Sirius was taken away by the Ministry of Magic?
When Kael first heard this news, he thought they were joking, but he soon realized that there was no way all the fifth-years were making the same joke.
Besides Hufflepuff, the Gryffindor fifth-year students were talking about it too, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't even come to the Auditorium for dinner.
Kael turned to the nearest fifth-year student and asked, "Susan, did you guys just say Professor Black was taken away by the Ministry of Magic?"
"Yeah," Susan Bones said. "Our last class this morning was Defense Against Dark Arts. Near the end of class, suddenly several people came in. The one leading them said someone had complained to the Ministry of Magic about Professor Black, saying he hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities as a professor, which led to several students getting hurt during class."
"Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore was there too."
Kael frowned, just about to say something, when the Auditorium doors were suddenly flung open.
Dumbledore walked in with a very serious expression, a witch in a pink cardie following beside him.
Behind them, Ron and Hermione each grabbed one of Harry's arms—he was furious—and dragged him over to the Gryffindor table.
But right now, not many people noticed any of this. Everybody's eyes went straight to the two leading figures, whispering among themselves.
Dumbledore stepped up to the top table, turned around, and spoke in a calm tone.
"Sorry, please quiet down. Before you enjoy dinner, I need to take a moment to announce two things."
The Auditorium instantly quieted down.
Dumbledore said, "First, about Defense Against Dark Arts: Professor Black needs to assist the Ministry of Magic with some investigations, so he will not be teaching during this period."
"However..." Dumbledore raised a hand and pointed to the witch at his side, "During this time, Professor Umbridge will take his place and teach you Defense Against Dark Arts."
There was a brief silence in the Auditorium before scattered applause started.
The sound was very faint and almost all came from the Slytherin side.
"That's a load of rubbish!" Harry stood up, furious, looking impossible to miss in the crowd.
He looked like he wanted to say more, but was dragged back to his seat by the people beside him the next second.
On the top table, Dumbledore acted as if he hadn't seen this at all; instead, Umbridge looked over at Harry, giving him a fake smile that couldn't possibly be more fake.
"Thank you, Headmaster," she said, stepping forward two paces.
Dumbledore smiled and made room for her in the center.
Umbridge cleared her throat and said in a shrill voice, "I must say, it is so wonderful to be back at Hogwarts."
"Ugh, her voice is really uncomfortable," Cedric frowned, rubbing his arms. "Why does she have to speak like that? And that fluffy pink cardigan, it just really doesn't suit her."
"Personal taste, I guess." Kael said. "When I saw her at the Ministry of Magic before, she was like this too."
"You've met her?" Cedric asked. "What's she like? Will she be a good professor?"
"Let's put it this way." Kael thought for a bit, then gave a pretty fair answer, "Even Professor Quirrell and Professor Lockhart were much better than her."
"Oh..." Cedric groaned.
He really couldn't imagine anyone worse than those two… If someone actually was, then it'd probably have to be a Troll who'd had its head caught in a door.
Kael sighed as well.
He'd figured Sirius might not last until the end of the school year, but he didn't expect him to leave so soon.
It's not even been two weeks since term started.
At the top table, Umbridge was using a dry, utterly emotionless voice and said:
"The Ministry of Magic has always believed that educating young wizards is extremely important, and that they should be carefully and diligently trained, developing those precious innate talents you all possess..."
Soon, some students couldn't pay attention anymore.
"Why do I feel like I'm in Magic History?" Mikel muttered into his hand, trying to smoosh down a yawn. "And, when can we start eating again? It's pork cutlet for lunch today—what if it goes cold?"
Nobody answered him.
Ryan's head was bobbing; it looked as if he'd nod off any second. Next to him, Macmillan was staring fixedly at Umbridge, appearing very attentive, but his eyes were dull and clearly thinking about anything else but the speech.
Umbridge kept leisurely rambling on with her long-winded lecture.
Students around had already started chatting with each other; only a small handful and the professors were still listening, and even their faces looked full of hidden meaning.
Professor McGonagall's eyebrows were knitted tightly; Professor Flitwick seemed to have developed a sudden fascination with his fork. Even Snape didn't seem all that happy about Sirius being hauled off by the Ministry.
Conna felt more and more uneasy the longer she listened. She pulled on Kael's arm and whispered, "Why do I get the feeling the Ministry wants to interfere with Hogwarts?"
"It's not just a feeling—they definitely do." Kael said, "Just listen to what she's saying… Some decisions are outdated, so they have to be abandoned?
"If it were just a few years ago—even last year—the Ministry of Magic never would've meddled with Hogwarts' own rules."
Then, Kael suddenly noticed that Umbridge had tilted her head their way.
It was just for a moment, but he still caught the undisguised malice in her eyes.
Great, so it isn't just Dumbledore; now it looks like I'm on her hit list too.
Well… this is going to be interesting.
Kael grinned, then picked up his fork and stuffed a piece of pork cutlet in his mouth as if nothing was wrong.
Cedric stared, mouth agape, stunned. This move was pretty much openly ignoring Umbridge.
Noticing this, a few people instinctively looked towards Dumbledore.
But it seemed like the Headmaster's attention was all on Umbridge, as if he hadn't noticed what was happening at the tables below at all.
Now, a few bolder, still-hungry students couldn't hold back—Fred and George, for example.
They didn't care why Kael was acting so boldly. They just tucked into their food, laughing with others as if Umbridge wasn't even there.
Soon, more and more people joined in.
At the top table, Umbridge's voice was getting shriller and shriller, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't drown out the clatter of cutlery from the feasting students.
Finally, she finished her speech, turned to look at Dumbledore.
"Please carry on, Professor Umbridge, I quite agree with what you just said." Dumbledore said with a straight face. "We really shouldn't be pursuing progress for progress's sake—the new era needs new order. I fully agree.
"You've truly inspired me. Maybe I'm not that great a Headmaster after all."
But at that moment, he finally noticed the students eating below.
"Oh—you're done already?" Dumbledore said in surprise. "My apologies, your speech was so captivating I didn't even realize… Professor Umbridge, you should have reminded me."
Umbridge's face darkened, then she forced out a fake smile.
"Yes, I've finished." Her voice was sharp as a knife, and she sat back down.
She'd originally planned to continue after everyone quieted down, but just now, she'd changed her mind.
Umbridge glanced again toward Hufflepuff, at Kael chatting with the others, eyes flashing with venom and malice.
Dumbledore started applauding; the other professors offered a few claps as well. Professor McGonagall looked from Umbridge to Kael, her eyebrows knitting even more tightly.
She didn't know why Kael had done that, but it looked like Dumbledore wasn't planning to object either. So she held her tongue, letting more and more students start eating during Umbridge's speech.
But there's no way this is the end of it.
She knew enough about Umbridge—calling her petty was being polite.
If someone like her didn't explode on the spot, it could only mean she was brewing something worse,
and as the acting Defense Against Dark Arts professor, it'd be all too easy for her to pick on a student.
Professor McGonagall was a little worried, wondering whether she should find a chance to warn Kael.
...