Chapter 1013: Out of the Frying Pan...
Chapter 1013: Out of the Frying Pan...
"Peeves is truly a genius."
Fred hummed merrily, sitting down next to George and helping himself to some boiled potatoes for dinner. He hummed a light tune, his fork tapping out a rhythm on his plate.
"Do you think Peeves knows how to compose songs?" Lee Jordan asked, reaching out to pass the pepper shaker to Fred.
"Of course," Fred replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, definitely," Lee Jordan agreed, feeling a bit exasperated. How could he disagree?
The "Warty Waltz," a song clearly crafted by Albert to irritate Umbridge, had been stuck in everyone's head. It was a simple, catchy tune that people couldn't help but hum, and the melody seemed to follow them everywhere. Umbridge must have been seething.
"Has that guy disappeared again?" George suddenly asked.
"He's probably off on another date," Fred commented, used to Albert's habitual disappearances.
"But today isn't Friday..." George pointed out.
"He'll probably be back by tonight," Lee Jordan said, turning to Fred. "By the way, how are things going with Angelina?"
"They're going," Fred said with a shrug, a hint of frustration in his voice. "We spend most of our time together."
"I stepped aside and gave you the opportunity," Lee Jordan grumbled. "You're hopeless."
"I remember you even gave him that book, 'Twelve Secrets to Captivate Witches'," George teased, glancing at the day's newspaper. "You should be taking lessons from Albert now."
"Angelina's got Quidditch on her mind," Fred said helplessly. It wasn't for lack of trying; his rival was simply Quidditch.
"It's really shameless," George said, unable to hold back after reading the front-page headline.
"What did I do now?" Fred turned, a hint of annoyance in his voice, only to see George perusing the newspaper.
"I wasn't talking about you."
George carefully read the headline of the Prophet, muttering to himself.
Fred and Lee Jordan leaned in curiously. To their surprise, the front-page headline of the Daily Prophet was an article about Umbridge and her experiences at Hogwarts. There were even interviews with a few anonymous Slytherins, yet the paper made no mention of Umbridge's violent actions at Hogwarts.
The article all but directly accused Dumbledore of orchestrating the mob to hinder the Ministry's educational decree.
"The Prophet has become a lapdog for the Ministry," Lee Jordan said angrily. "What's the point of a newspaper if they won't report the truth?"
"They're just being pragmatic," George shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Prophet ends up siding with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
All three of them understood this reality, but the content of the article still infuriated them.
"Maybe we can give them a little surprise," Fred suggested.
"That's a good idea. We have plenty of funds, and it'll be a chance to test out our new toys," George agreed. In a few days, they would be heading to Hogsmeade and meeting up with Mr. Weasley.
"By the way, where did that guy say he'd meet us?" Lee Jordan asked.
"He didn't say," George replied.
Suddenly, the room fell silent.
"We'll see him eventually. That guy might be more diligent than us," George mumbled.
"Have either of you seen Albert?" Cedric Diggory appeared out of nowhere.
"No idea, he's disappeared again," George answered, lowering his newspaper and looking up. "What do you need from Albert? I can pass on a message if you want."
"I was wondering if I could buy a copy of the 'Self-Defense Guide' from him," Diggory said, looking around to ensure no one was eavesdropping.
"Probably not," Fred shrugged. "We don't have any either."
"When's your birthday? You could drop a subtle hint, and he definitely wouldn't mind sending you one," George suggested.
"It was just a while ago," Diggory said, a little glumly. His birthday was at the end of September.
"I'll ask him for you later. Otherwise, you could try borrowing it from that champion. What was her name again?" George racked his brains but couldn't recall the young champion's name.
"Ola Quirke," Lee Jordan said, rolling his eyes at the two of them. "It's only been a few days, and you've forgotten her already."
"We're not that close. I'm surprised you still remember," George replied, a bit embarrassed.
