Chapter 621: Umbridge Wants to Commit Crimes and Achieve Meritorious Service (Edited)

The sound of Umbridge's footsteps was distinctive, heavy yet delicate, so Fish could easily hear them without even trying to distinguish them.

As soon as Fish gave the signal, Harry and Ron put on the invisibility cloak and crouched in a corner of the room.

"Hagrid, hide our cups!" Hermione said before transforming into a small black cat and jumping on top of the wardrobe to hide as well.

Only Fish remained calmly seated in his chair, helping Hagrid store the leftover cups.

"Who is Umbridge?" Hagrid asked, bewildered, as he returned the cups to the cabinet.

He had been too busy with the giants to read the newspapers, so he knew nothing about Umbridge, who had become a prominent name in the wizarding world.

"She's the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for this year..." Fish replied. "And a troublemaker sent by the Ministry of Magic, nya."

"People from Fudge?" Hagrid frowned.

Just as he was about to ask Fish more about Umbridge, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Through the window next to the door, a short and chubby figure could be seen moving against the thin curtains.

Hagrid approached and opened the door.

Professor Umbridge stood on the threshold, wearing her green tweed cloak and a matching hat with flaps. She didn't reach Hagrid's belly button, frowned, and leaned back to see Hagrid's face.

"So," she said slowly and loudly, as if speaking to a deaf person, "You're Hagrid, right?"

Without waiting for Hagrid's response, she entered the room and noticed Fish sitting at the table...

And the pastries that had been taken away from him on the table, which Fish had brought out when he learned that Umbridge was coming.

Umbridge's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly regained her smile and said, "You're here too, Mr. McGonagall."

"Good evening."

?(ΦωΦ)?

Fish raised his hand to greet her, then grabbed a sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth.

The corners of Umbridge's lips twitched slightly. The scene in front of her reminded her of the encounter she had had this morning.

"Excuse me..." Hagrid interjected from the side. "If I'm not mistaken, aren't you with Fudge?"

Seeing Umbridge in person, Hagrid recognized her.

After all, Umbridge was so recognizable, both in her attire and appearance, that Hagrid wasn't sure what she was called before.

"Yes, I'm Dolores Umbridge, and I'm the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister..."

She gritted her teeth with hatred as she said this. In fact, thanks to Fish's Dark Mark, her "Senior Undersecretary" already had a "temporary substitute" in front of her.

And if Umbridge didn't extract any valuable information from Hogwarts, she would have to be dismissed, and only Azkaban awaited her.

That's why she had the audacity to use Veritaserum on Fish right under Dumbledore's nose and approached as soon as she learned that Hagrid had returned.

Umbridge began to pace around the room, observing every detail, from the backpack on the wall to the black traveling cloak there.

As she approached the corner where Harry and Ron were hiding, Hagrid asked, "The Senior Undersecretary of Magic? Why are you here?"

"Because I'm still the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher..." Umbridge replied.

While Harry and Ron took the opportunity to stealthily move closer to the corner she had already checked.

"You're very brave," Hagrid continued, keeping Umbridge's attention as he spoke sincerely. "There aren't many people who teach that anymore..."

"...and lead investigator at Hogwarts." Umbridge acted as if she hadn't heard him.

"What's that?" Hagrid asked, furrowing his brow.

"It's a new initiative from Minister Fudge to control the decline in educational standards at Hogwarts. The Minister is determined to remove unqualified teachers," Umbridge explained with a smile. "As Senior Investigative Officer, I have the unfortunate but necessary task of assessing the teaching of other professors to ensure they meet the required standards."

"Are you investigating us?" Displeasure immediately appeared on Hagrid's face as he said with a discordant voice, "Hogwarts teachers are good! The Ministry of Magic should trust Dumbledore."

There was a hint of disdain in Umbridge's smile, and she didn't argue with Hagrid. Because she knew even before coming that Hagrid was loyal to Dumbledore.

And even if Hagrid chose to stay close to the Ministry, his giant blood would certainly antagonize Umbridge, who would undoubtedly try to get Hagrid into trouble.

"Are you and Mr. McGonagall the only ones here?" Umbridge asked as she continued to scan the room.

"Yes, why?"

"There are two sets of footprints in the snow, leading from the castle door to your cabin," Umbridge said softly, turning her head to give Hagrid a deadly look.

"Oh, I just got back," Hagrid said, waving a large hand towards his backpack. "Maybe someone was here, I didn't see."

"There are no footprints at your cabin door."

"I... I don't know," Hagrid nervously tugged at his beard, looking back towards the corner where Harry and the two men were standing, trying to be helpful. "Y-"

His movement caught Umbridge's attention, and she immediately jumped towards the corner he was looking at and searched it carefully.

But by then, Harry and Ron had quietly moved away, not too far.

Just then, a small black cat jumped from the top of the wardrobe and landed on the floor like a little witch.

"The other set of footprints is mine, Professor," Hermione said, and sat back next to Fish.

"Miss Granger." Umbridge narrowed her eyes as she looked at Hermione and Fish. She knew who Hermione was, of course, and she could have taken the opportunity to punish Hermione, but it didn't make much sense.

If it had been before the attack, Umbridge would have been interested in torturing Hermione to satisfy her morbid inclination, but now that it was more important to obtain valuable information, she naturally had no desire to do so.

And somehow, despite Hermione's explanation, she didn't believe it was that simple.

So Umbridge continued her rounds of Hagrid's house. She crouched to look under the bed, opened Hagrid's closet, came within five centimeters of Harry and the others...

After thoroughly examining Hagrid's cauldron, Umbridge had to give up when she found nothing.

"Where have you been?" Umbridge asked, looking coldly at Hagrid.

"Where have I been...?"

"Yes, it's been over two months since classes started, another professor covers for you, your colleagues don't know where you've been, you didn't leave an address, where the hell have you been?"

Silence fell, and Hagrid looked at her in astonishment, his mind working frantically.

"Hagrid went to get this for Fish, nya!"

(ΦωΦ)

Fish lifted the fire dragon meat that was on the table and explained it to Hagrid.

"Ah! Right!" Hagrid continued, "Fish was curious about the taste of dragon meat, so I went and bought him a piece!"

"Do you take two months to get a piece of meat?" Umbridge looked at him mockingly.

"Well, I mostly left to recover," Hagrid's mind came back to life with a start, "And the dragon meat was just a gift for Fish."

"To recover," Umbridge nodded noncommittally and, after a pause, suddenly asked, "Alpine landscapes?"

"Alpine landscapes?" Hagrid's face paled slightly.

But his thick beard covered him perfectly, so Umbridge didn't see it.

"No, it's the south of France, and I'm on good terms with Madame Maxime from Beauxbatons," Hagrid replied in reaction.

Umbridge looked at him coldly, and Hagrid nervously met her gaze.

"Very well." Once again, without accomplishing anything, Umbridge reluctantly scanned the room, and finally turned her gaze back to Hagrid. "Of course, I'll inform the Minister that you returned so late."

Umbridge lifted her bag onto her arm and abruptly turned towards the door.

"Yes," Hagrid nodded.

"I dare say we'll meet again soon. Goodnight, Hagrid, Mr. McGonagall, and Miss Granger."

Umbridge said quietly as she grasped the doorknob and turned to the three with a grim expression on her face.

Then she pushed the door and left, closing it firmly with a resolute "click."