Chapter 1035: Umbridge's Big Blunder
Chapter 1035: Umbridge's Big Blunder
The arrival of centaur Firenze as the new Divination teacher did not go unnoticed by the other students, or perhaps it was simply that Professor Dumbledore had never intended to keep it a secret from the start.
Standing on the stone steps, Dolores Umbridge's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw Firenze, providing a perfect demonstration of the phrase 'dumbfounded'.
She clearly hadn't expected that Dumbledore would hire a centaur to fill the position.
There wasn't much Umbridge could say about this, as most centaurs had a deep involvement in Divination and were often more knowledgeable than wizards in this field.
No one could have imagined that Professor Dumbledore would hire a centaur to teach at Hogwarts, and it was certainly a curious development. This was especially true for the Hogwarts students, who had only a vague understanding of centaurs and were naturally intrigued by the new professor's arrival.
Of course, there was also the matter of the string of prophecies left by Professor Trelawney.
Although centaurs possessed intelligence equal to that of humans, they requested that the Ministry of Magic classify them as 'beasts', preferring not to be associated with creatures like hags and vampires. Thus, centaurs were not considered human.
Yes.
Not human, but beast.
The third prophecy made by Trelawney was that Professor Dumbledore would hire a non-human teacher for the Divination post at Hogwarts.
Undoubtedly, Trelawney's prophecy had come true once again.
What would the next prophecy be? Most students had forgotten about Trelawney's previous prophecies, but there were a few who still remembered. However, the content of the next prophecy was rather unfortunate—it foretold that Umbridge would drive Dumbledore out and become the new Headmistress of Hogwarts?
Umbridge as Headmistress? That was a joke! Aside from a handful of Slytherin students who might support her, the entire student body of Hogwarts would likely despise and reject her if she were to become Headmistress, given her poor performance as the Ministry's representative.
In fact, after the content of the fourth prophecy spread, most students began to look at Umbridge with unprecedented disdain.
It wasn't that they wanted to believe the old fraud's prophecies, but three prophecies in a row had already come true. Even if they didn't want to believe it, they couldn't ignore the cruel fact that the fourth prophecy might also be fulfilled.
Conspiracy theories about the Ministry of Magic and Umbridge spread through Hogwarts like wildfire.
These rumors were not friendly to Umbridge, and the reason given for Trelawney's dismissal was seen as unreasonable.
The claim that Trelawney was a fraud who couldn't make prophecies at all was completely unfounded, and her dismissal looked more like a personal vendetta by Umbridge.
To be honest, Umbridge didn't really care about these whispered criticisms. As long as her methods were harsh enough, she could easily make the students shut their mouths.
What really troubled Umbridge was that her original plan had been completely disrupted. Not only had she failed to gain any advantage, but she had also ended up with a huge mess on her hands, stinking up her entire image.
According to the original plan, Umbridge had intended to install a new professor from the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts, regardless of whether they knew Divination or not. The changes at Hogwarts were making her feel increasingly overwhelmed, and those damn attacks were giving her a headache.
Umbridge needed new helpers; even if they weren't competent, they could at least help share the burden of dealing with the students. However, Dumbledore's decision to hire a centaur as the Divination teacher had turned all of Umbridge's previous efforts into a pipe dream.
This was even more unpleasant than shoving a lump of dung into her mouth.
That day, Umbridge locked herself in her office again and started smashing things. She had lost count of how many times she had done this since arriving at Hogwarts. Her temper had worsened since taking up her post at the school.
It couldn't be helped.
Every time she walked down the corridors, she could hear the students talking about the new Divination teacher or discussing her. The number of students pretending to dry heave against the walls had increased dramatically, and disdainful glares were never in short supply.
Once again, Umbridge had successfully made herself the hot topic among the students of Hogwarts. Although she had been a frequent subject of their conversations over the past few months, none of those previous topics were as creepy as this one—everyone was talking about how Umbridge would eventually end up dying in Azkaban prison.
What exactly had she done to incur the wrath of so many people and be sentenced to life imprisonment?
Many students believed in Trelawney's prophecies, and their gazes toward Umbridge now held a hint of fear. Only the most vicious of wizards would be sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, and terms like 'Dark Wizard' and 'Death Eater' were being associated with Umbridge.
Many students also began to question the current Ministry of Magic. If the Deputy Minister was of such poor quality, what about the Minister, Cornelius Fudge?
Could Fudge be of the same ilk?
They hadn't forgotten that according to Trelawney's words, Minister Fudge would eventually be driven from office by the people, and this would happen by next summer.
It was rare for a Minister of Magic to be driven from office unless they had done something to enrage the wizarding community.
These whispered criticisms made Umbridge incredibly irritable, as she couldn't escape the gossip no matter where she went.
Although Umbridge tried to change this situation and even made examples of a few students by giving them detention, things didn't improve. She could still hear the students' whispers, even if they closed their mouths when she passed by, only to glare at her with disgust and continue their gossip as soon as she was out of earshot.
Albert was truly impressive! In private, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan admired Albert's methods. It had taken them a long time to form the Anti-Umbridge Coalition, and the results hadn't been as effective as they had hoped.
Everyone was afraid of the toad's authority and only dared to grumble behind her back; they didn't have the courage to stand up and rebel.
Most of the time, it was just the three of them causing trouble in the name of the coalition, and even though things had improved somewhat, it couldn't compare to Albert's brilliant maneuverings.
Umbridge was now like a toad being roasted over a fire, not only hated by most of the students at Hogwarts but also attracting a wave of hatred from others. Aside from a small number of Slytherin students, even the other professors at Hogwarts now harbored ill intentions toward her.
