Chapter 1087: Conspiracy, Conspiracy
Chapter 1087: Conspiracy, Conspiracy
Umbridge highly valued the intelligence she had "pryed" from Harry and Ron, and immediately reported this "good news" up the chain of command. In response, Fudge heaped praises on her.
However, it was incredibly challenging to stamp out the potential danger in its infancy.
Fudge couldn't possibly deploy the elite Aurors from the Ministry of Magic to eradicate the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. Even if he dared to issue such an order, the Aurors would refuse. The Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest were even more dangerous than Dark Wizards, and even the most elite Aurors might lose their lives there.
Hence, the best solution was to capture Fred and George and force them to reveal the method of entering the secret headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, which was more reliable than trying to destroy the Acromantula nest.
Due to this, Umbridge received Fudge's appointment to handle the matter at her discretion.
"What if Albert Anderson steps in to stop it?"
Before leaving, Umbridge couldn't help but voice her concern.
"After all, Anderson and the Weasley family are close friends. I suspect that the Weasley's actions are supported by him. As we all know, the Weasleys are not well-off financially."
Although there was no evidence, her years of work instinct told Umbridge that Anderson was suspicious and likely to be pulling strings behind the scenes.
"If that guy tries to stop you from capturing the Weasleys, arrest him as well," Fudge said coldly. "I'm sure a few months in Azkaban will cool down his clever mind." He would never tolerate anyone trying to overthrow him.
Absolutely no one! "I will handle this matter properly," Umbridge replied, her mood brightened as she returned to Hogwarts.
However, this good mood didn't last long. The plan to capture Fred and George did not go as smoothly as imagined; they didn't even catch a glimpse of the twins. On the contrary, the movement against Umbridge was gaining momentum.
With the Marauder's Map, Fred and George could easily evade the search and toy with Umbridge and her crew.
Filch, the unlucky caretaker who had sided with Umbridge, became one of the special targets of the Anti-Umbridge League. He had to visit the school hospital daily, and it was almost becoming his new home.
"Damn it, damn them all!"
At this moment, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, a furious Umbridge was venting her anger by smashing things.
Umbridge found it hard to imagine that she had been ambushed by those despicable people. When she woke up, she found herself covered in a layer of stinky mud, crouching on the teacher's platform in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom like a toad, and there was anti-Umbridge propaganda and a drawing of her as a toad with a snake protruding from her mouth on the blackboard behind her.
What made Umbridge even angrier was that she had maintained that posture on the platform for an entire class period, yet no one had come to release her from the Full-Body Bind Curse.
"Ma'am, we'll have to think of something else," Filch said dejectedly. "We won't be able to catch those little beasts with ordinary methods."
The caretaker had given up on trying to catch Fred and George through conventional means. Just a few days ago, he had encountered the twins out after curfew, and not only had they frozen him in place with a curse, but they had also soaked his clothes, causing him to catch a severe cold.
"You're right; we must think of something else," Umbridge agreed, tired of this cat-and-mouse game.
She realized that the methods used against students were ineffective against the Weasley twins; they should be treated as the most vicious Dark Wizards.
Indeed, in Umbridge's eyes, Fred and George were more detestable than Dark Wizards.
Because they were trying to subvert the Ministry of Magic.
However, Umbridge could do nothing for the time being.
Just then, there was a hurried knock on the door.
"Come in."
Umbridge adjusted her emotions and put on a fake smile again.
"Professor Umbridge, someone is spreading unfavorable rumors about you around the castle," Malfoy said without preamble, sharing the latest news he had just heard.
"What kind of rumors?" Umbridge had a bad feeling about this.
"Many people are saying that Fred and George Weasley will return to school next month with a secret weapon... They plan to drive you out of the school and send you straight to Azkaban," Malfoy reported, having just heard this from other students.
"I won't let their conspiracy succeed," Umbridge said through gritted teeth. "Absolutely not."
"By the way, it seems that someone threw some Stink Pellets into the Caretaker's office. You can smell the awful stench just passing by. And there's a cat hanging on the wooden door, which is probably their doing as well," Malfoy added, glancing at Filch.
"Damn it, my cat!"
Filch immediately realized what had happened and rushed out of the office.
Watching Filch's departing figure, Umbridge frowned slightly.
"Professor Umbridge, it seems you're in trouble," Malfoy said, feigning concern.
"Mr. Malfoy, if it were you, what effective methods would you use to capture those Weasley brats?" Umbridge asked, turning to the young Malfoy before her. She had some connections with Lucius Malfoy.
"It is said that they know the secret passages of the Ministry of Magic better than anyone else. It won't be easy to capture them using ordinary methods."
