Chapter 1000: The Abandoned Dark Arts Class
Chapter 1000: The Abandoned Dark Arts Class
In the short days since the start of the school year, everyone had figured out Umbridge's character - a hypocritical, self-righteous, unreasonable old woman who loved to exert control.
None of the prefects who had dealt with Umbridge liked her.
It was unclear which prefect had done it, but someone had secretly leaked the content of their conversations with Umbridge. Now, there were rumors spreading throughout the school that Umbridge wanted the prefects to act as her spies, monitoring the students of Hogwarts.
This Deputy Head of the Ministry of Magic was obviously treating Hogwarts like it was the Ministry, playing political games in an attempt to divide and conquer, eroding the students' trust in the prefects and trying to win them over to her side.
As soon as the news got out, the entire school was in an uproar. The prefects cursed Umbridge countless times in their minds.
To avoid being isolated by the students, they started spreading negative rumors about Umbridge, and soon, the school was filled with gossip about her.
The most exciting news was that Umbridge had finally met her match with Albert, and she was so furious that she had trashed her office.
At that time, many students heard the sound of things being smashed and cursed from the Dark Arts office.
Everyone took pleasure in Umbridge's misfortune. They didn't dare to ignore Umbridge like Albert did, but seeing the old woman fail was thrilling nonetheless.
Unfortunately, no one knew what Albert and Umbridge had talked about.
Even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to emulate him.
Albert could basically ignore his N.E.W.T. grades, and even without that transcript, no one would doubt his true abilities.
His world-renowned champion title was undeniable proof, and after graduation, Albert didn't seem to have any plans to join the Ministry of Magic.
Since there was no overlap between the two, why bother humoring Umbridge?
So, this Hogwarts genius simply ignored the Deputy Head of the Ministry, spending most of his time holed up in the library, researching something.
Soon, word spread throughout the castle that Umbridge had allowed Albert to skip her Dark Arts classes.
Many seventh-year students came to ask Albert about this.
If Albert hadn't stood firm and resisted Umbridge's pressure, she would have quickly broken their resistance, and there was no doubt that everyone would have faced her retaliation next.
With Albert no longer attending the Dark Arts classes, the students' boycott of Umbridge instantly collapsed.
Those seventh-year students who had paid no heed to the rumors now faced the brunt of it.
They had originally wanted to find another Student Council President to stand against Umbridge, but it seemed that Katrina had gotten wind of something as well, as she also stopped attending the Dark Arts classes.
Suddenly, the seventh-year students were suffering for no reason. They remembered the rumors about Umbridge, and everyone felt vulnerable, sensing that the Dark Arts professor's retaliation was imminent.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, sensing that the atmosphere was amiss, quickly found an excuse to leave.
After all, they were Albert's roommates and close friends, and it was easy for them to be innocently implicated.
"Umbridge is really angry," Angelina warned. "You'd better be careful."
"It's fine," Fred said nonchalantly. "We're planning to apply to Professor McGonagall to drop the Dark Arts class."
"So, even if she's angry, what can she do to us?"
The trio wasn't intimidated by Umbridge at all. If that woman dared to try to lock them up, they had their ways of dealing with it.
"You're really giving up, then?"
The girls were surprised that the three of them had decided to drop the class so decisively.
Fred grinned and said, "We don't plan to rely on our N.E.W.T. grades to find jobs in the future, so why should we put up with that old woman, Umbridge?"
"Umbridge will soon take revenge on others," Lee Jordan reminded them. "Don't forget what happened in the first class. She may not be able to do anything to Albert, but she'll find a way to make your lives miserable."
"So, you're running away as soon as you sense trouble."
"You can all run too, and not attend her remedial classes," George said with a smile.
"What about the N.E.W.T.s?"
"According to the Hogwarts Curse Law, Umbridge will definitely not be able to get through this semester smoothly. When the time comes, you can just take the N.E.W.T.s," Fred advised with a smirk. "You should have copied the review outline from Albert as well. As long as you self-study those things, you basically won't have any problems."
