Chapter 37: Ruined

(October 19, 1993)

 (Amelia Bones POV)

 "This isn't funny, Amelia! I have no interest in being the bloody Minister for Magic!" Alastor Moody growled out angrily as he held up this morning's issue of the Daily Prophet. "You're wrong there, Alastor. It's quite amusing." Amelia Bones, the head of the DMLE stated simply as she fought to keep the smile off her face.

"I told you I was retiring and now suddenly I'm running for Minister of Magic! If this is your way of being funny, I'm not laughing!" Moody stated with a huff as he noticed the corners of her mouth turn upwards into a smile. Amelia could see it in his eye that Alastor knew how much of a kick she was getting out of this, so she decided to get a little serious.

"Look, Alastor. I had nothing to do with this, honestly. It was actually Arcturus Black. Probably on the orders of the headmaster of Hogwarts if I've guessed correctly." Amelia said, her words bringing the gruff Auror up short. "The headmaster? Why would Black do anything for him? Wouldn't it be the other way around?" Alastor asked with a look of confusion.

 There was so much Amelia knew about the man that was Savrin Kincade that she wished she didn't. However, being that she did know a bit about the man, she knew with absolute certainty that House Black was not calling the shots. At least not with something as big as replacing Fudge.

"The headmaster of Hogwarts is… unique. He is a diabolical genius, who does not take well to people questioning him." Amelia paused as she remembered back to when Savrin had come to install the training facility in the Auror training rooms. The man did things that no one had ever seen, and had created things that none of them were even close to replicating, even with the objects there to look over. The ACDs the man had given to the Ministry to help test were revolutionary, and were already making the job of Aurors much easier.

"If I had to guess, he didn't take it too well when Fudge started sticking his nose into Hogwarts business. Sending Delores there definitely didn't help either. No, this is most likely his attempt to replace Fudge, and he's using you to do it." Amelia finished with a small smile.

 "If that's true, then why use me to do it? Why not become Minister himself if he's so smart? Or better yet, why not make one of the Blacks, Minister if they're going to do what he says anyway?" Moody asked, and Amelia couldn't help but smile at the questions.

"If you've ever met the man, you would know Savrin dislikes people to the point it borders on hate. Doesn't like talking to them, doesn't like seeing them, doesn't even like knowing they exist. I imagine putting him in a situation where he would have to deal with people on a day to day basis would be excruciating to the man. As for why he doesn't just get one of the Blacks to be Minister, I couldn't say for certain. He probably doesn't want to prove Fudge right by having them run for Minister. Why he chose you, there are multiple reasons I could think of. You're very well known to most of the magical community, you're strong, you're on the side of the people, you fight against the dark wizards, you're a war hero, and anyone who knows you knows you can't be bought. Honestly, you have my vote." Amelia finished with a wry smile that made Moody's frown deepen.

 "This isn't something to joke about, Amelia! I'm not going to run for Minister!" Moody growled.

"I'm not joking, Alastor. Cornelius is incompetent and unqualified to be Minister for Magic. He pissed off House Black for no reason, and without them the Ministry will quite literally crater into the ground. Honestly, his job isn't that difficult, because most of it is him campaigning and making sure the departments are all running as they should. If he actually did his job and put competent people in the right positions, he'd barely have to lift a finger. Which is why I think you would be perfect for the job. Think of how terrified the Death Eaters would be if you did become Minister. They would cower in their homes, tortured every waking second with the fear that the famous ex-Auror who hunted them a decade ago will send men to round them up. Let them try to use their gold to get out of it this time." Amelia said, feeding him with sweet words to try and tempt him into the job.

Seeing as how he didn't reject it right away, and that he was actually rubbing his scarred chin in thought, Amelia hoped she had given Moody some incentive to at least oust Fudge, however Moody suddenly shook his head before he growled, "I already told you, I don't want to be Minister! No matter how good you make it sound." With that, Moody stood up and hobbled his way towards the door of her office.

 When the gruff man opened the door, bellowing laughter could be heard outside, and Amelia had to fight back from laughing herself. Nymphadora Tonks, Moody's apprentice, had been holding her sides laughing when Alastor Moody arrived to speak with her, and hadn't been able to stop laughing, which is why she was told to leave the room.

