Chapter 666: Fudge Abandons Umbridge (Edited)

The Aurors searched the outskirts of Hogsmeade for a while before finding traces of the serpent's movement.

They followed the trail into the Forbidden Forest and discovered that it was getting smaller as it moved, so small that the Aurors couldn't distinguish its movements.

This seemed to confirm Dumbledore's suspicion that the serpent was not a basilisk but an ordinary venomous snake that had been magically enlarged.

However, the Aurors didn't leave it at that and continued searching the Forbidden Forest for a while, battling some grumpy magical creatures, which would have resulted in casualties if not for the intervention of the Centaurs.

In the process, they found no sign of the serpent, but they did encounter Fluffy, a three-headed dog, and it would have ended badly for the Aurors if the Centaurs hadn't arrived in time, while Grawp was initially hidden by Hagrid and not exposed to the Ministry.

The Aurors questioned the Centaurs about it, but their answers remained too vague for anyone to understand, and after several days passed without any basilisk incidents harming anyone, the Aurors had no choice but to leave it at that.

The more Fudge thought about it after his return, the more he realized that something was wrong, as if the person behind it all had given it so much importance only to teach Umbridge a lesson.

It wasn't like some dark wizard had been accidentally discovered by Umbridge, nor like Dumbledore had deliberately set a trap for her...

Although Fudge had prejudices against Dumbledore and stubbornly believed he wanted to overthrow him and take control of the Ministry, Fudge knew Dumbledore's character, and if he really wanted to get back at Umbridge, he wouldn't have resorted to such an unorthodox method.

Not that he hadn't suspected Fish, but the last attack, which had been somewhat of a joke, had shown that Fish hadn't done it, and it was even more unlikely this time. It took a lot of dark magic to petrify a living person, and although Fish was a much better wizard than his colleagues, Fudge still didn't believe he could do it.

Hagrid, the former Care of Magical Creatures professor and current gamekeeper, was also among Fudge's suspects, but Hagrid was even worse off, having been expelled halfway through his studies and having a poor school record, so Fudge quickly ruled him out.

There was no clue as to who had attacked Umbridge, but the real problem for Fudge was who would replace her.

Fudge rubbed his temples and sighed deeply...

He wanted to arrange for someone else to go to Hogwarts to replace Umbridge as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and head investigator, but no one else dared to accept.

Umbridge's two hospitalizations, as well as those of the unfortunate Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers in previous years, had convinced the members of the Ministry of Magic of the "Voldemort's curse," and no one wanted to take the risk. Even Pierre Sampson, who had temporarily replaced her, had turned down Fudge, claiming that he wasn't feeling well.

As for waiting for Umbridge to recover...

Not to mention the fact that St. Mungo's didn't have enough healing potions in stock to cure Umbridge at the moment, and even if she did recover, Fudge wouldn't be able to keep her in her position.

The comments from Kingsley and the other Aurors were that the woman had been a burden all along.

And from the results, it seemed they had Umbridge in their sights, and if they sent her back to Hogwarts, they would probably attack her again, so now Umbridge was of little use in Fudge's eyes.

Although Umbridge knew how to gain favor with her superiors and had a knack for making Dumbledore's life difficult, her poor execution and long-revealed misdeeds had caused a lot of resentment within the Ministry, and there was no reason for Fudge to keep her in her position.

Of course, Fudge could have chosen to use public opinion to make the attack on Umbridge seem like Dumbledore's revenge for the Ministry's interference in the school's management, but that wouldn't have made much sense...

Because there was no one to clean up this mess anymore, and telling people that would only anger Dumbledore would make it even less likely for someone to get involved.

And Fudge was already giving up on Umbridge, so he wouldn't bother defending her when he knew it wouldn't do him any good.

The only reason she hadn't been sent to Azkaban yet was that Fudge wanted to save face for the Ministry.

The Daily Prophet had been championing Fudge's great educational reform during this period, and condemning Umbridge, the main culprit, would have been a mockery.

So Fudge refrained from punishing Umbridge, with the intention of dealing with her covertly once the publicity died down.

In addition to Fudge, Voldemort was also in a bad mood.

He had learned the details of the incident at the Shrieking Shack from the Death Eaters lurking in the Ministry, and unlike Fudge, who had been fooled by Dumbledore, Voldemort knew for certain that the snake was not just any venomous snake under a swelling spell, but a true basilisk.

As for why Slytherin's abandoned basilisk was being controlled by someone else...

What else can one think? It's not like he hadn't seen the scene of Fish running like mad in the Forbidden Forest!

Thinking about the basilisk he had inherited from Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets being abducted by Fish, Voldemort felt so distraught that he couldn't breathe...

So he found an excuse to severely punish Lucius Malfoy, which made the Death Eaters panic, wondering what the Dark Lord was up to again.

...

Unlike an angry Voldemort and an exhausted Fudge, Hogwarts was relieved to learn that Umbridge had been sent back to St. Mungo's due to an attack by an "unknown person."

As for who the unknown person was... the students and professors of Hogwarts already knew who it was and didn't need any proof; they could guess the truth from years of experience.

"Fish, how did you do that?"

Fred impatiently asked at the first meeting of the Order of the Cat after Umbridge's departure. "What powerful curse is it? Can you teach us?"

"It's not a spell, meow, it's Uroboros' ability."

(ω´≡ω´)

Fish shook his head and honestly replied.

The group asked for the details of Fish's lesson with Umbridge, and then they returned to training with great enthusiasm.

Today's exercise was still the Patronus Charm.

After practicing for a while, several had been able to summon their Patronuses, although they had only done so in a well-lit classroom and without feeling threatened.

At Hermione's suggestion, Harry approached Cedric, Neville, and Luna, who had already summoned their Patronuses, and decided that they would move on to the next phase of the exercise, while those who hadn't summoned their Patronuses yet would go to the other end of the room to practice on their own.

However, after separating the two groups, Harry encountered a new problem...

"But... we don't have a Boggart on hand..." Harry scratched his head and looked at Hermione, who had been the first to suggest it. "You should be ready, right?"

Hermione was the true core of the Cat Order's meeting. She was the one who planned, organized, and carried out all the contacts, while Harry and the others simply taught.

Hermione laughed and said, "Even with the Boggart, not everyone has as many chances as you do to turn it into a Dementor. Besides, we have better options."

And she looked at Fish.

"It's up to Fish, nya!"

(`´)

Fish slapped his chest and raised his head proudly.

In the next moment, Fish's body swelled, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a powerful white tiger.

At the same time, Harry and the others felt pressure, the air around them seemed to freeze, and an instinctive fear took hold of them, causing their knees to buckle.

Some of the more timid girls even screamed and fell to the ground.

Fish, now in the form of a white tiger, calmly licked his paws and looked at the girls who had fallen.

(??=??)

He hadn't even used his [Demoralizing Roar] yet, and they were scared like this...

So Fish simply let himself drop, flicked his tail a few times, and began to rest his eyes.

The others also started practicing the Patronus Charm as they got used to Fish's animal intimidation.