A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

In the wispy smoke, Umbridge's pink sweater stood out, a smug smirk on her face. To her left and right were the administrator, Argus Filch, and the minister's secretary, Percy Weasley.

"Where are the people? Where did all the people go?"

When Umbridge discovered that Aaron was the only one in the house, she was immediately horrified.

This was not what she had imagined; cracking down on a criminal gang and arresting students who violated discipline were two completely different things.

“Professor Umbridge,” Aaron said, pointing to himself sheepishly, “I am 100% certain that I am a person.”

Umbridge's lips twitched slightly, and his toad-like face turned as red as a volcano about to erupt. "Don't play dumb with me. You know what I'm talking about?"

"That's asking too much. How am I supposed to know what you're talking about if you don't tell me?"

“Ha!” Umbridge sneered, and said smugly, “Mr. Gaius, I have been tolerating you since last year, and I have turned a blind eye to the mistakes you have made, but that does not mean that I will pretend that nothing happened.”

"I understand." Aaron nodded calmly.

“What I hate most is your attitude,” Umbridge said angrily, pointing at Aaron. “You’re so pretentious, acting like you’ve never taken me seriously.”

"Be more confident." Aaron casually picked at his ear. "Take away the word 'seems like'."

“You…” Umbridge laughed angrily, “I’m telling you very clearly, the matter of Dumbledore’s Army has alarmed the Minister of Magic, and he’s in the Headmaster’s office right now.”

Moreover, we have ample evidence and witnesses; don't think you can get away with this so easily.

Aaron glanced thoughtfully at Percy Weasley standing to the side, as if he understood something. "Although I don't understand what you're saying, it seems you're here for Dumbledore?"

Umbridge snorted indifferently.

"I think you should come with us to the principal's office now."

Percy and Filch stood on either side of Aaron, seemingly worried that he might run away.

"No need to be so tense," Aaron chuckled. "If I wanted to resist, even all of you combined wouldn't be enough."

“That makes sense.” Umbridge nodded with a smile. “Weasley, take his wand away.”

"Just take it out yourself, don't make things difficult for me," Percy said calmly.

Aaron shrugged nonchalantly and placed the wand in his hand. "The Weasleys will feel..."

Disappointed? But I don't think I did anything wrong.

If they had listened to me and supported the Ministry of Magic, everything would have been very different.

"No, what I want to say is not disappointment, but heartache."

Percy was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.

Aaron continued, "Mr. Weasley was hospitalized during the Christmas holidays, and you didn't visit him, did you?"

“I know he’s fine,” Percy said with a hint of pride. “As the minister’s secretary, it’s easy for me to find out things.”

"So that's your reason for not going to see him?"

"I..."

“Enough, enough,” Umbridge interrupted. “Take him away first, the minister is waiting!”

“Thank you for the reminder, Deputy Minister,” Percy said seriously. “We should be going.”

After confirming they had left, Ron dispelled the Disillusionment Charm and cursed indignantly, "Percy, he actually... went too far! How did he become like this? He's a complete lackey."

“He will come back, your parents have always believed that,” Hermione said hesitantly, “but only if he knows he was wrong.”

"Wrong?" Ron curled his lip in disdain. "He couldn't be more confident now."

We all know he craves power, but to be so ruthless as to betray even one's family for power is going too far, let alone now that he's considering sacrificing family for the greater good. Me, Fred, George, and Ginny—the four of us are all on that list.”

“Wait, speaking of the list,” Harry paused, “the list is still with Aaron, right?”

"It should be fine, right?" Ron said somewhat uncertainly.

“There’s definitely no problem.” Hermione was very unhappy with Ron’s doubts. “You know him, he would never hand over the list.”

“I believe that, but I’m worried about something else,” Harry said in a deep voice. “Aaron just said that Fudge is going to do something to Dumbledore.”

Hearing this, Hermione and Ron felt a chill run down their spines.

But they are too busy taking care of themselves to do anything but worry and console themselves.

......

Third floor, at the entrance to the principal's office.

"Sizzle honey candy."

Umbridge cheerfully recited the command, and the stone beast jumped aside, revealing a slowly ascending spiral staircase.

They climbed the stairs and barged straight into the principal's office without even knocking.

The headmaster's office was unusually lively today. In addition to Dumbledore and Fudge, there was also the vice-headmaster, Professor McGonagall, a dark-skinned, bald wizard, and a strong, short-haired male wizard.

"Minister Fouché, it's been a long time."

“Mr. Gaius,” Fudge said somewhat awkwardly, “you should know why I’m here today, right?”

Aaron glanced at Dumbledore almost imperceptibly. "I've guessed a little bit."

“So…” Fudge paused, then asked meaningfully, “You won’t get in my way, will you?”

