"Hello, Professor Levent, may I buy you a drink?" the witch greeted enthusiastically.
Melvin and Lupin were walking side by side down the street in Hogsmeade. As they passed the Hog's Head Inn at the edge of the village, a figure in a black cloak with a hood obscuring their face suddenly popped out.
Short and stout, her face hidden, the voice sounded somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't quite place where he had met her.
Umbridge stood at the door of the tavern, reaching out to take Melvin's arm.
Melvin hadn't expected someone to be lying in wait at the Hog's Head to intercept him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he observed this vaguely familiar witch in black robes. "Sorry, ma'am, do we know each other?"
Beside him, Lupin wore a smile, assuming it was a fan. Such a scene was a rare sight. But as his nose twitched, the werewolf's keen sense of smell kicked in, and his expression shifted slightly.
"Professor Levent, we agreed to discuss matters concerning the Ministry of Magic. Have you forgotten?" Umbridge reminded him cautiously. "Last month at the Ministry lift gates, Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Do you remember Lestrange?"
A faint light flickered in Melvin's black pupils. He had already recognized the former Senior Undersecretary through her magical signature. Hearing the two specific names, he swept an indifferent glance over Umbridge and checked his wristwatch.
"Remus, it's getting late. I might be delayed for a while. You go back to the castle first."
"Are you going to have dinner with this lady? Although the Fire Whisky at the Hog's Head is nice, this isn't exactly a great place for a date. I'd recommend Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. If you have time, you could take a nice stroll around Hogsmeade..."
Lupin feigned ignorance and offered sincere advice, though his tone held an unconcealable teasing note.
"I don't need your advice. Go back to the castle," Melvin shoved him grumpily.
Umbridge stared at the two with a dark gaze. Their tone was odd; she couldn't tell if they were making casual conversation or revealing information in code. She urged somewhat impatiently:
"Right here, Professor. Scritch can't wait any longer."
A name without context, clearly not a wizard's name. The last time he heard the name Scritch, it was referring to an elderly, dying house-elf.
Melvin quickly remembered the Lestrange family servant and realized this was Umbridge's source of information.
He looked down to see Umbridge's face hidden behind the hood, slightly hunched and shrugging, her voice roughened, trying her best to disguise herself as a stranger.
Melvin recalled the house-elf left in the Lestrange mansion. When he and Dobby left with the vault key, he thought the servant would remain in the old house forever or return to Hogwarts after regaining clarity.
It was a dutiful but somewhat mad servant. Like other house-elves in the school kitchen, they served a family in their youth and dedicated their loyalty ever since.
I wonder if that old fellow is still alive?
Melvin tilted his head slightly to look at the tavern. He suddenly realized the Hog's Head was a good place. Aged grease sealed the windows and kerosene lamp shades. Dim light spilled into the tavern's interior, casting blurred shadows on the old tables and chairs. The entire hall was grayish and murky.
It wasn't lunchtime yet, and the tavern didn't seem to be open for business properly. The goatee-bearded owner in gray robes stood behind the bar, wiping a glass with a dirty rag while staring at the two.
In the dimly lit tavern, his figure hidden in the shadows, looking from afar, one would never associate him with the legendary wizard Dumbledore.
Umbridge was completely unaware that she was walking into a trap, actively pouring a drink for Melvin.
These fawning movements seemed very practiced, smooth and natural, without any restraint. Before being promoted to Senior Undersecretary, she had repeated such actions countless times.
"We haven't properly introduced ourselves, Professor Levent. Let's get reacquainted. I am Dolores Umbridge, an employee of the Improper Use of Magic Office at the Ministry of Magic. Nice to meet you."
Umbridge lifted her hood, revealing that flabby face, blonde curls, and small, sunken eyes, looking like a toad in a choir.
"No need for such formality, Ms. Umbridge. We can speak frankly."
Melvin didn't touch the drink. He had a new understanding of this unscrupulous witch. "Where did you learn about the Lestrange matter?"
"Before Dumbledore and you initiated the removal resolution, I was the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. The esteemed Minister Fudge didn't want to be trapped among documents and files all day, so he entrusted the power of handling trivial matters to me."
