Chapter 1002: The Bizarre Educational Decree
Chapter 1002: The Bizarre Educational Decree
The incident where Umbridge was turned into a pink toad in front of everyone caused her to become the laughingstock of Hogwarts.
The students often gathered to discuss who sent Umbridge those insulting cursed letters.
However, as a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the fact that she fell for a prank so thoroughly called her abilities into question.
Ever since the pink toad incident, wherever Umbridge walked through the corridors, she could hear the whispers of the students around her.
Especially recently, a daring Gryffindor student had dared to point at Umbridge's retreating back with the photo they had found, successfully earning themselves a trip to detention with Umbridge.
Trembling with rage, Umbridge tore the photo to shreds, realizing that her photo might be hidden in the bags of any Hogwarts student.
To salvage her image, Umbridge issued an Educational Decree forbidding Hogwarts students from possessing her photo.
Thus, one of the most bizarre Educational Decrees in history was born.
Everyone was puzzled as to how the Ministry of Magic could pass such a decree.
However, Umbridge was still unable to salvage her image, and the entire school now deeply associated her with being a "pink toad."
Umbridge hated the person who had turned her into a pink toad and had already narrowed down the suspects to a few individuals: Albert Anderson, Harry Potter, and Albus Dumbledore.
The reason Albert was the prime suspect was that not many wizards had the ability to prank her in such a way through letters, and Albert just so happened to have that ability. Moreover, the fact that the Gryffindor seventh-years had collectively dropped her class led Umbridge to believe that Albert was involved.
Harry Potter, on the other hand, was the one who hated her the most, and Umbridge was well aware of this. It was only natural for Harry to want to get back at her, but she believed he didn't have the ability to do so on his own, although he might have sought help.
Dumbledore's probability was the lowest, but Umbridge believed that the headmaster had seen through her thoughts and might try to stop her from gradually taking control of the school.
Of course, Umbridge didn't mind dealing with all three of them at once! Unfortunately, she couldn't get her wish at the moment.
After becoming a laughingstock, Umbridge's influence at Hogwarts was rapidly declining, and no one truly took her seriously anymore. What's worse, the last incident had set a bad precedent, as every day, owls delivered letters into the Great Hall, spewing vulgar insults at Umbridge.
Someone even secretly cast a Confundus Charm on her, causing her to turn the wrong way and bump her head on the door frame as she entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, ultimately messing up the lesson she was about to teach.
Everyone attributed Umbridge's streak of bad luck to the curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, even going so far as to discuss when she would resign, which infuriated Umbridge immensely.
Umbridge knew that she had to reestablish her authority at Hogwarts, or the pranks directed at her would never stop.
Especially after being turned into a pink toad, Umbridge could clearly sense that the students' fear of her had diminished significantly, which was not good news.
Once the fear was gone, her titles as professor and Senior Undersecretary would lose their intimidation factor, and no one would take her seriously anymore, leading to even more pranks.
Umbridge had no choice but to contact Fudge and expedite the original plan to make her a High Inquisitor. To help her gain control of Hogwarts, Fudge had agreed to cooperate with her and issue Educational Decrees, as well as replace several Hogwarts professors with their own people.
On her own, Umbridge was beginning to feel that she didn't have the capacity to handle everything. She needed helpers to assist her in controlling Hogwarts and more assistants to suppress the students' resistance.
She would find those who dared to challenge and prank her and make them regret it for the rest of their lives.
The Ministry of Magic issued another Educational Decree, appointing Umbridge as the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts.
This major news immediately made the front page of the Prophet, and it received the support of successful pure-blood wizard, Lucius Malfoy.
In addition to Malfoy, several "noble" pure-blood wizards also expressed their welcome of the Ministry's educational reforms, and curiously, these individuals happened to be Death Eaters who had narrowly escaped the last wizarding war.
It was said that Sirius Black couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw this newspaper, and he seemed to be preparing to openly discuss the Death Eaters' strong support for the Ministry's educational reforms in the next issue of the Defense Bulletin.
"You don't seem surprised at all?"
George put down the newspaper and looked at Albert, who was flipping through a large book next to him.
"It's only natural," Albert said nonchalantly. "Umbridge's power comes from the Ministry of Magic, not her own abilities. Now that she's become a laughingstock at Hogwarts, if she wants to turn things around, she'll have to adopt a high-pressure policy towards the students. First, she'll want to silence them, and then she'll try to subjugate them to demonstrate the Ministry's authority and regain the upper hand."
