By Merlin's thickest floral padded jacket, Dolores Umbridge! Who among those who know her wouldn't call her an annoying, even hateful person?
Acid-tongued and mean-spirited, she is constantly thinking of ways to harm others. Any word used to describe the worst of humanity fits her perfectly.
And yet, this is the person who is to be their defense against the dark arts professor?
Has Headmaster Dumbledore gone senile?
However, regardless of what the Young Wizards below thought, Umbridge clearly assumed on her own that everyone welcomed her.
Putting on airs, she walked to the Staff Table and nodded at Headmaster Dumbledore.
Then she turned back, smiled at the Young Wizards below, and opened her mouth, ready to begin her speech.
"Hermione, are you hungry?"
Amanda's cold, indifferent voice sounded in her ear. Hermione froze for a moment, then nodded and shook her head.
"A little," she whispered to Amanda, "but isn't it too early for the feast? I can hold out a bit longer."
Curving one corner of her lips slightly, Amanda looked at Umbridge, who was introducing herself at the Staff Table, and slammed her right hand onto the table.
Bang!
As the crisp sound echoed through the entire Great Hall, the Ravenclaw Eagles all looked at Amanda.
The Hufflepuff Little Badgers shivered and looked at the other Little Eagles, the Gryffindor Little Lions were confused, and the Slytherin Little Snakes flinched almost instinctively.
After all, the previous times Amanda had taken action in public, it had been directed at them.
After this loud noise, food appeared on all four long tables simultaneously. Amanda slowly withdrew her right hand. In that very instant, her manifestation magic had reached from the Hogwarts Great Hall directly to the kitchens, causing all the food prepared by the House-Elf to appear on the four long tables.
Looking gloomily at Umbridge at the Staff Table, Amanda had the word "provocation" practically written on her face.
Seeing Amanda's attitude, the eyes of the Little Eagles changed abruptly. Except for the first-year freshmen, the Little Eagles of other grades subconsciously reached for their wizard robe pockets, where their wands were kept.
"It seems everyone is hungry."
A steady, aged voice sounded behind Umbridge. Umbridge, whose chest was heaving, was interrupted by Headmaster Dumbledore before she could get angry.
He looked at Umbridge gently but firmly and extended a hand, gesturing to Umbridge's seat.
"Professor Umbridge, you should have dinner first."
"Dumbledore, as the defense against the dark arts professor sent to Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic, and also responsible for supervising Hogwarts on behalf of the Ministry of Magic..."
"Headmaster Dumbledore said that everyone is hungry."
Amanda's stern voice rang out. Her gaze swept over all the Little Eagles with a hint of warning. After understanding, the Little Eagles slowly moved their hands away from their wizard robe pockets.
Nodding with satisfaction, Amanda continued to speak in a slow, steady, and emotionless tone, "Let's eat dinner first, everyone."
After she finished speaking, regardless of the expression on Umbridge's face, she turned directly to face the long table, picked up her knife and fork, and began to eat heartily.
The Little Eagles around her looked at each other and also picked up their knives and forks to eat, followed by the Little Badgers, then the Little Snakes, and finally the Gryffindor Little Lions also picked up their knives and forks to eat dinner.
Not a single student cared about Umbridge's attitude. Was her attitude important?
Headmaster Dumbledore hadn't said that they couldn't eat dinner, so what did her attitude matter?
Professor Flitwick at the Staff Table picked up his knife and fork with a happy expression, lowering his head to eat dinner while hiding the smile on his face.
Although he very much agreed with and liked Amanda's approach, he and Umbridge were colleagues after all. Mocking a colleague to their face... wasn't very good, hmm, not very good.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout behaved the same way, and even Professor Snape faintly cast a look of appreciation toward Amanda.
Obviously, even among the Professors, not a single person welcomed Umbridge.
Clenching her hands tightly, the pink clothes on Umbridge's body shook continuously with her body. Too arrogant, too disrespectful!
She glared fiercely at Amanda. This little girl was supposed to respect Professors? How did that rumor get out? It was complete nonsense!
It seemed she really needed to teach this student, Amanda, how to respect her elders. Thinking of the quills she had brought, a sweet, malicious smile appeared on her face again.
Chewing and swallowing the steak in her mouth, Amanda looked up to meet Hermione's suspicious and doubtful gaze.
