The "malicious" laughter nearly shattered Umbridge's practiced fake smile, but a politician's thick skin still allowed her to finish speaking with a stiff grin.
After Umbridge finally finished her tedious, lengthy speech, Dumbledore briefly completed what Umbridge had interrupted earlier, then directly announced the end of the feast.
Everyone could finally return to their dormitories and get a good night's sleep.
Once the professors had all left, the Great Hall immediately erupted into commotion.
"She's that old, yet she wears a pink cardigan."
"That shrill little-girl voice she puts on is disgusting!"
"Did she see something just now? She actually got a nosebleed."
"It really is the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor's curse."
"She looks just like a toad!"
"Her stomach growling was so loud."
Listening to the students whispering around them, Albert exchanged looks with his roommates, signaling that they should return to the dormitory before discussing anything else.
"That was absolutely hilarious."
After Albert cast a spell to create a barrier that prevented sound from leaking out, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan all burst into laughter, startling Tom in his cat bed.
"Do you think they'll notice something's wrong?" George asked Albert, who was bending over to pick up the cat.
"I don't know. If the professors inspect things carefully, they'll definitely find something amiss, but... a nosebleed will most likely just be seen as an accident. Besides, the professors don't particularly like Umbridge either." Albert was not worried that Hogwarts's professors would discover anything suspicious, because Umbridge would only become more unfortunate from here on out. Unless they were blind, they would all realize something was wrong.
"We need to coordinate this with Peeves." Albert gently stroked Tom's head and turned to the others. "I think he'll probably sneak into our dormitory tonight."
No sooner had