Dolores Umbridge

**Dolores Jane Umbridge** is the current Senior Undersecretary to Minister Cornelius Fudge.

## Biography

### Family Lineage

Dolores Umbridge was born out of wedlock to Orford Umbridge and Ardella Selwyn. Orford was a pure-blood of a non-noble family, while Ardella was a member of the Ancient and Noble House of Selwyn. Ardella died shortly after Dolores's birth of unknown causes.

### Early Life

At some point after Dolores's birth Orford married the Muggle Ellen Cracknell and presented her as Dolores's mother. Orford and Ellen eventually had a child of their own who was a squib. Somewhere around this time Orford was afflicted with an obscure curse that shortened his life and caused him to become "addle-brained", limiting his magic to the level of a third year Hogwarts student.

In 1963, when Dolores was eight years old, Orford found Ellen Cracknell trying to perform a "baptism" on Delores. Ellen had seen Dolores perform accidental magic but due to her mental state, assumed she was under "demon possession", thus forcing Dolores' head underwater for extended periods of time. Orford saved Dolores and divorced Ellen after the event. Ellen took their Squib son into the Muggle world after the divorce. She would eventually pass away in 1970, leaving her son to be raised by her relatives.

Dolores Umbridge began attending Hogwarts in 1966, where she was sorted into Slytherin. She befriended Violetta Edgecombe despite their different houses. She told her yearmates that her mother was a Pure-blood witch who had died giving birth to her. In her second year she became a member of the Slytherin Solution Society, which promoted the Slytherin Solution, a proposed government policy where all Muggle-born children would be taken from their parents, with both parent and child mind-wiped, so that the children could be fostered out to magical homes.

She learned to do a corporeal Patronus charm for her DADA NEWT, which took the form of a cat she named Wilberforce. She had taken DADA to the NEWT level in hopes of finding some way to cure her father, but found no success in that regard.

She graduated in 1973 7 OWLs and 5 NEWTs (Charms, Magical History, Muggle Studies, Ancient History, and DADA).

She at one point hoped to pursue a Mastery in History of Magic and become a teacher at Hogwarts, but halfway through her Mastery she discovered some truth about Cuthbert Binns that caused her to realise he would never lose his job, she abandoned her Mastery. Dolores eventually gained a job in the Department of Magical Education's Education Records division, a dead end job with a decent salary that left her with little personal satisfaction.

### First Wizarding War

Dolores became engaged to Jack Macmillan, an estranged cousin of Lord Macmillan, in 1975, but it ended in tragedy when Jack was killed in the April 1976 Werewolf attack on Diagon Alley, three weeks before they were due to marry. She was present for the attack, and though she was physically unharmed she did have to spend several weeks at St. Mungo's mental healing ward.

After her recovery Dolores became a dues-paying member of Witches Against Lycanthropic Killers (WALK), a minor political organisation advocating for hardline policies against werewolves. In 1978 the Slytherin Solution Society was forcibly disbanded as its views were considered Death Eater sympathetic.

### Post-War

By 1989 Orford's condition had declined to the point where he could no longer continue working, and Dolores had him placed in the Dewey Bedletter Home for Senior Wizards and Witches in Dorset.

### Book 2 - The Secret Enemy

After Hogwarts nearly falls to the Heir of Slytherin Cornelius Fudge promotes Dolores to Senior Undersecretary, and tasks her with finding loopholes or ambiguities in the Ministry's treaties with Hogwarts to allow them greater control over the school.

### Book 3 - The Death Eater Menace

After the Wizengamot's Emergency Session Dolores meets with Minister Fudge, Amelia Bones, and James Potter to discuss the Treaty of Azkaban. James Potter walks in on Dolores in tears shortly after the Dementor attack on the Hogwarts Express, as she was the one who came up with the idea of stationing the Dementors near Hogwarts. Despite this Fudge begins to place a great deal of trust in her, inviting her to meetings that technically fall outside of her official portfolio.

In December Dolores receives news that her father's condition has worsened significantly, and that he likely has very little time to live. She meets with her father, who tells her moments before he passes that her "real mother Della" would be proud of her. Orford passes before he can give her anymore information. Her father's revelation prompts Dolores to meet with Cassilda Selwyn, House Selwyn's seneschal. She asks Cassilda for permission to visit Ardella Selwyn's gravesite to pay her respect in her father's name, leaving aside any mention of Orford's last words. Cassilda informs her that Ardella was cremated and sends her on her way, smirking after Dolores has left her office and wondering if Dolores has any idea what kind of fire she's playing with by dealing with House Selwyn. Dolores herself comes to the conclusion that only the Selwyns could be responsible for the death of her parents and marring of her childhood, and she vows revenge.

