Chapter 1086: Sending You Off
Chapter 1086: Sending You Off
"I hope you can continue to be defiant, now you may leave."
Umbridge glared at Harry with disgust. She did not appreciate his defiance, and so she had no intention of letting him off easily. Though her words said he could leave, she had already decided to make sure this annoying boy suffered at the hands of Filch.
"Harry, let's go."
Hermione pulled Harry, who was still intending to continue his tirade, out of the office, afraid that Umbridge would suddenly change her mind.
"Harry, are you alright!"
As soon as they left the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, the members of the Anti-Umbridge League surrounded the three, asking anxiously.
"I'm fine, just a bit sore," Harry mumbled.
"You shouldn't have been so reckless in provoking Umbridge like that, you're only hurting yourself," Hermione chided, giving Harry a reproachful look as she didn't understand why he had become so rash.
"She dared to use the Cruciatus Curse on you, she belongs in Azkaban," Ernie Macmillan said angrily. He couldn't believe that an official from the Ministry of Magic would use the Cruciatus Curse on a student of Hogwarts.
Ernie's words were met with a chorus of agreement, everyone feeling a mix of anger and unease at Umbridge's cruel methods.
"Let's take you to the hospital wing first and have Madam Pomfrey check you over," Hermione interrupted, her concern for Harry's physical condition taking precedence.
"Oh, yes, let's go to the hospital wing," Ron immediately agreed.
"Before we go to the hospital wing, Potter has to come with me to the dungeons."
A voice interrupted from the side, and Filch appeared from nowhere, accompanied by a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
"Let's go, Potter, this is the Headmaster's order," Malfoy sneered. "Unless you want to be expelled."
The next moment, the corridor filled with a tense atmosphere as both sides pointed their wands at each other, ready for a fight.
"Do you want to be in detention as well?"
Filch glared at the defiant group, threatening them with the whip in his hand.
However, he didn't dare to further provoke the students and instead turned to Harry, "You were quite defiant earlier. I hope a trip to the dungeons will cool you off. Let's go!"
"Don't get too happy, your time will come," Harry glanced at Malfoy and followed Filch to the dungeons.
"Harry..."
In full view of everyone, Harry was locked in a cage at the bottom of the castle, and unlike the Weasley twins, he was not hung by his ankles. Perhaps Filch had intended it this way.
"Looks like they really want me to escape from here, so they can kick me out for any reason," Harry kicked the gate a few times in frustration, then said to Hermione and Ron outside the iron gate.
"That toad really knows how to be annoying."
"Harry, are you alright? You've been..." Hermione worriedly watched Harry, noticing his unusual irritability earlier. Something was definitely not right, as this was not like him at all.
However, what surprised Hermione even more was that Harry actually used magic to open the gate.
"Harry, you..."
Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Harry waved his wand and cast the Muffliato curse.
"Harry, how do you feel?"
Ron, who had checked that the corridor was clear of eavesdroppers, asked worriedly. Harry had just taken two Cruciatus Curses from Umbridge, and although he seemed fine, they were still concerned. There was a reason why the Unforgivable Curses were called such.
"I'm fine," Harry took off a necklace and put the specially made defensive necklace into his pocket. "This thing isn't as useful as I thought, it doesn't really weaken the Unforgivable Curses."
"Harry, you..." Hermione looked at Harry, then turned to Ron, surprised and speechless. "You actually..."
Hermione had felt that something was off with Harry and Ron earlier, but she didn't know what they were up to. She suspected that they wanted to trick Umbridge into going into the Forbidden Forest to look for the so-called secret base of the Order of the Phoenix, so that the Aurors from the Ministry would have to fight those giant spiders.
Was that even possible?
In Hermione's opinion, the probability was very low.
"Recently, Umbridge has been troubled by Fred and George. If we don't give her some information, she won't let this go. She'll come looking for trouble sooner or later," Harry took a purple potion from Ron and drank it to relieve the pain caused by the Cruciatus Curse.
Umbridge herself wasn't very strong in magic, so the power of the Cruciatus Curse she used was quite average, especially compared to what Harry had experienced from Voldemort.
