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Chapter 322: “Pale Toad Face”
Chapter 322: “Pale Toad Face”
Chapter 322: “Pale Toad Face”
Sean smiled when he saw Hermione’s face as soon as he walked out of the door.
“It’s all right, and I’ve got someone to protect them, Mr. Lupin.”
The worry in Hermione’s heart just fell to the ground, and after taking a deep breath, she looked at Sean.
“Should we just stay at Hogwarts and do nothing else?”
Sean spread his hands helplessly, “At present, this is what we can only do. But I am more worried about the Ministry of Magic.”
He tried to contact Barty Crouch Jr. just now, but he could feel the Dark Mark belonging to Barty Jr., but he did not respond. This can only show one thing, Barty Crouch Jr. has been controlled.
What is unclear is whether the person controlling Barty Jr. is his father, who has broken free from the Imperius Curse, or the group of unknown behind-the-scenes forces.
If it is the latter, then the current situation in the British Ministry of Magic is a big trouble.
Sean can’t contact other Death Eaters rashly at this time. This group may have different ideas. After Rosier played an act with Sean last semester, the identity of ‘Voldemort’ should be hidden.
With his eyes open and blind, if it wasn’t for worrying about the current undercurrent situation, Sean even wanted to change his identity and go out to investigate by himself.
When they walked out of the Room of Requirements and returned to the hall, most of the students had already dispersed, but there were still many people who were still waiting anxiously. Those were the students whose families were at the center of the accident.
“Hey, Lee, what do the professors say?” Sean grabbed Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley twins and the commentator of the Quidditch House Cup.
“I haven’t got anything,” Lee Jordan spread his hands. “In the end, let us wait for the news, but now the owls are not allowed to fly, and many people have no idea.”
“Lee, have you ever heard of the fact that the Ministry of Magic banned communication methods for Hogwarts students?” Sean asked.
Lee frowned and thought for a while, “Probably not. Fred, George, and I have sneaked into his office. Filch has a special file cabinet to record the major events that happened at Hogwarts. We went out once to check it out, but there is no such news as prohibiting communication.”
Sean couldn’t help frowning.
The next morning, Filch took a hammer and nailed a new policy on the bulletin board.
“Ministry of Magic Education Regulation No. 18 conforms to the principle of emergency of Secrecy Act.” Sean read out the name of the regulation.
“Starting today, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry cancels all extracurricular courses, and Hogsmeade Village is temporarily closed.”
“In response to growing tensions, Owl Communications has been banned.”
“At the same time, by the unanimous decision of the Ministry of Magic and the school board, senior investigators and personnel will be sent to Hogwarts to monitor any activities.”
“The investigator will have all the authority below that of the headmaster of Hogwarts.”
Below the big, bold characters are the seal of the Ministry of Magic and a series of signatures in cursive script. Sean frowned directly.
Moreover, has the situation become tense to this point? Is this approach sure not to arouse the rebellious psychology of the students?
Especially for students born in Muggle families, the behavior of the Ministry of Magic is close to writing “I don’t believe you mudbloods” on their faces. As Sean expected, many students in Muggle families have already gritted their teeth, and even their expressions are quite gloomy.
Hermione was not taking it lightly. She suppressed her anger and whispered, “They don’t tell us about the safety of our family, don’t let us communicate with the outside world, and send people to monitor us, and Dumbledore doesn’t care about these things?!”
Sean looked up at the ceiling and shook his head silently. This is one of the biggest differences between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
Although he is the most powerful wizard in the world, he might be able to do something about this situation. However, he is still restricted by various official institutions, such as the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards.
It wasn’t that Dumbledore was incapable of overthrowing these institutions but that he was unwilling to break the rules.
However, the conflict came sooner than Sean imagined.
In the afternoon, a Gryffindor and Slytherin students had a conflict. After the quarrel, the two pulled out their wands and aimed at each other. Before the others could persuade them, they cast jinxes at each other.
The end result was that the Gryffindor coughed up blood, and the Slytherin had a broken finger. Both were sent to the infirmary, where recovery will take at least a week.
It all started when the Gryffindor student from a Muggle family at the center of the attack was complaining to his friends about not being able to write to his family about what was going on. Coincidentally, the passing Slytherin student couldn’t hold back his sarcastic comment.
“Ooh, tough luck.”
A series of sarcastic laughter followed these words.
The Gryffindor students were enraged immediately, and after a quarrel, the Slytherin students angrily cursed a Mudblood. The insulting words directly ignited the anger accumulated by the Gryffindor students, and they directly attacked with their wands.
“It’s not getting better…” Sean frowned immediately when he heard the news.
Some Slytherins have maintained their pride of superiority, losing even the most basic capacity for empathy. Sean even considered whether to wait for the Slytherin student to be discharged from the hospital before sending him back.
The only thing that made him feel a little relieved was that most of the students turned to the Gryffindor student’s side.
The students of Slytherin House did not show too much resentment. Mainly because Voldemort did not appear, the relationship between Slytherin and other houses was not as bad as in the original book.
Both students will be punished after their injuries have healed, but the punishment given to the Slytherin student is much more severe than that given to the Gryffindor student.
With this, they chose to shut their mouth.
Just when that conflict had passed, the senior investigator of the Ministry of Magic officially came to Hogwarts.
