A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 623 What is she going to do?
In the professor's chair, Dumbledore finished his routine opening remarks and began to introduce the changes in the faculty for the new school year.

“This year, our teaching staff will see two changes.” His voice was steady, yet carried a subtle, almost imperceptible heaviness. “We are delighted to welcome Professor Wilmina Grapland, who will be teaching the Conservation of Magical Creatures course starting this semester.”

Professor Glapland stood up in response and gave a crisp bow to the students.

The cafeteria erupted in enthusiastic applause, the sound so loud it almost made the candle flames floating on the ceiling flicker.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly exchanged glances, a hint of doubt flashing through their minds at the same time. Dumbledore hadn't specified whether Professor Grapple was acting temporarily or officially taking over. Did this mean that Hagrid's departure was no longer temporary?

Immediately afterwards, Dumbledore's expression underwent a subtle change, a look of mixed helplessness and caution flashing across his face.

He continued, "At the same time, we are equally pleased to introduce Professor Dolores Umbridge, who will become our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, before adding, "Furthermore... according to the Ministry of Magic's latest Education Order No. 23, Professor Umbridge has been officially appointed as a Senior Investigator at Hogwarts."

This news is undoubtedly a bombshell.

At this moment, among everyone present, only Dumbledore and Umbridge themselves probably knew about this appointment.

The deans and professors on the faculty chairs all showed undisguised surprise, while most of the students looked blank, not yet fully understanding the power and significance behind the term "senior investigator."

Charles frowned upon hearing this; the appearance of the position of senior investigator seemed to have come a little earlier than he had "remembered".

More importantly, he was thinking quickly: now that the fact of Voldemort's return had been made public, and the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore, and Harry were already on the same side, why would they introduce such a position that was clearly intended to supervise or even suppress the independence of Hogwarts?

Charles was puzzled by the motive behind this, wondering if the Ministry of Magic had given Umbridge a respectable position so that she could leave the Ministry with peace of mind.

He decided to ask the relevant people when he had the chance.

Just then, something extremely rare happened, something that even well-traveled elves like Nick and the fat monk rarely witnessed.

Dumbledore was about to speak when he suddenly stopped and looked at Professor Umbridge beside him with a questioning expression.

Because Professor Umbridge's height hardly changed when he stood up, most students didn't notice at first, only wondering why the headmaster had suddenly stopped talking.

Then, a deliberately affected "cough, cough" sound rang out clearly, and everyone realized that the new professor had stood up and was obviously going to speak.

A fleeting look of surprise crossed Dumbledore's face, so quick it was almost imperceptible, but he swiftly and almost effortlessly returned to his golden high-backed chair. He adjusted his posture and gazed at Umbridge with a focused and expectant look, as if her speech were a pre-arranged, crucial part of the event that he eagerly awaited.

In contrast, the other professors were far less able to conceal their shock as perfectly.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips into a very thin, stern line; Professor Sprout was so surprised that her eyebrows almost flew into her fluffy hair; Professor Flitwick was full of question marks; and Snape gave a disdainful sneer.

No new teacher at Hogwarts had ever interrupted the headmaster in such a way.

Many students had already realized what was happening, and a series of suppressed giggles began to emanate from the long table.

This new professor, dressed in pink, clearly knew nothing about the rules of Hogwarts.

However, they wouldn't be laughing if they knew what was going to happen next.

Umbridge, Senior Investigator of the Ministry of Magic, delivered an important speech as a special representative of the Ministry of Magic, pointing out the direction for the school's development in the new academic year and announcing a special campaign across the school to "improve educational quality and rectify ideology," with "standardization, inheritance, and efficiency" as its core.

Umbridge, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, first fully affirmed Hogwarts' historical significance. She pointed out, "The Ministry of Magic has always believed that the education of young wizards is of utmost importance. Innate, precious talents, without systematic and standardized training and guidance, will be difficult to transform into their full value." She emphasized the necessity of inheriting the unique and ancient system of magical arts, and that Hogwarts bears the historical mission of protecting, perfecting, and developing the ancestral treasure trove of magical knowledge.

While acknowledging the school's achievements, Umbridge pointed out that there are still weaknesses that urgently need to be addressed. Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Magic, the school must focus its efforts precisely on key areas, continuously deepen educational reforms, and solidly advance the construction of a "model school for magical education" to achieve new breakthroughs.

Umbridge outlined three key tasks for the new academic year:

First, we must strengthen the standardization of the education system. We should scientifically optimize curriculum design, dynamically coordinate the allocation of teaching resources, and promote the standardized and differentiated development of education at all grade levels.

Second, we must deepen the collaborative development of educational technology personnel. We must comprehensively improve the quality of education and perfect the magic education system for the new era. We must build a high-quality, professional teaching staff, strengthen the construction of teachers' ethics and conduct, require all teachers to maintain a high degree of consistency with the policies and guidelines of the Ministry of Magic, and vigorously create a good atmosphere of respecting teachers and valuing education.

Third, we must rationally plan for the school's sustainable development. She particularly emphasized the dialectical relationship between reform and inheritance: "We must encourage innovative practices that conform to the laws of development, but we must also resolutely abandon the tendency to advance for the sake of progress. We must adhere to the principle of taking the essence and discarding the dross, and promote Hogwarts into a new stage of enlightened, efficient and rational development."

Umbridge emphasized the need to uphold and strengthen the Ministry of Magic's comprehensive leadership over education. She stressed the importance of firmly establishing a correct view of performance evaluation, ensuring accountability at all levels, strengthening resource guarantees, resolutely safeguarding campus safety, and striving to build a standardized, orderly, and efficient teaching ecosystem to create a powerful synergy for building a first-class magical university.

Finally, she urged all faculty and staff to raise their political awareness and resolutely implement the strategy of prioritizing education. "We must concentrate the best resources of the wizarding world on Hogwarts and provide the strongest policy support," she solemnly stated, "ensuring that Minister Rufus Scrimgeour and the Ministry of Magic's major decisions and plans regarding education development are effectively implemented."

(End of this chapter)