Chapter 1091: The Great Hogwarts Riot
Chapter 1091: The Great Hogwarts Riot
"So, you gave that old hag Umbridge a good whipping, hung the Aurors who captured you on the corridor walls, and then ran away?"
Isabelle tilted her head, looking at the yawning Albert beside her, and couldn't help but cover her forehead, expressing her exasperation with him.
"If I didn't run, was I supposed to stay and take on the entire Ministry of Magic?" Albert buried his head deeper into his pillow, yawning again. He looked exhausted.
"It's rare to see you lose your temper."
In Isabelle's opinion, Albert must have been truly enraged. Otherwise, he would never have acted so impulsively, as he usually maintained his calm.
Hanging the Aurors on the walls and giving the Deputy Minister of Magic a thorough beating—these actions were tantamount to slapping the Ministry of Magic in the face.
If Albert had wanted to, he surely could have found another solution or even nipped the whole thing in the bud.
"I didn't lose my temper," Albert mumbled. "Sometimes you just can't back down, or people will think you're easy to bully. Sometimes people are just asking for a good lesson."
Of course, that was just one of the reasons for his actions.
The main reason was to complete the panel task, reap the benefits, and take the opportunity to teach Umbridge a lesson while venting his own emotions. He had also intended to assert his authority over the Ministry of Magic and win over the students of Hogwarts at the same time.
As for the consequences, they weren't actually that serious.
After all, the news of Voldemort's resurrection would be spreading soon.
With minimal drawbacks and a host of benefits, why not go for it?
"So, you dropped out of school. What are you planning to do now?"
In fact, the last sentence was the key point, and Isabelle was a little worried that Albert's decision to drop out had something to do with a major event, most likely involving the mysterious person.
"I didn't drop out," Albert said as he rolled over and buried his head in Isabelle's lap. With his eyes closed, he murmured, "It won't be long before Professor Dumbledore returns to Hogwarts. I'll go back and take the N.E.W.T.s, and then I can graduate from Hogwarts as planned." He paused, snuggling into Isabelle's embrace. "So, I'm just taking a little break."
"Honestly..."
Isabelle's voice trailed off as she slowly closed her eyes.
As Albert drifted into a peaceful slumber, Fudge, who was awaiting news in the Minister's office, grew increasingly irritable.
He had been waiting for a long time but still hadn't received any message from Umbridge.
Not a single word! This naturally led to Fudge's overactive imagination.
Even with his limited intellect, he realized that something might have gone wrong with Umbridge, or she would have sent some sort of message by now.
Even if the capture operation had failed, Umbridge would have reported back to him. But what did this complete silence mean?
Fudge dispatched his most capable assistant, Percy Weasley, to Hogwarts to find out what was going on.
The outcome was predictable. As soon as Percy emerged from the fireplace, he was stunned by the scene before him.
Umbridge's office looked like it had been hit by a bomb. There were charred marks everywhere, shattered remains of cat-themed plates and bowls on the walls, and the office's sole window had been blown out, leaving a gaping hole. Deafening booms reverberated throughout the castle, and the dark night sky was illuminated by colorful fireworks, as if celebrating some festival.
A bad premonition crept into Percy's heart as he hurried out of the office, only to find a firework-composed toad hopping in the corridor. Strange firework sticks wrote insults directed at Umbridge in mid-air.
The place was deserted.
Percy searched for any sign of people, even though most students would have returned to their common rooms at this time. But given the current situation, the absence of people was highly unusual.
Along the way, Percy encountered various noisy fireworks that seemed to be flying all over the school. Among them were some quite remarkable ones—fireworks in the shapes of dragons, lions, eagles, and badgers, but he didn't see any snakes.
No, it seemed that the snakes had been replaced by frogs.
These fireworks were most likely the handiwork of Fred and George, but that wasn't the main issue. The question was, where were the Aurors and Umbridge?
Given Umbridge's personality, she wouldn't have allowed Hogwarts to descend into chaos like this. Something must have happened.
Don't tell me the Aurors and Umbridge have been taken care of?
While there had been similar precedents, it was hard to imagine Fred and George pulling it off. The Aurors were the elite of the wizarding world, skilled in dealing with wizards.
However, all signs pointed to the possibility that this guess might be true.
The castle was deserted, and even the ghosts had disappeared.
In a hurry, Percy rushed to the school hospital, where Madam Pomfrey was usually steadfast at her post.
Seeing the lights on in the hospital, Percy breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made his way inside. He found Madam Pomfrey in one of the compartments, flipping through a magazine.
"Madam, what's going on in the school? Where is everyone? And where's Professor Umbridge and the Aurors?" Percy blurted out his questions in rapid succession.
