Senior Investigator

The entire Gryffindor Common Room was bustling with activity, with everyone participating except Cormac McLagan, who was still in the hospital.

Of course, several of his close friends were also with him at the Hospital Wing and did not go back to the Common Room to make things unpleasant.

The celebration party lasted a long time, and it didn't end until after 10 p. m., with everyone still wanting more.

Perhaps the students also wanted to take this opportunity to let loose—the fifth-year students were because the atmosphere had been too oppressive lately, and their minds were filled with OWLs being taught by the professors every day; as for the students in other grades, it was mainly because they couldn't stand being tortured by Umbridge anymore.

Fortunately, Umbridge has lost control of the fifth grade.

The quick-thinking students were also wondering if they could follow the example of the fifth graders.

However, they only thought about it; as for attacking a professor in class? They wouldn't dare even if they had ten times the courage.

Even if Umbridge is weak, she is still an adult wizard... Not everyone is like Harry, who can go toe-to-toe with an adult wizard.

Of course, Harry was no longer just able to fight against adult wizards, but could even compete with Voldemort, something they could never emulate.

Saturdays and Sundays are quieter, except for the fifth graders.

Ron, for the first time ever, went to the library with Hermione to borrow books and look up the various uses of Moonstone in order to help with Snape's home's homework.

"I really don't want to do my homework!" Ron complained in the Great Hall, watching the words in front of him become increasingly distorted in his eyes, but he managed to hold back his curses.

He knew he had some influence; if he insulted Snape, the latter would appear behind him like a ghost.

"This is something you need to do anyway." Hermione shook her head helplessly and took out a roll of paper from the side. "Here, and this too, your Astronomy homework."

"Oh, thank goodness, I'm done writing," Ron said, showing off a piece of paper, only to have it snatched away by Hermione.

"Let me check." Hermione opened the Notebook and, after a moment's examination, she found a flaw.

"Jupiter's largest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto," she said, pointing to a line in his Astronomy paper. "The one with volcanoes is Io."

"Oh, thank you, Hermione." Ron took the paper and made corrections on it.

Just then, the owls flew in.

Ron's little owl, Pigwidgeon, carrying a letter, accurately dropped it on his nose, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

"Pigwidgeon!"

He yelled angrily, rubbed his nose, and went to open the letter.

He was then stunned.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked with concern. "Has something happened?"

"Percy wrote it to me," Ron said, frowning. "Why would Percy write to me? I really can't imagine what he has to say to me."

"Maybe it's because he misses you," Hermione said.

"Oh, come on Hermione." Ron shook his head. "Percy doesn't miss me. All he thinks about with that big fat head of his is how to get promoted!"

As he spoke, he opened the letter.

"Well, this is indeed Percy's handwriting," Ron said, staring at the few lines of text on the Parchment scroll: Hogwarts, Gryffindor House, Ron Weasley.

He looked up at Harry and Hermione.

What do you think?

"Use your eyes to see." Harry focused intently on his yogurt oatmeal.

Ron shrugged, opened the letter and began to read, his brow furrowing more and more.

Finally, he handed the letter to Hermione and Harry.

"You should take a look too." Ron's expression was strange and complicated.

"Is this right?" Harry looked up. "This is a letter Percy wrote to you; shouldn't I be the one reading it?"

"Oh, he has something he wants me to pass on to you," Ron said, rubbing his temples.

Harry then picked up the letter, which read:

Dear Ron:

I just heard (from my mother, and Director Black also confirmed it with me) that you have become a Prefect at Hogwarts.

I was very happy and surprised to hear this news, and I would like to express my congratulations to you in advance.

I must confess that I was always worried that you would go down the path we call "Fred and George" instead of following in my footsteps, so you can imagine how relieved I was when I heard that you had finally stopped defying authority and were determined to really take on some responsibility.

But Ron, I want to offer you more than just congratulations; I also want to give you some advice.

The Minister hinted to me that he was very skeptical of Harry because he had disrupted the Ministry of Magic's plans at the school.

As a member of Hogwarts, even though I believe in authority, my heart still stands with Hogwarts and with my family.

And you, Ron, you are my brother, my youngest brother, and you have an extraordinary relationship with Harry. I think you should tell Harry about these things—of course, I need to remind you that Dumbledore's time in power at the school won't last long. The Minister has already made some plans against him. Although I am considered one of his confidants, he is unwilling to tell me the details. All I know is that he wants to gradually remove the Headmaster's power through Umbridge's actions at the school...

(Although some of her ideas are not supported right now, she will find her work easier next week—see tomorrow's Daily Prophet!)

In addition, he joined forces with some Pure-blood families in an attempt to oust Dumbledore.

I know some of the Minister's plans. As for Harry, they intend to attack him on personal matters first, such as the claim that he is a paranoid person with violent tendencies—I don't agree with this claim. I think it's more likely that Harry is in the Minister's way, which is why he's saying this...

If possible, please have Harry contact Miss Grindelwald as soon as possible; I'm sure she'll offer a suitable solution.

Congratulations again on your election as Prefect.

Your brother

Percy.

Harry handed the letter to Hermione and smiled at Ron.

"You really didn't expect that, did you?" Ron said, scratching his head. "I always thought Percy would stick with that damned Minister for Magic to the bitter end..."

"Oh, of course not," Harry said with a smile. "Percy is a smart man, a really smart man, especially after he knew who could bring him power and glory..."

"You're making it sound like my brother isn't a good person," Ron said, raising an eyebrow.

