The Reticulation, Part II

Harry couldn't have felt more angry. Lord Voldemort had been gone, leaving Harry free to enjoy a blissful life with Ginny, but now Dolores Umbridge was back to take all of that from him. Why did everything in his life have to go wrong? Why couldn't all the horrible dangers of the wizarding world for once decide to pick on someone like Draco Malfoy?

"Dolores, I cannot believe this of you!" said Professor McGonagall. "You are acting purely in your own interests without regard for the laws of our world that you helped to create! I always knew you were severely lacking in integrity, but I thought that you might at least have some loyalty for the Ministry you represent."

"Minerva," Umbridge said sweetly, "the Ministry cannot stop me from doing this. Besides, they all still believe I'm Voldemort and there's nothing you can do about it."

"So, you just turn your back on the Ministry when it suits you?" Hermione asked angrily. "You're--you're nothing but a double-crossing coward!"

"I wouldn't speak that way to me if I were you, Miss Granger," Umbridge said, still smiling smugly. "I'm going to train all the students to use Dark Magic and make them into my own personal army. Yours and Dumbledore's little dream will come true, Minerva, but, instead of you, the student troops will serve me. Soon, with the help of the Death Eaters, they will overthrow the Ministry and I will rule wizarding Britain, followed by Europe and soon the entire world!"

"Bit ambitious, aren't you?" Harry asked, his ears pounding. "Couldn't settle for just controlling Hogwarts, could you? You just have to control the whole planet. Gonna go conquer the universe next?" Umbridge's awful smiled widened.

"You know, I have the power to kill all of you," she said, "so, if I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut!"

"That's an excellent idea," Ron said cheerfully, "so, why don't you keep your mouth shut then, Professor Fatty?" Just after saying this, Ron had to dodge a chandelier that suddenly decided to fall from the ceiling.

"How dare you!" Umbridge shrieked. "Just for that, I'm not going to let you out of this room forever! You can all starve to death!"

The fog rolled back over the portrait of Umbridge and Lord Voldemort's red eyes re-materialized behind them, but everyone had turned to glare angrily at Ron.

"What?" he asked in exasperation. "She was probably going to do that to us anyway."

Back in the library, the ground had started shaking violently, as though an earthquake were starting. Luna suspected that it was probably an Ezzoca and her hopes brightened up--an Ezzoca would have the power to defeat Voldemort for good. Of course, it was quite hard to convince an Ezzoca to do anything for you, but at least they had a chance...that was if the Ezzoca revealed itself to them.

"This is your last chance!" the voice of Voldemort shouted. "All who do not declare their allegiance to the Dark Lord will now die."

Luna did nothing, of course, but she did walk a little closer to Fudge. They would both be dead soon anyway and she thought it would be appropriate for her to get a good look at him before she died. She and her father had spent so many long years trying to remove him from office by spreading the horrible truth about him, but he was still probably a better Minister than Rufus Scrimgeour, so it hadn't exactly done a lot of good.

Eventually, Luna was knocked off her feet and found herself surrounded by complete blackness. Was she dead now? A second after thinking this, she realized that she could still feel her body and decided that that meant she couldn't possibly be dead. She reached for her wand, took it with a sweaty hand and whispered "Lumos" to find herself once again in the same circular chamber that she had been trapped in with Ronald, Hermione and Ginny. However, someone different was with her this time...

"Son of a bitch!" a man yelled angrily when she absentmindedly pointed her wand directly in his face. It was Fudge.