Hogwarts - March 5, 2006
By the time Ginny was able to return to the school the story of a poor potions interaction had been spread. There were many who believed it, but there was just as many who didn't.
Everyone knew how Ginny felt about Hadrian, and the result of the attack was that everyone now knew that Hadrian was dating Fred and George. Those who didn't blindly follow everything the Headmaster said were more than a little convinced that Ginny had attacked because she was jealous.
The benefit for Hadrian and the twins was now that everyone knew about them was they no longer needed to take things slow. Now they could walk down the halls holding hands or with their arms wrapped around each other whenever they wanted.
The school rules forbid anything too graphic, but they could still ensure people knew they were together. Full blown make-out sessions were against the rules, but kissing in general wasn't, a fact they used to their advantage.
The day after Ginny had finally been able to return she had seen Hadrian relaxing in Freds arms while they waited for George outside the library. Hermione had had to use the full body-bind to keep her from attacking them again. She had been told by the Headmaster that it was her job to keep control over Ginny's temper. Hermione could tell it was going to be an extremely difficult task.
During the past few weeks Umbridge had been doing more and more work in an effort to take control of the school, and unfortunately she was having some success.
She had been successful in making it so that she could alter or change any punishment she felt was to harsh or too soft. But James and Alice had managed to change it so that any punishment she wanted to change would be reviewed by not only her, but a few members of the school governors as well. It limited the amount of damage she could do.
Another decree that she had managed to get passed was that any student organizations, societies, teams, groups and clubs needed her approval to exist. While it was a bit of an annoyance any group she rejected filed a complaint with the DOE and were then quickly approved by them. The only real benefit from that was that it gave Umbridge the illusion of power.
When she had tried to have The Seer banned from the school the Lovegood's had immediately filed a lawsuit about discrimination and suppression of free speech. The DOE had stood by the rule, but it wouldn't go into effect until after the lawsuit was settled, meaning The Seer was still being delivered to the school and there was nothing Umbridge could do to stop it.
For most of the school, life just carried on. The little power plays of the ministry and the school was just background noise to the real gossip about their own lives.
Headmaster's Office - March 18, 2006
Albus was slowly walking around his office. He had made a decision. He needed to regain control of his pawns.
Over the past weeks he had been speaking to different staff members to see what issues they were having with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Once he had the information he had selected which personality traits he needed to tweak.
He couldn't just use basic compulsion potions like he normally would because he wanted it to be a long term change. The potions either needed to be constantly administered or they would wear off. He just wanted his pawns to do what he wanted.
To that end, he had called the three of them up to his office. Once there, he gave them tea that had a sleep potion in it.
Now, all three were fast asleep in their chairs.
He started with Ron since he knew the boys mind was the simplest. After Ginny's attack on the twins Molly had taken blaming the mind healer potions too seriously and had canceled all of Ron and Ginny's meetings and potions. So Ron had already started to slip back into his old behaviours.
Entering the boys mind he started his work. He encouraged Ron to want what others had. He increased the boys self entitlement. Going deeper he found Ron's disinterest in the Potter brat and removed it completely, making him want the boy to be his best friend. And to finish up, he made it so that Ron would study when Hermione ordered him too. That was just to get his grades up for their OWLs.
With Ron done he turned to Ginny. The girls mind was completely open, and a complete mess. Here he only made a few changes. The largest one was to limit the girls violent responses. He couldn't risk her hurting someone. Other then that he really didn't see any issues in the girls mind. All he needed her for was to marry Harry and spawn a brat off him, and that was what the girl wanted too.
He saved Hermione for last. While the girls mind was more ordered than the other two, it was still a mess. For Hermione he made it so that she would start to follow instructions. They needed her to start doing her assignments properly. Like with Ginny, he weakened her violent responses, stopping her from hitting others as much as possible. The last thing he did was to relax her desire to force things to be her way. This would stop her from going so overboard on creating new laws and trying to change the rules.
Once he finished making the changes to their personalities he wanted, Albus returned to his desk and waited while they woke up. These changes weren't as powerful as they could have been, that would have taken an in-depth ritual to strip away what he didn't want and ingrain what he did. He didn't have time for that, plus it was far more noticeable.
These changes were more along the lines of encouragement rather than forced personality changes. It would make them think they preferred to do things like that rather than that they had too. He knew Molly would notice if Ron or Ginny suddenly had a personality shift and he didn't need to deal with one of her tantrums.
As the three teens woke up Albus cast a quick memory charm. As far as the three of them would be concerned they had had some tea and biscuits as they discussed how they were going to work harder to get Harry to be their friend.
The three all smiled as they came too, thanked him for the tea and went to head back to their dorm. Albus treated himself to a lemon drop for a job well done. That would hopefully help get his plans back on track.
Things were finally starting to go his way. Just a few days before he had managed to alter the wards of the school enough to allow him to bring a few of his more questionable artifacts into the school. He needed to replace what had been destroyed because of those disgusting goblins.
Making their way down the steps to the headmasters office Ron and Ginny were talking about going to find Harry and see if he wanted to do a bit of flying with them. Ginny may have had to quit the teams because of what had happened, but that didn't stop her from flying with friends.
Hermione put a stop to that idea, for Ron at least, when she insisted that the two of them had to go and do some studying, they only had a few months until their OWLs after all.
Ginny just shrugged as she skipped off and left a whining Ron with Hermione. She was going to go and find her Harry. She needed to show him that the two of them belong together.
Hogwarts - March 28, 2006
Luna was skipping down the hall, a copy of the latest Seer clutched tightly in her hands while she was on her way to class a few minutes late. She knew what was coming, but it needed to happen.
The voices in her head had been warning her for a few days now what was to come. According to them Umbridge had seen the Headmaster bringing dangerous items into the school. At the beginning of the year she had tried to bring her own blood quills into the school, but the wards had stopped it. But when she had seen the headmaster she had tried again.
The blood quills were now in the school. And she had been watching Hadrian for any slight infraction she could use to get him into detention with her. So far, she hadn't been successful, but it was only a matter of time.
Luna knew what had happened last time and she didn't want to subject her first real friend to something like that again, so she was going to take the punishment herself.
"Hem, hem." Came the sickly sweet voice. "And just why aren't you in class miss…"
"Lovegood, Luna Lovegood." Luna turned to smile at the woman, making sure she could see what she was holding. "I'm on my way, I just got caught up reading the latest news."
