#469 - Chapter 469 The Curse of Becoming Stronger

Umbridge abruptly raised her head, frantically pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket to press against her nose, trying to stop the gushing blood.

Her disheveled appearance caught the attention of the surrounding professors, and even some young wizards who were focused on their meals glanced over.

"Look, that new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor seems to be having a bit of trouble!" Fred said, suppressing a laugh, his voice loud enough to attract more students' attention.

"She's already getting a nosebleed on her first day?" George exclaimed, eager to stir up trouble, "It must be the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse taking effect!"

The twins' synchronized remarks instantly ignited a buzz of discussion in the Great Hall.

"That's too unlucky, running into misfortune right after taking office."

"From a mystical perspective, I'd say she and the Defense Against the Dark Arts post are incompatible. Forcing herself to teach could be life-threatening."

"Isn't she supposed to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? She can't even handle a nosebleed; that's too weak, right? The professors from the past few years weren't this fragile."

"Do you think the curse has gotten stronger?"

"Oh, looking at it that way, what Potter said about the Dark Lord returning might actually be true. Otherwise, how could the curse suddenly become so much stronger?"

Curse...

Misfortune...

Dark Lord...

These words filled Umbridge with panic. She, who had previously scoffed at the idea of the Dark Lord's return, now began to waver.

She pressed the handkerchief against her nose for a long time, but the bleeding showed no signs of stopping. Instead, the handkerchief was completely stained red, plunging her into terror.

For a moment, she even considered returning directly to the Ministry of Magic to tell Fudge that she couldn't teach this class and that he could assign it to whoever he wanted.

"Perhaps you should let Poppy take a look at you," Professor McGonagall said, looking at Umbridge's disheveled face, her tone calm as she reminded her. Then, she signaled Madam Pomfrey to examine her.

Although she was quite disgusted with this Ministry of Magic appointee, she couldn't let her embarrass herself to this extent at the Welcoming Feast.

Madam Pomfrey didn't say much, quickly helping Umbridge up and leading her out of the Great Hall toward the hospital wing for treatment.

As soon as Umbridge left, the Great Hall erupted. The previously subdued discussions suddenly surged, and the students brazenly debated the so-called curse. Some daring young wizards even secretly started a betting pool, guessing how long Umbridge could last under the curse's influence.

"How did you guys do that?" Ron asked, his eyes shining, staring at Fred and George with admiration.

For the first time, he began to appreciate his two older brothers' pranks.

He was very sure that Umbridge's nosebleed was the twins' doing, but with so many professors at the staff table, how did Fred and George manage it?

"Shhh, keep it down," Fred said, raising an eyebrow mysteriously. "We secretly bribed Peeves to sneak some special seasoning into Umbridge's pork chop in the kitchen."

George took out a piece of candy from his pocket and placed it on the table, indicating it: "Take a look at this, our latest invention—the Nosebleed Nougat. This thing is the ultimate weapon for a nosebleed fountain, and the special seasoning in her pork chop has another special effect. It just takes a while to kick in."

Hermione frowned, hesitating for a moment before saying, "Wouldn't that be a bit much...? We haven't spent any time with her; we don't know what kind of person she is."

"Hermione," Ron said, squeezing her hand, "Think about what Harry and Dumbledore have gone through, and you'll know that this little prank is nothing. Umbridge isn't just an ordinary Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; she's a knife that the Ministry of Magic has stuck into Hogwarts. I'm sure that as long as she's at Hogwarts, she'll continue to cause trouble for Dumbledore and Harry."

Hermione couldn't say anything. She knew that Ron's words made a lot of sense.

After a month of training, she could fully understand that Umbridge's arrival at Hogwarts represented a political struggle between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, and political struggles are always a matter of life and death.

Forcibly dismissing her naive thoughts, she looked at the twins and asked curiously, "How did you get Peeves to agree to cooperate? He's not exactly a ghost who follows the rules."

Weren't Fred and George worried that Peeves would betray them?

"He wouldn't dare," Fred chuckled softly. "We used Professor Swan's name; Peeves doesn't have the guts to betray us."

Oh... that explains it!

The person Peeves fears the most at Hogwarts is Professor Swan, even more than the Bloody Baron, because the professor can easily turn him into a gibbering idiot and give him to the young wizards to kick around as a ball.

Every time he sees Professor Swan, Peeves acts as if he's seen a demon, running as far away as possible. During exam season, he doesn't even dare to show his face, afraid of being turned into a ball and given to the young wizards as a stress-relief toy.

But... using Professor Swan's name, where did you get the nerve? Aren't you afraid of the professor punishing you?

Hermione and the others exchanged glances, quietly moving a little further away from the twins, afraid that Professor Swan would come looking for trouble and involve them.

"Don't worry," George explained softly in a voice only they could hear, "Professor Swan has tacitly approved of all of this."

Are you kidding me?

Professor Swan would tacitly approve of this?

Have you two forgotten the days when you were punished by Professor Swan for your pranks?

Seeing the disbelieving looks on everyone's faces, Fred added earnestly.

"Really, we're not lying. Before the start of the term, Sirius Black supported us with a batch of joke items, and he also told us to prepare some tools for skipping class, saying we'd definitely need them. If we didn't believe him, he told us to confirm it with Professor Swan."

"We contacted Professor Swan, and the professor didn't stop us at all. He even said that Umbridge's class was a pure waste of time and that it was okay to skip it."

"Even better," Fred continued in a low voice, "What do you think Professor Swan said?"

What did he say?

Harry and the others became even more curious, crowding around, waiting for the twins to reveal the answer.

Fred first looked around, making sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and said: "Professor Swan also told us to learn a few more prank methods from Sirius Black and use them when necessary."

"He also said that this year is the most lax year of Hogwarts management, and as long as we don't go too far, all the professors will turn a blind eye and let us do whatever we want."

"To be honest," George smacked his lips, looking emotional, "We were so scared of being punished by the professors for our pranks in the past two years. Now that we've suddenly been given permission, it's a little hard to adjust."

Come on, look at how proud you are, you don't look like you're having any trouble adjusting. Just a little effort tonight made Umbridge look so bad.

Amidst the laughter, Harry whispered, "Stop talking, Umbridge is back."