The Hagrid's son

"It's not common for someone else to attend a job appointment," said McGonagall, raising her gaze from the parchment in her hands and lifting an eyebrow at Barnaby, who was sitting across from her desk. "Why are you here instead of Miss Tonks?"

"She broke her hip," Barnaby replied, his tone carrying a subtle hint of guilt. "Although she's taken a potion, she needs to rest for a couple of days before walking normally again."

"By Merlin's beard!" Minerva covered her mouth with her hand, horrified. "It must have been a terrible fall."

"A fall?" Barnaby looked puzzled for a second before widening his eyes and coughing a few times into his fist. "Oh! Yes, indeed, a really bad fall..."

Why tell the embarrassing truth when such a convenient misunderstanding was in place?

"In any case, although Tonks has the qualifications to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, I'm afraid I can't give her the position," Minerva returned to the matter at hand, shaking her head as she denied the hiring.

"What's the reason?" Barnaby was a bit surprised. "Is there a more qualified candidate?"

Was there someone brave enough to take the job this year?

"No, Tonks is actually the first and only one to apply for the position this year," explained Minerva, massaging her temples with her hands and wearing a tired expression. "But after the events of the Triwizard Tournament, the Ministry of Magic has pressured Dumbledore to have one of their people occupy the position next year. And the Headmaster has already agreed, so I can't hire Tonks, not by choice, but because the spot has already been filled."

Minerva's lips twisted in obvious discontent at the situation.

Although this resolved the lack of a professor, when she learned who was coming…

She truly would have preferred someone like Nymphadora for the job!

"Someone from the Ministry of Magic?" Barnaby frowned, equally unhappy with the news. "Maybe I know the person?"

"Dolores Umbridge."

…

"Have you checked if the Headmaster has started developing dementia?" Barnaby asked as politely as possible. "Memory lapses? Urinary incontinence?"

Minerva held back a smile at the joke and scolded Barnaby.

"He's still the Headmaster of Hogwarts!" she reminded him. "Albus must have his reasons; you don't need to worry too much."

Yes, that was precisely what worried Barnaby!

Especially if those reasons involved people close to him, like his father.

"Aunt Minerva, if what I know about that woman is true, I'm going to have to keep a low profile for the next year," Barnaby said. "The new batch of torch oil will be delivered before the start of the school year, I won't be providing ingredients to the kitchens this year, and I'll be pulling most of my friends out of the castle and its surroundings."

McGonagall wanted to tell him it wasn't necessary to go that far, but recalling the airs Umbridge gave herself in Wizengamot meetings, even though she was only staff and not a member…

Actually, those measures seemed quite reasonable.

Especially given her connection to the Ministry of Magic.

Don't mention anything about the oil or "questionable ingredients," Minerva also knew about the dispute Barnaby had with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures over a small creature.

How far would they go if they knew about all of Barnaby's "friends" in the castle?

Because McGonagall was sure of one thing: they weren't going to get Barnaby to back down an inch on this matter. The boy was unexpectedly fierce about it. In fact, things could end quite badly…

"Perhaps you'd prefer for your familiar to stay at home this year," Minerva suggested tactfully. "Umbridge is not exactly friendly towards those who aren't human or pureblood."

"She's a deeply racist woman, I know," Barnaby frowned even more upon hearing that. "We'll be careful."

"But I'll take the necessary measures if the situation calls for it," he added in his thoughts.

Sanshi was clearly against staying away from him under the current atmosphere of the wizarding world, and he didn't think he could convince her to stay at home. And he didn't want to be separated from her either.

"Try keeping me away just once, I dare you, and I'll tell Minerva the real reason why Tonks' hip broke!" Sanshi threatened with a steely voice.

"I won't!" Barnaby assured her anxiously. "Why do you have to resort to such underhanded methods for these matters?"

"Shame is one of the few ways to keep you in check!" his familiar pointed out mercilessly with a half-serious, half-mocking tone.

That's not true!

"Barnaby?" Minerva called out. "You were staring off into space for a moment."

"Oh, sorry," Barnaby apologized. "Well, I suppose I'll have to deliver the news to Tonks. By the way, have any additional security measures been taken?"

"There's no money," Minerva replied, looking more and more worn out.

"And if the Ministry is so hell-bent on getting into the school, why don't they send some squads of Aurors?"

"They didn't when Sirius escaped," Minerva reminded him.

"I don't think you can put that guy and Voldemort on the same level."

Minerva flinched at the name but didn't argue.

"The Ministry still vehemently denies his return. Sending Aurors would only contradict themselves and make people question things they don't want questioned…"

"Like their authority and ability to solve problems," Barnaby concluded.

It wasn't as if they had much left after their disastrous performance in recent years!

Barnaby shook his head and stood up to leave, though not without placing a pouch on the table.

"It's blue tea I received recently, it tastes good and helps with mental fatigue."

"Thank you, I'll appreciate it later," Minerva smiled as she carefully put the pouch away in her drawer.

As Barnaby left the castle, he couldn't help but stop by the cabin to check that everything was in order. He hoped his father wasn't having too much trouble with the giants.