Deloris glared at the paper in the girls hand and made the connection. "Lovegood, as in Pandora Lovegood?"
"Yes, she's my mum." Luna smiled proudly, she was very proud of her mum.
"Well Ms. Lovegood, it would seem you need to be reminded of the rules. Detention, with me tonight at 7 for being late to class." Deloris was so happy that she had been the one to catch the girl.
"Yes ma'am." Luna turned away and smiled as she carried on to class.
Right after dinner Luna made her way to the room Umbridge had claimed as her own. She was ready for this.
Going in she was told to take a seat. The quill and parchments were already waiting for her.
"What am I writing?" Luna questioned innocently, like she had no idea what the quill was.
"You are to write 'I will learn my place'." Umbridge gave her a sickening smile from where she sat at her own desk.
"How many times?"
"Until the message sinks in. I will let you know when I feel you have learned your lesson."
Luna nodded and picked up the quill. As quickly as she could she wrote out the words three times in a row. The pain kicked in only a few seconds after she started writing as she felt the words carved into the back of her hand. It was just too bad that she couldn't use a numbing potion, but that might have been detected when scans were run on her hand after.
Hissing out in pain, Luna looked up. Umbridge was gleefully smiling as she saw the blood. Once all three lines were done, Luna moved fast.
Grabbing her wand from where she had it tucked behind her ear she cast an over powered stunner at the woman followed by a binding spell. Once the woman was motionless on the ground Luna quickly left the room.
Running down the hall, Luna allowed her occlumency shields to drop, allowing her to feel the full force of the pain. The closest teachers office was Professor Sprouts so that was where she went.
With tears streaming down her face she ran into the kind teachers office.
Pomona Sprout was sitting discussing the latest school gossip with Filius Flitwick when a crying student came into her office. Both were on their feet instantly rushing over to the girl.
"Ms. Lovegood, what has happened?" Filius asked as he moved towards his student.
"I had detention with Madame Umbridge for being late to class. She made me write lines, but the quill hurt me." Luna held up her hand allowing both professors to see the still healing words.
"She made you write lines with a blood quill." Filius gasped, horrified at anyone doing that to a child.
"Oh honey, it's going to be ok." Pomona hushed the girl.
"Where is she now?" Filius was ready to kill.
"When I realized what she was doing I stunned and bound her and came right here. She should still be in her office." Luna told them softly.
"Well done." Filius was proud his student had reacted so quickly. "Pomona, can you take Ms. Lovegood to the hospital wing. I will call the DMLE and get that… woman, out of this school."
"Of course. Come along dear, let's get you checked over." Filius waited until his student was on her way to the hospital wing before flooing the DMLE. He had never been more grateful that all staff had a direct line to the head of the DMLE for emergencies, it ensured they would get an immediate response.
Less than two minutes later Amelia, Kingsley and Dawlish were stepping through. Once Filius had explained what had happened the four set off to the toad's office.
Peverell Manor - March 29, 2006
James was sitting in one of the sitting rooms. He had called a few of his political allies to come to a meeting. Kensington Shacklebolt, Gerald Greengrass, Xeno Lovegood, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and Edgar Bones were all sitting with him.
"What is this about?" Gerald questioned.
"I called you all here because we have plans to make. Fudge needs to go. His poor judgement has gone to far and done too much damage." James told the room.
"What has the idiot done now?" Lucius sighed.
"He personally arranged for Umbridge to be placed at Hogwarts." James glared just saying the womans name.
"While I personally see no use for the woman, I actually think she is better there. She can do less damage at the school." Lucius said, he had seen some of the atrocious rules the woman had tried to force through at the ministry and had been glad when she was moved.
"Apparently she is capable of awful things no matter where she is." James glanced at a furious Xeno. "Xeno, why don't you explain what that woman has done now. I think you have the best information since it was your daughter."
Xeno had come to this meeting in place of his wife who was the one who held the families title. The Lovegood family was one of the families that were matriarchal. Pandora had been the one invited to this meeting, but she had taken Apollo and gone to the school to check on their daughter.
He nodded and drew in a deep breath, trying to force some measure of calm so the others would be able to understand what he was saying. "That… That woman gave my Luna detention for being late to class. The detention was supposed to last two hours minimum.
She wanted my little girl to write lines… with a blood quill."
"What!" Narcissa gasped in horror. "Is she ok?"
"Yes. Luna had only finished the third line when she realized what was happening. She stunned and bound the woman and went directly to a teacher." Xeno was proud his little girl had reacted so quickly.
"That is the woman that Fudge hand selected to oversee the children of our world." James looked around the room. "He has done nothing but sing her praises for months, and this is what she does. We can not have someone with such poor judgement leading our country."
"Agreed." Was heard from all in the room.
"So what do you want from us?" Lucius questioned. "Once a vote is called everyone will vote for it given what has happened."
"True, but we will have to nominate a temporary Minister while elections are prepared." James reminded them. "I figured it would be better if we had already selected who we want to nominate so we can present a united front."
"And who do you think we should nominate?" Lucius questioned.
"I was hoping someone would step forward." James looked at the others, but none looked like they had even considered running for minister.
"You aren't putting your own name forward?" Lucius asked, slightly surprised. He thought this might be James's way of getting them to support him.
"Good Merlin no." James was horrified by the very idea. "I might be involved in politics, but I generally don't like it. What about you, Lucius?"
Lucius thought for a moment. "I would… Rather not. I have young kids. Being minister would take too much time away from them and my lovely wife."
Narcissa laughed and rolled her eyes. "What about you Gerald, you're already Chief Warlock, it would be the next step up."
"I would prefer to stay where I am." Gerald said. "Being Chief Warlock already takes up so much time, I don't think I would want a job with even more responsibility. I always have to keep control of my schedule during summers so I can get some time with my girls when their home from school. More work just wouldn't give me enough time with them."
"Then I think we should nominate Kensington." James said matter of factly.
"Me!" Kensington was slightly shocked.
"Yes, you. You don't have young children. You have a reputation that is above reproach. You have a stable marriage and home life. And we all know that you really do like politics. Plus, you actually have intelligence, unlike our current minister." James went over the important details.
"And it isn't like it will be forever if you don't like it." Frank reminded him. "It usually takes no more than two months to arrange a new election. If you find you don't like the job then you don't have to run for election, but if you do, then you can."
"What do you say… Will you be our nominee?" Edgar asked.
"I guess." Kensington said in slight shock.
