Smoke filled the air on that cloudy morning on the first of September. The hidden platform was crowded with families saying goodbye to their children who would take the Hogwarts Express. It was the beginning of a new school year. Godric was waiting in one of the train's compartments, looking out the window at the bustling platform. He had arrived early with his grandmother and had quickly secured a compartment. He turned to the door when he heard it open. It was Rowena, accompanied by Theodore Nott.
"Luna, Nott," Godric greeted.
"Neville, how are you?" Rowena asked.
"It hasn't been bad. My grandmother heard about what happened with the Dementors and was pleased that I properly honoured the family name. The same as always."
"Have you seen the new Defence book yet?" Theo asked.
"You could only buy it yesterday. To be honest, just the title of the book is rubbish."
"Well, you'll see when you start reading it. I very much doubt birds will want to make nests with it," Rowena said.
"Is it that bad?" Godric questioned.
"I suspect Hermione will consider it sacrilege to even call it a textbook."
"That sounds encouraging," Theo said with a smile.
"I tried to forget the book at home, but Hedwig insisted I bring it," Salazar's voice said from the doorway. Godric turned to see his friend leaning there with his trunk beside him, the owl's cage empty.
"You let her fly to the castle on her own, from what I can see, Potter," Theo said.
"It's been a long time since she stretched her wings properly," Salazar commented as he hoisted his luggage onto the rack. "Ron and Hermione will join us later. I saw them on the platform. Both are prefects, just like Draco."
"I imagined Draco would be. Blaise is nothing serious and they didn't send it to me. I honestly don't think anyone in their right mind would appoint Crabbe and Goyle as prefects," Theo said.
"I thought you'd be our house's prefect, Harry."
"Better not. I could do it well, I don't deny it. But this is Ron's ultimate chance to show that he's more capable than he realises. Chess has given him a lot, especially self-confidence," Salazar said.
The train began to move, rattling gently on the rails. They had several hours of travel ahead of them. While they waited for the trolley witch to pass by with food of dubious nutritional potential, they set out to play a game of Exploding Snap. Ginny joined them shortly after the journey began, and the twins soon after spent some time selling their products, which Salazar had financed. In truth, Godric admitted that they had a gift for creation. His friend had not been wrong to choose to finance them.
When the trolley witch passed by, they had already finished playing. They declined to buy anything from her. Unlike when they were first-year students and bought sweets in abundance, they were more mature about it now. Godric called one of the house-elves from Longbottom Manor to bring them food.
"This is great, Neville. I'll get the next round," Salazar said.
"Thank you, Harry."
They were getting everything ready to eat when Ron and Hermione arrived. Ron seemed upset about something; he glared at Theo as soon as he entered the compartment and sat in the seat furthest from the door, muttering something about Slytherins.
"He's my boyfriend, Ron. He can be wherever he wants," Rowena said calmly. "Help yourself to some food, please."
"That's not what this is about. It's about the imbecilities the Slytherin prefect was spewing at him," Hermione said. "It's Pansy Parkinson."
"Greengrass was a better option. Appointing Parkinson is just inviting someone who will abuse the trust that has been placed in her," Theo said.
"Like Malfoy," Ron murmured.
"Rubbish. Draco is not his parents," Salazar said.
"He doesn't want to be a follower of Voldemort," Ginny said. "We were talking about it on the night of the Yule Ball."
"Neither do I," Theo said, looking at Ron. "We have both been preparing since third year to be able to safely leave our families. If we remained with them, we were forced to follow their designs to the letter. We both prefer to think for ourselves. We were keeping it a secret, but I'm sure everyone knows now. Those things get out quickly."
"Now I understand Parkinson's comment," Ron growled.
"You're only fifteen," Hermione said, frowning curiously.
"At fifteen, the great families begin to give their heir certain obligations. If they are the last of their family, they can apply for emancipation under various circumstances," Salazar explained. "I could ask for it. Especially after the tournament, in which I was forced to participate. I was considered of age then, so I could officially be if I set my mind to it."
"But do you have a place to live?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I don't know who Draco is with. I'm with Luna."
