Hermione's Sorrow

Although Hagrid's performance was far better than his portrayal in the original story, Umbridge was determined to find a professor's weakness and expel him to establish the authority of the Ministry of Magic.

Fudge assigned Umbridge only one task in Hogwarts: to expel Dumbledore from the school, by any means necessary.

Umbridge's approach was to proceed in two directions:

The first approach is to use the power of High Inquisitor to expel a professor, attempting to challenge Dumbledore's authority and cause him to lose prestige within the school; the second approach is to constantly provoke Harry on the edge of the rules, trying to lure Dumbledore into intervention, ultimately causing Harry to implicate Dumbledore and be expelled as well.

Umbridge has already examined most of the Hogwarts professors, but these professors all possess genuine ability and years of teaching experience, and Umbridge has been unable to find any fault with them. Hagrid is practically her last chance.

Hagrid continued teaching about Bowtruckle in this lesson. The lesson itself was not problematic, but under Umbridge's deliberate verbal manipulation, Hagrid became tense and stuttered, allowing Umbridge to successfully write down various unfavorable records about him:

It requires... clumsy... gestures...

My memory is... very bad...

Showing pleasure in... brutality...

Umbridge finished writing the last entry, looked up at Hagrid, and said in her usual slow, loud voice, "Please continue the lecture as usual. I want to walk among the students—" she gestured to each student, "—." She made a walking motion, Draco and Pansy couldn't help but laugh.

"A question," she said, pointing to her mouth as if to speak. At this, the young Slytherin wizards laughed even harder.

When Skylar sought Fudge's help to register the international use rights for wands, he reached a gentleman's agreement with Fudge to help the Ministry of Magic gain greater say in the hiring of Hogwarts faculty. Therefore, he also chose to stand aside at this moment.

Hagrid stared at her, clearly not understanding why she assumed he didn't understand normal English. Hermione's eyes welled with angry tears; she knew Umbridge was implying Hagrid was mentally challenged. She muttered under her breath, "Hag, wicked Hag!"

"Do you think," Professor Umbridge asked Pansy Parkinson crisply, "That you can understand Professor Hagrid?"

Like Hermione, Pansy also had tears in her eyes, but these tears were tears of laughter. She tried hard to hold back her laughter and answered haltingly.

"No... because... it often sounds... like 'gurgling'..."

Umbridge scribbled on the whiteboard. Hagrid's face flushed red in a few small, non-bruised patches, but he tried to pretend he hadn't heard Pansy's reply.

"Alright, Hagrid," she turned and looked up at him, speaking again in a slow, loud voice, "I think I have enough information... You will be here within ten days—" She held up her short, stubby fingers, "Understood—" (She made a gesture as if reaching for something in the air) "Your findings." She pointed to the whiteboard.

Then, with an even more smug smile, she hurried away from the students, looking even more like a toad under her green hat than before.

"That evil, hypocritical, twisted ugly freak!" Hermione finally couldn't contain her anger after class, as they walked back to the castle along the path they had come from. "Can you tell what she's trying to do? It's that same old half-human, half-beast trick of hers again—she's trying to portray Hagrid as a mentally challenged Troll just because his mother is a Giant!"

She seemed furious. Suddenly, she turned and roared at the Slytherin boys who were still jeering behind her, "Enough! We are all Hogwarts students, Hagrid is our professor, and how can you laugh at that woman for insulting her professor like that!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks. A moment of silence fell over the scene.

"Potter, Weasley," Draco stepped forward slowly, hands in his cloak pockets, his grey eyes coldly sweeping over the three opposite him, "Keep your women in check—we Slytherin have our reasons for what we do, and we don't need Gryffindor's interference."

"What did you say!" Ron's face instantly turned bright red. He took a step forward, furious, and clenched his fists as if he were about to punch Draco in the nose.

Harry instinctively reached for his wand, his green eyes burning with rage, ready to strike at any moment. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Malfoy, you'd better take back what you just said."

Draco didn't even blink, a cold smirk playing on his lips, as he said dismissively, "Otherwise what? Are you planning to deduct points from my Slytherin, or just put me in solitary confinement?"

"You think I wouldn't dare?" Ron said, his face flushed. "Because Malfoy insulted a Prefect, Slytherin lost 50 points! Malfoy is in solitary confinement for a week—the punishment is... cleaning the boys' washroom!"

"Fine, bring it on then, I'll go see Professor Snape later." Draco completely disregarded Ron's threat. Professors have the authority to overturn Prefect's punishments, and everyone knows that the protective Snape will obviously side with Draco.

Hermione was trembling with rage. She had never been called "your woman" so contemptuously before, and she was even more furious at Slytherin's indifferent attitude.

She whirled around, glaring at Skylar standing in the crowd, and snapped, "Skylar Malfoy, are you just going to stand there like that? You're a Slytherin too, do you condone this attitude?"

All eyes immediately turned to Skylar.

It had been a long time since a student had dared to call Skylar by his full name like that. Any young wizard who knew even a little about the Ghosts Society knew that this underground organization, which had once gathered all the elite students of Slytherin, had suddenly disappeared after offending Skylar.

