bacchusnovels Chapter 540 Bertha's Anger
Chapter 540 Bertha's Anger
Chapter 536 Bertha's Anger
The sudden turn of events left everyone at a loss.
What's wrong?
What happened?
A group of young wizards stared blankly at the Aurors and the battering squad standing at the door.
As mentioned before, due to Voldemort's return, there are Aurors and battering squads patrolling various wizarding communities.
Hogsmeade, of course, also has it.
However—this situation has left everyone completely baffled.
Did they mistake them for Death Eaters?
After a few seconds of reaction, the group reacted differently to the sudden attack from the Aurors and the strikers.
Several customers sitting in the corner instinctively put their hands behind their heads and leaned against the wall, their movements quite practiced; some young wizards were also influenced by them, forgetting their own identities, and also moved over in a similar manner.
Ginny, frightened, hid in the crowd, concealing herself behind everyone.
The Weasley twins, meanwhile, were searching around, seemingly trying to find the back door of the Hog's Head.
Hermione then walked to the front of the crowd, wanting to identify herself and the others.
"We are not Death Eaters, we are students of Hogwarts—"
95
Before coming, she had investigated the relevant school rules: there were no regulations prohibiting students from being at the Pig's Head Bar.
Hermione also sought Professor Flitwick's advice on this matter:
The other party agreed, but suggested that they bring their own water bottles for drinks.
This is why Hermione was able to step forward at this time.
However—the Aurors and strikers acted out of character, ignoring the warnings and instead intensifying their use of power.
"What kind of students wear these kinds of clothes and gather in this kind of environment?"
"Take them all back to the Ministry of Magic!"
"I know Director Bertha—Director Phillips is our professor; we can contact them both to verify our identities!"
In desperation, Hermione brought up Sean and Jorkins.
But the Aurors and strikers did not react at all.
Just as everyone was disheartened, thinking they would spend the rest of the day in the Ministry of Magic, a figure burst in!
"Stop! Who gave you permission to do this?"
The visitor was none other than Bertha Jorkins.
She glared angrily at two of the men in the group. Unlike the other batters around them, the two were dressed as Aurors. Under Bertha's glare, they lowered their heads with extremely unnatural expressions.
"We received a report—saying there's something here—"
"Look at them! They don't look like Death Eaters at all! If there were really that many Death Eaters, I wouldn't even have time to collect your two corpses!"
Bertha pointed at the two men and yelled.
"You two traitors, do you really think Umbridge can protect you? You're being used as pawns and you're even gloating over it!"
'
"Then came a series of words."
The Hogwarts students were stunned to hear the name of their "beloved" Professor Umbridge in the Hog's Head, looking as if they had seen a ghost.
However, the meaning behind these words is different in the ears of those who are paying attention.
Especially the three little ones and several Weasleys.
Their reason for being shocked was different from others.
It's astonishing that Bertha, who was standing next to Sean with a docile sheep at the Order of the Phoenix gathering at Black's old house, could unleash such tremendous energy—it completely shattered everyone's worldview.
For some reason, Hermione's gaze suddenly wandered around the room before settling on one person:
Ginny looked at Bertha and her face grew even paler.
Could it be that—
Under Bertha's reprimand, the two Aurors, along with their group of strikers, slunk away from the Pighead Bar.
Bertha greeted Hermione and the others warmly when she saw that they were her friends.
After expressing the Legal Enforcement Division's apologies to the group, he left with the Aurors behind him.
Everyone was left looking at each other in bewilderment.
After Auror left, the customers at Pighead Bar returned to their seats with remarkable ease, continuing to drink as if nothing had happened.
However, observant people will notice that they drink more frequently than usual.
Originally, it was five sips per cup, but after the Auror left, it became three sips per cup, and then two sips per cup.
"What just happened?" Neville muttered to himself.
"I don't know." Ron shook his head. "But for us, it's not a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either."
"Quiet down, everyone, listen to me."
Hermione once again took on the lead, presiding over today's meeting.
"The reason I've called everyone here today is this: who wants to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts? I mean the real Defense Against the Dark Arts, not the garbage Umbridge teaches in class."
This statement has inspired many people.
Even Aberforth, who had been quietly wiping glasses behind the bar, glanced at Hermione with surprise.
"It's not just about learning theory, but about learning how to effectively protect yourself, learning spells, and engaging in real duels. And..."
"Successfully passed the OWL exam for Defense Against the Dark Arts course."
Similar to when the Aurors barged in before, everyone reacted differently.
Some people agree with Hermione's words, while others disagree.
The reason, of course, is that they do not want to offend Umbridge, who is "at the height of his power," especially since Umbridge has promised them that as long as they study hard, they can get ideal results in the 0.W.Ls exam.
"What if—Umbridge finds out about this and takes her anger out on us? Judging from what just happened, from the conversation between Director Bertha and those two Aurors, she most likely knows about this—"
McMillan said with concern that this was the sentiment of many people.
Even if she knew about this, there was nothing she could do.
"Could she possibly stop us from learning? Besides, learning some Defense Against the Dark Arts will be done under a new pretext—"
I mean a pretext that leaves her no room for complaint—but please allow me to keep it a secret here; you'll find out when class starts.
"Um""
The people below nodded.
Another pair of arms were raised.
"I've always had a question: why, at such a crucial time, has the Ministry of Magic provided us with a teacher who offers absolutely no help in our current situation?"
The person who asked the question was Parvati.
We speculate that the reason is—
'
Hermione recounted what she and the others had discussed with Sirius in their conversation with the Order of the Phoenix.
