Here is the rest of Chapter One. Enjoy!

As we climbed out of the carriage I tried desperately to shake the image that had flashed so unwillingly into my head. Unfortunately it wasn't going very well. So I continued to walk along in silence, distancing myself as far as I could from Harry in the hopes that the further away from him I was, the less likely I was to get more unwanted images in my head.

"You alright Abby? You've been rather quiet this whole ride," said Hermione, coming up on my left side.

"I am fine," I said with a smile, turning away from her as I saw Harry was listening into our conversation.

They all knew what I could do and what my phoenix animagi condition entailed, but the look in Harry's eyes made him wonder if I had been reading in on what he had just fantasized about. Thank heavens I was good at hiding emotion from my face. I made a conscience effort the rest of the walk to try and pay more attention to the conversations going on around me. The most popular conversation was who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be.

Since my first year at Hogwarts we had had awful luck when it came to finding a teacher who could last in the post for more than one year. So far we were on strike number four, and I couldn't help but wonder if we were about to go on to strike number five. Last year we had perhaps the worst professor next to Professor Quirrell. It is never settling when you find that a teacher at Hogwarts is actually very closely connected it the Dark Lord, or in his case literally connected to the dark lord.

I had sensed all summer that the ministry was definitely going to try and step in at Hogwarts this year. Dumbledore's noble defense of Harry's statement that Voldemort really had returned made many question his sanity, and question whether or not he was getting too old to be in the kind of position he is. While Harry just chose to get angry at those that thought him a loony bird, I knew that really they were just so terrified that after all these years someone so dark and so evil could actually have returned to form right under their noses. It's like opening an old box that had been locked and put away years ago, only to find upon opening it recently that the object within still had the same impact on you. I suppose most could be unsettled by the fact that despite all this time, the people still hadn't changed enough to prevent that tragic leader from ever returning again.

As we walked through the huge wooden doors leading into the castle I couldn't help but smile at the familiar smell and feel of the school. Surrounded by so much magic was perhaps the most comforting place for me to be. It made my abilities and talents seem so small and meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

We filed down the rows to our proper house tables in the dining hall, and I smiled to find Dumbledore sitting calm and relaxed in his chair. I wondered why it was that Dumbledore never seemed to protect his thoughts from me when I was near him. In fact he seemed to change them so they came out as sentences directed specifically at me. As I looked at him and took my seat I felt the familiar "Hello" that he sent my way whenever I passed him, or was seeing him for the first time in a while stream through my body.

"Dumbledore looks calm doesn't he?" said Ron as he sat down across from me.

Hermione sat next to him, smiling at me shyly, and I tried to relax as Harry sat down next to me, his arm brushing against my own.

"Is that her?" asked Fred.

"Is that who?" asked Ron.

"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," replied Dean Thomas, who had seated himself next to Fred.

The woman that Fred was referring to was short, and decked out in far too much pink for anyone...even a five year old girl playing dress up. Professor Snape, our Potions teacher, was fuming inside at how close this woman had chosen to seat herself next to him. Her arm was within milimeters of touching his own, and the idea of so much pink colliding with his black attire made him wonder if he would exit the room looking like a rainbow. I couldn't help but laugh as the image of his robe being splashed with the colors of the rainbow.

"What's so funny?" asked Ron.

"Professor Snape doesn't seem too thrilled with our new teacher invading his personal space."

Everyone chuckled as they drew their focus to his face. We silenced immediately as Dumbledore took his place behind the podium. In the middle of his usual welcome I became aware of the repetitive sound of someone clearing their throat. I kept looking around me until I realized that it was coming from the "pink toad", who had risen from her seat next to Snape, and was heading towards the podium.

"I believe your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has some words she would like to say," said Dumbledore, slightly taken aback. "Here is Professor Dolores Umbridge."

Whispers circulated around the entire room as the new woman began her speech. I could feel myself tuning out, choosing to listen to the stunned thoughts of the other teachers in the room. I could sense Professor McGonagall's desire to lunge out of her chair and transform her into a peanut which she could crush under her shoe for the way she had disrespected Albus.

The speech ended after ten minutes and one basic fact was clear: the ministry was invading Hogwarts.

Chapter Two: Dumbledore's Request