She had apparently found the article in today's paper to be the funniest thing she had ever seen, and was unable to control herself. It didn't help that she was showing everyone she happened to see the paper, causing a few people who had met Alastor to laugh alongside her.

Just before the door to her office slammed shut, Amelia heard Alastor shout, "For the last time, SHUT UP, NYMPHADORA!"

 Now that she was alone in her office, Amelia let out a small chuckle at the thought of Moody actually being Minister. She hadn't been lying when she said that she would vote for him, she just couldn't imagine how things would be with the gruff-looking man being in politics.

'The Death Eaters would definitely be in hiding, and I doubt anyone would be jumping at the idea to follow in Voldemort's footsteps. Muggle-baiting would definitely drop if the punishments are hard enough, and I can see Alastor punishing people appropriately.' The more Amelia thought about it, the better the idea sounded to her. "But how to convince him to actually take the job…?" She mumbled aloud as she leaned back in her chair.

 Thinking about Moody, the man did not take well to being provoked, as most everyone knew. 'And Fudge is stupid enough to provoke him under the right conditions.' Amelia thought as an idea came to her mind.

She sent a quick message to Fudge to see her later for a brief meeting, hoping to spur the man on to making a few more blunders. Though she was loathed to be in the same room as the incompetent moron, it had to be done if she wanted him gone.

'It's a shame I can't just send an illusion in my place.' She thought, remembering a conversation with her niece Susan and how they were all under the impression that the headmaster sent illusions in his place at meal times. Susan called her every other night to tell her about her day, and while Amelia did enjoy hearing about her niece's time at Hogwarts, she also enjoyed the information she passed on about the school staff and what was going on there.

 ----------

 A few hours had passed before Amelia found herself walking into Fudge's office, and immediately she noticed how riled up the man looked. "Good afternoon, Minister." She deadpanned as she moved to sit at one of the two available chairs in front of his desk.

"Hello, Amelia. Now, what was so important that you needed to see me today? I've barely had a moment to myself today after this morning's paper." Fudge said quickly even as he moved to scribble some words on some pieces of parchment.

"I came to get you to sign off on the new batch of ACDs. Actually, from what I've gathered, they might be changing the entire design and name to be more inconspicuous. Magic Mirrors is what they'll be called. Anyway, I've already submitted the requests and any faults to Arcturus Black, I just need your signature." Amelia said as she placed three papers in front of Fudge.

Mentioning Arcturus Black had immediately captivated Fudge's whole attention as he stared at the papers in front of him. Truthfully, Amelia didn't need Fudge's signature, hell she didn't even need to mention to him that she was getting any new equipment for her department, however it was a good excuse to fan the flames.

 "I'm not so sure about these devices, Amelia. We haven't tested them long enough to approve them for public use. I say we deny Black from being able to sell them for at least another year. Maybe two years just to be on the safe side." Fudge said in a serious tone.

"My whole department has been testing them very thoroughly for nearly an entire year. They're much safer and more reliable than owls to be sure. And you know full well Black doesn't need the Ministry's approval to market them." Amelia stated simply, not showing the slightest bit of anger. She knew Fudge was petty, and thus had predicted his reaction to her bringing up the topic, however this gave her an opportunity to diverge onto her own reason for coming here.

 "I met with one of my senior Aurors, Alastor Moody this morning to talk about the devices. He had nothing but good things to say about them, and was saying how we should bring up the idea to create more devices of a similar nature." Amelia added playfully while looking to the side of the room at a few books that had caught her eye. With her attention focused elsewhere, Fudge let himself scowl for a brief moment before he controlled his features.

"You spoke with Mad-eye, did you?" Fudge asked through clenched teeth. Still looking away from Fudge, Amelia replied, "Oh yes. We talked about the ACDs and about support for… well, a few other things."

She intentionally made it seem as though the meeting was more than it really was, all in the hopes of getting a reaction. Out of the corner of her eye, Amelia could see Fudge visibly trying to control himself, but it was clear the man was finding it difficult, letting her know she had been successful in her plan. 