"You don't seem to mind at all."
George keenly sensed that Albert seemed rather pleased to see this turn of events.
"Perhaps Umbridge will be inspired by Lockhart tomorrow and forever lie in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries due to the curse." Albert said cryptically without looking up from his book.
If Albert wished it, it was entirely possible for Umbridge to accidentally end up in St. Mungo's due to the Dark Arts Defense Professor's curse.
"You don't think Umbridge will really end up in the hospital tomorrow, do you?" George asked in a low voice.
"That would be everyone's source of joy." Albert slowly turned the pages of his book and said nonchalantly, "I wouldn't want to spoil everyone's fun."
"Do you think Umbridge will succeed?" Fred interjected.
"It's difficult, but I'm looking forward to it." Albert's lips curved slightly, "Umbridge will definitely try to tighten her control over Hogwarts, and I think she'll probably expel a few professors to strengthen her authority."
"Who do you think Umbridge will expel?" Hermione suddenly appeared, holding a copy of the Prophet, apparently having already read the headline news.
"You haven't guessed?" Albert took the newspaper from Fred.
"Hagrid?"
Hermione looked up at Umbridge, who was cautiously eating on the teacher's seat, her face filled with undisguised disgust.
It wasn't difficult to guess, as the Ministry of Magic had already expressed their malicious intent towards Hagrid in the Prophet.
"Yes, everyone knows that Hagrid is a loyal follower of Professor Dumbledore. If the Ministry plans to cause trouble for Dumbledore, it's a good idea to start with his close associates." Albert closed the newspaper and set it aside, speculating, "But since Hagrid isn't at school, the first professor to be expelled will most likely be Sybill Trelawney, the Divination professor."
Fred and George looked at each other and said in unison, "Old fraud."
"Makes sense. Old fraud's trickery probably won't fool Umbridge, and she'll likely become Umbridge's target to establish her dominance." Lee Jordan also thought this possibility was very high. He was going to spread the word later that Umbridge was planning to fire the old fraud to give Dumbledore a hard time.
Sometimes, even before things happened, people tended to have preconceived notions, whether the content was true or not. No matter how Umbridge explained it, people would think that she was deliberately causing trouble and trying to intimidate Dumbledore.
"What kind of prophecy do you think the old fraud should make?"
George also intended to cause trouble for Umbridge. Lately, they had been doing this kind of thing more and more frequently, and they were getting quite adept at it, leaving little room for mistakes.
"Being expelled by Umbridge." Albert speculated.
"That's brilliant! The old fraud predicts her own expulsion. If she's expelled by Umbridge, it proves that her prophecy has come true." Fred's eyes lit up with curiosity, "What do you think Umbridge will choose to do?"
"She'll probably still expel Professor Trelawney." Albert wasn't surprised that Umbridge would target Trelawney, "But, Professor Trelawney probably won't be forced out of the castle."
"Is that your prophecy?" Hermione looked at Albert in surprise.
"No, it's just my speculation."
Albert believed that Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let Professor Trelawney leave Hogwarts, especially since she had made that prophecy about Voldemort.
"By the way, are you really not going to consider that matter?" Hermione lowered her voice and asked.
"I really don't have the time." Albert refused again, "You can seek help from Professor Black or Professor Lupin instead. If it's about grades, those notes should help you achieve good results."
"Then... can you give us some advice later?" Hermione looked a little disappointed, as she had hoped that Albert would personally teach them Dark Arts Defense.
If Albert was involved, many students would join the club, just like the Defense Association they had formed before.
"I'll see how it goes."
Albert didn't immediately agree, as he thought that Fred and George would be more than capable of teaching Dark Arts Defense themselves, but that would obviously be stepping on Potter's toes.
The savior, Harry Potter, also needed a group of followers.
"Hermione's quite ambitious, wanting to organize everyone." George looked at Hermione's departing back and said, "She wants to rebuild the Defense Association to counter Umbridge."
"Well, she's probably been driven crazy by Umbridge." Albert shrugged, "Where there's oppression, there's resistance."
"I think this is worth a try." Fred interjected, "We should be able to rally more people to stand against Umbridge."
"Let them do it themselves." Albert was indifferent, "I'll give them my new book on Dark Arts Defense later. It contains quite a few practical spells."
"Who's going to teach them?" Fred asked with a strange expression.
"It's not going to be us, is it?" George added.
"What about Harry Potter?"
