"Public opinion," Will said lightly.
"Public opinion?"
Harry looked baffled, but Sylvia's and Hermione's eyes lit up.
"You mean—" Hermione lowered her voice. "Let other people know? Spread the word around school?"
"No, no. How many students does the school have?" Will shook his head. "How many wizards read the Daily Prophet, The Quibbler, and Witch Weekly?"
Hermione understood at once. "You want us to send articles to those papers and get the story out through them. Once everyone knows, Umbridge will be caught in a scandal and they'll have to throw her out."
"Bingo. That's exactly it." Will made a Finger Snap. "We have proof that she used Dark Magic to hurt a Hogwarts student—the savior of the Wizarding World, the Boy Who Lived, a Champion of the Goblet of Fire. That kind of public outcry should cause her some trouble.
"Hermione, write an article. As for the headline... let me think. How about 'Shocking! Hogwarts Professor Uses Dark Magic to Brutalize Student!' That ought to pack a punch."
That headline made Hermione immediately discard the draft she had just begun composing in her head.
After all, clickbait headlines were still far ahead of their time in the twentieth-century Wizarding World.
"Also, find Colin and have him take some photos. The scarier they look, the better. Colin can pull that off," Will reminded her. "Photos will make the story much more convincing."
"That's the gist of it. Anything else?" Will had laid out the whole plan in a few sentences. To Harry and Hermione, it almost felt too easy, as though Will had intended to do this all along.
"No, nothing else..."
"Then I'll be off. I have something to do." Will had been busy lately, and he was supposed to see Professor Flitwick at noon to ask him