Chapter 1103: Retaliation
Chapter 1103: Retaliation
At this moment, Dolores Umbridge was in a foul mood. She had just read the shocking news on the front page of the Prophet: Voldemort had returned.
As a senior official in the Ministry of Magic and a skilled politician, Umbridge understood the implications. All her previous efforts had been rendered farcical, and to make matters worse, the prophecy had come true. Her superior, Cornelius Fudge, was facing the risk of being ousted by the public, and it seemed likely that his downfall was imminent.
If Fudge were to be removed from office in the summer, what then of her own prophecy?
Outwardly, Umbridge pretended not to believe in Trelawney's predictions, but in her heart, she had already accepted them as truth.
Thus, she had never dared to venture into the Forbidden Forest, fearing that the prophecy of her encountering danger there would come to pass.
As long as she stayed away from the forest, the prophecy related to it would not be fulfilled. But was it truly possible that she would end up in Azkaban prison?
The likelihood of that was probably low, but... Umbridge was genuinely terrified.
Even though the Dementors had rebelled and left Azkaban, no one wanted to spend the rest of their days in that accursed wizard prison.
The more one worried and tried not to think about something happening, the more likely it was to occur.
On the very day that Umbridge learned of Voldemort's return from the newspaper, she received an owl from the Ministry of Magic at noon. She had been suspended and was asked to leave Hogwarts immediately.
It was like a nightmare! Umbridge shuddered as she recalled the looks the Hogwarts students gave her. During her time at the school, how many despicable things had she done to incur their hatred?
Umbridge couldn't remember them all, but she was well aware that with the exception of a small number of Slytherins, the majority of students loathed her.
If Umbridge were still the Headmistress or a high-ranking investigator, the students wouldn't dare do anything to her. But now that she had been relieved of her duties, once they found out about her suspension, she dared not imagine what they might do.
This wouldn't do! Upon realizing her predicament, Umbridge understood that she must not leave under the watchful eyes of the students. Otherwise, who knew what terrible things might happen?
After packing her bags, Umbridge attempted to use the Floo Network to travel directly to her office at the Ministry. However, she soon discovered that her Floo powder, stored in a jar, was missing.
Someone was trying to prevent her from leaving via the Floo Network?
No, that was impossible! Umbridge had initially wanted to ask another professor—no, she should say Filch—for some Floo powder, but it seemed that the caretaker didn't use Floo powder himself.
As for asking another professor? During her tenure, Umbridge had managed to offend every teacher at the school, especially after the last incident involving Professor McGonagall being sent to St. Mungo's by the Aurors due to her. She didn't believe any of them would be willing to help her now.
Umbridge had no choice but to accept the cruel fact that she would have to leave through the front gates of Hogwarts.
She must leave quietly! The students must not be alerted.
With this in mind, Umbridge decided that the best time to leave would be in the evening, when everyone was gathered in the Great Hall for dinner.
However, Umbridge was unaware that Lee Jordan was currently spreading the news of her suspension far and wide.
And the students had already learned that she would be leaving the school during dinnertime.
In the late afternoon, with Filch's help, Umbridge dragged her luggage down to the first-floor corridor of the castle. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any other students along the way.
Just as Umbridge began to relax, she saw the Divination teacher, Sybill Trelawney, who she had previously dismissed, standing in front of her, back at Hogwarts.
For some reason, Umbridge had a bad feeling about this, and her intuition proved correct.
"I had intended to visit you in the hospital wing, but Madam Pomfrey said you had already been discharged," Trelawney said, giving Umbridge a look that seemed to suggest she was disappointed that Umbridge hadn't been waiting for her in the infirmary.
"You..." Umbridge began, her face darkening with anger.
She glared at Trelawney, who was blocking her path, and her mind raced with the desire to curse the woman in front of her with a Cruciatus Curse.
"Your complexion is not good," Trelawney said, narrowing her eyes as she studied Umbridge's darkened cheeks. "You're in for some serious trouble."
Umbridge remained silent and expressionless as she sidestepped Trelawney, pretending not to have heard her.
Trelawney didn't seem to mind; she simply followed behind Umbridge, continuing to speak. "You should have believed my prophecy. Being the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts is no easy task, and you're lucky to have escaped with your life. Oh, and don't go into the forest, or you might not make it out alive."
