Having signed her name, she put down the pen.
She took two stamps from the bottom compartment of her handbag.
One was the official stamp of the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic-a silver base, engraved with an emblem of crossed scales and a wand.
The other was the stamp of the Academic Affairs Office Deputy Director-a pink base with a paw-print design.
Her own custom order.
Umbridge pressed the inquisitor's stamp onto the ink pad.
She stamped the publication authorization.
Click.
The silver ink left a crisp, square impression on the parchment.
Then came the pink stamp.
She stamped the compulsory instruction order.
Click.
The pink paw print and silver scales appeared side by side on the two documents.
Two signatures and stamps.
Two sources of authority behind them.
Umbridge set down the stamps and admired her work for two seconds.
Then she raised her head and looked around the meeting room.
She radiated an air of "anyone else?"
Professor McGonagall's lips were pressed into a thin line.
She tapped the tabletop lightly with one finger.
Then she withdrew that hand and placed it on her knee.
Before the ink of Umbridge's signature had dried completely, Professor Flitwick spoke at just the right moment.
"From the perspective of Charms."
His small body leaned slightly forward in his raised chair, his tone mild and free of any political coloring.
"The analysis of the Shield Charm's magical frequencies in these textbooks does indeed fill a gap in our current teaching."
He adjusted the little glasses on his nose.
"I support a trial run using them as supplementary textbooks."
The corners of Umbridge's eyes curved.
Flitwick was universally acknowledged as the school's authority on Charms.
His statement was not a political stance, but a professional endorsement.
With those words on record,