Chapter 1064: Chaos
Chapter 1064: Chaos
As soon as Umbridge took office, she began to scheme and form cliques to consolidate her power and position at Hogwarts. She was well aware that she couldn't control the school alone, and Filch, whom she had previously tried to woo, wasn't as reliable as she had imagined. She needed more accomplices to help share the burden and, at the same time, create discord and divert the students' attention.
Thus, the Inquisitorial Squad was soon established by decree of the Educational Decree. Umbridge intended to use these privileged positions to draw the influential Slytherin students to her side, knowing full well that the descendants of these pure-blood wizards relished such privileges.
With no one to hinder her, Umbridge directly appointed Malfoy and his gang as members of the Inquisitorial Squad, bestowing upon them various powers and a silver "I" badge as a symbol of their new status.
As Umbridge had hoped, chaos soon engulfed Hogwarts. Empowered, the Slytherins became arrogant and began to use their newfound authority to oppress the students from the other three houses, successfully diverting their attention.
Within just half a day, the situation had deteriorated. Aside from Slytherin's emerald in the Hourglasses, the gems representing Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff had diminished significantly.
Students from the three houses glared at the arrogant group with gritted teeth, wishing they could teach them a lesson with their wands.
In the face of Malfoy's provocation, Harry managed to restrain himself, looking with disgust at the Malfoy trio as they left, laughing loudly.
"Damn it!"
Ron kicked the wall hard, wishing he could take them all down. It was Malfoy's gang who had subdued Ginny.
"What are Fred and George up to?"
"Calm down, Ron," Hermione advised.
"How can I be calm after what just happened?" Ron punched the wall again.
"Now is not the best time," Harry said, his face gloomy as he watched Malfoy's retreating back.
At the very least, they couldn't openly beat them up, or they would be inviting unnecessary trouble.
Everyone seethed with anger, despising the so-called Inquisitorial Squad and loathing Umbridge even more.
Those who had previously taken swings at Umbridge felt they hadn't hit her hard enough. Why hadn't they slapped that toad hard enough to send her to the hospital wing?
Many students sought out Albert, hoping he could help come up with a plan.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, experienced in causing mischief, certainly weren't going to sit idly by. In their eyes, the arrogant Inquisitorial Squad was nothing but a bunch of bullies, perfect guinea pigs for testing prank products.
The trio gathered members of Dumbledore's Army, intending to form a counterforce against the Inquisitorial Squad, armed with tips from Albert.
Following Albert's guidelines, George outlined their strategy: "You don't need to pay attention to their provocations. The more you react, the more they'll be encouraged. So, just ignore the Inquisitorial Squad. Pretend you don't see them, especially when they're trying to pick a fight. It'll frustrate them even more because they won't be able to show off. Of course, you can also give them looks that say, 'I think you're an idiot.' As for the point deductions, well, our points are already so low, let them deduct more if they want to."
To strike back at the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge, the Weasley twins officially announced that they would be offering their prank products at a massive discount—a bleeding price—so that everyone could arm themselves to take on the evil toad.
While the anti-Umbridge alliance secretly plotted their countermeasures, the poltergeist, Peeves, who had been waiting for Dumbledore to leave, finally let loose.
Gone were the days of merely overturning tables, toppling statues and vases, or popping out of blackboards during class. With Albert's special funding, Peeves was now well-equipped and more mischievous than ever.
During the Dark Arts class, Peeves threw a Laughter Bomb into the classroom, causing students who had been in the middle of a lesson to rush out, laughing uncontrollably.
Umbridge, herself laughing uncontrollably, was soon hit by a Dung Bomb. She trembled as she laughed, staring at Peeves, who was throwing dung bombs and making a disgusted face.
Pu! Pu! Pu! Three dung bombs hit Umbridge's face in full view of everyone, after which Peeves made a dismissive gesture, pinching his nose, before flying away, laughing hysterically.
However, strangely, as everyone watched Umbridge laugh uncontrollably, they found the whole situation rather amusing.
Ever since Peeves started causing trouble, strange occurrences began to happen one after another in the school.
At night, several students claimed to have seen a terrifying giant in the corridors, and screams echoed throughout the castle.
Umbridge even called in Aurors from the Ministry of Magic to search the castle and grounds, but they found no trace of any giant.
According to Nearly Headless Nick, who had overheard some gossip, Umbridge suspected that Hagrid might be involved in the incident because he had giant blood.