"So, who are the prefects for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?" Salazar asked.
"Terry Boot and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," Ron replied.
"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott for Hufflepuff," Hermione replied.
"They seem like good choices," Salazar murmured. "As far as I know, they have good grades and haven't gotten into much trouble."
Slowly, as they talked, they ate all the food the house-elf had brought them. The food had been well-calculated, so there was enough for everyone—not enough to spoil their appetite for the banquet, but enough so they wouldn't arrive on an empty stomach.
"Who will be the new Quidditch Captain?" Ron asked.
"Not me," Salazar said. "And if you ask, I suppose neither Fred nor George. So it must be one of the girls."
"Oh, I want to try out for the Keeper position," Ron said. "Mum bought me a new broom for being appointed a prefect. Although the twins have been bothering me about it. It's funny, but it's still annoying."
"It shouldn't be long before we reach the castle," Hermione observed.
"Alright, we'll get changed. We'll wait for you outside. Then we'll all change together."
As they waited in the corridor, they heard the noise from the other compartments—conversations and shouts of joy from students who were oblivious to what was happening in the outside world. Godric looked at Salazar. He knew that his friend would not tell them anything about the situation; in fact, he was playing the role of feigning ignorance. They exchanged a glance, knowing they weren't going to disturb the others, perhaps only to warn them of the proximity of Hogwarts, but it wasn't really their place to do so.
"I'm nervous," Ron said. "I'm worried about whether I'll do well as a prefect. I've never been a role model for anything."
"Just be approachable. Enforce the rules, but don't be overpowering. Keep in mind that some rules can be bent as long as it doesn't harm others," Salazar said. "You and Hermione are the perfect choices for Gryffindor. You both complement each other well, given your differences in character."
"I would recommend that you talk to her and agree on a course of action. Act as a team with a common front," Theo suggested, joining the conversation. "Something that's not going to happen in Slytherin. But I don't want to bore you with the internal politics of my house."
"You'll do well, Ron. Don't put pressure on yourself. Just let it flow. Do what you think is right in every moment."
"Thank you, Neville. Thanks, guys."
It didn't take them long to reach Hogsmeade Station. They were all completely changed and dressed in their school robes. They got out and hurried to catch one of the carriages on their way to school. They separated when they reached the entrance and each went to their house's table. Godric was surprised to see Salazar carefully examining the teachers' table. He turned his gaze towards it.
"What's the Minister's Undersecretary doing among the teachers?" he whispered.
"Who?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"The pink toad," Salazar replied with a frown, which made Ron laugh.
"That's cruel, Harry," Hermione scolded him.
"I'm not cruel. I only note a fact. She looks like a toad and is dressed in pink," Salazar replied. "Maybe she's the teacher the Minister has sent," he finally commented. "Dumbledore has been having trouble hiring, and the Minister has pulled a decree out of his sleeve that allows him to hire Hogwarts staff if the Headmaster can't find a suitable person for the job," he added, speaking more seriously.
"That's it," Hermione began, stopping midway through her sentence because just then, Dumbledore stood up to speak.
The entire Great Hall fell silent. As they always did, it was a sign of respect for the current Headmaster. As a rule, when one of the school's authority figures spoke, the students were silent. As a rule. What happened so easily in the Great Hall was difficult to happen in some classes. Godric knew that and understood it. He was quite disconnected from Dumbledore's speech; he always talked about the same thing. It only caught his attention that, like the Hat, he tried to call for the unity of all the houses as a means to face an external threat. He said it in passing, without stressing too much, and it seemed to Godric that he was a little nervous. He introduced the new teachers, and when he was about to talk about Quidditch teams, he was interrupted.
"Ahem, ahem..."
Godric frowned and exchanged a glance with Salazar. Like the vast majority of students, he scanned the faculty table and the dining room in general for the source of the interruption. This was completely unusual.
"Ahem, ahem... May I say a few words to the young students?"
The pink toad got up from the teachers' table and walked over to the podium. Dumbledore nodded and stepped aside, leaving the dais to the witch as he looked at her intently.
