Chapter 1055: The Old Riddle-Master
Chapter 1055: The Old Riddle-Master
The next day, Umbridge's ordeal at Hogwarts made the front page of the Daily Prophet, and this "heavyweight" news even overshadowed the Ministry of Magic's latest report on the capture of the escaped Death Eaters.
"I can't believe the Ministry has the nerve to blame Dumbledore for this," Angelina Johnson said to Alicia Spinnet as Albert and the others took their seats at the Gryffindor table.
"Are you disappointed that Peeves didn't smash the toad to bits?" Albert asked with a smile as he took the newspaper from Angelina and spread it out on the table to read the headline story.
"It is a bit of a shame. I wish it had driven her out for good," Alicia replied.
"Well, you might be disappointed then," George Weasley said, feeling glum. If it hadn't been for the incident last night, they might have turned Umbridge into a toad and brought a long period of peace to Hogwarts.
Unfortunately, they had missed their chance to act on the day she had first returned from St. Mungo's.
"It's not over yet, and things might get even uglier from here," Albert said, knowing that their plans had been interrupted last night but understanding that sometimes things didn't always go as hoped.
"We'd better hurry up and restock Peeves with some supplies," Fred whispered. "Before Umbridge returns to the school..."
"They're trying to force Dumbledore out of his position, and Fudge probably wants Umbridge to become the new Headmistress of Hogwarts," Albert said, tapping on the content of the second page, which surprisingly included an interview with Lucius Malfoy.
"I doubt the toad will become Headmistress," said Angelina, who had personally witnessed the spectacular way Peeves had taught Umbridge a lesson.
"Don't forget Professor Trelawney's prophecy," reminded Shan Yu.
Many students had forgotten about the prophecies Professor Trelawney had made about Umbridge before she had been sacked during the Christmas holidays.
"I wonder what they're thinking," Angelina said.
"Do you think we could get rid of Umbridge from Hogwarts with Peeves' help?" Angelina asked, hoping that Umbridge would be gone for good so that they wouldn't have to worry about the Quidditch team issues anymore.
"That's not very likely," Albert replied, surprised by Angelina's naive suggestion. "We shouldn't rely on Peeves for something like that."
"Then what should we do?"
Everyone looked at Albert, waiting for him to come up with a solution.
"It's actually quite easy to get rid of Umbridge for good. All we need to do is turn her into an idiot with a strong Obliviate Charm. Or, if you prefer your rather smelly methods, we could make her lose face so badly that she'd never want to stay at the school, but that might give the school a bad reputation and make it hard to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Albert suggested, although he didn't really recommend doing that, at least not at the moment. "Dumbledore wouldn't tolerate such a thing."
"So, what do we do?"
"We can put some pressure on them to stop Fudge and Umbridge from spreading lies about others in the newspaper all the time," Albert said.
"Are we going to write an article, too?" George asked, guessing Albert's intention. He had to admire Albert's sharp words. The previous article, "The Secret Behind the Lies," was clearly written by Albert, or at least the idea had come from him.
Only he could have hit Fudge's weak spot so accurately.
"We can ask Hermione to get her acquaintance to help write an article about the big conspiracy involving the Ministry of Magic, Fudge, and Umbridge," Albert suggested. "Let's expose all the horrible things Umbridge has done at Hogwarts and reveal how they are using this opportunity to try and oust Dumbledore from his position. We can also show how they are helping the Death Eaters gain control of Hogwarts and turn it into a living hell for the students." Albert was already planning to have someone help them publish a book.
Of course, he wouldn't be the one writing the manuscript. He would only provide some ideas, information, and galleons.
"The Death Eaters are trying to take over Hogwarts?"
"When did Umbridge..."
The others were stunned by Albert's statement and didn't seem to understand what he meant.
"Umbridge formed a special investigative squad at Hogwarts," Albert reminded them, noticing their confused expressions.
"You mean they..."
"If you pay close attention, you can count how many of your family members and relatives are on the list of Death Eaters that Harry named," Albert said, folding up the newspaper and spreading jam on a piece of bread. "Aside from Malfoy and his two sidekicks, how many others are there?"
