New Methods

A commotion arose in the Great Hall because of Umbridge's words, and Professor McGonagall was sitting on the teacher's desk, stood up angrily.

"Professor Umbridge! I don't think there's anything wrong with how I handled it!"

Umbridge turned around, clasped her hands together, nodded slightly, and said in that nauseating tone, "Of course, Professor McGonagall, but I think it's still a little unfair—the minister told me that I could handle matters within Hogwarts at my discretion, and Professor Dumbledore didn't object."

After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Osman and Jorison.

"The details of what happened are already clear, so I won't go into them again. Obviously, engaging in a cursed brawl on Hogwarts grounds is an extremely irrational and foolish act, and for that, you two must be punished."

"Mr. Jorison," Umbridge said, turning to the Gryffindor student, "You will be confined for two weeks because of this incident. After class each afternoon, you will be required to clean the washrooms on the first to fourth floors. And every weekend evening, you will have to come to my office for another small punishment."

Jorison's breathing suddenly became heavy, but he managed to hold back his voice.

"And you, Mr. Osman," Umbridge looked toward Slytherin, "Also have two weeks of confinement, but you'll be cleaning the Slytherin Common Room's washroom."

Osman, his face grim, waited for what was to come, only to be surprised to find that Umbridge had fallen silent.

That's it?

Discontented voices rose from inside the Great Hall.

Hogwarts Common Room only have two washrooms, and students mostly take care of their personal hygiene in the washrooms near the classrooms and in the designated public bathrooms.

The workload in the first to fourth floors of the castle, and in the Slytherin Common Room, is completely different!

And the Osman didn't even have to face any special punishment?!

This is blatant discrimination!

Jorison's face was filled with disbelief and anger. He couldn't help but say, "He was the one who was rude to my family first!"

Umbridge gave him a forced smile, "No, no, no, Mr. Jorison, you need to understand this. As young people, I can understand your hot temper; some arguments are normal. But whoever strikes first should bear the harsher punishment!"

On the other side, Osman wore a triumphant smile.

Umbridge completely ignored this point and instead looked down at Jorison's file. "Fifth grade, only got an excellent grade in one subject at the end of last semester, the rest were good, tsk tsk, he even failed Potions."

As she spoke, she deliberately gave a look of sudden realization. "Born into the Muggle Family... well, Mr. Jorison, instead of worrying about your parents, you should worry about your studies first."

This attitude immediately enraged Jorison: "Madam, please watch your words! You are discriminating against wizards from the Muggle Family!"

Umbridge covered her mouth and chuckled, "I bet you didn't see the notice posted on the bulletin board, Mr. Jorison. Because of your slander against Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, your punishment has been extended for another week. Oh, and you're not allowed to use magic."

"You!"

The Gryffindor students pulled back the indignant Jorison, warning him that if he continued, he might spend the entire term dealing with the lavatory, though their eyes also held anger.

Umbridge completely ignored Jorison and turned to Osman, her tone much more friendly. "Mr. Osman, please complete your confinement well. I believe that an excellent wizard like you will not disappoint me—if you perform well, I will consider reducing your punishment."

Osman nodded smugly. "Yes, madam."

"Very well, then this matter is settled, and the justice of Hogwarts has been upheld once again—please continue with your breakfast, and remember not to be late."

After saying that, Umbridge swaggered out of the Great Hall —she had recently only been eating the food she brought herself.

As soon as she left, the Great Hall erupted in chaos. Umbridge was blatantly favoring Pure-blood, and Muggle-born Jorison was being treated unfairly!

At the Slytherin table, Osman chuckled, raised his eyebrows defiantly at Jorison, and then sat down casually to chat happily with his friends.

"Umbridge, that's discriminatory!" Hermione exclaimed angrily.

"But she didn't show it directly. It was indeed Jorison who made the first move, and the Ministry of Magic, which could punish Umbridge, obviously wouldn't respond," Sean said calmly.

This is clearly not a solution that a fool like Umbridge could come up with; it most likely came from Little Aiken.

Instead of divisive the students as Umbridge had done before, he chose to exacerbate the existing conflict—the wizarding bloodline.

Even though in the current wizarding society, wizards from the Muggle Family and Pureblood Wizard may seem to enjoy the same rights, the reality is that there has always been conflict between the two groups.

