Chapter 1019: Expulsion, Expulsion, Expulsion
Chapter 1019: Expulsion, Expulsion, Expulsion
The month of October at Hogwarts was always characterized by raging storms and heavy rainfall, as chilly dampness swept through the wind and rain, permeating the entire castle.
A wave of colds suddenly plagued both staff and students, especially in the Dark Magic Defense classes. Every day, several students exhibited severe feverish symptoms, and the numbers were only increasing.
Umbridge suspected foul play and ordered Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, to find a cure for the students' peculiar fevers. However, her efforts yielded little success, as the symptoms seemed elusive and prone to recurrence even after treatment.
Amidst this, Fred and George's Fever Fudge was flying off the shelves, earning them a small fortune. They were in high spirits, relishing the joy of making a profit.
In this humid environment, the spots by the fireplaces in the common rooms became highly coveted. These areas were usually crowded, as students gathered to warm themselves by the fire, chat, and work on their homework.
Albert used to enjoy spending time there as well, but now he was more nonchalant about it.
At this moment, he was seated by the window in the common room. While the thick curtains kept out the dampness from outside, this spot was still outside the reach of the fireplace's warmth. Few students ventured to this corner, but Albert didn't mind. He had brought a small heater with him, ensuring he stayed cozy and dry, just like he would be by the fireplace, and without any distractions.
Tom lay on the cushion, eyeing Albert, who was writing with a quill. After a yawn, he settled back down to rest.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Tom opened his eyes and glanced with disdain at the soggy human before him.
"What is it?" Albert asked, setting down his quill and taking a sip of hot milk tea.
"Can you teach me the Mind-Closing Spell?" Harry asked bluntly.
This was Sirius Black's suggestion to Harry. Black thought that since Albert felt Harry should learn the Mind-Closing Spell, he might as well take the time to learn it. After all, Albert had a knack for certain predictions and wouldn't deliberately misguide Harry.
"I can't teach you. If you want to learn the Mind-Closing Spell, you'll have to find Professor Dumbledore," Albert said calmly as he reached out to scratch Tom's chin. "If you can't find Professor Dumbledore, then have Black write to the headmaster on your behalf."
In truth, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had all tried to learn the Mind-Closing Spell from Albert, but none of them succeeded. So, Albert didn't plan on teaching it to Harry; it was a thankless task, and spending extended periods with Harry Potter wasn't something he relished.
"Sirius wanted to discuss something with you," Harry said.
"Forget it!" Albert refused outright.
Harry didn't press the issue further. He figured that if Albert said he couldn't teach him, it was either because he didn't want to or because he thought Harry wouldn't be able to learn it.
"What if I want to learn it on my own?" Harry asked.
"There's an Advanced Guide to Mind-Closing Spells in the Restricted Section," Albert reminded him.
"Thanks," Harry said and walked away, his clothes still damp, intending to take a hot shower first.
Albert returned to writing his potion essay. Ever since he started his seventh year, he rarely bothered with homework. He approached essay-writing casually, and none of the professors complained about it.
Well, except for Snape! The Potions master was very displeased with Albert's lack of homework and had even threatened to put him in detention if he didn't submit any. Eventually, after some "friendly" intervention from Dumbledore, Snape had no choice but to turn a blind eye to it instead of kicking Albert out of his class.
Of course, the only person who could get away with this was Albert.
When Umbridge heard this "good news" from a Slytherin student, she wanted to make a fuss about it.
Fortunately, Albert took the time to personally persuade her otherwise.
"I hate the rain," Angelina said.
"Angelina is definitely possessed by Wood," Fred muttered.
Fred and George had just returned from the Quidditch pitch, and unlike Potter, they were dry. The water on their bodies had been evaporated by a spell, and most of the mud had been cleaned off with another charm. They didn't look as disheveled as Harry.
"I thought you weren't doing homework anymore," Fred said, fishing out a few biscuits from the plate and munching on them. They hadn't had dinner yet, and their stomachs were growling.
"It's not that," Albert replied.
"What is it, then?" George asked, also eating a biscuit and conjuring a teacup to pour himself some hot milk tea.
"Research and improvement of Felix Felicis," Albert said without hesitation.
Of course, this was just an excuse. Albert had already upgraded Felix Felicis to level three using the panel and compared it with the notes that Hector had given him. He had also transcribed the knowledge from the panel's skill into his notebook.
If it weren't for the limitations of skill points and experience, Albert would have liked to upgrade Felix Felicis to level four or even higher. Perhaps the side effects of the potion would be significantly reduced, or it might even be transformed into a potion with strong beneficial effects rather than just a luck-based one.
Although Albert did have a substantial amount of experience and skill points saved up, he was cautious about squandering them. He wanted to ensure he had enough in reserve. Albert had a feeling that once Voldemort was dealt with, it would become exceptionally challenging to earn large amounts of experience and skill points in the future.
No, he thought, it would be difficult to trigger and complete tasks after leaving Hogwarts.
To be honest, Albert wasn't confident that he could successfully brew Felix Felicis on his first try, especially since it was meant to be brewed by two people. The chances of failure were much higher.
Thinking of the potential dangers that lay ahead, Albert felt it was necessary to stock up on Felix Felicis to ease his worries.
"You're finally going to brew Felix Felicis!" Fred and George looked delighted. They, too, were intrigued by this magical potion, especially since the magical candies made with Felix Felicis would undoubtedly fetch a high price.
Albert found Fred and George's thoughts amusing.
In reality, very few Potion Masters were adept at brewing Felix Felicis because the cost of trial and error was exorbitant.
Failure came at a steep price.
Whether in terms of time or money, the losses were significant.
