Chapter 278 Underground Organization (I)
Ron Weasley, who was complaining on campus and felt that his life was bleak, suddenly received a loving letter from his mother.
"Approved by Senior Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge." He gritted his teeth and tore the part of the envelope with bright red words. "Let me see what my mother sent. I hope it's not a Howler."
A copy of the Daily Prophet fell out of its envelope, its large black headlines eye-catching.
"Reforms are beginning to show results, parents are delighted"
[After Professor Dolores Umbridge moved into Hogwarts, her reforms achieved great results and were recognized by students and parents.
Even parents who had been critical of the Ministry of Magic sending Umbridge to manage the school changed their tune after seeing the results.
"Our children have received good training." Mr. Weasley told the newspaper, "They have been spoiled since childhood. We are very happy to see a teacher who loves education can bring them a new experience. We hope that they can understand the hard work of their parents and take the initiative to clean and cook for their families when they go home during the holidays, instead of always sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor and asking their mother to wash their stinky socks."
"We have received a lot of praise from the children for the new professor," Mrs. Weasley fully supports her husband's point of view, "which has eliminated my concerns about Umbridge's previous opposition to Dumbledore. It turns out that she is a good professor, and my children say that she is as kind and amiable as their mother." ...】
Ron was stunned, as were Fred, George, and Ginny, who came over to read the contents of the letter.
They strongly suspected that the report contained many personal opinions of their parents.
"So love disappears, does it?" he murmured. "Umbridge has alienated us Weasleys?"
Ron sniffled and continued reading the newspaper.
【...In recent days, our newspaper has been receiving enthusiastic letters from parents of students, who have high expectations for the school.
"We hope the school can organize parents to observe." Mr. Diggory, who works at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures of the Ministry of Magic, was very happy. His child, Mr. Diggory Jr., is now the president of the school's student union. "Some parents have communicated with me privately and are happy about the changes in the school. I hope the Ministry of Magic can promote Hogwarts more in an official capacity, especially after such a good teaching model is implemented, it can expand the influence of the British wizarding world."
It is reported that Mr. Diggory has made suggestions to the Minister of Magic, Mr. Cornelius Fudge, who is willing to accept reasonable demands from parents and has decided to launch the first Parents' Open Day next month to let the entire wizarding community see the progress here and feel the good atmosphere of the school.
"This will help Hogwarts recruit students from abroad in the future and help it stand out from other European magic schools," Mr. Fudge told the newspaper. "I believe that under the leadership of Professor Umbridge, the senior investigator, the British magic world will be able to go international..."
"Of course, parents will see tremendous changes in their children," Professor Umbridge told the newspaper. "The children are all polite, respect their teachers and classmates, and are united and friendly."
Looking forward to the first parent open day since the establishment of Hogwarts...】
"It's always like this." Ron complained, "The Daily Prophet only reports good news and never bad news. They never report any bad news at all!"
But Hermione frowned. In the common room, where the eight-foot distance didn't need to be followed, she could finally hit Ron on the head:
"Can you use your brain, Ron? Your mother must have her own ideas for suddenly sending a newspaper like this!"
"Have you ever thought about where Jade would go now that she has left school? For safety reasons, Headmaster Dumbledore would definitely place her where all the members of the Order of the Phoenix are, most likely Sirius's home. This newspaper is a hint, don't you understand? It hints that your parents are with Jade, and she told them what happened in school! She must be working hard outside the school to run around for everyone - but she can't say it out loud because no one will believe it!"
"That makes sense." Ron murmured, "My father has a good relationship with Mr. Diggory, he can help... Jade will definitely not let Umbridge, who dared to expel her, go... She will definitely run for us..."
As the smartest Gryffindor prefect of the year, Hermione quickly had a flash of inspiration and realized the opportunity:
"Parents' Open Day - this is an opportunity that Jade and your parents fought for us! It's the time to show the results of Umbridge's education - although Umbridge can't let them see the real thing up close, I guess the parents who are allowed to enter the school also have a choice... But if we just destroy her plan and mess up this open day, the higher she is praised by parents now, the more she will be criticized by public opinion. I don't believe she won't be driven off the stage!"
When Ron heard the words "resign", his eyes were full of life and energy, as if he had returned to the age of 15.
"What a brilliant deduction, Hermione! I would be happy to kiss a toad if it meant getting her out of school!"
"And the great Jade. Although she has left the school, her legacy and her voice and appearance will always remain in our hearts. I, Ron Weasley, will always remember her and will never forget that she sacrificed her life to resist Umbridge -"
Hermione and Harry slapped him in the face and mouth from the left and right, and Ginny punched him on the head and rolled her eyes, leaving Ron bruised and swollen, with tears in his eyes.
His twin brother stuffed him with the offending fat tongue taffy and blocked his own mouth with his own tongue so Hermione could continue with her plan:
"There is a regular prefect meeting tonight - one of the few legal opportunities to gather together. We must try our best to unite the prefects of other houses and find a way to get rid of her. When Dumbledore comes back, Jade can go back to school and continue to study!"