"No, I mean..."
Angelina's words were interrupted by Fred.
"Do you really think the theoretical knowledge you learn in the Dark Arts class is useful?"
"That's true," Shan Na nodded in agreement. "Let's just self-study, or we can form a Dark Arts interest group and help each other improve."
"I think that's unlikely," Aliya frowned as she looked at the three boys in front of her. There were very few people as bold as Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
"Count me in," Angelina said, not concerned about her N.E.W.T. grades as she planned to become a Quidditch athlete.
"Albert is writing a book about Dark Arts defense, and it's almost finished. Maybe it will come in handy," George suddenly said. "I believe that book will be infinitely better than 'Magical Defensive Theory'."
When Professor McGonagall learned that the seventh-year students in her house were planning to drop the Dark Arts class, her expression immediately fell. What troubled her even more was that this group of students had only come to notify her as a formality.
"Why do you want to drop the Dark Arts class?"
Professor McGonagall had no choice but to spend a lot of time interviewing them.
However, she received the same response from each of them:
"Sorry, Professor, our time is precious, and we don't have time to play games with Umbridge..."
"The N.E.W.T. grades aren't really that important to us..."
"We can self-study for the Dark Arts..."
"Umbridge only teaches theory in her class, and just theory won't help us get excellent scores in the N.E.W.T.s..."
"Why should we waste our time with her and have to put up with her temper?"
Professor McGonagall was helpless and had no choice but to seek Albert's help.
"Umbridge allowed me not to attend her classes and go straight to the final exam, which I think is great," Albert said calmly, facing a somewhat annoyed Professor McGonagall.
"Everyone is complaining about Professor Dumbledore. They don't understand why he allowed an 'outsider' like Umbridge to teach Dark Arts at Hogwarts."
"This undoubtedly pits the fifth and seventh-year students, and if you've been paying attention, there are many who are dissatisfied."
"But even if we're dissatisfied..."
"The curse has always been there.
"Albert said meaningfully.
No one expected the Gryffindor seventh-years to be so stubborn, outright abandoning their Dark Arts classes with such audacity, stunning the entire student body of Hogwarts.
Umbridge was driven to fury.
She never anticipated that things would turn out this way.
Detaining them? Umbridge dared not do so, at least not yet, as she realized they were more united than she expected, especially Albert's roommates, who seemed to be sending her a clear message: "Dare to touch one of us, and we'll all go down together. Anyway, we don't need those N.E.W.T. grades."
What troubled her even more was that whenever she tried to single out anyone for questioning, other students would show up outside her office, wands at the ready, as if they were about to burst in and teach her a lesson.
And they truly were prepared.
They even had Forgetfulness Potions ready.
Soon, students from other houses followed suit and dropped out of the Dark Arts classes.
The reason being: they believed that Umbridge would fall victim to the Dark Arts curse before graduation, and they could then take the N.E.W.T.s without her.
Upon hearing this, Umbridge was so furious that her face contorted.
...
"We have to face the N.E.W.T.s this year," said a student who wished to remain anonymous. "We don't believe the Dark Arts exam will be a written test. With Umbridge's teaching style, very few students will be able to pass with excellent scores."
"It's unbelievable that the Ministry of Magic's idea of educational reform is to make sure all Hogwarts students fail their Dark Arts classes," another student chimed in.
"It proves that the Ministry has never cared about improving education. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent someone as incompetent as Umbridge to teach at Hogwarts... As far as I know, most of the Ministry employees can't even cast a basic Shield Charm properly..."
From the fireplace, Sirius Black's calm and captivating voice emanated, as the daily broadcast from the Wizarding Watch began.
This radio had become a fixture in the common room, always turning on at the right time to play the latest news and opinions from the Wizarding Watch.
