164 Ch. 164 Educational Decrees

Before I knew it, two months passed after my 'moderate rebuttal' of our esteemed High Inquisitor.

Her immediate reaction was completely predictable, ie, to cry to the minister like a petulant child.

She wailed and ranted at the incapable idiot, calling me 'a disrespectful shame on anyone who uses Magic, a filthy blooded mongrel, treasonous half-blood' and a slew of other creative and racist insults I now have a recording of. Hehehe.

Too bad for her, I am still in a way too solid position. This isn't just about my political and economical power, they now have to face my credibility as well. In this case, they would have to prove that Umbridge is legitimately qualified to criticize the course of a certified master. Then they would need to prove that the ministry approved book they want to force onto kids is superior to the dozens of books I use for my lessons. Meaning, they have to justify using a book rejected by any DADA master actually worth the name, written by someone who isn't even an expert, and which would make anyone who's actually graduated any Magic school laugh at it, over my carefully curated books from experts on every subject I teach which have also been referenced by masters for decades if not centuries.

It was always laughable to see these idiots try to find a way to fuck with me. A single subtle reminder from one of 'his' assistants and Fudge immediately folds like the wet blanket he is.

I love having my people everywhere.

It did also help that my lessons were thought provoking, practical and informative for the for the older students, while also being fun and interactive for the younger ones.

Too bad Hogwarts doesn't do those Professor reviews cause I think I'd ace them. But then Snape would have been out of a job after his first year here and Dumbledore needed the man close. Trelawney on the other hand would have really wonky reviews. The lady does predict the death of a student from each year, every year, but she does also predict minor events if you pay attention to her carefully. Unfortunately, it's all masked by her demeanor and crappy fortune teller shtick. Then Binns would have needed to either be exorcised or see if another arrangement could be made so a proper teacher could be brought in.

Aside from teaching, I've also been able to help with some extracurricular activities as well. I've been helping Cedric out as he learns to handle the Exchange and being Head Boy this year, while coaching Luna to be in charge the following year. I've also appeared as a 'guest instructor' for the Dueling club, giving my little successors more training and advice while putting the rest of the members through some enhanced exercises. And lastly, I've gathered the Orderlings to really teach them how to fight through very intense combat sessions.

It's been good to see all the kids I knew getting better and better.

Luna was interesting to teach because of her unique views of the world, literally in her case because of her eyes allowing her to play with Magic once I started showing her how. I can sense Magic to much higher degree than anyone, but the accident which caused her mother's death imparted her the ability to truly see Magic even when not in spell form. Took me a while to realize that, then translate what all those creature names would represent, but after that I began teaching her how to create her own spells and how to play with existing ones. I think I might have honestly helped create someone who could reshape our understanding of Magic alongside me. (Purely platonic, she's Christian's girl.)

Cedric was already a very competent combatant, I was helping him go to the next level by having some one-on-one fights against me and having him fully integrating transfiguration into his style. He needs some real fights to break him out of his mentality though, too righteous to strike down someone trying to kill him and it could lead to him dying or someone else's death.

Ginny was an interesting case for me. She was someone I didn't really interact with in general and except for the Riddle diary event, only my relationships with her brothers really link me and her. Doesn't mean I wasn't going to teach her how to fight properly, but it was going to take time for her to truly be capable. Fortunately the girl his quite gifted in the use of jinxes, hexes and curses even if she doesn't want to admit it. I think her time carrying the Horcrux around might have influenced her talents since she was still in a very malleable age. She also had good instincts when in a fight, something I was helping her hone.

The twins were taught how to maximize the teamwork and 'prank' spells into their fighting styles. I showed them how seemingly harmless or useless spells could be used to limit, distract, confuse and even disarm opponents, and oh boy were they excited to do it. But i also had them go through some intense solo training so they don't become over-reliant on their teamwork and become sitting ducks when separated.

Ron was really getting out through his paces during these two months because of the club and then these lessons, but to his credit he was handling everything without backing down. It was kind of cool to see a kid grow so much from my advice and the opportunity I gave him. In the last few years he changed from an insecure attention seeker to a confident and upstanding young man. His dueling has become one of the best in school, but his time with Krum and Christian have helped him develop a more practical and combat oriented style just like them. So although he still has some ways to go before he can take on true professionals, the kid can fight.

