After being severely punished by Peeves, Umbridge, who returned from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, seemed to have become much more "honest". She did not dare to cause trouble to everyone again, nor did she talk about the last incident. It was as if after experiencing the last lesson, Umbridge became "well-behaved" and harmless, and no longer as aggressive as before.
However, what shocked everyone even more was that Umbridge actually asked Filch to take down the pile of educational orders hanging on the notice wall.
Many students couldn't believe their eyes, let alone Umbridge's change. Even Hermione hesitated about her previous plan to discredit Toad, and ran to ask Albert whether she wanted to continue with the previous plan. On the contrary, Harry insisted that everything Umbridge was doing now was just a disguise.
"Even if a venomous snake retracts its fangs, it is still a venomous snake. It is just patiently waiting for the opportunity to show its fangs again, instead of foolishly taking a beating. This is called retreating to advance, and it is a very easy to understand way of dealing with it." Albert never believed in the nonsense that putting down the butcher knife can make you become a Buddha instantly.
"Hermione, don't be fooled by the toad's appearance." Harry raised his hand, looked at the shallow scar on the back of his hand, and said coldly, "Don't forget that I am still banned from the game, and don't forget that my Firebolt is still with her. Instead of trusting her, I would rather trust Anderson's judgment."
"I didn't... I just felt very strange." Hermione looked at the empty notice board in front of her and fell into a brief silence. "Maybe she is brewing some conspiracy again."
A few days passed, and no new educational orders appeared on the notice board. Umbridge also became very low-key, and apart from teaching students, she hardly did anything else.
Hogwarts returned to its usual peaceful and comfortable life, as if the nightmare that lasted for half a year was finally over.
Especially when Harry got his Firebolt back and was allowed to return to the Quidditch field, even he was instantly shaken and doubted whether Umbridge had really reformed. However, the scar on the back of his hand made it impossible for Harry to believe Umbridge no matter what.
"What do you think Umbridge is going to do?"
George took the broom back from Umbridge and asked Albert puzzledly.
Has the toad really reformed
This was something the Weiss twins found hard to believe.
However, the current situation looks very strange. What on earth is Umbridge doing
"This is called retreating in order to advance. In that situation, he can only give in and wait for the opportunity to catch you. Believe me, she will show her fangs again soon." Albert could guess what Umbridge was going to do. He was just a little surprised that Fred and George would have doubts.
Lack of experience
Maybe she had never been cheated before, or had never encountered a similar case, so she couldn't understand Umbridge's actions.
Of course, this may be related to the fact that most ordinary people are more easily satisfied.
There are many similar cases. It is true that only after being cheated can one remember them clearly.
"I see. Toads are really insidious."
Fred and George, who had just got their brooms back, felt bad all of a sudden, because they found that Umbridge's actions had successfully made many people let down their guard.
"Is it very insidious?" Albert had a strange expression.
I guess, after this time, I can give free lessons to all students in the school.
"We need to talk to Harry about this and make him more alert so that he won't be fooled." George handed the broom to Fred and hurried to find Harry.
He had guessed that Umbridge's purpose was to let everyone relax their vigilance so that she could catch the Anti-Toad League and the Defense Association.
It can only be said that most people are forgetful, especially when faced with things that have nothing to do with them. Now many students have shifted their attention to the next Hogsmeade weekend, which happens to be the Valentine's Day holiday, and many couples are planning to spend Valentine's Day in Hogsmeade Village.
Albert watched all this silently. When would Umbridge take action
Probably... I won't keep you waiting too long.
There is no way. The number of people attending DA gatherings nowadays is really too large. Once the number is too large, the difficulty of keeping secrets will increase rapidly, especially when everyone's guard is lowered.
It is very easy to catch Harry by the tail, especially with the abbreviation DA, it is really hard not to make associations.
Unless Harry goes to Umbridge and sets up a legal DA club, this would undoubtedly be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth, from which there would be no return.
No one is stupid.
