Dolores Umbridge had been in an excellent mood lately. Thanks to the importance the new Minister for Magic, Piers Shinkle, and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Yaxley, attached to the "Monitoring and Review Committee for Whether Members of Wizarding Families Were Engaged in Illegal Activities," the recently established committee had become the Ministry of Magic's hottest department. Quite a few Death Eaters even served under her command, giving Umbridge—who was not yet a Death Eater—a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
What pleased Umbridge most, of course, was the awe in her colleagues' eyes when they looked at her. She had never possessed that when she had last served as the Ministry's Senior Undersecretary.
Perhaps she ought to find a way to secure herself the status of a Death Eater!
In this age controlled by The Dark Lord, the status of a Death Eater was simply too important. It meant being accepted by the pure-blood circle, and it meant ascending to an even higher throne.
If Umbridge wanted to become Minister for Magic, the status of a Death Eater was indispensable. Yet she knew perfectly well that it would be difficult for her to obtain it, because part of Muggle blood flowed through her veins—unless she did something that pleased The Dark Lord and earned his recognition, as Snape had.
The first thing Umbridge did to achieve her goal was root out those wizards secretly resisting the Ministry of Magic and The Dark Lord. She had basically confirmed that all those who had yet to register at the Ministry were connected to that fellow called Albert Anderson. Whenever she thought of that damned Mudblood, Albert Anderson, Umbridge recalled the inhuman treatment she had suffered at Hogwarts. She gritted her teeth and trembled all over with rage, wishing she