No sooner had Umbridge taken office than she began using every means at her disposal to gather allies and form factions, consolidating her power and position at Hogwarts. She knew perfectly well that she could never control Hogwarts alone. Filch, whom she had previously drawn to her side, had proved less reliable than expected. She needed more helpers to share the pressure and, incidentally, create conflicts to divert the students' attention.
Thus, the Inquisitorial Squad was soon officially established through an Educational Decree. Umbridge intended to use these privileged posts to win over the influential Slytherin students. She knew that the descendants of those pure-blood wizards loved this sort of privilege.
With no one stopping her, Umbridge directly appointed Malfoy and his gang as members of the Inquisitorial Squad, granting them its various powers along with silver badges bearing an "I" to mark their status.
Just as Umbridge had wished, Hogwarts soon descended into chaos. Having gained power, the Slytherins naturally became arrogant and overbearing, using the authority Umbridge had given them to ruthlessly suppress the other three Houses and successfully divert the students' attention.
There was no helping it. In just half a day, apart from Slytherin's emerald hourglass remaining unchanged, the gems in the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff hourglasses had all dwindled sharply.
Students from the three Houses glared through gritted teeth at that arrogant bunch, wishing they could draw their wands and teach them an unforgettable lesson at once.
Faced with Malfoy's provocation, Harry ultimately held himself back, staring with disgust at Malfoy and his trio as they left laughing.
"Damn it!"
Ron viciously kicked the wall, wishing he could kill them. It was Malfoy's gang who had put Ginny out of commission.
"What the hell are Fred and George doing?"
"Calm down, Ron," Hermione reminded him.