Hogwarts, as a small society, is no exception. Wizards from the Muggle Family, who are already in a disadvantaged position, will have their emotions amplified when they suffer such injustice.

For some Pureblood Wizard in Slytherin and other houses, this treatment was something they welcomed.

Ultimately, humans are selfish creatures. While spirit can unite people, self-interest is what most people are good at pursuing—those who have vested interests will not easily give up the privileges they hold.

The Hogwarts students, who had initially united against external forces because of Sean's actions, have seen cracks appear in their collective structure within just a few minutes.

This rift stems from an inherent contradiction, one that Sean cannot mend through mere means.

Hermione was so angry she couldn't eat breakfast. She crossed her arms and complained, "What is Professor Dumbledore doing? Isn't he going to stop Umbridge?!"

Who knows what Dumbledore is planning...?

Sean shook his head and began to think about his next move.

Throughout the rest of the day, Jorison expressed his dissatisfaction to his classmates because of Umbridge's unfair treatment. Then, in the afternoon, after a fifth-grade Charms Class, Umbridge was again waiting in the hallway with Little Aiken.

She reprimanded Jorison again under the pretext of "it's for your own good," which almost provoked the boy to physically attack her.

Then, she deliberately picked on several people. Although she couldn't put them in solitary confinement directly, she still gave those students a good scolding, simply because their robes were loose.

Those students were all from the Muggle Family.

In stark contrast, several Slytherin students, including Osman, laughed in the background.

Instead of reprimanding them, Umbridge praised their excellent performance in class—those students had never even received a bonus from Professor Flitwick.

"You bear the future of the Wizarding World on your shoulders. Don't let me down." She said this to the group of Pure-blood, then ignored the other students and left.

Despite being tricked by Sean and poisoned by Snape, a Senior Undersecretary for the Ministry of Magic still carries weight.

Many Pure-blood students have already distanced themselves from some of their classmates because of the high regard of the important figures—they already looked down on these Mudblood.

In just one day, the atmosphere of unity that Sean had created was already on the verge of falling apart.

Discontent has already begun to emerge among the Gryffindor students.

"What are those Slytherin guys so smug about?"

"Arrogant and haughty, it's disgusting to look at."

"Mud always likes to hang out with toads."

Sean, on the other hand, approached Malfoy alone.

Being alone in a room with Sean, this violent maniac, still made Malfoy a little nervous. He maintained his young master demeanor, but his voice lacked confidence.

"What do you want from me?"

"Draco," Sean put his arm around Malfoy's shoulder affectionately, "We're friends, no need to be so nervous."

Seeing the sincerity in Sean's eyes, Malfoy finally relaxed a little. He glanced at Sean and muttered something.

"I know what you want me to do, but it's unrealistic, you should understand."

"No, Draco, I want to ask you a question." Sean smiled.

"What?"

Sean sat down, crossed his arms, and stared into Malfoy's eyes. "Draco, do you look down on the Mudblood you speak of?"

This problem stumped Malfoy; he hesitated, his fingers unconsciously tangling together.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't discriminated against; he was raised with this kind of education— Pure-blood is born noble, especially the ancient Malfoy Family.

If you're talking about discrimination, you might get beaten up by this seemingly kind-looking boy in front of you...

Moreover, if he were to ask himself honestly, Malfoy's inner thoughts were actually somewhat wavering.

The Sean before him, though born into the Muggle Family, was far more outstanding than Malfoy had imagined.

Her own grades were quite good within the college, but what about his?

He can control Magical Creatures that even his father couldn't handle, unleash a constant stream of incredibly difficult spells, and even his financial resources are comparable to his own...

Sean has prestige, ability, and friends—his friends, though Malfoy despises them, are far superior to Goyle and Crabbe.

Sometimes he would toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep. Both were wizards, but Crabbe and Goyle had nobler bloodlines, so why was there such a big difference between them?

Malfoy felt that he actually admired Sean, this wizard from the Muggle Family, and even envied him a little.

Looking at the silent Malfoy, Sean smiled and said, "I think I already know the answer."

"No, Sean, listen to me..." Malfoy stammered.

Sean waved his hand dismissively. "This is not a problem for me."