The Boy Who Lived

Order and Rules

Dolores Umbridge stood on the top step of main entrance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There was a little smug smile of satisfaction on her round face despite the fact that she distinctly disliked the place. It didn't bring back fond memories of her time here as a girl. Still, now it was her time and she would bring the unruly school to order. Of course, the school was quite nice now but that was because the children hadn't arrived yet. She didn't like children... boisterous, messy, noisy things but there were ways of dealing with those minor problems.

She straightened her little pink cardigan that sat across her shoulders.

Yes, order was the rule of the day. Order and discipline. The encouragement of free speech, diversity, and multiple points of view would not be tolerated but rather she would lead by consensus and if that didn't work, fear and intimidation. She had a plan and Dumbledore's days were numbered because he sat in opposition to Minister Fudge and the authority of the British Ministry of Magic. She would oust Dumbledore for daring to threaten the Minister's position and for training students like Potter to undermine the Ministry and then she would bring discipline to this place. She would bring Hogwarts in line with total Ministry rule.

She turned and went back to her office, waiting for the beginning of the first dinner of the term. She straightened a couple of pictures of her little darling cats. They may have been a considerable number of them but everything was in a distinct order. The cat pictures were hung in the order of her darlings' ages. She repositioned a book that wasn't sitting in size order and smiled before straightened the quill on her desk that was next to her ink pot. She checked her watch and left for the Great Hall, ensuring she would be early so she could take the seat at Dumbledore's right-hand side, consciously usurping Deputy-Headmistress McGonagall in the pecking order of authority.

She kept the little smile on her face throughout the Sorting Hat's song even though it sang about uniting against a common foe, alluding to Dumbledore's and Potter's lies about the return of He Who Must Not Be Named. Minister Fudge said it was untrue and his word was absolute; after all, he was at Hogwarts when the Triwizard Tournament happened so he should know about these things. Her eyes swept across the Great Hall until she found the unbearable child with his offensive hair. Her eyes hardened, yes, he would be the first she would break. She would get him to retract his words before the term was out.

After the feast, Dumbledore stood to give his notifications and introduce the new staff.

'Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the...'

'...hem-hem,' Dolores interrupted, standing up, although she was not much taller standing than sitting.

Everyone looked rather confused as to why the Headmaster has stopped talking but she ignored them, her head slightly on one side as she smiled benevolently at the boys and girls in front of her.

Harry looked along the staff table, nearly smirking at the different faces of disapproval and shock that Umbridge should interrupt the Headmaster and want to give a speech. No new member of staff had ever done that. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared, even Snape's eyes had narrowed, and Minnie's mouth was as thin as Harry had ever seen it. Though he knew Minnie already disapproved of Umbridge after he'd told her about his hearing and Umbridge's fluster when Dumbledore demanded an enquiry as to who ordered the Dementors to attack Harry when he was on his annual visit to Little Whinging. It was clear the blame lay with her but he was yet to understand why. When he visited Grimmauld Place for the first time, Sirius had ranted it was because she was 'an ambitious, power-hungry Ministry absolutist who was devoid of any kind of moral or ethical centre and intolerant of anyone who stood in the way of a totalitarian state'. Harry was inclined to take Sirius's words with a pinch of salt because he was bitter about the anti-werewolf legislation Umbridge had drafted two years previously, not only because of its prejudices but because it made it almost impossible for Remus to get a job.