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, as if carefully considering the proposed solution, "Perhaps we can start with the resistance organization. There's no doubt that Harry Potter is one of the masterminds behind this conspiracy. We can try to capture them and claim that they are the perpetrators, forcing the Weasley twins to show themselves."
Forcing the Weasley twins to appear?
Not quite.
Malfoy merely wanted to frame Harry Potter and give Umbridge an excuse to expel him from Hogwarts.
"However, even if the Weasley brothers take the fall for all the charges, it won't be easy to capture them." Malfoy added, not forgetting to remind Umbridge of this fact.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, Fred and George's dueling skills were indeed far superior to those of the Investigative Action Group members.
Just two days ago, most of the group members who had encountered Fred and George's attack ended up in the school hospital.
As Umbridge and Malfoy discussed the feasibility of their plan, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor outside, and Filch burst into the office, cradling his cat which had turned stiff as a board.
"Ma'am, please save my cat!"
Mrs. Norris had been petrified once again, her body rigid like a stone statue.
Umbridge furrowed her brows slightly as she gazed at the cat on the table, then, under Filch's expectant gaze, she went through the motions of trying a few spells to no avail, before finally agreeing to take Filch to see Snape.
Regardless, Filch was the only ally she had managed to recruit at Hogwarts, and she wasn't about to give up on him easily.
"It's a powerful petrification spell."
Snape prodded the cat on the table with his finger and offered his assessment.
"Can you cure it?" Umbridge asked bluntly.
"Should be possible."
"Should?"
"If the standard spells don't work, we'll have to try brewing a potion with Mandrake to counter the spell." Snape picked up his wand and attempted to lift the petrification spell from Mrs. Norris.
He tried several methods and found that one of them worked, albeit with poor results.
It took multiple attempts before the cat on the table finally broke free from the petrification spell and regained its mobility.
"Thank you, thank you so much."
Filch held Mrs. Norris close to his chest and repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Snape.
"Those damn brats must be behind this." Umbridge gritted her teeth in anger.
"It's unlikely that students of Hogwarts would be capable of such advanced Dark Magic." Snape disagreed with Umbridge's accusation.
At least, he didn't think Fred and George were capable of such feats.
"There's one person who definitely could." Umbridge asserted confidently.
"You mean Anderson?"
Snape arched an eyebrow at Umridge, suspecting that she was up to something mischievous.
"Yes, him."
"Anderson does have the capability, but the likelihood of him doing something like this is actually quite low." Snape shook his head, feeling that Umbridge was recklessly barreling down a path of self-destruction.
Despite Albert's easygoing demeanor, it was all a facade. He was the type to hold a grudge, and while Snape didn't particularly like him, he couldn't deny Albert's abilities.
"Why?" Umbridge asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Because Anderson isn't a fool." Snape stated bluntly, "A clever person like him wouldn't do something so obvious that anyone could guess his involvement. If he really wanted to take action, you wouldn't even find the cat."
Umbridge fell silent, unable to refute Snape's logic. She quickly changed the subject, "I hope you can prepare the Veritaserum as soon as possible. I'll be needing it very soon."
"It will take at least another half a month, unless you want to poison the user." Snape frowned, feeling that Umbridge was truly intent on causing trouble. He added, "Also, I must remind you that there is an antidote to Veritaserum, and with Anderson's potion-making skills, creating an antidote wouldn't be difficult."
From the start, Snape had no intention of giving Umbridge genuine Veritaserum, so he felt it necessary to give her a heads-up.
The Veritaserum wouldn't work?
Of course, the person in question would have the antidote.
Snape had no qualms about pinning the blame on Albert, as they mutually disliked each other anyway. Besides, he didn't think Umbridge stood a chance against Albert, who had even bested the Dark Lord himself.
After inquiring about the usage of the Veritaserum antidote, Umbridge left Snape's office with a gloomy expression. Her mind replayed the interrogation sessions where she had used Veritaserum on the students. She wondered if any of them had taken the antidote.
After Snape's reminder, Umbridge was certain that the damn mudblood must have secretly prepared the Veritaserum antidote.
As for the others, she hadn't detected any signs of them taking the antidote after ingesting Veritaserum, but one could never be too sure.
How could she lure Fred and George out of hiding?
Umbridge didn't make a decision immediately. Instead, she decided to consult with someone else first.
Even if she succeeded in drawing them out, capturing them would be another challenge. If they managed to escape, it would likely be even more difficult to get another opportunity in the future.
