Chapter 508 Hermione's Death

Although Hagrid's performance was much better than in the original book, Umbridge was determined to find something to hold against a professor and expel him to establish the Ministry of Magic's authority.

Fudge assigned Umbridge to enter Hogwarts with only one mission, which was to remove Dumbledore from the school, no matter what means were used.

Umbridge's approach is divided into two parts:
The first way is to use the power of the senior inquisitor to expel a professor, trying to challenge Dumbledore's authority and make him lose prestige in the school; the second way is to constantly provoke Harry on the edge of the rules, find ways to lure Dumbledore into intervention, and eventually get Harry implicated and expelled along with Dumbledore.

Umbridge had examined most of the professors at Hogwarts, but these professors all had real abilities and years of practical teaching experience. Umbridge could not find any fault with them, and Hagrid was almost her last chance.

In this class, Hagrid continued to teach about Bowtruckles. There was nothing wrong with the content of the course itself, but under Umbridge's deliberate verbal induction, Hagrid became nervous and stuttered, and Umbridge successfully wrote down various unfavorable records:
Relying on... clumsy... gestures...

My memory is... very bad...

to show... pleasure... in cruelty...

After Umbridge made the last note, she looked up at Hagrid and said slowly and loudly, "Please continue your lecture as usual. I will be walking among the students..." She pointed at each student, "--walking around." She pretended to walk, and Draco and Pansy couldn't help laughing.

"Ask some questions." She pointed to her mouth again, indicating that she was speaking. At this time, the little wizards in Slytherin laughed even harder.

When Shailling asked Fudge for help in registering the international rights to use the wand, he had reached a gentleman's agreement with Fudge to help the Ministry of Magic have a greater say in the hiring of teachers at Hogwarts, so at this moment he chose to stand idly by.

Hagrid stared at her, obviously not understanding why she thought he didn't understand normal English. Hermione's eyes were filled with angry tears. She knew that Umbridge was actually implying that Hagrid was an imbecile. She cursed under her breath, "Hag, evil hag!"

"Do you think," Professor Umbridge asked Pansy Parkinson crisply, "you can understand Professor Hagrid?"

Like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but they were from laughter. She tried hard to hold back her laughter and her answers were broken.

"I can't... because... it sounds... like humming... a lot of the time..."

Umbridge was scribbling away on her clipboard. The few patches of Hagrid's face that had not yet turned purple turned red, but he tried not to hear Pansy's reply.

"Well, Hagrid," she turned and looked up at him, and said again in her slow, loud voice, "I think I have enough information... You will have in ten days -" she held up her stubby fingers, "Roger -" (she made a gesture of picking something out of the air) "your results of your investigation." She pointed to the clipboard.

Then, smiling still more complacently, she hurried away from the group of students, looking more like a toad than ever under her green hat.

"That evil, hypocritical, perverted ugly thing!" Hermione finally couldn't help but said angrily after the class was over, and they walked back to the castle along the path they came from. "Do you see what she wants to do? It's her trick of discriminating against half-humans and half-beasts again - she wants to say that Hagrid is a mentally retarded troll just because his mother is a giant!"

She seemed to be too angry. She suddenly turned around and shouted at the Slytherin wizards who were still laughing at her: "That's enough - we are all students of Hogwarts, Hagrid is our professor, how can you laugh when that woman does something insulting to the professor!"

Everyone stopped and the scene fell into silence.

"Potter, Wesley," Draco walked out slowly, his hands in his cloak pockets, his grey eyes coldly scanning the three people opposite him, "Control your women - we Slytherins have our own reasons for doing what we do, and we don't need Gryffindor to tell us what to do."

"What did you say!" Ron's face flushed instantly, and he took a step forward angrily, clenching his fist, as if he was going to hit Draco directly on the nose.

Harry had subconsciously put his hand on his wand, his green eyes burning with anger, ready to strike at any time. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Malfoy, you'd better take back what you said just now."

Draco didn't even blink, with his usual sneer on his face, and said contemptuously: "What else? Are you going to deduct points from Slytherin, or just put me in detention?"

"Do you think I don't dare?" Ron said with a blushing face, "Because Malfoy insulted a prefect, Slytherin deducted 50 points! Malfoy will be detained for a week - the punishment is... to clean the boys' bathroom!"

"Okay, just come over, I'll go find Professor Snape later." Draco didn't take Ron's threat seriously at all. The professor had the power to cancel the punishment of the prefect, and everyone knew that Snape, who was protective of his shortcomings, would obviously stand on Draco's side.

Hermione was shaking with anger, she had never been called "your woman" with such contempt, and what made her even more angry was the Slytherin's attitude of indifference.

She turned her head sharply, glared at Shaylin who was standing in the crowd, and said sternly: "Shaylin Malfoy, is that how you look at me? You are also a member of Slytherin, do you agree with this attitude?"

Everyone's eyes instantly turned to Xie Ling.

It has been a long time since a student dared to call out Sherin by his full name. Any young wizard who has a little knowledge of the Ghost Club knows that this underground organization, which once brought together all the elite students of Slytherin, suddenly disappeared after offending Sherin.

