The Return to Hogwarts

Dumbledore's face finally darkened, and his eyes turned cold.

He didn't care about damaging his authority, but Umbridge clearly intended to use lies to cover up the truth, especially in front of his students.

"Oh, hehe, you want to talk right here?"

Amostella finally spoke, his soft laughter reaching Lucius's ears, instantly making his heart skip a beat, and he subconsciously took two steps away from Umbridge.

“If you feel embarrassed, Blaine—”

Umbridge raised her eyebrows and smiled pleasantly, but she was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"You just said you brought an order from the Board of Trustees, so please speak—"

Amosta smiled calmly.

Seeing his expression, the professors at the faculty and staff dining table softened their anger considerably. Everyone familiar with Amostella knew his style; this senior deputy minister of the Ministry of Magic was probably in trouble.

"What will it be?"

Ron, whose face had turned pale with shock at the tense and confrontational atmosphere in the auditorium, asked with a laugh.

"What else could it be?"

Hermione said coldly, glaring at Umbridge with disgust.

"Oh, hehe, are you playing dumb, Blaine?"

Umbridge covered her mouth and laughed.

"Or are you afraid to face your failures?"

She took a parchment from her pocket, unfolded it, and presented it to Dumbledore and Amosta.

"This is the letter of appointment from the Board of Trustees. Dumbledore, Blaine, and more than two-thirds of the directors have signed it,"

Umbridge looked up at the two of them, his heavy eye bags trembling with laughter.

"I have been appointed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"Oh, how unfortunate—"

George Weasley's unrestrained voice elicited a suppressed laugh.

"This course has never had a professor who was eliminated before even taking office."

Umbridge, who was proudly waving her appointment letter, froze. She turned her head and glared menacingly in the direction the voice came from, but George stood tall and met Umbridge's gaze without fear.

To be honest, Amosta hadn't planned to do this. He originally intended to use a legitimate reason to directly reject the appointment that he had arranged, forcing the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors to take extreme measures.

But when he saw the arrogant and foolish woman in front of him, a hint of mockery flashed in Amosta's pale purple eyes.

“You’re probably not qualified to be my colleague, Umbridge—”

Amosta's cold voice startled Umbridge, but she quickly recovered and revealed an even more sinister smile.

“You have no right to refuse, Blaine. The Board of Governors has already issued the appointment letter, and Hogwarts must obey the Board's orders. Besides, I think you've probably forgotten, Blaine—”

Umbridge said sharply,

"You were able to enter Hogwarts and become an investigator in the Chamber of Secrets because you received an appointment letter from the Board of Governors!"

"Ah, of course I won't forget--"

Amosta smiled serenely as he looked at Dumbledore.

“But becoming a Hogwarts Investigator isn’t enough with just a letter of appointment from the Board of Directors. You’re missing a step in the paperwork, Ms. Umbridge—”

"What is it?"

Umbridge glanced at Lucius, but the latter kept his head down, looking at his toes, and didn't respond to her questioning gaze.

Realizing something was amiss, Umbridge frowned and asked.

"You still need to pass my interview, Ms. Umbridge--"

Dumbledore stared coldly at Umbridge.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Umbridge, you may be professional enough to serve as Minister for Magic, but I don’t think you are qualified to teach young wizards.”

Umbridge frowned, just as she was about to retort, when, on the other side, Amosta, seeing that the trap had been dug, smiled deeply and said...

"Unless you prove to us that you have the ability to teach junior wizards, a letter of appointment alone will not be enough to help you obtain the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"We all passed the principal's interview."

Professor McGonagall's sarcastic remark at this moment provided a boost, and her words prompted a series of statements from professors at the faculty dinner table.

Before he knew it, the offensive and defensive strategies had shifted, and Umbridge, forced into a corner, had no choice but to ask...

How can I prove it?

"Oh, hehe--"

Amosta's smile held a hint of amusement as his gaze swept across the Great Hall. His soft words instantly ignited Harry's burning anger.

"If you want to teach students, at the very least, you have to prove that you are more professional than the students, right, Ms. Umbridge?"