When Fenrir Greyback and several of his packmates are arrested in Dunny-on-the-Wold Dolores proposes sending them to the maximum security wing of Azkaban to satisfy the dementors and end the Azkaban Crisis. Dolores attends the congratulatory fete for Pius Thicknesse after he awarded an Order of Merlin when she is caught up in Peter Pettigrew and Augustus Rookwood's escape from the Ministry. During the escape her friend Violetta and her husband Thomas Edgecombe are murdered by Pettigrew. She herself is also nearly killed by Pettigrew, but Rookwood stops him at the last second, recognizing her as the daughter of Orford Umbridge. Rookwood uses an unknown curse on her with his wand pointed at her forehead, telling Pettigrew that "[he] saw fertile ground [and] planted a seed." Umbridge is found by aurors sometime later and transported to St. Mungo's.

After the attack, Pius Thicknesse visits Dolores in her office, where he reveals to her that, as her godfather, he is the most likely candidate for the recently orphaned Marrietta Edgecombe's new legal guardian. He tells her he is reluctant to take her in, as he feels his lack of experience and dangerous job would make him an ill-fitting father figure. After a brief discussion of their respective Patronuses, Thicknesse asks Dolores out to dinner with him, and she agrees.

### Book 4 - The Resurrection Game

Dolores is sent to the Quidditch World Cup in Minister Fudge's stead to represent him at a meeting of dignitaries, which she attends alongside Pius Thicknesse.

## Physical Description

In the early 1990's Umbridge was known for her reserved and professional tweed outfits. She uses a pair of glasses to read. After Violetta Edgecombe's death she begins to wear more pink.

## Personality & Traits

Dolores was a kind and empathic woman, as she was brought to tears at the realisation that she was partially to blame for the incident where a dementor boarded the Hogwarts Express.

She had some amount of prejudice towards Muggles, as she referred to her ostensible mother Ellen as a "piece of Muggle filth", and she joined the Slytherin Solution Society during her second year at Hogwarts. Dolores did not consider herself to be a Muggle-hater, but she did share her co-workers' dislike of "Muggle-lovers" like Arthur Weasley.

## Magical Abilities & Skills

Dolores has a great deal of historical knowledge, as she achieves O's on her Magical History and Ancient History NEWTs. She also had a near-encyclopedic knowledge of werewolves.

## Canon Divergence

(If the character appears in JKR's Harry Potter series, explain any differences between JKR's and TSM's interpretation of the character here.)

(Character name) is an original character of the Prince of Slytherin universe.

## References

Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 116 - Families at Christmas,

Orford make a deathbed confession to his daughter.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 96 - Back to School (Finale),

From a letter received by Rita Skeeter and written in disappearing ink....
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 137 - The Future All Around Us, Waiting to Be Born (Pt 1),

Pius Thicknesse visits Umbridge in her office.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 92 - Reactions & Overreactions (Pt 3),

Fudge and Umbridge brief James Potter and Amelia Bones on the Azkaban Crisis.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 88 - Prelude (Harry),

Dolores and Violetta Edgecombe go shopping in Diagon Alley.
Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 81 - The Power of Friendship,

Umbridge receives a promotion.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 97 - Feasts, Electives & Student Organizations (Pt 1),

James speak with Dolores in her office.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 105 - Chaos in Hogsmeade (Finale),

Fudge meets with his advisors to discuss the attack on Hogsmeade.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 121 - Conspiracies in Action,

Dolores Umbridge meets Cassilda Selwyn.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 128 - Redux (Pt 2),

Ministry officials view the Frump memories.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 134 - The Kings of Rats,

Thicknesse's party is interrupted by Peter Pettigrew's escape from the Ministry.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 135 - The Fall of the House of Potter (Pt 1),

Peter and Rookwood escape from the Ministry.
Book 4 - HP&TRG - Ch. 148 - The Quidditch World Cup (Pt 3),

Barty Crouch introduces McAvity to Dolores Umbridge.