Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 667: The Dismissed Senior Investigator - Novel Cool

Chapter 667: The Dismissed Senior Investigator

Chapter 667: The Dismissed Senior Investigator

The news of Voldemort's resurgence caused a stir at Hogwarts, with whispers of his return echoing through the corridors wherever one went.

Students from magical families, in particular, carried an innate fear of Voldemort, and ever since reading about it in the newspaper, they had been distracted and anxious.

It wasn't just the students; even the professors could often be seen huddled in small groups in the hallways, speaking in tense, hushed tones, only to fall silent when a student approached.

Of course, this atmosphere was not universal, and in Slytherin, where pure-blood wizards predominated, the mood was quite different. They seemed excited, as if they had just celebrated another Christmas.

During lunch, the grating laughter of Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode seemed incessant, and as they entered the Great Hall, they did so with an air of arrogance, resembling two peacocks flaunting their feathers.

"Look, there are those two stupid turkeys again," Susan Bones said with disgust. "I'm sure some of their family members are Death Eaters."

The Bones family had long been supporters of the Order of the Phoenix, and their enmity with the Death Eaters stretched back over a decade, a hatred that could not be easily resolved.

Previously, they had kept their feelings under wraps because Voldemort had been defeated for many years, and the most heinous Death Eaters were locked away in Azkaban. It seemed the matter had concluded.

Susan didn't particularly like some of the Slytherins, but she wouldn't go as far as to say she loathed them.

However, with Voldemort's resurgence and the escape of the Death Eaters, the situation seemed to have reverted to how it was over a decade ago, and the divisions between the two sides became stark once more.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

Fred and George approached and sat down at the Hufflepuff table as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Those two, of course," Mickel said, nodding toward the Slytherin table. Pansy and Millicent had just sat down and were now chatting loudly with their peers.

"Do you think they're on the Death Eaters' side?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Fred said. "If you take another look at the newspaper, you'll see that one of the Death Eaters who escaped yesterday was a Bulstrode."

"I don't understand why the headmaster doesn't expel these people from the castle," Susan said, poking at the fried pork chops on her plate.

"Because they're not Death Eaters," Cedric said. "At least, not yet. So far, they're just students, and the headmaster can't very well expel them based on their surnames. That would go against Hogwarts' educational philosophy.

"Just like during the Chamber of Secrets incident, the headmaster didn't expel Harry, even though he was the prime suspect."

"That's true..." Mickel mumbled, "but the way they're acting is so infuriating. I really want to teach them a lesson."

"I agree!" George was the first to chime in. "Be sure to count me in when you do."

"You two should drop that idea," Cedric advised. "If you're caught, you'll definitely be put in detention."

"It's fine as long as we don't get caught," Fred said, lowering his voice. "I know Honeydukes has these huge paper bags they use for bulk purchases. They're big enough to fit a person. We can use one of those bags on Millicent or Pansy before we make our move..."

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, letting out occasional snickers.

"Leave it to me," Susan said, uncharacteristically enthusiastic. "I buy a lot of candy from Honeydukes every year, so I should be able to borrow a few of those bags."

"We could also buy some..." George said with a smile. "I have a feeling those bags are going to become the hottest commodity. We can't keep borrowing them forever."

"Why don't you two go discuss this back in Gryffindor?" Cedric interrupted, clearly annoyed.

To prevent the twins from further "corrupting" his housemates, he quickly asked, "What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"Oh, we came to find you," Fred said, suddenly remembering the real reason for their visit. "We were thinking about expanding the DA."

"After all, the situation now is different from before," George said. "We believe there are more people who want to learn how to protect themselves."

"That was our original intention when we founded the DA, wasn't it?"

Seeing the serious look on their faces, Cedric furrowed his brow, suspecting there was more to this. "Are you sure that's what you're thinking?"

"Well, this was actually Hermione's idea," Fred admitted.

"But she's busy right now, carrying a huge stack of books as if she's trying to move the library into her dorm room."

"We're free, so we took it upon ourselves to handle this," George added.

Cedric still didn't quite believe them.

He knew Fred and George too well. If they just wanted to discuss the issue, they wouldn't have made a special trip, and expanding the DA wasn't something he could agree to on his own.