"What the hell?... The chiefs' meeting? In front of Malfoy?" Ron stuck out his tongue, drooling, and asked three questions in a row, "...Is he... a member of the investigation team... who are taller than the chiefs! Brickmen was... sent by Amri... to monitor the actions of the chiefs! Today, he deducted 10 points from me... because I have freckles!"
Hermione's eyes were filled with hesitation, but after thinking for two seconds, she made a decision, thinking of one of the Blaises at last year's ball.
"I can't be sure, but after Umbridge expelled Jade, I don't think he would support Umbridge."
"Anyway, let's give it a try... If he dares to complain, I'll give him Oblivion."
Harry, who enviously watched his two friends go out to attend the prefect meeting, had never hoped so much that he could become a prefect.
Being able to personally drive Umbridge away and bring Jane back - what a wonderful thing this is in the world!
......
But neither Ron, Hermione, nor Harry, who was eagerly waiting in Gryffindor Tower, had expected that -
The object of their suspicion, Draco Malfoy, did his best to hint and was the first to state the plan in front of everyone.
"You have a chance to cry to your parents." The member of the Investigation Team and the prefect supervisor proudly held up a copy of the Daily Prophet. "Weasley, go cry in your mother's arms!"
Ron's face turned red, and even his freckles became more obvious. He gritted his teeth and wanted to punch Malfoy, but he endured it under his pressure.
"I think you can't wait to go cry to your father!" Hermione shot back, "Have you been weaned, little ferret?"
Draco stared, looking like he wanted to deduct 10 points from Hermione and Ron, but he forced himself to hold it back, then he whispered:
"What kind of idiots are you? You don't understand what people say? There's a parents' open house next month, aren't you going to do anything?"
Ron and Hermione both looked at him with their mouths open, as if a ferret had suddenly become a spirit and started speaking human language.
"But...but...your father...your father and Nott...we heard that they didn't support Fudge...and sent Umbridge over?"
Draco rolled his eyes. He had never felt that these two Gryffindors were so stupid.
"I have my own way, dad. Just decide whether to do it or not. With such a good opportunity in front of you, if you two choose to continue to be fools, then I can only choose not to respect, bless or understand you."
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and saw hesitation in each other's eyes.
Although they really wanted to unite with Malfoy...but the other party was so direct that they felt there was something fishy going on.
But in the small classroom, the whispered conversation of the three people naturally reached the ears of other class leaders.
The Student Union President Cedric Diggory had already pricked up his ears, listening to the noise here, and he quickly came over:
"Draco, if you are talking about the action at the Parents' Open Day next month, we Hufflepuffs would be happy to join in."
This sincere, honest and kind little badger showed the good quality of always standing on the side of justice in their hearts:
"Although you are a member of Professor Umbridge's investigative team, I think you are doing the right thing now."
Draco made an awkward sound of exhaling through his nose and turned his face away.
"But how can you be sure you won't report it?" Ron couldn't help asking, "Maybe you'll turn around and report everyone - we'll all be caught in the same trap -"
Draco's eyes almost rolled up to the sky, and he turned his head angrily:
"Do you think I would tell tales to a professor who expelled us Slytherin students? Merlin, if she doesn't get out of school, how can the expelled people come back?"
Anthony and Padma from Ravenclaw also came over. Faced with a powerful enemy, they wisely chose to shake hands and make peace:
"As long as you hate Umbridge, we are half-siblings - at least until she gets kicked out of school."
"But the trust between Malfoy and I is close to zero." Ron was still skeptical. "How many points did he deduct from our Gryffindor?"
Draco was about to explode, but was interrupted by Cedric, who was in charge of the situation. On this point, he agreed with Ron:
"The current plus and minus points have completely lost their meaning. Under unfair grading, no one can judge whether the college is performing well or not."
"If you are willing to accept my suggestion, since everyone is on the same front and jointly opposes Umbridge, then the scores of the four houses should be equal before Umbridge leaves the school, until we can regain fair evaluation."
The prefects of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff all accepted the advice of this new generation of "dynamic balance" and decided to put it into practice.
"Draco, what do you say?"
Draco was a little hesitant as he lowered his head to think. Although it was great for Slytherin to have the house trophy all to himself, the idea of uniting students from other houses to drive Umbridge out of the school and bring Jane back quickly prevailed. He gritted his teeth and explained his decision with practice:
"Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for your freckles growing bigger."
"Granger, because your two front teeth are bigger than a squirrel's, you get 10 points from Gryffindor."
Hermione, who was furious but still able to remain calm, promptly held down Ron, whose face was distorted and his fists were clenched.
Thanks to her efforts, a room full of prefects successfully reached a peaceful coexistence agreement in the classroom and decided to put aside their internal conflicts and unite to face the outside world.
The anti-Umbridge Four-House Alliance 1.0 was officially established.
But this was not the first underground organization to be established. In fact, there had long been a force secretly brewing in the Slytherin cellar.
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