Merlin merely blinked, and several weeks quietly slipped by.
Nothing particularly unusual happened during those weeks. Immersed in romantic bliss, Su Er completely forgot the task Dumbledore had given him: to contact the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest and bring them over to their side.
As expected, Ron successfully joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Just as in the original story, Umbridge exercised her authority as High Inquisitor, conducting "investigations" into the professors during every class the young wizards attended.
Of course, having failed to obtain direct evidence against the culprit responsible for her public humiliation, she refused to let the matter rest and would drop into the Gryffindor Common Room without warning to conduct "reasonable searches."
To avoid appearing to single anyone out, she did not spare Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw either.
Discontent ran high. The students felt that their privacy had been violated and reported it to their four Heads of House.
But who was Umbridge? She might not have been a qualified teacher, but she was a qualified politician. The various excuses spilling from her pink-lipsticked mouth were so reasonable and well-supported that the Heads of House could find nothing to refute them with.
Whatever your position, you could hardly stop an elder who was "wholeheartedly concerned about school safety" from showing her "concern" for the children, could you?
Likewise, Umbridge's lessons remained dull and tedious. Every class consisted entirely of reading aloud a few pages from Defensive Magical Theory.
"I have a bold idea."
One reasonably warm afternoon when they had no classes, Hermione put down Common Spells and Counter-Spells in the Room of Requirement and turned toward Su Er, who was helping her knit hats on the sofa.
Why was Su Er knitting the hats rather than Hermione doing it herself? I do not think that