After some discussion, everyone decided to set up a Defense Against the Dark Arts study group to test Umbridge's attitude.
Strangely enough, the Defense Against the Dark Arts study group was actually allowed to join. The only requirement was that they could not practice dark magic or use curses at will in school.
After some discussion, everyone finally changed the name of the "Defense Association" to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Study Group, so that the gatherings could be held normally and legally without having to worry about being targeted by Umbridge.
Now, even Harry was confused.
There's no way, everything feels like a dream, as if everything has returned to normal.
Hermione even suspended her original plan against Umbridge, and some of the previously compiled information fell into Albert's hands.
"Please help me deliver these things to Rita Skeeter first." Albert was very surprised at the naivety of these people. Perhaps all students who have not been beaten by society are like this.
"If all this is really just a toad's trick, it would be really terrible." Lee Jordan muttered as he took the information.
"That's normal. She has been working in the Ministry of Magic since she graduated from school. If she didn't even have this little bit of scheming, how do you think she could have become the Director of the Abuse of Magic Office before the age of 30 and climbed to her current position?" Albert found the naivety of the crowd funny, yet helpless. Perhaps he had been the same in the past.
Fortunately, after being influenced by him, some of his roommates didn't look so stupid.
Regardless of whether Umbridge was in disguise or not, going to Hogsmeade to celebrate Valentine's Day at the weekend became the topic of discussion among the students. No one opposed Toad anymore, and even Peeves was persuaded by Albert and stopped bothering Umbridge, as if everything had passed with the wind.
But, is all this really over
I don’t think so.
…
"Are you really going to do that?"
Hermione already knew that Albert still had no intention of giving up, and all plans were still proceeding in an orderly manner. They had already made an appointment with Rita Skeeter, and had also established a good relationship with Luna. The Quibbler was willing to set aside an entire issue to publish this article.
"It's better to be prepared. Even if it's not used, it doesn't matter. It's just a fee for Miss Beetle, and the last thing I need now is Galleons." Albert's words made Ron next to him open his mouth, and finally he didn't know where to move his eyes.
"Is that all Umbridge fake?" Harry asked.
"What do you think?" Albert asked back.
"I think so, but the Defense Against the Dark Arts Study Group is now a legal gathering, and she can't do anything to us." This is what Harry is most confused about. They are no longer breaking the law. If this is the case, what is Umbridge planning in secret
"Don't ask me about this kind of thing. Think about it and guess it yourself." Albert continued to flip through the Defense Against the Dark Arts notes in his hand.
He got this from Professor Flitwick. It was a note left by the former duel champion, and it contained many of Professor Flitwick's thoughts and experiences.
"Do you think Hogwarts will fall in the future?" Hermione stopped dwelling on previous events and asked her own questions.
"It is very likely that the Ministry of Magic has collapsed in the prophecy. If the You-Know-Who really controls the Ministry of Magic, it would be easy for him to influence Hogwarts." Albert answered Hermione's question calmly, as if it was just an ordinary matter.
"I feel like Snape has messed up my brain, and learning Occlumency hasn't helped me... Anyway, I have nightmares more frequently than before." Harry also expressed his confusion.
"You have thought about blocking the connection between you two, haven't you?" Albert bluntly exposed Harry's thoughts, "If you really want to learn the brain block technique, you have to spend more time and energy to study it seriously, instead of just knowing it half-heartedly, which would be worse."
"Harry, Professor Dumbledore hopes that you can learn the art of Occlumency to protect yourself from the influence of the You-Know-Who." Hermione advised earnestly after they left the Room of Requirement.
"Hermione, you don't understand how terrible that feeling is, how terrible it is to have your brain constantly invaded and spied on. I've been trying hard to learn it, but to no avail." Harry had to admit that he might not have any talent for Occlumency.
Of course, this may also be related to Harry's desire to figure out what the corridor he kept seeing in his dreams was all about.
"I think Albert is right. Umbridge may have some hidden secrets. Hermione, what do you think..." Harry quickly changed the subject.