"It's because the people at the Ministry of Magic have some absurd ideas."
"They believe that Dumbledore will use the students in the school to build an army to confront the Ministry of Magic head-on."
Everyone gasped.
What? They're about to be forced into military service, and they didn't even know about it?
"This is absurd!"
"Has Fudge lost his mind?"
"Cough, cough cough."
Amidst the chaos, someone asked.
"How many times a week, and at what time?"
"I think once a week would be perfect, after all—we all have homework to do, and Quidditch and all sorts of other games to play."
"I think so too."
I second that.
And so, the time was happily set.
Next is the location; the location is on the fourth floor. Tonks arranged for these people's classes to be held in the Room of Requirement.
To keep it a secret, Hermione didn't reveal it beforehand.
At the end of the meeting, Hermione pulled out paper and pen from her bag.
"To maintain secrecy, I think everyone should write their name on this parchment so we know who is here today."
"Simultaneous One"
"I believe all conversations today should be kept confidential."
"Even if you don't ultimately participate in this event, you still have this obligation. If you sign up to participate, you should keep this matter confidential and not tell Umbridge or anyone else our information."
'
These words resonated with many people.
Nobody wants to experience betrayal.
The Weasley twins set an example by having Fred take the parchment and sign his name on it.
Next up were Harry and Ron.
But some people don't want to do that.
"Hmm—I think this is a bit dangerous."
The one who said this was Ernie, the prefect of Hufflepuff.
"I'm the prefect. If this list gets discovered, I'm afraid—I'm afraid—"
"I will keep this list safe."
Hermione said firmly.
"I'll put it somewhere no one can find it, or no one will look for it. Professor Phillips's office, for example, would be a good choice—"
These words put Ernie, the badger cub, at ease.
The others reacted similarly, and no one else raised any objections after everyone had signed their names.
The group had a strange feeling.
A contract seemed to bind them together.
"Okay, everything's alright now."
"George and I are going to buy some raw materials. If you need any custom-made prank props or props for skipping class, you can contact me or George. See you later," Fred said, starting to play GG.
The others got up and left Pighead Bar in twos and threes, leaving only the three little ones sitting there.
"Will Umbridge know what happened here?"
'
"I mean, don't you think everything that happened today is very strange?"
"What do you mean?"
Ron forced a sip of the drink in his glass; it wasn't as good as he'd imagined.
People always view things they desire through a filter.
But when you actually get it, you find that it doesn't suit your taste at all, and is even the exact opposite of what you like.
"The timing of this group of Aurors' arrival is too coincidental."
"We had only been inside Pighead Bar for a short while when this group of Aurors arrived with their men."
"It's like—"
"You mean—?" Harry realized what was happening.
Hermione nodded, looking worried.
"That's right, it's like they knew something in advance."
"They haven't even verified our identities, yet they want to arrest us all—"
"You mean, there's a mole among us?" Ron asked incredulously. "How is that possible?! Only a few of us knew about this, how could anyone have leaked the information?"
Harry, unusually, agreed with Ron's point of view.
Only a handful of people knew about this: the three of them, Ron's brothers and sisters, and Neville.
These are all people we know well, so who would leak the information?
Moreover, if the news were to leak, it could very well be about the same group of people who were just there.
Although they were unaware of the details, they may have inadvertently revealed the location of the gathering, either intentionally or unintentionally, or by chance, that someone overheard it.
Of course—there are also coincidences.
After all, every wizarding community has Aurors and strikers.
It would be unreasonable for so many people dressed in "strange clothes" to appear at Pighead Bar without attracting their attention.
Considering the above points, the possibility of "insiders" leaking information is extremely low compared to the last two points.
"Aren't you overthinking this?" Ron retorted.
Hermione bit her lower lip, glanced in the direction of the door, and muttered to herself.
"I hope I'm just imagining things —"
This weekend marked Susan's second time attending the Duel Club.
Because of her special status, no one specifically notified her of the extracurricular activities.
Following these two dueling club events.
Tonks has been able to mimic some of Susan's unique traits quite well.
Especially the shyness and bashfulness that she inadvertently reveals, and her unique body posture—or more accurately, her natural and adorable charm.
Next, it's time to see how the results are tested.
Standing at the door of Sean's office, Tonks, who had changed into a Hufflepuff uniform and completely imitated Susan, couldn't help but ponder to himself.
bang bang.
"Please come in."
Sean looked up and was somewhat stunned when he saw "Susan" walking in.
This is quite a rare guest. What brings Susan here?
Even so, Sean still politely stood up and pointed to the sofa next to him.
"Miss Burns, please come in."
Tonks sat down shyly, fidgeting with the hem of his robe, staring intently at the ground, looking like he wanted to speak but didn't dare to.
That's a very good imitation!
Not bad!
Tonks kept praising himself in his mind.
Just as Tonks had suspected, Sean indeed did not find anything unusual.
Because Tonks had not informed him beforehand.
He naturally assumed that the "Susan" in front of him was the real "Susan".
"What's wrong, Miss Burns? Is there something you need?"
Sean thoughtfully brewed a pot of honey lemon black tea for "Susan," poured it into a teacup, and handed it to her.
This is how this office treats its guests.
No matter who comes or what the matter is, everyone must first have a warm cup of honey lemon black tea.
But Tonks did not accept it.
In the real Susan, 80% of the time she wouldn't drink it in this situation; instead, she would let it sit quietly to cool down.
"I, I————"