Umbridge continued to feign ignorance, quickening her pace toward the entrance hall, but she was unprepared for the scene that awaited her there. Most of the students and teachers of Hogwarts were gathered, wearing toad badges on their chests, toad hats on their heads, and holding toad fireworks in their hands, ready to celebrate.
"Toad Professor! Toad Professor..."
As Umbridge appeared in the corridor, everyone spontaneously burst into applause, their cheers filling the air.
Umbridge glared at the "enthusiastic" students and wanted to turn around and leave immediately.
"Where do you think you're going?" Trelawney blocked Umbridge's path with a smile, kindly reminding her, "We've prepared a special farewell ceremony just for you."
Umbridge glared at Trelawney and dragged her luggage through the crowd of enthusiastic students.
The next moment, students on both sides set off toad fireworks towards Umbridge, and with a blast like a cannon, a cloud of dark green smoke and toad-shaped confetti engulfed her completely.
The blast drowned out Umbridge's screams, and the clapping in the corridor continued, with even the professors joining in to bid farewell to Umbridge.
After the toad fireworks died down, numerous small sparklers began to fly about the corridor, writing farewell messages to Umbridge in the air.
The messages were indeed quite fitting for Umbridge's farewell, or so everyone thought, and even the professors saw nothing amiss. Professor McGonagall even lit a sparkler that Lee Jordan handed to her, expressing her current mood.
As the dark green smoke gradually dissipated, Umbridge had vanished, replaced by a deep green toad.
No one knew exactly what had happened, but Umbridge had been transformed into a toad-like figure, her skin now a dark green. What surprised everyone the most was that Umbridge was no longer walking normally but was squatting and hopping like a toad, making her way out of the castle.
"Toad Professor! Toad Professor! Toad Professor!"
The crowd cheered even louder, many clapping vigorously and shouting at the top of their lungs.
Lee Jordan excitedly raised his camera, searching for the best angles to capture this moment.
Peeves appeared above Umbridge's head, holding a large bag and continuously sprinkling toad-shaped confetti and chalk dust on her.
"Oh my!"
Hagrid and Albert stood in the entrance hall, staring in disbelief as Umbridge hopped out to the sound of the students' enthusiastic applause.
The old witch who had once struck fear into countless students had now become the laughing stock of Hogwarts, and her story would live on forever as a wonderful legend, along with the toad statue.
"Did someone use the Imperius Curse on Umbridge?" Hermione frowned and asked.
"It's the Confundus Charm," Albert explained, "A high-level... I mean, an extremely powerful Confundus Charm that can temporarily mess with someone's mind, making Umbridge think she's a toad."
"You did this?"
Hermione turned to Albert, knowing that apart from him, no one else could have pulled this off so discreetly.
"This is brilliant! This is definitely the most entertaining farewell ceremony ever." Harry looked at the toad statue in the entrance hall and then at the hopping Umbridge, a smile on his face as he said, "Our Toad Professor will surely become a legendary part of Hogwarts."
"It's more than just a legend; Umbridge will forever be a part of Hogwarts history," Lee Jordan said confidently. "She represents the worst professor in history, forever etched in infamy."
"There's an even bigger surprise waiting outside," Albert suddenly said.
"What surprise?" Ron asked curiously.
"A surprise prepared by Fred and George for Umbridge," Albert said, not intending to reveal the details just yet. He also had no plans to let Umbridge off the hook that easily.
Since they had started, they might as well go all the way and not give Umbridge any chance to escape. He had already planned out what would happen next.
They were going to send Umbridge away for good.
When Umbridge hopped out of the castle, everyone poured out after her, except for Filch, who stood there foolishly calling out, "Professor, your luggage."
"Hagrid, take the luggage and follow her," Albert nudged Hagrid with his elbow, reminding him to get going.
"Oh, this is so much fun, but will this cause any trouble for Professor Dumbledore?" Hagrid walked over to Filch, picked up the luggage, and followed after the toad-like Umbridge, while Peeves continued to throw things and hum the Toad Song.
The Anti-Toad League students also happily sang this cheerful tune as they followed the hopping Umbridge towards the school gates, seeing her off the Hogwarts premises. Even the professors of Hogwarts joined in the procession.
In fact, the only person missing from the entire school was Dumbledore himself, and everyone else had come to see Umbridge off because they had heard that she might be going to Azkaban after this, and they might not get another chance.
As for Headmaster Dumbledore, it wasn't really appropriate for him to be present or to participate, so he could only stand atop the castle and watch Umbridge leave.
