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HOGWARTS HAD BEEN TOTAL CHAOS. Dumbledore was gone and Umbridge was now the new Headmistress. She, Cornelius Fudge, a few Aurors, and the Minister's Junior Assistant, Percy Weasley, had gone to arrest him the night the D.A. was discovered but Dumbledore, being two steps ahead of everyone, fled. That was one part of the story that stayed true with every retelling. Some details were a bit hazy as rumors started to fly, but Cassiopeia managed to figure out what was true by forcing the story out of Harry one day in the library.
Cho Chang had been the one who snitched. She went to see Umbridge the night the D.A. was discovered and confessed to being in a secret defence group. She only got out that the group was called "Dumbledore's Army" and a meeting was taking place that night before Umbridge rallied her Inquisitorial Squad together and took off for the Room of Requirement.
Harry was caught by Umbridge after they all ran out of the room and both he and Cho were brought to Dumbledore's office so Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge could confront him. Apparently, Dumbledore played along as if he knew they were having secret defense lessons all year. Umbridge tried to question Cho more about the D.A. but she couldn't seem to remember who exactly was a part of it and if they had any meetings before that night.
Cassiopeia was shocked when Harry told her this. How could Cho suddenly not remember the countless meetings they had? Or who was in the D.A.? She had been at all of the meetings and most of the members were Harry's friends. Not to mention Cassiopeia herself. Being the only Slytherin meant she stuck out like a sore thumb. There was no way Cho simply forgot she was there.
But, of course, Dumbledore had an inside man working for him. One of the Aurors who was a part of Fudge's faction was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He realized what Dumbledore was doing and acted quickly, performing a Memory Charm on Cho so she believed that night was their first meeting and so she couldn't remember anyone other than Harry who was a part of the D.A. After that, Dumbledore simply left.
Cassiopeia was glad to know the true story and why Umbridge hadn't come after members of the D.A. yet. She had heard bits and pieces around Hogwarts but she didn't believe anything until Harry confirmed or denied it. Some of the rumors she heard were definitely too crazy to believe, such as Fudge being in St. Mungos because Dumbledore transfigured his head into a pumpkin.
But overall, the general story had been the same. Cho ratted the D.A. out, Dumbledore fled, and overnight the entirety of Hogwarts became a pawn for the Ministry of Magic and Dolores Umbridge.
Life at Hogwarts was now miserable. Cassiopeia had been spending less and less time inside the Slytherin Common Room due to the fact she had every single Inquisitorial Squad member breathing down her neck. All of them had been pestering and pressuring her into joining, saying how much they enjoyed having power and how wonderful Umbridge treated them. Cassiopeia ignored them, of course. She already had power as a Prefect and didn't care for Umbridge's blatant favoritism.
