Umbridge a DE? (was: Wizard Logic)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 145100

Allie:
> > What was with the "foul kittens" that Harry always noticed
> > in the paintings in her office? I wondered if they were 
> > going to appear again somewhere else, but nothing came of it.
> 
Corey:
> It's Corey again. I think the cats were there just for decoration. 
> I don't think anything was going to come of that 'cause there was 
> nothing to use them for. If she's not a death eater, Umbridge I 
> mean, then what do you think she could be?

Ceridwen:
I think JKR knows some people like some I know.  Umbridge reminded me 
so much of certain acquaintences!  The little-girl voice, the sweet 
kittens with their big, innocent eyes, the smile...  I could just 
hear her saying 'hmmmmmmm?' at the end of every malicious question.  
I got to the point, after three months of working for a boss 
who 'hmmmmmm?'ed, that *anyone* 'hmmmmmmm'ing made me flex my 
fingers.  The sweet kittens - she could have had teddy bears or geese 
or any other darling critter - are a clue to her personality.  She 
may or may not see herself as the sweet kitten type.  She does try to 
play herself as the sweet kitten type.  As do many mean-spirited, 
petty people in the world.  To me, sweet kittens/teddy 
bears/geese/adorable puppies/etc. are red flags.

I don't think she's a DE.  She admits to the things she did, but she 
did them on behalf of the Ministry.  Harry and Dumbledore were making 
a fool of the Fudge administration.  She wanted to discredit them.  
If we had not been privy to Harry's thoughts and experiences 
throughout the series to this point, we might have believed all of 
her little set-ups.  But that doesn't make her a DE.  She's the 
Ministry's woman, through and through.  And she will stoop to any 
level to protect her Ministry.  As Sirius said, the WW isn't divided 
into nice people and Death Eaters.  Umbridge proves it.

And, who knows if we've seen a 'nice' Death Eater yet?  'Nice' is 
more often a perception, anyway.  Someone can smile at you like a 
friend and stab you in the back, after gaining your trust.  Umbridge 
tried it.  She failed.  But she certainly set herself up with the 
trappings of a nice, friendly person - 'disarming' (sickening in her 
case) smile, passive questions (attacks), (un)reasonableness, cute 
kittens on the wall, and a dark side that she apparently thought was 
well-hidden, and may have been hidden from herself - she (thinks she) 
only did what was regretably (with a false sigh) necessary.

Ceridwen.