Umbridge hurried into Dumbledore's office, still clutching her wand.
"Dumbledore, you have to do something! Have you seen the state of my office? This must have been done by a student. You have to find them and punish them."
Dumbledore glanced at her over his half-moon spectacles. "I have seen the state of your office, Dolores."
"Then you understand how serious this is."
"I understand that someone has made rather a mess."
"Exactly!"
He looked toward Snape, who had followed her in. "Did you see anyone enter or leave Professor Umbridge's office?"
"No, Headmaster."
Umbridge frowned. "There must have been someone! Things were flying through the room, furniture was being destroyed, and I was nearly hit by several objects."
Dumbledore folded his hands on his desk. "That does sound unpleasant."
"Unpleasant? This was an attack!"
"Perhaps. Although if we are to investigate it, we shall need rather more than that."
"More than what?"
"You said yourself that no one else was in the room besides you and Miss Granger."
"Yes, but—"
"And Miss Granger was sitting directly in front of you."
"She couldn't have done all of that!"
"I am not suggesting that she did." His eyes twinkled faintly. "I am merely wondering whom, precisely, you would like us to investigate. You have told us no one entered, no one left, and no other person was present."
Umbridge opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"Under those circumstances, Dolores, I am afraid our list of suspects is remarkably short."
Snape's expression stayed blank, though the corner of his mouth nearly twitched. Umbridge noticed neither.
"But someone did it!"
"Undoubtedly. The question is how."
"I expect you to find whoever is responsible."
"I shall certainly keep an eye open."
She clearly wanted a stronger answer, but there was little she could say without admitting she had no idea how it had happened. After a moment she turned sharply and left.
Snape waited until the door closed. "An unfortunate evening for Professor Umbridge."
"Indeed." Dumbledore looked toward him. "Severus, have you thought of a way to get into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts and retrieve the Hufflepuff Cup?"
Snape's expression turned serious. "It would be extremely difficult. The goblins are already unwilling to cooperate with us, and breaking into a Lestrange vault is another matter entirely. Gringotts takes the security of its vaults very seriously."
"I was afraid you would say that."
"Quite apart from the goblins, Bellatrix's vault likely holds additional protections. If the Cup is there, we cannot simply walk in and take it."
"Then we shall have to find another way."
"Do you have something in mind?"
"Not yet." Dumbledore's gaze drifted to the window. "But I suspect Victor may surprise us with a solution. He has surprised me on more than one occasion already."
Snape was quiet for a moment. "Considering he is the student who was struck by the Killing Curse and survived, I suppose that is hardly surprising."
Dumbledore smiled faintly. "Indeed."
"But do you trust him?"
"I trust that Victor is intelligent, resourceful, and very determined. Whether that is the same thing as trusting him completely is another question."
"He keeps secrets."
"Yes."
"Quite a lot of them."
"I have noticed. But he has also given us information that has proved invaluable, and he has repeatedly placed himself in danger to protect others. For the moment, I see no reason to doubt his intentions."
"Then you believe he may already have an idea concerning Gringotts?"
"I believe that if Victor knows something useful, he will tell us when he believes the time is right." Dumbledore's expression turned more serious.
"We also have the Ministry to contend with. Fudge has placed Umbridge in Hogwarts, and I suspect he intends her authority to grow until she has effectively taken control of the school."
Snape's expression hardened. "She is certainly trying."
"How successful has she been?"
"Less than she would like."
"That is something."
"She has managed to interfere with the teachers and impose her decrees," Snape said, "but she has not gained much support from the students."
"I imagine that is proving rather frustrating for her."
"Very."
Dumbledore looked amused. "She has managed to make herself unpopular with nearly every student in the castle."
"With remarkable efficiency," Snape said dryly.
"Still, we should not underestimate her. Fudge clearly intends to use her as his eyes and ears at Hogwarts."
"And if she gains enough authority, she may eventually attempt to interfere with the staff directly."
"Which is precisely why we must be careful." Dumbledore turned back to his desk. "Umbridge may not have the students' loyalty, Severus, but she has the Minister's authority behind her. That makes her considerably more troublesome than an unpopular teacher."
*****
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