Chapter 573: Start- (2 in 1)

Umbridge never expected to find a precious defence item on the Niffler body; she had only heard that the ‘Future World’ company is developing a similar product and the Ministry of Magic had recently ordered a batch … Yes! She snapped out of it: ‘Future World’ and Felix Hap, in a way, both are considered the same.

Umbridge looked around, and there was no one anywhere. She found the Niffler still stupidly standing in the same place, pulling out a small wooden stick and gesturing at her with determination. Umbridge made up her mind and took a step closer.

She squeezed a smile out of her big fat face and said in a sweet tone, “What a little cutie … can I hold you?”

Valen shivered as she waved her little wooden wand and backed away.

Umbridge’s pitch-black shadow covered Valen’s tiny figure and Valen was soon cornered. Umbridge broke into a vicious grin and the next second she saw the little wooden stick in the Niffler’s hand light up in the darkness. This scene seemed somewhat familiar, she seemed to have seen it somewhere … Umbridge barely associated it with Filch when a strong whirlwind appeared from below her feet and dragged her whole body into the air.

One by one the gems on the exclusive wand – which the Great Demon Lord had asked her to use ‘with caution’ – lit up, and the wind increased, creating a strong whirlwind that in seconds produced a terrible whimpering sound resembling a fast sword clash, and then a flurry of Snowflakes fells down. Umbridge, who found herself trapped in the freezing wind, fell backward and forwards, and cried like a slaughtered pig.

Valen looked uneasily at the screaming Umbridge, fearing that she would get into trouble for this, and then she tucked away her exclusive wand and scampered away. She decided to go and tell the Great Demon King everything.

“Bang!”

Umbridge fell from mid-air, her face covered with bloody scratches, her clothes torn and tattered, and her grey-brown hair looked like a hornet’s nest laced with ice.

She rose from the ground, shivering with anger. At the same time, her fear for the man which she had pushed to the back of her mind seemed to return – she was okay even when a Squib casted a spell, although she couldn’t figure out the reason, at least he is still a human being, but for a Niffler to use magic … she didn’t know which she felt stronger, the humiliation or the shock.

It took a few moments for her to come back to her senses, and she hastily treated her wounds with a few crappy healing spells, then left quickly. She crossed the corridor to the entrance hall where Mafalda is distributing tomorrow’s newspaper under the bulletin board, with half a dozen young wizards standing in front of her.

“Remember, focus on spreading the first news about a creepy perverted student who recently sneaked into the ladies’ lavatory at night with the intent to commit an offence – a reminder for everyone to be safe.”

Two boys cringed and hugged each other in fear.

Mafalda gave them a blank look, “It’s the girls’ lavatory, the girls! It has nothing to do with you, understand?”

One of the younger girls asked in horror, “Who’s that pervert?”

“The client didn’t say – ahem, I mean, there’s no investigation yet, you can ask everyone to keep an eye out.” Mafalda corrected, she had just almost blurted out the words in her mind, and to divert attention she said encouragingly, ” All the best, I promise to send someone to buy you all presents for next Hogsmeade weekend.”

“Is someone actually advertising something?” The girl who had just asked the question asked timidly.

“Of course, except many of them are hidden ads, see the second confession letter? And the fifth one where Professor Burbage is looking for an assistant? It shows we have already reached out to the Professors’ community! Sooner or later, I will set my foot in the Headmaster’s office and interview Headmaster Dumbledore …”

Umbridge, who was passing by with her face covered, suddenly stopped and looked at Mafalda incredulously. Mafalda was in the midst of delivering her speech with gusto when she suddenly noticed the young wizards in front of her looking over her shoulder in unison. She turned her head and saw a wide, fat face close to her chin.

Mafalda was startled. After staring at the filthy Umbridge for a moment, she wondered why she hadn’t noticed before that there’s someone who looks like a toad inside the castle? Maybe it was just the angle, she thought. She subconsciously took two steps back to look twice more for confirmation, but once some thoughts appeared they could never be erased.

“I’ve seen you before, you’re from the Ministry of Magic, what can I do for you?”

Umbridge grinned, which tugged her wounds painfully, “Hiss~ Little girl, I heard what you just said, you’re the editor-in-chief of the Wall of Mystery newspaper? I didn’t expect you to be so young-”

“You want to buy a newspaper?” Mafalda interrupted her.

