"Dumbledore."
Umbridge slowly opened her eyes.
Professor McGonagall had called Dumbledore. Her stern face was tinged with visible concern as she walked over to check on the students.
Dumbledore calmly stepped inside and asked, "Investigator Umbridge, may I ask what my students have done to warrant such punishment?"
"They've violated the Educational Decrees by secretly forming an organization... the Dumbledore's Army, correct?" Umbridge turned to the Slytherin student beside her for confirmation.
If Pansy were here, she would have recognized that this was her studious and diligent boyfriend.
"She's lying!" George protested loudly.
Fred also shouted, "We didn't do anything! She's making it all up!"
"Oh really?" Umbridge gave an infuriating smile and turned to Dumbledore. "I've already informed Minister Crouch about this incident. He seems quite interested in this so-called Dumbledore's Army and is already on his way here."
"Then allow us to change locations to properly receive our esteemed Minister Crouch," Dumbledore replied in his ever-calm voice.
Umbridge's real goal was to take Dumbledore down; everything else was secondary.
So she brought Harry along and headed toward the Headmaster's office.
Harry was dragged all the way there. He tried several times to speak with Dumbledore, but each time Dumbledore averted his gaze.
By the time they arrived, someone was already waiting outside the office.
It was old Barty, and he had brought two Aurors with him.
One of them was Kingsley, which showed how much Barty trusted him.
"Barty," Dumbledore greeted him.
Old Barty's expression was rather unpleasant. "The investigator told me you're forming an army at the school?"
If it had been any other matter, Barty would've just let Umbridge mess around on her own.
But this time, she had told him that Dumbledore was organizing an army at Hogwarts, and even Barty couldn't sit idly by.
As they entered the office, Barty's expression didn't improve.
"Dumbledore, I have to tell you," Barty said once inside, "even though you've stepped down as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, you still have to abide by the law."
"What do you think the students' parents would say about this?" Barty criticized Dumbledore.
Afraid Dumbledore would try to argue his way out, Umbridge eagerly stepped forward and said sycophantically, "Minister Crouch, I received a report and discovered this activity. Should I bring in the witness?"
Clearly, Umbridge had come fully prepared. Barty had no objections.
Umbridge stepped out for a moment and returned with a girl covering her face.
Harry recognized her—it was Marietta, Cho Chang's friend.
But her face now looked terrible, covered in clusters of purple pustules that formed the word "SNEAK" across her cheeks.
Harry immediately remembered that Hermione had done something to the sign-up sheet.
Umbridge began to recount the process of how the student had come forward, which made Harry furious.
"Shut up," said Barty Crouch Sr., cutting her off and staring at Marietta with a puzzled expression. "Why isn't she saying anything?"
"I haven't yet found a counter-curse to deal with… that," Umbridge admitted reluctantly.
Harry felt a surge of pride—Hermione's spellwork was truly impressive.
Seeing that Barty was starting to scowl, Umbridge hurried to say, "Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four has been in effect for nearly six months. Any meetings held during this period are illegal."
"Well," said Dumbledore, speaking with both politeness and apparent curiosity as he looked Umbridge over, "if they were indeed holding gatherings after the decree came into effect, then they might indeed be breaking the law."
Just as Umbridge's smile was about to blossom, Dumbledore's tone shifted. "But do you have any evidence that such meetings continued after the decree was enacted?"
As Dumbledore spoke, Harry heard a faint rustling sound behind him—Kingsley was whispering something under his breath.
A brief look of confusion flashed across Marietta's eyes.
Umbridge, of course, had planned to use her as evidence. Even if Marietta couldn't speak, she could still nod.
But to everyone's surprise, the whistleblower—Marietta—actually denied everything.
Professor McGonagall was also present and joined in the questioning.
The result was obvious. Harry suspected that whatever Kingsley had whispered earlier had been some kind of spell.
Marietta was compelled to give the opposite answer.
