In the short few days after school started, everyone had figured out Umbridge's character: she was a hypocritical, self-righteous, unreasonable, and controlling old woman.
None of the prefects who had dealt with Umbridge liked her.
No one knew which prefect secretly leaked the content of the conversation with Umbridge. Now the word had spread around the school that Umbridge wanted the prefects to be her spies and monitor the students at Hogwarts.
The Deputy Minister of Magic obviously mistook Hogwarts for the Ministry of Magic and actually resorted to intrigue and manipulation, trying to divide and undermine the students' trust in the prefects and to win them over to his side.
As soon as the news spread, the whole school was in an uproar, and the prefects cursed Umbridge countless times in their hearts.
In order to avoid being isolated by the students, they began to spread the news they got from Umbridge, and for a time, negative rumors about Umbridge were flying everywhere.
The most exciting news for everyone was that Umbridge finally ran into a snag with Albert and was so angry that she smashed the office.
At that time, many students heard the sounds of smashing things and cursing coming from the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office.
Everyone was gloating over this. They didn't dare to ignore Umbridge like Albert did, but they were still very excited to see the old woman being humiliated.
Unfortunately, no one knows what Albert and Umbridge talked about.
Even if they knew, they couldn't learn it.
Because Albert's grades can basically be ignored, even without that transcript, no one would doubt his true level.
The shining world-class championship title is undoubtedly the best proof, and Albert does not seem to have any plans to join the Ministry of Magic after graduation.
Since the two sides have nothing in common, why should they pretend to be friendly with Umbridge
So, this Hogwarts genius simply ignored the Deputy Minister of Magic and spent most of his time in the library, studying something.
Soon after, news spread in Hogwarts Castle that Umbridge allowed Albert to skip the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
For this reason, many seventh-grade students came to ask Albert about this.
If Albert hadn't been there to bear the pressure, Umbridge would have quickly broken down their resistance, and everyone would undoubtedly have faced Umbridge's revenge.
Albert stopped attending the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and everyone's resistance to Umbridge collapsed in an instant.
Those seventh grade students who didn't pay any attention to the rumors were hit hard.
They originally wanted to find another student union president to fight against Lei, but Katrina seemed to have heard something and stopped coming to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
For a moment, the seventh-year students suffered an unexpected disaster. They remembered the rumors about Umbridge. Everyone was in danger and could feel that the revenge of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was coming.
After realizing that the atmosphere was not right, Fred, George and Lee Jordan made an excuse to leave.
After all, they were Albert's roommates and good friends, so they were easily affected innocently.
"Umbridge is angry," Angelina warned. "You'd better be careful."
"It doesn't matter. We're going to ask Professor McGonagall to give up the Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Fred said disapprovingly.
"So, even if she's angry, what can she do to us?"
The three of them were not afraid of Umbridge at all. If the woman dared to try to put them in detention, they would have ways to deal with it.
"You really gave up."
The girls were all very surprised. They didn't expect that the three of them would decisively give up the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Fred grinned and said, "We don't plan to rely on our transcripts to find a job in the future, so why should we put up with that old woman Umbridge?"
"Umbridge will soon take revenge on others. Don't forget what happened in the first class." Lee Jordan reminded, "She may not be able to do anything to Albert, but she can find ways to torment you."
"So, you ran away when you saw the situation was bad."
"You can also run away collectively and not attend her advanced class." George said with a smile.
"what to do?"
"According to the curse law of Hogwarts, Umbridge will definitely not be able to make it through this semester. You can just join the class later." Fred smiled and pointed out, "You should have copied the review outline from Albert. As long as you finish studying those things by yourself, basically there will be no problem."
"No, I mean..."
Angelina was interrupted by Fred before she could finish her words.
"Do you think the theoretical knowledge you have learned from the Defense Against the Dark Arts class is really useful?"
"That makes sense." Shanna nodded in agreement, "Let's just study on our own, or we can form a Defense Against the Dark Arts interest group, and then we can all communicate and improve with each other."
"I don't think the possibility is high." Alia frowned and looked at the three people in front of her. There were very few guys as brave as Fred, George and Lee Jordan.
"Count me in. I'm planning to be a Quidditch player in the future." Angelina didn't care much about her results.
"Albert is writing a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's almost finished. Maybe we can use it." George suddenly said, "I believe that book is definitely countless times better than Magical Defense Theory."
Upon learning that the seventh-year students of her college were planning to collectively give up the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the expression on Professor McGonagall's face instantly fell. What made her even more upset was that this group of people just came to inform her, the dean, as a routine matter.
"Why are you giving up Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
Professor McGonagall had to spend a lot of time interviewing several people.
However, she received a unified voice:
"Sorry, Professor, our time is precious and we don't have time to play games with Umbridge..."
"The results are not very important to us..."
"We can also learn Defense Against the Dark Arts by ourselves..."
"Umbridge only teaches theory in her class, and theory alone cannot help us get excellent grades in..."
"Why do we have to waste our time with her and have to look at her face?"
Professor McGonagall had no choice but to ask Albert for help.
"Umbridge allowed me to skip classes and go directly to the exam at the end of the term. I think that's great." Facing the somewhat angry Professor McGonagall, Albert's tone was calm.
"Everyone is blaming Professor Dumbledore. They don't understand why he would allow an "outsider" like Umbridge to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts."
"This has undoubtedly directly harmed the fifth and seventh grade students this year. If you pay attention, there are many people who are dissatisfied with this."
"But even if I'm dissatisfied..."
"The curse has always existed." Albert said meaningfully.
