Chapter 661: The Next Step (Edited)

Umbridge was still struggling when she returned to her office.

She paced restlessly back and forth, occasionally pausing to grab her quill and attempt to write to Fudge, but she quickly gave up each time.

As Dumbledore and Skeeter had mentioned, she was in a terrible situation and would have to do something to continue using her position as an official of the Ministry of Magic.

Of course, Umbridge could have told Minister Fudge and had someone sent to track down the perpetrator.

But Professor Trelawney, Umbridge's beloved Divination teacher, had told her that she had to get involved, and it was difficult for Umbridge, given her nature, to relinquish a great deal of credit that was in her hands.

As for the danger she might encounter, Umbridge found it natural, as what she desired most was to find the unknown person who had attacked her and evidence of Dumbledore's intentions against the Ministry of Magic.

Whoever the prophecy pointed to, it was most likely that she would come face to face with an enemy she couldn't deal with, and that's what the prophecy meant when it said there was as much danger as opportunity...

Umbridge pondered and pondered.

But she didn't have to think too much, and after a change of heart, Umbridge soon came up with a solution.

It was true that Umbridge wasn't very good at fighting, and there was no way she stood a chance against Dumbledore or anyone else, but she was very good at fighting for power and benefit...

Hadn't she been able to climb up to this position step by step, pretending to please her superiors and mercilessly taking credit from her colleagues and claiming it for herself?

As long as Umbridge first discovered where the prophesied tree was and confirmed its secrets, she could request Minister Fudge's help in sending a group of Aurors.

She would take the initiative, and the others would handle the fight, and she could easily claim the credit... If Professor Trelawney hadn't said she had to participate, she could have remained idle.

Umbridge thought with regret.

After all, the prophecy had said there was danger, and she didn't want to take risks if she didn't have to, but it was clear that power attracted her more, and between her safety and power, Umbridge chose to take the risk.

Once decided, Umbridge had great capacity for action, and she quickly searched for the most unusual trees in Hogwarts...

The results of her research gave her a bit of a headache...

There were too many special trees in Hogwarts!

As a school that had existed for thousands of years and had a forest as large as the Forbidden Forest, no one knew how many people had planted strange and unusual plants in Hogwarts over the years.

But luckily, Professor Trelawney's prophecy had narrowed Umbridge's search, and the tree was relatively "young."

So after searching among the trees over a hundred years old, Umbridge narrowed down her target. And soon, Umbridge set her sights on the Whomping Willow...

The reason was simple: apart from the Whomping Willow, which was on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, the other special trees were located in the inner parts of the forest, where Umbridge would never have dared to enter on her own.

Of course, it was the Whomping Willow that Fish had chosen, or rather, the secret passage beneath it.

In the following days, the students of Hogwarts were surprised to find that Umbridge no longer roamed the school like a ghost, deducting points or punishing students from time to time.

It was as if Umbridge had suddenly become a normal teacher, who usually stayed in her office aside from teaching classes.

It was a strange but welcome change. After all, having a toad-like face appearing from time to time, telling you in a little girl's voice that you couldn't do this or that, was unbearable for a normal person.

The notorious Umbridge certainly didn't stay in her office, and as far as Fish knew, she spent most of her time wandering through the forests near the Whomping Willow. Somehow, she had managed to obtain an invisibility cloak so that no one else could see her.

Furthermore, Umbridge's caution, or rather audacity, was more than Fish had expected. She had never thought of searching the surroundings of the Whomping Willow except for a few days, apparently having learned about the tree's characteristics and not wanting to take the risk.

So Fish went to search for Dumbledore...

That night, Umbridge wandered through the forest near the Whomping Willow again, but no matter how much she looked, she couldn't see any secret beneath the tree, nor could she approach it, it seemed.

It was as if the Whomping Willow was aware of her approach, even with her invisibility cloak. If she hadn't crouched just in time, she would have been hit by one of the tree's branches.

As for using magic to "deal" with the Whomping Willow from a distance...

What if it wasn't the prophesied tree, let alone her ability to do it? It was a matter of promotion, and Umbridge didn't dare to take any risks.

Just as Umbridge was considering the possibility of asking Minister Fudge for an assistant to help her, the sound of leaves and dead branches being trampled came from her right side.

She looked around and saw no one and no visible animals.

Thestrals?

Umbridge had encountered them occasionally, thinking she had discovered something, and she delighted in her vain thoughts.

But soon she realized that something was wrong, that the footsteps didn't match the rhythm of a Thestral's, but rather someone in a hurry.

Umbridge unconsciously held her breath, staring in the direction of the sound with wide-open eyes, her entire body tense, not daring to move... completely forgetting that she had already cast a Silencing Charm on herself.

As the footsteps approached, Umbridge realized that the person coming was probably a tall human, as there was a slight rustle coming from the high branches of the tree as the person passed.

At that moment, it seemed like the invisibility cloak got caught on a branch, and a head of white hair and beard suddenly appeared in the air. Although she couldn't see his face in the darkness, and the man quickly covered himself with his invisibility cloak again, Umbridge still recognized him...

It was Dumbledore! There was no one at Hogwarts, aside from Dumbledore, who fit the profile of a tall man with white hair and beard!

Umbridge clenched her fists, trembling with excitement.

The footsteps continued, approaching beneath the Whomping Willow. It was too dark for Umbridge to see what Dumbledore was doing, all she knew was that after a whisper, Dumbledore seemed to have disappeared.

Holding her breath, Umbridge slowly emerged from the forest, and only when she was out of the Forbidden Forest, she began to run furiously, her toad-like face filled with excitement.