The following morning, the Great Hall buzzed with louder chatter than usual as hundreds of owls swooped through the enchanted ceiling, dropping copies of the Daily Prophet onto breakfast tables.
One landed directly beside Calli's porridge.
She unfolded it, immediately wishing she hadn't.
MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM
DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR
A moving photograph of Umbridge smiled broadly beneath the headline, giving a little wave every few seconds.
Calli's appetite vanished.
She skimmed the article.
Percy Weasley, now working closely with the Minister, praised Umbridge's work at Hogwarts, claiming she had already transformed Defence Against the Dark Arts and was providing the Ministry with accurate reports on everything happening inside the castle. According to him, Educational Decree Twenty-Three officially created the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving Umbridge authority to inspect the other professors and ensure Hogwarts met Ministry standards. He described it as another important step in improving the school's declining educational standards.
Calli lowered the newspaper in disbelief.
"It just keeps getting worse." Lucy muttered, reading over her shoulder.
"This is their way of undermining Dumbledore." Stella said, barely containing the anger in her voice. "They're pretending it's about education, but it isn't. They want someone inside the school with authority over the staff."
Calli nodded grimly.
"They don't trust him anymore."
"That was obvious." Stella noted. "Now they're just making it worse."
Around the Great Hall, students were already whispering to one another. Some looked confused. Others looked worried.
At the staff table, Professor McGonagall's lips were pressed into such a thin line they had nearly disappeared.
Umbridge, meanwhile, looked positively delighted.
She sipped her tea with an insufferably pleased smile, as though she'd just been handed the castle itself.
Calli folded the newspaper with perhaps a little more force than necessary.
"So," Fred said as he and George joined them from the Gryffindor table despite earning glares from other Slytherins, balancing plates piled high with toast, "the toad's been promoted."
"High Inquisitor." Fred read over Calli's shoulder before pulling a face. "Sounds like something you'd catch from an improperly cooked sausage."
Despite herself, Calli snorted.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a particularly unpleasant skin disease." Lucy added.
Stella didn't smile.
"This isn't funny."
The humour faded immediately.
"No." Fred admitted quietly. "It isn't."
Calli looked once more at Umbridge's grinning photograph before folding the Prophet shut.
The Ministry wasn't just interfering anymore.
It was taking Hogwarts apart from the inside.
"So Percy's officially become the biggest git to ever walk this earth." George said with a thunderous look as they marched to their first class.
YOU ARE READING
Callidora ☆ Fred Weasley
FanfictionCallidora Nott has always known exactly what is expected of her. As the daughter of one of Britain's oldest pure-blood families, her future has already been carefully planned; alliances, power, and a life shaped by tradition she never chose. At home...