Wizengamot Chambers - April 3, 2006
As soon as the formalities of opening the new Wizengamot session were complete Pandora Lovegood stood up and made the formal motion to remove the minister.
"W…What?" Fudge was stunned by this, he hadn't done anything wrong.
"It is simple minister, as we all have become aware of, your hand selected choice to oversee the school that educates a majority of the children of our world was caught planning to torture them. It shows a serious lack of judgment on your part." Pandora stared at the man like he was a bug.
"I second the motion." James, Frank, Narcissa, and Edgar all said at the same time.
"B… B… But that isn't my fault." Fudge all but whined.
"You have been praising the woman non-stop for months. It does show flawed judgement. Plus, there has been a breakout from Azkaban, and you have not ordered any increase in security, in fact the latest budget actually decreases security spending. Just as every budget for the last 5 years has." Frank pointed out. "You have weakened the security of our country while lining your own pockets, and we have had enough."
Fudge couldn't say anything to that. He had been using the extra money that he took from departments like the DMLE to give no-bid contracts to his friends and family for years. The last thing he needed was somebody mentioning that publicly.
When the vote was held it was a landslide. All three sections wanted the man gone. Only those that were close to the man, and benefited financially from him, plus his own brother, voted to keep him.
Cornelius Fudge was horrified as he was stripped of his position. How could it have come to this? Deloris had always been the perfect under-secretary and now she had cost him his job.
Fudge despondently left his seat as Minister and left the chambers. His brother held their family seat so he no longer held a seat. He went to his office to try and think through what he was going to do next.
Once the door shut behind Fudge the noise level picked up.
Slamming his gavel a few times Gerald drew everyones attention. "A new election will need to be arranged. Until such a time we will need an interim minister. I open the floor for nominations."
Albus had to think quickly. He had assumed Fudge was on his way out after what happened, but he hadn't thought it would be so soon. He had figured they would call a new election but allow Fudge to finish serving out his term. Looking around his side he tried to find someone that they could nominate. He needed to make sure they could not only win, but would be completely loyal to him.
In the end he decided on Griselda Marchbank's daughter, Gertrude. Gertrude was one of those that was fanatical about him. She would do whatever he said no matter what. She was also a decently well respected woman. Before she had taken up her mothers seat she had spent over 2 decades working in the transportation department regulating the floo network. It wasn't glamorous, but it was perfectly respectable.
It was quick work to nominate her and get one of his people to second his nomination.
After two people had been nominated James stood up. "I nominate Kensington Shacklebolt."
"I second the nomination." Pandora had been the one they chose to second the nomination. Everyone knew that it had been her daughter that was hurt so it would show her families support.
"I accept the nomination." Kensington nodded to both James and Pandora.
Seeing the byplay Albus froze. They had planned this. James and his little group of followers had planned this. They were up to something. He needed to find a way to get ahead of them. He knew his side was probably going to lose this vote since he knew James would have already arranged support for his candidate, but he needed to make sure his choice won the election.
Once all nominations were done the five candidates went down on the floor and gave impromptu speeches. They gave a basic rundown of what they felt made them qualified to hold the office, what they would do while in office, and a few basic things they supported and were against.
When the vote was called it wasn't even close. Kensington Shacklebolt was easily confirmed as the interim minister.
Hogwarts
Hadrian and his fellow Lords and Ladies that still attended the school made their way back to school in a state of shock.
Most of the time political change was slow in coming, but others it moved like lightning. None of them had been expecting to witness such a massive change in their world when they got up that day.
While everyone was angry over what had happened to Luna, they had figured that Fudge would have ensured that he was protected. But, apparently not.
When Hadrian had heard what had happened to Luna he had been so angry. He had gone directly to the hospital wing. His anger had not abated when Luna had admitted to him that she had known what was going to happen. He had scolded her severely for being so reckless with her own safety before dragging her into a tight hug and thanking her for protecting him from having to endure that womans cruelty again.
That had been something he had worried about. He still had flashbacks and moments of panic when things happened that were too close to what had happened before. He had worried that when Umbridge tried to use a blood quill on him he would have a flashback and lose control.
Now, the toad was gone, and hopefully they would never have to see her face again.
Headmasters Office
Albus walked into his office after the Wizengamot ended lost in thought. He needed to ensure the next minister was loyal to him.
They had set the date of the next election as the end of June, so the students would have already gone home since anyone 17 and older was eligible to vote.
Gertrude was still his choice for minister, but he was going to have to start arranging things for her. She was going to need to have an extremely good campaign. She was still new to public life and didn't have any real name recognition. He was going to need to make sure the public associated her with him, it would make them trust her more.
Kensington was much better known. And, since James and the others had already planned and had support for him in place, they were already going to be the first off the mark in campaigning.
He was going to have to arrange a meeting with James and Frank under the guise of Order business to get them to change their support to Gertrude. Hopefully they wouldn't be as stubborn as they had been in the past. They needed to be united with Voldemort back.
Minister's Office - April 4, 2006
Kensington sighed and let his head fall forward onto his new desk as he finished his first official day as minister. Although, he really wasn't finished. It was just the end of the work day, but he still had so much to do he wasn't going to be able to leave for at least another few hours.
Fudge really had screwed things up. He had loaded his office with family members, sycophants, or pretty airheads. The end result was that everything was a mess. Nothing was filed correctly, the laws weren't properly recorded, and no one really had any clear job definitions.
He was going to have to fire pretty much everyone in the office. His family members were actually the ones that had done the least damage as they just drew pay checks and didn't actually even come into the office. He was also thinking about giving their information to the DMLE and the accounting offices. He didn't like the blatant embezzlement of funds.
The pretty air heads were really just there for eye candy. They just showed up and walked around the office in short skirts. It wasn't that they were doing anything wrong, one had even told him that they weren't allowed to do anything else. She had actually wanted to go into interior design, but this job had paid a lot better and had better benefits. Most of them were just there for the money but had their own hobbies and even side jobs that were their real passions.
The worst was the sycophants. While none were at the level of Umbridge, they were all generally annoying. Each had their own pet projects and had been using Fudge to advance them. One had been using Fudge to get restrictions added to any business that competed with his own families business. Another had been arranging tax laws to favour certain areas and families.
They were all going to need to go.
But the most shocking part of his day had been the different meetings.