Fred and George Weasley exchanged a glance, their eyes wide as they looked at Lee Jordan.
"That's a given. Every champion is recorded in the list. I wrote her name there myself." Lee Jordan sighed, knowing that these two, along with Albert, weren't very interested in the Wizarding Cards. It seemed like he would have to take matters into his own hands.
"By the way, Cedric, how did you woo Cho?" Fred asked, lowering his voice.
"What?" Cedric looked bewildered, giving Fred a strange look before replying in a hushed tone, "You can invite her to a tea shop in Hogsmeade first, then find an opportunity to confess your feelings. Usually, if she doesn't refuse to go out with you alone, she won't reject you."
"That's it?"
"That's it!" Cedric said, a little surprised. "I thought you already had Angelina in the bag."
"How did you know?"
"Cho told me that last year's Christmas ball saw the birth of many couples." Cedric explained.
"You'd better step up your game." George sighed. "It's a good thing we can go to Hogsmeade Village soon."
"Remember to ask him for me," Cedric said quietly. "Also, the news about the 'Self-Defense Guide' has spread throughout the school. Umbridge will target that book sooner or later, so it's best to come up with a plan to keep that guy from getting his hands on it."
"It's simple; I'll go talk to Ola Quirke." Lee Jordan said with a smile. "I guarantee that old toad won't have a clue."
"What do you have in mind?" Fred asked, putting down his fork.
"Have her throw the book on the table and ignore it so that someone can borrow it. Then, no one will know who borrowed the book." Lee Jordan explained. "Even if the book is truly lost, Albert will definitely have another copy, so we can just get one from him."
The three of them knew that the 'Self-Defense Guide' was very affordable, priced at only two galleons, which was the same price as most textbooks.
Ever since the truth about Umbridge preventing students from practicing defensive magic against the Dark Arts was made public, more and more upper-grade students in advanced classes chose to temporarily drop her class. The so-called theories were of no use, and reading textbooks aloud had become a joke.
Most students believed that Umbridge, aside from her comical title, had no understanding of what constituted Dark Arts defense.
On the other hand, the 'Self-Defense Guide' that Albert Anderson offered as a reward for the Wizarding Cards champions had become a highly sought-after book among Hogwarts students.
Although the majority of students hadn't seen this book, they were all inquiring about where they could buy it, believing that they could learn useful defensive magic against the Dark Arts from it. Anyone who had read the 'Self-Defense Guide' praised it highly.
Even Umbridge had caught wind of it, and what annoyed her the most was that although she knew Albert Anderson had written a book called the 'Self-Defense Guide' that was popular among countless students, no one knew where to buy it.
The book hadn't been officially printed or sold to the public yet.
Umbridge tried to take the 'Self-Defense Guide' from the new champion of the Wizarding Cards, Ola Quirke, to cut off the book's circulation within the school. However, she was told that the book was no longer in Quirke's possession.
"Miss Ola Quirke, can you tell me where the 'Self-Defense Guide' is?" Umbridge maintained a fake smile on her face.
"I don't know. Everyone is saying that you might have taken the book, so I was advised to lend it out to prevent you from..." Quirke looked at Umbridge with apprehension, lowering her head as she finished her sentence: "...from taking it away."
"So, you lent the book out?" Umbridge's expression darkened. "Tell me, who did you lend it to?"
"I don't know. They asked me to leave the book in the library, saying that it would be returned to me during the holidays." Ola Quirke whispered, "Many people were there, and they can vouch for me."
Umbridge's face turned even darker; this was clearly an act of defiance by the students of Hogwarts.
She couldn't cause trouble for Albert, as it didn't violate the Ministry of Magic's laws. Otherwise, writers across the British magical community would end up in prison.
The emergence of the 'Self-Defense Guide' only served to highlight Umbridge's incompetence, and more and more students believed that she and her 'Theory of Magic Defense' belonged in the trash bin.
(End of Chapter)
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