"Dumbledore—where did he go?" Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge struggled to his feet, shouting.
"I don't know…" Professor Umbridge also got up, brushing the dust off her chest. "But he couldn't have Apparated inside the school grounds, so he definitely hasn't gone far…"
"The staircase…" Percy Weasley suddenly realized what had happened. He lunged forward, yanked the door open, and rushed out. The Minister and the two Aurors followed close behind.
Umbridge had meant to run after them, but then she heard a groan from the corner.
She hurried to Jon, briefly grimacing at the blood before forcing a look of concern. "Christopher, are you all right?"
"I'm fine… just hit my nose on the wall…" Jon made himself look weak and stammered, "Professor, you don't need to worry about me… catching Dumbledore is more important!"
"Mhm." Umbridge nodded quickly. Then she turned toward Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had just climbed to his feet.
"Kingsley, take this boy to the Hospital Wing. He's injured!" she ordered, then ran out of the Headmaster's Office.
Kingsley sprang up, frowning. With a cold expression, he strode over and lifted Jon onto his shoulder. Clearly, he had no fondness for this traitor who had just sold out Professor Dumbledore.
Still, with shoulders as broad as his, carrying someone was hardly a challenge.
At this point, Jon couldn't say much. He could only let Kingsley Shackle roughly carry him out of the office.
The Auror named "Dawlish" lay unconscious in the doorway. He seemed to have been knocked out and then trampled, left oddly crumpled on the floor.
The stone creature still hadn't moved, though its expression resembled that of a child suppressing laughter...
...
"Your body is perfectly healthy," Madam Pomfrey said coldly as she packed away the bottles and jars beside the bed.
Jon knew he was fine, but he still let out a relieved breath. "So… can I leave the hospital?"
"As you wish." Madam Pomfrey walked away without a backward glance.
Jon heard her muttering under her breath, "Why didn't Professor Dumbledore just kill you…"
It seemed that in only a matter of minutes, news of Professor Dumbledore being driven out of Hogwarts by the Ministry had spread throughout the entire school… and his own reputation as "Umbridge's lapdog" had become infamous overnight.
Thinking about this, Jon climbed out of the bed and headed out of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey made no effort to stop him.
He walked all the way to the notice board at the entrance of the Great Hall—
Jon was certain he'd never seen so many students crowded around it. At least a quarter of the school was packed in front of the board, whispering nonstop.
He quickly squeezed forward, stood on tiptoe, and finally saw the contents of the notice:
"The Ministry of Magic hereby appoints Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) to replace Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This regulation complies with Educational Decree No. 28.
Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic."
...
The announcement spread through the castle overnight. Everyone seemed to have heard that Dumbledore had escaped after subduing three Aurors, the High Inquisitor, the Minister of Magic, and his assistant. Yet none of this appeared on the official notice.
Jon suspected the Headmasters' portraits played a major role in spreading the true story.
The next morning, as he walked through the castle wearing the new badge Filch had delivered to him at dawn—a silver badge engraved with the letter H, quite elegant—wherever he walked, he heard hushed whispering.
It meant "Headmaster's Assistant," though Jon had overheard many people calling him "the Headless One" behind his back.
Umbridge had even renamed her 'Group''—now calling it the Investigative Task Force—the Investigative Task Force. Umbridge likely felt it was unacceptable to share an abbreviation with "Dumbledore's Army." All the aspiring Death Eaters became members of this task force, with the authority to deduct points, assign detentions, and even administer corporal punishment.
As Headmaster's Assistant, Jon naturally became the leader of the Investigative Task Force…
But no matter where he walked in the Headmaster's tower, he could hear excited discussions about "Dumbledore's escape from Hogwarts." Some of the rumors, however, were already wildly exaggerated—
For example, Jon overheard a second-year Ravenclaw girl tell her friend with complete certainty, "Cornelius Fudge is in St. Mungo's right now. Dumbledore turned his head into a flushing toilet." The moment they noticed Jon approaching, the two girls panicked and fled.
A fifth-year Hufflepuff solemnly declared, "Dumbledore will definitely come back… They couldn't drive him out when we were in second year, and they won't manage it this time either."
Jon wanted to correct them, but he had no time…
Filch came running up, breathless.
"Christopher—Headmistress Umbridge wants to see you," Filch wheezed. "She's at the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor. She's come up against a problem and hopes you might advise her."
...
Hogwarts' new Headmistress, Madam Dolores Umbridge, had indeed run into a small problem.
She had discovered that despite being Headmistress, she still couldn't enter the Headmaster's Office.
When Jon arrived, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, and several others were already gathered, trying to offer their suggestions.
"Headmistress, I suggest using the Reductor Curse!" Pansy Parkinson announced. "Just blast apart the statue blocking the doorway and you'll be able to get inside, won't you?"
"Excellent idea!" Umbridge nodded, drawing her wand. "Everyone step back!"
Jon and the others quickly moved away, Jon retreating the furthest.
From a distance, he saw Professor Umbridge raise her wand and shout, "Reducto!"
A pale blue beam shot from her wand toward the stone creature.
But the moment the spell touched the stone creature, it made a sudden 180-degree turn, rebounding straight back at Umbridge.
Umbridge's face was drained of color. She threw down her wand and ran.
But no one can outrun a spell.
There was a deafening boom as she was buried beneath a pile of rubble.
"Headmaster, are you all right?"