The disappearance of four prefects in Slytherin House was no small matter. For a while, there were many different opinions within Slytherin, and various versions of the rumors were rampant. Some said that Schelling had subdued them, while others believed that they had been killed. In any case, these legends made Schelling's reputation a bit more terrifying.

After Hermione started to scold, even Draco remained silent. Shaylin's eyes stayed on Hermione's face for a moment, and he said softly, "Miss Granger, you and I both know who is behind Umbridge. If you want to go against her for Hagrid, that's your business. You don't have to drag us Slytherins into it."

Hermione was slightly startled, and her frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

Sherin's eyes swept across Harry and Ron behind her, then looked at Slytherin, and finally fell back on Hermione. The corners of his mouth raised a faint arc, but his eyes were cold and chilling. "Umbridge's review of the professors' teaching process is only the first step. Their ultimate goal is to replace the headmaster. Hagrid is at best a cannon fodder in the whole process. We have our own position on this matter."

Hermione's expression changed instantly, her eyes full of disbelief, "I can't believe you said that--" Her voice trembled, and it seemed that even her breathing stopped for a moment.

She had always believed that Shaylin was different from the other Slytherins - he was smart, powerful, possessed strength and fame, was the future leader of the four major colleges, and was the hope that could lead Hogwarts towards unity.

How many good things had she said for Slytherin in front of Harry and Ron? How many times had she tried to bridge the gap between the houses? She thought that Sherin would be the hero standing in front of all the students, the core that could bring Hogwarts together, but...

"I thought you were a warrior representing Hogwarts and a role model for all students...but you..." She curled her fingers unconsciously, her voice full of deep disappointment and heartbreak.

"Dumbledore said that we must unite to deal with future crises... I have always believed this, even... even when you Slytherins suffered prejudice, I have always tried to understand and let everyone know that we can stand on the same front..."

She stared at Xie Ling, her eyes burning with reluctance, pain, and idealism shattered by reality.

"Don't be naive, Granger." Sherin tilted his head slightly, his tone unquestionable, "The dispute between Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic has nothing to do with us Slytherins. We will not take sides - in the matter of Hagrid, what I can promise you is..."

"No need!" Hermione interrupted him abruptly, her voice trembling, as if she finally couldn't bear it anymore.

She stared at him blankly, her chest heaving and her lips trembling slightly. She seemed to want to refute something, but when she met Xie Ling's deep yet cold eyes, she suddenly couldn't say anything.

All the efforts and expectations collapsed at this moment.

She had been trying to believe and trying to bring Slytherin and Gryffindor closer together. She thought Shaylin would be the one to break the prejudice, but he destroyed her beliefs so thoroughly with his own hands.

She placed her hand on her heart, clutching her robe tightly, tears of pain flashing in her eyes. After a moment, she whispered, "...I understand."

There was a hint of indifference, almost sad, in his voice.

She looked away, suppressed the mixed emotions in her heart, turned around and strode towards the castle.

Harry glared at Shaylin fiercely, unclenched his clenched fists, and finally said nothing. He pulled Ron, who was full of indignation, to catch up with Hermione.

The Slytherin students behind them smiled at each other. Draco snorted, looked at Sherin meaningfully, and whispered, "Sometimes, I don't understand what you are thinking."

Xie Ling did not answer, but just watched Hermione's back quietly as she left.

Daphne hugged Xie Lin from behind, feeling the warmth from behind. Xie Lin's cold face seemed to break through the mist and reveal a sunny smile. Although the two did not say anything, they understood each other's feelings.

Even without the agreement with Fudge, Shearing and Dumbledore were never on the same page. He was able to use the power of the Ministry of Magic to weaken Dumbledore without fanning the flames behind the scenes, because of the phoenix feather that Dumbledore gave him during the Battle of Little Hangleton Cemetery.

It was impossible to help Dumbledore. The best he could do was to stand aside and keep himself and the Dragon Society out of it.

Hermione was right in some ways. Shalling was a warrior representing Hogwarts and a spiritual leader in the hearts of most students. He should consider the collective interests of Hogwarts. However, on this matter, the two people's positions were different after all.

From Schelling's perspective, the Ministry of Magic was not targeting Hogwarts, but Dumbledore. Hagrid was Dumbledore's most trusted right-hand man, so it was not surprising that he was chosen as the target.

To go against Umbridge is actually equivalent to going against the Ministry of Magic. In this situation where every second counts, it would be unwise to use the Dragon Society's time and energy to fight against the Ministry of Magic instead of accumulating strength and growth.

"Daphne," Xie Lin finally couldn't help but whisper the girl's name behind him. He paused for a moment before saying, "Thank you."

Daphne chuckled and said in a playful tone, "I forgive you for what happened with Miss Delacour and Zhang Qiu - but you must cheer up, everyone needs you."

"Well," Sherin raised his head and looked at the Hogwarts castle, his eyes sparkling. (End of this chapter)