Aaron raised an eyebrow; he could read the meaning behind Fudge's words.

If you don't interfere with my dealings with Dumbledore, everything is fine; but if you decide to stand against me, don't blame me for being impolite.

Fudge was unwilling to offend a powerful wizarding family, but if it could preserve his power, he would do so without hesitation.

“Of course.” Aaron nodded slightly. “I support the minister’s decision, and I’m not unwilling to cooperate if necessary, but… Professor Umbridge seems to have a little bit of a problem with me.”

Fudge feigned surprise, then glared fiercely at Umbridge.

Cackling!

Umbridge clenched her teeth in anger, but after a moment she chose to back down and forced a stiff smile. "Minister, this may be a misunderstanding. I will find an opportunity to explain later."

“Mr. Gaius, look…”

"No need for explanations; saying things that don't match your true feelings is just a joke."

I'll be grateful to Merlin as long as she doesn't deliberately target me in the future.

Umbridge: ......

What do you mean? You're trying to embarrass me in front of Fudge? Don't I have any dignity?

“No, I can guarantee that.” Fudge was both amused and exasperated, then looked at Dumbledore with schadenfreude. “Unfortunately, the senior investigators have discovered an illegal organization at this school.”

I think you can explain it; I'll give you a chance to explain.

“I really don’t know that,” Dumbledore said.

"Haha!" Fudge laughed triumphantly. "I knew you'd say that, but I have a witness."

“Minister, I’ll go and bring the whistleblower over right now,” Umbridge said.

"Go! Hurry up."

Nothing compares to a good witness, doesn't it, Dumbledore?

“That’s right, Cornell.”

A few minutes later, Umbridge hurried back, accompanied by a Ravenclaw witch, none other than the informer Marietta Eckmore.

She acted very strangely, covering her face with her hands and cautiously observing her surroundings only through the gaps between her fingers.

"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place!" Aaron sighed.

Marietta trembled slightly and almost lost her balance.

“Don’t be nervous, darling,” Umbridge comforted. “You did very well. The minister is very pleased with you. He will tell your mother that you are a good girl.”

"Minister, she's Madam Eckmore's daughter, from the Floo Network Management Bureau of the Department of Magical Transportation. She's the one who's been monitoring the Hogwarts Floo Network for us."

"Very good, very good performance." Fudge clapped. "Like mother, like daughter."

"That's absolutely right, like mother, like daughter," Aaron sneered.

Fudge pretended not to notice the sarcasm in Aaron's words, and instead looked at Marietta warmly, "Darling, don't be shy, tell us what you're reporting."

Marietta raised her head tremblingly, and Fudge's face immediately changed. He took a few steps back in terror, almost falling into the fire.

Others also saw her face; the dense purple pustules on her face formed the word 'informer,' making her look ferocious and terrifying.

"Pfft!" Aaron laughed at the worst possible time. "Sorry, I didn't want to laugh, but I just couldn't help it."

Marietta immediately buried her face in her robe, revealing only her blurry, tearful eyes.

"Alright, tear off your robe!" Umbridge said impatiently. "Nobody here cares about your face. Go tell the minister right now."

"Hahaha..." Aaron burst into laughter. "Don't misunderstand, I just thought of something funny. You guys continue."

Marietta seemed to be struck by the shrill laughter; she lowered her head even further and began to sob.

“Fine, I’ll explain!” Umbridge said helplessly. “Tonight, Miss Eckmore came to me and said that there is a secret room on the eighth floor called the Room of Requirement, where some kind of gathering is taking place, which is a serious violation of the Ministry of Magic’s laws.”

But as she tried to continue, the curse on her face began to take effect. After seeing her reflection in the mirror, she... was too heartbroken to say anything more.

Chapter 481 It was just a joke, how can this be considered evidence?

“I see.” Fudge looked at Marietta kindly. “My dear, you are very brave, and you did the right thing.”

Would you like to tell me what happened at the party? What was its purpose? Who were the members?

Marietta remained nervous, covering her face and shaking her head, unwilling to say another word.

Just by telling Umbridge about the existence of the Room of Requirement, her face became like this. If she were to reveal a few more details, who knows if she would be disfigured.

"Do we have a way to break the curse and deal with this? Something that will allow her to speak normally." Fudge was getting impatient. If the witness was like this, it would be better if there was no witness at all; at least it wouldn't be an eyesore.

“Not yet,” Umbridge said somewhat awkwardly. “But it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t speak; we’re not completely empty-handed today.”

As she spoke, she turned to Aaron, who was sitting in a chair petting a dragon, and asked, "Mr. Gaius, could you explain how you ended up in the Room of Requirement?"

"This...can I not say?"

"I'm afraid not."