Chapter 484 A bad start

Malfoy was not surprised by Umbridge's attempts to win him over.

He chatted with Umbridge enthusiastically, his words were full of praise for the Ministry of Magic, and when Umbridge talked about Harry, he even cursed.

"Professor, Harry Potter is such an ungrateful guy. I used to regard him as a friend, but I didn't expect him to slander my father. Now he is even worse and has no respect for you, professor. I can't stand it at all."

Umbridge was very satisfied with Malfoy's attitude.

"Mr. Malfoy, these are minor issues. Harry Potter is the savior, so it's normal for him to have a bad temper. As a professor, I can't just be mean to a child."

"But..." Umbridge showed a compassionate attitude, "This also reflects from the side that there are big problems with Hogwarts' education."

"After only one week of work, I discovered that the professors here only focus on developing students' skills and completely ignore moral education. This is why students have no respect for professors and the Ministry of Magic."

"This situation makes me extremely worried. Fortunately, Minister Fudge attaches great importance to the situation here and has given me a little power, so I decided to start rectifying the discipline problems at Hogwarts."

Suddenly, a discordant voice interrupted Umbridge's words.

"Boring," Theodore Nott said impatiently, "I thought you had something important to talk to me about, but it turns out it's just this little thing. It's really boring."

"Professor Umbridge, if there is nothing else, I will go back to brewing the potion."

After saying that, he turned around and left Umbridge's office without looking back.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the office was extremely awkward, and Umbridge could hardly maintain her fake smile.

What's up with this Theodore?

His father, Old Nott, had clearly praised Minister Fudge's education reform in the Daily Prophet, so why didn't he even give him the slightest bit of face?

Is there something wrong with him?

Looking at the deflated Umbridge, Malfoy tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

This idiot actually brought Theodore here. That guy is a one-sided war god who only cares about potions and has no interest in other things.

Now, it's embarrassing.

"Professor," Malfoy took the initiative to smooth things over, "Theodore is just a fool. He knows nothing about the ways of the world. He even dares to contradict Professor Swann. Please don't bother with him."

I see......

Before, I only considered old Nott's attitude and the fact that Theodore was not close to Dumbledore's faction at school. I didn't expect that this kid would not buy into anyone's account.

Forget it, it’s my fault for not investigating it clearly before. I won’t bother this kid anymore. I’ll just give old Nott some face.

Umbridge collected herself, put a fake smile back on her face, and spoke to the remaining students.

"You are students that I value very much. Not only are you excellent in both character and academics, but you are also loyal to the Ministry of Magic. So I would like to invite you to help transform Hogwarts. I wonder if you are willing to join my team?"

"Of course we do!" Malfoy was the first to speak up. "It's our honor, Professor Umbridge. We'll do whatever you say."

Several other students also patted their chests, looking as if they were following Umbridge's lead.

"Very good!" Umbridge smiled very happily. She just liked the feeling of being the center of attention and holding power. "I will form a review team, and you will be the first members of the review team."

"Of course, in order to facilitate your assistance in reforming the school order, I will grant you special rights. For example, you can deduct other students' college scores, and you can also use force to stop violations of school rules and regulations."

"If you perform well, I will hold a press conference on behalf of the Ministry of Magic at the end of the semester to personally commend your contributions."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pansy shouted in surprise: "Deduct points from other students? Does that mean each of us has the same rights as the prefect?"

"You are wrong, dear," Umbridge shook her head and said sweetly, "You have more rights than the prefects. When you find violations, in addition to deducting points, you can also bring them to my office and I will give them confinement as appropriate."

"Also, you can help me monitor the teaching of professors in various departments. After all, I am only one person, and it is beyond my ability to review all professors."

Umbridge began to make promises with all her might, which made the students present very excited. They had never thought that they, the students, could actually participate in the professor's review.

All of a sudden, several students spoke up to express their dissatisfaction with the professors of various subjects.

Seeing that morale was good, Umbridge spoke with a smile.

"Of course, the transformation of Hogwarts is not something that can be done in a day or two, and the professors cannot be reckless in their review. We need to start with the simple things first."

"I've discovered that most students in school like to use violence to solve problems. They always go to the dueling hall to duel. This is very bad, very bad! This kind of violent thinking can easily destabilize the magic world."

"I changed the Defense Against the Dark Arts course to focus on theory in order to prevent such things. Unfortunately, the students did not understand my efforts and instead formed a Defense Against the Dark Arts Club in private."

"I need you to help me collect evidence, and then speak out in the Daily Prophet to denounce this violent behavior. Then, I can use my status as a senior investigator to close down this illegal society. If possible, I can even close down the duel hall."

After hearing this, the students who were eager to try shut up and the smug smiles froze on their faces.

Crazy?

Close the Duel Hall?

Don't you know who built that?

You are not picking persimmons, you are picking diamonds.

Don't you know that Professor Swan has become the second you know who in the pureblood circle? Our parents have repeatedly warned us not to offend Professor Swan.

If you want to go, you go. We won’t go!

And the teacher is famous...

You simply can't tell the difference between the big king and the small king.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become dull again, Umbridge became unhappy.

"Why don't you speak?"

To be honest, she had long wanted to close that crappy club, and then review all existing clubs, and only those that met the requirements would be allowed to continue to exist.

However, this right was firmly in Sebastian's hands, and she did not have the courage to ask for it directly. She only hoped that these students would step forward so that she could find a reason to discuss it with the other party.

Of course, Umbridge was just bragging to a few students about closing the Duelling Hall to boost morale. Her real purpose was just to close the Defense Against the Dark Arts Club.

As long as it was justified, she believed Sebastian would not say anything more.

However, she did not expect that these students would not buy into her ideas at all, and she felt a little embarrassed for a while.

At the critical moment, Malfoy spoke again: "Professor, listen to my advice, don't think about anything related to the Duel Hall. The Duel Hall is backed by Professor Swann, and my family has business dealings with Swann Alchemy."

"If we offend Professor Swan, it will affect our family business and that will be difficult to handle."

"Otherwise, you can think of something else. We will definitely support you this time."