Perhaps due to the Treant's dramatic and violent intervention or more specifically, due to the vivid, traumatic memory of being lifted like a sack of potatoes and abruptly thrown out a third-floor window—Umbridge suddenly and mysteriously lost all apparent interest in pursuing Harry and the others for their supposedly "illegal gathering."
Harry had originally braced himself for relentless retaliation and assumed that Umbridge would pursue them afterward with vindictive determination, probably filing complaints, demanding expulsions, sending owls to the Ministry, and making their lives as miserable as possible through every bureaucratic means at her disposal.
But unexpectedly, remarkably, almost suspiciously... until their meeting completely concluded and students went out in small groups over the following hour, she never came to cause trouble again.
This unexpected amnesty meant, practically speaking, that their gatherings could continue unimpeded and unmolested, at least for the foreseeable future.
After all, despite her threats and her new Ministry-granted authority, Umbridge hadn't actually caught them red-handed yet. She had no proof, no witnesses, no evidence beyond Filch's likely unreliable testimony that students had entered a classroom.
No proof meant no violation, technically speaking.
So naturally, the question arose among those who paid attention to such things: what exactly was Umbridge so busy with now that she'd apparently forgotten about or deprioritized Harry's study group?
The answer became apparent the next day, in Dumbledore's office high in one of Hogwarts' towers, bathed in the gentle morning light coming through tall windows.
The office's usual atmosphere of calmness had been thoroughly disrupted by an agitated visitor.
Umbridge stood before Dumbledore's desk, practically vibrating with fury. She was gesticulating wildly at the headmaster with sharp, aggressive hand movements.
"That creature is extremely, extraordinarily dangerous! I must emphasize this point again, Dumbledore!" She repeated insistently, her voice climbing higher with each repetition, growing more shrill and grating. "I cannot stress this enough! Allowing such a violent, uncontrolled monster to roam freely through the corridors of Hogwarts is an act of extreme negligence on your part! It demonstrates grossly irresponsible leadership! It is utterly, completely unforgivable!"
Dumbledore, for his part, remained seated calmly in his chair behind the desk, apparently unruffled by her dramatic display. He placed his fingertips together thoughtfully and spoke with gentle patience.
"You seem quite angry this morning, Professor Umbridge," he observed mildly, as if commenting on the weather rather than her fury. "Perhaps you'd like to sit down? Some tea? I have an excellent blend from—"
"Angry?" Umbridge interrupted shrilly.
She let out a laugh that was bitter and sharp. Then she shouted, "It did something absolutely horrifying to me! It assaulted a Ministry official! Isn't that enough justification? Any rational, reasonable person would immediately agree that such a creature must be dealt with immediately and severely!"
Her chest heaved with the effort of her outburst. Small flecks of spit had appeared at the corners of her mouth.
"Hmm..." Dumbledore pondered thoughtfully for a moment, appearing to genuinely consider her words with the seriousness they perhaps didn't deserve. His gaze inadvertently drifted up, sweeping over the numerous portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses that were on the office walls.
Many of the portrait figures had woken to listen to this confrontation with interest. Several were whispering to each other. One was openly laughing.
"That does indeed sound like it could potentially be considered a problem," Dumbledore said carefully. "A concerning incident, certainly. However, as far as I know, up until yesterday's unfortunate encounter with you, Flick—that's the name of the little Treant you're referring to—has never once actively harmed anyone during its entire time at Hogwarts..."
He paused meaningfully.
"On the contrary, in fact, just last week—you may not have heard about this incident—Flick actually saved a first-year boy who had slipped and was falling from one of the moving staircases. The child would certainly have been seriously injured, if Flick hadn't caught him with its branches. It prevented what could have been a tragic accident."
Umbridge's expression shifted, becoming uncertain and calculating as she processed this unexpected information. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she searched for a counterargument.
This clearly wasn't the response she'd anticipated or prepared for.
Dumbledore's calm manner and his obvious intention to protect and defend the Treant named Flick were abundantly clear.
Unfortunately for him, that wouldn't help.
Umbridge's face suddenly transformed, her fury was smoothing away to be replaced by a pretentious, sickeningly sweet smile that looked like it had been painted on with a brush.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," She said in that high, girlish tone that was very uncomfortable to hear coming from a woman of her age and appearance,
"I think you may have overlooked or perhaps forgotten one absolutely key, crucial fact in this discussion—I, Dolores Jane Umbridge, am now the legally appointed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
She deliberately pronounced her full name and title with exaggerated emphasis.
