A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 697 Unexpected
"Ouch!"

A sharp, piercing scream exploded in Harry's ears.

He staggered back two steps to steady himself, blinked hard, and realized that the person he had bumped into was Umbridge.

Umbridge got up from the ground, smoothing out the creases in his clothes. The fake smile that usually graced his broad face vanished, replaced by an unprecedented anger.

Harry's mind went blank.

Before this, Charles had told him that the spot he was returning to was behind a huge pumpkin, a spot that would block people's view, and that no one would come to see it now.

However, no one expected that Umbridge would appear here.

"Potter!" Umbridge's scream startled even the rats in the Forbidden Forest, who scattered in all directions. "What are you doing, charging around like that!"

"Absolutely...absolutely rude!"

Harry instinctively wanted to apologize, but the wonderful warmth of Felix Felicis still flowed quietly through his veins, giving him a transcendent calmness and judgment.

He shut his mouth, simply stood up straight, and silently looked at the other person.

At the same time, he could feel that the unique spatial fluctuations from when the key was turned had not completely dissipated, lingering around him like ripples.

Umbridge's bulging, toad-like eyes were fixed on Harry, keenly catching the remaining traces of magic.

The anger on her face was instantly replaced by a cruel smile. In the blink of an eye, the fake smile returned to her face, but it was colder and more dangerous than before.

“Oh…oh…” she drawled, in that sickeningly sweet voice, “It’s a door key, isn’t it, Potter?”

She took a step forward, her pink figure radiating an invisible pressure, and said coldly, "Making and using Portkeys to leave the school without permission is a serious violation of the Ministry of Magic's laws and Hogwarts' school rules!"

"Very serious!"

She gave Harry no chance to speak again, and a short, thick hand grabbed his upper arm like an iron clamp with astonishing force.

"Come with me, Potter! Now! Right now!"

Harry didn't struggle.

Felix Felicis seemed to be telling him that any resistance at this moment would be futile and unwise.

He let Umbridge practically drag him through the corridors toward her office.

Upon entering that suffocating room, Umbridge slammed the door shut.

She went around to her ornate desk, sat down, and crossed her arms on the surface, trying to strike a dignified pose.

“Now, Potter,” she said, a sickeningly fake smile plastered on her face, “tell me, where have you been?”

"Who gave you the key? Who are your accomplices?"

Harry stood still, his eyes calmly meeting hers, his lips pressed tightly together like a hard rock.

The wonderful sensations brought on by Felix Felicis built an invisible barrier within him, isolating him from anxiety and fear, leaving only clear thoughts—silence was the best choice at this moment.

He could even sense that some kind of "luck" was brewing in an unseen place.

Umbridge asked for a long time, but only received silence in return.

Her fake smile gradually crumbled, and her face began to flush red, like an over-fermented dough with added carrot powder.

"Speak! Potter! I'm asking you a question!"

Her voice lost its sweetness and became shrill.

However, Harry remained silent, simply watching her with a gaze so calm that it made Umbridge feel inexplicably irritated and uneasy.

"Very well!" She slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, her chest heaving violently. "Refuse to confess? You think I can't do anything to you just like that?"

"Such a serious violation of discipline must be dealt with seriously by your college dean!"

She interpreted Harry's silence as a provocation and decided to hand him over to Professor McGonagall to demonstrate that she followed the rules.

Umbridge grabbed Harry's arm roughly again and dragged him away from the office, almost like a prisoner, toward the professors' lounge.

Arriving at the door of the professors' lounge, she asked Professor Flitwick, who was about to come out, about Professor McGonagall's whereabouts.

“Minerva?” Professor Flitwick glanced at Harry and said, “She just said she had to answer a few questions from students and has already gone back to her office.”

Umbridge thanked Professor Flitwick, a "let's see how long you can keep up this arrogance" look on his face, and pulled Harry toward Professor McGonagall's office.

She didn't even knock; she simply turned the doorknob of Professor McGonagall's office and stormed in.

"Minerva! Look what your students have done..."

Umbridge's shrill voice came to an abrupt halt.

At this moment, Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, while two students stood in front of her—Hermione Granger and another Harry Potter.
The "Harry" was holding a thick book about transfiguration and seemed to be asking Professor McGonagall a question, while Hermione chimed in with something.

When Umbridge dragged Harry in, the three people in the office turned around at the same time, their faces showing surprise.

Two Harry Potters!

Umbridge froze at the doorway, her fingers unconsciously loosening their grip on Harry's arm.

Her mouth hung open as she looked at Harry, whom she had brought, and then at Harry standing in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. Her face drained of color, leaving only shock and bewilderment.

