[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 44

Halloween was approaching, and Marina Nikolaevna noticed that Draco Malfoy had grown increasingly gloomy and jittery. He kept disappearing to unknown places, and strangely enough, he didn’t show up on the Marauder’s Map, though Crabbe and Goyle appeared perfectly well. Since Apparition wasn’t possible within the castle, this meant Malfoy had access to some kind of hiding place unknown to others... though she herself had once advised him to find a secluded spot for his secret activities.

“Letty,” she called, noticing Malfoy’s absence from the map yet again. “Fly up to the eighth floor quickly. Crabbe and Goyle should be there. See what they’re up to.”

The house-elf returned a few seconds later and reported, “Crabbe and Goyle aren’t there, ma’am. Letty only saw two girls—Byerly and Stanton from Slytherin third year, ma’am. They aren’t doing anything, just standing around like they’re waiting for something.”

‘That scoundrel!’ Marina Nikolaevna thought, glancing again at the map. Byerly and Stanton were quietly doing homework in the study room. It was time to deal with this.

“What are you doing here, girls?” she asked softly, sneaking up behind the two third-years. “Have you arranged a secret meeting?”

“No, ma’am,” squeaked “Byerly,” pulling a grimace.

“In that case, go to your common room. You’ve no business being here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” answered “Stanton,” and the two shuffled off toward the stairs.

Marina Nikolaevna conjured a comfortable chair for herself and decided to wait.

Her patience paid off. About an hour later, a door suddenly appeared in what had been a solid wall, creaked open, and out stepped Draco Malfoy—exhausted, pale, and thoroughly irate.

“Ahem...” Marina Nikolaevna cleared her throat, throwing off her Invisibility Cloak. Malfoy flinched and glanced around for his companions. “There’s no one here, Mr. Malfoy. Just you and me.”

He remained silent.

“Have you forgotten our conversation on the train?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” Malfoy replied quietly.

“But you’re up to something. Making your lackeys drink Polyjuice Potion... a small but satisfying revenge, isn’t it? Turning those burly boys into girls?” she smirked. “Yet you haven’t said a word to Professor Snape or me. Changed your mind?”

“I haven’t finished yet, ma’am,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I’m stalling as much as I can… I don’t know how much longer I can fool Crabbe and Goyle. They’re fed up with the Polyjuice and complain that I’m slacking off while they suffer. They demand to know what I’m doing here... but I don’t want to bring them along.”

“So you’ve found a secret hiding place after all?” she asked, stepping closer to prevent Malfoy from shutting the door. “And what might it be? Mind if I take a look?”

“I... I...” he stammered.

Alas, the difference in physical strength was too great. Marina Nikolaevna easily pushed the slim young man back into the unknown room.

It was... colossal.

Light streamed through tall windows, illuminating a vast labyrinth made of broken or damaged furniture, thousands of books, bottles filled with mysterious potions, clothing, trinkets, and unidentifiable objects.

“Good heavens, where are we?” Marina Nikolaevna whispered. “Letty! Letty!”

“Letty is here, ma’am!” came the elf’s reply.

“Do you know what this place is?”

“Letty only heard from Dobby that the castle has a Room of Requirement,” the elf said, looking around. “It becomes whatever a person needs. This must be it.”

“Mr. Malfoy, why would you need a storage room of... well, whatever all this is? Broken and forgotten things?” she asked sternly.

“I wasn’t looking for the room itself,” Malfoy replied softly, staring into the distance. “Last year, the Weasley twins shoved Montague into a broken Vanishing Cabinet.”

“Didn’t they stuff him into a toilet?” she frowned.

“No, it was the cabinet. He ended up crawling out of a toilet. Montague said he found himself somewhere strange. Sometimes he could hear what was happening at school, and other times he heard things from Borgin and Burkes. It was like he was traveling between the two places, but no one could hear him, no matter how much he shouted for help… Eventually, he Apparated out, nearly died...” Malfoy swallowed hard. “The second cabinet is at Borgin and Burkes. There’s some sort of passage between them, and if I can fix this one...”

“And how did you know the cabinet was here?”