It had started when none other than Regulus Black and Percy Weasley had come to inform him about some different things the Unspeakables were doing. They explained about them being the reason the dementors were disappearing, and why. It was a relief because the few people in the know were starting to wonder if someone else was taking control of them and planning to use them for nefarious reasons.
They also explained about horcruxs. That had been a truly horrifying discussion. They had explained that Voldemort really was back. The benefit was that they had located all previously known horcruxs and had them destroyed. But the also warned that they had a suspicion that a new one had been created.
Augustus Rookwood had returned to his position as a spy. He had been feeding them information about how Voldemort was reacting to things and the level of sanity he displayed, which was extremely low. But he was obsessively protective of his snake familiar, Nagini.
After they had left he had had a meeting with Frank Longbottom, as head of the Auror Office, and Amelia Bones, as head of the DMLE. They had explained the mess Fudge's budgets had made of their office. When the last war had ended Bagnold had ordered a 5 year hiring freeze since they had so many aurors already. But, by the time the freeze had ended Fudge had been in charge. He had point blank refused to expand the hiring and training budgets even though they had been almost nothing since they hadn't been hiring. Because of that they had only been able to hire one or two new aurors each year, but there were usually 7-8 who retired from active duty. They were getting to the point where they would no longer have enough to manage to patrol where they needed.
Over ½ of the auror office were within 10 years of retirement from active duty. The way the auror devision was set up they were only allowed to remain on active duty until the age of 60 because after that, while they may still be healthy, it was at that time where their physical stamina would start to drop and they wouldn't be able to handle chases if needs be. They would instead be moved to desk duty and only go out when called too. Retirement age in the wizarding world was 70.
With the increased need for guards at Azkaban they were running critically low on the amount of people. If anything major happened they didn't have confidence they would be able to deal with it.
After they had left Kensington had had a mini panic attack. He had just been told that Voldemort was back, and then he was told that the auror office was critically low on aurors. That was the combination for a perfect storm. If Voldemort attacked they wouldn't stand a chance.
Hogwarts - April 7, 2006
The staff and students were furious as they sat down to breakfast that morning. Sitting at the high table was one Deloris Jane Umbridge.
As much as Amelia, and everyone else in the DMLE, had loathed it, they had had to release her. Fudge, the complete moron, had given her a special dispensation to use a blood quill as she saw fit. That meant that she was completely immune from any prosecution for having used the quill.
Kensington had immediately canceled the dispensation, but he couldn't revoke it retroactively. While he may have wished he could, there was nothing he could do that would allow the woman to be charged. But at least she wouldn't be able to do it again, and that was the only bright side anyone could find because there was absolutely nothing else positive about it.
There were more than a few students that were getting ready to take their own form of revenge. If there was nothing the adults of their world could do, then they would deal with the matter in their own way.
Hadrian looked directly to Fred and George, and knew that this meant war. That woman was going to regret the day she ever heard the word Hogwarts.
At the high table, even though she had a smile plastered on her face, Deloris Umbridge was furious. How had everything gone so wrong?
Not only had she been arrested for simply doing her job, but Cornelius was no longer the minister. When she had been released from the holding cells she had gone directly to the ministers office. She had been planning on having Cornelius fire those fools that had thought they could get away with treating her like a common criminal.
But he hadn't been there. Sitting behind the desk was Kensington Shacklebolt. He had taken far too much joy in informing her that Cornelius had been fired. Then he held up the dispensation she had gotten for the use of the blood quill and ripped it up right in front of her. He had told her that if she used it again he was personally going to make sure she spent the rest of her life in Azkaban. He had even dared to say that was where she belonged.
Now she was going to have to rework her plans again. Without Cornelius there to back her up she was going to have to go back to the slow and cautious approach to getting control of the school. And she wasn't even going to be able to force those disgusting little children into compliance with the threat of her quills anymore.
Ministry, DOE
James and Pandora entered the department of education in complete fury. While they understood that the DMLE had been forced to let the woman go, they couldn't believe the DOE had chosen to allow her back in the school.
"Lord Peverell, Lady Lovegood. What a… pleasure… to see you." Regina Cole said in a brittle voice. She knew this was not going to be a fun meeting.
"What in Merlin and Morgana's name made you think allowing Deloris Umbridge back in that school was a good idea?" Pandora demanded as James partially shut the office door behind them.
"Madame Umbridge was not charged with any crime. As such it would only be normal for her to return to work." Regina responded cooly.
"The only reason she wasn't charged was because that fool of a former minister was stupid enough to give her permission to torture children." Pandora snapped. "That does not mean she isn't guilty, it just means she can't be charged."
"Madame Umbridge has not violated her contract, as such she has returned to work." Regina argued.
"So torture isn't against the rules, I would hate to work in this department." James said sarcastically.
"Look, I have gone over her contract." Regina sighed. "We can only fire her for cause, and she hasn't violated any of the terms of her contract. Legally, there is nothing we can do."
"Then transfer her. She is an employee of the DOE, so transfer her to work here. At least get her away from children." James said in exasperation.
"Again, it isn't within her contract for us to do so. The contract specifically lays out the fact that she will be working from Hogwarts." Regina argued.
"Honestly, who wrote that contract?" Pandora demanded. "Are you honestly saying you see no problem in leaving… that… that monster around children?"
"It is under control." Regina tried to reassure the furious woman. "The dispensation has been revoked and we have gone over the rules and expectations with her. She knows the limits of her power. I have also already spoken with Headmaster Dumbledore and made sure he is aware of the rules and he has assured me he will monitor her.
We have everything under control."
"Are you out of your mind?" James questioned in shock. "This is a woman that planned to torture children and you think we are just going to trust your assurance that she won't do it again because what… You explained to her that torture is bad!"
"I understand your worry, but we are only following the laws." Regina kept her voice level.
"Oh yes, we know just how important the laws are to people like her." Pandora muttered under her breath.
"So, just so we are clear. You fully acknowledge that a member of your department tortured a child and your response is to do nothing. You are just going to allow her to return to the school without punishment." James clarified.
"As I said, there is nothing we can do." Regina reiterated.
"And this is exactly why the governors will not allow the DOE more control in the school." James huffed. "Well, if you and this department refuse to protect the children then I guess it will be up to the governors to step in and fix your failures.
Although, I do wish you luck."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Regina glared at the perceived threat.
"While there might be no legal recourse for the actions of both Umbridge and this department, I highly doubt the students will let this go." James smirked. "When your departments involvement in her return gets out, and it will get out, I have no doubt that the students will seek their revenge on you as well.
