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009.
THE NEXT WEEK passed by bleaker than the last, which made sense considering that Dolores Umbridge was appointed Hogwarts High Inquisitor on Monday morning. The title gave her the power to inspect other teachers in their rightful subjects, and to also put a stop to club activities and sports teams that she deemed unacceptable or inappropriate. It wasn't necessarily a problem for Esme, but Amara was a different story.
"She's a great big toad," Amara was saying as they, plus Daphne, maneuvered their way through busy Central Hall towards the library. "A great big toad disguised as a woman."
"Keep your voice down," Esme muttered, glancing around anxiously. The last thing she needed was to get on Umbridge's bad side — what with everything else going on.
Amara seemed to only get louder. "I hope she hears me, she's evil, is what she is. Have you seen Daphne's hand?"
Esme didn't disagree; Daphne had gotten detention with Umbridge for refusing to cooperate during her inspection in Transfiguration. Apparently, the woman was trying to get Daphne to declare Professor McGonagall unfit to teach, but Daphne was not having it. Instead, she snapped at Umbridge, resulting in a torturous evening writing lines — Amara and Esme had just found out that morning that the lines in question were using her own blood, and left the skin on the back of Daphne's hand raw and cracked. It was completely barbaric.
"It's fine," Daphne muttered as they entered the near silent library. Esme looked around, noticing how Madam Pince, the librarian, eyed them suspiciously over her glasses. "Just forget about it, Amara."
They ventured towards one of the smaller tables in the back, enclosed around tall shelves that hid them mostly from the view of passersby. The three girls set up their books and parchment on the worn wooden surface in silence, Esme occasionally glancing at the tarnished skin on her friend's hand.
It was hard to believe Dumbledore could not do anything to stop Umbridge from wreaking such havoc on his students — in years past, Esme would look to Dumbledore as the most powerful wizard alive. To think that Umbridge had the upper hand on him was... disconcerting. Not only were her detentions completely inhumane, but her classes were filled with reading chapters and answering textbook questions, not at all like how their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers ran lessons. It was frustrating, to say the least, knowing no one could really do anything about it, now that the Ministry was involved.
Everyone was feeling the strain, but Esme worried about Harry the most. His temper flared with Umbridge at every opportunity, and she did not hesitate in giving him detentions every evening after dinner. Esme could understand where his feelings of anger were coming from, but she wished he would stop being goaded into snapping at her any chance he got. It didn't bode well, and considering that the Ministry, particularly Cornelius Fudge, was in denial about You-Know-Who returning to power, Esme thought it best if Harry held his tongue.
