Chapter 557 End of June
Chapter 557: End of March
The next morning, in the Hogwarts Great Hall, breakfast time.
The restaurant was noisy as usual until someone noticed that a familiar and annoying face was missing from the professor's seat - Professor Umbridge. Her dazzling pink coat was not at the table, and for a moment, whispers spread rapidly among the four long tables.
Soon, Professor McGonagall stood up and coughed lightly, attracting everyone's attention. Her expression was as serious as ever, but there was a rare hint of lightness in her tone:
"Everyone, I have an announcement here. Headmistress Umbridge is ill and will be going to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for treatment for a period of time. During her recuperation, I, Deputy Headmistress Professor Minerva McGonagall, will temporarily take charge of school affairs."
As soon as the words fell, the auditorium erupted in thunderous cheers. Students put down their forks, banged on the desks, and some even stood up and whistled. The whole hall was filled with a sense of liberation. Everyone was celebrating that they could finally get rid of the oppressive rule of the old witch.
However, amidst this joy, there was a small group of people with stiff and gloomy expressions.
That was McLaggen and his Justice Pickets.
Losing Umbridge's support means that the Justice Picket Team has lost the source of its power. During the time when Umbridge was the headmaster, they had offended so many people in the school. Now they have become the target of public criticism. I think it will not be easy in the days to come.
At the same time, it was discovered and spread that Headmaster Umbridge was injured while trying to arrest Hagrid the night before.
Harry and his crew become worried when they learn that Hagrid has been sent to Azkaban.
Azkaban is not a good place. Most people who go in there are likely to become mentally ill. This is because they don’t know that Sturgis died in prison, otherwise they would probably feel even more depressed.
Having said that, ever since the fall of Dumbledore's Army, Harry and his two friends have been depressed for a while.
Especially Hermione, she finally gave up the idea of proving herself to Sherin. This time, she really thought it through - her principles and pride had made her miss too many opportunities.
More than once in her dreams, she recalled how she was saved by the boy she loved when she was in her first year from the terrifying troll...how she asked the boy for help when Buckbeak was about to be executed...how the boy stood in front of her when she was bullied by McLaggen...
Originally... everything could be different.
I am too stubborn...
……
On the other hand, Mianlong Society resumed full-speed operation.
All members re-devoted themselves to combat training, magical plant cultivation, potion brewing, magical research, and intelligence integration.
Before the end of the last school year, Sharf and Daphne had a disagreement over the practical training for the Dragon Head Group of young wizards - Sharf believed that the young wizards should undergo bloody combat exercises, while Daphne thought it was too early and would easily attract Dumbledore's attention.
Now, Dumbledore is gone, Umbridge is gone too, and basically there is no one in the entire Hogwarts who can check and balance Schelling.
After obtaining Sherin's approval, the young wizards of the Dragon Head Group, led by Daphne and Shalfu, went deep into the Forbidden Forest for more rigorous field combat training.
As a result, the overall strength of the Dragon Head Group ushered in a wave of explosive growth again, growing rapidly at an astonishing speed.
In addition, the Forbidden Forest contains a large number of natural resources and wild treasures everywhere. Without the hindrance of Hagrid, the gamekeeper, the Dragon Tail Team led by Astoria was not willing to lag behind and began to frequently organize personnel to enter the Forbidden Forest to mine various precious potion materials.
(Note: The position of gamekeeper is currently vacant, as McGonagall is only acting as headmaster, and considering that Dumbledore will reinstate Hagrid when he returns, there is no need to bother hiring a replacement)
Doing so would not only increase the efficiency of the Dragon Tail Team in refining magic potions, but also save Xie Ling a lot of money. After all, the Sleeping Dragon Society had to maintain the magic research of the Dragon Soul Team and the intelligence network of the Dragon Eye Team, which consumed a staggering amount of money. Saving Xie Ling some money would be very beneficial to the long-term development of the organization.
