Fudge's Calculations

Besides Dumbledore, there was another person who was also furious because of this article.

Umbridge practically hated Rita Skeeter. After seeing today's Daily Prophet, she didn't even eat breakfast and rushed straight back to the Ministry of Magic.

The professors have all run away, so today's Defense Against the Dark Arts is obviously not going to happen.

However, given Umbridge's teaching style, it seems there's really no difference whether a professor is present or not; it's all about reading and copying anyway, and there's actually more freedom without a professor.

The classroom was noisy during the afternoon class. Since there was no professor, everyone was as excited as if the Christmas holidays had arrived early.

Even better, no professors have come to substitute for them, which means they can do whatever they want except leave the classroom.

Mikel was Wizard's Chess with Ryan, and several Gryffindor students even turned their textbooks into Quaffle, throwing them at each other.

Judging from their excitement, if the classroom weren't too small to ride brooms, they probably would have had a real Quidditch Match.

Kyle sat in the bustling classroom, intently working on his Ancient Runes homework.

The course remains the same as before, one class per week, and the amount of homework is just as much.

The simplest, yet most troublesome, of the fifteen-inch articles were the two translation assignments, both of which were rather trivial records of documents, long and tedious.

"Kyle, do you think Umbridge will be dismissed?" Kanna asked expectantly.

"It's unlikely." Kyle put down his quill, tucked the translated document into his textbook, and said, "There are significant differences between the corridors of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. Fudge couldn't possibly not notice that."

"Of course, he certainly won't be happy. Even if Fudge knows it's all baseless, he won't be completely indifferent."

"What a pity," Kanna muttered under her breath; she disliked Umbridge at all.

Less than a month after Umbridge became the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the course surpassed History of Magic to become the most unpopular course at Hogwarts.

After all, in the History of Magic, when they felt bored, they could catch up on sleep or do homework for other subjects, as long as they didn't make too much of a commotion.

But when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts, all they can do is read the text aloud over and over again and copy long passages of nonsense; they can't do anything else.

"Will Umbridge cause trouble for Rita Skeeter?" Kanna continued to ask.

"She definitely will," Kyle said, "But only if she can find someone."

"Rita has written so many infuriating articles; if she didn't have some talent, she'd probably be beaten to death long ago... So, Umbridge won't catch her so easily."

"That's good," Kanna said. She found Rita Skeeter's writing so interesting for the first time. No wonder so many people enjoyed reading it even though they knew she was talking nonsense.

get out of class ended quickly.

Everyone felt as if someone had sped up the class time, and they could only reluctantly leave the classroom.

"I really hope Professor Umbridge isn't back by Wednesday," Mikel said expectantly.

Because their next Defense Against the Dark Arts is on Wednesday morning.

Unfortunately, Umbridge returned the next day.

On the same day, the Daily Prophet carried two more pieces of news that no one had anticipated.

Sirius's identity remains in doubt; the Ministry of Magic has decided to continue its investigation.

[The Ministry of Magic seeks educational reforms; Dolores Umbridge is appointed as its first Investigator]

The two pieces of news sparked a flurry of discussion among everyone in the Great Hall.

"High Inquisitor?" Mikel looked at the newspaper, puzzled. "What does that mean?"

"It's simple, this is the Ministry of Magic trying to get involved in Hogwarts," Cedric said. "It's clearly stated below that High Inquisitor can assess the competence of professors and have the authority to expel unqualified professors, after which the Ministry of Magic will appoint new candidates."

"Of course the professors are qualified," Hannah said indignantly. "Did you notice? The criteria for judging whether a professor is qualified aren't written down at all."

"Clearly, these are all things that Umbridge decides," Cedric said.

"The principal won't agree!" Justin Finch-Fletchley shouted.

"It's no use." Cedric pointed to the last sentence in the newspaper, "Look here, all the School Governor have signed off on the so-called <Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two>, even the principal can't object."

This result was somewhat unexpected for Kyle.

He had assumed that after the previous report, Fudge wouldn't entrust Umbridge with important tasks again, even if he didn't suspect her.

Unexpectedly... she actually got promoted.

I have no idea what Umbridge talked to Fudge about all day, but her power at Hogwarts actually increased instead of decreased.

High Inquisitor have the power to dismiss professors at any time; this is a significant power, almost equivalent to that of School Governor.

In addition, Kyle noticed another inconspicuous message.

[Sturgis Podmore has been arrested for illegally breaking into the Ministry of Magic late at night.]

If Kyle remembers correctly, this Sturgis is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and he even met him once at 12 Grimmauld Place during the holidays.

With Sirius added to the mix, this makes him the second Order of the Phoenix member to be arrested by the Ministry of Magic.

Did Fudge find out his identity?

Probably not... The members of the Order of the Phoenix are very cautious and would never intentionally reveal their relationship with Dumbledore at a time like this.

And indeed, he was apprehended by the guards on duty at the Ministry of Magic.

Kyle couldn't fathom what his purpose was in going to the Ministry of Magic so late at night.

However, by sheer accident, Fudge has already brought two members of the Order of the Phoenix under control. The other one is Sirius, who is currently also imprisoned in the Ministry of Magic and unable to leave.

And Umbridge, this High Inquisitor, is likely part of Fudge's plan to take action against Dumbledore...

Everyone knows that the professors at Hogwarts support Dumbledore; there's no doubt about that.

The High Inquisitor were targeting the professor.

If that's the case, then Fudge is really disappointing. Does he think that people like ' Minerva McGonagall ', ' Filius Flitwick ', and ' Pomona Sprout ' are only famous because of their position as professors at Hogwarts?

Or rather, the title of Hogwarts professor is the least remarkable of all their titles.

To think that Umbridge alone could take them down is simply wishful thinking.

Thinking of this, Kyle couldn't help but chuckle, and the abrupt laughter immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Sorry," Kyle said, "I was just wondering if Umbridge would give us a different professor of the History of Magic."

"Pfft..." Ryan couldn't help but laugh too. "If that's the case, then that's great."

History of Magic, the only course at Hogwarts taught by a ghost. And this course, to put it simply, is boring.

The ghost's emotionless voice made his lectures sound hypnotic, and more than half of the students would fall asleep each time.

"I think the Ministry of Magic would be reluctant to let him go," Cedric said with a smile. "They'll have a hard time finding another professor who doesn't need a salary, unless Umbridge himself is willing to take the position without pay."

"Forget it, if that's the case, a ghost would be better," Justin Finch-Fletchley said. "At least now we have something to watch during class... unless she can walk through walls too."

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the Hufflepuff table.