Umbridge ignored Tver's words, picked out a stool in the office on her own, and sat down to one side of Tver and Harry.
Then, with great self-importance, she pulled out a notebook and a quill.
"You may continue. Don't mind..."
"Then let's start by talking about the requirements for becoming an Auror."
Tver paid no attention to Umbridge at all. Instead, he paused to think over the Auror Office's rules and regulations.
"According to the Ministry of Magic's recruitment standards, aside from the most basic requirement of Defence Against the Dark Arts, you also need N.E.W.T. certificates in four other subjects, with grades no lower than E, Exceeds Expectations."
"But the reason many wizards fail to become Aurors is usually the strict personality and aptitude tests. If you really plan to become an Auror, then you need to start developing..."
Umbridge found an opening and eagerly cut Tver off with an exaggerated cough.
"I think Professor Fawley has been away from school for rather too long and doesn't know the current situation. Mr. Potter's marks are dreadful at the moment. I doubt he'll even qualify for my advanced class."
"I thought your marks were quite good," Tver said, looking at Harry in feigned surprise.
"Even deadweights like Quirrell and Lockhart managed to produce students with O's, Outstanding. Don't tell me this year's professors are even worse than those two?"
Harry could not help letting out a small laugh. He glanced at the furious Umbridge, cleared his throat, and sat up straight with a grave expression.
"Actually, Professor Karkaroff teaches very well. Like Professor Moody did last year, he uses demonstrations to teach us how to defend ourselves against Dark Magic."
"It's just that the Ministry banned that method of teaching, so now we can only learn magic through written materials."
Seeing Harry cooperate so well, Tver pretended to be shocked.
"How do you learn magic through words? By writing essays?"
"No, even more useless than that." Harry's face immediately filled with dissatisfaction. "It's nothing but reading and memorizing. It tests our memory, not our spellcasting ability!"
"Ten points from Gryffindor," Umbridge said expressionlessly, though the quill in her hand, bent out of shape by the force of her grip, exposed every bit of her fury.
"As I recall, Professor Fawley also gave his students a great many written tests in class. Am I mistaken?"
Before Tver could answer, Harry blurted out his rebuttal.
"That's true, but Professor's was..."
"My methods are entirely in line with Ministry regulations. Students can learn magic in a better, safer way, just like in the wizarding world..."
"But the wizarding world isn't safe!"
Ignored once again, Harry glared furiously at Umbridge, looking as if he were a breath away from punching her.
But seeing Harry starting to lose control only made Umbridge more delighted.
Far more delighted than when she had to deal with Tver, at any rate...
"It seems the lesson you received still wasn't enough. Perhaps I ought to give you another detention..."
Seeing Harry about to be landed with detention yet again, Tver hurriedly stepped in and drew Umbridge's attention back to himself.
"I have no wish to interfere in the Ministry's work. But since Professor Umbridge says this teaching method is better, how is that to be proved?"
Having her train of thought interrupted yet again, Umbridge frowned uncontrollably. Her toad-like eyes turned toward Tver, and her irritation surged.
"The Ministry has many educational experts..."
"But the students' marks have fallen quite noticeably."
Tver interrupted her again without the slightest concern, even meeting her gaze with a hint of threat in his eyes.
"Umbridge, if the students' results in this year's O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s are poor, then as Head of the Department of Magical Education, you'll be the first one held responsible."
"Impossible!"
Flustered, Umbridge sprang to her feet, trying to use her short little legs to make herself seem more imposing.
"My methods are fully in accordance with Ministry regulations. As long as the students obediently follow..."
"The difficulty of the exams is roughly the same every year. I don't wish to take credit for it, but the students' Defence Against the Dark Arts results have been steadily improving."
"If this year not only fails to continue that upward trend, but instead shows obvious regression, then whose responsibility do you think that will be?"
Tver had no intention of getting up to confront her. He simply lounged back in his chair, tilted his head slightly, and looked at her.
Under normal circumstances, with Fudge backing her, Umbridge would not suffer much even if the students' marks declined.
But the situation at the Ministry was very different now.
Fudge and Barty were openly at odds. In that atmosphere, Umbridge also had to tread carefully. The moment she showed even the slightest weakness, Barty would absolutely make an example of her to establish his authority.
To put it plainly, if Fudge fell from power, she might not necessarily be driven out of the Ministry.
But once Barty had an excuse, whether Fudge remained in office or not, he would certainly kick her out.
Having spent years scrambling about in the Ministry, Umbridge quickly grasped the implication in Tver's words, and immediately felt both shocked and furious.
She stumbled back a step, her panicked gaze darting between Harry and Tver, but all she saw was mockery and smug satisfaction.
"You... you..."
She stammered uselessly for a long while, unable to come up with any decent rebuttal. Worse, she had the growing sense that if she stayed any longer, Tver would strip away every last thing she relied on.
"You are horribly rude, interrupting people over and over again!"
Panicked, she snatched up her notebook, which still had barely a few words written in it, and ran out of the office in a fluster.
"You're amazing, Professor!"
The moment Umbridge left, Harry could not help blurting it out.
It was the first time he had ever stood up to Umbridge without being punished for it, and on top of that he had actually seen her flee in disarray.
"No, you're just too useless," Tver said with exasperation. "To deal with someone like Umbridge, you have to stay calm. The angrier you get, the more pleased she is."
"Seeing how emotional you are, your Occlumency lessons clearly haven't been going anywhere."
The moment he heard the word Occlumency, the excitement on Harry's face immediately vanished.
"Can't someone else teach me?" he complained bitterly to Tver.
"Snape has no intention of teaching me properly. I keep feeling like he's deliberately muddling up my mind so Voldemort can take advantage of the opening!"
"For example?" Tver asked curiously.
Harry clearly hadn't expected the professor to take an interest in that. He stared for a second before gathering himself again.
"Like recently, when I've been asleep, I've seen... um, I don't really know how to describe it..."
He recalled the contents of the dream with visible unease.
"I felt like..."
"Replace that with Voldemort. No matter whose eyes you saw it through, you are Harry Potter, and he is Voldemort."
Tver planted a small mental suggestion in him.
To be honest, he did not really understand Voldemort's current behavior.
Without that graveyard confrontation with Harry, Voldemort had no reason to want the prophecy sphere.
So why had he linked his mind to Harry's?
Of course, it was also possible that the connection was passive...
With that reassurance from the professor, Harry's unease finally eased somewhat.
"I... he's training his followers!" he said, still shaken.
"Those strange Giants, and he himself, are full of the desire for destruction and slaughter. I feel like... he's trying to use some method to announce his return!"