Umbridge stared at her with bulging eyes, and asked after a moment’s frozen silence, “How much is it?”

“Three Knuts a copy. Actually, you should buy two copies for better value, for only five Knuts, which is half the price of the Daily Prophet.” Mafalda skilfully solicited business, “Even Valen is a loyal reader of mine.”

“That Niffler?” Umbridge stared straight at Mafalda, who nodded uncertainly, and Umbridge immediately squealed.

From a distance, Felix, who is walking towards the kitchen with Valen in his arms, looked up, what was that noise?

“Kee! ( It’s that wench!)”

A few minutes ago –

Valen passed through the entrance hall and glanced quickly around the great hall, but after not seeing Felix, she turned around and headed back to the entrance hall, where she was scooped up by the sneaky Felix. Immediately Valen yelped in aggravation, “Well, um, I know all about that, she’s really bad.” Felix let her vent and occasionally chimed in.

“Let’s get something to eat in the kitchen, baked fish? A cake? I’ve just figured out a trick – how to make food that holds emotion. Would you like to try a caramel pudding that brings tears to your eyes? Erm, not a fan? That’s fine, we can try other combinations …”

They headed down the entrance hall to the basement, at which point Mafalda was just leading her small group down the stairs. It didn’t take long before the exaggerated scream was heard.

Felix furrowed his brow, this Umbridge started to get on his nerves.

…

February has brought more than just the warming weather, as the much anticipated Valentine’s Day loomed around the corner. Students are especially ecstatic as the new Hogsmeade weekend and Valentine’s Day has coincided with each other.

“One more week till the holiday!” A Ravenclaw girl announced loudly during breakfast. She gleefully showed her friend a pretty bow, “I’m going to tie it on the wall of Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop.” Across the table, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together with no joy on their faces regarding the impending Festive Day.

“They’re leaving tomorrow.” Harry whispered, his eyes darted sidelong to the Ministry of Magic group, who were sitting at the long Slytherin table, where Umbridge and the young man with the surname Avery were sitting far away from each other.

“Looks like a guilty conscience.” Ron said.

“They’re not going to rush it on the last day, are they? Or well after today’s light out?” He blurted out, ” Mad-Eyed Moody had said that they might have dropped by to steal something, and midnight would be the best time. Just like Quirrell, he acted in midnight too …”

” Well, they don’t have many chances to do it during the daytime.” Hermione said, “Did you bring the Marauder’s map, Harry?”

“Brought it.” Harry whispered, taking the opportunity to drink his porridge and rummage through his pocket for a wad of parchment, “It’s always good to have an extra pair of eyes.” He said. Not to mention that Professor Moody’s map didn’t show a few people, but Harry didn’t mention it, lest there be another argument.

“Actually, it’s three pairs of eyes.” Ron corrected him with a grin.

“It’s the whole Frontline Lookout, Harry.” Hermione gave them a blank look, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve got in mind when you distributed information on the topic of ‘reconnaissance and anti-reconnaissance’ at the last activity.”

Harry seemed a little embarrassed and whispered, “It’s the best thing to do, isn’t it?”

Hermione sighed, “Have you noticed that you kinda talk like Headmaster Dumbledore?”

Harry looked at her with his jaw dropped.

“You’ve always complained about the adults keeping everything from you, and now you’re keeping everything from the club members-”

“I’m doing it for their own good! And to prevent leaks! Besides, it’s best if fewer people know about that thing.” Harry stammered out an explanation, and then his expression fell.

Could this be the reason?

Can Dumbledore and Professor Hap, or even Professor Moody and Kingsley’s attitude toward him and his own attitude towards Neville, Seamus, and Luna be equated? Harry bowed his head to ponder, and a voice within him said: I am not like them. But then a new question arose, what is the difference … I can’t stay out of it, Harry said to himself, everyone else might give up, but he would never. Even if Voldemort became ten or a hundred times more powerful than he is now, even if Voldemort defeated everyone and ruled the wizarding world, as long as he is alive, he will stand against Voldemort.

Harry firmly believed this.