"This should be the end of that toad, right?" Ron mumbled, "A lot of people overheard her using the Cruciatus Curse on Harry."
"As for Umbridge, using Veritaserum and the Cruciatus Curse on students, I think those two things should be enough to send her to Azkaban." Harry rubbed the spot where he had been struck by the Cruciatus Curse and scowled.
"It looks like the old fraud's prophecy is coming true again." Ron murmured, "I always thought she was just a crazy old coot."
"You really think that old fraud could pull off something like that?" Harry scoffed, "I bet that was definitely Albert's doing."
Harry's actions had been prompted by a reminder from Albert, or rather, Albert had warned him through Fred and George.
If Umbridge really did use the Cruciatus Curse, then when Fudge lost power, they could make her pay for it. He believed that as long as the next Minister of Magic wasn't a fool, they would know what to do.
"You... so... Harry, did you deliberately provoke Umbridge just now to make her use the Cruciatus Curse on you?"
Hermione had figured out what they were up to, and she looked at Harry and Ron with a complicated expression. The strange behavior they had been displaying was, in fact, intentional.
"Deliberately? No, Hermione, it wasn't deliberate. If that toad hadn't used the Cruciatus Curse, none of this would have happened. No one forced her to do it, and you saw that she even came up with a ridiculous excuse for herself." Harry held up the back of his hand, his tone cold: "In the end, it was Umbridge who sealed her own fate. If I were her, I would be more concerned about those prophecies, especially since most of them have come true."
To be honest, Harry had never hated and loathed someone as much as he did at that moment, not even Voldemort.
So, when Fred and George approached him about Umbridge's actions, he had almost immediately agreed, intending to make the toad pay a price instead of letting her off the hook.
"You should have told me." Hermione chided, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.
"You definitely wouldn't have agreed." Harry shook his head.
After making sure no one was eavesdropping, Harry cast the Muffliato curse once more before filling Hermione and Ron in on the details.
"Fred and George told me that even if Dumbledore is reinstated as headmaster, the most that will happen to Umbridge is that she'll be kicked out of school." Harry's face twisted with suppressed anger and disgust as he continued, "They believe that Umbridge will likely be suspended from her duties pending an investigation into allegations of abuse of power, and there's still a high probability that she'll return to her position as Senior Undersecretary at the Ministry of Magic instead of being fired and arrested for her actions at Hogwarts."
"Just a suspension for all the despicable things she's done at Hogwarts? And she might still end up back in her high-ranking position at the Ministry?" Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief, wondering if she had heard him correctly.
"That's most likely what will happen. I don't understand politics, but this speculation is probably accurate, even if it came from Fred and George. While I'm reluctant to admit it, Albert's predictions are usually spot on, and he rarely makes mistakes." In Harry's opinion, Umbridge's actions were more than enough to land her in Azkaban countless times over, and the thought of such a despicable person continuing to cause harm after wreaking havoc at Hogwarts was unacceptable. Harry despised the Ministry.
So, he chose to trust Albert's assessment and agreed to increase the stakes, personally ensuring that Umbridge got what she deserved.
"Now, even if Umbridge manages to escape unscathed for the time being, I will use the 'Prophet Daily' or the 'Defense Courier' to accuse her of abuse of power during her time at school, especially with regards to the use of Veritaserum and the Cruciatus Curse. That should be enough to tear off her ugly mask." Harry's slightly sinister expression made Hermione feel deeply uneasy.
"Hermione, you don't think we should just let that toad get away with it, do you?" Ron turned to Hermione, and the reason they hadn't informed her of their plan earlier was precisely because they were concerned she wouldn't agree.
"No, of course not... I mean, the next Minister of Magic won't be a fool like Fudge, right?" Hermione replied, confused. "They'll surely choose a wizard with backbone to stand up to the mysterious person, not someone weak and incompetent like Fudge."
"Who knows?" Harry shook his head. "Politics is often not as simple as you think, even though I don't understand it either. But I'm not counting on the Ministry to punish Umbridge; they're unreliable and untrustworthy. In fact, aside from power struggles, they're good for nothing. Since the Ministry is useless, I'll personally send Umbridge to Azkaban."
(End of Chapter)
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