"...Muggle-born registration? I can't believe they came up with something like that. I'd wager all of England is about to explode."
On the lawn, Katrina set the newspaper beside the picnic blanket. She glanced at Albert, who was playing with Alice, then shifted her gaze to Isabelle, who was stretching and doing yoga nearby, and briefly commented on the explosive news in the latest issue of the Daily Prophet.
"This is probably related to Umbridge. She really does seem like the kind of person who'd do something like this."
Albert summoned a house-elf and had it push the pram over to Mrs. McDougal. Aside from compiling medical books, Mrs. McDougal had plenty of free time and was more than happy to spend it bonding with her granddaughter.
No one liked savoring loneliness alone.
Isabelle accepted the towel Albert handed her and wiped away the nonexistent sweat from her forehead. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Whoever benefits the most is the most suspicious?"
"For Umbridge to be so valued by the new government, she must have done plenty to please the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters."
"You know her well?"
"Yes. I specifically looked into her when she was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."
"Umbridge had always wanted to link herself to some Pure-blood wizard family," Albert explained to the two women. "She also claimed publicly that her father had been an outstanding figure in the Wizengamot before his death. I'd bet she'll alter her records this time and make that claim official, so she can fit in among the Death Eaters."
"She's a Muggle Wizard?" Katrina asked curiously.
"No, she's a half-blood." Albert shook his head. "Her father, Alford, used to work as a cleaner at the Ministry of Magic. Her mother, Ellen Cracknell, was a Muggle,