Then he saw Neville and Hannah pass by, and he realized that they are going to attend Herbology class together. Harry stared at Neville, his face no longer round and pudgy like it had been in the first year, as his face started to develop definite lines. If something particularly dangerous came up, Harry felt that he would refuse to allow the other members to take risks, but he probably wouldn’t refuse Neville because he knew that Neville shared the same stance as him when it came to Voldemort and the Death Eaters …

Hermione looked across the table and said sarcastically, ” He does know how to draw people in, he’s acting like a warm-hearted senior.” Harry and Ron looked over to where Chesterton Avery was chatting with a group of Slytherin students, the words ” Senior” and ” Awesome” faintly heard, and Pansy was listening attentively, with an expression of interest, not even realizing that Draco Malfoy who is sitting beside her looked cold and silent.

Harry could see a strong look of disgust in his eyes.

“He’s not trying to approach Malfoy again, is he?” Hermione asked in a low voice, ” Is it possible that tabloids are ineffective?”

” Malfoy won’t give him a chance if he’s smart enough.” Harry said with certainty. They glanced in the direction of the Slytherin table every now and then for the rest of breakfast, and after a short while, the Slytherin students stood up one by one, when Malfoy decisively put down his knife and fork and followed the large group away.

Crabbe and Goyle felt rather bad about the fact ‘that there’s some food left on the plate’, but in spite of their reluctance, they were viciously dragged away by Malfoy.

“Look.” Harry said.

They too hurriedly finished their breakfast and scurried off to their Herbology class. It was on the way that Harry had time to regain the train of thought that had been interrupted by Hermione, and he had to admit that Hermione had a point, albeit just a little … he mused as he ran across the yard to the greenhouse, thinking that if he had been Headmaster Dumbledore he would also have treated someone who is destined to be Voldemort’s enemy differently and revealed some secrets occasionally, but for sure he wouldn’t reveal the whole truth.

“Thank you, Hermione.” Harry mumbled.

“What?” Hermione asked grumpily. They were taking a shortcut through a muddy vegetable patch where the snow was half-melted making it very hard for her to walk with half of her shoes sinking into the mud.

“I said thank goodness there’s no Snape class today.” Harry said aloud.

Well, he certainly didn’t mean what he said. In fact, he had been purposefully keeping an eye on Snape in his Potions class lately, trying to peek at the expression on his face to see if he had managed to make it close to the truth about Horcruxes, even ignoring his snide comments at the cost of gaining two more zeros.

The Greenhouse stood in distant view and Harry saw the students standing outside. He strode a few quick steps just in time for the greenhouse to open from the inside, but the person who came out took him by surprise; it was Snape, dressed in black, with Professor Hap standing beside him, and Harry also saw Professor Burbage and a smiling Professor Sprout behind the two.

He remembered a piece of news he had read in the Wall of Mystery tabloid. Professor Burbage had applied to build a new greenhouse and had been looking for work-study students a few days ago.

“Pomona, I didn’t realize you were so familiar with the concept of self-pollination.” Professor Burbage enthusiastically said.

“It’s not new knowledge.” Professor Sprout’s tone suddenly became dry.

“Oh, I thought it was a muggle thing-” Professor Burbage whispered an apology, while Felix and Snape had already left first.

…

“Voldemort is up to something big, any plans?” Felix asked briskly as they walked across the lawn, with a gentle and unblinding sunlight shining over them.

“I don’t think this will be the final showdown, so it’s unlikely that I will meet him in person, which will reduce the awkwardness considerably.” Snape said slowly, “As for my intentions – pretend to be stumped by things.”

“Stumped? So you’re still planning to stay undercover?” Felix furrowed his brow, ” Have you thought of an excuse?”

“Excuses are easy to find.” Snape said softly, “But I’m going to more or less smooth things over for those two idiots, so there will be no complications subsequently – and if they fail again, it won’t be my fault. Let them suffer the wrath of the Dark Lord, after all, it’s his hope for eternal life.”

“Tch. What did you guess this time?

“Horcrux.” Snape stated coldly. Felix was quite surprised, not expecting Severus to actually find it out by himself.

“But how did you-”

” By listing the names of the dark magic I was able to find – I happen to have adequate discernment in that area – and then eliminating them one by one afterward. I narrowed it down to ten, but I still couldn’t finalize the answer until I ran into Professor Slughorn at the Honeydukes’ door.” Snape said lightly.

