The First Inspection
"Hmm..." Hermione murmured over breakfast as she read the latest issue of the Daily Prophet.
Her reaction didn't go unnoticed by the others.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, still wearing the grumpy expression of someone who had only just woken up.
"Look at this," Hermione said as she showed them the article written by Rita Skeeter.
Harry, Daphne, and the others leaned in to read the newspaper.
Who Watches the Watchers?
By Rita Skeeter
The Ministry of Magic's latest educational reform has granted Educational Inspector Dolores Umbridge the authority to evaluate every Hogwarts professor and determine whether they are fit to continue teaching and remain responsible for hundreds of students.
The question is unavoidable: since when has it been the Ministry's place to decide who can or cannot teach at an institution that has governed its own affairs for centuries?
The Ministry claims this measure is intended to guarantee a quality education. Yet it's curious that there is such interest in inspecting Hogwarts classrooms while far more serious problems continue to be ignored.
One only needs to take a walk through Knockturn Alley to see it. Merchants operating on the edge of legality, families living in miserable conditions, trafficking of dangerous objects, and security that leaves much to be desired. Problems that have been well known for years and apparently deserve less attention than Transfiguration or Charms lessons.
Perhaps it would be more useful to assign inspectors to ensuring the health and well-being of the people living in those streets instead of sending officials to tell professors with decades of experience how to do their jobs.
Because if the Ministry has the time and resources to supervise every classroom at Hogwarts, then it should also have the time and resources to protect those who truly need help.
Or perhaps some priorities are simply more politically convenient than others.
"Are you sure Rita Skeeter wrote this?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow, unable to believe what he was reading.
Even Draco raised an eyebrow. The tone was unmistakably Rita Skeeter's, but the fact that she was speaking in favour of Hogwarts and its Headmaster—Sirius, of all people—was completely absurd.
"Yes, I thought it was strange too. That's why I wanted to show you. Isn't this the same woman who spent last year writing horrible things about us? Why does it suddenly feel like she's a completely different person?" Hermione said, still looking utterly bewildered.
"You don't think someone's pretending to be her or something, do you?" Daphne asked, equally confused.
"Even so..." Harry said, reading the article again. "This reform means Umbridge will be able to evaluate every professor. That means..."
"...she'll be able to decide which teachers get to keep working at the castle," Hermione finished for him.
The four of them looked at one another for a moment before turning towards the staff table, where Wanda, Narcissa, Selene, and Susan could be seen chatting calmly with the other professors, including McGonagall.
After watching them for a moment, they looked back at each other.
"I'd really like to see that happen," Daphne couldn't help saying, genuinely interested in seeing how it would play out.
And, to be honest, the others shared the same curiosity.
That curiosity, however, was interrupted by the start of classes.
And, as luck would have it, it was one of everyone's favourite subjects: Divination with Professor Trelawney.
As they walked towards the Divination classroom—which, like every classroom in the castle, had been renovated to resemble a planetarium—the other students were already there chatting among themselves while the professor, with her enormous round glasses, patiently waited for the lesson to begin.
As she did every class, the moment the last student arrived, she would say something like, "I've been expecting you," as though it were some grand prophecy.
Though it became rather amusing whenever another student walked in immediately afterwards.
This time, however, the last person to enter wasn't a student.
It was Dolores Umbridge.
"Good morning, Professor Trelawney. I hope you received my note informing you of the date and time of your inspection," Umbridge said with impeccable politeness.
Trelawney looked anything but pleased to see her.
Instead, she simply gave a curt nod while continuing to hand out the books that would be used for today's lesson.
Umbridge didn't seem to care.
Instead, she walked to one corner of the room, picked up an armchair, and calmly sat down, watching Professor Trelawney's back as she worked.
"Ahem." Professor Trelawney cleared her throat.
Although she was trying to appear calm, the slight tremor in her voice was impossible to miss.
"Today we shall continue our studies of prophetic dreams," she said, unable to stop herself from glancing back at Umbridge every so often.
The Inspector had already taken a roll of parchment and a quill from her flowery handbag and began writing the moment Trelawney opened her mouth.
"Please pair up and, following the instructions in your textbook, interpret your partner's most recent dreams," she said, trying to recover her usual mystical tone.
It wasn't working very well.
Not while she could feel Umbridge's eyes boring into the back of her head.
The students immediately paired off, with Draco teaming up with Harry, while Hermione partnered with Daphne.
"If you start telling me about another weird dream involving a certain part-Veela sneaking into it, I'm changing partners," Draco said with a serious look, making it clear he meant every word.
