HP: The Duelist of Hogwarts - 422

Chapter 422: Three Headlines and Umbridge’s First Shot

Without Kulkan around, Sean had not felt anything was particularly wrong with his days. But once she returned, he suddenly realised just how lifeless things had been. Between his heavy workload and constant research, having Kulkan nearby to crack jokes, tease him, and bleed off some of the pressure made an enormous difference.

“Sean, have you seen the Daily Prophet?”

“The Daily Prophet? Not yet. Why, have they started again?”

Sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, Sean dabbed his mouth with a napkin and took the paper Jensen handed him. The front-page headline screamed about the so-called “education reform” the Ministry was pushing. In short, the Ministry felt Hogwarts’ education was substandard and its staff a motley lot.

Fraud, werewolf, criminal, half-giant…

It was as if the worst possible examples had been deliberately assembled here. The implication was that parents all over the country must be deeply uneasy about the school. Therefore, the Ministry had appointed Dolores Umbridge as the first High Inquisitor.

And what did that title mean?

Simply put, she could meddle in anything and everything. She represented the Ministry. Even Dumbledore would have to yield ground.

The rest of the article was a continuous stream of praise for Umbridge and Fudge, lauding accomplishments and initiatives that clearly did not exist. Anyone with half a brain could see it was rubbish. But the public did not care about the truth. They wanted emotion. And the Daily Prophet was the largest paper in Britain. Even if what it said was not entirely accurate, it could not be too far off, could it? If Britain’s only wizarding school had sunk to such a state, then clearly something had to be done. Support the Ministry. Support Fudge. Support Umbridge.

As for what was actually happening…

Who cared?

Once they had vented their outrage, that was enough.

I have spoken up. I have pushed for change. I am on the side of justice.

As for Umbridge’s appointment as High Inquisitor, Sean was sure that, as the senior authority in wizarding education, Marchbanks would have opposed it. Sure enough, another piece in the paper accused Marchbanks of colluding with goblins and trying to restore goblin rule.

The “evidence” was a series of old articles in which Marchbanks had spoken up on goblin rights. Digging up past writing to condemn someone in the present… the Ministry and the Daily Prophet were slipping further and further past any notion of a bottom line.

When he had finished the main article, Sean set the Prophet aside.

Jensen promptly reached over, flipped the paper, and tapped a small item in the corner. “Sean, there is another piece here. It has something to do with you.”

“Oh? Let me see.”

Sean glanced down and immediately caught the headline.

“Shocking! Dragons on the Loose? Triwizard Tournament Dragons Missing for a Week!”

The piece briefly outlined the situation, then listed moving magical photos of the six escapee dragons alongside their names. It concluded by urging the public to report any sightings to the Ministry at once.

According to the report, the six dragons had already reached Britain and were moving in the direction of Hogwarts, allegedly seeking revenge on a Triwizard champion currently at the school.

Seen in that light, the article suggested, even dragons could tell right from wrong. Faced with evil, even they wanted to teach someone a lesson.

Of course, the writer added, they still wished the unnamed Triwizard champion all the best.

Sean ignored the pointed way the author was hinting at him and focused instead on the problem of the six dragons.

The moment he saw their names, he knew they were the same ones he had faced in the first task of the Tournament. What he did not know was their purpose. Were they really coming to take revenge? That seemed unlikely. He had given them a very thorough beating last time. If they were truly here to make trouble, he saw no reason to hold back. He could quite happily walk away with a full set of dragonhide armour.

“Let the Aurors handle the dragons. Nothing to do with us. Hogwarts has defensive wards. They will never find it, much less break in.

“Rather than worrying about dragons, we should be worrying about Umbridge. Her authority just got a lot bigger. She is probably second only to the Headmaster now. With that much power, there is no way she won’t cause trouble.”

Blaise and Jensen trusted Sean. They always had.

And when it came to Sean’s predictions, sometimes “forward-looking” did not even begin to cover it. They were practically prophecy.

Even so, neither of them had expected that the first thing that pink toad Umbridge would do, once she started meddling in Hogwarts, would be to take a shot directly at Sean.

Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall was in the middle of explaining the core principles of second-stage Transfiguration.

Halfway through the lesson, Umbridge’s shrill voice suddenly rang out.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Umbridge said, standing up. She completely ignored the clear displeasure on McGonagall’s face and continued in that duckish, little-girl squeak of hers. “But I was wondering, Professor McGonagall, if you know you are missing a student from your class?”

The moment Blaise heard her, he knew she was about to fire on Sean.

Sure enough, she went on, “If I am not mistaken, Sean Bulstrode is not here, is he?”

Professor McGonagall looked at Umbridge, her expression tight with disapproval, but she still answered. “Sean has been granted permission to skip Transfiguration lessons. His skill in Transfiguration exceeds that of his peers by a wide margin. Both I and Headmaster Dumbledore have agreed that he need not attend further classes on the condition that he earns full marks on every end-of-term exam. At present, his scores have all been perfect.”

“But if I recall correctly, last year’s marks were given only because he was a Triwizard champion, were they not? He never actually sat the Transfiguration exam. Is that correct?

“And this idea that good marks entitle a student to skip class is very dangerous. It is liable to make excellent students arrogant and conceited, is it not?
“I will be submitting my formal evaluation on this practice. I am quite sure Minister Fudge despises such special privileges. I will see them revoked as soon as possible. As for Mr Sean Bulstrode, I will be having a proper talk with him myself.

“Now then, I shall not disturb you any further, Professor McGonagall.”