With this in mind, Umbridge shared her plan with Fudge, who then gathered his people to discuss how to simultaneously raid the Order of the Phoenix's secret base in the Forbidden Forest and destroy Dumbledore's carefully crafted secret weapon.
Upon being urgently summoned to the meeting, Kingsley was stunned after hearing Umbridge's plan.
The Order of the Phoenix actually had another secret base? How was it that he knew nothing about it?
The secret base was hidden in the Forbidden Forest, guarded by a large group of Acromantulas?
Are you sure this isn't a joke?
Who would use a group of Acromantulas as guards? The whole thing sounded absurd.
What shocked Kingsley the most was that there were actually people who believed it, and it was none other than the Minister of Magic, Fudge, who seemed ready to lead a team to eradicate the non-existent secret base.
My word, this was truly fantastical.
Kingsley couldn't help but suspect that the so-called secret base might be a ruse concocted by Fred and George.
"Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?" Kingsley cautiously chose his words, "After all, they are just two students who haven't graduated yet. Moreover, if the Ministry of Magic uses Veritaserum on students, it may cause a big uproar."
"They are no longer students, but accomplices attempting to subvert the Ministry of Magic," Umbridge replied with a fake smile on her face.
"What I mean is, this may become an excuse for others to attack the Minister, and lately, I've been hearing some unfavorable rumors," Kingsley didn't continue arguing, merely fulfilling his duty. He still needed to remain by Fudge's side as a spy.
"That's all Dumbledore's scheming." Fudge said angrily, he would never let Dumbledore have his way, nor would he allow that so-called "secret weapon" to destroy his career.
"I need the Aurors' cooperation." Umbridge looked at Sturgis.
"I will get the Aurors to cooperate, but we need the Minister's order." Sturgis reminded her.
"No problem." Fudge said.
That night, the members of the Order of the Phoenix all learned of this news.
Aside from Mrs. Weasley, who was upset by Fred and George's actions, everyone felt that the whole situation was rather peculiar.
"Do we really have another secret base in the Forbidden Forest?" Sirius looked at Mad-Eye with confusion.
"How is that possible? Even if we did, it's unlikely to be near the Acromantula nest," Mad-Eye Moody put down his fork and scoffed, "By the way, didn't Hagrid keep the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest as pets? Who came up with that idea?"
"I don't find it strange that Hagrid would keep giant spiders as pets." Bill couldn't help but interject, "I recall Charlie mentioning that Hagrid also secretly raised a dragon."
"So, what's going on with this situation, and why are Fred and George involved?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, Molly. Fred and George are smart." Arthur whispered reassuringly, "Maybe they just wanted to find a reason to fool Umbridge, and she took it seriously."
"If they really get caught by that old witch." Mrs. Weasley was still worried about her sons, "We need to find a way to warn them."
"I'm sure they've already taken precautions, and this whole thing might even be a prank they orchestrated." Sirius felt that Molly's worries were unnecessary.
"They're not your sons, so of course, you're not worried." Mrs. Weasley glared at Sirius.
"They're adults now, with their own minds." Sirius shrugged, "Moreover, Anderson is more reliable than most people here. If Fred and George do encounter any real trouble, he'll surely be able to resolve it easily, so you don't really need to worry."
He really wanted to say that Molly's worries were unnecessary from the start, but he held back in the end.
"Alright, Molly. You should trust Fred and George." Lupin added, "I'll send a message to Minerva, and she'll definitely find a way to notify Fred and George."
"So, the whole thing is a hoax?"
Tonks, who had been silent until now, asked, "Is the secret weapon to subvert the Ministry of Magic also fake?"
"You'll have to ask Fred and George about that." Sirius shrugged, changing the subject, "I heard they plan to open a shop in Diagon Alley. Have they found a good location yet?"
"It seems they're still negotiating the price." Bill smiled, "They think it's too expensive and expect the price to drop further, so they're planning to wait a bit longer."
"Where did they get the Galleons?" Mrs. Weasley asked in confusion, "The rent for shops in Diagon Alley isn't cheap."
"Rent? No, they want to buy the shop." Bill shook his head.
"Buy the shop?" Mr. Weasley repeated in astonishment.
"It's definitely Anderson providing the Galleons. That guy is richer than you imagine." Sirius wasn't surprised at all.
"I heard he's from a Muggle family." Tonks asked curiously.
"That guy has won numerous Triwizard Tournaments and likes to bet on himself to win. Each time he gives a divination, he charges a few hundred Galleons. What do you think?" Sirius believed that Anderson definitely had other sources of income.
That guy was more reliable than himself and James combined.
If they had been half as reliable as Anderson back then, things might not have turned out the way they did.
(End of Chapter)
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