Chapter 675: Umbridge's Dismissal?
Chapter 675: Umbridge's Dismissal?
Upon their return to Hogwarts, Fred and George approached with mischievous glee, exaggerating their tone as they inquired, "Well, future Minister of Magic, are you satisfied with the office Fudge assigned to you?"
"He must have given you his own office."
"If you push a little harder, you might even become the Minister before graduation..."
The two spoke with a playful laugh.
"Then you'll become famous..."
"No need to take the O.W.L. exams..."
"And you can award yourself the certificate!"
"Just make sure Percy doesn't see you." Fred blurted out, "Or he'll camp outside your door..."
Before he could finish, the cheerful Fred suddenly closed his mouth and, in a nonchalant tone, said, "Sorry, I forgot he's not living at home anymore."
"That's good too, isn't it?" George said, "At least we won't have to see him anymore, and no one will stick their head out and ask us to keep it down when we pass by the stairs."
"Actually," Kyle glanced at the two of them and said calmly, "We saw him when we returned. We were in the same elevator."
"Oh. That's good." Fred said, "Did you beat him up for us?"
"Or turn him into a Ferret worm."
"We've always wanted to do that."
"How could you possibly... That's the Ministry of Magic." Kyle said, "If I did that, the Aurors would come and take me away without even leaving their office."
"Then wait until he's not at the Ministry to take action." George said through gritted teeth.
"I feel like he regrets it, and he wants me to apologize to Mrs. Weasley on his behalf."
"Tsk!" Fred snorted, "If he really wants to apologize, he should do it himself, not have someone else convey it."
"He wouldn't forget where his father's office is, would he?"
"Kyle, you didn't promise to help, did you?"
"Of course not." Kyle said, "My answer is the same as what you just said."
"That's good."
Fred and George seemed reluctant to discuss Percy further. Upon spotting Cedric behind them, they promptly changed the subject.
"You owe us an explanation, Cedric."
They approached him with menacing looks, surrounding Cedric from the front and back.
George clenched his fist and said, "We agreed to run the joke shop together, why did you go to work at the Ministry of Magic?"
"If your explanation doesn't satisfy us..." Fred glared at him and said sternly, "Then you're dead."
"This is a complicated matter." Cedric said, glancing at Kyle subconsciously.
"Anyway, we'll definitely work together after graduation!"
Fred and George were taken aback, as they had considered various possibilities, but never expected Cedric to say this.
Judging by his words, was Cedric not going to work at the Ministry of Magic after graduation? But if that was the case, why would he go to the trouble of working at the Ministry at this time? It couldn't be just for the monthly salary of seven Galleons.
It didn't make sense...
"You're not lying to us, are you?" Fred took a step forward and asked.
"Of course not, I swear."
Although he said this, Cedric's remaining conscience prompted him to turn away, avoiding Fred's gaze.
Fortunately, at this moment, Professor McGonagall also entered the castle, so Fred and George didn't pursue the matter further.
By dinnertime, those who had been to the Ministry of Magic inevitably became the talk of the school. There had rarely been students who could enter the Ministry of Magic before graduation, and now there were suddenly five of them. Naturally, everyone was curious.
"It's no big deal." At the Slytherin table, Malfoy spoke up, "They only accept those with O.W.L. grades. After this year, I'll definitely be able to enter the Ministry of Magic too. You know, my father has a good relationship with Minister Fudge."
Meanwhile, on the other side at the Gryffindor table, the same topic was being discussed.
"Don't be discouraged, Hermione." Harry looked at the silent Hermione and comforted her, "Not having O.W.L. grades in fifth year is unavoidable. You'll definitely be accepted next year."
"I know." Hermione said, "And I'm not angry about that."
"Then what's bothering you?" Ron stuffed a piece of sausage into his mouth and mumbled, "You've been angry since this morning."
"Didn't you notice?" Hermione put down her cutlery and said angrily, "The Ministry of Magic accepted five people in total, and students from the other three houses were selected. Only our Gryffindor house didn't have anyone chosen."
"So what?
"Ron said nonchalantly, 'That just means none of us want to go to the Ministry of Magic.'