Hermione needed a different approach. Besides Luna, who had a very unique way of using Magic to protect herself, she was the only one without any true fighting instincts. This meant I had to basically drill into her body proper attacks and defenses. I needed her to not have the chance to think when casting her defenses and not hesitate when attacking, meaning I was conditioning her to have trained combat reflexes until she can consciously fight her opponents without freezing or overthinking. It has been very hard for everyone's favorite bookworm to do this, but she's hanging in there.

Following her was Neville in terms of fighting inexperience. From what I could tell his parents recovering had huge effects on the boy, lifting a burden he placed on himself and finally being able to experience their love and support has helped him build more confidence in himself. He even told me that his father was planing to teach him during the breaks since he and his wife were officially released not too long ago. Meanwhile I was helping Neville develop a very solid base for him to build on and hammered basic but effective combinations into him.

And finally I had my honorary little brother, Harry James Potter. If I was being honest, he was the closest to my personal Magic than everyone I've ever taught. Sure I had Susan, James, Christian and Victoria learn them, but i had them branch out into what would perfectly suit themselves. Harry however, took what I taught him and formed his style by making it all his. Then it became even more obvious after Lupin taught him the Patronus charm, making the kid at least capable of learning everything which didn't require a second level Magic core. So now Harry was probably considered one of the only actual users of White Magic in the world. So with that and Sirius becoming very active in Harry's life, he's been becoming a very large threat to those who immerse themselves into the Dark Arts.

What was interesting after these two months was that I apparently had to attend a bi-monthly teacher's meeting in the headmaster's office. I had completely forgotten about that being a thing.

So with a little heads up to the wifey that I would be home a bit later than usual, I went to the old man's office.

But when I got to the gargoyle guarding the way up to the office, I found the most peculiar scene.

"You will let me through this instant!" A shrieking toad said as her face started matching her pink clothes.

"..." The stone statue just stared at her impassively.

'I kinda want to watch her try to actually make a real gargoyle move move from his perch by saying that a creature like it can't stand in the way of the ministry, but I have shit to do and I want to go relax with my beauty.' I thought with a smirk as I watched the idiot.

"Move aside Ms. Umbridge, some of us have better things to do than watch you yell at a statue." I said to her in a droll tone as I approached.

"It is High Inquisitor! And I have important business with Dumbledore." She corrected and then seemed to try to make me jealous somehow.

"Good for you. Too bad today is the staff meeting, so you have to wait for tomorrow. But I am sure whatever you had to tell him truly needed to be said now. Cause we all care so much about what you have to say don't we?" I asked with so much sarcasms it was almost visible.

"And why was I not told about this meeting?" She seriously asked, completely ignoring my sarcasm.

"Because you aren't a staff member. You are a political annoyance we are tolerating. Now move aside." I answered as made her back away from me due to being physically intimidating with my height and muscles.

She stumbled backwards while opening and closing her mouth, but I ignored her and nodded at the gargoyle which obediently opened up for without any issues.

"Stop being a damn pest and stay in your office Umbridge. Then maybe you'll be able to get through your time here." I then said with a glare as I began climbing the stairs and the entrance sealed itself before she could respond.

I didn't bother knocking at the door since I was already expected anyway, entering to see I was the last person to get here. Even if I was still early it was a bit embarrassing, but oh well.

"Aedan, glad you have joined us. Now we can begin our first gathering of the year." Dumbledore said in his usual jovial tone.

"So what do we do during these meetings? It is my first one." I asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing too serious. This is to make sure everyone is on the same page and that we have a cohesive plan moving forward." The headmaster with his grandfatherly smile. "Minerva, if you could start with our first years."

"My pleasure Albus. It does seem like many first years from Magic families have some reservations in being here, most likely because of the ministry's actions, but it is only a minority. Aside from that, a few are showing some talent in my class." She informed us.

"A few of my ravens have spoken to me about their concerns as well, and not just from first years. Although it has been a pleasant surprise that this has not been happening in the older students." Flitwick added with a bit of a mixed mood.

"Yes, my charges are being quite vocal sometimes. I believe our new Inquisitor might be stoking flames." Snape further developed with an unpleasant expression.

"Speaking of, did anybody else have to witness our unwanted addition yelling at the entrance?" I asked out of curiosity again.

That question actually got me some knowing smiles from the majority of professors.

"It is too bad we were having an important meeting and could not hear anything due to our privacy wards." Dumbledore said with a small smile as well.

"I see. It truly is unfortunate then." I said as my own Loki like smile appeared.

"Put aside our new toad, there seems to be just as many dunderheads this year in my classes as usual." Snape said as he returned everyone to the matter at hand.