The disappearance of four Prefect from Slytherin House was no small matter. For a time, rumors swirled within Slytherin, with various versions of the story circulating. Some said that Skylar had subdued them, while others believed they were dead and their bodies mutilated. Regardless, these legends added a touch of fear to Skylar's reputation.

After Hermione spoke up angrily, even Draco remained silent.

Skylar's gaze lingered on Hermione's face for a moment before he said softly, "Miss Granger, you and I both know who's backing Umbridge. If you want to go against her for Hagrid's sake, that's your business. Don't drag us Slytherin into it."

Hermione paused slightly, her brows furrowing even more. "What do you mean?"

Skylar's gaze swept over Harry and Ron behind her, then towards Slytherin, finally settling on Hermione. A faint smile played on his lips, but his eyes were chillingly cold. "Umbridge's investigation of the professors' teaching process is just the first step. Their ultimate goal is to replace the headmaster. Hagrid is merely cannon fodder in this whole process. We have our own stance on this matter."

Hermione's face changed instantly, her eyes filled with disbelief. "I can't believe you said that—" Her voice trembled, and she seemed to catch her breath for a moment.

She had always believed that Skylar was different from the other Slytherin —he was intelligent, powerful, possessed strength and fame, was the future leader of the Four Houses, and was the hope to lead Hogwarts towards unity.

How many good words had she spoken for Slytherin in front of Harry and Ron? How many times had she tried to bridge the gap between the houses? She thought Skylar would be the hero standing before all the students, the core that could unite Hogwarts, but...

"I thought you were Champion representing Hogwarts, a role model for all students... but you..." Her fingers curled involuntarily, her voice filled with deep disappointment and heartbreak.

"Dumbledore said that we must unite to face future crises... I have always believed in this, even... even when you Slytherin faced prejudice, I always tried to understand, tried to let everyone know that we can stand on the same side..."

Her gaze was fixed on Skylar, her eyes burning with resentment, pain, and an idealism shattered by reality.

"Don't be naive, Granger." Skylar his head slightly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The conflict between Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic is none of our business, Slytherin. We will not take sides—and regarding Hagrid's matter, all I can promise you is..."

"No need!" Hermione interrupted him abruptly, her voice trembling as if she could no longer bear something.

She stared at him blankly, her chest heaving, her lips trembling slightly, as if she wanted to refute something, but when she met Skylar's deep yet indifferent eyes, she suddenly couldn't say anything.

All the efforts, all the expectations, collapsed at this moment.

She had always tried to believe, to try to bridge the gap between Slytherin and Gryffindor, thinking that Skylar would be the one to break down prejudice, but he himself destroyed her beliefs so thoroughly.

Her hand rested on her heart, gripping her robe tightly, tears of anguish welling in her eyes. After a moment, she whispered, "... I understand."

His voice carried a hint of almost sorrowful indifference.

She looked away, suppressing the complex emotions within her, and strode towards the castle.

Harry glared at Skylar, his clenched fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly, but in the end he said nothing, pulling a disgruntled Ron along to catch up with Hermione.

The Slytherin students behind him exchanged smiles. Draco snorted, gave Skylar a cryptic look, and whispered, "Sometimes, I don't understand what you're thinking."

Skylar didn't answer, but simply watched Hermione's departing figure in silence.

Daphne gently hugged Skylar from behind, feeling the warmth behind her. Skylar's cold face seemed to break through the clouds, revealing a sunny smile. Although they didn't say a word, they understood each other's feelings.

Even without the agreement with Fudge, Skylar and Dumbledore were never on the same side. The fact that he refrained from stirring up trouble behind the scenes and instead used the Ministry of Magic to weaken Dumbledore was already a favor, considering the Phoenix Feather Dumbledore had given him during the Battle of Little Hangleton Cemetery.

Helping Dumbledore was out of the question; at best, he could only stand by and distance himself from the Sleeping Dragon Society.

Hermione was right in some respects. Skylar represented the Champion of Hogwarts and was the spiritual leader in the hearts of most students. He should consider the collective interests of Hogwarts. However, on this matter, their positions were ultimately different.

From Skylar's perspective, the Ministry of Magic's real target wasn't Hogwarts, but Dumbledore. And Hagrid, being Dumbledore's most trusted right-hand man, was not surprising at all as a target.

Opposing Umbridge is tantamount to confronting the Ministry of Magic. In this situation where every second counts, it would be unwise for the Sleeping Dragon Society to waste their time and energy on a protracted struggle with the Ministry of Magic instead of accumulating strength and growing stronger.

"Daphne," Skylar finally couldn't help but whisper the girl's name behind him. He paused for a moment before saying, "Thank you."

Daphne chuckled softly and said playfully, "I forgive you for what happened between Miss Delacour and Cho Chang —but you must pull yourself together; everyone needs you."

"Hmm," Skylar raised his head, gazing at Hogwarts Castle, his eyes gleaming.