 "Was he trying to gain the support of the Aurors for his campaign for Minister of Magic?!" Fudge came right out and asked, sounding a little angry as he said it. "He didn't come right out and say it in those words, but you know how politics are." Amelia answered vaguely.

"You know I've always trusted you Amelia. I had hoped to count you in those I could trust to have my back." Fudge said in a tone that was far more calm than he looked. "And you know I've always trusted you, Cornelius." Amelia said, while internally she finished the sentence with (to be a complete moron).

"What was Mad-eye saying? Who's backing him?" Fudge asked quickly. Taking a moment to make it seem as though she was pondering on how best to say it, Amelia said, "Mostly he talked about his running for Minister for Magic and how House Black is supporting him. We talked about you of course, and though the topic of you being incompetent and unqualified to be Minister was brought up, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Alastor has no idea how difficult your job actually is." She didn't lie, she just didn't mention who exactly said what.

 Fudge's face went a bright crimson, and Amelia could swear there was steam coming off the top of his head. "He said that, did he?! The man clearly knows nothing about how to be Minister of Magic!" Fudge cried as he abruptly stood from his chair and began pacing around the room.

"Of course, Cornelius. I think Alastor has no idea what he's getting into. If you ask me, I think Alastor is in for a rude awakening in the next few days." Amelia said, getting a firm nod of agreement from Fudge. "Someone needs to knock some sense into the man!" Fudge said, happier now that it sounded as though Amelia was on his side. If only he knew.

"Well… Alastor has been a bit on edge these last few years. Maybe if you showed him and the public just how mad he's truly gone, he might just drop out of running for Minister all together." Amelia (helpfully) suggested.

 "You're absolutely right, Amelia!" Fudge said, then stormed out of his office, leaving Amelia alone with the unsigned papers. 'Moron.' She thought internally before she grabbed the papers from the desk and left the office to go back to her own. She had done her good deed for the day, now she would leave everything else in the incapable hands of Fudge.

 -----------

 (October 31, 1993)

 (Salazar POV)

 It was Sunday morning and everyone was taking the time to enjoy themselves at the breakfast table as they talked about the Halloween feast that would occur later that night. Off to the side of the room, Peeves the Poltergeist was flying erratically around the room as he fled from the Bloody Baron and a few of the other ghosts that roamed around the castle. It was actually quite the entertainment for a number of students, and many of them were cheering for either Peeves or the ghosts.

Ignoring the commotion going on around him and everyone else in their group, Salazar was focused solely on Luna as he told her about a delicious new sweet he had learned about from a Hufflepuff boy. "The blue ones taste like huckleberries, which are really good, however the red ones are my favorite. They're a mixture of cinnamon apples, giving it a sort of apple pie flavor." Salazar said as he gave her one of each color to try.

"What about the yellow ones? Are they lemon?" Luna asked while looking pointedly at the odd assortment of colored candies in the bag in front of them. "You would think they would be lemon flavored, but actually they're peach/mango flavored." Salazar answered simply. He didn't care much for the other colors as much as these two.

"You know, Salazar, I think-" Godric began to say when suddenly his jaw locked up and he began to spasm slightly in his seat. Salazar made the wand that had suddenly appeared in his hand disappear without so much as a thought before he focused back on the topic of sweets with Luna. Everyone else sitting beside them took the unspoken rule that Salazar wanted to be left alone right now, and all slowly scooted a few feet away from them.

 "Can you teach me how to duel?" Luna asked, changing the subject to something Salazar hadn't quite expected in the least. "You want to duel?" Salazar asked curiously. He wasn't against teaching Luna, but she didn't really seem like the type of person to enter into duels.

"I'm not sure about entering any competitions, but it would be nice to be able to defend myself if I needed to. I'm also a bit tired of all of my stuff disappearing from my trunk, and maybe if I was good at dueling, people might stop taking them." Luna replied, and immediately Salazar's eyes widened as things became abundantly clear to him.