"Is that pink toad really going to talk?" Ron asked.
"Good evening," Umbridge began. "It is a pleasure for me to be back in this institution and to see the smiling faces eager to truly learn. Hogwarts has always been characterised by innovation and progress. It has always tried to be at the forefront of magic. However, so much progress can make us forget the importance of tradition, leaving aside knowledge and customs that we should all keep in mind to properly govern ourselves in the world, in the position that corresponds to us. Progress is important, but not at the expense of the progress needed to maintain our good practices. We must truly learn, cut out the practices that should be banned, and rebuild those that should be remembered."
"Thank you, Professor Umbridge. It has been a very illustrative speech."
Dumbledore picked up where he left off. However, Godric did not miss the expressions of most people. He was not stupid; he had understood what was happening, as had his friends and co-founders. This year, they were going to have something else to worry about. A teacher who looked like she had come from the Ministry to try to take control of Hogwarts.
"I think she was an illustrator," Hermione said.
"I can't believe you liked that," Ron said. "It was a very boring speech despite how tacky it was."
"Ron, the speech is boring because it's full of filler, but all that filler is a declaration of intent," Salazar said.
"What intentions?" Ron asked.
"That the Ministry is meddling at Hogwarts," Hermione replied.
Godric had listened to his friends' words, analysed Umbridge's speech, and like Salazar, Hermione, and probably Rowena and the professors, had grasped the true meaning of Umbridge's words. They would have to be careful with that woman. His intuition shouted it to him, and he always listened to his intuition.
"We already suspected it when we saw her; her speech only confirms it," he said at the end. "We will have to be careful."
"And be attentive," Salazar added.
The dinner went on without major incidents. The finest delicacies were provided, as was always the case for important banquets, such as those at the beginning, end of the year, and Christmas. In the area nearest the table, he could see Nearly Headless Nick impressing the first-years. Godric found it funny that he did that and then spent the year complaining that he was called a Nearly Headless Nick. As soon as the banquet was over, he and Salazar said goodbye to Ron and Hermione because as prefects, they had to be in charge of showing the first-year students the way to their common rooms. At least they had the password to enter their own.
The next morning, as soon as Hermione came down from the fifth-year dormitory to the common room where Ginny and Godric were waiting for her, she stopped when she saw a commotion around the noticeboard. That was unusual. That crowd did not normally form on the board as soon as the term began. She realised that most of them were first-year students and some were second-year students. She went over to the board and glanced at it, and was immediately annoyed by what she saw. It was a notice put up by the twins. An ad that was looking for students to offer themselves as guinea pigs to test their products. That was going too far.
"What's wrong with you? You look annoyed," Godric observed.
"I think you've seen the ad put up by my brothers," Ginny replied.
"They can't do that. They're children. They can be harmed by using products that you don't know what they can do."
"Don't worry, before trying them on anyone, they have tried them on themselves," Ginny said in a calm tone as they hurried to the Great Hall.
"I understand that it bothers you, but they're not really breaking any rules per se. Not as long as the others truly offer to try their products," Godric told her. "However, it's worrisome, and if I were in your shoes, I'd probably have a few words with them. I wouldn't scold them like little children, but I would figure out what they intend to experiment with and provide them with a monitored environment. Make a deal with them."
"That sounds like advice Harry would give me."
"We've spent quite a bit of time together the last two years. He has become one of my best friends."
"Okay. I'll take it easy, as long as no one gets hurt."
They arrived at the Great Hall and took a seat at the Gryffindor table along with Salazar, Ron, and that Ravenclaw girl, Luna. Despite having dealt with her quite a bit, Hermione still found her a little strange at times. Hermione focused her gaze on the twins, who were close to where they were.
"Fred, George, I'd like to talk to you later," she said with fortitude and aplomb.
"We haven't done anything," they said at the same time.
"Before you do. I want to talk to you about the poster you've put up in the common room."
"We don't force anyone," said one.
"We pay well," said the other.
"You can't do anything to stop us. Besides, this is the year of our OWLs; you will need us."
