Ethereal ✭Fred Weasley✭

47.

Sophia found out the next day that Harry's detention consisted of torturous line writing with a Blood Quill. These vile things would use the blood of the person writing as ink and Sophia was astonished to hear that a member of the Ministry of Magic would dare use one at all, much less on a student. Harry tried to hide the scars of the words 'I must not tell lies' but failed when Hermione saw it when he was reading a book in the common room. Harry had gotten irritated again and mildly went off at Ron and Hermione, leaving them in a similar state of what Sophia was in the previous day. Although they hadn't mentioned anything strange about his eyes, making Sophia even more curious about what she had seen.

Sophia was making her way to the Great Hall when she heard a rather loud conversation on the stairs leading up to the moving staircases. Standing there was Professor McGonagall and Professor Umbridge as well as a group of students who were listening in non-discreetly from the Entrance Hall.

"What's going on?" she asked as she took a spot beside Fred and George who were too listening in.

"McGonagall found out about Umbridge's medieval detentions," George answered without taking his eyes off the two women who were going back and forth continuously.

"Questioning my methods is questioning the Ministry! And the Minister himself!" Umbridge said with a clenched jaw. "I will not stand for disloyalty!"

"Disloyalty..." McGonagall repeated as she took a step down from the stairs. The Professor looked defeated and didn't seem to want to argue more with this woman as it was working out to be pointless. Professor Umbridge turned to face the crowd of students with a face that showed fake concern and a look of ambition in her eyes that would only match a Slytherin's.

"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared!" the woman announced. "The Ministry will want to hear about this!"

It wasn't long before Argus Filch was hammering an official decree from the Ministry stating that Dolores Umbridge is appointed to the position of High Inquisitor into the wall of the Great Hall. This gave her the power to be above the other teachers at Hogwarts but not quite over Professor Dumbledore. The woman had started to appear in classrooms with a clipboard, writing down with her quill as the teachers taught in their usual ways. She especially went for Professor Trelawney and Professor Flitwick, as she seemed to have something against the two in particular.

It was in Sophia's Astronomy class that the girl was starting to hate the woman with a deep passion. The Professor sat at the back of the Astronomy tower as Professor Sinistra tried to act as if she wasn't there. But it made the teacher nervous when it came to the topic of Centaurs and their abilities with star gazing, as Umbridge made a distinctive 'hem hem' noise to catch her attention.

"So sorry to interrupt my dear," Umbridge stood from her chair with her clipboard in hand and made silence enclose over the classroom. "But may I ask why the topic of Centaurs are included in the Astronomy curriculum?"

"Oh well," Sinistra stumbled for a moment with her textbook in her hands. "They're very gifted with foreseeing of the future through the stars. We're trying to learn their ways-"

"But surely they would be under the topic of Care for Magical Creatures then wouldn't they?" Umbridge cut the woman off with her same sweet smile on her face. "Or perhaps the subject of Divination. The half-breeds wouldn't need to be included in Astronomy for sure."

Sophia went rigid in her seat at the word 'half-breed's. It was a disgusting word used by the Witches and Wizards who were obsessed with blood purity and their status in the Wizarding World. It didn't help that Sophia herself was a form of 'half-breed' as was her father, making her fume from within. She hadn't noticed that she was clenching the edge of the table enough to turn her knuckles white, catching the attention of Hermione who sat next to her.