Chapter 317: A Private Chat with a Certain Toad...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 317: A Private Chat with a Certain Toad...

"What did you say?! How dare you?!" Umbridge looked about to explode.

"Did I get it wrong?... Was it one-fourth toad, perhaps?" Harry made a confused expression.

"Harry, what are you plotting now..." Daphe muttered softly.

"That's it!" she shouted. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and two weeks of detention!"

Harry shrugged.

"You said we could ask questions."

"Four weeks!" Umbridge screamed.

"Harry…what are you doing?" Hermione whispered to him.

The rest of the class also wore expressions of bafflement.

Umbridge pointed her finger at him.

"This afternoon, after classes, you are coming to my office. And you better not be late!"

"Of course, Professor. I wouldn't dream of it," Harry replied with a kind smile.

He knew this was going to be easy, at least. Now he just needed to wait…

<><><><><><><><><><><>

As requested, Harry finished his classes without causing any more trouble and walked to the Inquisitor's office.

Umbridge was waiting for him at the door with an upset expression. She was too angry with him to use her usual fake smile.

"I didn't expect you to actually appear…" She was getting ready to go talk to his Head of House and present a formal complaint.

"You may not know, but I am quite the exemplary student around here," Harry said as he pointed at the door behind her.

"Shall we?"

Umbridge had her wand ready in her left hand, just in case. Despite her hatred for Harry Potter, she was very wary of him.

How could she not be, after what she saw him do the previous year?

She opened the door and urged him inside, not taking her eyes off him for a moment.

"Leave your wand on my desk…you won't need it for this detention, and then sit down in that chair." She pointed to a small table in front of her desk that had a single piece of parchment resting on top.

Harry did as she said, placing his wand on her desk before taking a seat in front of the small table.

This calmed her down a bit and gave her more confidence now that she was the only one armed.

Students like Harry Potter were the main motivators for laws that restricted the use of wands to only trustworthy individuals.

Umbridge closed the door and added a silencing charm. It was going to be needed for what she had planned.

"Mister Potter…" She walked to her desk and grabbed Harry's wand.

"Today, you are going to learn to respect your superiors…I want you t—"

Harry turned to look at her. His wand appeared from its holster and was pointed at Umbridge.

The woman was completely caught off guard when her wand was sent flying with a silent Disarming Charm.

She quickly grabbed the wand she had taken from her desk and aimed it at him.

"Crucio!" But nothing happened.

Harry ignored her confusion and followed up with a restraining spell.

"Incarcerous."

White chains wrapped tightly around her body, making her let out a painful grunt.

"How?...the wand…"

"My wand is right here." Harry showed it to her.

"What you're holding is just a wooden replica I conjured…you're way too naive, Professor. You didn't even check if it was real or if I had other focci on me. " Harry turned to examine the room.

"Potter! You can't do this! Let me go!" Umbridge screamed.

Harry continued to ignore her complaints and performed a few tests. He wanted to make sure there was nothing that could disrupt him, but other than the silencing charm Umbridge had used, the office was clean.

"Release me this instant! This is a very serious crime, Potter! You're going to Azkaban for this!"

"That's a bit harsh, Professor. You're the one who used an Unforgivable Curse on me…"

"That was…I have the right to—"

"Don't worry, I won't judge you for that. The Unforgivable Curses can be useful sometimes. Although my favorite is a different one…" Harry pointed his wand at her face.

"W-wait!" Umbridge recalled the coldness Harry had shown when he killed all those people at the Ministry.

"Don't kill me, please!"

"Kill you already?...No, it's too soon for that…Imperio." A flash of light came out of his wand and hit Umbridge directly.

She seemed to enter a trance, her eyes becoming glazed over.

"Umbridge, I'm going to ask you a few things, and you will tell me the truth…is that clear?" Harry said.

"Of course!" She smiled at him like he was her best friend.

"Wow…she has like no mental protections at all…" Harry wondered how someone like her could hold such high positions in the Ministry.

"Anyway…where do we start?" Harry considered for a moment.

"What is your real objective here at Hogwarts?"

"I have several, but the most important ones are to keep an eye on Albus Dumbledore and to make sure that Neville Longbottom participates in the Triwizard Tournament."

"Neville?...Did Minister Parkinson order you that?"

She shook her head.

"No…this came from the Dark Lord himself! He said that my job is crucial and that I will be rewarded properly." Her eyes were filled with admiration.

"The Dark Lord, you say…"

Harry flicked his wand, removing the white chains. There was no more need for them, as the woman was completely under his control.

"Show me your right forearm…"

"Right away…" She lifted the sleeve of her right arm, and Harry could clearly see the familiar black tattoo depicting the snake and skull.

"You are a Death Eater."

"My Lord granted me that honor very recently." That was not a question, but she seemed very eager and happy to talk about it.

"Do you know where the Dark Lord is?" Harry decided to ask, even though there was little chance.

"No…the Dark Lord has only visited the Ministry twice to share some of his plans with us, but he never told me where he was staying…I need to work harder to earn his trust!"

"Figures…how does he communicate with you?"

"I've been told to listen to what Mister Rookwood says. He will deliver any new orders to me."

"Rookwood…what do you know about him?"

"I knew him a bit before he was sent to Azkaban. He has been a very loyal follower of our Dark Lord. That's why he was released from prison, so he could continue to serve."

"That's it?...Do you know nothing about his death?"

Umbridge looked genuinely confused at this question.

"But he's not dead…I don't…I don't know…"

"Looks like you really don't know what he is…Did you not notice any change in his personality?"

"Personality?...He seems quieter than the Lord Rookwood I remember…We never really spoke much."

"Mmm…" It wasn't much, but at least he had a clue of what Voldemort was planning for Hogwarts at the moment. He was trying to get rid of Neville and Dumbledore…

His eyes went back to Umbridge.

"Tell me more about your plan…how do you intend to force Neville Longbottom to participate in the tournament?. I want to know all the details..." Harry was thinking that he could make a few changes.

A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.

You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 15 advanced chapters.

You can also find images of some of the characters from the fic for free. Like Lyra, Holly, among others.

-patreon.com/Kriogenix