There is a reason the teachers let the little things go at the school, it is because they are fully aware they are out numbered by the students. It is the only way they manage to maintain control. With this action you have given practically the entire student body an enemy. And they will not hesitate in my opinion."
With a flourish, James and Pandora left the office. Neither was pleased, and they made it clear.
"Ma'am?" A hesitant voice came from the still open doorway to Regina's office.
"Yes." Regina looked up and saw one of her departments middle tier members. "What is it Kenneth?"
"Are you sure there is nothing we can do to get that horrible woman out of the school? I'm sure if we handed the contract over to legal they could find a way around it." Kenneth really didn't like the idea of that woman remaining in the school.
"I'm sure they could, but no, she needs to remain."
"Ma'am?" Kenneth said in shock and dismay that they weren't even going to try it.
"Look, I don't like the woman any more than you do, but she is our best way to gain control of that school." Regina sighed. "While I have complete trust that Headmaster Dumbledore will always do what is best for the school and his students, we can't always trust that others will.
The DOE has been trying to get control of the school basically since it started, but the governors have always stood in our way. They have no right to make decisions for that great school, they have no educational background.
Umbridge's contract was set up to give her incredible amounts of power in the school. I helped her and Cornelius write it. Using the power she has she can strip the governors of their power in time, but that is only if she is in the school. Only she has those powers, if we remove her then we lose our chance."
"So all of this is to gain control of the school?" Kenneth didn't like this.
"It might not be perfect, but we need to gain control of that school. It is the only way we can ensure this generation is taught properly." Regina brushed aside the mans concerns. "It really is for the greater good. We can not risk another war because the students weren't handled properly."
Kenneth froze at that. He knew exactly where that line came from. This was going to end very badly, he was sure.
As he walked back to his desk, all Kenneth could think was. 'If this is what we have to do to gain control, do we really deserve it?'
Hogwarts - April 14, 2006
As James had predicted, it was utter chaos. Most of the student body had taken Umbridge's return as a declaration of open war. There wasn't a day that went by where classes weren't disrupted by pranks.
Most of the teachers were left alone since they openly expressed their distaste at the woman's return. But they were still occasionally hit just because they were there.
The primary target was, of course, Umbridge herself. In the week since she had returned she had been changed every colour of the rainbow, had her hair grown out like a Sasquatch, been charmed bald, had her tongue magically removed, had her office destroyed multiple times, had her entire wardrobe altered, both in colour and size, as well as had her food and drink spiked by every prank potion under the sun. And the students were only beginning.
When word got out that the DOE had decided not to terminate her contract and had in fact agreed for her to return they too were added to the list. No one knew just how the students had managed to gain access to the department all the way in London, and none of them were willing to tell, but they had.
Every piece of furniture in the office was on the ceiling. They were getting howlers that just shouted swear words in funny voices all day long. When they had moved offices to try and get some peace they ended up in a rain and wind storm. All the employees of that particular department were also dealing with makeovers that made them all look ridiculous.
When they went to the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad for some assistance they didn't get very far. While there were a few members willing to assist, many weren't. Something the members of the DOE had forgotten was that there were plenty of others that, while loyal to the ministry, had members of their family at the school and were loyal to them first.
In the end, only the basics could be reversed and the more annoying pranks were left to remain in hopes they would learn from it.
Hogwarts, High Inquisitors Office
Deloris looked around her office with both joy and disgust.
The disgust came from the state of it. Everything was in shades of mud brown and split pea green. The floor was still damp and covered in dead leaves. But worst of all was her precious cat plates that now displayed pictures of toads and other amphibians.
The thing that was giving her joy was the members of her newly formed Inquisitorial Squad. This was her answer to all those nasty students that were making her job difficult.
If the prefects wouldn't report to her like she wanted, then she would use her own people. She had hand selected each and every member personally. There were students from each house, so she couldn't be accused of favouritism, and each had had to pass her own questioning.
She had gone through and made sure all of her choices had the right parentage. There was no way she would lower herself to use riff raff. The only member of the group that wasn't a pure blood was her young cousin, but she would just keep an eye on the girl, although she had been proving herself to be quite useful.
Once she was assured of their parentage she needed to make sure they were the right type. They needed to have the right views. All of the Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws and most of the Gryffindors did. They knew how the social hierarchy should be structured.
The only ones that didn't fully understand was Hermione and her two little friends. Ronald and Ginevra Weasley. While the Weasley family was well known for being blood traitors she thought she might be able to work with the youngest two. While neither of them was overly bright, from what she had seen they could prove useful.
The boy, Ronald, was not afraid to use his physical size to control those around him. He also was extremely gullible and could be moulded how she wanted. The girl, Ginevra, had shown her talent for controlling others. She seemed to have many boys in the school wrapped around her little finger and willing to do her bidding, that would make the girl a great source of information.
This was going to be perfect. She had her own private army in this war. And there was nothing the school board could do as she wasn't answerable to them.
Peverell Cabin - April 22, 2006
Nymphadora apperated directly outside the Peverell Cabin's front door and all but ran into the building.
"Headmaster! Mum! Where are you?"
"We're in here sweetheart." Her mothers voice called out from the kitchen.
Andromeda was slightly worried. About an hour ago she had gotten a panicked message from her daughter saying that she had information and to bring only those they could trust. In all she had called the Headmaster, her husband, Minerva, and Molly to the meeting at the cabin.
"I found out who is living at Grimmuld Place!" She gasped as she fell into one of the empty seats, thanking Molly as the older woman handed her a cup of tea.
"That's wonderful my dear." The Headmaster's eyes were twinkling with so much joy she felt herself puff up with pride.
"Well, who is it? What took so long? And what has gotten you so worked up darling?" Ted asked his daughter.
"You're never going to believe this." Nymphadora huffed before taking a sip of the tea to wet her dry throat. "That Rigel kid that Harry is going to pass the title too is there with his parents, that's how I found them.
I've been trying to figure out who he is so I've spent weeks going through the birth record while telling Bones it was something about a missing kid. On March 15, 2004 Rigel Phoenix Black was born to Marlene McKinnon-Black and… Regulus Black."
Everyone just stared for a moment.
"That isn't possible. Regulus died a few months before the end of the last war." Andromeda was confused.
"I know, that's what I thought." Nymphadora turned to her mum. "I sent you the message after I found the birth record. I spent the last hour searching the death records for his name, and there isn't one. He's alive. Married to Marlene, as in an Order member. And they plan on making his son the future Lord Black."