She raised her chin slightly higher, adopting an air of self-righteous superiority and authority that she clearly felt her position entitled her to. Her small eyes gleamed with triumph.
"According to the Educational Decrees recently passed by the Ministry, I have been granted complete authority to independently assess and dispose of anything and everything I personally deem to be a significant threat to the safety and wellbeing of the school's staff and students."
She paused to let the weight of this statement land.
"And that... that tree monster," She spat out the words with undisguised disgust and contempt, her nose was wrinkling as if smelling something foul, "has undoubtedly posed a serious threat to my person and to the proper order of this institution. Therefore, by the authority vested in me by Minister Fudge himself, I formally and officially declare that the creature will be permanently expelled from Hogwarts grounds."
After delivering this statement with satisfaction, clearly considering it her decisive victory in this verbal confrontation, Umbridge crossed her arms tightly across her chest and watched Dumbledore with smug expectation.
However, much to her surprise and growing confusion, Dumbledore's subsequent reaction proved somewhat disappointing to her anticipated drama.
Upon hearing her strongly-worded declaration and implicit threat, the old man in front of her neither grew angry nor launched into passionate arguments in the Treant's defense. He didn't even look particularly concerned about the situation.
Instead, he simply nodded calmly, almost serenely, as if she'd just commented on the pleasant weather outside.
"Very well then," Dumbledore said lightly, touching his fingertips together again in that same contemplative gesture. "Since this is an order formally issued by the High Inquisitor, I suppose I have no grounds to object to your decision."
Now it was Umbridge's turn to be stunned into silence, her mouth fell open in surprise.
This was... not how this was supposed to go.
Dumbledore's sudden, complete compliance and lack of resistance left all the arguments she had carefully prepared with absolutely nowhere to land—like throwing a heavy punch with full force only to have it strike nothing but empty air or soft cotton.
The satisfaction of confrontation vanished, leaving only confusion.
"You... you agree?" She asked slowly, her eyes narrowing with deep suspicion. Her voice was tinged with disbelief.
This was going far, far more smoothly than she had imagined.
"I never objected, Professor Umbridge," Dumbledore said mildly, blinking innocently behind his spectacles. "However, regarding the specific matters concerning the Treants, I'm afraid you'll need to personally negotiate with them directly."
His tone remained perfectly pleasant and helpful.
"What do you mean?" Umbridge immediately became alert.
"What I mean is," Dumbledore explained with patience.
"Flick and its kind are not employees of Hogwarts, you see. They are not subject to school rules or educational decrees or Ministry regulations concerning educational institutions. They don't answer to me or to the Board of Governors."
He gestured vaguely toward the windows overlooking the Forbidden Forest.
"They live in the Forbidden Forest, and they are the masters of that ancient woodland. The dominant species there, in fact. You must understand, they are not simple beasts or dumb animals to be commanded or removed at will. They are intelligent beings, sentient creatures with wisdom and reasoning ability comparable to goblins, and centaurs."
He paused before continuing, and when he said the next words, an almost faint smile, barely a twitch of his lips appeared at his mouth, though his eyes danced with definite amusement.
"Therefore, if you sincerely wish to expel them from the forest or from Hogwarts grounds, I'm afraid you'll have to go discuss the matter with them yourself."
When he pronounced the word "discuss" with particular emphasis, that smile became slightly more visible, just about to break into something like a grin.
The current Treant community, as Dumbledore was well aware from his own observations and Adrian's occasional reports, had grown into a formidable force—not just locally at Hogwarts, but potentially within the entire British magical world.
Their numbers were substantial.
They even gave Dumbledore himself something of a headache when he contemplated the implications.
Heaven only knew where Adrian had originally obtained these remarkable creatures from, or how he'd helped them multiply so successfully.
Although Adrian consistently claimed with an innocent expression that the Treant's appearance and spread at Hogwarts had basically nothing to do with him personally.
But... regarding this particular point, Dumbledore didn't believe a single word of it. Not even a punctuation mark.
Though Umbridge felt distinctly uneasy about Dumbledore's calm response, since Dumbledore had agreed to her authority and stated his position this clearly, she couldn't immediately find a compelling reason to object or argue further.
"Very well then," she said slowly, straightening her posture and smoothing her pink cardigan, trying to regain full control of the conversation and reassert her authority over a situation that felt like it was slipping away from her somehow.
"Since you also acknowledge this is a serious problem that needs handling and proper resolution, I will ensure the Ministry of Magic's Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures takes immediate, decisive action."
She deliberately emphasized the official title "Dangerous Creatures" while simultaneously pulling out a small pink notebook from inside her robes. She opened it to a fresh page and began quickly jotting down notes with aggressive strokes of her quill.
