bacchusnovels Chapter 554 Ginny's Defenses Are Broken
Chapter 554 Ginny's Defenses Are Broken
Chapter 550 Ginny's Defenses Are Broken
Perhaps Trelawney is even worse off than Hagrid.
The reason Umbridge targeted Trelawney was simply because she lacked both ability and connections.
"Even though you can't predict tomorrow's weather, you can always predict that one day your poor performance will lead to your dismissal, right?"
Actually, Umbridge's statement wasn't wrong.
What right does Trelawney, a charlatan who only works in crucial moments, have to be a professor?
Isn't it a waste of time for students to attend her classes?
Dumbledore was aware of this, yet he still placed her in this position—somewhat inappropriately.
If you really want her to make prophecies again at crucial moments, you should give her a position in the Ministry of Magic or the Order of the Phoenix and pay her a salary, instead of letting her waste students' time by going through the school's accounts.
Could it be that—there's no one more suitable for this course than Billy Laurie?
Doesn't Nurmengard have a prophet?
Or is it that this course must continue to be offered even without a suitable candidate—and cannot be abolished?
Therefore—
To some extent, Umbridge and Fudge weren't entirely wrong about Dumbledore using the school's connections to smooth things over—they were just exaggerating the situation.
From a subjective perspective, Dumbledore's actions were for the sake of the entire wizarding world, not just for himself.
It can only be said that the approach was inappropriate.
"No! I won't leave!"
Upon hearing Umbridge's verdict, Trelawney screamed as if she had gone mad.
"You can't do this to me, you can't fire me! I've been here for sixteen years—Hogwarts is my home!"
"Did you receive a salary for sixteen years without working?" Umbridge's smile widened.
"That's how it used to be. This morning, Minister Fouché signed your dismissal order. Please be proactive and save yourself some face. Don't put us in a difficult position."
Trelawney is gone. No one came to see her off.
However, according to Sirius Black, Trelawney has been taken to the Black family home.
Trelawney doesn't have any high-end expenses. Plus, the salaries for Hogwarts staff are already considered high in the wizarding world—she should be able to live comfortably there in her later years.
Instead of Trelawney, Dumbledore found Frenzer.
No one expected that this centaur would become a professor in the next get out of class.
Umbridge was so angry her nose almost twisted.
One left, another came, and this new one wasn't even as good as Trelawney.
Trelawney was at least a person. Were centaurs even human?
Dumbledore stopped being human—he would just pick any animal in the forest and start teaching his students.
The plan needs to be sped up, Umbridge thought. Dumbledore absolutely cannot be allowed to continue wreaking havoc on Hogwarts.
Upon taking office, Ferenczec's first act was to change the classrooms.
The original classroom was like a small attic, accessible only by a ladder—but that was far too cruel for a four-legged centaur.
"Hey everyone!"
The new classrooms are on the first floor and were specially decorated by Ferencze:
The classroom floor was not made of slate but of grass, and trees were planted all around it.
Did Ferenczec bring the forest here?
"Hello, Professor Ferenczer." Surprised, the students greeted Ferenczer.
Ferenze spotted the trio in the crowd immediately.
The last time the trio saw Ferenze was many years ago during that period of confinement.
"Professor Dumbledore specially renovated this classroom for me, so that it would be more convenient for me to teach you. Even though this place is not as good as the Forbidden Forest, it's impossible to go back to the Forbidden Forest now."
"Forbidden Forest?"
The young wizards caught the word.
The last professor to take them to the Forbidden Forest for classes was Hagrid. Could it be that this new professor's teaching style is the same as Hagrid's? That would be terrible.
But Hermione grasped the key.
"Why can't we go back to the Forbidden Forest?"
"Because I was driven out of my tribe—"
This was a very sad story, and everyone tacitly refrained from asking any further questions.
They were afraid that if they asked any further, Trelawney II would appear.
In the days leading up to her expulsion, Trelawney cried and sobbed, which was very annoying.
It was as if the sky had fallen.
However—it seems the sky really has fallen.
As everyone lay down on the grass as Ferenczec instructed, the ceiling changed—it transformed into the shape of the sky.
It was like falling, falling towards them.
The layout here is exactly the same as the auditorium!
It's amazing that you can see the starry sky outside through the ceiling!
"You must have learned something about the planets that roam in space and their names in your astronomy classes. We centaurs have spent countless centuries learning the secrets of the sky—through the sky, we may be able to glimpse the future."
Trelawney taught astrology to her students.
"Just like we learned in class—Mars can cause accidents, burns, and the like. When it forms an aspect with Saturn, it means that people should be worried about getting burned or something similar when dealing with things recently."
"Those ones-
—"
Ferenze slowly shook his head.
"It's just humans talking nonsense."
This deeply hurt the young wizard who had answered the question. Ferenze continued explaining.
"Professor Trelawney may be able to foresee the future."
"But she is still a member of the human race, and humans are the creatures most easily blinded by trivial matters and the creatures most easily bound by their own flaws."
"What I want to tell you here is the objective and fair view of the centaurs: we draw conclusions by observing the sky and by paying attention to the changes of time, and perhaps our generation makes inferences that will be verified by the next generation."
"Cough, cough cough."
Without turning around, everyone knew who had arrived.
Umbridge, it's unclear when, but his cough has become the background music for his entrance.
"Professor Ferenczer, have you received one?"
"received."
Ferenczek abruptly interrupted Umbridge and continued the lesson.
Umbridge looked unwell and found a place to sit down.
Poor Ferenczec —
Many people predicted Ferencze's fate.
