The next day, Umbridge actually took a sick day for the first time ever.
Previously, she would rather cover her face and limp her way to class, which made the students realize that the piercing screams they had heard at dawn had not been imagined.
After lunch, the Little Lions gathered in the common room to gossip.
Fred and George's performance had been absolutely spot-on, especially that scream which had seemed capable of piercing the ceiling.
Only the part about the Batman Family had been somewhat exaggerated. Most of the Little Lions thought it was unlikely to be true.
"I suddenly thought of a more plausible theory." Seamus lowered the hands that had been covering his ears.
He raised his little face and launched into the second version without pause.
Everyone knew that Umbridge had tormented every staff member in the school, but the only one who dared confront her to her face and leave her speechless was McGonagall.
"If you ask me, Umbridge must have sneaked off last night to attack Professor McGonagall."
"Cough, cough—" George suddenly coughed.
Seamus paid him no attention and continued, "You all know how powerful Professor McGonagall is. During our very first flying lesson in first year, we got into a fight with the Slytherins, and the moment she stepped in, she petrified Ron and Malfoy, who had been fighting the hardest."
Ron, one of the people involved, seemed to have something to say, but he glanced behind Seamus and obediently shut his mouth.
"That old toad went to attack Professor McGonagall, so the outcome was obvious. She thought Professor McGonagall was as easy to deal with as Professor Flitwick. Did she forget that Professor McGonagall was someone who dared confront the Basilisk head-on when it broke in? That old toad must have gotten