“It used to be on the second floor, at least that’s what Montague said. Then it disappeared. But you cleaned the place, so you would have noticed something like that. Someone else must have hidden it—probably the twins, to cover their tracks. Perhaps it wasn’t easy to destroy. Or maybe the house-elves moved it out of sight. You only gave orders about the rooms, but this was in a corridor...” He hesitated. “And I also heard from my grandfather about a room where you could hide things. Dobby probably learned about it from him too... So I searched for a place where the cabinet could be hidden. And here it is.”

“It seems people have been hiding things here for centuries...” Marina Nikolaevna rose on tiptoe but couldn’t see the end of the labyrinth. “And why do you need this cabinet?”

“As I said, there’s a passage between the cabinets. I... I have to finish it,” he confessed. “They’re pressuring me. He wants it ready by Halloween, like before... And I’m running out of time.”

“I see,” she nodded. “Letty, can you fetch Professor Snape? Bring him here?”

“No, ma’am,” the elf shook her head. “Letty can come to you, but she can’t bring someone who doesn’t know exactly which room you’re in! Dobby said it’s different for everyone.”

“Then just tell him to come to the eighth floor. If you open the door for him, he’ll be able to come in, right? Go quickly! Tell him it’s urgent! No excuses—he doesn’t have classes today.”

Letty disappeared, and Marina Nikolaevna gently touched Malfoy’s shoulder.

“Show me where this cabinet is,” she asked. Reluctantly, he led her through the maze of clutter. “Ah... So this is how you plan to let Death Eaters into the castle? But why, when you’re supposed to kill Dumbledore yourself?”

“Well, you told me yourself, ma’am, that I wouldn’t be able to,” he said quietly. “And they know it too. They’ll be here to back me up, along with Professor Snape…”

“And here he is,” Marina Nikolaevna said, hearing curses and the crash of a collapsing pile of junk. “Severus, we’re over here! Follow my voice!”

“Then keep signaling at regular intervals!” came the response. Snape finally emerged from the labyrinth, clutching several books to his chest, evidently the cause of the avalanche. “What is this place?”

“The Room of Requirement,” she answered.

Snape cast a greedy glance around the vast hall.

“We’ll ransack and loot later!” she snapped. “Listen to what Draco has to say first.”

Snape’s expression grew serious as Malfoy repeated his story. When he finished, Snape nodded grimly.

“Yes, that’s the plan. Carrow, Greyback, and others are ready to move at any moment. The castle is full of Aurors, so there’ll be many Death Eaters as well.”

“All the most powerful ones?” Marina Nikolaevna asked. “The elites of the Dark Lord’s circle?”

“Of course. They wouldn’t send just anyone to kill Dumbledore.”

“Well, that’s perfect,” Marina Nikolaevna said gravely. “The cream of the crop will be here... to fight an uneven battle. The headmaster... well, Severus, you understand, don’t you?” (1)

"Of course," Snape shoved the books into Malfoy's arms, who stared in confusion at the adults. Then he bent into the vanishing cabinet, disappearing halfway inside. There was a clicking sound, a muttered curse, and a muffled thud as his head hit something. After a moment of rustling, he emerged.

"Done. Well done, Draco. Fixing such a piece of junk—even partially—takes skill. Though, I hate to break it to you, it’ll now only work on my command," Snape smirked.

"You… you really intend to let them into the school?" Malfoy whispered.

"Of course. Where else would we find an opportunity to gather such a force with such minimal effort?" Snape’s smirk widened as he took back the books. "But you won't tell anyone yet. You’ll report that the way is clear only when I give the signal. Otherwise, people could end up stuck between dimensions, like poor Montague." (2)

"Understood, sir," Malfoy replied, his voice trembling slightly with relief. Snape, showing rare tact, placed a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder and gave a small shake.

"You're holding up well," he said. "Stay strong—for your parents’ sake. And remember, you could have come to me sooner."

"I couldn’t," Malfoy muttered, shaking his head. "Crabbe and Goyle hardly leave my side…"

"And during classes? They don’t even attend my Potions lessons. Did it not occur to you to linger after class for a consultation or scribble a note during a test asking for extra tutoring?" Snape sighed heavily. "Well, no point in harping on about missed opportunities. As usual—an oath of secrecy, Draco, and you’re free to go. I’ll let you know when it’s time to raise the alarm among our mutual acquaintances."

Releasing Malfoy, Snape turned to survey the cluttered room.