“Damn it.” Sean felt nauseated when he saw the person coming.
The pink and tacky coat, the short and thick figure, and the fake and sweet smile.
It was Dolores Jane Umbridge.
Looking at Umbridge sitting at the teacher’s table at the dinner, Hermione whispered to Sean, “That’s the new investigator. Frankly speaking, she looks a bit weird. However, it’s a bit uncomfortable for me to judge people by their appearance. If she’s a nice person, I’ll apologize.”
Sean curled his lips, “I think your judgment of people is very accurate. To be honest, we may not have a good period.”
Daisy asked, “Why do you say that?”
“Well, you know, I also have some information channels in the Ministry of Magic, and this Umbridge has a pretty bad reputation.”
Hermione immediately turned pale with shock, “Everyone in the Ministry of Magic thinks this person is not good? Oh God…”
Just as he was speaking, there was the sound of a spoon hitting the gold cup. That was usually Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall’s way of reminding the students to quiet down and listen to them, and Professor Dumbledore was often away from school these days.
The students looked up. Umbridge stood up and walked to the place where Dumbledore had been giving his speech.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, newcomers to the wizarding world. The future of this country.” She showed that kind of artificial smile.
On the teacher’s desk, Professor McGonagall frowned.
“Please allow me to introduce myself, Dolores Jane Umbridge, a senior investigator of the Ministry of Magic. My task includes but is not limited to what you see on the bulletin board today.” Umbridge crossed her waist.
Dumbledore is not here, and Umbridge’s behavior greatly disrespects Professor McGonagall.
“She looks like an elegant toad…” Sean heard Fred’s comment at the Gryffindor table.
He is usually most afraid of Professor McGonagall but greatly respects her.
Umbridge paused, with a fake smile still on her face, but her tone became more annoying.
“Our new minister and the chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards both believe that the quality of the current magic school students is worrying. It coincides with this moment of tension. In addition to implementing the regulations,” Umbridge smiled sharply, “The Ministry also gave me the right to help Hogwarts students improve their studying qualities.” The students looked at Professor McGonagall blankly.
Professor McGonagall just looked livid and didn’t stand up to object, consenting to what she said.
“Now, please take the initiative to stand up to that student just now, and you will get a small punishment for your impoliteness.” Umbridge said.
There was no sound in the hall. Fred just secretly smiled in his seat.
Umbridge looked at the hall, “Aren’t you going to stand up? I hope you won’t affect the mood of everyone enjoying the dinner.”
No one stood up.
Umbridge smiled and clapped her hands, “Very well, that’s fine. If that student doesn’t stand up, we’ll just wait.”
Professor McGonagall stood up.
Umbridge glanced back, “Professor McGonagall, this is the right given to me by the minister. Please don’t forget that Hogwarts is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic.”
She turned her head to look at the students again, “Did you not understand what I meant? I said, if that person doesn’t come stand up, then we’ll just wait indefinitely.”
There was an eerie silence in the hall.
Behind Umbridge, Professor McGonagall was dragged down by Professor Flitwick. As time passed, the atmosphere in the hall became more and more strange.
Sean’s face was as usual, but there was a flash of anger in his eyes.
After a while, there were more noisy and low-pitched discussions among the students in the hall, and many people secretly turned their attention to Fred.
Umbridge noticed their gazes, but she acted as if she didn’t. She stood in that annoying posture, just waiting for Fred to stand up. Obviously, Fred didn’t want his bad mouth to affect others, so he stood up.
“It’s me, Professor. I’m sorry, I apologize to you.”
Umbridge looked at him quietly and said, “No, what you need is not an apology but a punishment. Come to my office tomorrow afternoon after class and before the dinner.”
“I will.” Fred said carelessly.
After speaking, he was ready to sit down directly.
“No, please introduce yourself first, name, grade, and house, and apologize to others who have been affected by you.”
Fred’s face turned dark, and Umbridge’s eyes were already threatening.
Fred replied stiffly, “Fred Weasley, fifth grade, Gryffindor, I apologize to everyone.”
There was a booing and jeering sound from the Slytherin table.
“Insincere, Mr. Weasley. You can eat while standing up. As for the others, please enjoy your dinner.”
Professor McGonagall couldn’t bear it anymore, “Professor Umbridge, Hogwarts will never use this kind of punishment on students!”
Umbridge just handed over a piece of regulations and smiled, “I don’t want to, Professor McGonagall. But this is an order from the Ministry. The students are too jumpy, the situation is now not good for it, and I have to make sure they understand quickly.”
“To ensure that after they enter the society, they will not do anything that will affect the concealment of the wizarding world.” Umbridge dragged out her voice.
Professor McGonagall’s complexion changed, and finally sat down dejectedly.
Dinner appeared on the table, but Fred standing there was too much, and many students looked at him while eating.
“This is an insult.” Hermione looked at Fred, who was trying to keep his composure.
“It’s not only an insult but also an act of dividing students.” Sean took a piece of steak and put it on the plate.
“Fred must be sad. Although he is usually careless, he is actually a nice person.” Daisy whispered.
“Obviously.” Sean said as he took some food and put it on Daisy and Hermione’s plates.
Under their puzzled eyes, Sean stood up, holding the dinner plate.
“I guess it’s time to eat.”