BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced

Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-eight.

Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic

The notices had gone up all around the school overnight, but they did not explain how every single person within the castle seemed to know that Dumbledore had overcome two Aurors, the High Inquisitor, the Minister for Magic, and his Junior Assistant to escape.

Tori heard it from Fred, who heard it from George, who heard it from Hazel, who heard it from Lavender, who heard it from Ron, who heard it from Harry. So she at least had some sort of straight line to it.

"Not so fast, Silvers you too, Weasleys." Montague's voice called down the corridor too early in the morning for Tori's liking. The Inquisitorial Squad was a new type of prefect practically. A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge.

Members of the Inquisitorial Squad do have the power to dock points, which meant a lot of unfair points being taken away.

"What do you want Montague?" Tori turned around, crossing her arms. He smiled a gross smile, "Ah, disrespecting an Inquisitorial Squad member, five points from Gryffindor. I see you're not following Educational Decree Number Twenty-Six so that's another—"

Montague didn't get to finish his sentence.

Tori and the twins walked down a long marvel staircase into the Great Hall where they joined
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie in staring at the giant hour-glasses set in niches along the wall behind them, which recorded the house-points. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had been neck and neck in the lead that morning. Even as they watched, stones flew upwards, reducing the amounts in the lower bulbs. In fact, the only glass that seemed unchanged was the emerald-filled one of Slytherin.

''Noticed, have you?" Fred asked bitterly.

''Malfoy just docked us all about fifty points," said Harry furiously, as they watched several more stones fly upwards from the Gryffindor hour-glass.

''Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break," George replied.

''What do you mean, 'tried'" said Ron quickly.

''He never managed to get all the words out," Fred shrugged, ''Due to the fact that we forced him head-first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."

Hermione looked very shocked. "But you'll get into terrible trouble!"

''Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him," Tori said coolly.

Fred nodded. "Anyway... we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble anymore."

''Have you ever?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes. "Course we have," said George. "Never been expelled, have we?"

''We've always known where to draw the line," said Fred.

''We might have put a toe across it occasionally," George shrugged."

''But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem," said Fred. "Mainly I'm the one doing that." Tori chuckled weakly.

''But now?" said Ron tentatively.

''Well, now—" Tori sighed.

"—what with Dumbledore gone—" said Fred.

"—We reckon a bit of mayhem —" said George.

"— is exactly what our dear new Head deserves," Fred grinned mischievously.

"I don't really have plans to stop them." Tori shrugged, crossing her arms.

''You mustn't!" whispered Hermione. "You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you!"

''You don't get it, Hermione, do you?" said Fred, smiling at her. "We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first. So, anyway," He checked his watch, ''Phase one is about to begin. I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch, if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."

''Anything to do with what?" Hermione asked anxiously.

''You'll see," George shrugged. "Run along, now. See you later, Tori."

Fred and George turned away and disappeared into the swelling crowd descending the stairs towards lunch. Looking highly disconcerted, Ernie muttered something about unfinished Transfiguration homework and scurried away.

"You're okay with them leaving?" Hermione turned to Tori, who was watching the crowd. She had talked to Fred the night before about it.

"Listen. You guys are good at what you're doing. You're going to get a lot of sales. George is right. You two don't need Hogwarts anymore. You have to go."

"Yeah." Tori nodded. "They deserve it."

Tori went to sit down with Ron and Hermione once Harry was collected by Filch to see Umbridge. They began to eat lunch in silence when—

BOOM!

One single firework erupted in the Great Hall, a blue one, causing a long line of oooohs and ahhhs.

Tori tried not to laugh. A few more fireworks flooded in until a second year Gryffindor let out a scream.

Dragons comprised entirely of green and gold sparks were soaring up and down the corridors, emitting loud fiery blasts and bangs as they went; shocking-pink Catherine wheels five feet in diameter were whizzing lethally through the air like so many flying saucers;
rockets with long tails of brilliant silver stars were ricocheting off the walls; sparklers were writing swear words in midair of their own accord; firecrackers were exploding like mines everywhere Tori looked, and instead of burning themselves out, fading from sight or fizzling to a halt, these pyrotechnical miracles seemed to be gaining in energy and momentum the longer she watched.

Filch and Umbridge were standing, apparently transfixed in horror, halfway down the stairs. As Tori watched, one of the larger Catherine wheels seemed to decide that what it needed was more room to maneuver; it whirled towards Umbridge and Filch with a sinister ''wheeeeeeeeee" They both yelled with fright and ducked, and it soared straight out of the window behind them and off across the grounds.

Meanwhile, several of the dragons and a large purple bat that was smoking ominously took advantage of the open door at the end of the corridor to escape towards the second floor.

A jet of red light shot out of the end of Umbridge's wand and hit one of the rockets. Instead of freezing in midair, it exploded with such force that it blasted a hole in a painting of a soppy-looking witch in the middle of a meadow; she ran for it just in time, reappearing seconds later squashed into the next painting, where a couple of wizards playing cards stood up hastily to make room for her.

Tori had seen enough; laughing, she ducked down low, ran to a door he knew was concealed behind a tapestry a little way along the corridor, and slipped through it to find Fred and George hiding just behind it, listening to Umbridge and Filch's yells and quaking with suppressed mirth. Harry had seemed to find his way towards them too.

