Becoming Umbridge

Chapter 1

Have you ever wondered how the infamous Dolores Umbridge came to be? From her torturing quill to her need to be superior over everything, it all had to start somewhere. People don't become evil just because they feel like it; something had to grind and twist her gears to make such evil. As many know, she was despised by many in the Wizarding World, including Professor McGonagall who hardly ever showed like or dislike to people. What many do not know is that Umbridge had a few people in the muggle world that hated her as well. The only difference here is at that time she was not cruel and controlling. She was, in fact, very sweet, kind, and innocent. Yes, it is hard to believe that such a menacing person could, in fact, have been pleasant and kind at one point in time, but it is true.

Dolores has not always been known as "Dolores Umbridge." In fact, she was born into a very famous family in Salem, Massachusetts. The family being spoken of is known as the Sanderson family. This family was known to have the greatest and most powerful witches and wizards to have ever walked the face of the earth, and one of the most famous witches just so happened to be one of Dolores's siblings. Her name was Winifred Sanderson and she is said to have been the greatest and most powerful witch in the history of magic. She could do anything and everything that she wanted to do and would have no trouble taking care of business if anyone or anything were to get in her way. She tortured fairies just for fun and poisoned people just for the fun of it. She would, literally, twist people's organs just so they would die a tragic and most horrible death. There were many other horrible things that she would do, but her most famous and downright inhumane thing she would do is take the souls of children for eternal youth and beauty. Winifred never liked children and she would never stand for someone to call her ugly. Her fiery red hair, shaved off eyebrows, and large, bucktoothed teeth were the key things that would pop out at someone if they were to take a quick glance at her. This is definitely not a pretty sight. This being said, after she received her famous book, from the Devil himself, she used a spell in that book to gain eternal youth and beauty. One could assume that she killed two birds with one stone when executing this spell. Dolores's other sibling's names were Sarah and Mary. Sarah, a typical blonde girl with enchanting looks, was the youngest before Dolores came along. She was the typical boy-crazy girl and not the smartest person on the block. She was born with a beautiful singing voice, but used it to lure children to their doom. Mary seems to be the only sane one out of this trio. Though, she is a little kooky, that is just her personality. And even though she takes part in Winifred's plot to take the lives of children, she only does this to receive the attention she wants from Winifred. Mary is actually kind and caring and Mary's obedience to Winifred is what ultimately leads to her death.

Another thing that many people do not know is that Dolores was actually a half-blood (a person with one parent being a muggle and the other parent having wizard ancestry). Her father, Oliver Sanderson, was a wizard and her mother, Ellen Cracknell, was a muggle. Shortly after Sarah, Mary, and Winifred's mother died, Oliver met Ellen. They both connected very well and fell in love with each other almost instantly, and within a year they were married. Shortly after that, Ellen announced that she was pregnant. Sarah and Mary were both excited for their dad's new marriage and baby, but Winifred on the other hand was not too pleased. She could not believe that her father would remarry after their mother had died and she could not fathom him marring a muggle. She absolutely despised muggles and believed that it was a betrayal to one's kind to intermingle the two worlds. After finding out the news that her father was married and having a baby on the way, she disowned him and told him that she would not have anything to do with him. She also said that she would never want to meet the "despicable fetus" or have it in her presence at any moment in her life. Her father took her words to heart, but that did not stop him from being with the woman he loved dearly. For once in his life he finally felt happy and felt truly loved. Winifred's mother never gave that to him. She was always obsessed with taking over the world and having evil reign. She hardly ever showed any sign of affection or any acknowledgement of loving him. So with this newfound love, Oliver was able to finally have a truly happy marriage, but happiness doesn't always last forever.

When Dolores was born, Ellen died in childbirth. Oliver was extremely heartbroken and died of a broken heart a few weeks later. The day he died, Mary had just so happened to stop by and see him and Dolores. She had been wanting to see Dolores sooner, but Winifred told her that she would be putting her own mother to shame if she did. Finally, she decided that she did not care what the consequences would be, she just wanted to see her father and her new half-sister. After she arrived, she engaged in a conversation with her father.

"So, Dad, how have you been?" Mary asked.

Oliver took a moment to respond. His eyes told everything he was feeling. He looked like he had been crying nonstop for weeks and he seemed to not have any motivation to do anything. The house was a wreck and he was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing when she died. "I'm fine," he said.

"Are you sure? I know it must be hard, Dad," she paused and then said, "I liked her, too. She was like an actual mother to me. And even though I only saw her a few times, she always was kind and treated me as if I were her own. And she never judged me or you for being who we are."

"I know, sweetie. I know," he said. "Do you want to see Dolores?"

"Of course!" She exclaimed.

They walked into the next room and the moment Mary saw her, she instantly fell in love with her. She thought that she was the most adorable baby she had ever seen in her life. She was enchanted by her large, brown eyes and her cute, button nose. Just a few seconds after this, Oliver began feeling sharp pains in his chest. They were excruciating and like nothing he had ever experienced in his five-hundred and forty years of existence.

"What is happening?" He questioned with concern.

"I don't know, Dad," Mary said worriedly.

"I...can't...breathe..." he said very hoarsely.

And with that, he fell to the floor. Mary put Dolores down and rushed over to him to check his pulse.

"Dead."

Mary's eyes began filling with tears. She handled her mother's death well (partially because she was never really close to her) but her father's death was something that she didn't expect for a long time. Her father was the nicest and most caring person to her. He always stuck up for her if Winifred or anyone said anything bad about her. He treated her well and let her know that he would always be there for her. She sat there and cried for a while and then thought about Dolores and how she just lost both parents within the span of a month. She began crying more for Dolores's sake and decided that Dolores would have to come live with her and her sisters. She knew that Dolores had no place to go and the only option would be to live with them.

Mary picked up Dolores and held her tight.

"It's going to be okay, little one. We're going to get through this."