As a result, few dared to attempt brewing Felix Felicis, and even if they succeeded, they rarely sold it. The market price of Felix Felicis was a joke because, from the very beginning, it was never meant to be sold.
“Have you seen the latest Educational Decree?”
Just as George and Fred were about to finish off the biscuits on Albert's plate and head off for a hot shower, Lee Jordan burst into the common room, addressing Fred, George, and Albert.
"A new Educational Decree? What nonsense has that toad come up with now?" Fred and George asked, raising their eyebrows at the breathless Lee Jordan. "What could have gotten you so worked up?"
It took Lee Jordan a few seconds to catch his breath before he exclaimed, "Immediate expulsion for forming or joining any organization, association, team, or club without the approval of a High Inquisitor!"
The three friends looked at each other, momentarily silent.
"There's something odd about this," George said in a lowered voice. "Do you think Umbridge has heard something?"
"It's normal," Albert said calmly, not finding the development surprising. "It was only a matter of time. Perhaps she'll tell Fudge that she successfully stopped Dumbledore from organizing an army."
"Do you think she truly believes that ridiculous rumor?" George found this absurd.
"Does it matter?" Albert countered.
"Not important?" Lee Jordan was puzzled.
"Not important," Albert reiterated. "It's just an excuse, and I don't think she needs one."
"Umbridge has a strong desire for control. I think she's a maniac," Fred muttered.
"This includes the Quidditch teams. Angelina is almost in tears," Lee Jordan added. "She's worried that Umbridge won't let Gryffindor re-form the team."
As they spoke, the three girls on the team returned to the common room, cursing Umbridge's name.
When Angelina had gone to confront Umbridge upon reading the latest decree, the outcome was as expected.
"What happened?" Fred inquired.
"Umbridge said she requires a written request, and it seems she doesn't intend to let the Gryffindor Quidditch team reform," Angelina said, looking frustrated.
"Your approach is problematic," Albert suddenly interjected.
"What?"
"That toad genuinely doesn't want the Gryffindor team to reform, and it's normal for her to suppress it," Albert stated calmly.
"What should I do then?" Angelina asked, her eyes widening. "Should I speak to Professor McGonagall?"
"Even if you do, Umbridge will most likely not agree. In the end, it will probably take Professor Dumbledore's intervention to resolve the issue," Albert said, all too familiar with Umbridge's tactics. She had been in the system for decades and was adept at using its loopholes, and people within the system often resorted to such tactics.
"Well, that's alright then," Angelina sighed in relief, as long as the Quidditch team could continue.
For Angelina, who planned to join a team after graduation, Quidditch was everything to her.
"What good will it do even if we barely get by? What if she targets Harry next?" Alicia guessed Albert's implication.
"What should we do then?" Katie asked.
"Just stop the Quidditch match," Albert said calmly.
"Stop the Quidditch match?" Angelina's eyes widened in disbelief. "How can we do that?"
"I'm just making a suggestion," Albert said as he gathered his things and headed back to the dormitory with Tom.
He was well aware that if he didn't stand up for himself, expecting others to make changes was unrealistic.
Most people in this world thought the same way.
But if one chose not to help themselves, they could only endure in silence.
Angelina, Alicia, and Katie stood there, staring blankly at Albert's departing figure.
"What are you going to do? If not, go find Professor McGonagall!" Fred turned to Angelina, wanting to help but not having a better idea. His intuition told him that Albert was right, and if Umbridge intended to target the Gryffindor team, the upcoming conflict with Slytherin would be inevitable. The toad would soon find an excuse, and even if they weren't expelled, they might be banned from participating or have their team disbanded.
That toad was capable of such things.
"I think our approach has been wrong from the start," George suddenly said. "If one team drops out of the Quidditch match, only three teams will be left. What if we convince another team to drop out as well? Then there won't be a match at all, and even if Slytherin wants to play, they won't be able to find an opponent."
"What if Umbridge still disagrees?" Angelina countered, genuinely afraid that Umbridge wouldn't compromise.
"Then there's nothing we can do!" George shrugged. "It's up to you whether to compromise or fight to the end. You're the captain, so make your choice. Anyway, Fred and I don't really mind."
"You don't mind?"
"We're different from you," Fred shook his head.
"How so?" Katie asked.
"Find a few more substitutes. I think Charlie's idea of having substitutes before was pretty good. Anyway, we'll be graduating this year, and you'll need to leave some experienced players for Katie or Harry. It won't be easy to start training from scratch," George said as he smiled and motioned for Fred to head back to the dormitory for a shower.
They didn't invest as much of themselves in the Quidditch matches as Angelina did, nor did they take Umbridge seriously. With their impending early departure from Hogwarts, they were more focused on causing a ruckus at the school.
George actually hoped that Angelina would give up and persuade the other houses to forgo the Quidditch matches this year, handing the championship directly to Slytherin.
Once that happened, the Slytherin students would undoubtedly boast about their Quidditch victory.
However, when the Slytherins realized they had been handed a hollow victory, they wouldn't be so gleeful. There would be no honor in that win, and instead, it would become a source of shame for Slytherin, forever etched into the annals of Hogwarts.
Future students of Hogwarts would know that this particular championship was attained due to the interference of the Ministry official, Dolores Umbridge.
And her name, Dolores Umbridge, would forever be etched into the history of Hogwarts, branded with infamy.
Nevertheless, George guessed Angelina's choice, just as Albert had.
"Don't worry about Angelina. It's not that bad yet," Lee Jordan said, trying to comfort them before turning back to his dormitory. Yet, even he didn't believe his own words.
(End of Chapter)
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