''Impressive," Harry said quietly, grinning as Tori tackled Fred in a hug. "Very impressive... you'll put Dr. Filibuster out of business, no problem..."

''Cheers," whispered George, wiping tears of laughter from his face. "Oh, I hope she tries Vanishing them next... they multiply by ten every time you try."

The fireworks continued to burn and to spread all over the school that afternoon. Though they caused plenty of disruption, particularly the firecrackers, the other teachers didn't seem to mind them very much.

''Dear, dear," said Professor Sprout sardonically, as one of the dragons soared around the outside of the greenhouse, emitting loud bangs and exhaling flame. "Miss Spinnet, would you mind running along to the Headmistress and informing her that we have an escaped firework in our classroom?"

Tori was watching a few gold ones on her way to class when Fred pulled her into a nearly empty corridor. "Come with us." He whispered.

"I have charms!" Tori glanced around, confused. "What? No. I mean when Georgie and I leave. Come with us."

Tori let out a sad sigh.

"Just think about it Tori, we plan to use our brooms and get out of here, you can come too! You can help us out in the shop..."

"Fred." Tori stopped him. "I can't. I have to take my N.E.W.T.S. I want to be an Auror. Owning a joke shop if your thing, not mine."

"But... I don't want to leave you here with that toad as a headmistress." He took her hands in his.

"I won't be alone," Tori assured him. "I'll have Lee and Angelina, and Alicia, and Katie and the DA."

Fred sighed, nodding slowly. "I'll be okay. Just... don't forget to write, okay?" Tori and he both chuckled before heading towards class.

The upshot of it all was that Professor Umbridge spent her first afternoon as Headmistress running all over the school answering the summonses of the other teachers, none of whom seemed able to rid their rooms of the fireworks without her.

Fred and George were heroes that night in the Gryffindor common room. Even Hermione fought her way through the excited crowd to congratulate them.

"They were wonderful fireworks," She said admiringly. "Thanks," said George, looking both surprised and pleased. "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole stock; we're going to have to start again from scratch now."

''It was worth it, though," Fred grinned, who was taking orders from clamoring Gryffindors. "If you want to add your name to the waiting list, Hermione, it's five Galleons for your Basic Blaze box and twenty for the Deflagration Deluxe..."

✧ ✦ ✧

The last days of Easter weekend weren't as exciting as the days before it. All the fifth years were given their career pamphlets while seventh years were given practice N.E.W.T.S.

"I don't much fancy banking," Hermione was saying vaguely, now immersed in HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO TRAIN SECURITY TROLLS? when Tori and the twins went over.

"Hey," Fred whispered to Harry. "Ginny's had a word with us about you," He said, stretching out his legs on the table in front of them and causing several booklets on careers with the Ministry of Magic to slide off onto the floor. "She says you need to talk to Sirius?"

"What?" Hermione snapped sharply, freezing with her hand halfway toward picking up MAKE A BANG AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES.

"Yeah..." Harry shrugged, trying to sound casual, "Yeah, I thought I'd like — "

"Don't be so ridiculous," said Hermione, straightening up and looking at him as though she could not believe her eyes. "With Umbridge groping around in the fires and frisking all the owls?"

"Well, we think we can find a way around that," said George, stretching and smiling. "It's a simple matter of causing a diversion. Now, you might have noticed that we have been rather quiet on the mayhem front during the Easter holidays?"

"What was the point, we asked ourselves, of disrupting leisure time?" continued Fred. "No point at all, we answered ourselves. And of course, we'd have messed up people's studying too, which would be the very last thing we'd want to do."

He gave Hermione a sanctimonious little nod. She looked rather taken aback by this thoughtfulness.

"But it's business as usual from tomorrow," Fred continued briskly. "And if we're going to be causing a bit of uproar, why not do it so that Harry can have his chat with Sirius?"

"Yes, but still," said Hermione, with an air of explaining something very simple to somebody very obtuse, "Even if you do cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?"

"Umbridge's office,"
said Harry quietly.

"Are — you — insane?" said Hermione in a hushed voice at the same time Tori grinned. "Brilliant."

Ron had lowered his leaflet on jobs in the cultivated fungus trade and was watching the conversation warily.

"I don't think so," said Harry, shrugging.

"And how are you going to get in there in the first place?"

Harry was ready for this question.

"Sirius's knife," He said.

"Excuse me?"

"Christmas before last Sirius gave me a knife that'll open any lock," said Harry. "So even if she's bewitched the door so Alohomora won't work, which I bet she has — "

"What do you think about this?" Hermione demanded of Ron.

"I dunno," said Ron, looking alarmed at being asked to give an opinion. "If Harry wants to do it, it's up to him, isn't it?"

"Spoken like a true friend and Weasley," said Fred, clapping Ron hard on the back. "Right, then. We're thinking of doing it tomorrow, just after lessons, because it should cause maximum impact if everybody's in the corridors — Harry, we'll set it off in the east wing somewhere, draw her right away from her own office — I reckon we should be able to guarantee you, what, twenty minutes?" He said, looking at George.

"Easy," said George.

"What sort of diversion is it?" asked Ron.

"You'll see, little bro," said Fred, as he and George got up again. "At least, you will if you trot along to Gregory the Smarmy's corridor round about five o'clock tomorrow."

aww they're leaving 😔