Chapter 15

AN: Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, or reviewed 😊

Hoppy854: You're right, Ivy is less biased against Slytherins as a whole due to her experiences. The issue here is trust. While Ivy knows that not all Slytherins support Voldemort or the Ministry, she doesn't really know any of them, so doesn't know which ones it would be safe to invite. None of her friends really know any Slytherins or have a good relationship with the house of Serpents in the first place, so they wouldn't try to invite them. There's also the fact that no Slytherin worth their scales would ever sign a potentially cursed contract without knowing the exact consequences of breaking it and any loopholes they could exploit. If they want tutoring, they have Snape.

Jordisk: Those are interesting ideas. I personally think the Curse is tied to both the title of Defence Professor and the teacher's office itself, since you can teach Defence without being the designated Professor, and you would have to be specifically looking for the Curse to find it. Removing it would likely take Voldemort's death, since the Curse removes any Defence Professor that isn't him for as long as he's alive.

Madam Amelia Bones strode up the front steps of Hogwarts at the head of a party of Aurors and Unspeakables. The Head of the DMLE had come to Britain's foremost school of magic at breakfast time on a Saturday to carry out a warrant against one Dolores Umbridge, and she was looking forward to it.

Five days ago, Saul Croaker had entered her office and informed her that one of his Unspeakables had detected a dark blood artefact in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom area while they were searching the school for something else entirely. Amelia had been quietly but vindictively pleased at the prospect of finally having something to use against the toad. Dolores Umbridge was extremely unpopular in the Ministry and a constant thorn in Amelia's side. Fudge's protection was the only reason why the toad-like woman hadn't been fired yet. Having something on Umbridge that couldn't be swept under the rug would put an end to that protection; Fudge would drop her like a hot quaffle if he thought keeping her around would harm his precious approval rating. They would have to find the evidence first though.

Amelia knew from experience that Dolores Umbridge was a cunning toad. If she had so much as a hint of warning that her office would be searched, the evidence would vanish faster than you could say Evanesco. Umbridge didn't have any friends or allies in the Ministry besides Fudge, but she was still remarkably well informed about what was going on at the Ministry despite being so unpopular. Hence why Amelia was hitting Hogwarts at such an early hour, with a team of her most trusted Aurors and some of Saul's Unspeakables to help them find what they were looking for.

Amelia and her squad of Aurors and Unspeakables strode into the packed Great Hall. A glance at the head table confirmed that Umbridge was present. Good. Amelia strode up the central aisle between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables towards the head table. The toad had a little smile on her fat face. Amelia would take great pleasure in removing it.

"Madam Bones," Dumbledore greeted her, rising from his chair. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I am here to execute a warrant, Headmaster," Amelia replied, watching as a frown formed on Dumbledore's face and the toad's smile widened, "against Madam Dolores Umbridge, on suspicion of possession of an illegal blood artefact." Umbridge's face fell as two of Amelia's Aurors placed their hands on her shoulders and relieved her of her wand. "We will be taking her into temporary custody while we search her classroom and office."

"You can't do this to me!" Umbridge protected angrily, "I am… "

"Currently a teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is under the authority of Headmaster Dumbledore," Amelia cut her off. "Fudge can't protect you here, Dolores. I would advise coming quietly, though do feel free to give me a reason to arrest you for resisting arrest." Umbridge went quite still at that. Shame; ah well, Amelia may yet get her chance to cuff Umbridge.

The Auror-Unspeakable team marched off, prisoner in tow, towards the Defence classroom. Despite the best efforts of the teachers, there was soon a crowd of students following them at a distance. Amelia wasn't too bothered; so long as the kids didn't interfere with the search, she wasn't too bothered about them following. When they reached the Defence corridor she set one pair of Aurors to stop the students following them and sent another pair ahead to cut off anyone going around and trying to sneak a peak that way.

One of the Unspeakables stepped forward, a glowing red stone in their hand. "Reading confirmed. There is a blood-magic artefact in the Defence rooms. I can get a more precise location once we're inside."

Amelia nodded. "Tonks, Shacklebolt, take point." The Aurors nodded and did as she commanded. She was pleased to see that Tonks had already begun scanning the door for spells, as was standard procedure in this kind of search. The young Auror was already shaping up to be a fine addition to the DMLE.

The group moved to the centre of the classroom, stopping to allow the Unspeakables to scan for anything dark and dangerous. The Unspeakable with the detector stone watched as it spun and pointed towards the office.

"Classroom is clear. Readings indicate we want the office," the Unspeakable confirmed. The group moved forward again, Shacklebolt and Tonks ascending the stairs to the office ahead of the rest and checking the door.

"Privacy, security, intruder alarm… Nothing untoward on the door Madam Bones," Shacklebolt reported before stepping back. Amelia gestured for the Unspeakables to head on up before her. From what she remembered of her own Hogwarts days, the Defence office wasn't big enough for the whole team. Therefore, only two Unspeakables, the two Aurors holding Umbridge, and Amelia herself would be entering. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they all made it in. Umbridge's guards settled her next to the door while the Unspeakables went straight for the desk.