Chapter 1016 Candidates

2024-07-06

"Proof is more professional than the students."

Umbridge paused, then turned to look at the young wizards in the Great Hall below. Many gave her defiant looks, some students simply expressed their anger, and of course, quite a few young wizards lowered their heads guiltily when they met her gaze. These children's parents probably all worked for the Ministry of Magic and were well aware of the consequences of offending her.

"If you mean I'm no match for a bunch of undergraduate wizards, and that Blaine isn't capable of teaching them, is that it?"

"I think you'd better not underestimate the group of outstanding young people that Hogwarts has produced."

Amosta smiled.

“These children may lack experience, Ms. Umbridge—”

Dumbledore also calmly said,

"But they are undoubtedly more energetic, and as Amosta said, it would be unwise to underestimate them, and teaching them requires exceptional abilities."

The professors at the faculty and staff dining table stood proudly with their chests puffed out, none of them giving Umbridge a friendly look.

The clever children had already anticipated what was going to happen next, and the students in the physical education class, except for a few whose parents worked at the Ministry of Magic, were all excited.

This is real combat!

Since the introduction of physical education classes, Professor Blaine has strictly controlled their behavior, forbidding them from fighting among themselves or using their wands when they have conflicts with classmates at school. They have never had any opportunity to show off, but now, a golden opportunity has presented itself, and the other party is none other than the renowned Senior Vice Minister of Magic.

As Lucius Malfoy watched Umbridge's chest rise and fall more rapidly, he had a stern face, but he already knew that Umbridge was likely to be ruined.

Judging from his practice with Draco, if all the students personally taught by Blaine could reach Draco's level, it's hard to say whether they could win against Umbridge in a one-on-one fight, but they definitely wouldn't lose. And if two or three of them came at him together, then Umbridge would only be able to suffer.

Lucius turned his head and gave Draco, who was also eager to try, a warning glare.

Umbridge is destined to lose, but whoever makes her lose face on this occasion will undoubtedly face her furious retaliation. Lucius will not allow Draco to be the first to suffer.

"That's ridiculous!"

Unable to bear the insult, Umbridge glared fiercely at Amosta and shouted sharply.

"You actually think I can't handle a few brats, Blaine!"

"Oh, a furry friend?"

Harry was already rolling up his sleeves, his emerald eyes fixed on Umbridge above the Great Hall like a lone wolf.

“I’m going to teach her a lesson. Please, if Professor Blaine doesn’t pick me, I’ll hate him for the rest of my life.”

"So, would you like to give it a try, Ms. Umbridge?"

Amosta smiled calmly.

"Oh, these kids usually practice in groups of three, it's a team effort, of course, that might not be fair to you, so if you can last more than a minute, I'll acknowledge that you have the ability to teach young wizards."

Hold on for one minute?!

Umbridge was so angry her hair stood on end. Of course she knew she was no match for Blaine, but Blaine's disrespect for her magic was something she absolutely could not tolerate, even setting aside the grudges between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts!

“Then let’s do it, Blaine. Do as you say. I’ll show you the capabilities of a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic.”

Umbridge's tone was menacing.

"Oh, but you'd better prepare a stretcher in advance!"

"Ah, that is indeed a reasonable suggestion."

Amostella smiled and tilted his head to look at Mrs. Pomfrey.

"Could you please prepare a stretcher for Ms. Umbridge? She'll need it later, Mrs. Pomfrey?"

The laughter of the young wizards even shook the windows of the Great Hall, and many of the professors also laughed out loud.

Amostella ignored Umbridge's murderous expression and Dumbledore's subtle hints that he should keep things under control.

Under Umrich's chilling gaze, Amosta emerged from behind the faculty dining table, clapped his hands twice, and the messy food on the four long tables vanished instantly.

The young wizards stood up one after another, and the table and bench in front of them slowly floated to the top of everyone's heads. After a series of complex aggregation and transformations, a huge stage landed on the ground.

Now, it's time to choose a rival for the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic.