Lost and Found
In the empty and quiet corridor, the sound of clicking heels reverberated off the ancient cold stone floor. It filled the otherwise quiet hall with her determined, contemplative, and urgent steps. The fire from the walled sconces illuminated her surroundings, but barely kept away the January chill of the Scottish Highlands, freezing her to the core. She was pacing, she knew it. It was an unfortunate habit she had picked up in her efforts to accomplish what she was sent here to do. To devise a plan, she had to think, but her ideas have not yet proven successful. Victory was within reach. She could feel it licking at her fingertips, nearly there to grasp for the taking. Yet, as soon as she thinks she has finally gotten hold of what she has been working so hard for, it slips through her fingers like water.
Oh, she has gotten close, that she cannot deny. Since she was placed in this castle, she has gained a certain amount of control and power. Nearly as much as the Headmaster himself. To put structure and discipline into the lives of the miscreants she oversees. To think that one day, these children will be the future of the Wizarding World. A shiver ran up her spine at the very thought. Or maybe it’s the chill of this snow-covered hell that tries to seep itself ever deeper into the marrow of her bones.
Suddenly, she stopped pacing. She shakes her head trying to rid herself of stray thoughts as she tries to focus her mind back on the problem at hand. It was the same problem that led her to pace this corridor. She couldn’t do so in her office, the office that has held so many… delightful detentions with one of the very people that has been a constant thorn in her side. For her current problem, sitting in her office was unproductive. This was because the memories of watching the boy write his lines still filled her with giddiness and a sense of justice.
Again, she stops to shake her head and rid herself of stray thoughts.
She needs to focus.
Yes, it is undeniable that the Potter brat deserves his punishment. However, there will be more opportunities in the future to correct and discipline him in his endeavor to spew lies and create dissension. Although, if she can keep her mind on track, on the problem at hand, she will no longer have to deal with him nor the old doddering fool of a man any longer.
Her pacing continues. She needs to move, to think. At least this corridor is nearly barren. No portraits, just the odd tapestry of a goblin in a tutu doing ballet. Filthy little creatures.
Clack clack clack.
She needs to uncover and reveal the truth about Harry Potter.
Clack clack clack.
She needs to reveal all the lies that have been told.
Clack clack clack.
She needs to find out what it is that Dumbledore is planning.
Clack clack cla….
A door. A new door appeared that was not previously there. A door she had never seen before.
She reaches to grab the handle but stops just before she makes contact. The thought of those red-headed devil twins pops up in her head. Of some distasteful prank of theirs. She looked up and down the corridor. It’s empty. It has been empty the entire time she has been pacing. She looks at the door again and waits a moment.
Another two moments.
She doesn’t know how long she stands there before she makes a decision. Hesitantly, once again, she reaches for the door handle putting one stubby, ring-covered finger on it. Then another finger. And another finger. Slowly, she wraps her hand around the burnished metal and grabs the handle, releasing a breath she did not realize she was holding. Fortifying herself by taking a deep breath, she slowly opens the door. She hides her squat body behind the thick wooden door as she opens it, to avoid any possible surprises that those demon twins may have concocted if they’re the ones behind this sudden appearance. A low, continuous creak emits and echoes around the empty and silent hallway. Once the door is completely open, she hesitantly peaks her head out from behind the door to peer into the room.
There are four walls of stone and no windows. It’s small but not claustrophobic. One wall has a fireplace in which a roaring fire is already crackling away. A wooden cherry oak table is in the center of the room, standing in front of the fire. Though she is too far away to see clearly, the contents of the table are indiscernible. Next to the table is an exquisite pink wingback chair. This chair faces the fireplace to allow the person sitting to have better light to see what it is they are doing. Underneath both the chair and table is a lush dark magenta carpet, tying the room together and making it look all the more comfortable. Cozy.
Cautiously, she brings the rest of her body out from behind the door, and slowly makes her way into the room. Nothing happens. She exhales a gust of air. Those Weasley twins have her nearly as paranoid as that old, miserable, one-eyed freak of an Auror. Scowling at the thought of those Merlin forsaking twins, she closes the door and locks it. Not wanting anyone to intrude on her while she figures out the sudden appearance of this room.
Slowly approaching the table, she feels the heat of the fire enveloping her body. This warms her from the inside out, weeding away the cold chill that has attached itself to her body that has been an ever-persistent companion to her these last few months. Scanning the contents of the table she sees a pile of blank parchment, a capped crystal glass inkwell, an elegant eagle feathered quill, several books, and situated right in front of the chair, a large envelope with her name written elegantly on the front. Carefully, and ever so slowly, she lowers herself down onto the chair. It’s comfortable. Inviting. Slowly, she relaxes more and more each second, until she no longer sits as though her spine is a rigid steel rod.
