Chapter 1246 Another pleasant night
Fudge's guess was correct; Umbridge does indeed face unprecedented obstacles.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she would hear that deep, hoarse voice, as if it came from the depths of hell.
Tonight, Umbridge was in her bright Defense Against the Dark Arts office as usual, with several sheets of parchment on her pink desk, trying to dispel the unease of the past few days by writing reports.
"Dear Minister Fouché, I am very sorry to have kept you waiting."
I've run into a few minor troubles lately, but please rest assured, it won't affect our plans. We—"
Umbridge, who hadn't slept for three days and three nights, finally succumbed and closed his eyes.
"Your power is borrowed...your dignity is stolen...when true darkness falls...you and your pink toy will be worthless..."
The terrifying sounds that haunted her mind came from all directions into her head. She screamed and sprang up from the wet, pink desk she was lying on, clutching her wand in terror and pointing it wildly at everything in the office.
"Come out...come out here, you come out here, Batman...Batman."
A gentle breeze blew in through the window, startling Umbridge so much that she hurriedly dropped her wand and crawled under the table.
After a very long time, she finally dared to peek out from under the table to see the world outside.
The office lights remained as bright as day, and no breeze blew in through the open window.
It turned out she had only scared herself. Umbridge picked up her wand from the ground and slammed the window shut.
She sat back down in her chair, staring in horror at the enormous bat pattern on the parchment.
"what!!!"
Her scream seemed to awaken something, and black ink began to seep out of the bat pattern on the parchment.
In the blink of an eye, the pink table she had carefully arranged was stained black with ink.
Suddenly, all the lights in the office, including the flame in the fireplace, went out at the same time, and absolute darkness and silence enveloped her.
"I am revenge...I am the night...I am Batman..."
The moment the sound faded, the windows on both sides of the office shattered with a crash, and countless tiny figures, darker than darkness itself, rushed in. They swarmed towards Umbridge like a tidal wave, hissing and gnawing incessantly.
"Ah!!!" Her desperate scream echoed throughout the castle, even more desperate than yesterday and the day before.
A moment later, McGonagall, dressed in her pajamas, burst in.
The office lights were bright, and she couldn't see any shadows. All she saw was Umbridge rolling around on the floor like a madman.
Flitwick and Sprout, who arrived late, asked from outside the door, "Professor McGonagall, what's wrong tonight?"
McGonagall gently shook her head at the two of them. "Dolores' condition has worsened again."
Flitwick and Sprout exchanged a glance, both with a hint of schadenfreude on their faces.
For several days in a row, Umbridge would go crazy in the middle of the night, either shouting or fighting with the air like a madman.
"Ha—" Snape chuckled as he walked into the office. "Another pleasant night."
McGonagall pressed her lips together. "Severus, Dolores's condition..."
“She’s hopeless.” Snape made no attempt to hide the malice on his face. “In Muggle terms, she has severe delusions.”
Umbridge, still rolling on the ground, screamed desperately, scratching her skin frantically with her nails, as if something had crawled into her body.
McGonagall shook her head and raised her wand with a hint of pity.
A flash of red light, and Umbridge fell into a deep sleep.
She turned to look at Snape, then at Flitwick and Sprout outside the door, a very slight smile playing on her lips. "Dolores's condition is clearly no longer suitable for her to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; she urgently needs rest."
“I agree.” Flitwick sighed softly, but couldn’t hide the joy on his face. “Poor Professor Umbridge, what has she been through?”
Sprout kept his head down, trying his best not to let them see his expression. "It's so tragic and pitiful that a perfectly healthy person has been tortured into this state."
Snape was much more genuine, his smile incredibly sinister. "Rest isn't enough. Professor Umbridge's condition requires immediate transfer to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Sicknesses. If possible, it would be best to send her to a Muggle mental hospital."
McGonagall nodded. "I'll handle the Ministry of Magic's inquiry. Dolores will definitely be 'well' again."
The four deans exchanged knowing glances.
The deans certainly knew why Umbridge had become such a horrible sight, but given that her actions had reached a point of outrage against both gods and men, they had no intention of uncovering the truth.
After dawn,
Umbridge, who hadn't had any nightmares, finally got a good night's sleep, something she hadn't done in a long time.
She opened her eyes and found that everything around her was white, and there was a pungent smell of potions mixed in the air.
"Dolores, you're finally awake."
Umbridge looked towards the bedside, where the figure was her minister.
"Minister Fouché..." All the grievances welled up in her heart instantly, and she burst into tears.
Fudge was careless and didn't dodge, and she held his arm tightly.
They're all in their fifties or sixties, why are they crying like children?
Umbridge cried and cried, then, as if exhausted, fell asleep without warning.
Fudge tried to leave, but she held onto his arm tightly.
He tried several times, but he couldn't pry her short fingers open.
At noon, Umbridge finally woke up.
Seeing that she was about to burst into tears again, Fudge quickly broke free from her grasp and interrupted her, "Dolores, what exactly happened to you at Hogwarts?"
Perhaps because of this lifeline, Umbridge stopped her exaggerated reactions and instead revealed a ferocious expression, "It's Batman! And his Bat-family!"
Fudge's lips twitched. "What did they do to you?"
Umbridge clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. "Minister Fudge, he...they did something unforgivable to me."
Fudge's lips twitched again.
Batman... and his Bat-family shouldn't be that hungry.
“They’re watching me all the time,” Umbridge recounted through gritted teeth, detailing the various crimes committed by the Bat Family.
After that night, she frequently heard Batman's voice in her ears.
When the night is quiet, the bat family will even appear to harass her, preventing her from resting and causing her great mental anguish.
Fudge frowned, not because he didn't want to believe her, but because what she said was too abstract and too fantastical.
He glanced at the scratches she had made on her body.
The Devouring Curse merged with the darkness and split into countless tiny bats that burrowed into her body.
Fudge remembered what McGonagall had said when she contacted him urgently.
"Poor Dolores, she must be under too much stress lately, which is why she's developed delusions that are extremely rare even in the Muggle world..."
He was initially adamant in his disbelief, but looking at Umbridge's distorted face, his resolve began to waver.
……
……
