Umbridge's face was so gloomy it looked like it was dripping, as if a dark cloud hung over her face.
She violently snatched the visitor card Professor McGonagall handed her, and with her short, stubby wand, coldly tapped it onto the card.
As the wand touched it, the card emitted a faint glow, indicating that her identity had been confirmed.
Umbridge looked up at Hogwarts Castle in the distance, her eyes filled with scorn and hostility.
She didn't say a word, holding her head high as she followed Professor McGonagall towards the Castle, as if she wasn't a visitor but a ruler inspecting her territory.
As lunchtime approached, students were everywhere, rushing to the Great Hall.
Seeing Umbridge following Professor McGonagall, the students cast curious glances and couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"Who's that in the pink clothes?"
"It seems to be the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Magic, I've seen her on the news before."
"What's she here for? Is she here for the Dementor?"
"I know! She must be here to apologize to the school on behalf of the Ministry of Magic."
"Very likely. I heard the Ministry of Magic received hundreds of Howlers this morning; they can't stand it anymore."
Hearing the students' discussions, Umbridge's lips curved into a cold sneer.
The students' gazes and whispers played right into her hands.
What was the point of just arguing with Dumbledore?! He wouldn't admit his mistakes anyway.
She wanted to create conflict, expand the incident's impact, and attract the students' attention to herself.
The more attention from Hogwarts students, the more successful her plan would be.
She wanted everyone here to understand that the Ministry of Magic's authority was inviolable, and Hogwarts was no exception.
When they arrived at the open space in front of the Great Hall, Umbridge nodded almost imperceptibly.
That was enough. There were enough students and enough spectators here, perfect for her to make a grand display.
Thinking this, she stopped and said righteously,
"Professor McGonagall, I am here today to investigate the Dementor attack."
"From what I understand, at least ten Dementors were brutally attacked, which is a major loss for the entire Wizarding World."
"I want to ask, why did the Professors of Hogwarts condone students harming good employees of the Ministry of Magic?"
"Could it be that the students taught at Hogwarts are all lawless thugs?"
Hearing this, the students were stunned and surrounded her, cursing loudly.
"Good heavens, not only no apology, but she's playing the victim first."
"I've never seen such a shameless bird!"
"So old, yet still wearing pink clothes to pretend to be a little girl, truly shameless!"
The students were bursting with fighting spirit, vowing to let this pink eccentric experience the combat power of British teenagers.
Umbridge remained unmoved, merely wearing a fake smile, her gaze fixed on Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall was also angered to laughter by this baseless accusation. Her face also darkened, and she sternly denounced Umbridge about the Dementor's violent acts of trespassing onto the Quidditch Pitch and attacking students.
Ever since the Dementor riot yesterday, she had no longer held any illusions about the Dementor's safety.
Letting those creatures guard Hogwarts would only threaten the students' safety again at some unknown time.
She forcefully demanded that Umbridge take all the Dementors away from Hogwarts.
Hearing Professor McGonagall's demand, Umbridge widened her eyes and shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"What an irresponsible idea! If the Dementors are withdrawn, what about the children's safety? What if Black secretly sneaks into the Castle..."
"I don't think Dementors can detect Black." Professor McGonagall interrupted, completely disregarding the other party's expression.
"If Dementors were truly useful, Black's escape wouldn't have happened in the first place."
"Besides, Hogwarts has upgraded its defense system with a large number of alchemy tools, and you've already witnessed their power."
"As long as a stranger enters Hogwarts, an alarm will be triggered, and the Professors will naturally ensure the students' safety."
"Dementors remaining here are purely superfluous and will instead threaten the students' safety."
"How can you think that?" Umbridge's voice was sharp and grating. "alchemy tools are dead; Dementors are alive."
"For a criminal like Black, he must have a way to disable these alchemy tools."
"Furthermore, Dementors are employed by the Ministry of Magic and will not enter the school grounds without orders. What happened yesterday was definitely a misunderstanding!"
A misunderstanding?!
How could she even say such a thing?
Professor McGonagall was so angry she laughed: "All the students at Hogwarts can prove this was no misunderstanding, and the parents who mailed letters to the Ministry of Magic probably don't think it was a misunderstanding either."
"Of course, it was a misunderstanding!" Umbridge had no intention of admitting to this malicious incident caused by the Ministry of Magic's error.
"The reason the Dementors entered the school grounds was because they detected traces of Black sneaking in."
"If it weren't for them, you probably wouldn't have discovered by now that Black had found a loophole in your defense system, nor would you have realized that alchemy tools are completely unreliable."
"Not only are you ungrateful, but you also brutally attacked them, which is truly heartbreaking."
The surrounding students were once again in an uproar.
"Merlin's pink toad, I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless."
"She's trying to twist Black into white!"
"No wonder she can be a Deputy Minister; the thickness of her skin can definitely resist the Killing Curse."
"Don't curse yet, there's some truth to what she's saying. Could it really be that the Dementors entered because they detected Black's presence?"
"Do you have no brain? It was clearly the Dementors going mad because they sensed a large amount of happy emotions."
"What if..."
Umbridge wore a fake smile, as if she had long anticipated the students' reactions.
She straightened her posture, held her head high, and adopted the stance of a victor, as if she had already won this war without gunpowder.
"To prove the Dementors' innocence and give the Ministry of Magic justice."
"I invite everyone to go to the school gate and ask the Dementors, to see if the facts are truly as I've stated."
Hearing Umbridge's unreasonable words, Sebastian, who was watching from the crowd, couldn't help but purse his lips.
Heh heh—
Not only is she bullying our cat Professor, but she's also saying my alchemy tools are unreliable.
Interesting!
Today, no matter what, I'm going to make you understand why flowers are so red.
He quietly retreated behind everyone, used the Disillusionment Charm, and arrived at the school gate a step ahead, finding the Working Soul swaggering there.
He first gave the Working Soul some instructions, then took out a specially made mini-headset, had the Working Soul put it on its head, and covered it with its grey robe.
Afterward, he hid to the side, took out a magic camera, and quietly waited for the show to begin, aided by the Disillusionment Charm.
...