"I could write to your mum, but I won't, as long as we come to an agreement," she replied. "And what does it have to do with the fact that it is the year of the OWLs? You've only got about two or three each."
"It's going to be a stressful year. You'll need our class-skipping assortment to save time."
"Class-skipping assortment?" Salazar asked, joining the conversation as Ron talked to Parvati and Lavender about his recent chess triumphs and Godric devoured a book on Herbology while eating his eggs.
"Yes, they're sweets that will make you sick so you have an excuse to get out of class," Fred said.
"Half of the sweets make you sick, and the other half cures you. It's that simple," George added.
"Some teachers have been preparing us for our OWLs since last year, and maybe even since third year," Salazar said. "I've heard that they're very important for our future and what we can study."
"That's why I've decided to study right now. I've already designed different study and revision schedules that I will apply as soon as I can fit them in with this year's teaching schedule."
"Hermione. It's a long-distance race. If you don't take it easy but consistently, you'll end up being hospitalised with a nervous breakdown," Godric said, caressing her back without looking up from the book he was reading.
"You're first in the class, you always have been," Salazar told her. "You'll do well in your OWLs; you don't have to be overwhelmed."
"I was until third year. Then you two beat me to it," Hermione said, pointing to both Salazar and Godric.
"Well, I started to take my studies seriously, and Neville gained confidence. That helped a lot. But I'm sure neither of them can overcome your eidetic memory."
"How do you know?"
"You recite the contents of books," he replied to her question. "And not only that, but you seem to know exactly where in each book you've gotten the information from."
"You just have to relax and focus more on the practicality," Godric added, finally closing his book. "Knowing the theory inside out doesn't always mean you'll easily master a spell."
"Exactly. You have to find moments to distract yourself, to have fun," Fred said.
"As for what you were telling us about talking, is this afternoon before dinner alright with you?" George added.
"Perfect."
Just as that conversation ceased and the agreement to talk with the twins was reached, McGonagall arrived distributing the class schedules. She had started with the sixth-years, with whom she had to confirm the NEWTs that each one planned to study. Then she had started distributing them to the first-years.
"How disgusting!" Ron exclaimed. "Binns, Trelawney, Umbridge, and Snape all in one day. That is torture."
"Lucky I left Divination," Salazar joked.
"It would have been a waste of time," Rowena interjected, speaking for the first time in a while. "You lack the gift, so it wouldn't have done you much good unless you wanted to work in certain places. The teacher has a partial gift—a weak gift in which only under certain circumstances can she make prophecies, and she wouldn't remember what she said afterwards. In fact, she is not aware of it, nor that she has it. And everyone takes her for a fraud for what she does."
"Are you serious?" Salazar asked her.
"Completely."
"How do you know that?"
"Boundless intelligence is the greatest treasure of men," she smiled in a way that seemed mystical to him. "You're very intelligent, but too analytical. Which is good for some things, but others don't fit into your schemes."
"Are you saying I'm missing something?"
"The ability to keep an open mind to the kind of knowledge that cannot be processed with logic."
"Oh, well." Salazar wasn't very convinced of what she was saying; the truth is that he found the girl very intelligent but strange at the same time. "We'd better go to class."
The morning had passed slowly. Salazar found Professor Binns' class to be completely boring, as always, and regretted that they could not do anything for the moment to change that situation. History was a very important thing, something that every wizard should know well about their people. However, generations and generations of students had stopped knowing it because they had that teacher, a ghost who was surely as boring now as he was when he was alive. Thus, he was not surprised that there were no longer modern historians. Thus, he was not surprised that all this was doomed to disaster. It was one of the things he thought would change when the masks were taken off, or rather when the true heirs of the school were declared. Revealing who they were could be dangerous, putting them in even greater danger.
At least, having dropped Divination in the third year and taking Arithmancy instead had freed him from another torture. He understood and respected those who had the gift of clairvoyance—not for nothing was one of his best friends Rowena—but he could not stand that teacher, who clearly tried to be more than she was. And worst of all, it wasn't that she was a fraud, but that she scared the students with her predictions.
