"Don't worry about that. Just look at the professors—I'd bet Professor Kasenhis is already barely holding back his fists," Neville said quietly.
At that moment, they all looked toward the staff table. Almost every professor was shooting Umbridge looks of pure disgust. Madam Hooch, sitting beside Professor Trelawney, even reached out and tightly clasped Trelawney's hand.
She was just about to stand up to defend Professor Trelawney when, not far away, Kasenhis had already stood up early and stretched his joints, clearly planning to wake Umbridge up and let her understand exactly what kind of position she held at Hogwarts.
Then someone moved even faster than the two of them.
Professor McGonagall, who should have been standing in the center of the Great Hall conducting the Sorting Ceremony.
Before she even arrived, the spell came first. A streak of red magical light shot toward Umbridge, and in front of the entire Great Hall—at a moment when Hogwarts had possibly the most complete attendance of people—it sent Umbridge flying straight up, then landing neatly back on the ground.
"Professor Umbridge? Are you alright?" Professor McGonagall put away her wand quickly and asked coldly.
"I…" Umbridge, finally realizing what she had just experienced, instinctively wanted to explode in anger. But she quickly remembered where she was and forcibly suppressed it.
At this point, she no longer had the face to remain in the Great Hall. She decided it would be better to just leave and go look for her office. She didn't even know which room Dumbledore had assigned her—whether it got sunlight or not… she would definitely repaint it pink.
However, as she walked step by step toward the staircase, trying as hard as possible not to draw the students' attention, it could be said that every witch and wizard in the Great Hall—big and small, even the first-years currently wearing the Sorting Hat—turned their eyes toward Umbridge.
Gaze after gaze made her skin itch all over, as if those looks were feathers scratching at her.
And among those witches and wizards, naturally, was Kasenhis.
There was no way he was going to let Umbridge escape this rare and precious public execution so easily.
The next moment, with a thought, Kasenhis set things in motion. The iron golems that had been standing guard at the staircase like statues suddenly moved. Two of them split the exit between them, sealing the Great Hall's doorway completely.
Umbridge turned back in surprise and looked toward Kasenhis at the staff table. He didn't bother to hide it—he raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. The meaning was crystal clear.
Tonight, you're not leaving this hall.
Professor McGonagall, who was still conducting the Sorting Ceremony, saw this scene and showed a satisfied smile. Even the motion of lifting the hat became a little lighter.
The Sorting Ceremony ended quickly. Or rather, it was quick—but in Umbridge's eyes, it truly felt like an eternity.
Dumbledore watched as every young wizard found their house and smiled as well. He stood up. "I know that at a time like this, you're probably already starving. And I don't believe that a long-winded speech here would make you remember anything, so… eat!"
After sitting back down, he looked toward Umbridge in the corner of the hall and called out loudly, "Professor Umbridge, find a place to sit and eat. You must be starving. My apologies—I forgot you were coming today and forgot to have a chair prepared for you."
"Heh heh, Headmaster, you really are quite forgetful," Umbridge said through clenched teeth.
"Indeed. So please sit at a table with the students. Any problems?" Dumbledore said. Although he ended with "any problems," he clearly had no intention of listening to any. After speaking, he lowered his head and started eating.
Umbridge took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger that was about to explode. After all, before coming, Fudge had repeatedly drilled it into her that she must remain steady.
She had come this time to disgust Dumbledore and the entire Hogwarts faculty.
Not to seek death.
She stiffened her scalp and walked toward the direction of her alma mater, Slytherin.
Snape then cast a deep look at the current Slytherin prefect—Malfoy.
The look left the latter completely stunned. He immediately started adjusting the seating, making sure every seat was perfectly spaced and that there was absolutely no room to squeeze another person in.
Seeing this, Umbridge forcibly kept herself from snapping again and continued toward the other houses.
Gryffindor was obviously out of the question. Professor McGonagall had already given her a proper warning shot earlier, and the Gryffindor students naturally followed suit, shutting Umbridge out without hesitation.
Ravenclaw was even more brutal. As expected of Ravenclaw students—they weren't just academic overachievers, they were also exceptionally sharp when it came to reading the room.
They had all figured out that Umbridge was being collectively ostracized by Hogwarts, so of course they chose to go with the flow.
What's more, the professor Umbridge had targeted not long ago—Professor Trelawney—was a Ravenclaw graduate, so their current rejection was completely justified.
Unconditional acceptance like that should probably be left to Hufflepuff.
And in this regard, Professor Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff, truly didn't say a word. True tolerance was genuinely embodied in her.
However, another Hufflepuff at the table at this moment did not share Professor Sprout's lofty moral standards. He cast a deep look toward the Hufflepuff table.
In that instant, every Hufflepuff student seemed to be locked onto by that gaze.
The male and female Hufflepuff prefects, along with Cedric—the undisputed Hufflepuff champion who had won the Triwizard Tournament the previous year—received the message immediately.
They swiftly rearranged the seating in order, and, worried that Umbridge might have a thick skin, even used Transfiguration to turn the benches into individual chairs.
One person per seat.
Not a single extra space.
Kasenhis watched this scene with great satisfaction and lowered his head to keep eating.
Professor Sprout, seeing it as well, simply smiled and said nothing more.
"..." Umbridge looked at the situation, then awkwardly turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I'm not feeling very well. How about I return to my office first?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "At the Opening Feast, all Hogwarts students and staff must gather together. I'm very sorry, but you are no exception."
Dumbledore's words struck Umbridge like a bolt from the blue, landing squarely on her head.
They also conveniently gave the students of the four houses an extra piece of dinner entertainment. Even though Umbridge looked a bit unpleasant, she was, admittedly, quite interesting.
And so, Umbridge stood stiff and icy in the middle of the Great Hall, her entire body cold and rigid. The students of the four houses even deliberately refrained from speaking loudly, all to maintain that stiff, frigid atmosphere.
This oppressive stillness made Umbridge feel suffocated. Even breathing seemed likely to draw extra attention—though, in truth, the entire hall's attention was already fixed on her.
And really, the students couldn't be blamed for this. After all, the very first thing Umbridge had done upon entering the Great Hall was to post Ministry decrees—one of which stated that loud talking in the hall was forbidden.
Talk about a boomerang.
No one knew how long the feast lasted. After that came the school song, followed by Dumbledore's final remarks.
Only when Dumbledore finally announced that the students could return to their common rooms did Umbridge truly relax. She mechanically walked toward Dumbledore, all she wanted now was to go back to her office and get some proper rest.
But Dumbledore looked at her in surprise. "What office? The Ministry-appointed Head of Student Discipline has no teaching duties, so, Ms Umbridge, you don't actually need an office."
____
Lolololol. At this point, I don't even care if people like this fic or not. It's my favourite.
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel