Your name is, young lady?" Theseus inquired.
"Hermione Granger, sir," Hermione responded and Theseus nodded with a polite smile.
"The floor is yours, Ms. Granger," Theseus said.
"Sir, I feel this book does not properly prepare anyone to protect themselves or learn much about defensive magic," Hermione said. "Mr. Slinkhard clearly doesn't like jinxes, hexes, or curses, and there are chapters dedicated to how the counters to those are improperly named because he feels that 'counters' are just named as such to sound more acceptable when using hexes, jinxes, or curses. Mr. Slinkhard believes we should always seek to escape every situation, but does not give us the tools to create an opening to do so, if we are unable to leave immediately. The book only broaches the most basic of theories, which might be useful for First Years, but doesn't help us, for our OWLs or for self-defense, and it also focuses on negotiation, which is not often a viable option if you are being attacked."
Theseus gave Hermione a slightly impressed look, but Dora could see Umbridge glaring.
"Detention, Ms. Granger," Umbridge said sweetly. "You have been warned about providing your opinion on matters which you understand very little. Clearly you took too much from your previous, dangerous, professors, and -"
"Enough," Theseus said, cutting Umbridge off. "I believe I asked her to share her opinion, and I disagree with her not understanding the subject and her opinion being uninformed. It was eloquent and accurately described the course book. Student opinions are quite important because it allows us to see how our students' minds work."
Umbridge stared in shock, and around the room Dora could see the students gleefully watching Umbridge get put in her place.
"Thank you, Ms. Granger," Theseus said courteously. "You do not have detention with Professor Umbridge. Now, I believe that is just about all the time we have. Professor, do you have any homework to assign them?"
He turned back to Umbridge, who shook her head, still looking a bit shell-shocked.
"Very well, class dismissed," Theseus said, and slowly the students started making their way out of the class, eagerly discussing what they'd just witnessed.
"You embarrassed me in front of the students," Umbridge said icily.
"You embarrassed yourself," Theseus said back sharply. "You also demand a courtesy that you have not granted others. Everything I've heard suggests you do your best to denigrate and demean students in front of their peers, as you just did to Ms. Granger. If you want to be chastised in private, do they not deserve the same treatment?"
"They are students!" Umbridge said.
"They are young members of our society, and in the case of these OWL students, fast approaching when they will join our working society," Theseus said. "If we want them to be productive, it is our job to properly instruct and teach them. You also decided to debase your predecessors, which I will not tolerate."
"Alastor Moody is a crazy, dangerous monster, who performed illegal spells in front of them and on them!" Umbridge said. "He should be in prison!"
"He was given permission to do so," Theseus responded. "I would also have preferred that those lessons were restricted to NEWT students, but I can't fault him. He produced the highest NEWT scores in twenty years. His OWL scores were among the best as well, only beaten out by Remus Lupin."
"A dangerous halfbreed who had no business in this school," Umbridge said derisively.
"He has far more business here than you," Dora said coldly, and Umbridge sneered at her.
"Indeed," Theseus agreed. "He actually did his job, was qualified for it, and wasn't a disgrace. Considering who his predecessors were, the fact he got such high scores is incredible."
Umbridge looked like she'd swallowed a lemon, and was looking at Theseus with disgust, a fact which didn't seem to bother the man at all. Dora on the other hand, was about ready to rip Umbridge apart for her remarks towards both Mad-Eye and Remus.
"Now, what detention were you going to give Ms. Granger?"
"I hadn't decided yet," Umbridge responded shortly.
"Oh, yes you have," Theseus responded coldly. "I know who Ms. Granger is, though I had never seen her or met her before, but I know who she is. Based on what I reviewed of your punishments, she was going to get lines with your blood quill."
"You are jumping to conclusions," Umbridge said.
"Really? Am I?" Theseus said icily. "Every detention you have given has involved the blood quill, with the exception being the few times you were forced to give a detention to an influential family. Every single other one was the blood quill. I also reviewed those assignments you graded. What trend do you think I noticed? "
Umbridge licked her lips nervously.
"No answer?" Theseus said dangerously. "I noticed that several essays, which were poor at best, received top grades, while others received grades much lower than they deserved. Unsurprisingly, those who received undue credit were from very prominent families. You have been using your position to push your agenda, sabotage grades, and demoralize students, and I won't have it!"
Theseus's magic was filling the room.
"So, I believe I warned you about undue punishments," Theseus said. "Please, fetch your blood quill and a piece of parchment."
"No," Umbridge said, shaking her head firmly.