"You can't do this! There's no possible way this search is legal!" Umbridge protested. As the Unspeakables began muttering spells.

Amelia turned and fixed the toad woman with an icy look. "I have in my possession a warrant, signed by myself, confirming the legality of this search based on evidence presented to me by the Chief Liaison of the Department of Mysteries. I am here to personally ensure everything is done legally and by the book." Because that way the toad couldn't worm her way out of any charges on a technicality.

"Madam Bones, we have something. We found these in a hidden compartment in her desk," one of the Unspeakables said, placing a slim wooden box on the desk. The stone in their colleague's hand was glowing a bright angry red. The first Unspeakable lifted the lid of the box to reveal a long, sharp, black quill. The Unspeakables began muttering spells again and the quill glowed as red as the detection stone.

"Madam, we have confirmed that this is a blood quill. It has also been recently used," the second Unspeakable confirmed.

Amelia turned Umbridge, who had gone very pale. Susan had mentioned in her letters that there was something very off about Umbridge's detentions; how the students would come out very quiet and subdued, often clutching their hand... It hadn't been enough to act on before, but now she had proof. "Dolores Umbridge, I hereby formally arrest you on the charge of possession of an illegal Class 1 dark artefact, namely a blood quill. I also arrest you for the use of said artefact on another witch or wizard. Aurors, take the prisoner away." The two Aurors holding Umbridge left using the office Floo, since it was a quick and convenient way to get her back to the Ministry holding cells. They also took the quill with them, to be deposited in the evidence locker as soon as possible.

Amelia strode out of the office, assigning Shacklebolt to monitor the ongoing search of Umbridge's office and quarters for any other illegal or restricted items. She went back out into the hallway to face the crowd of students and staff that were being held back by her Aurors. Casting a mild Sonorous on herself, Amelia addressed them. "If I could have everyone's attention please."

"Has Umbridge been arrested?" a voice called from the crowd.

"I'm afraid I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation…" Amelia's words were drowned out by the cheering. She had as good as admitted Umbridge had been arrested. She waited for the hubbub to die down before continuing. "Those students who have served detention with Madam Umbridge and are willing to make statements about what happened, please make yourselves known to the Aurors. If Professor Dumbledore would be kind enough to provide us with rooms we can Ward appropriately, we will begin taking them shortly." Dumbledore nodded in assent to her request even as she voiced it. Almost immediately students began making themselves known to the Aurors. Amelia got the feeling this was going to be a very long and very satisfying day.

"… they were there taking statements until after lunch. From what I've heard, quite a few people have submitted memories too, as extra evidence," Hermione finished. Ivy sat back in her chair, absorbing everything her friends had told her. Part of her kind of wished she had been there to see the toad's face. She might not have had to deal with the woman in person, but the amount of stress and strain the toad had caused her friends was infuriating.

"Who's teaching Defence now?" Ivy asked.

"We don't know. Defence is cancelled until further notice," Neville said.

"Maybe Fudge will send one of his loyal Heliopaths in disguise, to recruit us into his own army so we can't be recruited by Dumbledore's," Luna suggested.

Ivy shook her head. "Unlikely, Luna. You're probably right about the new teacher being a Ministry stooge though; it's not like Dumbledore can just conjure up a Defence professor so close to the end of winter term, and that Educational Decree means he has to take whoever they give him. Looks like we'll still need our little Defence club for a while yet."

"Voldemort isn't going to go away just because we don't have Umbridge teaching us anymore," Hermione agreed.

"Anything else interesting?" Ivy asked.

"I think Fred and George are plotting a big prank to celebrate Umbridge being arrested, but I don't know anything about that, and I don't think I want to. Other than that, nothing," Neville said.

"We'd better go; it'll be curfew soon," Luna said. Ivy smiled.

"I'll let you go then. Let me know if you get any news about the Umbridge case or if anything interesting happens. See you soon," she tapped the rune to end the call and stretched in her chair before heading back up to the main castle. Despite the central heating the dungeons were bloody freezing.

November rolled onwards into December and the Varia began to take on a very festive feel. Christmas time was upon them, and with it Christmas pranks. Poisoned jugs of eggnog left lying around randomly, Mist traps under the mistletoe on almost every lintel, carol Curses in the most random places, creative use of tinsel and baubles as booby traps… It was absolute chaos and Ivy loved it.

The Cloud Officer was currently in her quarters, wrapping her presents and checking she had one for everyone on her list. In addition to giving presents to Sirius and her friends back in Hogwarts, she was also giving gifts to her fellow Officers. Except Levi; he was not hers and so would not be getting a present.

Clouds did not do casual gifts. For many Clouds, giving presents was connected to Territory; accepting that present meant you accepted that the Cloud in question considered you to be one of theirs. Ivy was one of these Clouds, though she had only recently recognised it. Her Territory consisted of people she considered to be friends and/or family and it was those people she gave presents to.