"Ugh, I don't even know why I chose Divination," Ron said at lunchtime.
"Because you thought it was an easy subject," Salazar replied as he poured himself a little cooked ham on his toast.
"You thought so, too, Harry."
"True, Ron, but as soon as I saw what kind of class it was, I immediately changed subjects."
"You changed because he predicted your death."
"And he still does it, doesn't he?"
"Well..."
"That's enough, Ron. Now tell me, what has he done to annoy you now?"
"He wants us to write a dream diary with our dreams and give them meaning. I don't even remember what I dream about."
"You could say that you dreamed that you saved an entire planet by blowing up a completely metallic and artificial satellite by shooting it from a spaceship... Ah, wait, that's from a film."
"I like the idea... Will you dictate it to me?"
"What are you going to dictate to him?" Hermione asked, who had already arrived with Godric.
"The scene of the destruction of the first Death Star. Apparently he wants to include it in his dream diary."
"What...?" Godric asked.
"And what will be the next dream?" Hermione asked with a laugh. "To be frozen in carbonite?"
"I like that one. I don't know what that little word means, but I like it," Ron said.
"See, he likes those ideas."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Godric said.
"We can meet up at Christmas and show you, Neville," Hermione said with a smile.
"Okay," Godric replied enthusiastically.
"Hermione."
"Yes, Harry?"
"Don't let him have a lightsaber."
"I don't know why, but I imagine you with one sooner than Ron."
"Perhaps," Salazar shrugged. "Maybe I'll try to build one for simple entertainment. It can be good fun when I'm overwhelmed by OWLs. You know, to have fun, as Fred and George said." He composed an amused smile. "We'd better see what the pink toad has prepared for us as a lesson."
They crossed the castle, going through one of the secret passages they knew, all in order to take a shortcut and get to class as soon as possible. They had wasted precious minutes talking, and they did not believe that this teacher was going to be very lenient. So it was best not to give the Ministry excuses to go against them and to be vigilant. Salazar considered it that way. He sat in the second row along with Godric. Ron and Hermione were behind them. The four of them remained in an expectant silence. The rest of the class theorised about what that year's teacher would teach. It seemed that some had not realised the details of all this.
The teacher began by giving a speech similar to the one she had given at the banquet at the beginning of the school year. On this occasion, she indicated more directly what the objectives of her class would be. She was going to approach the classes in a purely theoretical way, without any practical work. Which bothered many when they realised what the objectives of the course really entailed. Salazar was silent, paying attention to the teacher, what she said and what she didn't say. Everything was important in itself. Hermione did react, and some of the other classmates did the same.
"How are we going to face real life if we are not taught to do that?" Ron said.
"This is a classroom, not real life," the teacher said in her false, childish tone. "Nothing is going to happen to you in a classroom. You will learn to defend yourselves safely and properly for yourselves."
"This is a classroom, but it is not what is outside. There are those out there who would not hesitate to hurt us!" Ron exclaimed.
"You have been frightened by being told that there is a dark wizard out there. It's all false. There's no dark wizard out there and no one who wants to harm you. Those who have tried to deceive you with that will pay for it." She said that last sentence looking directly at Salazar, as if daring him to say something about it. Salazar remained silent. He just held her gaze for a few moments before lowering it and focusing on the first of the chapters. "Anything to say?"
"No, Professor Umbridge." Salazar got the impression that she was dissatisfied, as if she had expected something different from that first class—a challenge to her authority or something. The curious thing was that, if the plan for the four of them to return through a worthy descendant or someone related had not worked, he would surely have acted as she was expected to. Well, he would not have left "the route" planned by Dumbledore.
"I hope you will come to appreciate that all this is for your own good," the teacher added.