"Everyone is attending a banquet in the Great Hall," Madam Pomfrey replied. "As for Professor Umbridge, she's lying over there."
"Madame Pomfrey pointed to the bed and said, 'I heard she was whipped hundreds of times and is still unconscious. However, her injuries aren't severe.'"
"Hundreds of times."
Percy quickly spotted Umbridge, wrapped up like a mummy, her mouth slightly agape.
"I'm not too clear on the specifics either," Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "If you have any doubts, I suggest you go to the Great Hall and ask around."
Seeing that Madame Pomfrey didn't seem inclined to say more, Percy hurried off toward the Great Hall, hoping to figure out what had transpired.
Descending the stone steps to the first floor, Percy immediately spotted Filch, pinned in place by a spell with fireworks erupting all around him.
The hapless caretaker was covered in Educational Decrees.
Percy soon took in the scene on the first floor, which seemed to have been the site of a fierce battle. Worse still, Percy now knew where the Aurors had gone.
Yes, he knew.
Because Percy had just seen those Aurors, hung up like clothes, neatly arranged along the corridor leading to the entrance hall.
This sight left Percy stunned.
Who...did this?
Percy tried to bring the Aurors down, but his spell failed to release them from their magical bonds.
Noisy commotion continued from the adjacent Great Hall, and Percy sneaked a peek inside, finding that indeed, as Madame Pomfrey had said, the students of Hogwarts were holding a banquet, with most of the school in attendance, except for a portion of Slytherin students.
Percy dared not enter.
After all, the Aurors were hanging on the walls, and he might be next if he ventured in. That wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
Hurrying back to the Ministry, Percy immediately conveyed this astonishing news to Fudge.
"You mean to say there's a rebellion at Hogwarts?" Fudge stood up abruptly, his hands pressing down on the table, accidentally knocking over the chair behind him.
"It's probably not a rebellion," Percy chose his words carefully, analyzing the situation. "The capture operation likely failed."
"In any case, the situation is complicated. The Aurors have all been knocked out and hung on the corridor walls of the first floor. I couldn't release them from the spell, so it's best to send a spell-breaking squad to get them down."
"As for Professor Umbridge, Madame Pomfrey said she was viciously whipped hundreds of times and is currently being treated at the school hospital."
Fudge's face twitched, unsure how to respond, but he had a foreboding feeling that this was a big deal.
"Go notify Scrimgeour, and dispatch a spell-breaking squad and a crisis management team to accompany me to Hogwarts." Fudge issued orders without delay. "This matter must be kept from the press at all costs."
"Yes, Minister, I'll go at once." Percy rushed off to notify the others.
"Is it true, Fudge?"
Scrimgeour glared at Fudge, his face grim. He regretted helping these blunderers, and now, the entire Auror office would become a laughingstock in the wizarding world.
"The situation is dire," Fudge replied, his face equally grim.
"Dire?" Scrimgeour's lips twitched.
"Something must have happened that we're not aware of," Fudge sighed heavily. "We'll soon find out the details."
Fudge apparated directly into Umbridge's office, his brow furrowing at the sight that greeted him.
Outside, it was like a festival, with the sound of fireworks exploding everywhere.
"Follow me," Percy led the way.
A dozen members of the spell-breaking squad and crisis management team began attempting to clear the fireworks along the way, but they found it ineffective. One of the toads, struck by a spell, inflated to a larger size before rushing toward them and exploding violently. After that, they gave up on trying to get rid of the pesky fireworks.
When they finally reached the first floor of the castle, they were once again shocked by the sight of the Aurors hanging in the corridor.
"This..."
Fudge was so angry he was speechless.
"Get them down."
Scrimgeour exuded a chilling aura, looking as though he wanted to kill someone.
"It's difficult," one of the squad members replied. "The Aurors have been bound by a powerful spell, and it won't be easy to release them."
The spell-breaking squad tried to remove the spells from the Aurors and reported the situation to Fudge.
"Just get them down, now!" Fudge snapped, his temper frayed. He left Scrimgeour in charge of the situation and headed toward the noisy Great Hall with some members of the crisis management team.
At that moment, Fudge only wanted to understand what had happened at Hogwarts.
He reached the entrance of the Great Hall and observed the raucous crowd, unsure what they were celebrating but sensing their jubilant mood.
"Silence!"
Fudge pointed his wand at his throat and shouted at the Great Hall.
The noise in the Great Hall gradually died down, returning to silence once more, as all eyes turned to Fudge.
"It's the Ministry of Magic, those scumbags!" someone shouted from the crowd.
"They wanted to come and judge us again."
Countless students drew their wands, firing Stunning Spells and Disarming Charms at the entrance of the Great Hall.
