"Enough, Director Black."
Douglas Holmes finally spoke.
His tone was exceptionally gentle.
His mellow voice easily cut through the tense agitation.
He drew his hand out of his coat pocket.
With an elegant, slight turn, he deftly positioned himself in front of Umbridge.
His deep eyes looked straight at the furious Sirius.
"Your recklessness will only make the situation harder to resolve."
Sirius abruptly shut his mouth, his chest heaving.
"What do you mean by that, Holmes?"
Sirius demanded through gritted teeth.
Douglas did not answer him immediately.
Instead, he slowly turned to face Dolores Umbridge.
The perfect, soothing smile on his lips made Umbridge think for a moment that she was in her own office.
"Please forgive the director of the Academic Affairs Office for his rudeness, Madam Undersecretary."
Douglas bowed slightly in greeting.
"He always insists on thinking things through with that same savage logic he learned in Azkaban."
A flattered expression immediately appeared on Umbridge's toadlike face.
She hurriedly adjusted her previously rigid stance.
"Oh, that's quite all right, Professor Holmes."
She gave a sugary laugh in her shrill voice.
"I understand your difficulties perfectly."
"After all, working with someone so ill-mannered really must be exhausting."
Douglas sighed softly.
"The current situation is far more complicated than the walls of Hogwarts."
"I fully understand the Ministry of Magic's painstaking intentions in issuing this decree."
"Minister Cornelius Fudge is under unimaginable public pressure."
"The emptying of Azkaban has indeed left the public in need of a firm psychological defense."
He paused at just the right moment and sighed deeply, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
"And as Hogwarts is a cradle for nurturing wizards."
"We have an absolute duty to answer the government's call at a critical moment."
"We ought to provide the stability