Umbridge had been thoroughly isolated! It couldn't be helped; no one wanted her to become Headmistress of Hogwarts.
Just look at the mess she had made as a Senior Investigator; who knew what Hogwarts would become if she were in charge? Even though, according to Trelawney's prophecy, Umbridge would only remain at the school for about another six months, it still made most students feel extremely uncomfortable.
As for Dumbledore?
He seemed oblivious to all of this, and had never paid any particular attention to it, just as Trelawney had said: Dumbledore simply didn't like to bother with such a fool and was too lazy to bother with her.
...
"I just saw the notice on the bulletin board about the resumption of Divination classes in Classroom Eleven," Lee Jordan shared the news he had just seen, "and I heard that the toad plans to drop by to review the centaur's class. Do you think she'll find an excuse to get rid of our new professor?"
"It depends on how crazy the toad is." Fred swallowed the food in his mouth and said bluntly, "I'd like her to try, it would definitely be interesting."
"You two are something else, we didn't even sign up for advanced divination."
George, flipping through the Prophet, couldn't help but interject, "Lucius Malfoy is full of it, his little brat didn't choose divination at all."
"Firenze can't go back to the Forbidden Forest, and I heard from Nearly Headless Nick that Umbridge has been trying to locate the gatherings of Dumbledore's Army. She seems convinced that there's an organization like that within the school." Albert was amazed at Umbridge's madness; he suspected that if Dumbledore were driven out, Hogwarts would descend into chaos, and there might even be a scene where Aurors from the Ministry tried to suppress the students.
It couldn't be helped, with Albert stirring the pot, the domineering Umbridge was being driven mad.
"They won't find it, and even if they do, they won't be able to get in." Fred offered consolation.
"The grounds of Hogwarts aren't that big, they might not be able to get in, but they'll find it eventually." Albert had always believed that preventing them from knowing was the most important thing, "As long as it's found out, the toad will eventually find a flaw, and not letting the toad know is the safest option."
"While you say that, it's not that easy... we can't just disband the DA!" George frowned, thinking of a solution to the problem.
In the end, he decided to share this news with the other DA members and have them help him come up with a plan.
"Where are you going?"
The three of them looked at Albert, who had finished his lunch and was getting up to leave.
"To visit a friend."
"Albert does know that centaur, then." Fred watched Albert's departing figure and said to the two beside him, "See, I win."
"You don't have any proof, no, you don't have any proof at all." Lee Jordan reminded him.
They didn't want to eat a bunch of chili-flavored beans in one go, nor did they want to try the newly developed devilishly spicy candy.
Albert walked through the entrance hall towards Classroom Eleven.
He knocked lightly on the classroom door and waited for the centaur to respond.
"Come in."
Albert pushed open the door and scanned the room. The floor had been transformed into a soft mossy surface, and from beneath it grew lush trees that spanned the ceiling and windows, casting a soft, dappled light from above.
Undoubtedly, Dumbledore had worked his magic to mimic a forest setting, and perhaps only Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had the ability to transform this classroom so quickly.
At that moment, Firenze was sitting in the shade of a tree.
"Albert Anderson." Albert walked into the classroom and introduced himself, "I'm sorry to disturb you, I don't know if centaurs accept owl mail."
"I heard from Hagrid and Dumbledore that you were the one who helped me greatly." The centaur, with his unusually blue eyes, stared calmly at Albert with his platinum blond hair, "Even without you, Hagrid would have helped me out of that trouble, I just reminded him gently."
"To be honest, I didn't sign up for the advanced divination class, and Professor Trelawney's advanced divination class isn't going to help me gain any more useful knowledge."
"I don't mind you coming to my class." Firenze guessed Albert's intention, and Dumbledore had mentioned to him that Albert might be interested in exchanging knowledge about prophecies.
"Thank you." Albert nodded, "I heard that centaurs are very good at divination, and if you don't mind, I'd like to chat with you about centaur divination. To be honest, this is a rare opportunity. In return, I can tell you some things about yourself, and I think that will definitely be helpful to you."
"If what I say offends you in any way." Albert added, "I can apologize to you here, to be honest, I don't understand your customs."
"You haven't offended me, young prophet." Firenze looked at the humble young wizard, feeling more comfortable with him than with the other Hogwarts students. No wonder Hagrid had said he wouldn't dislike him.
"To be honest, this is the first time I've met a wizard who is good at prophecy. I don't know how you humans make prophecies." Firenze looked up at the sky and said softly, "Centaurs lie down to observe the sky and interpret the stars. For those who can read the stars, the fate of our various tribes is already painted there."
"If you don't mind, may I drop by sometime to visit you?" Albert tentatively suggested exchanging knowledge about prophecies, "Humans have a very different understanding of the stars than centaurs."
"No problem, that's the knowledge I originally intended to teach the students here after coming to Hogwarts." Firenze said peacefully.
"Thank you." Albert looked at the centaur and said gently, "I know you've been ostracized and expelled by your centaur clan, but please don't feel discouraged because of that. One day, your tribe will be proud of your choice and welcome you back, so don't regret it."
"I'm surprised." Firenze stared at Albert, his blue eyes filled with undisguised astonishment.
"I saw in my crystal ball that in the near future, you will resign from your position as Divination teacher and return to the Forbidden Forest." Albert explained gently.
"Thank you." Firenze didn't think he was lying; he was probably giving him this information as a reward for agreeing to exchange divination knowledge.
This didn't make Firenze dislike him; on the contrary, this information was very important to him.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Just before he left, Albert paused and turned back, "Be careful of Umbridge, she hates non-human beings, like werewolves, centaurs, and half-giants, so she's very unhappy about your appointment here at Hogwarts."
(End of Chapter)
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