Despite having only really known the other Officers for a couple of months, she considered them to be worth giving presents. Squalo had become something of a mentor to Ivy; it was his example she followed when running her Division and him she turned to when she needed advice on dealing with unusually stubborn idiots. Luss filled a sort of 'big sister' role, like he did for everyone in the Varia who would let them, and was the only person to have seen all of Ivy's scars and been trusted with the stories behind them; Ivy trusted Luss with her physical and mental health in a way she hadn't felt able to trust Madam Pomphrey, because Luss actually listened to her and gave her options and that meant a lot to Ivy.

Mammon, as well as acting as Ivy's magical guardian and managing her money, was willing to give advice on magical things if she couldn't get hold of Sirius – in return for suitable renumeration of course (in Ivy's case, strawberry shortcake; the Arcobaleno couldn't resist their favourite sweet treat). Bel, despite his snobby attitude, had become a close friend. It was nice to have another person the same age and Varia rank to talk with, and he was very interested in helping with Ivy's experiments into how Flames and Runes interact.

Buying presents for the Officers had been a bit difficult, but she had managed it. Squalo would be getting a large box of high-quality tea from a Potter-owned plantation in India; Luss was getting gift vouchers for his favourite designer brands, which was a bit of a cop-out but Ivy would be baking a cake as well so it wasn't too bad; Mammon was getting a book of discount coupons and some of their favourite chocolate, which the money obsessed Mist would accept more than a physical gift; and Bel was getting some of the Discworld books, which Ivy knew he would like because he had already borrowed a couple off her and still hadn't given them back.

Her Hogwarts friends had been easier to buy for, since she had known them the longest. A book on Mediterranean magical history for Hermione; a pair of rollerblades for Luna, who would appreciate the fun footwear; and an advanced Herbology text for Neville, who would enjoy it. She had also bought a highly useful enchanted revision notebook for each of them to help with their OWLs. Ivy had one of those notebooks herself that she was going to use for her WICTs.

Getting those presents to Hogwarts had been the subject of intense discussion between the four teenage magicals. Using Hedwig had been ruled out; there had been rumours of incoming and outgoing post being searched while Umbridge was still at the school, with a number of owls arriving looking rather ruffled despite the relatively calm weather. Hedwig was too recognisable and anything she delivered would almost certainly be searched and tracked. There had been a number of other suggestions, including seeing if Gringotts did international post and using house elves.

Ivy had quickly put an end to the house elf idea. She worked for a muggle organisation; an extremely security conscious organisation, to the point of paranoia. Owl post was strange, but it was something people could get used to; stranger things happened in the Varia on a daily basis. However, if any of the incredibly nosy assassins she worked with spotted a house elf casually popping in and out of the building, then there would be trouble. There was also the fact that a house elf could be made to tell their master where she was. That was why they had ruled out asking Neville's family elf Dilly to help; bonded elves answered to the Head of the Family, which was currently Neville's grandmother, and Madam Longbottom's ardent support for Dumbledore meant that she might force Dilly to tell her where Ivy was. The Hogwarts elves were out for the same reason.

Hermione had then suggested asking Dobby to do it, since he had no master he could be forced to tell. Surprisingly, it had been Neville who vetoed that idea; it turned out that unbonded house elves had access to less magic than bonded elves, so Dobby might not have enough power to reach Italy. Ivy had quietly breathed a sigh of relief at that; she liked Dobby, she really did, but she remembered all too well the chaos he had caused in the name of 'protecting' her and she could do without him doing that again if the elf thought she was in danger. So, no, they would not be using house elves to deliver Christmas presents and risk upsetting Mammon if the little beings got past the Varia's truly paranoid security.

With Umbridge gone and the owl searches having stopped, the friends had agreed that owl post would be the easiest delivery option. Ivy had asked Sirius if she cold borrow his owl Polaris for the trip, since his owl was much less noticeable than Hedwig. Neville, Luna, and Hermione would send their presents using school owls before they went home for the holidays.

Sirius' Christmas present was the most important of the lot and the hardest to arrange; a fair trial. Mammon, acting at Ivy's request in their capacity as her magical guardian, had helped her to find a piece of ICW legislation that let a citizen of any member state who had been accused of a crime to request a trial before an ICW appointed judge and jury if there was evidence that they would not otherwise receive a fair trial. Fudge's categorical refusal to accept the evidence of Pettigrew's survival and guilt that Ivy and her friends had offered him, plus Sirius' complete lack of a prior trial – Mammon had gotten a bonus for having a copy of his arrest and trial file smuggled out of the British Ministry – meant that he was eligible to apply under the legislation.

Since Sirius was a fugitive, Ivy had petitioned the ICW under the fair trial legislation on his behalf, submitting the file and her testimony as evidence. It had taken a little while for the wheels of bureaucracy to start turning, but eventually they received a court date. In the New Year, Sirius would once more be a free man. Her godfather had been over the moon that Ivy and Mammon had gone to so much trouble to get him the trial he should have had fourteen years ago. Ivy had told him to thank them once he was free.

Ivy smiled as she finished wrapping her presents. She would be spending Christmas Eve and Day with Sirius, then popping back to the Varia to finish the expenses paperwork that Mammon needed by New Year's Eve, then spending the first week of 1996 with her godfather before attending his trial. She was looking forward to it.