The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a complete pitfall!
This was Umbridge's deepest feeling during her time at Hogwarts.
She had already forgotten how many times she had read the files of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors of all generations. Ever since Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, the wizards who had served as Defense Against the Dark Arts professors were all extremely terrible.
Professor Quirrell, dead.
Professor Lockhart, turned into an idiot, and stayed in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries forever.
Professor Lupin, disgraced, was nearly sent to Azkaban for attacking a student.
Professor Moody was locked in a box from beginning to end. Barty Crouch Jr., who replaced him, had an even worse fate. His soul was sucked away by the Dementors and he died a miserable death.
Professor Smith, who disappeared before Harry Potter came to the school, has not been found yet and is probably dead.
Although Umbridge was unwilling to believe in the so-called curse, the fact that no Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had served for more than a year in decades was far from a coincidence.
No wonder Dumbledore couldn't find any professors willing to take the position.
Umbridge's mood did not improve when she thought about how she had jumped into this deep pit on her own initiative.
If this trend continues, she will most likely die suddenly before the end of this semester, just as those students said.
Umbridge would naturally not wait to die. She planned to resign as professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts before the end of the semester to avoid the curse.
This was the best solution she had come up with after studying the archives for so long.
All the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors who resigned early managed to escape unscathed.
However, as a professor sent by the Ministry of Magic to Hogwarts, Umbridge cannot give up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at will, nor will she easily give up her influence in Hogwarts, so she needs other positions to replace her, such as senior investigator or headmaster of Hogwarts.
Replacing Dumbledore and becoming the new headmaster of Hogwarts is Umbridge's ultimate goal. As long as she can accomplish this task, nothing will be a problem.
However, during the time Umbridge stayed at Hogwarts, she failed to find any evidence against Dumbledore and was instead embarrassed by a series of pranks.
Umbridge felt even worse when she thought of the recent Anti-Toad League.
Especially recently there was a prophecy circulating in the Ministry of Magic that Minister of Magic Fudge would be ousted next summer, which really made her feel even more irritated.
Just because Umbridge doesn't believe in prophecies doesn't mean she doesn't need to prepare in advance.
Helping the Ministry of Magic gain a foothold in Hogwarts was one of her main tasks at Hogwarts.
As long as he can do it, he basically doesn't have to worry about being abandoned by the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic will not easily give up a deputy minister who has a strong hand and strong execution ability.
The core of this plan is to place professors in Hogwarts School.
Senior investigators have the power to expel unqualified professors.
In Umbridge's mind, there were three people who were suitable targets.
The first one is naturally Hagrid, the half-blood giant who teaches the Care of Magical Creatures class. According to information provided by Slytherin students, Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class is quite bad, especially the blasting-tailed skrewt that caused a lot of trouble last semester.
Unfortunately, the big guy Hagrid was not in school and escaped the disaster by luck, but this did not hinder Umbridge's determination to expel Hagrid.
However, after Hagrid was expelled, Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank would most likely become the new professor of Care of Magical Creatures, and she would be more inclined to Dumbledore than the Ministry of Magic.
The second is Sybill Trelawney from the Divination class. According to information provided by Slytherin students, the students call Trelawney an old liar.
If Trelawney was driven away, Umbridge felt that Dumbledore would not be able to find a suitable Divination professor to fill the vacancy in a short period of time.
After all, there are very few wizards who truly understand divination.
The last one is Professor Charity Burbage of Muggle Studies.
This professor once proposed some theories that did not please the pure-bloods, such as "she even said that there was not much difference between Muggles and wizards." This made the pure-bloods very dissatisfied. They hoped that Dumbledore would fire her and replace her with a new professor of Muggle Studies, but Dumbledore undoubtedly refused.
If she could fire Professor Kerrydi Bubaggi and replace him with someone that everyone likes, she would undoubtedly gain the support of the pure-blood faction.
Umbridge knew very well that both she and Fudge needed the support of the pure-blood faction.
In fact, Fudge has achieved some results.
The next day, Umbridge went to the divination classroom on the top of the North Tower as planned, carrying a prepared questionnaire and writing board.
When she pushed open the trapdoor and entered the Divination classroom, she found Professor Trelawney staring at her expressionlessly. Her eyes were unfriendly, as if she was looking at an enemy, which froze the fake smile on Umbridge's face.
In the divination classroom, the students who had just received the dream interpretation guide noticed the change in the atmosphere. They were all surprised to find that Professor Trelawney was very hostile to the toad.
Everyone looked at Umbridge, curious about what bad thing the toad had done.
"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney."
Professor Umbridge found a secluded empty seat and sat down, her signature fake smile returning to her face. "I believe you must have received my notice, which stated that you will be checking the time and date of your class."
"Got it." Professor Trelawney still didn't look away, "I also predicted... I would be expelled by you."
Professor Trelawney's words really shocked all the students in the divination classroom. Everyone started whispering, trying to figure out what the old liar was doing!
"Did you take the wrong medicine, old liar?"
"Could it be that the old liar knew that he couldn't pass the test, so he planned to fool the toad in this way?" Ron muttered softly, immediately attracting the angry glares of the two girls beside him.
No matter what, the old liar confronting the toad is undoubtedly something that everyone likes to see.
Harry could guess what was going on.
It was obviously abnormal for Professor Trelawney to confront Umbridge, and most of the abnormal things happening in Hogwarts were caused by someone behind the scenes, deliberately targeting Professor Umbridge.
Isn't Professor Trelawney afraid of being expelled
No, it’s because he knew he would be fired, so he was not afraid and dared to confront the toad to vent his anger.
It is becoming clear who is behind this.
Harry suddenly looked forward to what would happen next.