'Her necklace was on a fountain last year, and her jumper was up in a tree. I should have asked her why her things were in odd places around the school!' Salazar cursed internally as he glanced over at Rowena, then to the Ravenclaw table where the other students were sitting. Salazar was thinking how best to punish them and to make sure none of them would dare lift a finger towards Luna, but a deep sigh drew him out of his dark musings.

"I understand if you don't want to teach me." The platinum blonde haired girl said, and Salazar had to catch himself from jumping out of his seat. "No, its not that. I was just wondering who would take your stuff. If you really want to, I can teach you. How about after breakfast we go practice a few things?" Salazar suggested, earning a heart melting smile in return.

"I would like that very much. I've watched you duel in the Coliseum, and you are very good. I hope I can be as good as you someday." Luna said, earning a nod from Salazar.

 After yesterday's dueling games, he was in first place over all of the school, though he was barely keeping ahead of Godric. Up until yesterday, Godric had been in first, and Salazar had only narrowly beaten him. Ever since the ritual the previous year when Godric strengthened his body, the fool had been able to shrug off a number of spells, and if Salazar didn't play his cards right then Godric would have won the match.

Had it not been for binding his wand to his ring he actually would have lost, since Godric had disarmed him in the duel, but Salazar had recalled the wand back to the ring and into his hand before it got more than a foot away from him, but the brief perceived victory had been enough for Godric to let his guard down and for Salazar to disarm Godric's wand.

 *HEMP!*

*HEMP!*

 The croaking sound drew everyone's attention, and Salazar didn't even bother to suppress his groan when he turned around in his seat and saw the toad-like woman standing just behind him and Luna.

"Forgive me, but did I hear you say you were going to teach this girl dueling?" Umbridge asked in her sickeningly sweet voice. A number of students around the room shook their heads, having had a run in with the senile bat over the last few days, many of them knew that nothing good would come of her attention.

"That is none of your business." Salazar said while swinging both legs over the bench so he could face the woman head on. It didn't matter that they were children, all of them knew she wouldn't hesitate to pull her wand if she felt justified, and Salazar wasn't taking any chances.

"This girl is a second year, and as you well know, second years are not permitted to learn dueling. I'm afraid you'll be punished if you proceed with such nonsense." Umbridge said through barely suppressed rage. Apparently she didn't like how most everyone in the school didn't bother to show her even an ounce of respect. Salazar was about to give a retort to the stupid woman when a hand landed on his shoulder.

Looking up, he saw his head of house, Professor Berrycloth standing next to him. "Actually, Madam Umbridge, students are well within their right to learn dueling no matter what year they are in. They just can't participate in dueling until their third year. As the dueling instructor, I should know." Berrycloth stated, hoping to put an end to the scene before it carried on for much longer.

 As a seasoned Auror, and one who respected the chain of command and the Ministry, it pained him to see such an incompetent woman in such a high position. Her being here wasn't helping anything as well, as it was giving the students of the school a bad outlook on the Ministry itself, and he had already heard mumblings from a number of students who already considered the Ministry a joke if Umbridge was anything to go off of, and Berrycloth couldn't even refute them. Seeing the woman causing another scene, he felt it was better to put an end to it before it got any further.

 Before Umbridge had the chance to say anything to the DADA professor, a custard pie flew through the air and smacked her right in the face. There was a bright flash of light from a familiar camera that had captured the whole thing, but Salazar didn't even bother to look at Colin Creevey, who was the origin of the flash, but rather he and everyone else in the room turned to look at where the pie had come from, only to see Peeves dancing in the air.

"Bullseye!" Peeves cried while laughing hysterically as he flew through the walls and disappeared from the now silent room. Salazar had turned his focus back to Umbridge, who was just beginning to wipe the pie from her eyes when he heard Godric shout, "Colin, I'll give you a hundred galleons for that film!"

Salazar saw Umbridge look over at the little Gryffindor boy before she turned her attention back to him. She glared at both him and Luna before she turned and left the room with a number of people laughing at her as she left, Godric and the Weasley twins being the loudest out of everyone. "You better watch yourself, Salazar. Umbridge is a petty woman who doesn't like being talked back to." Berrycloth said before he went back to his seat at the high table.

