Chapter 1083: Unforeseen Developments
Chapter 1083: Unforeseen Developments
The next morning, the Great Hall of Hogwarts was abuzz with chatter about the "Toad Mark" from the previous night. The discovery of graffiti near the entrance hall, proclaiming "Anti-Toad League," further piqued everyone's curiosity.
Many students suspected Fred and George's involvement, amazed by the twins' audacity. Yet, they secretly relished their bold action. Fred and George had done what others dared not, and many students yearned to join the stand against Umbridge, even if their resistance was limited to words.
Some students tried to coax more details from Albert, speculating that he might be involved as well. Otherwise, where would Fred and George get the courage and confidence to stand up to Umbridge?
Anyone with a bit of sense could guess, even without thinking too hard.
Take, for instance, the toad statue at the entrance hall. Even the Ministry's spell-breaking squad had struggled to remove or destroy it, which spoke volumes about the caster's magical prowess. It was clearly beyond Fred and George's capabilities and could only be the work of Albert, as none of the professors would stoop to such antics.
What surprised everyone the most was the school's muted response to the incident, and Umbridge's sudden absence from the morning's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was peculiar.
It was later revealed why.
Umbridge had been hung upside down by a spell the previous night, left to endure the wind blowing over the Quidditch pitch. It was Snape who eventually rescued her, and now their new headmistress was recuperating in the school hospital.
This was undoubtedly a direct challenge to Umbridge's authority.
Adding to the excitement, there was a crude message written in five-foot-tall letters on the Quidditch pitch: "Umbridge eats dung."
Their caretaker, on the other hand, was fretting over the graffiti on the walls. Not even Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover could completely erase those pesky scrawls.
This minor victory, however, enraged Umbridge, and Ginny and Ron were summoned for questioning without delay.
On the same day, Umbridge abruptly led a group into the Gryffindor common room, raiding Albert's dormitory in hopes of catching Fred and George red-handed.
But Umbridge's efforts were in vain, as the twins' trunks were already empty, as if they had indeed left school early.
"You're very rude," Albert said, moving his chess piece to checkmate Lee Jordan before looking up at the group that had barged in. His tone was reprimanding, as if scolding a group of ill-mannered children. "You could at least knock before entering."
"Where are they?" Umbridge demanded angrily.
"How should I know?" Albert bent down to pick up Tom and headed for the door. "If you want to search the room, go ahead, but don't damage my things, or else... well, I haven't decided yet."
"You lot are beyond comprehension," Lee Jordan said, raising his hand to his head in mock exasperation. "Fred and George aren't idiots. Why would they wait for you to come and catch them?"
The two left the dormitory under the angry glares of the Inquisitorial Squad, but the glares they received from the other Gryffindors were even more intense.
What could they do? The presence of the Slytherin Inquisitorial Squad in the Gryffindor common room naturally incited anger and resentment from the Gryffindor students. Despite Umbridge and Filch's presence, the Gryffindors still yearned to teach the smug Slytherins a lesson.
Search the room?
That suggestion was merely a face-saving gesture, and only a fool would do so, intentionally messing up someone else's room. Did they really think Albert had no temper?
Umbridge merely inspected the room and, upon confirming that Fred and George had indeed left, stormed out in a huff.
"What a foul temper," Albert muttered, watching their retreating figures.
"I think half of it is your doing," a familiar voice commented from the side.
"Nonsense," Albert replied, carrying the cat back into the room. "Why would I be angry with her? It's her poor upbringing that's at fault." Soon after, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs.
The simmering anger of the Gryffindors finally erupted as Umbridge's group was about to leave, and someone—no one knew who—ambushed a member of the Inquisitorial Squad, causing Goyle's toenails to grow wildly.
This sparked a clash between the two groups, and in the scuffle, the Inquisitorial Squad members were no match for the Gryffindors, who knocked them out with Stunning Spells.
The credit for teaching many students useful dueling spells like the Iron-Arm Charm and Stunning Spell had to go to the D.A. gatherings.
"Darn it, they must have jinxed me to lose to Albert," Lee Jordan complained, kicking Montague in the rear.
"Stop making excuses. Unless Albert was going easy on you the entire game, there's no way you could've won," Angelina scoffed.
"Well, you know how it is," he said, bending down to pick up his fallen wand and glancing at the students involved in the brawl.
"Yeah, we know."
"Then let's toss them out. They're an eyesore here."
The group, now bearing the marks of the scuffle, was unceremoniously thrown out of the Gryffindor common room like bulky trash from the entrance.
As everyone celebrated their victory against the toad-like woman, Professor McGonagall stormed into the common room, demanding an explanation for the ruckus.
Everyone feigned ignorance, pretending they hadn't heard or seen anything, as if they had no idea what had transpired.
"Professor, I was in my dormitory soothing Tom, who was startled by the noise," Albert interjected with a helpless expression, implying that he hadn't been present, or he would have stopped the violence.
As for the cause of the conflict, they unanimously blamed the Inquisitorial Squad for initiating the attack on Ron, which had sparked the chaos.
"Yeah, that's right."
One after another, they chimed in, insisting that the Inquisitorial Squad had made the first move, leaving Professor McGonagall exasperated and turning to leave.
"You won't be able to pull the wool over Umbridge's eyes so easily," she warned.
And indeed, Umbridge wouldn't let it slide. Once she had calmed down, she waved her hand and sentenced all those involved in the brawl to detention, regardless of their claims of innocence. They would have to endure her punishment on an empty stomach.
Of course, except for Albert.
He simply ignored Umbridge, and while this infuriated her, the toad-like woman had to temporarily swallow her anger. Albert was beyond her reach, and her attempts at intimidation held no power over him.