"How could Marlene not have told us this?" Molly demanded, horrified. How could the woman she knew have married a disgusting death eater.
"That is… unexpected." Albus said contemplatively. "We will have to speak with Marlene, see if we can convince Regulus to be our new spy since Severus is still refusing."
"Traitor." Molly muttered before going back to the stove to finish the dinner she was preparing, they had an Order meeting scheduled that evening and she wanted everything to be ready.
"What are we going to do Headmaster?" Andromeda looked to her boss.
"And just how did he survive without anyone knowing?" Minerva was thoughtful. She could have sworn that he had died. She remembered some rumour that the man had been labeled a traitor.
"We will speak with Marlene and Sirius during the meeting. We can't really make any plans until we get the information." Albus said. He didn't like this. How could no one have told him that Regulus Black was still alive?
A little while later the meeting began. For once, Albus was on time since he had already been there for an hour and had just been sitting in the same seat trying to work out new plans.
After a few of the basic formalities Albus turned and gave a severely disappointed look to Marlene. "Now, there is something I feel we must discuss. I am wondering why you have been hiding a death eater and haven't felt comfortable enough to inform me? Are you being threatened? You know we can help and protect you?"
"What?" Marlene was shocked by this turn of events.
"There's no need to pretend my dear." Albus gave her a sad and regretful look. "It has come to my attention that you were forced into a marriage with Regulus Black."
Marlene and Sirius were both on their feet in an instant. "Excuse me?", "I beg your pardon? What did you just say about my brother?" Was shouted out.
"Don't bother denying it." Albus's look turned hard in an instant. "I know that you are living at Grimmauld Place with him. You need to report his crimes my dear. If you just turn him over to the DMLE then you will be free and your son will be safe. Living with a death eater isn't good for a young boy, especially one with such a bright future."
Sirius couldn't help it, he broke down laughing. The man really was clueless about what was going on.
"Have you completely lost your grip on reality Albus?" Marlene gave the man a pitying look.
"Don't you speak to the Headmaster like that." Minerva demanded.
"First off, I'm not a student and haven't been one for a long time." Marlene snapped back. "He is questioning my marriage. Trying to convince me to try and send my husband to Azkaban. And suggesting my husband is a bad father all at the same time. I will speak to the man any damn way I please."
"He's a death eater and you know it." Molly shrieked. "He should be in Azkaban, and you're not only letting him walk around free, you are letting him around a child."
"You know what, I can't listen to this. If I stay here a moment longer I think I will curse you all, so I'm just going to go home. To my loving, wonderful husband!" Marlene shouted back before turning on her heal and leaving.
"Well you certainly made her mad." Sirius chuckled as his sister-in-law slammed the door behind her.
"If she won't do something then it is up to you Sirius." Albus turned to look at him. "I understand that he is your brother, but you have to do the right thing my boy. Regulus has committed many crimes and he must face the consequences of his actions.
If you won't then I'm afraid that I will have to inform Amelia."
"And I will help." Nymphadora crossed her arms and glared at him.
"Inform them all you like, it's not going to change anything." Sirius shrugged.
"How can you say that? He's a death eater, that is a crime. He will have to face judgment." Nymphadora carried on.
"If any of you had bothered to ask before you started running your mouths I could have told you that there are those within the ministry who know of Reg's survival. He won't be charged for anything as he did nothing wrong." Sirius smirked.
"He was a death eater my boy. That in itself is a crime." Albus gave him a sad look.
Sirius just kept up his smirk. "Did you think you were the only one with a spy in the death eaters Albus?"
"What?" Albus and many others asked.
"Reg worked, and still works, at the ministry. So of course they know he's alive." Sirius's smirk became a grin. "Reg was given complete immunity for whatever he had to do to complete his mission."
"But… That isn't possible. We would have known." Ted sputtered out. "I was working in the ministries law office for a few years after the war. I know they had a few spies, I helped to process them through for their immunity."
"But that wasn't when he was processed through to end his job. Finishing his job came at a steep cost. Not only was he labeled a traitor and ordered to be killed on sight by Voldy, but he had to apperate through anti-apparition wards to get the information out.
Reg spent years in the hospital recovering. He was in a coma from the time he disappeared until '96." Sirius explained.
"I can confirm that. Regulus Black was given blanket immunity and to this day works at the ministry." Frank confirmed. "We get lunch together every now and then."
"So, you can report him to Amelia all you want, there's nothing she will do. She is well aware of his status, she even attended Reg and Marly's wedding."
Albus was stunned. Regulus had been a spy and he had never known? He was supposed to know everything that was going on at that time. He had forced Bagnold to give him everything, including all the pertinent files on spies during the war, he should have known.
"His son is the one you plan on making the Black heir?" Ted questioned.
"Yes. Hadrian wants to pass the Black heirship to him, but it will be a few years before Rigel is old enough." Sirius grinned again. It pleased him to no end that it meant they would never have control over the Black heir.
Albus just looked around. He needed to gain access to the Black Library. And, the only way he was going to be able to do so was to get the likes of Regulus Black on his side. That was going to be difficult. The boy had been a Slytherin so Albus had never bothered to form any kind of mentor bond with him. He actually didn't think he had spoken to him during his entire 7 years at Hogwarts. But he also didn't know that much about him, he had never really cared about him as he was the second son.
"Andromeda, Nymphadora, I think it might be a good idea if the three of us went to speak with Regulus." Albus twinkled as he came up with a new plan. "He is your family after all, and I'm sure he would love to have more family around to help him raise his son."
"Of course Headmaster." Both women responded with forced smiles.
"I think… You might want to start by apologizing to Marly for attacking her marriage." Sirius said in a voice that clearly showed he thought they were being idiots. "Reg isn't going to care about what you have to say if his wife is unhappy with you."
"Of course my boy." Albus twinkled already planning how to get Marlene to stop being angry. It wasn't like it was their fault, she had been the one who had been keeping information from them.
"Why didn't she just tell us?" Molly huffed.
"Because it is no ones business." James said. "I fully understand how she feels. When the man you love has risked their life for years having people who have no understanding what real danger is questioning their actions makes you see red. It takes everything I have not to curse people into oblivion every time they question Sev's loyalty to our family."
"It's just a slight misunderstanding." Albus ran his fingers through his beard.
"I'm sure." Sirius muttered.
