Chapter 21: The hateful D.A.D.A teacher

It had been a few days since Harry had returned to Hogwarts for his fifth year. And it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Just by looking at the new teacher, he knew that this class would have no future, at least this year in question.

Dolores Umbridge was her name.

She was an extremely irritating person. Although perhaps it was better to say that she was hateful. She gave off a strange feeling, as if you only needed to look at her face to awaken hatred within you. Even the kindest people would feel disgust at the plump woman dressed completely in pink.

Then there was her voice. She seemed to be faking a soft and kind tone, but it was even more irritating than her face. It almost seemed like the woman was born to be hateful.

When Harry looked to his side, he saw Hermione with a frown on her face. Umbridge had told him that it was not necessary to practice magic in class, and that they only had to read the book that everyone had. Her friend was probably one of the most irritated students with the current situation going on in the classroom. The professor wasn't doing a real job, she was even naming the ministry over and over again, making it clear that this was on the orders of that place. Whether it was propaganda or not, it was serious.

As for Harry, he didn't say anything, even when it was clear that at one point the professor was addressing him with the matter of Voldemort being revived.

Though it seems that Umbridge didn't want to leave him alone.

"Are you listening, Mr. Potter?"

"About what?"

 "The Dark Lords' nonsense, Potter. The Ministry is not happy with what you said earlier. You are simply causing a fuss without any basis."

"Are you accusing me of causing a fuss, Professor? You should know that accusing a person without proof is a serious thing, especially coming from you, a Ministry official. I wonder what the Minister would think if he found out that you are not doing your job as a teacher."

Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a bit of surprise, as if he had realized something.

"Worse still, what would the parents think? And the board of governors? They would be very angry if they found out that their children's education was being ruined by the Ministry itself."

"What do you mean?" Umbridge blushed a little, probably out of pure rage. She thought she would have everything under control. To her, Harry's words still had no basis. In her mind, she was superior. He thought that no one would listen to Harry Potter, especially since he opened his mouth saying that Voldemort had revived.

"Don't you understand, Professor?" Harry asked surprised, even emphasizing the last word.

"Hogwarts is not only about teaching spells and knowledge. This school is so that students can aspire to a future. So that they learn what they need when they want to look for the job they want. But apparently, the Ministry doesn't care about that."

Harry gasped and covered his mouth with his hands, as if he was really alarmed and scared.

"Does the Ministry not care about us? Not even the children of prominent families in this society?... Malfoy? Longbottom? Greengrass and Black too. Oh, how tragic it would be if the Minister is attacked by everyone..."

Harry stood up and took his things.

 "I'm sorry, Professor. But I don't want to be blamed for all of that. It's not my fault," Harry said seriously before hurrying out.

Umbridge, who had paled for a moment and felt a cold sweat on her back, all because of Harry's words, began to scream.

"Potter! Come back here this instant!"

However, Harry ignored it and closed the door behind him. A smile appeared on his expression as he began to walk down the hall. He had been careful to name the last names of some of the students who were in the class. He knew that at least Neville would say something to his family, especially his grandmother, who was part of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts.

As for the name Black. Well, his godfather would now be the head of the House of Black, and he knew that he would support him in almost anything that involved taking down people like Umbridge.

As for the Ministry and the Minister, Harry didn't think he had any more time to continue to feign ignorance, not with Amelia Bones knowing the truth of many things. That woman was too fierce for Cornelius Fudge to control. Perhaps he could have before, but not now. With so much information, especially about the galleons that Fudge has received from Lucius Malfoy, he could practically call for the man's dismissal.

 "Right..." Harry paused as he remembered something.

"I still have to check on the basilisk. I might as well do it now while I have time."

. . .

As Harry entered Charms class, which was the last of the day, and only after Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hermione gave him an annoyed look.

"Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Harry. You know exactly what I'm talking about," Hermione muttered angrily.

 "After you left, that woman was really mad. In the end, all we could do was listen to the points we lost and read that stupid book."

"Why do you care about the points? The cup is of no use. If you want to study and prove that you're good at classes, the cup shouldn't matter. You should just do it, period."

"Besides, it didn't matter if I said that. That woman isn't going to stop what she's doing."

"Mr. Potter and Miss Granger!" Flitwick exclaimed, drawing the attention of the two.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Are you listening to what I'm saying? If you don't want to pay attention, you can leave."

Harry nodded, "You talk about the OWL exams and how important they are to our future, especially if we want to continue attending the more advanced classes."

"... Correct," Flitwick blinked and nodded. He had thought about taking points off the two of them for talking and not paying attention to the class, but it seems that at least Harry was paying attention, even when talking to Hermione next to him.

"As I was saying..." Flitwick coughed a little before continuing, "If you haven't thought about your future and possible careers, now is the time to do so. And in the meantime, I'm afraid, we'll be working harder than ever to see that you two get justice!"

"Today we'll begin reviewing some charms that you've already learned in this class. In this case, it will be Incendio, the spell to make fire. You should all remember the incantation and hand motion for this spell. Anyone want to demonstrate?" Flitwick spoke calmly before asking as he looked back and forth, carefully passing his gaze over his students.

 "No one? Fine, then I'll pick one of you," Flitwick smiled and looked at Harry, "Mr. Potter, since you were talking and interrupted my class, please come forward and demonstrate the fire-making spell."

Sighing a little, Harry stood up and walked to the front of the classroom.

"Where do I shoot?" Harry asked. Flitwick waved his wand and transfigured a piece of wood into a wooden target. Harry then noticed several pieces of wood stacked behind the teacher's desk.

As the target was moved to a wall that had nothing near it, Harry pointed his wand.

"Incendio," he uttered, causing a red and orange jet to shoot out of his wand. The fire shivered violently before it caught fire. Flitwick immediately extinguished the flames and looked at Harry in some surprise.

 "That was a good fire-making spell, Mr. Potter. You seem to have been practicing if you don't need to do the hand motion."

"As some say: it's the thought that counts, right?"

Flitwick gave a small laugh.

"If you are correct, Mr. Potter. You get five points for that excellent spell."

Harry just nodded with a small smile.

"You may return to your seat."

Harry moved immediately, not wanting to stand in front of everyone any longer. Not that he was upset or nervous, but he wasn't one to enjoy being an example for others.

"Now you will go one by one to demonstrate your own fire-making spells," Flitwick said with a small smile.

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