"But..."
"I know it's a bit much to say that the son of a blacksmith is a blacksmith and the son of a Death Eater is a Death Eater," Albert said to Fred and George, "but will you join Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix after you graduate?"
"Of course we will." George suddenly realized.
"Exactly, so why do you think they wouldn't join just because they don't have the Dark Mark on their arms?" Albert countered. "As far as I know, in the last Wizarding War, many Slytherin students became Death Eaters soon after graduating, including... well, you know who. If this war drags on for another decade or so, who knows how many more Death Eaters will emerge?"
"Now, all you need to do is organize your thoughts and pass them on to Hermione's acquaintance, along with some galleons as a token of appreciation. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to help put them together. Then, we can turn them into a magazine or a short story; I think the whole wizarding world needs an explanation, especially regarding the Ministry's apparent negligence in letting the Death Eaters escape."
The more he thought about it, the more intriguing it became.
Not only had the Ministry ignored the warnings and allowed the Death Eaters to escape, but they also weren't actively pursuing them, as if the escapees were merely a few stray dogs that weren't worth the effort of retrieving.
"Should we get Sirius to publish it?"
"No," Albert replied, "_The Defense Daily Prophet_ is already being closely watched by the Ministry. We can publish the article in _The Quibbler_ magazine."
"But hardly anyone reads _The Quibbler_."
"Exactly, and that's why it's perfect," Albert explained. "I doubt the Ministry will pay any attention to it, at least not until it's too late for them to react." Albert's target audience was the students of Hogwarts, who would then influence their parents.
"Also, for us, these are just amusing speculations, so it fits right in with _The Quibbler_."
"Do you think they'll agree?" Fred asked skeptically.
"I'm sure Mr. Lovegood will be willing to dedicate an issue to this article," Albert assured them.
Hearing this surname, many of them guessed what was going on, and Lee Jordan was the first to put the pieces together.
"Well, Valentine's Day is coming up, and we'll be going to Hogsmeade anyway, so let's meet up there. You'd better get to work, too," Albert said, finishing his slice of bread and picking up his bag to head towards the Ancient Runes classroom.
"Do you think Albert's speculations might actually be true?"
Watching Albert walk away, George's expression turned peculiar. Based on his understanding of Albert, the guy had a tendency to speak the truth, or at least a mixture of truth and lies. Considering his words in conjunction with his identity as a Divination expert, it was certainly food for thought.
Fred and Lee Jordan's expressions mirrored George's as they, too, found his words strikingly plausible.
Albert had a knack for mixing truth and lies in a way that made it hard to discern which was which, and it was one of his quirky habits.
"Umbridge colluding with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
Fred thought it was entirely possible; the toad was already evil enough, and becoming a Death Eater didn't seem out of character for her.
"No, I'm more concerned that Albert is hinting that after the fall of the Ministry, Hogwarts will eventually fall under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's control, and Umbridge will become the new Headmistress," George said, staring at Albert's retreating back. He regretted not asking outright.
"If that's the case, it would be a nightmare for the rest of the students," Lee Jordan muttered.
With that, he got up and made his way to the Ravenclaw table to find Luna and discuss publishing the article in _The Quibbler_.
Fred and George, meanwhile, went to find Harry and Hermione to discuss how to use the article to target Umbridge.
Harry readily agreed when he heard it was about dealing with Umridge.
Hermione, on the other hand, indicated that she would write to Rita Skeeter to arrange a meeting in Hogsmeade.
"Rather than this matter, I'm more intrigued by the significance of Albert's article," Hermione frowned. "His writings always carry a unique meaning, but do you think this could be another one of Anderson's prophecies?"
Ron thought Hermione was overthinking it.
"If you're really that curious, why don't you just ask him directly?"
"I don't find it strange at all that Umbridge would side with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, considering the prophecy about her demise," Harry said, staring at the back of his hand. "What worries me is that after the Ministry falls, Hogwarts might fall into the wrong hands as well, and Umbridge could become the new Headmistress. But... surely Dumbledore won't let that happen?"
(End of Chapter)
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