Unless they completely fell out, but Umbridge didn't want that.
The matter didn't end there. In the following days, Hogwarts underwent new changes. When everyone headed downstairs for meals, they found two vivid and unflattering paintings stuck to the oak doors of the Great Hall: one of a toad licking Slytherin's snake backside and the other of Fudge kissing the mysterious Dark wizard's backside. The images made Umbridge shake with rage, and she immediately dispatched the Inquisitorial Squad to search for the Weasley twins throughout the castle.
At that moment, the sought-after Weasley twins were comfortably seated in the Gryffindor common room, selling joke items and regaling their peers with tales of their defiance against Umbridge, earning them admiring glances.
"That toad does have people patrolling at night."
"But her only reliable ally is Filch. She's the most pathetic Headmistress I've ever seen."
"She doesn't even deserve the title of Headmistress."
As for Filch, everyone knew his limitations. Though he might know a lot about the secret passages, being a Squib meant he stood no chance against wizards. So, they had employed some tricks to keep him running around in circles.
Umbridge hadn't dared to go on night patrols herself, so there was no need to worry about being caught during their nocturnal adventures.
"You're still here?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were surprised to see Fred and George selling joke items in the common room, as they had assumed the twins had already left Hogwarts.
"Why would we leave?" the twins replied in unison.
"Mum's about to blow a gasket. She's searching everywhere for you two and blaming me for not stopping you," Ron grumbled, his hand hovering over the envelope in his robe pocket as if he wanted to throw it at the twins.
"Don't worry, we just wrote her a letter explaining everything," Fred reassured him.
"They're after you like mad," Harry added.
"They won't find us," Fred said confidently.
"Where are you hiding? In the Room of Requirement?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
"Nope," they replied.
Noticing the other students eavesdropping, Fred and George smiled and said, "We have a place in Hogsmeade. Albert lent us his house, so we can come and go from Hogwarts as we please to continue giving Umbridge a hard time."
"Now, someone needs to step up and tie up that toad's time and energy, preventing her from causing further trouble. After all, we don't really need N.E.W.Ts certificates, do we?"
"But..."
"Don't be foolish, Hermione," Fred scoffed. "If we don't stand up to Umbridge and keep her busy, do you really think she'll let Harry off the hook? That woman genuinely wants to expel him from Hogwarts."
"Fred's right," Harry acknowledged. He believed that Umbridge had been trying to silence him, ruin his reputation, and get him expelled.
"So, what's the plan?"
"Ahem... well, we're hoping to rally more people to join us in kicking Umbridge out," George coughed lightly.
"Our ultimate goal is to unite the students from the other three houses and expel Umbridge from Hogwarts," Fred continued, sharing his grand plan. "Umbridge will be the first professor to be expelled from Hogwarts and will go down in history in 'Hogwarts, A History'. But it won't be easy."
This was because many students preferred to remain neutral.
"We should go find Albert. He'll definitely be able to help."
With that, the group set out to find Albert and also mentioned their recent success in driving Umbridge away.
"Unfortunately, I can't do that, and even Dumbledore would likely find it difficult," Albert said, unfazed by their enthusiastic mood. Instead, he offered them some advice. "You can resist them together, using Fred and George's reputation or the Anti-Toad League's name. Have Fred and George teach you; they're better suited for this kind of thing and know how to deal with the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge."
In just a few days, members of the Inquisitorial Squad were repeatedly sent to the school hospital, and even Umbridge herself was severely beaten by an unknown assailant, her face swollen beyond recognition. This act of defiance shocked the entire Hogwarts community.
The Ministry of Magic launched an emergency investigation but came up empty-handed, as if the supposed riot at Hogwarts had never happened. Their suspicions fell on Fred and George, but the twins were nowhere to be found at Hogwarts, or so it seemed. As for the Room of Requirement, no one could enter unless it was truly needed, so if the twins were hiding there, no one else could get in.
As for Hogsmeade, the Ministry had indeed sent people to search the village for Fred and George's hiding place, but they found nothing.
"Didn't you already search Hogsmeade? Why are you here asking me?" Albert asked calmly, facing an irate Umbridge who had stormed into his presence. "And do you find it amusing that you believed such nonsense and came to question me?"
Fred and George had actually been hiding in Hogwarts all along, in the very dorm room that Albert had occupied. They were living inside a portable box that Albert had prepared, using the laboratory within to experiment with prank items. They were preparing for their upcoming shop opening, taking the opportunity to sell their creations at a discount within Hogwarts, building their reputation while causing trouble for Umbridge.
Umbridge responded by arranging for a reporter from the Prophet to visit Hogwarts and interview Slytherin students, attempting to portray Fred and George as dangerous and unruly students.
However, the ambitious reporter's efforts were thwarted by Fudge, who dared not allow such a report to be published. He had to conceal the truth about Hogwarts quickly and keep Umbridge's misdeeds under wraps. Instead, they sent a "special task force" to patrol the castle, aiming to restore peace to Hogwarts. Of course, this was merely a show of force to intimidate the students and prevent further mischief that would irritate Umbridge.
This "elite" task force from the Ministry was anything but elite.
The very next day, the educational decree posted in the entrance hall had been altered, and Umbridge's enlarged photo of a toad had been hung in the Great Hall for all to admire.
At the same time, a new edition of the "Anti-Toad Guide" began circulating secretly among Hogwarts students, with Fred and George teaching them how to avoid or reduce punishment when defying Umbridge. The "Anti-Toad Guide" quickly became a must-have for Hogwarts students, as everyone felt responsible for standing up to Umbridge.
(End of Chapter)
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