More losses - 8

"She told us how special our Dudders is – something we always knew – and how great he was going to be. She saw things in him that Smeltings just didn't see. I don't know how they missed it. I never wanted my Dudley in this world, but she, at least, recognized how extraordinary he is," Mrs. Dursley cried plaintively.

"I gave it a chance, Petunia," Mr. Dursley said, the vein in his temple looking ready to explode. "I thought maybe if they could see all the potential in Dudders here, that they couldn't be all bad, but enough is enough. We're all going home and away from this craziness."

"Umbridge claimed that her realization over how wrong everyone had been about Harry and the wrongs done to Dudley made her think we might be wrong about You-Know-Who, as well," Charlie said, clenching his glass.

"The level of preposterousness from that woman is truly mind boggling," Professor McGonagall said, sniffing.

"She claimed to have signed a treaty to end the violence and bring cooperation with the Death Eaters," Charlie said.

Harry, his arms folded across his chest, clutched at his biceps, digging his nails into his skin. Unthinkingly, Ginny grabbed his hand, wanting to keep him from hurting himself further. Harry again flinched away, but this time, she caught a fleeting shadow cross his eyes. He looked so lost and vulnerable that she wanted to cry, to scoop him into her arms and soothe away whatever hurt was tormenting him.

Obviously, he was determined to handle whatever it was alone, but his eyes told a different story. His beautiful, sad eyes were crying out for help. Wrapping her arm around his waist, she gently squeezed. He stiffened, but she was encouraged that he didn't pull away.

"How did the people react to that idea?" her dad asked.

Charlie ran a hand through his hair. "I really can't say. It was obvious they wanted to believe it, but I still saw a lot of mistrust in that room. They were willing to ignore any difficulty in believing Dudley was the Chosen One, but when it came to the treaty – the hope in the room was palpable. I could see it in the eyes of everyone around me. Just as Moody predicted, they were willing to ignore reason because she was telling them what they wanted to hear."

"They're frightened," her dad said, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "It happens all the time."

"They should've been more frightened," Charlie said grimly. "She began to list some restrictions placed on Muggleborns, including educating them separately from Hogwarts students and barring them from holding positions of authority."

"That's probably the best idea I've heard in a long time," Draco Malfoy said, slinking into the room from the stairs to the boys' dormitories. "The position of Minister, in particular, should be held by someone brought up according to the traditions of the Wizarding world."

Narcissa nodded approvingly at her son.

"Yeah, that sounds just about what she said before she opened the door and allowed the Death Eaters to march inside," Ron said, snarling.

"She what?" her mum shrieked, sitting bolt upright.

"The Death Eaters stormed the place, and Umbridge ordered all the Aurors to stand down," Charlie said, shaking his head. "Snape led them inside the building."

"Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked, clutching her throat.

"He basically cleared a path so Voldemort could sweep in and declare himself the new Minister," Ron said, patting Hermione on the back as she sniffled. "Voldemort sealed all the exits, blocking everyone inside. He returned Pettigrew's head to Umbridge on a platter before he turned her over to Greyback and the other werewolves. They weren't too happy with her."