 A few feet away from him, Salazar could see Godric holding the film he had just purchased from Creevey, already saying how he was going to hang the photo up in the Gryffindor common room. Turning his attention back to Luna, Salazar gave her a confident smile before saying, "Forget what the toad said. She doesn't have a leg to stand on here at Hogwarts." Luna smiled at him.

The two of them quickly ate their food before heading to the seventh floor corridor to the Room of Requirement. Salazar and the others had agreed to not show others the room, but it didn't matter. He trusted her, more than he probably should have, but that was his problem, and one he would deal with in the future if it ever came back to bite him in the ass.

 For most of the day they stayed in the room practicing, even skipping over lunch so they could get a few more hours together. There was a little over an hour before the Halloween feast when they finally decided to call it a day. "You did very well, Luna." Salazar complimented her, and it wasn't just to be kind.

Despite how out of the loop she seemed, Luna was actually a very smart girl who loved learning, which was probably why she was put into Ravenclaw. After only one day of practice she had gotten pretty good at blocking spells, learned Expelliarmus, and Stupefy.

Salazar had just begun to touch base on the summoning charm when both their stomachs growled and they looked at each other. "Why don't we call it a day? We can go get cleaned up and head to the Great Hall. I'll bet there will be some snacks laid out and we can eat something until the feast starts." Salazar suggested, getting a nod of agreement from Luna.

 The two left the Room of Requirement shortly afterwards, then split up not long after that so they could go back to their house common rooms to clean up. Salazar cast a few cleaning spells on himself and his clothes, checked his hair and teeth, and only after spritzing a little bit of cologne on himself he made his way towards the Great Hall.

Slowly, one by one the students began to trickle into the room for the feast, which if the snacks laid out beforehand was any indication, would be awesome. Most of the students had arrived after a certain point, but Luna still had yet to surface, and Salazar couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Surveying the room, his eyes roamed the head table and his eyes widened as he realized someone was missing.

'She wouldn't have…' Salazar thought darkly as he tried to find Umbridge. Not seeing her, and having a dark premonition, he stood abruptly before he shot out of the room, leaving a few others to look on in confusion. "Stomach problems?" Rowena guessed, not seeing what had Salazar sprinting out of the room.

 Running up the stairs, Salazar was moving faster than he had ever moved before in his life. It took only a few minutes to arrive on the floor where Umbridge had been staying, and a few seconds more to arrive outside of her door. Pressing his ear to the door, Salazar listened for even the faintest of sound, but it was hard to hear anything over the thumping of his heart.

It took a few seconds for his heartbeat to slow enough to hear anything, but between beats he heard the sound he had dreaded. It was almost too quiet to hear, but he had heard muffled cries of pain coming from in the room. Without thinking about it anymore, he pointed his wand at the door before casting a spell, and a breath later the door was blown off its hinges and he ran into the room.

The first thing he saw was a moving mound of pink, but that was all he needed to see before he immediately began casting curses and hexes. The carpet on the floor turned into thousands of tiny snakes that began slithering towards the now frozen toad. The snakes moved up her body and many of them began making their way through the woman's nostrils and mouth. They would rip her apart from the inside out, and Salazar was more than happy to do it.

 It was only after Umbridge was down for the count that Salazar looked at the little blonde child sitting at the table, and he couldn't help himself when he froze. It was not Luna like he had expected, and as bad as it was to think, he was glad it turned out this way.

"Colin? What are you doing here?" Salazar couldn't help but ask as he looked at what the boy was doing. He was holding a weird looking quill over a piece of parchment that had [I WILL RESPECT MY BETTERS] written in red ink all over the paper.

The writing was odd because Salazar didn't see any ink bottles anywhere, and no one in the school wrote with red ink. Then there was the fact that he could swear someone was in pain in here, and given how Colin's cheeks were tear-stained, it was safe to say there was more going on than he could see at a glance.

 "Um-b-bridge…" Colin began as tears fell from his eyes. "She heard me talking about the picture this morning to my friends. She said I needed to be taught how to respect my betters." Colin sniffled as he showed the back of his hand that still had the words on the paper etched into his skin.