No one expected that a seventh-year Gryffindor student would be so stubborn as to simply give up the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This outrageous move really shocked all the students at Hogwarts.
Umbridge was nearly mad with rage.
She probably didn't expect things to turn out like this.
Put them in solitary confinement
Umbridge really didn't dare to do that, at least she didn't dare now, because she found that this group of people were more united than expected, especially Albert's roommates, who looked like if you dare to mess with me, we will all be doomed together. Anyway, we don't need any report cards.
What made her even more upset was that as long as she dared to question other people alone, they would appear outside her office with wands in hand, ready to rush in and give her a lesson as soon as they heard any noise.
You know what, they are really prepared.
Even the forgetfulness potion is ready.
Soon after, students from other colleges also gave up the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
The reason was that everyone thought she would die from the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse before graduating this semester, so she could just participate then.
After hearing the news, Umbridge's face twisted with anger.
…
"We need to face it this year." A student who did not want to be named said, "We don't believe that the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam will be a written test. According to Umbridge's teaching method, there are probably only a few candidates who can pass and get excellent results."
"I can't believe it. The educational reform the Ministry of Magic is seeking is to make all the students at Hogwarts fail the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"
"It turns out that the Ministry of Magic has never thought about solving the problem of education. Otherwise, they would not have sent Umbridge, who knows nothing, to Hogwarts as a professor... As far as I know, most of the employees of the Ministry of Magic can't even recite the Shield Charm..."
Sirius's steady, charming voice came from the radio on the fireplace.
This radio is turned on on time every day and automatically plays the broadcast from the wizard lookout station.
Although some students felt annoyed, most of them were willing to calm down and listen to what was being broadcast.
Rumors spread quickly and many students began to question Umbridge's teaching skills.
Dumbledore also suffered from bad luck and received a large number of complaint letters from students at the beginning of the school year.
No one knew who said that complaining to Dumbledore was useless, so the students started writing letters to complain to the Ministry of Magic.
Fred, George and Lee Jordan even encouraged a group of people to deliver news to various newspapers and magazines.
However, those letters fell into oblivion without causing any ripples.
No one really cares about these things.
This is why Wizard Lookout broadcasts are so popular.
After Sirius' voice died down, Hermione's angry voice suddenly came from the common room, attracting the attention of the students who had just finished listening to the broadcast.
"Are you okay?" Ron asked worriedly.
"We have to take OWLs this year!" Hermione slammed the armrest of the chair as if to vent her anger. "How could Dumbledore let this happen?"
"Calm down Hermione, take a tranquilizer." Harry pulled a bottle of medicine from his pocket and poured a pill for Hermione.
"How can you ask me to calm down?" Hermione reached out and pushed away the pills Harry handed over, growling in a low voice, "What are we going to do about our OWLs exams this year?"
Ron looked at Hermione, who was somewhat out of control, and was at a loss as to what to do.
"Maybe, we can ask Anderson to teach us. He has tutored students of the same class before." Harry threw the tranquilizer into his mouth and suggested.
"He's busy. I asked him and he said he's very busy this semester." Hermione covered her forehead with her hand and said weakly, "OWLs exams are very important. They are related to our future!"
"Harry, do you carry that thing with you now?" Ron asked, trying to change the subject.
"After I experienced the benefits of a cool head during my trial," Harry said calmly, putting the bottle back in his pocket, "I knew I needed this."
"Give me one." Hermione said suddenly, "I need to calm down."
Harry pulled out his medicine bottle and poured Hermione a tranquilizer.
After swallowing the pill, Hermione's mood stabilized a lot. She took a deep breath and said to Harry and Ron beside her, "We need to save ourselves and form a Defense Against the Dark Arts study group to learn the knowledge and skills of Defense Against the Dark Arts by ourselves."
Harry and Ron looked at each other.
Finally, Harry lowered his voice and said, "I will find time to contact Sirius tonight to see if they can provide us with any help."
"Harry... do you want to join us?" Fred appeared out of nowhere, put his hand on Harry's shoulder and asked.
"What's up."
"We're planning some surprises for Umbridge," George said with a smile.
"Are you really not going to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" Hermione suddenly asked.
"Going to Umbridge's class is a complete waste of time. Do you think the exam will test theory?" Fred asked back.
"Hermione, face reality and stop fooling yourself."
"If Mom knew, she would be mad at you." Ron said darkly.
"You forgot that she promised last year to leave us alone," Fred reminded.
"What surprise?" Harry asked. "Albert's idea?"
"No, he's busy."
"What on earth is he up to?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know." George shrugged.
"What are you going to do?" Harry showed great interest.
"We're going to..." George's voice trailed off.
"Can you really do that?" Ron asked with wide eyes.
"Let's try it first, and then seek technical support if it doesn't work." Fred said without hesitation.
"Count me in," said Harry. "I'll contact Sirius tonight and see if he can give us some advice."
"Hermione, if you want to pass the OWLs exam, there is actually a very simple way." George suddenly said mysteriously.
"What method?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I can help you borrow the Defense Against the Dark Arts notes from Albert. As long as you study them carefully and learn some spells by yourself, it will be easy to get excellent results in the OWLs exam."
In fact, Hermione was too excited and didn't think about it, otherwise Albert would definitely not refuse to borrow her notes.
"Okay, count me in." Hermione agreed to join. She also hated Umbridge very much and was willing to see her get into trouble.
"Welcome aboard."
Fred and George looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction.
In Albert's absence, they needed someone with a thoughtful mind to make sure the whole plan went smoothly.
Chapter 998: The Abandoned Defense Against the Dark Arts Class