In a fury, Umbridge roughly grabbed Marietta, yanking her around and shaking her violently.
For the first time, a flash of anger crossed Dumbledore's face. He stepped forward, and Umbridge released Marietta, her arms flailing as if burned.
"I will not allow you to treat my students so brutally!" Dumbledore said, his voice seething.
Barty Crouch Sr.'s frown deepened. Umbridge hurriedly produced a roster and handed it to him.
Crouch examined the signatures and took a deep breath. "Dumbledore, you must tell me this has all been a farce."
"Now that it's been exposed," Dumbledore said, breaking protocol with calm conviction, "I admit that Dumbledore's Army exists."
"What?" Crouch's expression grew sterner. "You know exactly what that means."
"Of course," Dumbledore replied. Harry was about to speak when Dumbledore cut him off. "It's called Dumbledore's Army, not Potter's Army."
"I'm afraid I can no longer remain at the school," Dumbledore said, surprising Harry into silence. He winked at Harry and added, "I will resign and assume full responsibility."
"Dumbledore, if you intend to answer for your students," Crouch said, his eyes glittering strangely as he cleared his throat, "then I accept your resignation."
Dumbledore resigning?!
Harry was stunned.
Originally, Dumbledore had only intended to step aside temporarily until the investigation concluded.
But now, with his outright resignation, it meant that Hogwarts no longer had a headmaster.
And all of it… was because of him.
Harry was consumed by endless guilt.
…
"He actually just resigned?" John was a little surprised. Seeing the public notice posted, he raised his brows in mild disbelief.
"Someone snitched—turned in Potter and his gang for their sneaky little activities," Malfoy said gleefully. "Potter always thought he was the center of everything, and now he's gotten Dumbledore kicked out."
John chuckled lightly. "At least it was a peaceful transition."
Dumbledore had voluntarily resigned, leaving the headmaster position vacant.
Umbridge did want to take the role, but Barty Crouch Sr. knew this tool was meant to be discarded later. If he really let her become Headmistress, it would have been a laughingstock.
So under the pretext that no suitable candidate had yet been found, the headmaster's seat remained empty.
As for who should have taken on the position in the meantime, it should've been Professor McGonagall.
In terms of seniority and qualifications, she was the most suitable candidate by far.
Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall refused the appointment, which brought a subtle sigh of relief to Barty Crouch.
If McGonagall had taken the helm, then Umbridge's role as Inquisitor would've faced unprecedented obstruction.
You had to understand—Professor McGonagall was no Dumbledore, and she certainly didn't believe in letting things take their course.
If Umbridge dared punish students, McGonagall wouldn't hesitate to fall out with the Ministry and kick her out herself.
"John, we need to talk." Daphne showed up with Pansy in tow.
John glanced at Pansy's swollen, red eyes and nodded. "Let's talk somewhere else."
They headed to the Constellation Society room.
This was about Pansy.
More accurately, it was about Pansy's boyfriend.
They'd all thought Pansy, with her hopeless crush, was completely head over heels for the guy.
But it turned out the guy had become one of Umbridge's lackeys. That was something Pansy couldn't handle.
You had to remember: the entire Slytherin House had once pressured Umbridge together—and now this third-year had actually defected to the enemy?
Freed from her love-struck haze, Pansy was now filled with disappointment.
After hearing the whole story, John almost wanted to give Umbridge a thumbs-up. That woman could actually cure people of lovesickness—how impressive.
In short, Pansy had broken up with her boyfriend.
"So… isn't that a good thing?" John looked at Daphne in confusion. "Why is she crying?"
Daphne blinked and said, "Oh, that's because I hit her with a Wailing Hex."
John: "…"
Pansy said, "I broke up with him. Yesterday I saw him sneaking around, holding a bottle of something."
"What was it?"
"A bottle of poison."
Pansy had secretly taken a drop of it and fed it to a rat—the rat died on the spot.
Daphne said seriously, "I suspect he's planning to poison someone."
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