Amie and the Army (Harry Potter fan-fic) Book 5 COMPLETED

Trouble on trouble

When Amie woke up the following day, very tired from being up so late, it was to find her parents' owl Chip, pecking on the window to be let in. Amie hurriedly got out of her bed and opened the window. She didn't want the others to wake up because of him. Accepting the letter from Chip, he once again took flight - this time back the same way he came. Amie closed the window and got dressed before taking the letter down to the common room, which was empty at the moment - it was still rather early. Amie opened the letter, and started to read:

My darling Amie,
I'm writing to tell you that
your grandfather has passed away.
I'm so sorry sweetheart,
I know how close you two were, and I'm
sorry you have to find out through a letter.
He passed in his sleep, he wasn't in pain,
it was just his time to go. At least now he can
be with your grandmother again.
I'll write the Headmaster about you coming
home for the funeral.
I love you, 
Mum

By the time Amie'd finished the letter, she had tears streaming down her face. Grandpa Greg was dead? Death should have told her about this! And why didn't she have a vision like when grandma Delia died? 
Deep inside Amie knew the answer to that, but she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that it was a school day, and she didn't have time to break down. Amie wiped her tears, put the letter in her robe pocket, and went to the great hall to eat breakfast. She wasn't the first one there, but not a lot of people were up yet. No one from Gryffindor was. Amie took a seat at the Gryffindor table, grabbed a toast, and tried to eat it. All she managed were a few munches, and it took an awful lot of time. The hall was filling up with students, and soon enough, Harry, Hermione and Ron joined her.
"Hi, Amie," they said.
"You were up early this morning," Hermione commented.
"Yeah," Amie replied absentmindedly.
"Is something wrong?" Harry asked, always being the observant one in their group.
"Tired," Amie answered simply, not looking at him.
"Who isn't?" Ron yawned, oblivious as always.
"Do you think it'll be hard to find what Percy was talking about?" Hermione asked them.
"I 'spect we'll have to really search for it," Ron said, with another yawn.
A moment later, the owls flew in from the ceiling, dropping letters and packages across the hall. Hermione got her copy of the Daily Prophet, paid the owl that brought it, and it had just barely taken flight when Hermione gasped and flattened the newspaper upon the table, showing them a big picture of Professor Umbridge on the cover. The headline read:

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM
DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"

" 'High Inquisitor'?" said Harry darkly, his half-eaten bit of toast slipping from his fingers. "What does that mean?"
Hermione read aloud:
"In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
" 'The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time,' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve.' 
"This is not the first time in recent weeks Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August 30th Educational Decree Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person. 
" 'That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts,' said Weasley last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, so the Minister put in Umbridge and of course, she's been an immediate success —' "
"She's been a WHAT?" said Harry loudly.
"Wait, there's more," said Hermione grimly.
" '— an immediate success, totally revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts.' 
"It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Twenty-three, which creates the new position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor.'
" 'This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the "falling standards" at Hogwarts,' said Weasley. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post, and we are delighted to say that she has accepted.'
"The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts.
" 'I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation,' said Mr. Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and will be glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'
"Among those 'eccentric decisions' are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the hiring of werewolf Remus Lupin, half giant Rubeus Hagrid, and delusional ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody.
"Rumors abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts.
" 'I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step toward ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose confidence,' said a Ministry insider last night.
"Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts.
" 'Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.' (For a full account of Madam Marchbanks' alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page 17)."