Soon, the gloomy March came to an end, and Hogwarts entered the stormy April. Harry Potter's life seemed to have become a long series of worries and troubles.
During this time, the teacher and Hermione kept reminding them that the OWL exam was getting closer. The fifth grade students were all under pressure to some extent. Hannah Abbott suddenly burst into tears in herbal medicine class, sobbing and saying that she was too stupid to take the exam, and wanted to leave the school now. As a result, she was the first to receive Pomfrey. Tranquilizer for ladies.
The Justice Patrol is even worse.
Almost all members were retaliated against by students, both overtly and covertly.
Today, an unknown potion was mixed into Stebbins' breakfast, making him squat in the toilet all day; tomorrow, Fawcett will grow a pair of ugly sheep horns on his head; and then Roger Davis will be sent to the school hospital with a terrible skin disease that makes him look like he is covered with corn flakes.
The worst was McLaggen.
The two Weasley brothers had become two obedient dogs around McLaggen for money recently. Although they were insulted without any dignity, they finally saved enough money. They were fed up and decided to teach McLaggen an unforgettable lesson.
After knocking McLaggen unconscious in a secluded corner, they tied him up and stuffed his entire head into a dirty and smelly toilet. Finally, they cast a permanent sticking spell so that he could not pull his head out of the toilet by himself.
It was three days later when McLaggen was found. He looked so miserable that even someone who hated him the most would feel a little sorry for him.
Before the end of April, the Dragon Soul Team's "Black Bowtruckle" research project was finally successful and concluded.
After Zhang Qiu handed over the data and results to Luna, the leader of the Dragon Wing Team who was responsible for breeding magical creatures, the latter immediately began to breed the black Bowtruckle, hoping to successfully mass-produce it before the end of the semester.
Once mass production is successful, all core members of the Sleeping Dragon Society will be able to obtain one as their pet. The Black Bowtruckle has extremely magical perception abilities, and can even see through Schelling's invisibility magic. With it, the concealment and personal safety of the core members of the Sleeping Dragon Society will be greatly improved.
[Obtained the "Black Bowtruckle" breeding technology! ]
Meanwhile, among the pure-blood families of Great Britain, after months of open and covert fighting, the power struggle between the Foley and Slahorns families has finally come to an end.
Not surprisingly, the final result was that Schelling's two servants, Claude Free and Squire Slahorn, successfully seized power and ascended to the position of head of the family as victors.
The two former heads of the family were expelled from the family in a miserable state after their identities were stripped away. It was said that the pure-blood traitors had invested a lot of money in them, but in the end they still got nothing, which was a loss.
Claude and Squire, these two illegitimate sons of humble origins, also had their fortunes turn around. From then on, they rose from crows to phoenixes and became powerful figures who controlled the family power.
They knew that all this was not due to their own talents or abilities, but purely because they followed the right master. Everything they had obtained was given by Xieling. Because of this, they were naturally grateful to Xieling in their hearts, and their loyalty became even stronger.
On the same day when the two men ascended to the position of head of the family, the Free family and the Slahorn family, under their leadership, swore submission and allegiance to Schelling and became Schelling's new vassal families.
[“High-level vassal family” The Free Family obtained it! 】
[“High-level vassal family” Slahorn family obtained! 】
In the dormitory, the house-elf Dobby left immediately after finishing his report, and the dormitory fell into silence again. In the dim light, Sherin, with half of his face covered by shadows, looked at the place where Dobby had just disappeared, and pondered for a long time without saying a word.
As the situation has come to this point, the benefits of the original plot that he can use have basically been used up. In the remaining semester, there are still two months before the end of this school year, but apart from preparing for the OWL exam, there is nothing else important to do -
"Next..." Xie Lin put his hand on his chin, his deep eyes flickering, as if he was thinking about an important decision, "We are just waiting for the Battle of the Department of Mysteries... Should we find a house-elf in charge of the Gryffindor dormitory to keep an eye on Harry..."
