"I actually did listen. Most of it was nonsense, but there really was one very important piece of information." Hermione shook her head with a chuckle, clearly finding the nickname "pink toad" amusing too.
Although she respected professors greatly, both Umbridge's dreadful performance the previous school year and what Harry had told her about Umbridge's conduct at the hearing had left her without the slightest goodwill toward the woman.
"What information?" Ron asked casually.
Whenever Hermione kept them in suspense, Harry and Ron always cooperated as much as possible. It encouraged Hermione's desire to express herself and explain things, which was very important to the two dimwits who needed her help with their homework from time to time.
Hermione looked at everyone watching her with equally puzzled expressions-clearly, none of the others had listened to Umbridge. She glanced at the staff table, then lowered her voice. "Almost everything Umbridge said was nonsense, but she did get one message across. The Ministry of Magic has started interfering with Hogwarts!"
At these words, the students around her froze for a moment, then their expressions changed as well. They had not noticed until she said it, but once Hermione pointed it out, everyone immediately caught on.
Wasn't that right? Didn't the stance Umbridge was taking mean that the Ministry of Magic was beginning to seek influence over Hogwarts?
"How could that happen?" Harry asked in surprise.
He did not doubt Hermione's judgment; she had almost always been right before. But if something like this really happened, its implications would be far from ordinary.
After all, Hogwarts had always been independent of the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry could only offer suggestions, not exercise authority over it. The school's administrative and managerial authority lay entirely with the headmaster.
In fact, much the same was