"Be honest!" Cedric said flatly.

Fred and George exchanged a glance.

"You really are something, Mr. Hufflepuff Student Body President. You see right through us," Fred said with a chuckle, producing a pointed hat with a red feather from thin air as if by magic.

The DA gatherings were for learning defensive magic, not for selecting members for the Headless Hunt; there was no need to hide one's head.

"No, no, you've got it all wrong," Fred quickly interjected. "This is our new product, made overnight."

"We call it the Spell-Deflecting Hat," George said. "Its function is simple—it can deflect a spell attack once."

"Seriously, given the current situation, having such a hat could be crucial," Fred continued.

"It could save your life at a critical moment," George added.

The two spoke with such seriousness that Cedric hesitated.

"If it's as good as you say, why don't you just sell it directly? Just like before, demonstrate its function in front of everyone, and I'm sure many people will buy it," Cedric suggested.

"We tried that this morning, but the response was lukewarm," Fred sighed. "Maybe the price is a bit high, and people don't really trust our products."

"Expensive?" Cedric frowned.

So far, nothing in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had cost more than five galleons, and he didn't think this price would make many people hesitate.

"Yeah, we're selling it for fifty galleons," George confirmed.

Cedric barely managed to cover his mouth in time to prevent the pumpkin juice he had just sipped from spraying out.

Fifty galleons?!

That amount was almost the monthly salary of an average employee at the Ministry of Magic. There probably weren't many students at Hogwarts who could afford it.

"We have no choice; this is the lowest price we can offer," Fred sighed.

"We used dragon hide, genuine dragon hide," George explained. "Not the whole hat, of course, but it's definitely worth the price."

"So we need someone more famous to endorse it," Fred continued.

"It's strange..." George trailed off, turning to look at Kyle. "Why is it that your expensive items sell so easily? I remember that dragon tooth necklace you made sold for a hundred galleons, didn't it?"

"Because the buyer was a Slytherin," Kyle shrugged. "They have more money than they know what to do with."

"Then forget about it," George shook his head, alluding to something. "They probably aren't too worried about being attacked by Death Eaters anyway."

"Let's get back to the topic of advertising..." The twins turned their attention back to Cedric.

"If you wear it, more people might be inclined to buy it," they said.

As one of the shareholders of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Cedric hesitated only briefly before agreeing.

"I can do it, but this feather has to go. It's hideous," he said, pointing at the feather. "And I want to test the hat's function myself."

"No problem," George readily agreed and put on the hat. "Go ahead and attack me..."

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a spell hit George, sending him flying across the room. However, he quickly stood up, unaffected by the spell.

"Hey, Kyle, you should've warned me," George complained.

"This way, the test is more convincing, isn't it?" Kyle said, looking at the hat on George's head, which had split down the middle.

"It can only be used once?" Cedric asked.

"It depends on the strength of the spell," Fred explained reluctantly. "Stronger spells can only be deflected once, but if a different person casts the spell, it should be fine."

"Don't forget, Death Eaters are all adult wizards, and none of them are weak," Kyle added. "Take Bartemius Crouch Jr., for example. He graduated with twelve O.W.L.s."

"What? A Death Eater with twelve O.W.L.s?" George was more shocked about the hat than the information. "So, he's on par with Bill and Percy?"

"That's right," Kyle confirmed. "In the last fifty years of Hogwarts, only the three of them have achieved that feat. And don't be so surprised; anyone who catches Voldemort's eye and is recruited into his ranks can't be a fool."

"What about Peter Pettigrew, the little rat?" Fred asked.

"He's an exception," Kyle shook his head. "Even among the Death Eaters, Pettigrew isn't well-liked."

"Alright, let's get back on topic..." George said, tearing off a plate-sized piece of leather from the split hat.

"Is this dragon hide?" Cedric asked, examining the leather.

"Yeah, we bought it in Hogsmeade. It's ridiculously expensive," George nodded. "But to make the hat spell-deflecting, the runes must be engraved on dragon hide. Ordinary fabric would disintegrate upon contact with a spell due to the force transmitted to the runes, rendering it useless."