The fact that he managed to attract Umbridge's attention in the very first lesson shows Umbridge's determination to get rid of him.
But how long can he hold on?
"Over the past decade, the heavens have told me that the wizarding world will experience a brief period of peace between two wars, with the sparks of war overhead—"
"Two wars?"
"Is there a problem, Professor Umbridge?"
"You mean to say that the wizarding world will face a war in the coming period of time?"
"6
The class ended on a sour note.
Umbridge stormed out of the classroom; judging by her demeanor, she seemed eager to fire Ferenze the very next day.
Perhaps—Frenzel will become the shortest-lived professor in Hogwarts history.
When Umbridge returned to his office, he was still furious.
After pacing back and forth between his desk and the full-length mirror countless times, he finally got up and left the office.
When she returned to the office, someone was following her.
"Professor, it's easy for others to find out if you come to see me at this time."
"I want to ask you if you've thought it through."
"Didn't I say last time that I need some time to consider it? —"
"To be frank, do you know why I've invited you to my office for tea so many times?"
"Why?" the visitor asked, somewhat puzzled.
"That was to make others think that you had been bribed by me and betrayed them."
The person who walked into the office with Umbridge was none other than Ginny.
""
"You are now under their suspicion and the attention of a small group of people."
Even if you didn't say anything—
"But if something happens, people will still suspect you first."
"Is your persistence even worthwhile?"
".————"
Ginny remained silent, not uttering a single word.
Seeing this, Umbridge sighed and said in a rather somber tone.
"I know you've always been resistant to this."
"But you need to know one..."
"Everything you're doing now is for their good, for the good of the entire wizarding world, and even more so for the good of your own parents."
"Do you want to see Arthur lying in a hospital bed, covered in blood and gore, again? Do you want to see Molly's anxious face? Do you want to see—"
This weekend.
Upon seeing Ginny relent, Umbridge was overjoyed and immediately pressed for details.
"W-What did you say?"
Ginny suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, and repeated in a trembling voice.
"I said they will be training this weekend. The location is—"
Ginny finally spoke up.
Who are they?
'
"What are they doing there?"
'
'
"And who is the leader?"
"
'
But when faced with Umbridge's next question, Ginny didn't answer—as if saying it had already exhausted all her strength.
However, Umbridge wasn't annoyed.
As for who they were, the Auror had already given her most of the information back at that bar.
The most important factors are time and place.
That's right, seizing the present moment is the key to everything.
Since Ginny has confessed, it means that progress has been made significantly, and the weekend a few days later—
She can then close the net!
With this achievement, she was able to gain Fudge's trust, drive Dumbledore out of Hogwarts, and successfully expel that despicable Phillips from the core power circle.
In a great mood, she began to comfort Ginny.
"Miss Weasley, you made the right choice and should not be ashamed of your actions."
"And in order to protect your existence"
"In the next few days, I will frequently invite that group of people to my place as guests, making them think you are innocent and causing them to suspect each other."
"If there's anything else you'd like to add, feel free to come to me before we take any action."
Umbridge acted swiftly.
Or perhaps she had planned it all along, but just hadn't had the chance to put it into practice.
Within just two days, a large number of students were invited to Umbridge's office for "tea" under the pretext of "assisting in the investigation of illegal activities at Hogwarts".
In order to remain discreet and avoid alerting the enemy.
Many students other than those from Umbridge's army were mixed in.
So much so—
During downtime, Umbridge's office seems to turn into a mini job fair, with a long queue outside, just waiting for someone to call out numbers.
""
Each person spends a different amount of time in Umbridge's office and asks very different questions.
"She asked me what I thought of Ferencze."
"She asked me what I thought of Dumbledore."
She asked me about—
"That must be justice, working tirelessly and without complaint."
A Slytherin student said in the common room.
"Professor Umbridge asked me about my opinion of her, and this is how I'll answer—don't look at me like that, I think I'm just telling the truth."
"Don't you all think that the atmosphere at Hogwarts has improved since Professor Umbridge arrived? I truly believe so."
Professor Umbridge was very pleased with my answer and seemed to be giving me a great responsibility. She asked me if I would be interested in joining a special investigation team centered around students if Hogwarts were to organize such a team.
"Serving the school and serving everyone is my duty, of course."
'
However, the Gryffindor common room was filled with bleakness.
"Tell me, what exactly is Umbridge doing all this for? Is she trying to—"
I think so.
Hermione nodded.
"Besides this, what other reason could there be? I've felt something was off ever since that day—but everything's been going smoothly for the past few months of training, so I thought I was just overthinking it. Now it seems—Umbridge is about to make her move."
"How do we start?"
Ron's eyes widened.
"She could never find that place, not even in her wildest dreams. Could it be that—someone will betray us?"
"So many people were called over."
Hermione replied cautiously.
"If any of these people were to let something slip, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Ron, however, disagreed.
"We're all classmates, and there aren't any Slytherin students here. Why would they betray us and side with that nasty Umbridge? I mean—betraying us would bring them no benefit whatsoever."
Harry, however, agreed with Hermione.
"At this critical time, I think we must proceed with caution."
"So what do we do? Suspend all operations this month?" Ron asked rhetorically. "It's only been a few days since school started, and we're at a crucial point in learning the spells—if we stop, a large part of our previous efforts will be wasted."
"I'll go see Professor Tonks tomorrow and ask for his opinion," Hermione said.
And so, the matter was settled.
As everyone was leaving, Hermione suddenly called out to Ginny.
"I misunderstood you before, I'm sorry, Ginny————"
Ginny simply smiled in response to Hermione's apology.
"It's alright."
she says.