"What's wrong?" She tilted her head nonchalantly, looking at Hermione expressionlessly.
"What are you trying to do again?" Hermione squinted her eyes at Amanda. This girl was always calculating and meticulous; everything she did was the result of careful consideration, except... except for things related to herself.
And Umbridge obviously hadn't provoked her directly yet, so Amanda's actions just now were definitely not impulsive. She must have a plan in progress, and what she just did was one step of that plan.
Her dark, calm pupils trembled slightly. Even Amanda could vaguely understand now that her plan was not something Hermione should know about.
Stopping herself from looking away in guilt, she kept her facial muscles and eyes steady, looking at Hermione calmly.
"I don't have any plan. It's just because everyone was hungry, so I stopped her from continuing to speak. That's all."
"Hmph," Hermione crossed her arms and snorted coldly. She pointed a finger at Amanda's forehead with annoyance, "Make it up, keep making it up. Now that you've recovered some emotions, you've learned how to lie too."
The most important thing was, for some reason, this girl's control over her facial muscles was ridiculously strong. If she hadn't known Amanda well enough, anyone else, even a so-called police interrogation master, would probably not be able to tell that Amanda was lying.
Blinking her eyes, Amanda looked at Hermione without saying a word. That obedient and beautiful appearance made Hermione feel a sense of helplessness out of nowhere.
Really... there was no helping this girl.
"You're trying to provoke Umbridge, aren't you?" Hermione began to think along the lines of Amanda's actions, "What are you trying to do? Attract her hatred, attract her targeting?"
Thinking of something, Hermione leaned in close to Amanda, "You want to force her to get angry, force her to be irrational, let her target you, is that it?"
Amanda leaned back slightly. Her brain, which could remain calm in front of anyone else, was rarely flustered when facing Hermione.
"I... I really do want to do that."
"Why? That woman is in cahoots with Fudge, and who knows what dirty tricks she has. What if you really get hurt by her?"
Hermione frowned tightly at Amanda. Before she could answer, she suddenly had a realization.
"You just want her to hurt you, and then that can become a pretext for you to deal with her and Fudge, and deal them a heavy blow?!"
Amanda's eyes darted around, looking everywhere but at Hermione. By now, even she couldn't control her facial muscles and eyes.
Furthermore, amidst Hermione's continuous questions, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope, who were sitting around Amanda, had already put down their knives and forks and were looking at her with serious expressions.
"This is," Amanda barely opened her mouth, "this is the best result. I only have to suffer a little, and Umbridge and Fudge will be heavily damaged. After that, whatever I do will become reasonable."
"And Umbridge came to Hogwarts; if she doesn't target me, she will target other students. The highest probability is Hermione, Harry, and Ron, and the highest probability is Harry."
"By comparison, it is obvious that I am more suitable to be the target. This can maximize our interests."
Amanda kept her brain calm and carefully stated her analysis, with reason and evidence. If it were a business deal, her approach was clearly the most reasonable and effective.
Unfortunately, this was not a business deal.
As soon as she finished speaking, both of her ears were pinched simultaneously.
"Maximize our interests?" Hermione asked gloomily, pinching Amanda's right ear.
"It seems someone hasn't realized who our most important interest is." Cho Chang, who was also pinching Amanda's other ear, had lost her usual gentleness. Marietta Eckmore was also sitting on the side with her arms crossed, looking at Amanda disapprovingly.
"We care about you the most, understand? Amanda."
Seeing that the two younger students didn't have the heart to pinch hard, Penelope felt completely relieved. Not caring that they were in the Great Hall, she stood up, walked in front of her, crouched down, and held her wrists.
"Don't say anything about maximizing interests. Compared to you, you are the most important."
"You are our darling."
"Hmm," Hermione agreed, letting go of Amanda's ear, taking a deep breath, and looking at her, "Also, am I that useless in your heart? Do you need to help me, help us pave the way by wronging yourself?"
"No," Amanda quickly waved her hands, "I absolutely didn't mean that. I just, I just thought this was the most secure method..."
Sighing helplessly, Hermione pulled Amanda into her arms. Her other ear had long been let go by Cho Chang; the two of them couldn't bear to pinch Amanda's ears for too long.
"There is no such thing as the most secure method," Hermione kissed Amanda's lips, saying a sentence with each kiss, "And I have never carefully considered what the most secure method is."
