Looking at the arm raised high in the air, Umbridge found herself in a difficult position.
On one hand, Umbridge wanted to take this opportunity to make things difficult for Eda and teach her a harsh lesson.
On the other hand, she was worried that she would not be able to win an argument with Eda and would be rendered speechless by Eda's relentless arguing.
So Umbridge did not immediately acknowledge Eda's raised hand. Instead, she mentally calculated her chances of winning.
After thinking for a while, Umbridge suddenly figured it out. She was the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. She was a professor at Hogwarts. Why should she be afraid of a student?
Overcoming the last of her survival instincts, Umbridge said, "Twist, do you have questions as well? Do you also want to question the Ministry of Magic?"
Umbridge's voice remained coy, without the slightest hint of hostility between enemies who had finally met face to face. Although Umbridge wished she could strangle Eda to death, she still had to put on an act.
"I'm not quite sure I understand," Eda said in confusion. "We only have some questions and confusion about the course arrangements. How did that become questioning the Ministry of Magic?" Then she deliberately added, "Professor Umbridge!"
Umbridge stepped onto the platform. Perhaps she thought this would make her look a little taller.
She said, "I have already said this, Twist. If you had been listening carefully, you should know that Defensive Magical Theory was carefully selected by the Ministry of Magic's educational experts, and my course arrangements comply with the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Magic."
"Questioning my course arrangements means questioning the Ministry of Magic, questioning Minister Fudge!" Umbridge continued. She looked at Eda, wanting to see what Eda could possibly say in response.
Umbridge was disappointed once again. She did not see Eda becoming furious. Instead, she saw all the students in the classroom waiting for Eda to continue arguing with her.
What made Umbridge angriest was that all these students had an expression on their faces that could only be described as "hope."
"I would also like to ask you something, Professor Umbridge," Eda said. "Have there been any recent changes to the requirements for the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests?"
Umbridge froze for a moment. After thinking for a few seconds, she said, "No changes. As I said last night, preserve what ought to be preserved, improve what needs improving, and discard what ought to be prohibited."
"Since there have been no changes, that means that when we take our exams next year, we will still have to take both written and practical examinations." Eda asked again, "Professor Umbridge, am I right?"
The question Eda raised was exactly what the students in the classroom were worried about.
They were not learning any defensive spells in class, receiving no instruction, and having no opportunities to practice. How were they supposed to take the practical examination?
What if the examiner asked a student to cast a defensive spell, only for it to be the first time they had ever used that spell, or even the first time they had heard of it? Who would dare guarantee that they could succeed on their very first attempt?
At this point, Umbridge also realized Eda's trap. She secretly blamed herself for being too careless.
"Of course that is the case, but you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Umbridge adjusted her mindset and spoke slowly. "You only need to thoroughly study this Defensive Magical Theory and memorize its contents. This book is more than enough to allow you to master defensive spells safely."
"But, Professor Umbridge," Eda said as she raised Defensive Magical Theory, "forgive me for speaking frankly, but this book does not mention any defensive spells at all. I really cannot imagine how we are supposed to master them safely."
"We will be taking the examinations next year. What are we supposed to do when the examiner asks us to perform a defensive spell? Tell them that our textbook does not contain any of that material?"
The students immediately spoke up in agreement with Eda. For a moment, the classroom became as noisy as a marketplace.
"Exactly! We can't just spout things from the textbook!"
"Right! We can't even practice. How is that supposed to work?"
"What's the use of learning theory alone? Memorizing books won't solve the problem!"
...
"Silence! Raise your hands if you want to speak in my class!" Umbridge said impatiently. "You still have a long time before you take your examinations. As long as you thoroughly master this book, you will be able to pass the examinations!"
The students were still very dissatisfied, but after Umbridge's suggestive remark, quite a few of them settled down.
"As long as you listen to the Ministry of Magic, you will be able to pass your examinations. Regulations can be appropriately modified."
Win over some and suppress others. This was Umbridge's method of dealing with the situation. She believed that as long as she eliminated everyone's worries about the examinations, she would only have to deal with one Twist.