As soon as Albert entered the Great Hall, he heard a chaotic roar. Several Fanged Flyers zoomed over the students' heads, their growls echoing throughout the hall, almost twisting Filch's nose out of shape.
Whenever a Fanged Flyer flew overhead, the students instinctively ducked to avoid being bitten on the head.
For those unlucky enough to be bitten, Peeves the Poltergeist kindly offered a free haircut, resulting in students sporting all sorts of bizarre hairstyles as they headed to class.
An exasperated Umbridge attempted to address the students' hair issues, but the meager knowledge lurking in her brain was insufficient to resolve the problem.
Losing her temper, Umbridge resorted to using the Blasting Curse to destroy the Fanged Flyers. Unfortunately, the spell caused them to explode right above the students' heads, startling everyone and sending several students to the hospital wing.
In the end, Umbridge resorted to a comical solution—she instructed Filch to swat the Fanged Flyers down with a mop handle.
As expected, Filch's efforts were futile, and he only ended up with a face full of goo courtesy of Peeves.
Umbridge could only watch helplessly as students with all sorts of eccentric hairstyles appeared in class. Of course, not all of them were victims of Peeves; some had purchased instant hair dye sprays and styling potions from Fred Weasley.
Just as Umbridge needed help, the Inquisitorial Squad began to experience a series of mishaps.
Draco Malfoy's head turned a vivid emerald green, with a tiny flower sprouting from it.
As for the lackeys, Goyle and Crabbe, one had spring onions growing out of his nose and ears, while the other suffered from a terrible skin condition that made it look like he was covered in cornflakes.
The unfortunate Montague ended up with diarrhea and fainted in the toilet, reportedly discovered in a putrid state.
Pansy Parkinson grew deer antlers and a pig snout, and her photos quickly spread like wildfire around the school.
Cassius Warrington was found in a girls' bathroom, half-pantsed and sitting on a toilet, with blood gushing from his nose. One could only wonder what he had been up to.
Other members of the Inquisitorial Squad faced various misfortunes, rendering them unable to provide any assistance to Umbridge.
In fact, they successfully directed a wave of hatred toward her.
However, Umbridge couldn't bring herself to feel happy about it, as she encountered her own set of problems upon entering the Dark Arts classroom. The students started fainting, vomiting, developing high fevers, and even bleeding from their noses.
Most of them had to be sent to the hospital wing, leaving only the stunned Slytherins behind.
What infuriated Umbridge the most was their insistence on calling their condition "Umbridge Syndrome."
A frustrated Umbridge ordered Madam Pomfrey to cure them and find the source of these mysterious ailments. However, Madam Pomfrey claimed she was powerless to help, and even if the students were cured, they could still relapse at any time.
Umbridge refused to believe such nonsense. She was convinced that someone was playing a trick on her—how could all the students fall sick at the same time, and only during her class? It was obvious that they were resisting her teaching methods.
Umbridge responded by imposing detentions, attempting to force the students to reveal the cause of their ailments. However, she still couldn't find the root of the problem, and to make matters worse, she began exhibiting symptoms herself. For instance, while giving detentions, she would suddenly faint, retch, bleed from her nose, or develop a fever.
Even though she knew someone was causing trouble, she had no way to pinpoint the culprit.
In the end, she had no choice but to concede, allowing the bleeding, fainting, and vomiting students to leave her classroom in droves. She also had to avoid her own class to prevent contracting these bizarre symptoms.
Umbridge's surrender didn't mean the end of the matter.
After the previous incidents, the students were wary of Umbridge's schemes and believed that her offer might be another plot. They remained cautious, especially those from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, as no one wanted to end up like Colin and Ginny.
What everyone wanted to know now was: When will the toad be gone?
And the topic Albert heard most frequently was: How can we get rid of Umbridge?
Umbridge was undoubtedly the most unpopular Headmistress, if she could even be called that.
With a group of rebellious students eager to stir up trouble, Umbridge's days were far from peaceful. Especially after the Inquisitorial Squad ended up in the hospital wing, her stress levels soared, and her temper became even more volatile. However, it was all to no avail, especially with Peeves the Poltergeist acting like a devil and constantly causing her trouble. He made her life miserable, and the moment she let her guard down, he would grab her ears and shriek, "Got your ears, got your ears!"
(End of Chapter)
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