"I only want to consider the most suitable method, the one that can best protect the people I want to protect."
"Don't forget, I am a Gryffindor."
Hermione kissed Amanda's lips one last time, even biting them lightly, and then blinked slyly.
"Isn't it just dealing with Fudge and Umbridge? I'll show you now. You don't have to wrong yourself to get it done. The people who support you, the power that supports you, is more and greater than you imagine."
Hugging Amanda tightly, Hermione's eyes turned fierce instantly, and she stood up suddenly and drew her wand.
Cho Chang and the other two, who had been listening for a long time, and the other Little Eagles could no longer hold back. They all stood up with Hermione and drew their wands.
Amanda didn't trust Hermione or them, which was why she felt that wronging herself to complete the plan was the most secure way. Now they were going to tell Amanda that they could also protect her.
A plan that relies on wronging herself is never the best plan.
Seeing the Little Eagles beside them stand up and draw their wands, the Little Badgers, who were happily eating, were stunned. After swallowing the food in their mouths and reacting quickly, they immediately stood up and drew their wands just like the Little Eagles.
Hermione gripped her wand and, without saying a word, cast a silent Expelliarmus at Umbridge at the Staff Table. She had mastered silent spells very well.
She had to act now, while the other Professors hadn't reacted yet; otherwise, the Professors would be in a difficult position later.
If they intervened to stop it, it would go against their conscience, and they couldn't hurt the students. If they didn't intervene, it wouldn't be appropriate...
Bang! Umbridge, along with her chair, crashed heavily into the wall behind the Staff Table, and the chair she was sitting on instantly shattered into pieces.
Even Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and the others hadn't had time to recover from their shock and confusion, so how could she have had time to react?
In a state of confusion, Umbridge felt pain all over her body, and her wand flew out of her pocket.
At the Gryffindor Table, Harry, who also had quite a grudge against Umbridge, stood up abruptly, drew his wand, and aimed at Umbridge's wand flying in mid-air with the dynamic vision of a professional Seeker.
"Confringo!"
Boom! A loud explosion sounded, and Umbridge's wand turned to dust in the light and heat.
Harry turned his wand to point at Umbridge; he hadn't forgotten how much this woman and Fudge wanted to destroy his wand.
Maybe it was karma; they hadn't been able to destroy his wand, but Umbridge's own wand had now been destroyed by his own hand.
"You, how dare you?!"
Umbridge's shrill voice rang out. She was in pain all over, and she even felt like she was about to pass out.
"Everyone knows you came to Hogwarts with ill intentions, Ms. Umbridge. To prevent you from harming Hogwarts students and Professors, I think it's better for us to eliminate the threat in advance, don't you think?"
Hermione smiled dangerously, and then a Stupefy shot out from the tip of her wand. The spells from the Little Eagles and Little Badgers also shot towards Umbridge in a rush. The Little Snakes, having reacted, quickly joined in, and naturally, the Little Lions wouldn't fall behind. Umbridge, it would be a waste not to hit her.
Watching hundreds of spells being cast at Umbridge—although they were all Stupefy, simple Defense Against the Dark Arts spells like Densaugeo, or prank spells—but with this quantity hitting someone, that person would be done for.
The four Deans at the Staff Table and Headmaster Dumbledore looked at each other, seeing a hint of gratification and amusement in each other's eyes. After the first few spells hit Umbridge, the four Deans simultaneously drew their wands, and four powerful Shield Charms stood in front of the Staff Table, blocking the spells cast by the Young Wizards of the four houses respectively.
Amanda, watching the Shield Charms blocking everyone's spells, finally recovered from her daze. All the Young Wizards in the Great Hall were standing, only she was still sitting in her seat.
She had always been thinking about protecting Hermione, protecting her friends, and protecting everyone, but she had always forgotten that they would also want to protect her...
"I hope you have realized your mistake." Rowena's figure appeared suddenly, gently ruffling Amanda's hair.
"Yes, I have."
Amanda answered in a weak voice, obediently lowering her head and nodding.
"We'll settle this with you when you return to the dormitory tonight," Helga tapped the back of Amanda's head, "Leave the rest to us for now."
Rowena raised an eyebrow and looked at Helga beside her. Settling accounts with Amanda... could she really bear to?
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