"Then maybe you should actually try teaching them Snape. My classes are doing quite well as students are responding to some actual training pretty well. But I do have a lot of whiners from Slytherin house however." I said in a pointed manner.

"I do not need a petulant child like you to tell me how to manage my charges." He nearly hissed at me.

"Both of you calm down." McGonagall interrupted as she put her glare into action, making the both of us back down temporarily.

"Um, i have been pleasantly surprised as to how solid the knowledge students have in my classes." Our substitute Professor said with a nervous smile.

"Yes, I am quite glad Hagrid has been able to achieve such results." Dumbledore said as he happily took out a lemon drop to suck on.

"Let's not forget the trend we've seen with improving grades all around. Our kids are working hard, having fun and making new friends, such a good atmosphere." Cooed Pomena with a motherly smile.

"Yes, but it seems so troublemakers are becoming more prominent in your house Severus." Professor McGonagall said as she glanced at her colleague.

"A mere side effect of the political climate, no need for your concern." He countered with his frown.

"I actually do need to have a talk with a few students from your house at one point Snape. They need to know the options they have for the future after all." I informed the man as I knew he understood my implications.

With a reluctant nod, we moved on to discuss some more standard issues like supplies and current grades as well as some minor clashes with our resident amphibious.

"Any outstanding issues within the student body then?" Asked Dumbledore.

"I've noticed some students being confrontational towards Mr. Potter, but nothing serious as of yet. It is mostly because of the Prophet." Minerva answered with an odd look on her face.

"Yes, but our more recent policies on conflict have helped curb any real clashes between students so far. But we must keep a vigilant eye on the situation." Flitwick seriously said.

"Please do make sure nothing develops into true anger. The last thing we all desire is our students harming each other and while the ministry is attempting to control Hogwarts no less." The Headmaster said as he took another candy to relieve his stress over the matter, even if it was planned.

"Well let's not all dwell on the annoying stuff." I said with an upbeat tone and a clap of my hands to break the gloom. "The students are doing good, there's been an improvement in grades, the situation is under control, the Harry problem isn't that bad since I've been helping him through it and we all know the Prophet can only stir up this nonsense for so long."

"Of course Potter needs special attention. The boy cannot go a month without being the center of everyone's world." Snape sneered in response.

"Too bad it's the world that decided to fuck with him so much, and you don't help so be quiet." I snapped back at Snape, resulting in the both of us glaring at each other again.

"Thank you all for taking time to come here today." Dumbledore said as he basically ignored our little showdown. "But like young Aedan has said, we are on the right track and it is in our best interest to maintain our current performance. We will have more to discuss once the winter holidays are upon us and everything settles down more. For today however, I believe we can call this meeting to a close."

With that, I had to break my stare down with Snape and bid goodnight to everyone present since I did have a pleasant relationship with most of them. Binns was pretty much the only exception since he couldn't even get my name right, much less truly remember me. He's still a weird ghost to me.

Oh well. I decided to simply put most of it aside and go home to hold my wifey.

Unfortunately a week after our staff meeting, the minister decided to do something which angered me quite a bit even if I knew they'd probably do it. I was able to mitigate some damages, but even then i will have to be vigilant.

'EDUCATIONAL DECREE no.23

DOLRES JANE UMBRIDGE NOW HOLDS SUPREME AUTHORITY OVER ALL PUNISHMENTS, SANCTIONS AND REMOVAL OF PRIVILEGES PERTAINING TO THE STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS ACCORDING TO CURRENT STANDARDS.

EDUCATION DECREE no.24

ALL STUDENT ORGANISATIONS, SOCIETIES, TEAMS, GROUPS, AND CLUBS ARE HENCEFORTH DISBANDED. AN ORGANISATION, SOCIETY, TEAMS, OR CLUB IS HEREBY DEFINED AS AS A REGULAR MEETING OF THREE OR MORE STUDENTS. PERMISSION TO RE-FORM MAY BE SOUGHT FROM THE HIGH INQUISITOR. NO STUDENT ORGANISATION, SOCIETY, TEAM, GROUP, OR CLUB MAY EXIST WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE AND APPROVAL OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR. ANY STUDENT FOUND TO HAVE FORMED, OR BELONG TO, AN ORGANISATION, SOCIETY, TEAM, GROUP, OR CLUB THAT HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE HIGH INQUISITOR WILL BE EXPELLED.'

'And so begins the nailing of the coffin.' I thought with a neutral expression as I watched Filch nail these new additions to the wall outside the Great Hall.