"Oh!" Professor Umbridge has been working in the Ministry of Magic for decades, and her face is thicker than a book. She quickly put on a hypocritical smile: "Whether to expel you or not, I need to make a decision after I check your class."
"In the last two months, as for the specific time..." Professor Trelawney still stared at Umbridge and said in a bad tone: "You won't get what you want, and a nasty guy will take over this job."
"You don't have class?"
Umbridge raised her eyebrows slightly and changed the subject. She suspected that this was Professor Trelawney's trick.
"This class was originally going to be about explaining dreams, but... if you have any questions, just ask!"
Umbridge was also very surprised by Professor Trelawney's strong hostility. So far, no professor in Hogwarts had shown such shocking hostility towards her.
However, considering that she was going to expel unqualified professors, it didn't seem strange that Trelawney was hostile to her.
"Well!" Umbridge looked up at Trelawney and asked, "How long have you been in this position?"
"It's been almost sixteen years." Trelawney said to herself, "Dumbledore used mine. I am the great-great-granddaughter of the prophet Cassandra Trelawney. I know my own situation very well. You don't need to question whether I have the "third eye". If you want to predict, I think we can start, and then you can leave."
Umbridge frowned slightly, realizing that the questions she wanted to ask were answered in one breath. She took a pen and wrote something quickly on her writing board, then saw Trelawney bring a crystal ball and place it on the cushion in front of her.
"Put your hand on the crystal ball. I can't wait to see your future." Trelawney said to Umbridge in a malicious tone. "The professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts has always been unlucky because of the curse. It makes people wonder if you can leave alive. Please!"
Umbridge's face darkened when she heard this. She hesitated for a moment, but still put her hand on the crystal ball.
At this moment, all the students left their seats and gathered around the two people, wanting to see the results of the toad's divination.
There's nothing we can do. Who made the old liar so powerful
However, everyone was destined to be disappointed, as there was no change in the crystal ball.
Everyone looked up at Trelawney, and the expression on Umbridge's face was extremely strange.
Trelawney, who had been staring at the crystal ball, suddenly spoke.
"You will always be unlucky, very unlucky, because you are being targeted."
"I didn't see anything." Umbridge said with a fake smile on her face, as if she wanted to expose Trelawney's ridiculous lie.
"That's because you don't have a third eye, and I'm not a very good fortune teller." Trelawney looked up at Umbridge with a sneer of disdain on her lips. "You know nothing about divination. Only a master of prophecy can satisfy your requirements, and the other party won't even look at you."
Before Umbridge could get angry, Trelawney continued, "I saw you drive Dumbledore away and become... if you can be considered a headmaster. In fact, you can't even enter the headmaster's office."
"I'll give you a piece of advice. Don't enter the Forbidden Forest, or those long-legged guys will teach you an unforgettable lesson, but I don't think you'll listen. I also saw the administrator send you out of Hogwarts, and Peeves set off firecrackers behind you to celebrate your departure. By the way..." Professor Trelawney put her face in front of Umbridge and shook her head with pity, "It's unfortunate that I saw you die in Azkaban prison in the end."
"How dare you..." Umbridge's cheeks turned red, looking like a volcano that could erupt at any time.
"This is the divination you requested. I didn't lie to you on purpose." Professor Trelawney completely entered the mutual harm mode: "And after you get out of Hogwarts, I will return to Hogwarts to teach."
"Don't be angry. If you think free fortune-telling is unreliable, you can pay a fortune-teller to tell your future." Professor Trelawney laughed happily, "The premise is that you can find someone who is willing to tell your fortune. As far as I know, after Cassandra Vabraskey was admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, there is only one wizard left in the whole of Britain who is capable of telling your future."
"You..." Umbridge's eyes flashed dangerously, "Do you think it's fun to insult me like this?"
"Insult? No, I think you are wrong. That is indeed the result of divination. I am not interested in insulting you!" Professor Trelawney took the crystal ball and said to Umbridge calmly, "You can go now."
Umbridge slammed the door and left in frustration.
"You can't expect me to be nice to someone who is going to expel me." Trelawney said to the students below with a blank expression, "Besides, I didn't insult her. That was indeed the result of the prophecy."
"Professor, are those prophecies true?"
"Of course it's true." Professor Trelawney reminded, "As early as the first class, I told you that without the third eye, that is, the second sight, you can't go further on the road of divination. Hogwarts never expected you to become a master of prophecy, because there are too few people who can really predict the future. I have taught for sixteen years, and I have only met Mr. Anderson."
"Then what's the point of the divination course?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"I'll teach you what divination is, and some of the most basic knowledge, such as palmistry, tea leaf interpretation, carol card divination, and dream interpretation." Trelawney looked around at everyone and said calmly, "If you don't take this course, how will you know if you have a talent for divination? People with talent will soon stand out after systematic learning, and those without talent will just stay that way."
"Well, let's cherish the little time we have left!"
"Professor, do you really have the gift of prophecy?" a Hufflepuff student asked, but he quickly realized that his words were too rude.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I..."
Harry had more say than anyone else in the room. The old liar Trelawney did have the ability to predict the future, but she herself had no control over it and sometimes she didn't even know what she had predicted.
"Yes, but it's very weak and unstable." Trelawney pouted. She was very confident about this because she had received Albert's personal admission.
"Since Cassandra, there hasn't been another truly powerful prophet in my family." Trelawney said helplessly, "This is actually a very normal phenomenon. As far as I know, Cassandra Vabratsky's descendants have not inherited much of her prophetic ability. In this world, there are very few prophet masters who can really meet Umbridge's requirements."
Chapter 1005 Trelawney's Prophecy