Umbridge grinned, seeming very proud: "Perhaps Professor Flitwick didn't tell you, I graduated from Ravenclaw House. My grades were excellent in school. I excel at discovering things others miss from inconspicuous clauses and case receipts."
Umbridge seemed to forget her disguise while showing off, getting a bit carried away. Her deliberately suppressed voice became high-pitched and piercing again, but Melvin didn't interrupt. He was always full of patience for things that interested him.
Thinking about deceiving Umbridge into going to Albania—should he tell her the truth about Voldemort directly, or coax and trick her into digging up the surprise herself?
"That house-elf was senile and delirious. It scurried out of the Lestrange old house randomly, wandering the outskirts of Muggle villages, exposing itself to Muggle travelers and causing a small riot. Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement brought it back to the Ministry, and staff from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes modified the relevant Muggles' memories."
"House-elves know magic but had lost their reason. According to regulations, it should have been harmlessly disposed of by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The executioner Walden Macnair is an old friend of the Lestrange brothers. He recognized the elf and wanted to take it back to his own home to chop off its head in the pure-blood way and hang it on the wall."
"Those brainless guys wouldn't tamper with the files at all. It was easy to find their loopholes. So I detained the house-elf, poured a few drops of Veritaserum, and dug out everything in its brain."
A cruel and excited light danced in Umbridge's eyes. Perhaps she hadn't mastered Occlumency, or simply had no awareness of it. In short, she hadn't set up barriers to protect her memories.
As she described it, those scenes flowed out silently along her gaze, presenting themselves before Melvin's eyes.
In the similarly dim holding room, the aged house-elf wailed and cried, gritting its teeth unwilling to reveal information about its master's family. The magic of Veritaserum and conviction tore at that body, and ultimately, Veritaserum won.
With every sentence Scritch revealed, it would repeatedly slam its body against the shackles and chains, trying to punish itself with pain.
Blood flowed and spread along the prisoner's chair. By the time Umbridge had extracted the information, that body was dying, and finally, completely lifeless.
The gray fog in the depths of Melvin's eyes converged, withdrawing from the scenes in the memory. It was as if he was re-evaluating this toad-like witch. She had dug out the secret months ago, precisely when she was in a pathetic state due to the accusation of unlicensed Apparition.
At that time, she held her enemy's secret but didn't immediately use it to attack and frame him. Instead, she waited until now.
In a sense, Umbridge was a very politically talented witch.
"Hogwarts' Professor Levent spent time and effort, racking his brains to enter the Lestrange old house and retrieve the vault key..."
Umbridge was full of joy, as if seeing lost authority waving at her. "Rest assured, Scritch is dead. In this world, only I know this secret."
She slowly took a sip of eggnog, resuming her posture as Senior Undersecretary, holding the winning ticket:
"Half the wizards in the magical world have heard that Professor Levent is a businessman, adept at trading with others and always creating win-win situations. This time, I also want to make a deal with the Professor."
"Speak." Melvin's gaze was deep and patient.
"The Ministry will select a new Minister before summer comes. I need you to provide connections and financial help to let me run for Minister."
Umbridge's tone was extremely slow but very resolute, staring straight into Melvin's eyes:
"Don't say you can't do it. Few have noticed that the foreign wizard Professor Levent has become one of the most influential wizards on this island in just two or three years. You can win over Marchbanks and those old fellows in the Wizengamot, and get votes from Edgecombe of Transportation and Bagman of Sports..."
Melvin pondered for a moment, looked up, and asked in confusion:
"There are seven departments in the Ministry. Transportation and Sports only account for two votes. Even counting the Wizengamot, it can't make your election successful, right?"
Umbridge waved her hand, full of confidence:
"Those guys in Accidents and Catastrophes and Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures used to be Fudge's faction. They've been ostracized and neglected recently, having a hard time. As long as I knock on their office doors, I believe many people who don't get along with Bones will be willing to cast their votes for me."
"They were Fudge's faction; shouldn't they support Fudge?"