Eyes immediately drawn to the envelope with her name on it, she stares at it. Wanting to throw all caution to the wind as her curiosity has been more than piqued, she must restrain herself from doing so. Instead, she looks at the books and picks the first one up.
It’s thin, leather bound, with no title, and no illustrations. Opening the book to the first page...and wait...that's strange. The words...they’re blurred. Illegible. She closes the cover and puts it down. Slowly, she picks up the second book, still slim but slightly thicker than the first. Similarly, its contents are illegible. Closing the book, she checked the other five. They’re all the same. Putting the books back down in the order in which they were originally placed, she turns her attention back to the envelope. The envelope with her name on it.
Dolores Jane Umbridge
Hesitantly, she picks up the envelope. There’s weight to it. Heavy. She can tell that there is nothing but parchment in it, which means that whoever wanted her to have this has a lot to say to her. Breaking the wax seal of the envelope she pulls its contents out. Of course, she was right, there was a massive amount of parchment. Some of the pages are bound together as if it's a book, as if it's meant to be read together. Separated from others who are too closely bound together. Perusing the separate letters, the separate booklets, she noticed something familiar. All but the top letter was blurred, illegible. All except a number on the right-hand corner of each letter. Another oddity, there were two letters with the number one on them.
Bringing her attention back to the only legible thing on the table, she starts to read the letter.
To the Esteemed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic
Dolores Jane Umbridge,
I am sure that you are wary of the place in which you have found yourself, and as such the contents of this room, therefore this letter as well. To help alleviate any concerns you may have I will explain what this room is, and why you are here.
You currently find yourself sitting in the Room of Requirement, also known as the Come and Go Room. The room’s name is very well placed. This room only appears to those who are truly in need of it. You may find it by pacing in front of its location and thinking about what it is you need. Imagine someone, such as yourself, needed a place of quiet to think and compose themselves, and as you pace in front of the wall where the door is, we will see a room like this, which will accommodate your needs.
Now onto who I am. Unfortunately, I cannot give you a name or a title, for I have many. Hopefully, I hope you will consider me a friend, or at the very least, an ally. Especially since what I am about to reveal and give to you will help in your endeavors of exposing the truth of Harry Potter, revealing all the lies, and finding out what it is that Albus Dumbledore is planning.
Yes, I am aware of what you are trying to accomplish with Potter and Dumbledore. I must commend you on what you have accomplished so far. No one else can claim to have done a fraction of what you have done in removing a substantial amount of power that Dumbledore has gained and held onto for so long. Too long in fact. Although no one has come close to accomplishing what you have done, you continue to fall short. Do not misunderstand me, I am not criticizing you. Even with all the influence you hold within the Mistry of Magic, and now with your newly created title of High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witcraft and Wizardry, you remain fighting an uphill battle.
As I mentioned earlier, Dumbledore has held too much power for far too long. Within the Ministry of Magic as Chief Warlock, on the international stage as the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, but most acutely pertaining to your current problem, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With his positions of power, all three being held simultaneously for many years, the vast majority of the Magical population deemed him infallible, a beacon of hope and morality, nearly omnipresent. How many generations of children have walked through the doors of Hogwarts to witness and be under the sway of his power and influence? Those children have grown up with it being a fact to them that Albus Dumbledor is the paragon of goodness and right. To remain safe we must follow his lead. Children were raised on that notion of him, who in turn raised their children, and their children. Generations growing up with the belief that Dumbledore knows all and knows best.
Yet, you and I see how dangerous this issue is. The power he has wielded for so long has made entire generations loyal to him. They are blinded by his name and cannot come to terms with that he is just a man capable of being wrong and making mistakes. Except when it comes to people like Albus Dumbledore, people who hold so much power, so many secrets, their mistakes can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, unlike you, the majority of the population do not realize the devastation and damage the blind trust they give the old man could cost them. What it will cost our world, the Magical World.
While I understand that what I am about to share with you may seem unbelievable and outlandish to you, I implore you not to disregard what I have already told you, and what I still need to share with you. Before I tell you, I will give you two pieces of evidence to prove that what I am about to reveal to you is nothing but truth. This will help you see that our goals truly align.