Scratch, scratch, scratch went the quill against parchment.
"I will personally lead the expedition into the Forbidden Forest," She announced grandly as she wrote, her tone was filled with satisfaction and self-importance.
She naturally didn't believe for a moment that the Ministry's power and resources couldn't handle a few overgrown magical plants, no matter what Dumbledore implied.
How dangerous could trees possibly be? They didn't even move... well, usually.
After writing the last stroke with a final aggressive jab that nearly tore the parchment, Umbridge snapped the notebook shut with a sharp crack that echoed through the office. She gave Dumbledore another one of her false smiles.
"Thank you so much for your cooperation and understanding, Headmaster," She said with exaggerated politeness that dripped with condescension. "I'm completely confident this problem will be properly resolved very, very soon. Hogwarts will be safer for your compliance."
With that final declaration, she turned sharply on her heel and strode toward the office door with her chin held high, practically radiating smug satisfaction.
From an angle she couldn't see, Dumbledore gently shook his head with something that looked like pity mixed with resignation.
The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures?
Oh dear. Oh my.
Honestly, he didn't think that particular approach would work at all. Not even slightly. In fact, he suspected it would go disastrously wrong.
He believed that this situation should be handled by the Goblin Liaison Office or possibly the Centaur Liaison Office instead—departments with actual experience in negotiating with intelligent magical beings.
Oh well. Perhaps the Ministry would need to establish an entirely new Treant Liaison Office in the near future, after this inevitable disaster played out.
With this slightly amused thought, he gestured subtly toward Fawkes, who was perched in the corner on his golden stand, preening his feathers.
After receiving brief instructions, Fawkes let out a melodious cry that rang through the office like a bell.
It spread its magnificent wings wide, flames flickering along the edges of its feathers, traced a graceful fiery arc through the circular office that left trails of sparks and warmth, and then vanished in a burst of flame and smoke.
Gone to deliver Dumbledore's message.
His Care of Magical Creatures professor definitely deserved to be promptly informed of this developing matter and the Ministry's impending expedition.
About half an hour after Fawkes's departure, marked by the soft chiming of the office's many delicate silver instruments, Adrian appeared in the Headmaster's office.
He arrived not through the spiral staircase and door like a normal person, but via Fawkes's flame-portal, stepping out of fire and smoke with his robes swirling around him. The phoenix perched on his shoulder briefly before flying back to its stand.
"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore," Adrian greeted cheerfully, his tone pleasant and relaxed despite the early hour. He glanced around the familiar office, observing the sleeping portraits and gently humming instruments, before selecting a particularly comfortable-looking floral-patterned armchair and sitting into it as casually as if he were in his own private quarters or a friend's sitting room.
He even propped one ankle up on the opposite knee in a relaxed posture.
"Sorry for being a bit late in responding to your summons—several of the Chimeras I've been attempting to study suddenly went completely mad about an hour ago and gave me quite a bit of unexpected trouble. Took some effort to calm them down and repair the enclosure they'd damaged. Temperamental creatures."
Dumbledore's hand, which had been casually reaching for his teacup to take a sip, paused noticeably in mid-motion.
He slowly set the cup back down on its saucer without drinking. Then he spoke calmly, though his eyebrows had risen considerably.
"If I remember correctly, Adrian, Chimeras should be classified by the Ministry as magical creatures of the highest possible danger rating. XXXXX classification. The same category as dragons and basilisks."
Adrian shrugged noncommittally, his expression showing he didn't find this particularly concerning. "Probably correct, yes. That does sound about right. But please rest assured, Professor—I've already dealt with the situation properly."
He shifted slightly in his chair, adjusting into an even more comfortable sitting position and stretching his legs out before him.
"Rather than discussing my morning's unexpected excitement, however, I assume you had Fawkes fetch me here for something more important than simply debating the Ministry's classification system for Chimeras? What's happened?"
The Chimera was a rare and extremely dangerous magical creature native to Greece, possessing the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a serpent for a tail. The creature was renowned throughout the magical world for its extreme ferocity, unpredictable violence, and insatiable bloodthirstiness.
They were highly aggressive by nature and would attack humans completely unprovoked, without warning or apparent reason.
Encounters almost always ended fatally.
After Adrian had acquired these few specimen monsters through considerable effort and expense—he had been dedicating substantial time and effort trying to tame them, attempting to develop methods that might make them useful or at least manageable.
Unfortunately for his research goals, the results so far hadn't been very promising at all.
________________
You can read more chapters on:
patreon.com/IamLuis