"Dolores, we’ll need an army of house-elves to sort all this out."

"Hardly an army—ten should suffice," she replied seriously. "Lettie, can you bring Trinky, Dixie, and a few others here?"

"Lettie can," the elf confirmed.

"Good. Once they’re here, explain what needs to be done. We have plenty of empty rooms, so…" Marina plucked a heavy gold chain from the pile of rubbish. "Books, manuscripts, even notebooks—into one room. Trinkets like this—into another. Handle these with care; you saw what the medallion and the cup were like."

"Lettie remembers. They had special magic," the elf nodded. "Should Lettie look for similar things?"

"First, let everything be sorted. Then we’ll inspect it," Marina instructed. "Furniture can stay where it is—just check that nothing dangerous is hidden inside. Anything that doesn’t fit these categories goes into a third room. And no one is to enter until we’ve reviewed everything. Agreed, Severus?"

He nodded silently.

"And you’ll coordinate with the Aurors?"

"Naturally. I’ll catch them during a shift change to ensure all the team leaders are present. As for… Lettie, is Draco gone?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"Excellent. Then…" Marina paused. "We can’t involve the Aurors directly in this. You understand why. Besides, I doubt they could apprehend the headmaster."

"You mean it’ll only work if there’s chaos with the Death Eaters—a way to obscure who cast the cutting curse?" Snape asked.

"Even then, the odds are slim," she admitted. "The only viable option is to catch the headmaster when he leaves the castle."

"Couldn’t you have your elf attack him?" Snape suggested.

"Hmm… Lettie, could you injure another wizard on my command—not kill, just incapacitate him? For his own good, of course."

"Lettie can," the elf answered after a long pause, twitching her ears. "If ma’am orders it, Lettie will do it."

"Would that harm you in any way?" Marina asked immediately.

"Only if the wizard notices Lettie and fights back. And if other elves see, they’ll report to the headmaster, and ma’am could get into trouble."

"Logical. They’re everywhere in the castle—unseen but always present," Snape muttered. "So the attack must happen outside the castle—and ideally, it should appear to be an enemy’s doing. The headmaster doesn’t always inform me of his plans, but I can track his movements."

"He can’t Apparate from here, and the Floo network is blocked by the Aurors," Marina noted. "That leaves two options: walking to the edge of the anti-Apparition barrier, likely to Hogsmeade for a drink… or flying. Perhaps on a Thestral, like our young heroes once planned."

"Hagrid did mention Dumbledore occasionally flies on Thestrals for long journeys," Snape nodded.

"In any case, he’ll have to leave the castle," she concluded.

"There’s also the phoenix," Snape added. "I’ve heard they can transport their owners anywhere, even from Hogwarts. But when I saw Fawkes a few days ago, he looked ancient—about to be reborn. In that state, as a frail old bird or a newly hatched chick, he won’t be of any help."

"Perfect," Marina said. "Lettie, gather the house-elves and repeat the instructions. Then keep an eye on the headmaster. If he heads out, notify me immediately!"

"Yes, ma’am," the elf nodded.

"And remember: when the opportunity arises, it’s critical to remove the headmaster’s right arm above the elbow. Severus, how far above?"

"Two inches, to be safe."

"And ensure he doesn’t bleed to death. Got it? Good. Go!"

She turned to Snape. "We should probably alert Inga to be ready with her shamanic skills?"

"I suspect she’s already aware," Marina sighed. "She’s no Trelawney. But I’ll inform her anyway. Halloween is just three days away. If something happens, it’ll be soon."

"She did mention Christmas, too," Snape added.

"If the Dark Lord fails now, he might strike again during Christmas," Marina mused, watching as the elves swiftly sorted the junk into neat piles. "Severus, stop rummaging through books already!"

"But we’ve covered everything," he shrugged. "I’ll need to keep an eye on both Draco and Potter."

"We’ll manage together," she corrected him. "By the way, Black has a house-elf. Let’s get him involved to watch over Potter."

"Good idea. Though Kreacher’s more inclined toward Draco," Snape smirked.

"Whoever he watches is one less headache for us. Will you handle Black?"

"Of course," Snape grimaced. "There’s an Order meeting soon. I’ll pass along the message after that."

"Great. I’ll talk to Berkeley and O’Leary."

