Chapter 1056: A Tactical Retreat
Chapter 1056: A Tactical Retreat
After being thoroughly taught a lesson by Peeves, Umbridge returned from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and seemed to have become much more "well-behaved." She didn't dare to cause any more trouble or bring up the previous incident, as if her experience had transformed her into a "docile" and harmless individual, no longer as aggressive as before.
However, what truly left everyone astounded was Umbridge's request for Filch to take down the Educational Decrees posted on the notice board.
Many students couldn't believe their eyes and found it hard to accept Umbridge's change of behavior. Even Hermione doubted their previous plan to smear Umbridge and asked Albert if they should proceed. On the other hand, Harry remained adamant that everything Umbridge was doing was merely an act.
"A snake that has retracted its fangs is still a snake. She's just biding her time to strike again, rather than foolishly inviting more beatings. It's a simple tactic of retreating to advance," Albert explained, dismissing the idea of a sudden transformation.
"Hermione, don't be fooled by Umbridge's facade," Harry said, lifting his hand to look at the faint scar on the back of his hand. "Remember, I'm still suspended, and my Firebolt is still in her possession. I'd rather trust Anderson's judgment than believe her."
"I didn't... I just find it strange," Hermione said, looking at the now empty notice board and falling into a brief silence. "Maybe she's plotting something else."
Days passed, and no new Educational Decrees appeared on the notice board. Umbridge kept a low profile, only teaching classes and refraining from any other unnecessary actions.
Hogwarts regained its usual peaceful and comfortable atmosphere, as if the half-year-long nightmare had finally come to an end.
Even Harry, who had gotten his Firebolt back and was allowed to return to the Quidditch pitch, was momentarily shaken and doubted if Umbridge had truly reformed. However, the scar on the back of his hand constantly reminded him that he couldn't trust her.
"What do you think Umbridge is up to?"
George, having retrieved his broomstick from Umbridge, asked Albert curiously.
Could Umbridge have truly reformed?
The Weasley twins found that hard to believe.
But the current situation seemed bizarre. What was Umbridge plotting?
"It's a tactical retreat. In her position, she had to back down for now and wait for an opportunity to catch you off guard. Trust me, she'll show her true colors again soon," Albert predicted, surprised that Fred and George were questioning this.
Lack of experience?
Perhaps they hadn't been scammed enough or encountered similar situations, so they couldn't see through Umbridge's strategy.
Of course, it could also be that most ordinary people tended to be easily satisfied.
There were plenty of similar cases, and one had to be scammed to truly understand.
"I see. Umbridge is indeed devious," Fred said, having just gotten his broomstick back.
"Is she really that devious?" Albert asked, his expression strange.
No doubt, this incident would serve as a free lesson for the entire student body.
"We should talk to Harry about this and remind him to stay vigilant so he doesn't fall into her trap," George said, handing his broomstick to Fred as he hurried off to find Harry.
He had already guessed Umbridge's intention—to let everyone lower their guard so she could catch the anti-Umbridge alliance and the Defense Association off-guard.
It could be said that most people were forgetful, especially when it came to matters that didn't directly concern them. Currently, many students were shifting their focus to the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend, which conveniently coincided with the Valentine's Day holiday. Many couples were making plans to spend Valentine's Day in Hogsmeade Village.
Albert quietly observed all of this, wondering when Umbridge would make her move.
Probably... it wouldn't be long now.
There was no choice but to be cautious. The number of members in the DA had grown too large, and with such a huge group, the difficulty of keeping secrets increased exponentially, especially when everyone's guard was down.
It would be all too easy to catch Harry off-guard, especially with the acronym 'DA' so blatantly pointing towards the 'Defense Association'.
Unless Harry approached Umbridge and established a legitimate DA club, but that would be like walking into the lion's den, a dangerous proposition.
No one was a fool.
After some discussion, they decided to first form a Dark Magic Defense Study Group to test Umbridge's attitude.
Strangely, the Dark Magic Defense Study Group was permitted, with the only requirement being that they must not practice Dark Magic or cast malicious curses around the school.
After much deliberation, they eventually renamed the "Defense Association" as the Dark Magic Defense Study Group, allowing their gatherings to be conducted openly and legitimately without fear of Umbridge's interference.
Even Harry was perplexed by this turn of events.
It seemed like a dream, as if everything had returned to normal.
Hermione even paused her original plan to smear Umbridge, and the materials she had gathered were now in Albert's hands.
"You guys send these to Rita Skeeter for me," Albert said, surprised by the group's naivety, perhaps a common trait among students sheltered from the harsh realities of the world.
"If all of this is just an act by Umbridge, it's truly terrifying," Lee Jordan muttered as he took the materials.
"It's normal. She's been working at the Ministry of Magic since her graduation. If she didn't have this level of cunning, how could she have become the Director of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office before the age of thirty and climbed to her current position?" Albert found their naivety amusing yet helpless, thinking that perhaps he, too, had been like this once.
Fortunately, his roommates seemed to have a better grasp of the situation after being influenced by him.
Regardless of whether Umbridge was putting on an act or not, the topic of discussion among the students shifted to the upcoming Valentine's Day weekend in Hogsmeade. The anti-Umbridge sentiment faded, and even Peeves, convinced by Albert, stopped causing trouble for Umbridge, as if everything had blown over.
But had it really?
I doubt it.
...
"Are you really going to do that?"
Hermione knew that Albert hadn't given up, and all their plans were proceeding in an orderly manner. They had already set a time to meet with Rita Skeeter, and Luna was on board as well. The Quibbler had agreed to dedicate an entire issue to publishing their article.
"It's always good to be prepared. Even if we don't end up using it, it's fine. It's just a fee for Miss Beetle, and I certainly don't lack galleons these days," Albert said, leaving Ron, who was standing next to him, speechless.