"Hahaha, don't worry. Though I have been having some strange dreams lately. Like all the animals in the forest chasing us around, or Red becoming the king of the castle," Harry said with amusement.
"That sounds like post-traumatic stress. Maybe instead of Divination, you should see a psychologist," Draco remarked dryly.
Meanwhile, on Hermione and Daphne's side...
"So, Daphne... have you been dreaming about, I don't know... Bulgaria lately? Or maybe Quidditch?" Hermione asked, trying to sound professional.
Daphne raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, no. Lately I've been dreaming that I lived in a world made entirely of gummy candy," Daphne replied calmly.
"What? Are you sure? Not a single handsome boy? Maybe a Bulgarian one who plays Quidditch?" Hermione asked, not being subtle in the slightest.
"Nope. Just food. Why? Have you? You're pretty sneaky," Daphne said with a teasing smile.
Hermione couldn't help letting out a small growl.
But while they at least seemed to be doing the assignment the way it was supposed to be done...
Assuming this was how it was supposed to be done...
Suddenly, Umbridge's conversation with Trelawney became noticeably louder, drawing everyone's attention.
Professor Trelawney looked thoroughly offended and irritated as she answered Umbridge's questions.
"I've been teaching this class for sixteen years," Professor Trelawney replied, crossing her arms protectively under Umbridge's questioning.
"That's quite a long time," Umbridge remarked as she casually wrote it down on her parchment. "And it was the previous Headmaster, Dumbledore, who offered you the position, correct?"
Trelawney nodded again without enthusiasm.
"You don't seem particularly bothered by Mr. Black replacing him as Headmaster."
"He's a good Headmaster, and the children are very fond of him. I don't see why I, as a simple professor, would have anything against him," Trelawney answered confidently.
"Of course, of course," Umbridge said, a hint of disdain slipping into her voice without disturbing her smile. "That reminds me... You're the great-great-granddaughter of the famous Seer Cassandra Trelawney, aren't you?"
"Yes," the professor answered once again, lifting her chin slightly with a trace of pride.
"But aren't you the only descendant of Cassandra to have inherited the gift of Sight?" Umbridge asked sweetly.
At once, Trelawney frowned, though she still answered.
"The gift runs in my family, though it usually skips three generations."
Umbridge's smile widened even further.
"Naturally," she said as she jotted something down. Then, without even looking up, she added, "In that case... would you mind making a prediction for me?"
At the request, Professor Trelawney looked confused for a moment, as though she couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard.
"I'm sorry?" she asked.
"My future," Umbridge replied without losing her smile. "Surely a true Seer wouldn't have any difficulty demonstrating her gift."
Trelawney frowned immediately.
"The Inner Eye does not see on command," Trelawney replied, sounding deeply insulted. She straightened her back slightly, as though that answer alone was all the dignity she had left.
"I see," Umbridge said, letting her contempt show for a brief instant as she scribbled something else onto her parchment.
Professor Trelawney seemed to sense the obvious skepticism, and it made her visibly nervous.
"Wait," the professor stopped her quickly, nervousness and a touch of anger creeping into her voice. "I think I see something... Something concerning you. Yes... A great danger hangs over you," she said in a gloomy, almost alarmed tone.
Umbridge remained completely impassive as she listened to her fortune.
"I'm afraid you're in grave danger."
The moment she finished speaking, the classroom fell completely silent as every student focused on their conversation.
Umbridge didn't seem concerned in the slightest.
If anything, her eyebrows were raised in mockery.
"Very well. If you have nothing better..." she said before simply turning around and walking away.
Not before flicking her quill across the parchment and drawing a thick black X over it before leaving the classroom.
Professor Trelawney had gone pale, but she made no attempt to stop Umbridge from leaving.
Meanwhile, Harry, who had been watching the exchange with his chin resting on one hand, looked thoughtfully at Umbridge's back and then at Trelawney.
Harry's eyes briefly flashed with a crimson gleam.
"Hmm... she's not such a bad Seer after all," Harry said with amusement.
Draco looked at him as though he'd just said the dumbest thing imaginable.
"What are you talking about? She predicts terrible danger for everyone," Draco said with obvious disdain.
Though if he had to choose between Umbridge and Trelawney, he would obviously side with the latter.
"Well... sooner or later she had to get one right," Harry replied with an amused grin.
Draco merely shook his head and returned his attention to the assignment.
After all...
That had only been the first inspection.