Ron noticed that Hermione stopped and looked at the end of the corridor, and asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"nothing?"
Hermione saw a somewhat familiar figure walking towards the Room of Requirement, and she thought that person might be their Student Union President.
Although Katrina is the sister of Albert's girlfriend, Hermione always feels that those two people may have... women's intuition.
"Hermione?" Harry called.
"By the way, Harry, have we forgotten about Hagrid?"
This time it was Hermione's turn to change the subject.
"What?" Harry and Ron were both confused.
"Hagrid is still on probation. We can use this to test Umbridge."
"Are you really going?"
Harry didn't really want to go find Umbridge, even though she was now harmless, but Harry still didn't want to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office, which left him with bad memories.
"We have to ask Hagrid about probation," Hermione said to Harry. "You don't want Hagrid to be expelled, do you?"
"All right!"
After much hesitation, Harry finally agreed. The three of them walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office, and soon knocked on Umbridge's door, and told her the purpose of their visit under Umbridge's surprised gaze.
"As long as Hagrid doesn't bring any dangerous magical creatures into the classroom, I think he can stay in the school." When faced with the questions from Harry and the other two, Umbridge gave a very confusing answer.
However, Harry and the other two could not find any fault with this.
Because Hagrid did have the bad habit of bringing hippogriffs and skrewts into class, and Umbridge didn't even know that Hagrid had a dragon, a three-headed dog, and might now have a giant hiding in the Forbidden Forest.
"What do you think?"
Hermione asked as they left the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
"I can't tell, but her smile still makes me feel sick." Harry still didn't like Umbridge, and didn't like that hypocritical smile.
"In fact, I think it's unnecessary to worry about Hagrid being expelled. Don't forget the old liar. He's still waiting for the toad to get out of here before returning to Hogwarts to continue his job. Even if Hagrid is really expelled, unless Dumbledore is not the headmaster, he will definitely let Hagrid come back to work." Ron reminded, "I'm more worried about what Hagrid is hiding in the Forbidden Forest. We'd better remind him. And does Dumbledore know about this?"
"Isn't Dumbledore the headmaster? Could it be..." Hermione suddenly thought of something and had a bad feeling, so she immediately walked in another direction.
"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione who was leaving in a hurry. "Aren't you going to find Hagrid together?"
"I suddenly remembered something. See you later."
Hermione hurried back to the Room of Requirement, intending to talk to Albert. Just now, she suddenly had a terrible guess.
When Hermione arrived at the eighth floor, she soon discovered that she could not enter the Room of Requirement. She tried a few more times, and the door of the Room of Requirement actually opened by itself.
She was stunned, opened her mouth slightly, stretched out her hands and pushed the door open.
In the room, Katrina was practicing magic, and Albert was apparently teaching her personally.
For some reason, Hermione felt a little sour in her heart. Didn't he say that he didn't have time to teach others Defense Against the Dark Arts
"What's the matter?" A familiar voice suddenly sounded.
Katrina also stopped practicing magic and gave Hermione a questioning look.
Hermione was stunned for a moment, looked at Katrina, and talked about what happened when they went to see Umbridge just now.
"She didn't agree to anything." Albert thought that Hermione might have other reasons for looking for him, but he still reminded her, "In fact, most verbal words cannot be taken seriously. Even a contract with a signature may not be effective."
"that… "
Hermione glanced at Katrina, but ultimately decided not to ask. She was actually very afraid of getting the worst answer.
"You are really welcome."
After Hermione left in a hurry, Katrina asked curiously, "I've actually always been curious, why is Yin Zebel not angry or jealous?"
"Because outstanding boys are always popular, and because she knows that no one can snatch me away from her, so why should she be angry and jealous?" Albert turned his head and asked, as if he was just stating the facts.
Katrina ignored Albert and continued to make the most of her time to practice magic. Albert didn't have much time to personally teach her, so she had to hurry up.