Felix had no thoughts other than sigh at the coincidence, even though there was still some trace to it – Dumbledore had taken Harry to visit Mr. Slughorn several times during his fourth year summer holidays, and with Severus’ keenness, he surely could have guessed that Slughorn is hiding a great secret, all he had lacked was some association. And – Felix reckoned Severus must have made his best effort to have a good conversation with Slughorn by adding optimum layers of verbal manipulation and perhaps even using Dumbledore’s name? Which would have made the other man less defensive.

So did Severus manage to guess Harry’s half-Horcrux status? Felix wondered a bit, but again, this isn’t his problem, let’s leave this headache to Dumbledore!

“Have you considered that Potter will ruin your plans?” Snape suddenly spoke up.

“What about him?” Felix suddenly remembered the letter.

“He tested me.” Snape squeezed the words out of his teeth.

Felix turned his head, and stifled his laughter, “Oh, hum.” As he looked up, “Don’t worry, I’ll consider his influence … Maybe this is a good thing, the more people involved, the harder it is to sort out the tangled threads. I’ll talk to Dumbledore when I get a chance to make a few more sets of plans.”

After parting ways with Snape, Felix used his communication mirror to contact Lupin, who lounged in the sword castle.

“I have a feeling that the Sword Castle will be attacked today, between six to eight o’clock in the evening. Those things I left in the storeroom should come in handy.”

” Great.” The other side said mildly, “I’ve been planning to organize a staff party, they’ve been working hard lately … By the way, how did you pinpoint the exact time, did you use a crystal ball or tea?”

“Neither, I read the phases of the moon.” Felix joked.

“Oh – actually you could have just asked me,” Lupin said pleasantly, “I think I have more say in this, after all, the full moon is only a few days away.”

“Are you feeling all right?”

“Barely able to eat, the potion Severus prepared works better than the market one, and of course, it tastes more bitter. I’m worried I’ll develop a sweet tooth one day.”

“At least I know what to get you for next Christmas.” Felix said optimistically, “I’ll also keep an eye on the map and will be there as soon as the attack happens, so keep an eye out and focus on staying alive.”

“What about the school?” The other side asked in surprise.

“The best I can do is finish the fight in time, moreover no matter what, I need to show my face in the company.”

Felix was about to put away the mirror when Lupin’s hesitant voice was heard from it, “… Felix, do you know Fenrir Greyback?”

“The infamous werewolf?” Felix said casually, “No, I don’t. What happened?”

“Dead. On the third day after being taken into custody by the Ministry of Magic, before the Ministry could figure out a solution to his amnesia, he ‘poofed’ into pus, and I was told the smell in the interrogation room was unbearable-”

“Stop describing it.” Felix said with a black face. He bet he heard a soft chuckle from the opposite end.

“Well, Professor Hap, Moony asked me to send his regards. So – Thanks.”

In the evening the sun was sinking in the west over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the sky darkened. After dinner, Wilkie Twycross conducted the usual supplementary lessons on Apparition and Side-Along Apparition in the great hall, with fewer than thirty students left to meet the standard.

“Umbridge and Avery didn’t show up again?” Twycross asked gloomily, as his mood turned for the worse now.

Although Professor Tofty is technically the group head this time, but because of his age, he only showed up at the beginning, and after that as the most experienced one, he had taken charge of the group all these days.

“Um, I’m sorry, Mr. Twycross,” Avery said with an apologetic look on his face as he hurried over, “I’m late.”

Wilkie Twycross nodded stiffly as he waited a few more minutes, but Umbridge didn’t show up. Annoyed, he decided that he would make sure to highlight her dereliction of duty in his report when he returned. “Let’s finish the lesson.” He announced.

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room, Harry scribbled away his homework with a grimace. The professors didn’t care about Valentine’s Day, so instead of decreasing, their homework started to increase each day as the new term began.

He pressed the Marauder’s map under his parchment and stared at it every now and then.

Suddenly, he stood up with a loud thud as his knees hit the desk. Ron, Hermione, and even Neville, Seamus, and Dean, who were a few tables away, were startled, and the others in the common room also looked over.

Harry held back his tears and stared fixedly at the Marauder’s Map, the dot belonging to Umbridge is moving rapidly in the direction of the Headmaster’s office, and the office is –

Currently vacant of people.

————

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