Umbridge delegated everything to Filch, perhaps not only because she found the work cumbersome but also because she truly didn't have the time.
Because when Kael and Conna followed the stone steps of the underground classroom and arrived at the Magic Potion Classroom, they suddenly discovered Umbridge sitting in a dark corner at the back, still holding that familiar writing board.
Everyone else noticed too, and the classroom immediately erupted into a buzz of conversation.
"Weird, why is she here again..."
"Does she need to investigate the professor twice?"
"That shouldn't be possible, other classes were just once..."
"Maybe Professor Snape is different, you know, he's not that liked."
"Nonsense, Professor Snape is the best!" The last speaker was obviously a Slytherin.
But regardless, everyone was very curious, not understanding why Umbridge, who had just investigated Professor Snape's Magic Potion class, appeared again in less than two days.
Umbridge herself was equally curious. She listened to the discussions around her and glanced at the content on her writing board, feeling a bit dumbfounded.
Why was everyone saying she had been here before, yet there were no investigation results about Snape on her writing board at all?
"Quiet!"
At this moment, the classroom door was violently pushed open.
The entire classroom instantly fell silent.
Snape strode in, glanced at the corner, and his expression suddenly turned very unpleasant.
Kael also noticed their respective expressions and couldn't help but chuckle.
But immediately, as soon as Snape heard the noise, he turned his head and glared at him viciously.
Kael quickly shut his mouth, but his shoulders were still shaking, obviously having a hard time holding back his laughter.
Conna looked at him, curiously asking, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's just too funny, seems like Professor Snape has tried to be clever and ended up being clever by half." Kael whispered.
He knew very well that one investigation was enough for Umbridge with other professors, there was no need to attend classes twice.
Now with her appearing again in the Magic Potion classroom, it could only mean one thing... she forgot she had been there before.
In other words, Snape used a Forgetfulness Spell on her, causing her to forget some things, including the investigation results on Snape.
Truth be told, the effect of that Forgetfulness Spell wasn't very good; Umbridge forgot too many things, even forgetting she had attended the class before, prompting her to come again today.
This didn't achieve the intended function of the charm at all.
Anyway, Kael thought if it were him, he would only make Umbridge forget some essential things... like the questions she asked after class.
That would be the way to solve problems.
But speaking of which, Kael was quite curious about what exactly Umbridge said that made Snape use a Forgetfulness Spell on her.
However, just as Kael was about to share this with Conna, he looked up and locked eyes with Snape.
His eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion, as if he was about to silence someone forever.
There was no way around it; Kael had to tactfully close his mouth and say nothing.
Snape's expression then slightly softened.
"Today we're learning about Joyful Potion..." He gathered himself, as if nothing happened,
"This potion requires enough patience to brew successfully because you must constantly watch the color change in the cauldron. Only then can you proceed to the next step at the right moment..."
"The method..." He waved his wand, "...is on the blackboard, now begin."
Everyone immediately forgot about Umbridge and started bustling about.
"Mimosa... Unicorn Hair... Peppermint..."
Kael checked his ingredients, confirmed there were no issues, then started grinding the roots of the Mimosa.
For the first half hour, Umbridge remained quiet, but Kael knew she was about to make a move soon.
Because she acted the same way last time she was here.
Sure enough... like a clock was tied to her chair, as soon as half an hour passed, Umbridge immediately stood up and began walking towards Snape between the two rows of desks.
She glanced at the students' cauldrons on both sides.
"The students in this class look very excellent," Umbridge said, "Joyful Potion is a wonderful magic potion; it brings us joy, and we all need a little happiness in our lives."
"But this joy is false." Snape said slowly: "And overdosing can cause side effects..."
"I don't see that as an issue," Umbridge said in a lively tone, "as long as you drink a little less. If Joyful Potion were truly so dangerous, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't allow it to be part of the curriculum, would it?"
Snape sneered twice.
"So, were you in Hogwarts..."
"I've been teaching here for fourteen years." Without waiting for her to finish speaking, Snape directly replied.
Umbridge was momentarily taken aback, but she didn't care and just scribbled a few lines on her writing board.
While Kael used the back of a knife to crush the Mimosa petals, he was tilting his head to watch them.
Seeing Umbridge put down her board, he instinctively whispered:
"Did you first apply to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
The next moment, Umbridge asked the exact same question, word for word.
Sure enough...
This further validated Kael's suspicion that Snape had indeed cast a Forgetfulness Spell on Umbridge.
However, by this point, the brewing of Joyful Potion had reached its critical moment, and everyone's attention was on the potion in the cauldron; except for Kael, no one else noticed this.
The same question being asked again made Snape extremely annoyed, but he had no choice. To avoid drawing more attention, he could only cooperate with Umbridge, answering those questions he deemed meaningless.
What happened next didn't change at all.
After questioning Snape, Umbridge began circling the classroom, pretending to examine everyone's potion brewing.
The reason for saying it's pretentious is that Umbridge knew nothing about the process of brewing Joyful Potion. She even praised a student whose cauldron contained a pink potion.
However, a genuine Joyful Potion should be blue before adding Unicorn Hair.
The pink color resulted from the wrong order of adding ingredients, putting in dried Mimosa petals instead of its juice first.
Chuckles erupted around, and the student who messed up the potion looked red-faced and silent, while even Snape, at the front, slightly curled his lips as if mocking Umbridge's ignorance.
Only Umbridge, glaring at others, was clueless about what they were laughing at.
Until the class ended, everyone poured their completed Joyful Potion into bottles.
Almost everyone's potion turned a pale golden color, except for the person Umbridge had praised earlier, whose potion had a different color from the others. Only then did Umbridge realize she had praised the wrong person.
However, on the surface, she acted as if nothing had happened and walked towards Snape again.
Kael was suddenly intrigued.
Last time, Snape should have used the Forgetfulness Spell during their private conversation... This time, she would certainly say the same words.
Kael deliberately fell behind, letting a few sheets of parchment fall to the ground, hoping to delay his exit from the classroom.
He had done the same in a previous Transfiguration Class.
However, this time, before he could even bend down to pick them up, Snape swung his wand vigorously.
The parchment on the ground, including Kael himself, was immediately swept out of the classroom by a gust of wind.
And then...
Bam!
The classroom door was shut hard.