Outside the iron gates of Hogwarts, the reporters who had received the tip-off earlier and rushed over to interview Harry Potter were also stunned by the sight of the hopping Umbridge. The sound of camera shutters filled the air as they snapped photo after photo.
Just then, they saw Peeves ignite specially prepared fireworks as Umbridge hopped towards the school gates.
With a deafening boom, a toad-shaped mark appeared in the sky above Hogwarts Castle.
All the Hogwarts students lined up on either side of the gate, with Peeves waving his wand and leading everyone in a rousing rendition of the Toad Song to see Umbridge off. Even the professors joined in, humming along with the cheerful tune.
Once the song ended, Hagrid opened the school gates, and after Umbridge hopped out, he placed her luggage outside and closed the gates again. The students bid farewell with a chorus of "Goodbye, Toad Professor," ringing through the air.
As Umbridge left the school grounds, she finally returned to her normal form, plopping down on the ground. Just as she prepared to turn and glare at the waving students, the surroundings suddenly darkened, and then bright flashes and puffs of white smoke filled the air.
Umbridge looked up, startled, to see a throng of photographers snapping pictures of her.
It's over! She felt a lump in her throat and passed out on the spot, leaving the photographers and the Hogwarts students beyond the iron gates staring at each other in bewilderment.
The journalists murmured to each other, "What exactly did this woman do at Hogwarts to incur so much hatred?"
This question eventually landed on Harry, who, after taking a calming draught, replied calmly, "Aside from Professor Dumbledore, all the students and teachers are here. What do you think?"
"So, are those rumors true?"
"Rumors? No, those aren't rumors," Harry said. "Umbridge enforced 123 Educational Decrees at Hogwarts, and as a result, she was whipped 123 times by Anderson." Harry held up his palm, showing the marks on the back of his hand. "She's a sadist who enjoys using punishment quills on students. The marks on my hand are proof, and more than half of the students at Hogwarts have been subjected to this treatment."
"Mr. Potter, what's the significance of the badges on your chests and the hats on your heads?" asked one of the journalists.
"They are symbols of the Anti-Toad League," Harry explained, gesturing for them to look. "As you can see, almost all the students are members of this league, and it's out of necessity. Fudge, in his attempt to conceal Voldemort's return, allowed Umbridge to brutally oppress the students of Hogwarts. He even permitted the use of chains to hang students, imprisonment in the dungeons, and whipping as punishment. She also recruited a group of Slytherin students, granting them special privileges and allowing them to oppress other students. Yes, many Death Eater offspring were among them. Oh, and Umbridge also liked to use Veritaserum and the Cruciatus Curse during interrogations."
"She really did that?"
"Yes," Ron confirmed. "Nearly all the students on two floors have consumed drinks laced with Veritaserum. She even used the Cruciatus Curse on Harry, trying to find out Dumbledore's whereabouts."
"She's a terrible old witch," Hermione added. "A nightmare for all the students."
"She doesn't know anything about Dark Arts defense," Harry continued. "She's completely incompetent. During her classes, she would just read from a book, and we didn't learn anything at all."
"We had no choice," Ron said. "She represented the Ministry, and we were just students with no power to resist."
...
"And that's why we have this scene today," Harry concluded.
The journalists were stunned, now understanding why Umbridge was treated so harshly. "She really used the Cruciatus Curse?" they exclaimed.
"Yes, many people witnessed it," Ron affirmed.
"She also had the Dementors attack me, intending for Fudge to expel me," Harry said. "She admitted to this herself. In fact, she almost succeeded."
"What do you think of Fudge?" Rita Skeeter asked with a smile.
"He's friends with many Death Eaters—Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe..." Harry listed several Death Eater names. "In fact, while Fudge was busy hindering Dumbledore, Voldemort took the opportunity to win over the giants and werewolves, freeing the prisoners of Azkaban. Many dark wizards and even Dementors have joined him, and Fudge's actions only made things worse, causing us to miss the best opportunity to stop him."
"Sometimes, based on Fudge's behavior, I wonder if he's just cowardly and afraid of Voldemort's retaliation, or if he's under the Imperius Curse or is actually one of Voldemort's followers," Hermione mused.
"I'm not questioning the Minister of Magic," Harry said. "But earlier, when Albert captured Barty Crouch Jr., Fudge immediately sent Dementors to silence him and prevent the news of Voldemort's return from spreading."
(End of Chapter)
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