Hogwarts - May 1, 2006
Nothing at the school had calmed down. If anything, things had gotten worse.
From the moment the Inquisitorial Squad was announced they became one of the favoured targets of the pranksters working out there anger about Umbridge being in the school. Dumbledore and McGonagall had tried to get the students back under control, but since they didn't know who was doing what there was little they could do.
Many of the students had started to cover for each other when one was accused of being behind any of the pranks. It was creating a unity between the houses. Nothing had confused Albus Dumbledore more than when three 7th year Slytherins gave two 4th year Gryffindors an alibi when he had accused them of setting off stink bombs in the transfiguration hall. The man had been so confused he had just ended up walking away talking about lemon drops without ever assigning any detentions.
Umbridge was also having a hard time keeping control of her own people.
The Squad were prefects without any form of control. They weren't even bound to the school rules so they had a tendency to take and give both points and detentions as they saw fit. They took large amounts of points for those of other houses, and gave ridiculous amounts of points to their own house.
This would just make everyone target them more. And, the more they were targeted the more points they took and detentions they added.
No one took the Squad seriously and no one really cared about the house cup anymore. There were things more important than a stupid cup. Any student that was assigned detention would challenge it with the school board and the DOE. The schools governors just kept putting everything on the DOE while defending the students, making the students like the governors more while their anger at the DOE grew.
Most of the time the DOE ended up caving and reversing any detention or point loss the Inquisitorial Squad or Umbridge had given. On the rare occasion where they had tried to defend their actions the detention would be taken over by one of the nicer teachers. Filius would work with students on different charms they didn't learn in class. Sev allowed them to brew whatever they wanted. While Sirius had set up games tables. So no one really cared about those detentions.
As for the points, every single house was in the negatives. One of Umbridge's biggest problem was that none of her people had any real loyalty to her or each other. They were just out for themselves. And, as such, everything they did was to try and make things better for themselves. They would take so many points from others while giving their own house points to try and counter the other Squad members, which just created more of a devision between them.
In the end, the Inquisitorial Squad was at war with itself, while the rest of the school was at war with them.
The school was in chaos.
Headmasters Office
Albus was obsessively popping lemon drop after lemon drop in his mouth. This was a complete mess.
He had been planning on using Umbridge to turn the students against the ministry. He had known that the woman would show the ministry in the worst light possible since she had a clear loathing of children.
And, while she had turned the students against the ministry, none of them were turning to him. Worse than that, it was causing the other houses to unite. He didn't like that, especially now. The last thing they needed was for Slytherins to bond with students in other houses, it would allow them to sway them to the dark.
Deloris Umbridge had destroyed his plans without even trying. He was going to have to be the one to get rid of her.
If he was the one to get rid of the woman that might gain him the support of the students.
It might just be the only thing he could do. He was dreading the school board meeting in June. He knew that they were going to hold this chaos against him.
High Inquisitor's Office
Deloris Umbridge was massaging her temples. Nothing was going right. She couldn't understand it. She had selected each and every member of her Squad. They all had the right background. Yet it still wasn't working.
Her Squad members spent more time fighting each other than getting the rest of the students in line. If anything things had gotten worse.
The pranks and out right attacks were only growing. Even the DOE wasn't doing their job properly, they kept reversing detentions and point loss that her people assigned. They were supposed to be backup for her since Cornelius was gone. But they just kept caving in to the pressure of the idiot public.
It was disgusting how pathetic the people were. They just didn't understand. She was just trying to make the world a better place for those like her who deserved it.
Hogwarts, Great Hall - May 12, 2006
Ginny skipped into the great hall for dinner that evening. She was pleased, everything had finally fallen in to place.
If her brothers were allowed to use love potions on her Harry, then she would just use stronger potions. She had gotten her mum to get her some amourtentia. Once she had the strongest love potion in the world she had called for an elf and ordered it to make sure it was in Harry's food. She had had to use one of the Headmaster's private elves.
The school elves would refuse to do whatever she ordered. For some stupid reason whoever it was that was in charge of the school elves had made it so the elves wouldn't follow the orders of the students. It was something she thought was stupid since they were there to look after them.
When she had first started at the school the Headmaster had informed her that he had his own private elves at the school that would do the less than legal things that needed to be done. Over the past few years she had used them to get her things she needed or wanted.
Hadrian was sitting at the dinner table ready for what was to come. He had been warned that someone had tampered with his food.
There were multiple different groups of elves at the castle, but they were all extremely protective of the students. The groups included the regular Hogwarts elves, the Potter elves, and the Dumbledore elves. While each had their own loyalties, while at Hogwarts they were there to help the staff and students.
The elves that had the hardest time with things was the Dumbledore elves. While they were loyal to the Headmaster, they also cared for the children.
It was because of that the elf that had been ordered to use a love potion on Harry Potter had been sure to let one of the Potter elves hear him muttering about what he had been ordered to do.
Mipsey, who had been the elf who had overheard what was happening had been sure to warn her Master Hadrian as well as Master Severus. Mipsey didn't know who it was that had ordered the other elf to use the potion, but they all had their suspicions.
When he had spoken with his papa about it he had said that he should react with common sense. He was to take the cup and leave the hall. He was then to find a floo capable fireplace and report the attempted use of a love potion.
Since they only had suspicions on who it was that was trying to drug him, and no real evidence they couldn't get her arrested, but they might be able to use the threat of the DMLE and aurors to get the little stalker to back off.
When he went to take a drink he felt his rings heat up and he knew what that meant. Grabbing his cup he got up and left the hall just like he had been told. There were more than a few whispers that followed him out, but no one really understood what was happening.
Hadrian went to the first floo capable fireplace and called for the aurors. Frank and Kingsley were the ones who came through.
Hadrian handed over the cup and told them his rings had warned him of love potions. The two ran a quick test and verified what he said.
By that point Severus, Sirius, and Dumbledore had arrived. Dumbledore tried to stop any formal report from being filed, he had his suspicions of who it had been but didn't want to risk the girl getting arrested. He knew he was going to have to speak to her and her mother to ensure something like this didn't happen again. He knew just how strong Lord and heir rings protections were.
In the end Hadrian, backed up by Severus and Sirius filed a formal case. It would open a file so that the aurors would keep apprised of the situation. It would ensure that in the off chance Hadrian was successfully doused they would have a way to find out. That was because part of opening a formal file in regards to love potions was to have the victim randomly tested for love potion over the next year.
