The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 428 Turning Point (Please subscribe, please bookmark, please vote)
Just as the students who escaped from the Room of Requirement returned safely to the common rooms of their respective colleges one after another, Umbridge in the headmaster's office was in a frantic state.

"Are they all asleep? Is it because of potions or magic?" Umbridge asked anxiously. If she hadn't taken the Malfoy family into consideration, she might have grabbed Malfoy's collar and shook him.

"No, they really aren't." Malfoy looked a little scared. He had never seen Umbridge treat him like this before. "Professor Snape has confirmed that they are not poisoned or cursed. They are all healthy and just asleep."

"So you are going to use the false testimony of a young girl who was coerced by you to accuse me? I think it is not appropriate to rely on this single witness to accuse me of trying to overthrow the Ministry of Magic. Not to mention that the parents of this witness are completely under your control, so the authenticity of her testimony is also worthy of everyone's doubt." At this time, Dumbledore sat behind the desk and said in a very calm tone, just like he was recommending a cockroach pile to others. However, Harry heard some relaxation and doubt in Dumbledore's tone.

"We - this -" Umbridge began to speak incoherently, her chest rising and falling violently like a toad in a puddle.

"But Harry still organized an illegal extracurricular group." After stopping Umbridge who was furious, Fudge said: "As far as I know, Potter met with many classmates at the Hog's Head Pub in Hogsmeade in October -"

"Potter is meeting with these students," Umbridge perked up, "in an attempt to persuade them to join an illegal group whose goal is to learn certain spells and curses that the Ministry of Magic has ruled are unsuitable for students -"

"I think you will find that you were mistaken on that point, Dolores," Dumbledore said quietly, peering at Umbridge over his half-moon spectacles that drooped on his crooked nose. "You should be aware that the Ministry's decree banning all student societies did not come into effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade party, so he broke no rules while at the Hog's Head."

The people from the Ministry of Magic were stunned. They found that they seemed to have overlooked something important. However, Umbridge quickly responded and said, "These are all good, Headmaster, but we have been implementing the Education Order No. 24 for nearly six months. Although the first gathering was not illegal, all gatherings since then must be illegal."

"Where is the evidence? We can't convict a person based on mere speculation." Dumbledore said as he looked at her politely and with interest over his crossed fingers, but in Umbridge's eyes it was full of sarcasm.

Harry heard a rustling sound behind him, and even thought Kingsley was muttering something, but soon the noises disappeared, as if what he had just discovered was an illusion.

"Didn't Miss Edgemore tell us?" Umbridge turned to Marietta, who was shrinking beside her, and said, "Good girl, you did exactly the right thing, so there is no need to be ashamed. Now, can you tell us that such gatherings have been held regularly in the past six months?"

Under Harry's nervous gaze, Marietta actually shook her head. Harry then keenly noticed that Marietta's eyes were very strange, as if she had not woken up yet and looked very confused.

Umbridge asked repeatedly, but Marietta just shook her head. Finally, when Umbridge was angry, Professor McGonagall could no longer bear it. She interrupted Umbridge angrily: "Please don't intimidate the students. I think her meaning is very clear, that is, there have been no secret gatherings in the past six months. Is that right, Miss Edgecombe?"

Marietta nodded under Umbridge's murderous gaze. Umbridge said angrily, "There was a party, Miss Aykmo, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! Potter was the leader, it was him, Potter organized the party, Potter - why do you keep shaking your head, girl?" She even grabbed Marietta and turned her to face herself, and began to shake her violently.

"That's enough." Fudge saw the anger on Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall's faces and quickly stepped forward to pull Umbridge. "Calm down, you shouldn't treat students like this."

Umbridge nodded and stepped back, but after she stepped to the side of Fudge, she looked at Fudge's back with a hint of resentment in her eyes. "But one thing is undeniable, Harry did organize an illegal rally tonight." Fudge was indeed a seasoned politician, and seeing that he could no longer force Dumbledore to step down on the charge of conspiracy against the Ministry of Magic, he simply turned his firepower to Harry, trying to find a breakthrough in the savior put forward by Dumbledore.

"You should know that the previous Education Order No. 24 clearly stipulates that if any student is found to have formed or joined any organization, association, team or club without the approval of the Senior Investigator, he will be expelled immediately." Fudge looked complacent. "So we should expel Harry and warn others not to disobey the order."

Harry felt relieved at this time. He had caused all the troubles. It would be great if he was the only one expelled without involving others. He thought that Sirius would take him in even if he was expelled. He could even try to learn the middle school courses by himself and then try to enter university.

"No, I don't think so." Dumbledore said. "The Education Order says that forming or joining any organization, association, team or club will result in immediate expulsion. But the evidence now only proves that Harry gathered a group of people tonight, so this is most likely just one of Harry's gatherings. I don't think it's appropriate to expel him for this. Otherwise, a few people gathering to chat after dinner could be expelled."

Fudge's face turned the color of liver, and now everyone knew what happened tonight. However, because Umbridge failed at the critical moment, his plan did not have enough evidence to support it, so he could only watch Dumbledore press him step by step.

"Well, I think everyone is too nervous tonight and has created too many misunderstandings. Now that everything has been explained clearly, you can all go about your own business. There is no need to stay here and waste time." Dumbledore stood up as if to see the guests off.

"You——" Fudge was furious, and pointed a trembling finger at Dumbledore, but he remembered that Dumbledore in front of him was one of the most powerful wizards in the world, so he stood there stiffly, not daring to do anything.

Just when Harry thought everything was fine, there was a knocking sound outside the window. This bang-bang-bang sound was so obvious in the quiet office that everyone turned their heads to the window.

There was an owl with a letter outside the window. Umbridge suddenly perked up when she saw the owl, with a sick smile on her face. "They've replied, Dumbledore. Open the window and let the owl in."

McGonagall, who was standing next to the window, frowned, but at Dumbledore's signal, she opened the window and took the letter from the owl's leg.

This letter was no different from an ordinary letter, it was also in a parchment envelope. But the strange thing was that the seal on the envelope was printed with the Hogwarts school emblem, but the owl had clearly flown a long way to get here.

"What is this?" Professor McGonagall looked at Professor Dumbledore in confusion, but Dumbledore ignored her and opened the envelope directly. After reading the contents of the letter, Dumbledore stared at Fudge in front of the desk, his blue eyes seemed to be burning with fire.

"Connelly, I always thought we were in the same camp. But I didn't expect you to be so obsessed with your official position. This made it easy for you to lose your proper judgment under the instigation of some ambitious people."

Seeing Dumbledore suddenly become angry, Harry felt confused. He didn't know why a letter would make Headmaster Dumbledore so angry. Now he was very curious about what was written in the letter.

(End of this chapter)