Apart from Dumbledore, there's another person who was absolutely furious over that article.
Umbridge was almost ready to tear Rita Skeeter apart. After seeing today's Daily Prophet, she skipped breakfast and rushed back to the Ministry of Magic.
The professor was gone, so naturally there was no Defence Against the Dark Arts class today.
But based on Umbridge's teaching style, it didn't seem to make much difference whether Professor was there or not; it was all reading and copying anyway. Without a professor, it was actually a bit more freeing.
In the afternoon, the classroom was chaotic because there was no professor present; everyone was as excited as if Christmas Holidays had come early.
Even better, there wasn't a substitute professor, which meant that apart from not being able to leave the classroom, they could do whatever they wanted.
Mikel was playing Wizard Chess with Ryan, and a few Gryffindor students even turned their textbooks into Quaffles, tossing them at each other.
Seeing their excitement, if the classroom were big enough to ride brooms, they'd probably have a real Quidditch game.
Kael sat in the boisterous classroom, diligently working on his Ancient Runes homework.
This course was the same as before, one lesson per week, with the same amount of homework.
The fifteen-inch articles were the simplest. The most troublesome were the two translation assignments, lengthy and boring, full of trivial records.
"Kael, do you think Umbridge might just get dismissed?" Conna asked expectantly.
"Not likely." Kael stopped his quill, tucked the translated document into his textbook, and said, "The corridors of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic are quite different; Fudge can't be that blind to it.
"Of course, he won't be happy about it, even if he knows it's a baseless issue, he can't just ignore it entirely."
"What a pity," Conna murmured softly, she really didn't like Umbridge.
Ever since Umbridge became the professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts, in less than a month, the class had quickly overtaken Magic History as the most unpopular class at Hogwarts.
After all, in Magic History, when they felt bored, they could nap or do homework for other subjects, as long as they didn't make too much noise.
But in Defence Against the Dark Arts, all they could do was read the textbook repeatedly and copy down long passages of nonsense, nothing else was allowed.
"Will Umbridge go after Rita Skeeter?" Conna continued to ask.
"Absolutely," Kael said, "but only if she can find her first.
"Rita has written so many infuriating articles that if she didn't have some skill, she'd have been beaten to death long ago... so it won't be easy for Umbridge to catch her."
"That's good," Conna said, realizing for the first time how entertaining Rita Skeeter's articles could be. No wonder so many enjoyed reading them despite knowing they were nonsense.
Soon, class was over.
Everyone felt like someone had sped up the class time; they left the classroom reluctantly.
"I really hope Professor Umbridge doesn't return by Wednesday," Mikel said with a hopeful tone.
Because their next Defence Against the Dark Arts class was on Wednesday morning.
Unfortunately, by the next day, Umbridge returned.
The Daily Prophet delivered that day had two unexpected news items.
[Sirius' identity in doubt, Ministry of Magic to continue investigation.]
[Ministry seeks educational reform, Dolores Umbridge appointed as the first investigator]
Both pieces of news stirred endless discussions in the auditorium.
"Senior Investigator?" Mikel asked, puzzled, looking at the newspaper, "What does that mean?"
"It's simple, it's the Ministry of Magic's attempt to interfere with Hogwarts," Cedric said. "It clearly states that the Senior Investigator can assess the professors' competence and has the authority to dismiss those deemed unfit, with replacements appointed by the Ministry."
"Of course, the professors are qualified," Hannah said indignantly. "Did you notice? The criteria for judging whether a professor is qualified weren't mentioned at all."
"Clearly, it's up to Umbridge," Cedric said.
"The headmaster won't agree!" Justin Finch-Fletchley proclaimed loudly.
"It's useless," Cedric pointed at the last sentence in the newspaper. "Look here, all the board members signed off on the so-called Twenty-second Education Order, so even the headmaster can't oppose it."
This result was a bit unexpected for Kael.
He initially thought that after the last report, Fudge would at least hesitate to place more responsibility on Umbridge, even if he wasn't suspicious of her.
Unexpectedly... she got promoted.
Who knows what Umbridge told Fudge in a whole day that actually increased her power at Hogwarts instead of reducing it.
The Senior Investigator's authority to dismiss professors was no small power, almost on par with the board of directors.
Additionally, Kael noticed another unremarkable piece of news.
[Stodgy Podmore arrested for illegal entry into the Ministry of Magic at night]
If Kael remembered correctly, this Stodgy was also a member of the Order of Phoenix, and during the holiday, they had met at No. 12 Grimmauld Place.
Plus Sirius, this was already the second Order member arrested by the Ministry of Magic.
Fudge knew their identities?
Unlikely... Order members were extremely cautious, avoiding any exposure of their ties to Dumbledore during these volatile times.
Besides, he was indeed caught by the Ministry's night guards.
Kael couldn't fathom the purpose of his late-night visit to the Ministry.
Yet, with these hit-and-miss incidents, Fudge now had two Order members under control, the other naturally being Sirius, who was also detained within the Ministry.
And Umbridge as the Senior Investigator was likely Fudge's plan to target Dumbledore...
Everyone knew all of Hogwarts' professors supported Dumbledore, that was beyond doubt.
And the Senior Investigator was clearly targeting professors.
If so, Fudge was quite disappointing, thinking people like Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout were known just because of their positions at Hogwarts.
Or assuming the Hogwarts professorship was the least of their achievements.
One Umbridge thinking she could handle them was just daydreaming.
With this thought, Kael couldn't help but chuckle, a sudden laugh drawing everyone's attention.
"Sorry," Kael said, "I was just thinking if Umbridge might bring us a new Magic History professor."
"Pfft..." Ryan couldn't hold back and laughed, "If that happens, it would be wonderful."
Magic History, the only subject at Hogwarts taught by a ghost. And, let's face it, the course is just plain boring.
The ghost's emotionless voice was as if he was putting everyone to sleep, and over half the class often dozed off.
"I think the Ministry would be reluctant," Cedric laughed, "It's hard enough to find a professor who doesn't require a salary, unless Umbridge herself wishes to take the post for free."
"Forget it, if that happens, I'd rather have the ghost," Justin said, "At least now we have a show during class... unless she can walk through walls too."
The Hufflepuff table erupted in laughter.