As they examined the dragon hide, Kyle fell into thought for a moment before speaking up. "Have you ever considered making it a disposable item? Remove those runes that reduce the force of the spell and replace them with a 'collision' glyph. That way, you can nullify the spell's effect in a more crude but effective manner."

"And 'collision' is inherently unstable. Once triggered, the dragon hide will be destroyed."

"But it's cheap." Kyle smiled. "The glyph doesn't need to be that big. Just one-fifth of the dragon hide you have will be enough, and it will significantly reduce the cost."

For a moment, everyone looked at Kyle with a new light in their eyes.

It had to be Kyle...

"I didn't think you were this kind of person." Fred looked disgusted. "We thought we were already dark enough."

"What are you thinking?" Kyle said irritably. "I mean, after reducing the cost, the selling price should also be adjusted accordingly.

"The original fifty-galeon item, after reducing the amount of dragon hide, would probably only need ten galeons. That way, everyone can afford it, but of course, it would require more attention in daily use, which would be quite troublesome.

"But if you really encounter a Death Eater... to be honest, this kind of disposable item might be more effective."

"You do have a point," Fred said, stroking his chin. "Okay, we can give it a try..."

Seeing the three of them deep in discussion, Cedric did not interrupt but instead turned his thoughts to expanding the DA.

From a personal standpoint, he was reluctant to expand, as a larger group meant more work for him.

Recently, quite a few new members had joined, and the DA now had around eighty people.

This was already keeping him quite busy, and if they added more people, they would have to extend the meeting time. Moreover, it was foreseeable that the number of new members would not be just one or two, but might even double.

Nearly two hundred people... they couldn't possibly extend the meeting time to three hours, could they?

So, when Fred and George were about to leave, Cedric could only give a vague reply.

"Let's discuss this again when we have more time," he said. "Maybe the school will provide us with a more reliable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and then we won't need to continue with the DA."

"Okay," said Fred and George, who were eager to get back to researching their new products, and they left at a quick pace.

...

In the afternoon, Fudge arrived.

It seemed intentional that he came just before the first class started, as almost all the students saw him go to Dumbledore's office.

As for what they discussed in the office, no one knew, not even Kyle.

The entire afternoon, everyone waited with bated breath.

"I really hope he takes Umbridge away."

During the Herbology class in the afternoon, Mickel whispered, "We obviously need a more reliable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher now, not someone who just makes us read and copy books."

His words were met with unanimous agreement.

By dinnertime, the whole Great Hall was abuzz with speculation about whether Umbridge would be kicked out.

Finally, Dumbledore arrived, and he cleared his throat, silencing the hall.

"You should all be aware by now that Voldemort and his followers are once again causing trouble, and their power is growing."

As Dumbledore spoke, a tense and anxious silence filled the Great Hall.

"I must emphasize that the current situation is dangerous, and everyone must be extremely cautious to ensure their safety.

"The Ministry of Magic has agreed to assist Hogwarts in strengthening its magical defenses, but each and every one of you must remain vigilant and not let your guard down.

"Therefore, I require you to strictly abide by every school rule, no matter how annoying those rules may be...

"Lastly, regarding our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Hearing this, Cedric suddenly lifted his head.

"First of all, Professor Umbridge will continue to teach you..."

A wave of sighs and complaints filled the Great Hall, causing Umbridge, who was sitting nearby, to frown.

"However..." Dumbledore raised his voice. "The Ministry feels that in this time of crisis, everyone should learn how to protect themselves, and one Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is simply not enough.

"So, from now on, two experienced Aurors will be assisting Professor Umbridge."

The next second, the sighs turned into cheers.

But that wasn't all.

"Additionally..." Dumbledore raised his voice again, paying no heed to Umbridge's displeasure, and said happily,

"We also discussed how Hogwarts and the Ministry should unite and trust each other, and the Minister readily agreed to revoke the position of Senior Investigator."

"So, I am pleased to announce that all previous Educational Decrees, including the requirement to register clubs and the probationary status of certain professors, will be abolished."

The Great Hall erupted in even louder cheers, applause, and the sound of banging tables.

From morning till now, this was the first time everyone felt truly happy.

...

(End of Chapter)

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