"They were Fudge's faction before; what they supported from beginning to end was Galleons!" Umbridge corrected.
Melvin showed a dawning expression. "This is why you want me to provide financial help!"
"Rest assured, Professor Levent. I said this is a win-win business."
Umbridge's smile came from the heart, ugly and brilliant. "As long as I successfully take over as Minister of Magic, I will definitely keep the secret of that house-elf and actively support the Mirror Club's business, letting you easily acquire more wealth... I can make an Unbreakable Vow!"
Before coming to this tavern, the dialogue above had been rehearsed thousands of times in her heart. She was certain Melvin could only agree.
For a long time in the past, Melvin behaved like an idealist, developing and promoting the Shadow-Mirror, reforming the Muggle Studies curriculum, just like the young era of a legendary wizard...
After obtaining Scritch's intelligence, she thought she saw the true face of this foreign professor: craving wealth and willing to do anything for it.
What reason would such a greedy wizard have to refuse her proposal?
"Sorry, I refuse." Melvin gave an unexpected answer.
Umbridge's smile froze on her face. An incomprehensible expression appeared in her pupils; shock and astonishment were written on her face. "Why? I mean, you're a smart person... this... I..."
"Ms. Umbridge, you might not have investigated at Gringotts. The Lestrange family vault has not been stolen."
Melvin said unhurriedly, "The Galleons inside are piled up like mountains. Treasures accumulated over the ages are displayed on wooden shelves, just as they were before Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers were imprisoned. Not a gram of gold, not a single gem is missing."
"But you did those things... deceiving a house-elf, the act of stealing from pure-bloods, enough to ruin your reputation." Umbridge's expression changed suddenly, somewhat fierce in appearance but weak inside.
"Where is the evidence?" Melvin asked.
"Scrit..."
Umbridge froze for a moment, suddenly remembering that the old elf was dead, the body burned to ashes. Her verbal testimony alone had no persuasive power.
"Last time at the Ministry, I just didn't want to waste time, so I casually brushed you off with a few words. You actually thought you could blackmail me into working for you with slander based on zero evidence?"
Melvin asked back faintly, the light and shadow on his face distinct, like a devil wandering in the shadows. "Do you know what will happen after I walk out of this tavern?"
"What?" Umbridge stammered a bit.
"I will extract the memory of this conversation, cut and splice it, and show it on the Shadow-Mirror, letting wizards outside see that the former Senior Undersecretary, after being removed from office, fabricated false content to threaten an innocent foreign professor..."
Gray fog floated in Melvin's eyes, revealing a faint smile. "Tavern owners will dig up your background and spread it among drinkers. Your past behaviors will become conversation starters for drinkers to go with their alcohol."
In the family, clearly of half-blood origin, yet indifferent to her real maintenance worker father, clinging to the unrelated Selwyn family. In the workplace, stealing colleagues' credit, fawning over successive superiors, and cutting ties after promotion...
Umbridge's name would become a complete joke.
Let alone serving as Minister or restoring the position of Senior Undersecretary, she wouldn't even be able to keep a job as an ordinary Ministry employee. Her days ahead would only be harder.
These scenes flashed quickly through Umbridge's mind. Every detail was incredibly clear, scaring her into a cold sweat.
This Levent was no idealist, nor a fool greedy for wealth, but a sinister, cunning Dark Wizard who played with people's hearts.
Clearly having suffered losses several times, why did she still walk right into the trap!?
"Or, you have another choice." Melvin said softly.
"What choice?" Umbridge's face was full of tension, gripping the glass of eggnog tightly. "I can give you all my accumulated wealth, and the connections accumulated in the Ministry. I caught hold of some guys' leverage; it will be helpful to you!"
"I have a business in Albania that needs a clever person to open up the market and do some work outside of common sense."
Melvin didn't care about the chips she offered. "Just like you said, I'm very good at doing business and happy to cooperate for a win-win. Returning from Albania, you can get what you want."
Umbridge's slightly trembling shoulders relaxed, and a complex light flickered in her eyes.