Professor McGonagall abruptly stood up from her chair, her sharp gaze sweeping back and forth between the two Harrys, her eyes filled with shock and a hint of foreboding.

“What…what’s going on?” Umbridge finally found her voice and screamed.

She pulled Harry, who was next to her, to the desk and compared the two; they were exactly the same.

Everyone present was stunned. The two Harrys looked at each other curiously, while Hermione hesitated to speak.

Professor McGonagall's face darkened. It was one thing for others to be concerned, but for Harry, this meant he had to think more about whether Voldemort was behind it. So she quickly opened her communication notebook and called the headmaster.

In this extremely quiet and eerie moment, a ceramic teapot that had been sitting quietly on a small cabinet in the corner of the office suddenly shattered with a loud "bang" without warning!
The shards and scalding hot tea splashed everywhere, and the loud noise startled everyone.

Professor McGonagall and Umbridge instinctively looked toward the source of the sound, their attention briefly drawn.

A moment later, there was a gentle knock on the office door, and then it was pushed open.

Dumbledore arrived, and when he saw the confrontational scene in the office, especially the two identical Harry Potters, a hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes.

He slowly walked into the office, his gaze fixed firmly on the two Harrys.

"Two Harrys? It seems we've encountered a very serious situation."

His first reaction was obviously to think of some kind of trick or dark magic that Voldemort might use.

“Albus, this…” Professor McGonagall was eager to say something.

Dumbledore raised a hand, signaling her to calm down.

He walked up to the two Harrys and said seriously, "Please, both of you, take out your wands."

Harry, standing next to Hermione, drew his wand with a phoenix feather core made of holly wood almost without hesitation and placed it in his palm.

Dumbledore nodded, then turned his gaze to the other one, Harry, whom Umbridge had just captured.

This "Harry" clearly hesitated for a moment, but under the stern gazes of Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, he still took out his wand.

Just by looking at the length of the wand, 460mm, everyone knew who he was.

The office fell into a deathly silence.

A hint of confusion flashed in Dumbledore's eyes, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Professor McGonagall gasped, her face instantly filled with shock and anger.

Umbridge was completely stunned; the situation had developed far beyond her comprehension.

Although Charles often gets into trouble, and big trouble at that, this is the first time he has ever impersonated someone else and been caught.

With his current strength and status, taking leave for company matters, such as going to Farbatton Castle at night, is easier than eating or drinking.

Even if it's abuse of power for personal gain, like sneaking off to play, as long as it's not too blatant, they'll turn a blind eye.

However, the fact that Charles is now impersonating someone else to leave Hogwarts on a non-holiday day indicates that what he is about to do is definitely not simple.

“Charles!” Professor McGonagall’s voice trembled with shock and anger, and her blood pressure continued to rise.

Dumbledore's doubts deepened, and he then used his communication notebook to call for help.

“Severus,” he said, turning his head towards the door as he arrived, “please use a potion that can wash away the effects of the compound decoction.”

Snape was momentarily confused and felt a pang of regret. If he had known the potion was for Potter, he would have heated it up first.

The potion works similarly to the one from Gringotts; when poured on the head, it quickly reveals the true form.

Charles stood there, expressionless and silent, his lips tightly pressed together, just as Harry had been in Umbridge's office, not uttering a single word.

He seemed determined not to offer any explanation.

This silent confrontation made the atmosphere in the office even more tense.

Dumbledore wanted to ask why, but seeing Charles's expression, he realized that force wouldn't work.

He decided to have Grindelwald or Aberforth subtly probe the matter later.

At that moment, a thought popped into his head: Charles impersonating Harry might be related to Voldemort or the Snape family bombing.

Professor McGonagall, her chest heaving with anger, walked up to Charles. Her voice trembled as she reprimanded him, her extreme disappointment and rage causing her to say, "Mr. Smith! You have disappointed me greatly!"

"Such reckless behavior! Openly violating school rules, using dangerous potions, and mocking the professor!"

……

"Gryffindor deducts fifty points for your behavior!"

Her voice echoed in the office like the roar of a lion on the prairie.

Charles remained silent, only nodding slightly to indicate that he accepted the punishment.

Umbridge, however, had remained silent since Charles took out his wand, the shock on his face gradually replaced by a deep, enigmatic expression.

She glanced at Harry, then at Charles, and finally her gaze swept over Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, her eyes flashing with an unpleasant light.

Snape wanted to say something, but fearing that Charles might make another prediction that would be detrimental to him, he simply gave a cold laugh.

"Time to prepare for the afternoon classes."

In the end, Dumbledore closed the matter.

(End of this chapter)