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Chapter 942: Percy's Letter
🕑 Added 2023-11-30 20:47:48 +0000 UTCIn the dim and narrow corridor, there were only Evan and Harry, their footsteps echoing through the hallway.
"Evan, did we act too impulsively?" Harry expressed his concern.
He had just been thinking about ignoring everything and having a showdown with Umbridge, but now that Evan had actually done it, and after he calmed down, he had to admit that their actions were reckless. What if they got expelled from school?
Evan was almost as rule-abiding as Hermione most of the time.
But whenever it came to crucial moments, it was always the two of them who broke the rules first, seemingly without any concerns.
Anyway, his mind was a mess right now. Just thinking about how that woman would deal with them was unsettling.
"Don't be silly, Harry. As a friend, I can't just watch you being abused and remain indifferent," said Evan. "If I were truly impulsive, I would have cursed her directly instead of simply leaving her office."
Anyone who saw that scene would be angry, but Evan managed to restrain himself from using magic.
Hogwarts had its own rules that everyone had to follow. They had the right to question the professor's disciplinary methods, but they couldn't directly attack Umbridge. Of course, if Umbridge herself broke the rules...
Upon hearing Evan's words, Harry felt moved. Despite the burning pain on the back of his hand, his heart gradually calmed down.
The worries and insecurities from before vanished into thin air. Compared to everything else, having a friend who was willing to stand up and fight against the professor mattered most. It didn't matter how that woman punished them.
"So what should we do now?" Harry asked.
"Well, go to Professor McGonagall!" said Evan. "Tell her about this."
As expected, when Professor McGonagall found out what happened between them, she was furious.
She told Evan and Harry to stay in her office while she stormed out to confront Umbridge.
No one knew what she had said to Umbridge, but when she returned, her face was incredibly grim, and her lips were tightly pursed.
"Potter, you will continue your detention by Dolores Umbridge tomorrow, she has the right to do so. But if she uses that quill or anything similar again, inform me immediately. That woman is simply unreasonable," she said sharply. "As for you, Mason, if you don't want to lose your Head Boy badge, you must control yourself and avoid conflicts with her. Otherwise, you'll run into serious trouble."
She adjusted her glasses in anger and looked at Evan and Harry, then let out a soft sigh.
"The current situation at Hogwarts is different from the past, you need to be careful." Her tone voice was completely different from before, no longer brisk, crisp and stern, but low and anxious, and somehow much more human than usual, "That woman is backed by the Ministry of Magic, even the Headmaster... Well, anyway, keep your heads down and try not to cause trouble. Especially you, Potter, keep your temper under control!"
It seemed like the matter had come to an end with Professor McGonagall's intervention. Umbridge didn't use the quill again, nor did she hold Evan accountable. But would she really let it go?
Evan was well aware that Umbridge wouldn't just leave it at that.
If she couldn’t even handle two students, how could she dare to represent the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts? And what was the point of her coming here?
She was temporarily backing down now simply because she was just the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, without that authority.
However, she would soon have it, and the Ministry of Magic was surprisingly efficient this time.
Immediately after Evan and Harry left, Umbridge wrote a letter to Fudge...
The content and impact of this letter would soon be known to everyone!
Along the way, Evan was thinking about this matter, considering how to deal with Umbridge.
Relying solely on this incident wouldn't be enough to affect Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic, but if there were more evidence against her...
When the two of them returned to the common room, Hermione and Ron were working on the assignment given by Snape.
Now that the matter had passed, at Harry's request, they didn't tell what happened tonight, so as not to worry Hermione and Ron. They thought Harry was simply writing sentences, which didn't sound too scary punishment.
As the night got darker and there were fewer and fewer people in the common room, Evan knew what Umbridge was planning.
"Look outside!" Hermione suddenly pointed to the nearest window.
They all looked over, and a handsome screech owl was standing on the windowsill, gazing into the room at Ron.
“Isn’t that Hermes?” said Hermione, sounding amazed.
“Blimey, it is!” said Ron quietly, throwing down his quill and getting to his feet. “What’s Percy writing to me for?"
He crossed to the window and opened it; Hermes flew inside, landed upon Ron’s essay, and held out a leg to which a letter was attached.
Ron took it off and the owl departed at once, leaving inky footprints across Ron’s Potion essay.
“That’s definitely Percy’s handwriting,” said Ron, sinking back into his chair and staring at the words on the outside of the scroll: To Ronald Weasley, Gryffindor House, Hogwarts. He looked up at Evan, Harry and Hermione. “What do you reckon?"
“Open it!” said Hermione eagerly.
Ron unrolled the scroll and began to read. The farther down the parchment his eyes traveled, the more pronounced became his scowl.
When he had finished reading, he looked disgusted.
He thrust the letter at Evan, Harry and Hermione, who leaned toward each other to read it together:
Dear Ron,
I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister of Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect.
I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations.
I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the “Fred and George” route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility.
But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post.
Hopefully you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions.
From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Evan Mason and Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with those two boys.
Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this — no doubt you will say that they have always been Dumbledore’s favorites.
But I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different — and probably more accurate — view of Mason and Potter's behavior and the everyday practices at Hogwarts, and whether Dumbledore has any necessary reason to stay at Hogwarts.
I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing — and see if you can spot yours truly!