First, you plan to fire the Divination professor, Sybil Trelawney. Second, I know that you were the one who sent the Dementors after Harry Potter this past summer. Do not fear Dolores, no Aurors are coming for you. As I said, our goals align, and it would not do to currently inform those of what has transpired if we wish to accomplish our goals. Now hopefully with this you will see that what I tell you is nothing but the truth.
I write to you from the future.
As hard as it may be to believe I need you to know that what I say is the truth. A woman of your intelligence, influence, and position within the Ministry may not find it as difficult to comprehend that time magic is not as remote as people may think. Especially with those nifty little Time Turners.
Now onto why I have written to you and organized this all in the first place. As I mentioned several times already, we have the same goals. It is our mission to uncover and reveal the truth about Harry Potter, to expose the lies that have been spread, and to reveal the plans and mechanisms of Albus Dumbledore.
You see, Dumbledore has many secrets, many plans, and he holds them all close to his chest. He’s the puppet master of many key events, controlling many things from in front and behind the curtain. Too long he has gone unchecked, unquestioned, and deferred to the point where he believes he cannot make mistakes. But as I said before, people like Dumbledore, when they hold as much influence and power as he does. Thus, mistakes made by them, or by him, are capable of causing devastation beyond what anyone could imagine; including Albus Dumbledore himself.
As a result of all the lies and disinformation being spread, because of the plans and secrets that Albus Dumbledore holds so very close to his chest, within a few months’ time a war breaks out. Assassinations of Ministry officials and the deaths of so many more, so many children. A war in which Albus Dumbledore and then Harry Potter will be at the head of one side.
As I said, the death toll in the Magical World will be immense. Generations whipped out. Generations never to be born. For the last battle, the fight that will bring the most death, the most destruction will take place in a little more than two years. That battle will be at Hogwarts. Children will be soldiers. Entire family lines will be whipped out. Lines older than Hogwarts herself. We felt the devastation of the final battle. It was nearly impossible not to with so many loved ones lost. We didn’t know the full extent of our loss until a few years later.
With so much death, so much magical blood lost, an imbalance was created. An imbalance in which magic started to fade. Our world is dying. The magic that once concealed our world from Muggles was failing. And the Muggles, they weren’t happy for many Muggles were killed by those with magic in the time leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts. Soon, Magick will cease to exist.
This leads us to those books you’ve undoubtably already noticed sitting on the table. Those books, a total of seven, tell the story of each year of Harry Potter’s school years from his perspective. Yes, I know what you have concluded from that. Two and a half of the books are from the future. Unfortunately, what this means for you is that you were unable to accomplish your goal of removing both the boy and the old man. This of course, was not your fault. If it is any consolation, you had come extremely close. In fact, you would be happy to know that thanks to your brilliance and persistence, you managed to put Dumbledore on the run from a stay in Azkaban. Unfortunately, that did not last as long as you would have liked.
Now back to the books and why they are so incredibly important. As I stated earlier, these books contain all seven years of Harry Potter’s time as a student at Hogwarts. All from his perspective. With these books, you will be able to expose the life of Harry Potter. Things about him, things he has done, things he would not want to be known and has desperately sought to hide. As all surrounding Harry Potter will be exposed, so too will Dumbledore. For we both know that Potter is the closest person to Dumbledore. It was on his word alone that Dumbledore launched a campaign that He Who Must Not Be Named is back.
This may seem too good to be true, and I applaud your wisdom in being skeptical. Therefore, I will reveal the spell that was created in the future that allows you to verify the truth of written material. It was created by a friend of mine and is a version of Veritaserum.
For the spell, you must place your wand over the object you wish to detect. Gently, in a straight up and down fashion, tap the material. After the third tap when you move your wand back up, instead of straight up, move it at a 45 degree angle. On the last upward stroke you must use the incantation “Verba Mendacii et Verii Ostendunt Vera”. It will glow a green light if its contents are truthful, and a red light if its contents are lies, if the spell was performed correctly.
Now, you may have noticed that the contents of the books are blurred. There is a simple reason for this, but the magic involved is complex. All people who are meant to read and hear the books must be present. All books must be read in order.
I know this may seem daunting to you, considering that some of them are quite lengthy. You, as well as other people who are required for the reading are so incredibly important and needed that you cannot take time off willy nilly for a reading, no matter how imperative that reading is. Thus, once all those needed for the reading have gathered, Hogwarts and its grounds will be enveloped in a time bubble. This will be accomplished by a spell that was imbued into the letter meant to be read right before the reading of the first book.