________________________________________________

"Are you certain the attack will happen, Madam Umbridge?" Berkeley asked after hearing her out.

"I’m not certain, but we can’t rule out the possibility," she replied.

"And your source?" O’Leary inquired.

"Let’s just say…" Marina paused. "The headmaster has a man among the enemy. And I have someone among the headmaster's ranks."

"Let me guess—it’s the same person," O’Leary smirked. "Can he be trusted on this?"

"He’s never failed me before. And don’t say there’s always a first time, Mr. O’Leary. I repeat: the attack may occur on Halloween—it’s a significant date for you-know-who. But it might not happen at all."

"Well, forewarned is forearmed," said Berkeley thoughtfully. "Kevin, can your squad manage a couple of days without home cooking?"

"My squad is mostly bachelors, and Hogwarts feeds us plenty," Kevin grinned. "No problem! Madam Umbridge, how many people are we expecting?"

"That’s unknown," she replied, shaking her head. "They’re expecting to face a single squad of Aurors, but there will still be quite a few of them. I know the Lestranges, Greyback, and the Carrows are likely to be among them."

"Quite the haul!" O’Leary cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"Yes, we might need to call in for back up," Berkeley nodded. "Who do we have on standby? Flaherty and Blake?"

"Yep, and they’ve probably been itching for action," Kevin said. "Want me to call them in?"

"Hold on," Berkeley raised a hand. "We can’t let anyone notice. There are spies everywhere. For now, your current team will pull out and head home—got it?"

"Understood. We’ll sneak back in full force later. We’ll need to unblock a Floo connection or set up a Portkey, though."

"A Portkey’s better," Berkeley agreed. "Head to the office, tell Williamson we might have a situation brewing, and have him prepare a strong Portkey—enough for twenty people or so. Maybe attach it to a broomstick to give everyone something to grab onto."

"Got it," 

"Let me know when everyone’s in place, and I’ll show you how the Death Eaters plan to infiltrate the school." said Marina.

"Better show us now so we can start planning," Berkeley said, leaving her no choice but to lead them to the Room of Requirement.

The house-elves had cleared out most of the clutter, leaving only broken furniture piled in intricate ziggurats.

"My dad told me about this place," O’Leary said, looking around. "He went to Hogwarts—I didn’t, grew up in barracks instead."

"So, the cabinet…" Berkeley examined it after listening to Marina Nikolaevna’s explanation. "And the other one’s at Borgin and Burkes?"

"Yes. Wouldn’t it be better to intercept the Death Eaters there, before they arrive?" she asked.

"That would turn half of Knockturn Alley—and probably Diagon Alley—into a warzone," O’Leary interjected. "And most of the customers would Apparate away before we could grab them. Here, there’s no escape."

"What if we moved the cabinet somewhere else? Your dungeons, perhaps?"

"Not feasible," Berkeley said, peering into the cabinet. "It’s barely holding together as it is. And our dungeons are in an anti-Apparition zone, full of protective enchantments. The connection would collapse, and we’d be stuck reconfiguring it for weeks—if it even worked again."

"So, we have no choice but to let them into the school?"

"Pretty much," O’Leary said. "The key is to contain them in this room."

"The cabinet’s small," Berkeley murmured. "They’ll have to come through one at a time. The ones behind won’t see what’s happening to the first."

"I confiscated Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from the Weasley twins—would that help?" Marina Nikolaevna offered. "It creates an impenetrable darkness with a radius of several dozen feet, depending on the amount used. Lumos doesn’t work inside it."

"Perfect!" O’Leary exclaimed. "But the Death Eaters aren’t fools. They wouldn’t walk blindly into total darkness. They’ll have a guide—someone from the school. Am I right?"

Marina Nikolaevna nodded.

"Who?"

"A student," she admitted.

"Probably the child of a Death Eater?" Berkeley guessed immediately.

"Yes. His parents… have fallen out of favor."

"Trying to earn their way back into good graces?"

"What choice does he have?" O’Leary muttered, still inspecting the cabinet. "Refuse, and he gets tortured. Fail, and he gets tortured. Meanwhile, we step in and, against all odds, emerge victorious!"

"Don’t count your victories before they happen!" Berkeley snapped. "So, a guide, surrounded by darkness… He’ll know the castle well enough to lead them several feet even in pitch blackness, I assume?"

