Dolores Umbridge stretched her short, thick neck slightly forward.
Her bulging eyes were fixed on the two people across the desk.
Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.
The old headmaster's hands lay limply folded together.
Sirius Black, meanwhile, looked like a raging beast whose tail had been stepped on.
His chest heaved violently.
His gray eyes were filled with undisguised murderous intent.
That rejection and hostility were all too real.
So real that Umbridge caught the scent of power in its purest form.
That's more like it.
The greedy thought in her mind swelled in an instant.
If this position were merely an empty shell with no real authority...
A haughty pure-blood family head like Black would never lose his composure like this.
The harder they fought to keep the lid on...
The more it proved that the deputy director of the Academic Affairs Office possessed real power to shake Hogwarts to its foundations.
This was an excellent political springboard.
She absolutely could not let this opportunity slip through her fingers.
She turned to Douglas with a look of determination to get what she wanted.
In this room filled with malice...
Only this clever man had shown her the true way forward.
"Rules and regulations can always be amended for the greater good, Professor McGonagall."
Umbridge raised her chin arrogantly.
"If Hogwarts' charter becomes a stumbling block..."
"The minister will be more than happy to draft more effective new decrees for us."
"No resistance can stand against the Ministry of Magic's iron fist."
"And it seems I've touched a sore spot that certain people would rather keep hidden."
Umbridge seemed to believe victory was already hers.
She could not wait to seize the conversation.
She feared the two people before her might change their minds.
"Director Black, your agitation