"Very good, Professor Umbridge. You've already changed so many regulations anyway, so one more won't make much difference." Eda applauded as she spoke. "It was only a little matter of an underage student using magic outside school, yet you mobilized almost the entire Wizengamot and even used a formal courtroom. Wonderful! Truly!"
The students were confused by these words. Most of them did not know about Harry's hearing during the summer. Only a small number had heard their families mention it. But that did not stop everyone from understanding the sarcasm in Eda's words.
It was only because Fudge had failed to expel Harry that the matter had not become common knowledge.
Without giving Umbridge time to respond, Eda continued, "We merely have questions about the learning objectives in class, and suddenly we're questioning the Ministry of Magic and defying the Ministry's will. You've already changed the laws from these past few years, so what's one little examination regulation?"
This once again stirred up everyone's dissatisfaction. Everyone hated the domineering attitude Umbridge had just displayed.
"If we listen to the Ministry of Magic, Professor Umbridge can let us pass our examinations. That's perfectly fine. The pressure on us has been reduced considerably. How wonderful!" Eda's applause rang out again.
Then she changed the subject and said, "But, Professor Umbridge, what are we supposed to do if those who refuse to listen to the Ministry of Magic attack us?"
Her words caused a huge commotion. The classroom, which had finally calmed down, once again became a boiling pot.
"An attack? Goodness, why would your little mind come up with such a frightening idea?" Umbridge said in surprise. "Do you think you will be attacked in my class? Or do you think Hogwarts is not safe?"
"Not in school, but what about outside?" a student shouted.
"That's right. We can't stay at school forever. Sooner or later, we'll have to leave," another student said. "Who can guarantee that we'll never encounter danger in our entire lives?"
The students were in an uproar, their enthusiasm for asking questions even greater than that of old men and women scrambling for eggs at a supermarket.
The twins' voices were mixed in among them as well. They said sarcastically, "Exactly, exactly. Professor, can you protect us for the rest of our lives? The outside world isn't peaceful at all!"
Umbridge was furious. Her body trembled slightly as she shouted sharply, "All of you, shut up!"
The voices in the classroom immediately weakened. Umbridge looked around at everyone in the room, and her expression became increasingly vicious, looking exactly like the old witch from Muggle stories.
"I'll say it again. You must raise your hands to speak in my class!" Umbridge said through gritted teeth.
Then Umbridge brought up Minister of Magic Fudge again. When mentioning her superior, her tone returned to the coy voice she had used before.
"Under Minister Fudge's leadership, the wizarding world is peaceful and harmonious. The things you are worried about simply will not happen. If you have heard any unpleasant rumors, they are merely rumors spread by certain people for their own selfish interests. No Dark Lord has returned. The wizarding world will only become better and better under Minister Fudge's leadership."
Everyone present was a seventh-year student, and therefore an adult. Even if they could not distinguish right from wrong, they could at least understand the implications of what she was saying. The "Dark Lord who had returned" could only be Voldemort, while those "certain people" were Dumbledore, Harry, and Eda.
Yet from the beginning to the end of this class, not a single student had mentioned Voldemort. No one had said that the danger outside came from Voldemort. So what was Umbridge doing? Giving herself away, or protesting too much?
Seeing that the students had stopped asking questions and fallen into thought, Umbridge realized that she had let something slip. Especially when she saw the smile on Eda's face, Umbridge wished she could turn back time.
"Peaceful and harmonious?" Eda asked. "Then why does the Ministry of Magic still retain violent organizations such as the Aurors and Hit Wizards? And what about all those prisoners in Azkaban?"
"You're twisting words!" Umbridge said. "Those are necessary defensive measures to ensure the safety of the wizarding world! As for Azkaban..."
"That's the previous Minister's problem, and that was the Minister before him's problem... right?" Eda interrupted. "That's what Professor Umbridge wants to say, isn't it? Minister Cornelius Fudge really is 'spotless and pure'!"
Of course Umbridge would never say such a thing. Even if you gave her the courage, she would not dare say it. But after Eda's barrage of interruptions, no matter how she explained herself, it sounded like she was merely making excuses.
"Detention, Twist! You will pay for your insolence!" Umbridge shouted viciously.
"I've been respectfully calling you Professor Umbridge this entire time, yet you've been calling me Twist over and over. So who exactly is the more disrespectful one?"
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