Looking between the paper, the quill and the scarred hand of Colin, Salazar was a bit puzzled on what he should do now. He had every intention of torturing the disgusting woman for daring to lay a hand on Luna, but she hadn't actually done anything to Luna, at least as far as he was aware.

"She wasn't torturing anyone else, was she?" Salazar couldn't help but ask. "I-I don't think so. I've been in here for hours, and she hasn't left the room even once." Colin said sadly. "That's good." Salazar said, then realizing how horrible that sounded, he quickly added, "I mean that no one else had to suffer with her."

Looking down at the woman who was still covered in snakes, Salazar pondered what to do next. With a thought, he pulled out his ACD and called Savrin. "Sir, I did something I'm not sure you're going to like. I'm in Umbridge's office." Salazar said to the headmaster, who sighed into the device before it went dead. There was about two seconds from when the call ended to Savrin appearing in the middle of the room.

 -----------

 (Savrin POV)

 Looking down at the woman covered in snakes, then to the young boy who was clearly still crying, the scars on his hands, the quill, and the paper, then finally to Salazar, Savrin couldn't help the sigh that escaped him.

"I think I understand what went on here." Savrin said as he waved his hand over Umbridge and instantly the snakes covering her and inside of her seemingly disappeared into thin air. "I warned you, Delores. You are not permitted to discipline the students in any way shape or form. You have disobeyed me, and for that, you must be punished."

Umbridge didn't so much as blink from her prone position, almost as if she was frozen with fear. Ignoring her for the moment, Savrin withdrew a small blue bottle from his storage space and handed it to Colin.

"Mister Creevey, I must apologize for what has happened to you. Normally I have someone watching over Delores so she doesn't have the chance to do anything without my knowing, but they were… busy." Savrin said to the boy, being quite honest.

Normally, Elysia would be monitoring Umbridge throughout the day as a sort of spy, but this being Halloween, Savrin had decided to let the spirit of Hogwarts have the day off. Currently, the spirit was disguised as Peeves the poltergeist, so she could roam the castle and do whatever she wanted without drawing anyone's attention. She had been playing tag with the ghosts of the school for most of the day, but right now she was probably in the Great Hall at the feast.

 After almost forcing the contents of the bottle down Colin's throat, the scars on the boy's hand healed up quite nicely. "Aside from promising that this will never happen to you again, I will be rewarding Gryffindor with three hundred points for being punished so unjustly. Now, why don't you two run along to the Great Hall. There are still a few more minutes before the feast begins, and I don't think you want to miss that." Savrin said, earning surprised eyes from both students.

"Wow! Really?!" Colin asked excitedly at the amount of points he had been given for his house. It was almost as if he had never been tortured in the first place. "Really?! Godric will be insufferable if his house wins the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup! Can't you make it like fifty points instead?!" Salazar asked hopefully.

"If you want, I can torture you for a few hours, then I'll give Slytherin house three hundred points too. Sound fair?" Savrin asked, and Salazar immediately shut his mouth. "That's what I thought. Now, run along you two. I have to educate Delores here on why it's best to listen to school rules." Savrin said dismissively as he turned his attention back to Umbridge.

 ---------

 (General POV)

 As Salazar and Colin walked into the Great Hall, Salazar couldn't help but notice the four hour glass cases signifying their house points, and he almost let out a curse when he noticed how many more points Gryffindor House had than the other three houses.

"You better be on your best behavior, Colin. Otherwise, those points will disappear." Salazar warned the boy, who was too busy smiling at the points to listen. The two entered into the Great Hall, and right away Colin began telling some of his house mates about the points he had just been given, causing a number of Gryffindor students to go check the hour glasses.

Ignoring them, Salazar made his way to where they usually sat, and was relieved to see Luna talking with Rowena. "It's about time you showed up. You almost missed the feast." Godric said cheerfully. "I just had to take care of something." Salazar said as he sat down beside Luna.

 Taking a moment, Salazar looked up to the head table, and wasn't all that surprised to see Savrin there, but all the same he wanted to test something. "Hey, Luna. Is that the headmaster or an illusion?" Salazar asked, already knowing full well that Savrin was probably torturing Umbridge right about now.