Once a sample of the drink had been entered into evidence Frank and Kings called for Amelia. Since she was the sternest, and most intimidating, they left the warning up to her.
Amelia had made sure to keep the most severe look on her face when she had marched up to the front of the hall and informed the entire student body that one of their own had attempted to use love potions on another. She had then got into detail about just what love potions did, making sure to emphasize that it didn't create real love, and what the punishment was for being caught using potions like that.
More than a few students left the hall worried that night and had dumped out different love potions they had been attempting to brew.
Gryffindor Common Room, 4th Year Girls Dorm
That night when Ginny went to bed she was angry. Her potion hadn't worked.
Not only had it not worked, but she had, in effect, been threatened. She hadn't liked having that mean lady telling her just how wrong it was, how it didn't create real love. Ginny was sure it would make Harry realize just how much he really loved her.
How had her brothers managed to get Harry to take the potion?
Laying back in her bed she tried to think of different methods of getting the potion into her future husband.
Headmaster's Office
"I don't care, you can't do something like this again." Albus sighed out as he spoke to Molly.
He had spent the better part of an hour trying to convince Molly she and Ginny needed to stop trying to use love potions on the Potter brat. His rings would warn him instantly if there was anything in his food or drink. The only way the rings wouldn't alert him to a potion was if he was willingly taking it. Plus, the only way to get the rings off the boy was for him to willingly take them off himself.
"But Headmaster." Molly whined. "My Ginny was just doing what she needed to do. We all know that they are meant to be and the only reason Harry is with the twins is because they drugged him. If they can do it, so can Ginny."
"It isn't possible." Albus ran his hand down his face. "I don't know how many times I need to say it. The Lord and heir rings he wears would have warned him of any potions.
Harry isn't with the twins because they drugged him, he is with them because they seduced him. That is the path we need Ginny to take. They spent years earning his trust and getting close to him while Ginny and Ron have done nothing but push him away. We need them to start working at being his friends."
"They have been, but that boy just won't listen." Molly carried on.
"No Molly, they have made their views clear and just expected him to fall in line." Albus sighed, he was finally seeing the errors he had made. "As much as I wish it was different, Harry is a strong willed, opinionated boy. Ron and Ginny anger him when they constantly attack his views. I think it might be better if they just pretend to agree with him until they are friends. Once they are friends we can work together to show him the error of his ways. But they need to be his friend first."
"They have tried." Molly assured. "Harry just doesn't listen. He never does what he is supposed to. We really need to get him away from those dark wizards. They just don't know how to raise a hero. They are making that poor boy dark. My Ronnie and Ginny have tried, it isn't their fault."
"I am aware Molly." Albus reassured. "But we need to work with the circumstances we have, not the ones we would prefer. Ron and Ginny need to learn how to shut their mouths. While I understand and agree with their views, they need to keep their opinions to themselves.
We need them to start to get closer to the boy, it is the only chance we have. Minerva has Ron and Harry sitting next to each other in her class. You need to write to him to just follow the boys example. If he starts by following he will be able to lead him later. But you are going to make sure he needs to understand that he follows Harry's example."
"I will tell him." Molly assured. Although she didn't really agree, she would do what the headmaster asked.
Undisclosed Location - May 17, 2006
Voldemort sat in his throne as he glared at the wall. He had been staring at the same spot for over an hour. His mind still hadn't fully returned to him yet. He knew that it had to be because those fools had botched the ritual to return him. A fact that he had ensured they learned. They had claimed over and over they had followed the instructions perfectly, but he knew they had messed it up. Fools!
He needed to figure out where his plans went wrong last time. How could he have been defeated by a baby?
He needed to learn the full prophecy. He needed to know what made the boy so special. But to do that he needed to get into the ministry. And that would be counterproductive to the hole idea of laying low.
With him still being in a weakened state he didn't need to draw the attention of the ministry. And now that that fool Fudge had gotten himself thrown out of office it was even more important. Fudge wouldn't have done anything if mysterious things started happening.
But this new minister was different. He had already started to make minor changes and was showing that he wouldn't just lie down and take what he had to give with a smile on his face like Fudge would have. No, Fudge would have assured everyone everything was fine until the day he died, but this new one would stand his ground and fight. He would die in the process Voldemort assured himself, but it would weaken him and his goals at a time where they couldn't risk it.
If he couldn't go to the ministry to get the orb, then he would just have to send someone else to get it… Maybe if he had one of the Unspeakables placed under the imperious. He would have to get one of his followers at the ministry to handle it.
Once he had worked out how to get the prophecy and given his followers their orders, ensuring they fully understood the cost of failure of course, Voldemort turned his thoughts on to other issues.
Traitors.
Voldemort hissed harshly as he thought of those who had betrayed him. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape.
He had thought Lucius had learned his place when he had agreed to take his mark. The boy had been both the pride and bane of Abraxas's life. While Abraxas had always been loyal, he had never been overly powerful, so when his son had proved to be so powerful it had brought him great pride. Then the boy had refused the mark. But in the end Abraxas had managed to make the boy bow at his feet and kiss the hem of his robes.
Voldemort had been sure the boy had finally learned. But apparently not. He was going to have to remind the man why it was foolish to betray him.
But he still needed the man. To that end he would simply arrange to kill the wife and younger children. Keep the heir alive as another servant and remind Lucius that if he should ever even think of betraying him again he would lose his last child. It would keep him in line until he was no longer necessary. Once the heir came of age he could take over for his father in the Wizengamot and gain access to the Malfoy fortune, then Lucius would suffer a traitors death.
But the one who would suffer most was Severus. For that traitor he would create entirely new levels of torture and suffering. Severus had betrayed him in so many ways.
He had spied on him during the first war. Not only had he been married to James Potter, he had been the father of his prophesied enemy. Then, he had stood against him years ago when he had went after the philosophers stone, resulting in him being banished to the mirror dimension for a time.
Now that he was fully returned he would show all those that stood against him just why there were those that still feared to speak his name over a decade after his supposed defeat.
As he thought of all the ways he would take his revenge on the magical and muggle world for standing against him Voldemort grabbed his wand to start throwing curses.
The room around him was slowly obliterated as he destroyed all the furniture before turning on the walls, floor, and ceiling themselves. It wasn't the first room to suffer this treatment and his followers were already planning to move locations as they were running out of rooms.
Only the more magically sensitive felt the twisted sickness that lingered in their Lords magic. And none of them were fool enough to mention it.