Once the last of her son's friends had left, Lily's expression grew more serious. "Harry," she began, waving a hand as she cut off his train of thought about Umbridge.

"I've always trusted you, and I believe you when you say how horrible she is, but Harry," she shifted in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "The Ministry is powerful, and you have to be careful."

If Harry and his friends believed that what had been happening in the school was wrong and thought they knew how to remedy it, she would turn a blind eye, but the idea of something going on in Hogwarts being so close to the Ministry was unsettling. She knew it was right, and she was glad that her son had become the sort of person who stood up and did something when things had gone askew, but the Ministry was powerful.

"Just, promise me if you mean to do something truly stupid, you'll tell me first? Maybe I could be your back-up. Okay?"