Chapter - 69 : Unseen threats and hidden weapons part - 3

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"Good afternoon, class!" Umbridge said, disgustingly cheerful as she entered the classroom. She was answered with few mumbled responses, but nothing more. "Tut tut, that won't do at all, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

Harry and Blaise exchanged amused glances as they and the rest of the class dutifully responded. "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge."

"There, now." Professor Umbridge smiled sweetly. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

That one sentence seemed to sum up the quality of the class. Umbridge started off the class by informing them that the DADA curriculum had been vastly improved into a "carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic", which basically meant that it was a dumbed down, theory only class created by the Ministry to prevent them from becoming threats in the future.

Umbridge had steamrolled over any questions or protests they may have had and had them write down the three course aims of the class, then they were assigned a chapter to read and ordered to remain silent for the rest of the period.

"I think this one trumps all three," Neville whispered to Harry when Umbridge looked particularly busy writing something out at her desk.

"What do you mean?" Harry whispered back.

"Hosting the soul of You-Know-Who on the back of their head terrible, so full of himself it's a wonder they can fit through the door with such a large ego terrible, or Death Eater in disguise terrible. This trumps all three. This is, without a doubt, the worse Defense Against the Dark Arts class I've ever attended."

Harry couldn't hold back his snort of amusement. "Give me psychopaths or Lockhart any day."

Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Mr. Potter?" Professor Umbridge asked, looking up from her desk.

"No, ma'am," Harry smiled sweetly. "Just talking to myself."

"About the book, I hope."

"Oh yes, Professor. I've already read this particular text before, but it's so good it's always worth another read."

Umbridge looked confused for a moment, but then an uncertain smile spread across her face "Yes, it is. Well, don't let me disturb you, get back to reading."

"That was disgusting," Draco murmured the moment Umbridge's attention was diverted.

"But it worked, didn't it?"

"That was the worst Defense class I've ever attended," Hermione scowled, slipping into a spot between Harry and Draco. "And we had Lockhart for Merlin's sake."

"And it's our O.W.L. year too," Draco said moodily. "How does she expect us to pass if we haven't practiced a single spell all year?

"She is under the belief that as long as we pay attention, read that horrible book from cover to cover, and memorize the theory behind the spells, we should have no trouble performing them during the O.W.L.s."

"So the first time we'll be casting the spells is during the exams," Neville hissed.

"Exactly."

"Well, that's it, we're screwed."

"Nonsense," Harry said. "If she doesn't want to teach us, we can just teach ourselves. Honestly, how hard could it be?"

"That's a brilliant idea, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "We should start right away, there's not a moment to lose. But where will we practice? We can't very well start shooting off spells in the common rooms."

"We'll figure something out." Harry said. "The castle is enormous, I'm sure we'll be able to find one room we can use to train in."

"All right, I'll leave that to you, I'll start drawing up lesson plans, and research! I'll have to do tons of research to find the spells we'll need to learn and how to perform them. Oh, there's so much for me to do. I need to go to the library!" And with that, she ran off, leaving her friends watching her hasty retreat in amusement.

"Barking, that one is," Ron muttered as he pulled her untouched dinner plate closer to him. "Absolutely mad."

The Monday of the second week of term had Ron arriving at breakfast in a foul mood, the redhead was scowling fiercely, scaring several first years out of their wits, and treading a bit heavier than necessary. A slightly miffed looking Neville was walking beside him, murmuring what appeared to be consolations to his fellow Gryffindor.

"What's got your knickers in a twist, Weasley?" Draco asked, throwing a curious glance at the fuming teen.

"My brother," Ron snapped. "The prat had the nerve to write to me bad mouthing Harry."

"Seeing as you have a number of brothers, I'm afraid you're going to have to elaborate just a tad."

"Percy."

"Ah," Harry sighed, the rift between Percy and the rest of the Weasley's had taken its toll on the family, but none more so than Mrs. Weasley, "what is it he said?"

"Here," Ron pulled a slightly crumpled paper from his pocket and handed it to Harry, "see for yourself."

Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Blaise gathered closer to each other to read the somewhat lengthy letter as Ron and Neville began piling breakfast onto their plates.

Dear Ron,

I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister for Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect. I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the 'Fred and George' route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility...

The letter went on to "advise" Ron to keep far away from Harry, because "continuous fraternization with him could be detrimental to his future" and that even though Harry may be Dumbledore's favorite now (had Percy not been present when Harry had torn into the headmaster third year?), Dumbledore may not be in power for much longer. Percy also informed Ron that, should he find it difficult to distance himself from Harry because of his erratic and possibly violent behavior, or if he suddenly felt the urge to inform anyone what Harry was getting up to during the day, he should immediately go to Umbridge, who was apparently "a truly delightful woman".

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Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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