Umbridge's actions and decisions were nothing short of disastrous.
The worst affected of all was Professor Trelawney herself, along with her Divination class.
On the day of that lesson, Draco saw with his own eyes how the frail professor was pushed to the brink of tears under Umbridge's relentless pressure and pointed mockery.
Even Hermione, who had never been particularly fond of Professor Trelawney, couldn't help feeling a trace of sympathy for what she was going through.
It was worth mentioning that Hermione had originally planned to drop Divination altogether. In the end, however, because Draco had chosen the course, she changed her mind and was still sitting in the Divination classroom that year.
Thanks to Draco, Hermione no longer dismissed Divination outright. Even so, every time Trelawney declared that she lacked talent, Hermione found herself unable to like the subject at all.
She absolutely refused to admit she was the sort of witch with no talent.
All in all, if Draco hadn't chosen the class, she would never have enrolled in Trelawney's lessons, nor wasted her time staring at tea leaves that would remain tea leaves no matter how hard you looked at them.
That said, under Umbridge's observation and constant note-taking, Professor Trelawney's position was beginning to look increasingly unstable.
Unless, of course, Umbridge's little pink notebook remained completely blank…
...
Afternoon.
Transfiguration classroom.
This was Draco and the others' third Transfiguration lesson, but it was vastly different from the previous two, simply because an unwelcome Umbridge was now present in the classroom.
It could be said that this marked the first direct clash between Professor McGonagall and Umbridge.
Professor McGonagall strode into the classroom and completely ignored Umbridge, despite her nominal status as High Inquisitor.
That indifferent attitude struck directly at Umbridge's sense of authority. Without pausing for even a second, she began scribbling furiously in her pink notebook, her pale fingertips betraying the anger simmering beneath the surface.
That pink notebook, incidentally, was where Umbridge recorded her evaluations of whether each professor was fit to continue teaching at Hogwarts.
Pass or fail depended entirely on Umbridge's personal judgment.
Rumor had it that the professor with the highest score so far was Professor Cuthbert Binns of History of Magic, the only class Umbridge had never interfered with.
"All right, I'd like one student to come up and hand out last week's assignments. And Miss Brown, please take the Lop-Eared Rabbits in front of me and distribute them to the rest of the class. Remember, one for each student."
Lop-Eared Rabbit.
These were special creatures in the wizarding world, known for their strong vitality and natural adaptability to magic, which made them ideal teaching tools in magical lessons.
This was also the first time Draco and the others were using living creatures as part of their coursework.
However, no one's attention was really on the adorable little rabbits. Instead, all eyes were fixed on Umbridge and Professor McGonagall.
Everyone was curious to see how Professor McGonagall would deal with the High Inquisitor.
And right on cue, Umbridge was the first to cause trouble.
"Ahem!"
"All right, students, listen carefully. The focus of today's lesson is to cast a complete spell on the rabbit you've been given—"
"Ahem!"
Even though she wanted to ignore her, Professor McGonagall simply couldn't tolerate Umbridge's repeated interruptions.
Draco could see the anger she was forcing herself to restrain.
"Is there something you need?"
"My dear, I merely wanted to confirm whether you received the notice I sent you, informing you of the date and time I would be observing your class—"
"Of course I received it. Otherwise, I'd be asking what you were doing barging into my classroom and would have thrown you out immediately."
After saying that, Professor McGonagall decisively turned her back on Umbridge, whose smile slowly faded.
That crisp, commanding manner made the Gryffindors below practically light up, their eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
Even the Slytherins, who normally had little affection for Gryffindor, couldn't help focusing their attention on Professor McGonagall at the lectern.
"As I was saying, the spell we'll be learning today is one that allows living creatures to vanish…"
"Ahem!"
Snap.
Draco could almost hear someone's last shred of restraint breaking.
"I really don't understand. If you keep interrupting me, how are you supposed to grasp my usual teaching methods? You should know that when I'm speaking, I generally do not permit others to speak!"
It was obvious that Professor McGonagall had been thoroughly provoked. Her icy expression and the oppressive presence radiating from her made it clear why she served as Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress.
She truly deserved the position.
…
Umbridge stirring up trouble in class was nothing unusual for Draco and the others.
After all, it had been happening again and again lately.
The difference today was that High Inquisitor Umbridge had clearly run into someone she couldn't push around. Professor McGonagall was nothing like the others. She wasn't easygoing, and she absolutely wouldn't tolerate anyone disrupting her class.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've ever seen Professor McGonagall this angry… well, aside from when Potter suddenly disappeared during the Triwizard Tournament. Back then, she practically shouted at Dumbledore."
"Compared to that, I'm more curious about what's written in that pink notebook."
"Mm… I heard it's some kind of investigation into teaching content, plus a scoring system for each professor."
If the Gryffindor lion cubs were busy cheering for their Head of House, then Draco and his group were calmly and objectively analyzing the situation and how things were playing out.
For now, Professor McGonagall clearly had the upper hand. Umbridge's face had gone visibly dark.
Right up until the end, Umbridge didn't wander around the classroom like she had during Trelawney's Divination lesson. Instead, she sat quietly in her seat. That obedient posture was so out of character it almost made one wonder if the Umbridge in front of them was an imposter.
Well, the way she kept furiously scribbling in that pink notebook was proof enough of who she really was.
...
Although Umbridge had suffered a decisive setback at Professor McGonagall's hands, things were far less pleasant for the other witches and wizards.
Many practical magic classes were canceled, replaced with dull and monotonous theory lessons. For energetic young wizards, it was nothing short of a disaster.
For seventh-year students facing their N.E.W.Ts, it felt like their futures were being choked off. After all, the advanced wizarding exams were about far more than written tests alone.
And because of this—
The student council, which had been in preparation for a long time and eagerly anticipated by many, was finally about to make its move this weekend.