The Mudblood

Chapter 81 : Year 4

The artwork for this chapter was made by https://www.quotev.com/29338974 (again) and it's awesome! (:

I was so elated to be back in Dumbledore's Army that my lack of success with wheedling information from Malfoy didn't even deter my mood throughout the next day. The only thing that managed to dampen my spirits was walking into Divination on Thursday morning to find that High Inquisitor Umbridge had stationed herself in a chair beside Professor Trelawney's desk where she was complacently scribbling notes onto her clipboard with a bright pink quill.

"What is she doing here?" Ginny grumbled to me as we joined Luna at our usual table.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," I growled, glowering at the pink witch with scornful eyes. "Class hasn't even started and she's probably already writing horrible notes about poor Trelawney."

"Poor Trelawney?" Ginny repeated incredulously. "She's a nut, Lainey."

"Yeah, but...I empathize with her," I said quietly, staring at crazy-haired Trelawney where she sat at her messy desk. "I have a feeling I'll probably end up like her one day. The nutty Seer who resides alone in her stuffy tower... Can't wait..."

"You won't be alone," Ginny insisted with an eye roll. "You'll be with Fred, obviously. Er—um—someone...obviously..."

"Welcome, welcome," Trelawney greeted anxiously as the rest of the class trickled in. "There is much to See and much to Know today, so we must begin immediately—"

"Hem, hem."

Trelawney pivoted to the side and her protuberant eyes latched onto Umbridge's stout body as it rose from her seat.

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Sybill?" Umbridge prompted, blinking her pouchy eyes as her lips simpered sinisterly.

"I—erm—they all—know you—don't they?"

Umbridge's lips widened before she turned her ugly face toward the silent class. "Good morning to you all. As you all know, I am the High Inquisitor, Professor Umbridge, and from now on, I will be attending all of your Divination classes—"

"All of them?" I blurted in disbelief, earning a few muffled snickers from Anderson behind me. "How can you come to all of our Divination classes? Don't you have your own—"

"Silence, Miss Fitzroy," she barked loudly before clearing her throat and continuing in her soft tone. "The Ministry is concerned that the practice of Divination is becoming...outdated—"

"Outdated?" I repeated with a voice of outrage. "It's a form of magic—how can it be outdated—"

Umbridge didn't speak this time; she simply drew her wand from her pocket and pointed it at me in a swift motion that apparently sealed my lips shut. A snarl vibrated in my throat as my mind swarmed with nasty thoughts.

"As I was saying," she continued coolly. "Divination is questionable to begin with, and, seeing as your professor's own abilities have not been well proven, I have no choice but to observe each of her classes and determine the proper course of action. After all, your education is the Ministry's top priority."

"Shouldn't your top priority be catching the ten Death Eaters that just escaped from Azkaban?" Ginny countered coldly. If my mouth could open, I would have burst out in chortles.

"Five points from Gryffindor, Miss Weasley," Umbridge responded, eliciting groans from some Gryffindor boys a few tables away. "Now, Professor, what activities do you have planned for the students today?"