"Is Umbridge's act all a facade?" Harry asked, voicing his suspicions.
"What do you think?" Albert retorted.
"I think it is, but now that the Dark Arts Defense Study Group is a legitimate gathering, there's not much she can do about it, right?" Harry's confusion lay in this point; they were no longer breaking any rules, so what was Umbridge plotting in the background?
"Don't ask me, figure it out for yourselves," Albert replied, continuing to flip through his notes on Dark Arts Defense.
These were notes he had obtained from Professor Flitwick, the former Duelling Champion, containing many of the professor's thoughts and experiences.
"What do you think about Hogwarts possibly falling in the future?" Hermione, no longer fixated on the previous matter, voiced her own concerns.
"It's highly likely. In the prophecy, the Ministry of Magic falls. If the mysterious person truly controls the ministry, influencing Hogwarts would be easy," Albert calmly answered Hermione's question as if it were a trivial matter.
"I feel like my brain has been messed up by Snape. Learning Occlumency hasn't helped me... Anyway, I've been having nightmares more frequently than before," Harry also brought up his own troubles.
"You wanted to block the connection between the two of you, didn't you?" Albert bluntly pointed out Harry's thoughts. "If you really want to master Occlumency, you'll have to spend more time and energy on it diligently, instead of half-heartedly trying and making it worse."
"Harry, Professor Dumbledore wants you to learn Occlumency to protect yourself from the influence of the mysterious person," Hermione earnestly advised after they had left the Room of Requirement.
"Hermione, you don't understand how terrible it feels to have your mind invaded and constantly spied upon. I've also been trying my best to learn, but it's just not working," Harry had to admit that he might not have a talent for Occlumency.
Of course, this might also be due to Harry's desire to figure out the meaning of the corridor that kept appearing in his dreams.
"I think Albert is right, Umbridge probably has some unspeakable secrets. Hermione, what do you think..." Harry quickly changed the subject.
Ron, noticing that Hermione had stopped walking and was staring at the end of the corridor with a puzzled look, asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Hermione replied.
She had spotted a somewhat familiar figure heading towards the Room of Requirement, and she suspected that it might be their student council president.
Even though Katrina was Albert's girlfriend's sister, Hermione always felt that there might be something between those two.
"Hermione?" Harry called out.
"Oh, right, Harry, I think we forgot about Hagrid," Hermione said.
This time, it was Harry and Ron's turn to be confused.
"What about him?" they asked.
"Hagrid is still under observation by the school. We can use this matter to test Umbridge's attitude," Hermione suggested.
"Are we really going to do that?"
Harry was reluctant to approach Umbridge, even though she seemed harmless now. He still didn't want to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, a place that held terrible memories for him.
"We should at least ask about Hagrid's situation," Hermione said to Harry. "You don't want Hagrid to be expelled, do you?"
"Alright then," Harry finally agreed after some hesitation. The trio made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office and soon knocked on Umbridge's door, their presence surprising her. They stated their purpose for the visit.
"As long as Hagrid doesn't bring any dangerous magical creatures into the classroom, I think he can stay at the school," Umbridge gave a vague answer to their inquiry.
However, this left the trio unable to find fault with her.
After all, Hagrid had indeed made the mistake of bringing a Hippogriff and a Blast-Ended Skrewt into the classroom. Umbridge probably didn't even know about Hagrid keeping a dragon, a three-headed dog, and possibly a giant hidden in the Forbidden Forest.
"What do you guys think?"
After leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Hermione asked for their opinions.
"I can't tell, but her smile still makes me sick," Harry still disliked Umbridge and her fake smile.
"Actually, I think worrying about Hagrid being expelled is unnecessary. Don't forget about Old Rumbleton, he's waiting to return to Hogwarts after the toad is gone. Even if Hagrid is expelled, unless it's not Dumbledore who's the headmaster, he'll definitely bring Hagrid back," Ron reminded them, "I'm more concerned about what Hagrid is hiding in the Forbidden Forest. We should remind him about that, and does Dumbledore know about this?"
"Not Dumbledore as the headmaster? Could it be..." Hermione suddenly thought of something and had a bad feeling. She immediately walked in another direction.
"Hermione, where are you going? Aren't you coming with us to find Hagrid?" Harry asked, puzzled by her sudden departure.
"I just remembered something, see you later," Hermione quickly returned to the Room of Requirement, intending to talk to Albert. She had just now come up with a terrible guess.
When Hermione reached the eighth floor, she found that she couldn't enter the Room of Requirement. She tried several times, and the door to the Room of Requirement suddenly opened by itself.
She froze, her mouth slightly agape, as she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
In the room, Katrina was practicing magic, and Albert was personally instructing her.
For some reason, Hermione felt a pang of jealousy. Didn't he say he didn't have time to teach others Dark Arts Defense?
"Is something the matter?" a familiar voice suddenly spoke up.
Katrina also stopped practicing and looked at Hermione with a puzzled expression.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, glancing at Katrina before recounting what had happened when they visited Umbridge earlier.
"She didn't agree to anything," Albert felt that Hermione had come to him for another reason, but he reminded her anyway, "In fact, you can't always take people's words at face value, even if they're written and signed in a contract."
"Um..."
Hermione glanced at Katrina again and ultimately didn't ask her question, as she feared the worst-case scenario.
"You're quite popular, aren't you?"
After Hermione left in a hurry, Katrina curiously asked, "I've always been wondering, isn't Isabelle jealous? How come she's not angry?"
"Because outstanding boys are always popular. She knows that no one can take me away from her, so why would she be angry or jealous?" Albert turned to ask, as if he was merely stating a fact.
Katrina ignored Albert and continued to practice her magic, seizing the opportunity to learn while he was personally guiding her.
(End of Chapter)
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