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Chapter 623: Fudge's Abacus
Chapter 623: Fudge's Abacus
Apart from Dumbledore, there was another person who was furious about the article.
Umbridge was so angry with Rita Skeeter that she didn't even have breakfast and rushed back to the Ministry of Magic after seeing that day's Daily Prophet.
The professor had left, so naturally, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class couldn't be held.
However, according to Umbridge's teaching method, it didn't make much difference whether the professor was there or not. It was all about reading books and copying notes, and it was actually more freeing without the professor.
In the afternoon, the classroom was in chaos because there was no professor, and everyone was excited, as if Christmas Break had arrived early.
What was even more exciting was that without a professor to substitute, they could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't leave the classroom.
Mikael was playing Wizard's Chess with Ryan, and a few Gryffindor students had even turned their textbooks into Quaffles, throwing them at each other.
Looking at their excited faces, if the classroom weren't too small to fly on broomsticks, they would have had a real Quidditch match.
Kyle sat in the lively classroom, focusing on his Ancient Runes homework.
This class was still the same as before, with one session per week and a lot of homework.
The 15-inch article was the simplest, and the most troublesome were two translation assignments, which were some dispensable records and documents that were long and boring.
"Kyle, do you think Umbridge will be fired?" Conna asked with some expectation.
"It's unlikely," Kyle said, stopping his quill and clipping the translated documents into his textbook. "Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic's corridors are still very different, and Fudge won't fail to notice.
"Of course, he's definitely not happy, and even if he knows it's all nonsense, he won't ignore it."
"What a pity," Conna murmured softly, and she didn't like Umbridge at all.
Since Umbridge became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, it had been less than a month, and this class had surpassed History of Magic to become the most unpopular course at Hogwarts.
After all, in History of Magic, they could take a nap or do homework for other subjects as long as they didn't make too much noise.
But in Defense Against the Dark Arts, they could only read the textbook repeatedly and copy large chunks of nonsense, and they couldn't do anything else.
"Will Umbridge find trouble with Rita Skeeter?" Conna continued to ask.
"Definitely," Kyle said. "But first, she needs to find her.
"Rita has written so many infuriating articles, and if she didn't have some skills, she would have been killed by someone a long time ago... so, Umbridge won't catch her that easily."
"That's good," Conna said. She discovered that Rita Skeeter's articles were so interesting for the first time, and it was no wonder that many people liked to read them even though they knew she was talking nonsense.
Soon, the class was over.
Everyone felt like someone had sped up the time, and they could only reluctantly leave the classroom.
"I hope Professor Umbridge doesn't come back on Wednesday," Mikael said with an expectant tone.
Because their next Defense Against the Dark Arts class was on Wednesday morning.
Unfortunately, by the next day, Umbridge had returned.
The same day, the Daily Prophet had two unexpected pieces of news.
[The identity of Sirius Black is in question, and the Ministry of Magic has decided to continue the investigation.]
[The Ministry of Magic seeks education reform, and Dolores Umbridge has been appointed as the first inspector.]
The two pieces of news made everyone in the Great Hall discuss them.
"Senior Investigator?" Mikael looked at the newspaper and asked in puzzlement, "What does this mean?"
"It's simple; this is the Ministry of Magic trying to interfere with Hogwarts.
"Cedric read aloud, 'The Senior Investigator is authorized to evaluate the qualifications of professors and has the power to dismiss those deemed unqualified, with the Ministry of Magic appointing replacements as they see fit.'"
"Of course, the professors are qualified!" Hannah exclaimed indignantly. "Did you notice? There's not a single word about the criteria for evaluating their qualifications."
"It's all up to Umbridge's discretion," Cedric said.
"The Headmaster will never agree to this!" Justin Finch-Fletchley shouted.
"It's useless," Cedric pointed to the last line in the newspaper, "Look here, all the governors have signed and agreed to this so-called Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two, and even the Headmaster can't oppose it."
The outcome was somewhat unexpected for Kyle.
He had assumed that after the previous report, Fudge, even if he didn't suspect Umbridge, wouldn't entrust her with such a significant role again.
But who would have thought... she actually got promoted.
One could only wonder what Umbridge had discussed with Fudge for an entire day, as her authority at Hogwarts seemed to have increased rather than diminished.
The power to dismiss professors at will was no small matter, and it was almost on par with that of the governors.
Additionally, Kyle noticed another inconspicuous piece of news.
[Sturgis Podmore was arrested for illegally breaking into the Ministry of Magic in the middle of the night.]
If Kyle's memory served him right, Sturgis was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and he had even met him at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, during the holidays.
Along with Sirius, this was already the second member of the Order arrested by the Ministry of Magic.
Fudge must have found out his identity...
It was unlikely... Members of the Order were cautious and wouldn't expose their connection to Dumbledore at such a time.
Moreover, he was indeed caught by the on-duty guards at the Ministry of Magic.
Kyle wondered what Sturgis was doing at the Ministry of Magic in the middle of the night, but with this coincidence, Fudge had already controlled two members of the Order. The other one was naturally Sirius, who was also detained at the Ministry of Magic.
And this Senior Investigator, Umbridge, was probably Fudge's preparation to deal with Dumbledore...
Everyone knew that the Hogwarts professors supported Dumbledore, and this was beyond doubt.
And the Senior Investigator was targeting these professors.
If this was the case, Fudge would be a huge disappointment. Did he think that 'Minerva McGonagall', 'Filius Flitwick', 'Pomona Sprout's' eyes, these people were famous solely because of their position as Hogwarts professors?
Or perhaps being a Hogwarts professor was the most inconspicuous title among all their accolades.
The idea of Umbridge taking them on was like a dream.
Kyle couldn't help but snort at the thought, and the sudden laughter immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Sorry," Kyle apologized, "I was just thinking about whether Umbridge would replace our History of Magic professor."
"Haha..." Ryan couldn't hold back his laughter, "If that's the case, it would be great."
History of Magic was the only subject at Hogwarts taught by a ghost, and it was undeniably boring.
The emotionless voice of the ghost could put students to sleep during lectures.
"I doubt the Ministry of Magic would let go of a professor who doesn't require a salary," Cedric said with a smile, "unless Umbridge herself is willing to take over the position without pay."
"Forget it," Justin said, "If that's the case, we might as well have a ghost. At least now we have something to watch during class... unless she can pass through walls."
A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the Hufflepuff table.
(End of Chapter)
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