"That's an illusion. The headmaster probably had something important to take care of, which is why he had to leave." Luna answered simply. 'So she can tell the difference.' Salazar thought, knowing for certain that there was in fact something special about Luna.

 The feast proceeded as it normally did, with a few dancing pumpkins appearing sporadically around the room at times that would drop an odd assortment of candies from Honeydukes in front of kids.

By the end of the night when everyone turned in for bed, there was only one person in the whole school who wasn't smiling. In fact, she was doing the opposite of smiling. She was screaming. In pain. Excruciating pain.

 --------

 The next morning as everyone entered the Great Hall for breakfast, they were surprised to see Umbridge sitting at the head table with a blank stare that looked as though she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. "Morning Delores." McGonagall said from the chair beside the woman.

In response to the morning greeting, Umbridge cried out, "I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MAGIC!" The whole room stopped to stare at her sudden outburst, but she didn't seem to register that anyone was staring at her.

"Are you alright, Delores? You look unwell." McGonagall asked, a little surprised herself at the woman's sudden outburst. "I AM INEPT! A FOOL! SOMEONE WHO IS UNSUITED TO BE IN A POSITION OF POWER! I AM A FAILURE AS A WITCH!" Umbridge cried once more, looking on the verge of breaking.

"You won't find anyone arguing about that, Umbitch!" Godric shouted out in agreement. "Mister Gryffindor! I'll remind you to curb that tongue of yours!" McGonagall cried out, reprimanding the boy on the Under secretary's behalf.

"I'm sorry, Minny, but you know how easy it is to confuse her name with her personality." Godric said from where he was sitting. Honestly, he expected more of a reaction from the toad, but to most everyone's surprise, she hadn't reacted even a little bit to his words.

 Breakfast was a little quieter than usual after that, and it only got weirder when Umbridge stood, almost robotically and marched out of the room. It was later that day at lunch when word spread of her leaving the school and going back to the Ministry, and cheers were heard all around by the students and staff.

 -------

 (Fudge POV)

 Fudge was not having a good day. Ever since he had confronted Alastor Mad-eye Moody almost ten day ago, things had not been going his way. He had made a fool out of himself in front of hundreds of Ministry employees and a number of reporters, and aside from Amelia, the entire Auror department didn't have anything nice to say about him.

He had only intended to insult Moody, but had actually called all Aurors deranged people. On top of that, Arcturus Black pulled funding from anything he had his hand in, and was making it a point to highlight Moody's involvement in everything that he was funding. He had actually seen a few of his staff members go to Moody for signatures on some things because it was the only way Arcturus Black would fund any of them.

 He had done a few interviews with some reporters from the Daily Prophet, who recorded him word for word, and now that Black owned the Daily Prophet, he didn't get the opportunity to edit things or have things he said that made him look bad taken out of the interviews.

All in all, he didn't look too good in the eyes of the public at the moment. Currently he was preparing for another interview to try and turn a bit of the public's focus away from himself and onto Black, but he still wasn't a hundred percent sure on what he should say. Thankfully he wouldn't have to do everything himself, because the one person he knew he could count on arrived at the Ministry, no doubt with a wealth of information that hopefully might turn the attention away from himself.

 As soon as Umbridge entered into his office, Fudge gestured to the reporters that he was ready to begin the interview. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce my senior undersecretary, Delores Jane Umbridge. She has been at Hogwarts School on the Ministry's behalf. She was sent to make sure the teachers were actually teaching the next generation of young witches and wizards appropriate information that would better help them to better our world. What have you learned, Delores?" Fudge said as he turned over the spotlight to his undersecretary.

"I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MAGIC! I AM INEPT! A FOOL! SOMEONE WHO IS UNSUITED TO BE IN A POSITION OF POWER! I AM A FAILURE AS A WITCH!" Umbridge cried out, showing all the world how mad she truly was.

Fudge, who had been smiling only a moment before, was almost in tears. 'I'm ruined.' He thought, unsure how he was going to recover from this.