"They’ll follow him like baby elephants holding onto the tail of the one in front!"

"Enough with the jokes! Here’s the plan: the boy will claim he’s creating a blackout and guiding them himself. He meets them here, counts heads, and when the last one comes through, the cabinet must be sealed—permanently."

"We could have a house-elf block or remove it," Marina Nikolaevna suggested.

"Good idea," Berkeley agreed. "But we’ll also monitor Borgin’s shop. Once the last Death Eater enters, we’ll destroy the other cabinet. Then, as they follow their guide through the darkness, we’ll intercept them one by one."

"Sounds neat in theory," O’Leary grumbled. "We might catch a few, but even in darkness, they’ll realize something’s wrong if people ahead of them start disappearing. What then? Put everyone under Imperius?"

"We’ll surround them. If anyone resists, we’ll subdue them. They mustn’t escape into the corridors."

"Agreed… And we’ll need to secure the floor to prevent anyone from accidentally stumbling in."

"Naturally. I’ll calculate the area to cover and how much powder we’ll need. You go fetch reinforcements."

O’Leary nodded and left. Marina Nikolaevna turned to Berkeley.

"I’m worried about the boy. He—"

"Who said we’d use a boy?" Berkeley interrupted with a scowl. "No minors in combat zones."

"But how—"

"Polyjuice Potion," he reminded her. "Colquhoun will take it. He’s the youngest and smallest among us. None of us big guys can pass for a student—our movements would give us away. Greyback might even sniff us out, so the boy will have to lend his clothes."

"Understood," she said, exhaling in relief. "One more thing, Mr. Berkeley… Please, focus solely on this mission."

"Is there another operation happening at the same time?"

"Not as far as I know," she admitted. "But if something happens with the Headmaster, please don’t interfere unless I specifically ask for your help!"

"Another of Fudge’s schemes?"

"Something like that. Hopefully, there won’t be any major fallout."

"Does Williamson know?"

"I’ll only inform him if he comes here personally. I don’t trust mail or other means of communication for this."

"This sounds shady," Berkeley said bluntly. "Nothing good ever comes from freelance schemes! Be upfront, Madam Umbridge. Otherwise, our plans might fall apart, or we might miss the moment we need to act."

She sighed heavily and finally said:

"Mr. Berkeley, it’s a very tangled web we’re trying to unravel—or rather, to cut through."

"In simpler terms?"

"In simpler terms: the boy has been tasked with killing the Headmaster," she said. "But You-Know-Who knows perfectly well that he won’t succeed. He’s not even meant to..."

"A way to torment both the boy and his parents?" Berkeley ran a finger over his scar. "I see... So, this group is the backup plan?"

"Something like that. The boy is supposed to signal when he’s ready, wait for the right moment—like when the Headmaster is alone—let the Death Eaters into the castle, and then carry out his mission. If he can’t... someone else will. That’s how I understand their plan."

"That’s a ridiculously flawed plan," Berkeley touched his scar again. "But that works in our favor. The more Death Eaters we take down here, the better. The boy will send them the signal, and then he’ll be under watch. As for the Headmaster..."

"If he doesn’t decide to wander off somewhere, he’ll learn about what happened in the Room of Requirement after the fact," Marina Nikolaevna said. "If he does leave... a house-elf will help me."

"Madam Umbridge, I don’t like being kept in the dark!"

"I would gladly be more forthcoming, Mr. Berkeley, but this isn’t my secret to tell," she replied, suddenly remembering the oaths she’d sworn. "I can only say this: I have no intention of letting the Headmaster die a noble death and leave all his unresolved problems to his followers! My intentions are quite the opposite, and I swear to that!"

"No need. Unnecessary oaths don’t end well for anyone," Berkeley said, studying her closely.

"That much is true... And, Mr. Berkeley, I believe it would be better if the Minister learns about all of this only after it’s done."

"Agreed," he replied. "We’ll handle it ourselves—his nerves couldn’t take it anyway."

__________________________________________________

In the original, Umbridge and Snape discussed capturing the Death Eaters barely hiding their intentions in the presence of Draco. I found that weird. I changed the text a bit to make it so that they are a bit more discreet. (literally, just changed a couple of words)