"Albert reminded them.
"I always feel like you're trying to set Harry up," Fred murmured.
"Why would I do that to Potter?" Albert asked, feigning innocence.
"You're full of mischief," Jordan muttered.
Changing the subject back, George asked, "What do you think should be done about the old fraud?"
"It's simple. Just let Trelawney know that she's going to be fired, and have her prophesy that Umbridge will be driven out of Hogwarts in disgrace and end up in Azkaban," Albert said without hesitation.
"Just imagine Umbridge's expression when all three prophecies come true!" Fred exclaimed, impressed by Albert's scheme. "And these prophecies are bound to happen!"
"Will Umbridge really end up in Azkaban?" George asked, intrigued.
"Yes, after the fall of the mysterious person," Albert said calmly.
"She's supporting him?"
The trio was astonished, but it soon made sense to them. Undoubtedly, Umbridge was no good, and according to Albert's prophecy, the Ministry would fall in a few years, after which the mysterious person would take control. It wouldn't be surprising if Umbridge threw her lot in with him.
Of course, compared to Umbridge being sent to Azkaban, George was more concerned about the part of Albert's prophecy that mentioned the downfall of the mysterious person.
This was undoubtedly good news.
As they left the Great Hall, they spotted Caretaker Filch putting up the new Educational Decree on the notice board, which drew curious stares and whispers from the students.
"No boy and girl are allowed to be within six inches of each other?" Jordan said with a strange expression. "Is this because he's been single for too long and can't stand the sight of others in love?"
"And what's even more ridiculous is the ban on Exploding Bonbons!" Fred exclaimed. "Why should I be prohibited from eating a simple sweet?"
"I wonder if she had a tooth knocked out by an Exploding Bonbon," Jordan added.
In fact, they were unaware that the ban on Exploding Bonbons was all Peeves' doing. The mischievous poltergeist had used specially crafted bonbons, made with Albert's help, to nearly blow Umbridge sky-high.
Looking at the new Educational Decree on the board, everyone knew that Hogwarts had changed. It had become a place of absurdity, and the one responsible for this transformation was that woman called Umbridge.
"I have a feeling this wall will soon be filled with Ministry decrees," Albert said calmly. "Perhaps we'll run out of space to put them all up."
"It's so shameless. I must take a picture and turn it into a Witch Card," Jordan muttered.
After they walked away, Fred, George, and Jordan discussed whether they should find a way to destroy the decrees.
"It's useless. Filch will just put them back up at her behest," Albert said, shaking his head in disapproval of their unreliable plan. "Besides, we need to let everyone feel the pressure. When everyone hates her and resists her, Hogwarts will usher in its most joyous era. However, you can increase the pressure on her and speed up the issuance of the Ministry's Educational Decrees."
"You can pay Montague Fletcher to have various people send Howlers to Umbridge," Albert suggested casually. "You can set aside a special fund for Umbridge and use it to showcase your prank items. It'll definitely be more effective than any advertisement."
"That's a great idea. Maybe the pink toad will issue a decree banning red Howlers," Jordan said, excited.
The three of them were exceptionally thrilled, especially with Albert's help in brainstorming ideas. Their plans always went smoothly when he was involved.
With Albert's assistance, a strange new vomiting candy soon appeared in Hogwarts, modeled after none other than Umbridge herself, complete with a toad on her head.
Anyone who ate it would immediately feel a strong urge to retch.
Oddly enough, this candy became surprisingly popular among the students of Hogwarts.
As a result, Umbridge frequently witnessed students dry-heaving in the corridors or even during classes. She interrogated several younger students but couldn't find the cause.
Soon, another new Educational Decree was issued: "Students are prohibited from dry-heaving in the corridors or any other places."
How absurd! But Fred, George, and Jordan couldn't help but laugh even harder when they saw this new decree.
"What do you think we should do to get Umbridge to ban the Defense Bulletin and the Wizarding Observer?"
"It's easy. Just find someone to leak the information to her," Albert suggested.
"We need a common secret!"
"Umbridge will definitely become suspicious and search everywhere. It's going to be very interesting."
"Students found in possession of the Defense Bulletin will be expelled?"
"What if we put a copy of the Defense Bulletin in a Slytherin student's bag? What do you think Umbridge will do then?"
"Detention? Or expulsion?"
"She'll probably just pretend to give them detention. She's trying to curry favor with Slytherin."
"It's so unfair, but it makes it even more fun."
(End of Chapter)
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