There are other contents in front of you besides books. As you may have noticed there are several more letters whose contents you are currently unable to access. Similarly, the reason and magic behind reading books are the same. They must be read in order, and all who are meant to know their contents must be present. Further, the only people who are capable of reading and talking about not just the letters, but the books as well, are those intended to learn their contents. To ensure this, a form of the Fidelus Charm has been placed on each. Thus, ensuring the safety of its contents and only allowing what is meant to be known by the general population to be let out.
This letter, my dear Dolores, is for your eyes and your eyes only. Considering some of its contents, like that of the Dementor, well, I wouldn't want you getting into any legal trouble before the readings reveal the truth and lies of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Once you are done reading this letter the next letter, which will be a variation of this one, one that will be safe for you to bring to the Minister and others to hopefully start the process of what it is I have sent out for you to do. Only you can be trusted to do this.
Hopes for a better future,
An Ally
Dolores was in a state of utter shock. All that she wanted was right in front of her.
Oh, she wasn't a fool, she was going to verify that the spell worked as said. She could see no reason why it wouldn't though. This person, this possible ally of hers knows about the Dementors. Has probably known about it for some time. Yet, she's still here, and not in Azkaban. For even Cornelius would not have turned a blind eye to that if what she did was exposed.
She looked at the next letter, and surely enough much of it was the same as the one meant just for her.
She needed to test the spell. Not on the books though. The books could be too sensitive to test an unknown spell on. Too pivotal in her efforts to accomplish what she has set out to do.
This letter, these books, this could be what she needs.
Her heartbeat is fast, her mind is frantic, her breathing erratic.
Hope.
Victory.
Vindication.
Composure is what she currently needs. She needs to get herself in order and under control. She is Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and Hogwarts High Inquisitor.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, she can feel the air expanding the lungs in her chest. She holds it for a few beats. Slowly, she exhales through her mouth.
Repeat.
Breathe in.
Hold.
Release.
Again, and again, and again she repeats the process. She doesn’t know how long she has been sitting here trying to get herself into a semblance of control. It could have been minutes or hours. It doesn’t matter. She’s calm now.
Determination sets in.
She scans the letter once again and reads the spell incantation. Over and over again she reads the words of the spell until each letter is burned and ingrained in her mind's eye. She says the words out loud. Just the words, no wand movements. Wanting to perfect the pronunciation, she repeats the incantation again.
And again.
Over and over, she repeats the words until she is as familiar with them as she is with her own name.
Once confident in her pronunciation she starts to practice the wand movements. Again, and again, and again. She repeats the motion. She repeats the motion until it becomes as natural and easy as breathing.
Setting her wand down on the table, she pulls the blank pile of parchment, crystal ink bottle, and quill closer to her. Lifting the quill up and gently dipping it into the ink, she taps the excess off the tip and begins to write.
My name is Dolores Jane Umbridge.
Putting the quill down, she picks up her wand. She casts the spell that she has spent the last few hours perfecting.
The parchment emits a green glow.
Her heart starts racing.
She needs to calm herself. Yes, it worked this one time, but for something so simple as her name, it wasn’t anything to get excited about.
Once again, she focused on the task at hand.
Picking up the quill again, she starts to write.
I am from the Selwyn line.
Once again, the parchment glows green.
I am a pure-blood witch.
Unlike the last two times, when Dolores casts the spell the parchment glows red.
She scowls. The thought of her filthy Muggle mother and disgusting squib brother…
Her entire being freezes.
It detected the lie.
Could it truly be?
Grabbing another clean piece of parchment, she starts writing.
Werewolves and other half-breed monstrosities need to be put down with extreme prejudice.
The parchment glows green.
Goblins are the finest representation of the Magical World.
A red glow lights up the page.
Frantically she kept writing. Her thoughts scratched across each new piece of parchment. Red, green, green, red, red, green, and so on. More and more she writes. Increasingly, she tests the spell. Each casting making her excitement grow.
Elation has taken over her. Each time she casts the spell she feels herself overcome with certainty that this will work. That this spell is what it was claimed to be.
She picked up that last piece of blank parchment.
Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter are jumped up half-bloods who need to be put in their place.
Tap tap tap check.
The parchment glows green.
She laughed.
She laughed and laughed and laughed. The manic sound bounced off the walls and echoed in the nearly empty room. Her toad-like face twisted into unimaginable glee. Flames from the cackling fire illuminated her features. Her appearance is more disturbing than usual. Her smile is wide and vile. It stretches across her face like a deformed circus clown. Her heart is light and giddy, filled with victory and malice.
Oh, she was intending to follow the advice in the letter. Of this gift she has been given. Of her ally.