The crisis management team members felt a sense of foreboding as they saw the outraged students. They quickly raised their wands to shield Fudge, but it was a futile effort as the sheer number of students overwhelmed them, and they were blasted away.
If it weren't for Percy's quick reflexes in pulling Fudge back, the latter would have likely been knocked out by a spell as well.
"Stop, stop right now! I am the Minister of Magic; you can't treat me like this!" Fudge struggled free from Percy's grip and shouted angrily.
However, his response was met with more spells.
"They've gone mad, they're planning to rebel!" Fudge was exasperated.
"Calm down, Minister." Percy grabbed Fudge's shoulders and shook him vigorously while shouting, "Calm down, calm down!"
"Alright, thank you, Weasley." Fudge took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"What did Umbridge do?" Scrimgeour looked furious. From the abnormal and extreme actions of the Hogwarts students, it wasn't difficult to guess that they had been thoroughly provoked.
"Maybe we should talk to them and find out exactly what happened." Percy took a deep breath and suggested.
"Minister, Mr. Robards has woken up." A member of the Spell-Breaking Squad called out to them. It had taken a lot of effort for the squad to remove the spells from Gadwin Robards.
"What's the deal with those robes?"
Fudge noticed the robes still stuck to the walls and frowned as he asked the curse-breaker.
"Permanent Sticking Charm, we can't get them off." The captain of the squad explained.
"Permanent Sticking Charm?"
Scrimgeour looked at the neatly stuck robes on the wall, his expression ugly. This would forever be a stain on the reputation of the Aurors.
"Gadwin, tell me, what happened here? Why were you all hung up like this?" Scrimgeour questioned his deputy.
"Sorry, we messed up." Gadwin Robards hung his head in shame.
"We don't want to hear your apologies, tell us the reason."
"I'll tell you then!"
A sharp voice rang out from behind.
As everyone turned, they saw Professor Flitwick approaching with a group of professors, followed by a large group of students brandishing their wands. The surrounding wizards tensed up, as no one liked having wands pointed at them.
No one dared to underestimate these students, especially after seeing several unfortunate souls lying unconscious.
Professor Flitwick calmly recounted the whole incident, from Umbridge's attempt to judge the students, to Fred and George setting off fireworks all over the castle, and finally, escaping the Aurors' trap.
Umbridge believed that Albert was helping them, and when Professor McGonagall tried to reason with Umbridge, she was attacked by the Aurors and sent to St. Mungo's for emergency treatment.
The Aurors' actions thoroughly enraged Albert, who single-handedly took down all the Aurors and hung them on the wall.
Among them, two members of the Hit Wizard Unit who tried to interfere in the duel and ambush Albert were sent to St. Mungo's after being hit by a Full-Body Bind Curse. Additionally, Umbridge, who had used the Cruciatus Curse to ambush Albert, was punished by being whipped hundreds of times.
Professor Flitwick's account left everyone stunned.
What they found most unbelievable was that the legendary genius had single-handedly taken down all the Aurors by himself?
It was simply incredible.
Fudge wanted to refute, but seeing the wands pointed at them, he swallowed his words.
"Is what he said true?" Scrimgeour glared at his deputy, his face dark.
A group of people dueling a single person, and yet they were all taken down by him. It was a complete embarrassment for the Aurors.
"We didn't intend to capture Albert, but someone took it upon themselves..." Gadwin Robards didn't finish his sentence, but Scrimgeour understood.
"I suggest you leave now." Professor Flitwick suggested helplessly, "To avoid any unpleasant conflicts, everyone here is extremely unhappy with the Ministry of Magic, and I think you understand what I mean."
"You're trying to shield a criminal!" Fudge gritted his teeth.
The next moment, Fudge regretted it, as this was undoubtedly one of the most wrong decisions he had ever made.
"Shielding a criminal? No, Albert is not a criminal, and he's not even at Hogwarts right now." Professor Flitwick shook his head.
"Mr. Anderson is not a criminal!" shouted a student.
"The Ministry of Magic is framing people again!"
"Get them out of here!"
"Damn it, can't you just shut up?"
Scrimgeour glared at Fudge angrily, as he saw a barrage of Stunning Spells heading their way.
"Oh my!" Flitwick muttered, "I warned you."
"Throw these Ministry of Magic scumbags out!" Lee Jordan stepped forward and directed the students of Hogwarts to throw all the Ministry employees out of the school gates.
Ever since Albert knocked out the Aurors and punished Umbridge, the students of Hogwarts seemed to have flipped a magical switch. They no longer feared Umbridge or the Ministry of Magic.
According to Albert's prediction, Umbridge and even Minister Fudge would soon be out of power, and the Ministry of Magic itself would collapse in the future. There was no need to worry, as they would soon have their own troubles to deal with.
(End of Chapter)
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