Salazar pretended to read the text. He had already looked at it before. There was nothing useful there. Nothing. The best thing that could be done with that book was to burn it, which he was sure one of his friends would consider sacrilege, or maybe not. Salazar did not believe that this text deserved to be called a book. She spent the class analysing the teacher. He wanted to turn them into a bunch of useless people who would bow their heads and follow the Ministry. It could be that he wanted to mould the population because that was not only in response to Fudge's belief that Dumbledore used the school to create an army. Spying on and controlling Hogwarts seemed, from her statements and her attitude, to be her primary objective. But not everything was always what was really obvious. In any case, the most obvious thing was that she was trying to provoke him. That, together with what Helga had told him... All that gave him a bad feeling. He hoped that his presence at Hogwarts would not end as a reign of terror, otherwise, they would have to do everything possible to reorient their priorities. That would push them away and slow them down. When the bell rang, he carefully and quietly picked up his material and left the classroom. As soon as they were away, he glanced at Godric, and knowing that Ron and Hermione were with them, he spoke at last.
"I got the impression that the teacher was waiting for us to confront her. We'd better be careful in that aspect. Especially you, Ron. On more than one occasion you have let yourself be carried away by pride, as with Snape."
"Are you implying that she's worse than Snape?" Hermione asked.
"She is," Godric said.
"I'm not going to behave like a snake hiding my head," the boy snapped.
A few days after the course began, the four of them were somewhat apart at breakfast time. It was then that they received a copy of the Daily Prophet. Rowena unfolded it so that everyone could read the article. It was a newspaper article that talked about Professor Umbridge and the political manoeuvre that had allowed the Ministry of Magic, the Minister himself, to appoint her. On the other hand, it spoke of the resistance on the part of the Hogwarts teachers to collaborate with her and spoke of the publication of a new educational decree. A decree that named her as Supreme Inquisitor. This translated into having authority over the rest of the teachers and being able to look for excuses to get rid of those that did not suit them. It practically gave her special authority in the school. An authority with which she could undermine and destroy the entire system.
"Do we do something or do we continue to observe?" Godric asked his friends.
"I don't think she can fire teachers who are genuinely competent. Not at least with the excuse that they are not good teachers," Salazar said. "What is clear is that if they get rid of just one, they will place someone who suits them to gain more power in the school. Even her position could cause her to publish more decrees herself. You just have to write them and have them signed by the highest authority."
"Then we must get her out of here," said Godric.
"I don't think it's that simple, but we have to do something."
"I propose we observe and try to find a weak point. Also, we should talk to people to prevent them from falling into her game, into her provocations," Salazar commented. "I am concerned about some in particular."
"Ron and a few others from Gryffindor could be elements that easily explode in front of the professor or try to reveal themselves," Godric said. "And those of Hufflepuff, they have their pride, as they demonstrated in the Triwizard Tournament. They're attacking Diggory, who's been their star for years, so it's an affront to them."
Rowena was silent for a few moments; her gaze looked like she was looking at infinity. She was having a vision. Her friends acted like it was nothing. They were used to that. She was grateful for it. If she was interrupted at times like this, she could have a really bad time. After a few seconds, she blinked and returned to normal.
"Let the students make the first move. They have to be the ones who learn to do things."
"Have you seen anything?" Godric asked.
"Everything in its own time. The pieces have to fit together."
"I see. I guess it's time for them to hatch," Salazar said. "We can't guide them like we used to because technically we are teenagers. Although I would not be against taking the lead, if necessary."
"If necessary, we will do it, but let the students take the first step and choose us."
"Are you sure it's not better to take up arms now?" Godric asked somewhat annoyed. It was clear that no matter how much he had gained in patience, he had a warrior spirit within him.
"That would be the easy thing."
"So you think it's better to wait for someone else to step up and turn to us," Salazar said, looking at her.
"It might not be better immediately, but it will be better in the long run, of course."
Salazar could feel the look his two friends were giving her. He knew they were thinking about what she had suggested. Normally, if she hadn't had some kind of vision, they would already be planning what to do. With the images that had come to her, it was better to wait, no matter how much the three of them disliked it. It was quite complicated, actually. A complex situation with too many actors. Salazar was the specialist in that.
"What is your opinion of Umbridge?" he asked his friend.
"I think she is driven by more than just following Fudge's whims. By what, I don't know yet. Most likely, it is the ambition for power, as it is for most."