At this point, he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Well, he certainly doesn't seem like a Weasley," Ron said with a shrug.

"But I still want to thank him for reminding me," Harry said, wiping his hands. "This information is indeed quite important."

The words were left unsaid, because they weren't that important.

But maintaining a certain attitude is not bad.

When Harry returned to the Common Room that evening, he also received a call from Sirius.

They found a private booth and sat inside to chat.

"Hey Harry," Sirius said, still with his usual suave air, "How have you been?"

"It's going very well," Harry replied with a grin. "And you, Sirius? How's life at the Ministry of Magic going?"

"This is terrible!" Sirius said cheerfully. "But fighting Fudge is still a rather interesting thing. At least for me, it's a way to pass the time."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Harry told Sirius about Percy's letter.

"This is exactly what I wanted to tell you, but I didn't expect Percy to write to Ron," Sirius said, frowning. "I don't recommend Percy contacting Ron, because in our plan, Percy will infiltrate Fudge's inner circle..."

"At this point, you have to admire Snape's infiltration skills," Harry said with a chuckle.

"That old Snivellus is nothing but a double agent. Do you think Voldemort doesn't know that?" Sirius scoffed, mercilessly putting Snape down with his words. "You really think that the old Snivellus's disguise is flawless? It's just that arrogant Voldemort thinks he can completely control Snape."

Harry raised an eyebrow, but did not object to Sirius's words.

"Of course, Lupin already knows about you teaching Umbridge a lesson," Sirius said again, beaming. "He's very happy because that disgusting woman Umbridge, finally got what she deserved."

"Lupin knows her too?" Lima.

"I don't know him," Sirius said, "But Umbridge drafted an anti- Werewolf law two years ago, which made it almost impossible for Lupin to find a job."

Harry recalled Lupin's ordeal, his tattered clothes on the carriage, and his disgust for Umbridge deepened.

"What grudge does she have against Werewolf?" Hermione asked indignantly.

"I think she's afraid of them," Sirius said, smiling as he watched Hermione's anger. "Obviously, she hates half-humans and half-beasts. Last year she was running around lobbying to bring the Merpeople together and put up signs—think about it, while Kritcher, that Elf, is still running around, wasting his time and energy persecuting Merpeople."

Ron laughed heartily, while Hermione was still angrily pounding the table.

"That's outrageous, that woman!"

"So, what about that half-lesson at Umbridge?" Sirius interrupted her. "Did she train you all to kill half-human, half-beast creatures?"

"No," Harry said, "She doesn't let us use magic at all!"

"We just read that boring textbook," Ron added.

"Ah, that's not surprising," Sirius said. "We got inside information that Fudge doesn't want you to do combat training."

"Combat training?!" Harry repeated incredulously. "What does he think we're doing here, organizing a wizarding army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing," Sirius said, "Or to be more precise, that's exactly what he fears Dumbledore is doing—organizing his own secret army so he can use it to challenge the Ministry of Magic."

After hearing this, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Harry couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Ron laughed so hard he could barely breathe, saying, "I've never heard anything so stupid before. Even Luna Lovegood's crazy talk wasn't this dumb."

"So, just because Fudge is afraid we'll use Charms against the Ministry of Magic, he won't let us learn Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione said, looking furious.

"Yes," Sirius said. "Fudge believes Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. His suspicion of Dumbledore grows stronger every day, and one day he will fabricate a charge to arrest Dumbledore."

Harry couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

"No, Sirius —who are you talking about? Who is Fudge going to arrest?"

"Catch Dumbledore." Sirius spread his hands helplessly. "Do you think he's crazy? To be honest, I think so too."

"No, he might not just be insane, there might be something wrong with his entire brain," Ron said, rubbing his temples. "Perhaps we could crack his skull open and see if it's empty inside?"

After saying that, he tapped his head with his finger. "Nothing inside!"

Okay, okay, so you're Cannavaro too, right?

"I just can't understand why he would think that?!" Hermione rubbed her head in frustration.

"What do you think? Is Fudge guessing that Dumbledore is trying to seize power?" Ron turned to Hermione and asked.

"No!" Hermione's expression was almost hysterical as she roared in a low voice, "He actually thinks he can imprison Dumbledore? Imprison the President of the International Confederation of Wizards, the greatest and most powerful wizard of this century?! I think the world has gone mad."

"Sometimes, you can't be sure if the person living next to you is a real person," Sirius concluded after a moment of silence.

"Indeed," the three boys agreed in unison.

They chatted for about half an hour longer before the call ended when Sirius's female companion came over to tell him to rest.

The next morning, Ron couldn't wait to get out of bed.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry asked, still half asleep.

"Get up!" Ron was still excited. "Quick, see what Percy is saying—what will today's Daily Prophet be saying?"

Harry then got up, washed up, and went to the Great Hall with Ron to sit down and wait for the owl to deliver the letter.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Umbridge with a smug look on his face, his head held high in a proud manner, like a toad squatting on a lotus leaf, looking up at the sky to catch rainwater.

A moment later, the owls flew in and dropped off the packages belonging to each student.

A package was thrown in front of Ron, who then pulled two Knut from his pocket and handed them to the owl that delivered the mail, before eagerly opening the newspaper.

On the front page of the newspaper, in the most prominent position, was a large photograph of Dolores Umbridge.

She smiled broadly, winking at them repeatedly. The title above is:

The Ministry of Magic sought educational reforms, Dolores Umbridge was appointed as its first High Inquisitor.

(End of this chapter)