The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 492 Parting on bad terms
Snow fluttered outside the window, falling all over the floor. Inside the room, Dumbledore looked at the parchment in his hand, while Ada was still furious.

Dumbledore's attitude towards Umbridge and the way he dealt with her misbehavior at school made Ada very dissatisfied, and she felt that Dumbledore was raising a tiger to harm her.

"Professor, have you ever thought about those students? Many of them have to take exams at the end of the school year!" Ada asked, "Even if I can ignore Umbridge and keep a calm mind, what about them? They are just a group of children..."

"You are just an older child," Dumbledore interrupted Ada loudly.

Then the principal's tone returned to normal, and he continued, "When did your heart become so soft? When did you start caring about those who are insignificant to you?"

Ada was speechless for a moment, and Dumbledore's words made Ada not know how to respond for a while.

She defended herself: "Of course I'm not thinking about them, I just want to..."

"I just want to use the students' name to persuade me to deal with Umbridge." Dumbledore continued, "There is progress, Ada."

Frustrated again, Dumbledore's words sounded like a mockery, as if he was saying to Ada: You are too young to try this trick on me!

"Umbridge has never been a problem. She is just a nail that Fudge has driven into Hogwarts. She can be pulled out at any time." Dumbledore said, "But I can't pull it out now. The longer this nail exists, the more at ease Fudge can be."

Ada pursed her lips tightly. She could think of the reasons why Dumbledore did this, but she still couldn't understand it.

"I have more important things to do." Dumbledore put down the parchment in his hand and continued, "These things are far more important than Fudge and Umbridge."

Ida rolled her eyes and asked, "What's behind the Level 1 confidential door in the Ministry of Magic? That's what Moody has been sending people to disguise and protect, right?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Tom wants the prophecy which is kept at the Ministry of Magic. He has never heard the full prophecy."

It was because Voldemort did not know the full content of the prophecy that he made a hasty decision to attack Harry, which led to his first failure. Now that Voldemort has made a comeback, he certainly wants to know the prophecy that led to his defeat.

Protecting the prophecy and preventing it from falling into Voldemort's hands was indeed a very important matter, but that did not delay Dumbledore from dealing with Umbridge. It would not be a big deal if he just picked up a nail.

"Besides that, I have to continue looking for information about the Horcruxes," Dumbledore said. "What container will he choose to hold his soul, and where will he hide the Horcruxes he has made. This is the most important thing."

Dumbledore's words made sense, and the matter at hand was indeed more important than dealing with Umbridge. After all, only by destroying all the Horcruxes could Voldemort be completely defeated.

"You are right, but you may have had too little contact with Umbridge, so you don't understand what kind of person Umbridge is." Ada said very seriously, "If you know more about Umbridge, you won't be as indifferent as you are now."

"I'd like to hear more about it." Dumbledore looked at Ada.

"I won't talk about Umbridge and her father who makes a living as a cleaner at the Ministry of Magic. I think you know about these messed-up things." Ida continued, "I will only talk about what happened in school. The speech at the start-of-term dinner is enough to show her ambition. I think this is another test to see how far you can allow her to go."

In the first week of school, Umbridge put Harry in detention and left him with an indelible scar. Dumbledore did not say anything about these two things. Since Dumbledore gave her the opportunity to take advantage of him, Umbridge naturally had to take advantage of him.

Ada paced in the office and said, "So, she began to review the teachers in the school and challenged your authority, but you remained indifferent. In early October, Harry organized a magic study group in the Hog's Head Bar, and then there was the Education Order No. 24, but you remained indifferent. Today there is the Education Order No. 25, and her power is almost on par with yours, but you are still indifferent."

"How long do you want to wait?" Ada stopped, "Wait until the 30th Education Order is issued, or wait until she kicks you out of Hogwarts? Her ambition is huge, beyond the imagination of you and that fool Fudge."

Dumbledore looked at Ada, his blue eyes studying her carefully through his half-moon spectacles.

The headmaster said, "I know, and I also know that many of Fudge's actions were instigated by Umbridge. But have you ever thought that everything Umbridge is doing now is to force me to come forward so that she can accuse me of treason?"

Ada took two steps forward, supported herself on the table with both hands, and asked, "So what? What else can Fudge do except some conspiracies and tricks? In the face of absolute strength, his tricks can't even make people laugh!" Dumbledore looked at Ada in a daze, probably because he didn't expect Ada to say such a thing.

"You're not still hoping that that idiot Fudge will come back, are you?" Ada asked seriously with a frown, "If that's the case, I can tell you responsibly that it's impossible! From the day Lucius Malfoy kicked you out of school, from the day Fudge first sent Dementors to Hogsmeade, you've been a coward in Fudge's eyes, the biggest wimp in the world!"

After saying this, Ada stepped back, her chest heaving violently from her heavy breathing.

Dumbledore lowered his head and looked at the parchment on the table, as if there was something very fascinating written on it.

After a long while, Dumbledore said slowly, "So during the holidays you tried to establish a cooperative relationship with Amelia Bones, hoping to help her get promoted."

"Yes, just a Minister of Magic who is holding back. Without destruction, there is no construction."

This is what Ada really thought, and it was also the reason why she took the initiative to talk to Ms. Bones after the trial, but Ms. Bones did not agree to cooperate with her.

Ms. Bones is a proud person, she does not want to establish such a cooperative relationship, especially does not want to be held hostage by others one day in the future. Although Ada has never shown such intention, it is necessary to guard against it.

"The human heart is unpredictable, and the desires in the heart are equally difficult to control." Dumbledore said, "Before becoming the Minister, Fudge was a humble man. It is the position of Minister and the power that made Fudge become the ugly man he is today."

This incoherent sentence left Ada a little confused.

It took Ada a few seconds to realize that Dumbledore was not talking about Fudge, nor was he hinting at Ms. Bones. Instead, he was using Fudge's changes to subtly warn herself.

"With a powerful enemy at hand, unnecessary turmoil can be avoided." Dumbledore continued, "Military intervention in the power transition of the Ministry of Magic is bound to cause turmoil and chaos, giving the Death Eaters an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. By then, you are in me and I am in you, which will only make the situation worse."

Removing Umbridge was easy, just a matter of hands.

But Umbridge's position is very critical. If Umbridge is dealt with, it will inevitably cause a strong reaction from Fudge. By then, I'm afraid that the Order of the Phoenix will have a real fight with the Ministry of Magic before it even starts a fight with the Death Eaters.

This is very damaging, both for the Ministry of Magic and for the Order of the Phoenix.

"So you're just going to do nothing and just watch?" Ada asked in confusion. "Power is certainly an intoxicating poison, but if Fudge had fear in his heart, would he dare to become the monster that chooses who to devour today?"

Dumbledore stared at Ada in a daze. He had never known whether his decision to bring Ada to see Grindelwald was right or wrong. Now it seemed that it was half right and half wrong.

"What are you afraid of?" Ida stepped forward again, staring into Dumbledore's eyes. "What makes you so indecisive and afraid to move forward?"

If the headmaster had broken Fudge's claws when he first tested Dumbledore, nothing would have happened today.

Dumbledore fell into deep thought, frowning in pain, as if he recalled some memory that he could not let go of.

Ida slowly backed away. She didn't know what had held Dumbledore back, but she was disappointed. When she reached the door of the office, she said, "If Fudge and Umbridge's ambitions have killed anyone, it was your indulgence today that caused it."

Dumbledore looked up suddenly and looked at Ada who pushed open the door.

"This time, I can give you face and do nothing. If there is a next time, it is hard to say what will happen."

(End of this chapter)