While some students found it annoying, most were willing to quiet down and listen.
Rumors spread like wildfire, and soon, many students began to question Umbridge's teaching qualifications.
Dumbledore also suffered as a result, inundated with complaint letters from students right at the start of the school year.
When someone suggested that complaining to Dumbledore was pointless, the students began writing to the Ministry of Magic instead.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan even went a step further, encouraging others to send tips to various newspapers and magazines.
However, those letters seemed to vanish into thin air, making no waves at all.
No one really cared about these matters.
This was why the Wizarding Watch broadcasts were so popular.
As Sirius's voice faded, the common room suddenly echoed with Hermione's angry outburst, drawing everyone's attention.
"Are you alright?" Ron asked, concerned.
"We have our O.W.Ls this year!" Hermione exclaimed, pounding the armrest of her chair in frustration. "How could Dumbledore let this happen?"
"Calm down, Hermione. Here, take a Calming Draught." Harry pulled out a bottle and offered a pill to Hermione.
"How can I calm down?" Hermione swatted away the pill and whispered fiercely, "What are we going to do about our O.W.Ls this year?"
Ron looked at the distraught Hermione, unsure of what to do.
"Maybe we can ask Anderson to teach us. He tutored students from our year before," Harry suggested, popping a pill into his mouth.
"He's busy this semester, I already asked him," Hermione said, covering her face with her hand. "The O.W.Ls are important, they determine our future!"
"Hey, Harry, are you carrying those things around with you now?" Ron tried to change the subject.
"After experiencing the benefits of a clear head during my trial, I realized I really need these," Harry said, putting the bottle back into his pocket.
"Give me one," Hermione suddenly said. "I need to calm down."
Harry took out the bottle and gave Hermione a pill.
After swallowing the draught, Hermione's emotions stabilized. She took a deep breath and said to Harry and Ron, "We need to take matters into our own hands. Let's form a study group for Dark Arts and teach ourselves the knowledge and techniques."
Harry and Ron exchanged glances.
Finally, Harry lowered his voice and said, "Tonight, I'll contact Sirius and see if they can offer us any help."
"Hey, Harry... do you guys want to join us?" Fred appeared out of nowhere, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"What's up?"
"We're planning to give Umbridge a little surprise," George said with a mischievous smile.
"You're really not going to attend her Dark Arts classes anymore?" Hermione asked.
"Attending Umbridge's classes is a waste of time," Fred countered. "Do you think the N.E.W.T. exam will test us on theory?"
"Hermione, face reality. Stop deluding yourself," George added.
"If Mum knew about this, she'd be furious with you," Ron mumbled.
"You forget, she promised last year that she wouldn't meddle in our affairs anymore," Fred reminded him.
"What surprise?" Harry asked. "Does Albert have any input?"
"No, he's busy," George replied.
"Busy with what?" Hermione inquired.
"Don't know," George shrugged.
"What are you planning to do?" Harry was intrigued.
"We plan to..." George's voice trailed off.
"Can you really pull it off?" Ron asked, eyes wide.
"We'll give it a shot, and if it doesn't work, we'll seek technical support," Fred said without hesitation.
"Count me in," Harry said. "I'll contact Sirius tonight and see if he can offer us some advice."
"Hermione, if you want to pass your O.W.Ls, there's actually a very simple solution," George said mysteriously.
"What solution?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"I can borrow Albert's Dark Arts notes for you. If you study those and teach yourself some of the spells, getting an Outstanding on your O.W.Ls will be a breeze," George offered.
In her agitated state, Hermione hadn't thought of this simple solution, but she knew that Albert wouldn't refuse to lend her his notes.
"Alright, count me in," Hermione agreed, as she also despised Umbridge and would love to see her fail.
"Welcome aboard," Fred said.
Fred and George exchanged a satisfied smile, knowing that with Hermione's sharp mind, their plan would be foolproof.
(End of Chapter)
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