B.Q. Book Two: Black Princess Ascendant

Chapter 17: Hogwarts High Inquisitor?

Do you want to know the problem with raising the semi-villains' intelligence? You have to keep them like that, and then canon goes completely off the rails.

Disclaimer: Did Umbridge review every one of Harry's classes while he was present, even though as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor she already had seven years of classes of her own that she had to watch read their books? If so, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whomever else she sold the rights to.
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Dolores Umbridge sighed as she straightened from the hunched-over position she had adopted while pouring over the curricula for the five years of classes she had volunteered to teach. Why did I think this was a good idea, again?, she griped in the privacy of her own mind. Oh yes, because someone has to be Cornelius's eyes and ears in the castle, and if anyone's going to get the job, why not someone who has his best interests at heart? Not to mention that if any heads were going to roll over Dumbledore putting one of his little minions in the Defense spot, I needed to make sure it wouldn't be mine.

At least it was not her who had to teach Defense. In hindsight, even though that was her initial plan, she would have been so far out of her depth that she would never be able to present herself as a knowledgable professor. History, however, was much more her speed. She had not been lying when she told the children that she was at the top of her class in the subject, and even better, what she had forgotten over the years she could rectify with a little bit of research.

And if that weren't good enough, History puts me in a better position to ensure that all those little impressionable minds have a firm grounding in the truth, she thought, her eyes roving over the books she was using as references. The names Nott, Attkisson, Maddox, and Lestrange, among others, looked back at her. The authors may be long dead, but history was one subject that never changed, so it was only proper that the students learn from recognized, right-thinking experts.

Far better than them believing the lies found within liberal, Muggle-loving propaganda.

A flash of green from the fireplace caught her attention, and she looked over to find none other than the Minister's face floating in the flames. "Cornelius," she greeted warmly. "I wondered when I would get your Floo call. It's been two weeks, and not a peep out of you. No calls, no letters..." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Why, it's almost like you forgot all about me."

"Er, no, of course not," he muttered uncomfortably. She had to work hard to suppress her smirk; she was fully aware that she was no looker, but she was pretty sure that Cornelius didn't know that she knew and had long accepted that fact. Acting coquettishly was therefore a very good way of keeping him off-balance. It was really quite amusing, not to mention it often got her something she wanted that she might not have received otherwise. "I just wanted to give you the time you needed to get all your lesson plans squared away. No distractions."

"Oh, pish. I've had those sorted for a while," she snorted with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I worked them all out with the DME, after all. Wars against near-humans for the first- and second-years, the achievements and legacies of famous witches and wizards for the third-years, international history and politics for the fourth-years, and the development of the Ministry for the fifth-years. Everything tidied up and in its place, just as it should be." She shook her head. "I remembered Binns being bad, but his lack of organization alone..."

He cut her off before she could go into her rant about orderliness yet again, which she was secretly thankful for; normally she had a better handle on it, but with the mess the ghost had left the class in, she had had a stressful couple of weeks. "Everything's taken care of now, though, and that's what matters, isn't it? Anyway, I was talking to Cromarty a few days ago, and he had some concerns about the High Inquisitor position."