"No?" Theseus said, looking unsurprised, "well then I guess this is your resignation. I will let the Ministry know that we must -"
"I'm not resigning," Umbridge hissed. "You can't make me do -"
"Madam, you will take the punishment, or you will leave," Theseus said unflinchingly. "I don't particularly care whether you leave willingly or not. Just based on what I've seen today, I'm more inclined to believe you should be fired forthwith, but I am willing to see if you can change for the better. However, I will personally remove you from this school right now, whether you are conscious and willing or not, if you do not do as you are told."
Umbridge glanced at Dora.
"Surely as an Auror you won't allow this," Umbridge demanded, and Dora looked at her incredulously.
"Madam, I watched you agree to the terms in his office," Dora said. "He outlined how this would go. I sit in the Wizengamot. I assure you, they will back his actions here, and you will be gone, especially with what little we've observed. For the past couple months, you've done as you pleased, punished who you wanted to punish, and abused your position, and now it is time for you to reap what you have sown."
"The choice is yours, Madam," Theseus said, and Umbridge looked close to tears before she grudgingly moved to her desk, pulled out one of the infamous quills and a piece of parchment, her hands shaking. "Good, now it seems the lightest detention you have given a student was three hours. That seems fitting to me."
"Three hours!" Umbridge shrieked.
"You're lucky I'm not making you do it for five, like you did Lord and Lady Potter," Theseus said snappishly. "We have much to discuss, like why you feel you can have your students read a chapter for an hour, instead of doing any sort of teaching whatsoever. I was going to only give you one hour, but you wasted the time of everyone who was just in that class, so I'm going to waste yours."
Umbridge looked like she'd been slapped.
"I could accept what you just did in your first week," he said. "Nerves are high, and you have had no formal instruction, but you have had the audacity to evaluate other Professors, observing some very fine teachers, and then you continue to teach like that. Oh, that will end now. Every evaluation you have done is now null and void. We're going to discuss your grade book, which is also useless. Now, sit down, and you are going to write, I will not abuse my position."
Umbridge looked at the quill in her hand, and she looked close to tears.
"Now!" Theseus barked, and Umbridge sat down, and shakily started to write the required words, already letting out a cry of pain with the first words.
Dora really shouldn't enjoy someone's suffering, but she did. Oh, she was really, really going to enjoy this.
*HP*
Harry was happily discussing the ritual with his friends and family when he saw Dora walk into the Great Hall, and he smiled. Ginny made room, so Dora happily dropped into the seat in between her and Harry, hugging Ginny quickly before she dropped a sloppy, wet kiss on Harry's cheek.
"Gross," Harry said with a snort, pushing away a laughing Dora.
"I only get to mess with you so much," Dora said, grinning.
"I think our ongoing prank war would disagree," Harry retorted.
Dora smirked before glancing around. "Wotcher, you lot. Hey, Lina! Love the hair!" Dora said, seeing the purple highlights. She quickly copied the color, but she turned all of her hair purple, rather than just some highlights.
"Thanks, sis," Angelina said. "Us Potter sisters need a little color in our hair."
"Totally agree," Dora said.
"So, how was your day?" Harry asked, eyeing her.
"Absolutely brilliant," she admitted with a sigh. "Gods, I learned a healthy amount of respect and maybe even a little fear in regards to Theseus Scamander, but Umbridge is really in a bad place right now."
"Good," their group all muttered together with relish.
"Umbridge is being watched closely," Dora said. "Everything she does in regards to you will be reviewed by Theseus. If she was right to punish you, he will allow it. If she abuses her position, she will deal with the consequences and your punishment will be removed. I'm really not worried about you trying to abuse this change of circumstances, but don't try to get one over on Scamander. He'll verify everything."
"That's fine," Alicia said with a delighted sigh. "Just knowing the bitch is being held to the right standard is enough for me."
"Agreed," the rest of them murmured.
"So, Dora, do you think you, Sirius, Remus, and Mad-Eye could come visit in a couple weeks?" Harry asked innocently.
"Why?" Dora asked, eyeing Harry.
"Well, I just thought you might be interested to witness the last items being forged and my magehood being official."
Dora's eyes widened and she smiled.
"Oh, I'm sor proud of you, Harry!" Dora said, hugging him fiercely. "Oh, we wouldn't miss it for the world. Of course we'll be there. We'll find a way!"
"Brilliant," Harry said, smiling, and all around the group, stress was peeling away from them, now that Umbridge was going to be very wary of messing with them. None of them believed she'd completely give up, but now they didn't have to worry about her every hour or every day. Life was definitely looking up.
