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Chapter 974: Neville's Wrath
🕑 Added 2023-12-27 21:50:34 +0000 UTCIn the Defense Against the Dark Arts class on Monday morning, Evan met Umbridge who had returned.
There was a gentle smile on her face, and the scar was gone, leaving only a red patch.
As usual, Umbridge asked everyone to continue reading Defensive Magical Theory.
She didn't trouble Evan; in fact, she acted as if he didn't exist, just like Snape usually did.
The only difference was that her toad-like eyes kept staring at Evan, and he couldn't figure out what she was up to.
Evan felt very uncomfortable being stared at by her, but he didn't pay attention to Umbridge, and he didn't even read Defensive Magical Theory. She didn't seem to care whether he was present or not. Continuing like this, he thought he could skip the next class!
Umbridge was now really like a toad, not biting or responding to people...
Of course, she was a toad with fangs and sharp teeth. Once Evan made a mistake, she would immediately show them and take a bite without hesitation.
But now, she couldn't do much to Evan. Normal point deductions or detentions didn't work on him. Since stepping down as the Head Boy, Evan’s social interactions had been minimal, and Umbridge couldn't use anything else to threaten him.
That was not the case with Harry, who was still thinking about his Quidditch...
Beneath the school's calm surface, there were undercurrents. Three consecutive Educational Decrees had put Umbridge in complete opposition to the entire Hogwarts community. Many people were already very unhappy with Umbridge, but a fuse was still missing before the explosion.
Overall, Umbridge's first day back was relatively calm, except for Neville's outburst.
This incident happened before the Potions class in the fifth year, and it had something to do with Umbridge.
"I wonder how Evan’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class is going. Did that old toad make things difficult for him?"
"Evan should be fine, he knows what's appropriate, but Harry, you really shouldn't conflict with Professor Umbridge anymore, and don't get into trouble!" Hermione reminded, "Don't forget Angelina’s request last night … think about Quidditch."
"I know, I'll behave myself," said Harry listlessly.
The three of them trudged down the stone steps to the dungeons for Potions with other fifth-year students. All three of them were lost in thought, thinking about how to deal with Umbridge. But as they reached the bottom of the stairs they were recalled to themselves by the voice of Draco Malfoy.
He was standing just outside Snape’s classroom door, waving around an official-looking piece of parchment and talking much louder than was necessary so that they could hear every word.
“Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission to continue playing straightaway, I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he’s always popping in and out of the Ministry... so there’s no problem at all. It’ll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?"
"Well done, Draco! Gryffindor is in trouble now, and that Mason guy, he's no longer the Head Boy; he'll probably be expelled from school soon," said a very thin and tall boy standing next to Malfoy. "Umbridge being at Hogwarts is fantastic; our whole family supports her!”
“Don’t rise,” Hermione whispered imploringly to Harry and Ron, who were both watching Malfoy, faces set and fists clenched.
"Yeah, those people in Gryffindor can't understand the situation at all," said Malfoy, raising his voice a little more, his gray eyes glittering malevolently in Harry and Ron’s direction. He usually didn’t talk about Evan and Hermione now, but was still full of malice towards Harry and Ron, and would not let go of any opportunity to provoke them, “if it’s a question of influence with the Ministry, I don’t think they’ve got much chance... From what my father says, they’ve been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years... And as for Potter … My father says it’s a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St. Mungo’s... apparently they’ve got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic! "
Malfoy made a grotesque face, his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling. Crabbe and Goyle, and the Slytherin students gathered around him and gave their usual grunts of laughter, looking at the Gryffindors provocatively.
Suddenly, something collided hard with Harry’s shoulder, knocking him sideways.
A split second later, Harry realized that Neville had just charged past him, heading straight for Malfoy.
"Neville, no!" Harry reacted immediately. He leapt forward and seized the back of Neville's robes.
Neville struggled frantically, his fists flailing, trying desperately to get at Malfoy who looked, for a moment, extremely shocked and took several steps back, unable to realize what was going on.
"Help me!" Harry yelled to the others, managing to get an arm around Neville's neck and dragging him backward, away from the Slytherins, but Neville seemed to have gone mad, exerting too much force, and his face turned red as he lunged toward Malfoy.
Ron hurried forward and seized Neville’s arms; together, he and Harry succeeded in dragging Neville back into the Gryffindor line.
Crabbe and Goyle were now flexing their arms, closing in front of Malfoy, ready for the fight.
Everyone around was stunned. The Slytherins stopped laughing and looked at Neville in horror.
In their minds, Neville was a very timid student who could be bullied by almost anyone. They had never seen him like this before. At this moment, Neville's face was scarlet; the pressure Harry was exerting on his throat rendered him quite incomprehensible, but odd words spluttered from his mouth.
“Not… funny … don’t … Mungo’s … show … him …"
"You must apologize to Neville!" Hermione said firmly, knowing exactly what had happened.
While visiting Sirius at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, they also met Neville's parents.
They had been tortured crazy by the Cruciatus Curse and were still lying in the hospital's special ward. This was the most tragic thing that had ever happened to the Longbottom family.
Hermione felt that this kind of suffering was even more terrifying than their direct death. It tormented Neville all the time, day after day, year after year, and had become the biggest burden and obstacle in his heart...
"You're crazy; we didn't say anything about him just now!" Malfoy said in a panic, taking another step back.
He thought it would be better to avoid provoking these Gryffindors, as they were all lunatics.
And his father's warning to have a good relationship with Evan made Malfoy a little wary of Hermione, and he didn't dare to provoke her like before. Everyone knew the relationship between Hermione and Evan.
Since he couldn't afford to offend him, it was better to keep his distance. He stopped Goyle and Crabbe and didn't let them charge forward.
Just then, the dungeon door opened.
Snape appeared there. His black eyes swept up the Gryffindor line to the point where Harry and Ron were wrestling with Neville.
“Fighting, Potter, Weasley, Longbottom?” Snape said in his cold, sneering voice. “Twenty points from Gryffindor. Release Longbottom, Potter, or it will be detention. Now, keep quiet, and inside, all of you.”