'Only you would think that,' Hermione said irritably. 'I wasn't the only one who submitted an application to Professor McGonagall's office, but no one was selected. I guess Professor McGonagall must have been very disappointed.'
'Maybe it has nothing to do with us,' Harry said. 'Don't forget about Umbridge.'
'She's probably the one who rejected Gryffindor's application. As the Senior Assistant to the Minister, she should have the authority to do that.'
'But she's also a professor...' Hermione frowned. 'She wouldn't do something like that, would she?'
'Not necessarily. Umbridge wouldn't care about that.'
Harry looked up and glanced at the other side of the Great Hall. 'Remember, we've been seeing Slytherins running to Umbridge's office recently. I suspect those two are her doing... Angelina said their performance wasn't that great during this morning's training.'
'That despicable person,' Ron muttered under his breath, cursing. 'If only the Headmaster could expel her.'
'Although everyone thinks so, it's not very likely,' Hermione said softly. 'Even though Umbridge is no longer the Senior Investigator, she still represents the Ministry of Magic. The Headmaster can't expel her.'
The three of them sighed simultaneously.
...
But at that moment, none of them could have imagined that Ron's seemingly impossible words would come true the very next day during the Hogsmeade Visiting Day.
'Umbridge was expelled?'
In the Three Broomsticks, Professor McGonagall, who was drinking and chatting with Hagrid, turned her head instinctively at the exclamation beside her.
'Don't be so loud, Potter. This matter hasn't been confirmed yet.'
'Sorry, Professor,' Harry said. 'But is it true? Is Umbridge really being expelled?'
If it were anyone else, Professor McGonagall would have reminded Harry to address her as 'Professor.' But this time, she said nothing.
'It's not an expulsion,' Professor McGonagall corrected. 'It's just that the Ministry of Magic seems to have a more important task for Professor Umbridge, so she probably doesn't have time to stay at the school anymore.'
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Harry felt an immense surprise, as if they had won the Quidditch Championship Cup ahead of time.
No, this was even more exciting.
Harry's heart was racing, and he didn't even have time to buy Butterbeer. He turned and ran out of the Three Broomsticks without looking back.
He just wanted to be the first to share this good news with Hermione and Ron.
Meanwhile, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Umbridge was raging at Kyle.
'Was it you who did this?!' Her face was so dark it seemed like she could drip with anger, and even her habitual fake smile couldn't be mustered.
'It must have been you, you despicable little man, who said something to the Minister, causing him to make me leave Hogwarts!'
Being called a despicable little man by Umbridge was quite a novel feeling.
Watching Umbridge, who was as furious as if she wanted to strangle him, Kyle remained calm and said, 'Don't be so agitated, Professor Umbridge. This is indeed a good thing.'
'What?!' Umbridge shrieked. 'Are you saying my expulsion is a good thing?!'
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The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She roared without restraint, 'Because of you, I lost my position as Senior Investigator, and now, because of you, I can't even continue as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Is this a good thing?!'
As she spoke, Umbridge, who was standing above Kyle, directly drew her wand and pointed it at him, demanding, 'Why do you keep going against me?!'
Kyle had expected this to happen before coming to Umbridge. He moved his hand, which had been hidden in the sleeve of his robe.
The next second, Umbridge's wand flew out of her hand and spun into Kyle's grasp.
'I told you, Professor Umbridge, don't be so tense,' Kyle said patiently. 'This is truly a good thing, and moreover, you're not being expelled. You're being assigned a more important task.'
Umbridge, who had been about to erupt in anger, heard Kyle's words and felt like she was being toyed with. She roared furiously, 'You're lying! I haven't received any notification!'
'This matter is still in the confidential stage, so of course you wouldn't have been notified,' Kyle said. 'In fact, there won't be any written notification either. When you return to the Ministry of Magic, Minister Fudge will personally inform you about this.'
'You're not lying?' she asked in a deep voice.
'Am I lying when I'm about to leave Hogwarts?' Kyle shrugged. 'Forget it. It seems you don't want to know, so consider me a busybody.'
Kyle casually threw his wand onto the table beside him and turned to leave.
"Wait..." Umbridge didn't even bother with her wand and immediately ran after Kyle, "You need to clarify what you just said."
"Professor," Kyle said calmly, "If I tell you this, the Minister will be furious."
"But you just..."
"What happened earlier is in the past. I don't want to talk about it now," Kyle glanced at her, "I'm kindly reminding you, and this is the attitude you're showing."
Umbridge's face kept changing colors.
"Sorry, I was so angry I lost my mind," she forced out her usual fake smile again, "Can you talk about it now?"
This was more like it, Umbridge was at her most normal when she was pretending.
"Alright." Kyle cleared his throat, "Professor, you're in luck."
"Luck?"
"Exactly." Kyle sat down on a chair, "Do you know what's bothering Minister Fudge the most right now?"
"Dumbledore?" Umbridge said.
"No. In the current situation, Dumbledore doesn't have a chance to compete for the Minister of Magic position in the short term, and the other professors' attitudes are naturally not important. So, there's no point in you staying at Hogwarts anymore."
Kyle shook his head, without waiting for Umbridge to ask, he spoke up, "It's the Death Eaters. After their escape, they've been hiding and lying low. The Ministry's previous announcement in the newspaper has become a joke."
"Now many people suspect that the Dark Lord hasn't truly resurrected, and they've sent quite a few Howlers to the Minister."
"How dare they..." Umbridge said angrily, "How can they doubt the Ministry?"
This was quite interesting... She only said that they couldn't doubt the Ministry, but didn't emphasize that the Ministry's information was true like before, which shows that she herself didn't believe it.
"That's right," Kyle didn't expose her, and continued, "But there's no other way. It's been a week since it happened, and the Ministry hasn't taken any significant action. It's inevitable that people will have doubts."
"So this is when we need to help. The Minister needs us to make a statement, just like we did a decade ago, showing the Ministry's firm stance against the Death Eaters."
"What does this have to do with me?" Umbridge frowned and asked.
"Don't you understand yet?" Kyle impatiently knocked on the table, "We can't do anything unless we have news about the Death Eaters."
It was no wonder Umbridge could rise to the position of Deputy Minister. She instantly understood Kyle's meaning.
"I understand," Kyle smiled, "This matter requires absolute confidentiality. The Minister can't assign it to the Hit Squad or the Aurors, they're not loyal enough. The only one who can shoulder this responsibility..."
Kyle extended his finger, "Is you, Professor Umbridge... no, it should be Minister Umbridge."
"It's Deputy Minister," Umbridge's lips twitched, and her voice was a bit shaky.
"It's all the same." Kyle waved his hand, "After this, you'll become a hero in everyone's eyes... an anti-Dark Arts hero. This is huge prestige, enough to surpass all the Heads of Department.
"Now you understand why I said this is a good thing, right?"
"But why are you giving it to me?" Umbridge took a deep breath, "You can do it yourself."
"Don't joke," Kyle shook his head helplessly, "Dumbledore won't allow me to leave school, so I can't do this."
Yes, Kyle was still a student, and he still had more than a year before graduation, which meant he could only stay in school for most of the time.
After realizing this, Umbridge's breathing became heavy, and the smile on her face finally seemed more genuine.
"Anything else?" she asked.
"That's all I know," Kyle said, "How to do it specifically is up to the Minister, he didn't tell me."
"That's right," Umbridge looked up, "For such a confidential operation, the fewer people who know, the better."
"I'm kindly reminding you," Kyle looked at her and said seriously, "During this process, you represent the Minister and the Ministry. You must show a firm stance against the Death Eaters, the more determined, the better."
"If you don't know how, you can refer to Mr. Crouch or Alastor Moody. They both have pretty good views on the Death Eaters."
"I know what to do," Umbridge said discontentedly, "You better understand your position. Even if you have the Minister's trust, you're still just an interning Senior Assistant to the Minister. Don't teach me how to do things."
"Of course," Kyle smiled, stood up and said, "Then I'll wait at Hogwarts for the good news from Minister Umbridge."
Perhaps it was an oversight, but even after Kyle left the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Umbridge didn't correct his title.
(End of Chapter)
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