A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 698 Punishment
As the wooden door to Professor McGonagall's office closed behind her, shutting out the warm air inside, a blast of cold air from the corridor rushed out.

Harry took a deep breath, as if to expel all the pent-up emotions from his chest.

Things were more serious than he had imagined. Felix Felicis had told him to keep quiet, that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make, but now he could finally speak.

He looked at Charles beside him, his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, his eyes filled with guilt.

Charles, however, acted as if nothing had happened, raising his hand to pat Harry on the shoulder with a relaxed and natural gesture.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a little accident." His voice was calm, without a trace of frustration. "It's only fifty points, I can easily find an excuse to get it back."

They realized something was wrong when they saw Umbridge looking at the Easter pumpkins that were going to be used, and later when Harry was taken to the castle, they were watching from the greenhouse.

After Hermione rejected the suggestion to secretly kill Umbridge, lock her up, and take over as professor herself using Polyjuice Potion, Charles finally came up with this plan.

Some things can be kept from Umbridge, but not from Professor McGonagall.

The teapot in the office didn't explode for no reason. Although Hermione covered for him, Professor McGonagall still noticed that the two Harrys had taken the opportunity to switch places, which is why she said "teasing the professor."

Fortunately, out of her last bit of trust in Charles, she did not expose this little trick.

"Life is always full of unexpected events. Just prepare beforehand, deal with them decisively during the event, and summarize afterwards."

His attitude was so nonchalant, as if what had just happened was nothing more than a trivial little episode, like Pikachu throwing things around.

This composure slightly calmed Harry's unease, but he still felt a heavy weight on his heart. After all, it was fifty points, and competing for the House Cup was no small matter.

The Gryffindor students soon discovered that a number of gems were missing from their house's hourglass, and were astonished when they learned the reason.

Everyone thought only the Weasley twins could pull off such a grand spectacle, but no one expected Charles to be just as extraordinary.

Nobody cared about those fifty points; they believed Charles would make up for it himself soon.

However, what happened next was completely unexpected.

Time flew by and it was the last day of October – the Pumpkin Festival was here.

Hogwarts Castle had been newly decorated, with huge jack-o'-lanterns grinning and piled up in the corners, and Peeves wearing them on his armored head. Bats that made scary laughs hung from the ceiling of the corridors and flew over the students' heads from time to time.

As the students chatted and laughed as they walked through the first-floor lobby, preparing to head to the auditorium for the annual grand pumpkin feast, almost everyone stopped in front of the notice board.

On the bulletin board, a brand-new parchment notice bearing the official coat of arms of the Ministry of Magic stood out unequivocally over all other notices—Ministry of Magic Education Order No. 25.

The students crowded around the bulletin board, eager to read its contents: "Hogwarts Senior Investigator Dolores Jane Umbridge is hereby granted full authority to maintain and uphold the discipline of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including but not limited to…"

No one bothered to read the lengthy clauses that followed. The two key points, "granting full authority" and "rectifying discipline," were enough to send a chill down one's spine and instantly dampen the festive atmosphere.

A keen observer noticed something amiss.

"Why is it number 25?" Seamus asked Neville curiously. "I remember there was already number 26."

Dean looked at Neville, waiting for his reply.

As we now know, Education Order 23 officially appointed Umbridge as Hogwarts' Senior Investigator, Education Order 24 stipulated that all courses at Hogwarts must establish clear key performance indicators, and Education Order 26 stipulated that male and female students must maintain an appropriate distance, which must be greater than six inches.

Education Order No. 26 became virtually defunct after Fred and George walked past Umbridge flanking Ginny, and was only used a few times when Malfoy abused his power to deduct points from other houses.

No one noticed that there was a missing number 25 in the middle, and now it suddenly appears, leaving everyone confused about why.

Neville carefully examined the date on the parchment and said, "This education order should have started the process before the 26th, but it was delayed for a long time due to many reasons, falling after the 26th, and was finally approved today."

Those around heard this and understood, and began to discuss it.

"It looks like things will be tough from now on."

"I wonder who will be the first to be arrested."

"Sigh, top-tier schools focus on academics, second-tier schools focus on teaching, and third-tier schools focus on discipline. Hogwarts is doomed!"

……

Discussions aside, we still have to eat the pumpkin tonight; after that, there's a masquerade ball.

Tonight, the cafeteria is a pumpkin paradise. The enchanted ceiling resembles a pumpkin starry sky, and the floating candles have transformed into jack-o'-lanterns, illuminating the four long college dining tables, which are laden with shimmering gold platters and goblets. The pearly white figures of ghosts flit through the air, adding to the festive atmosphere.

As the students gradually took their seats, the conversations initially lacked the usual relaxed atmosphere, but soon became lively again.

In the professor's seat, Dumbledore sat in the center, his long beard and the gaze behind his glasses appearing unusually calm, yet he always gave the impression of a volcano about to erupt.

He still had to eat nutritious meals during the holidays, and the Ministry of Magic actually passed Education Order No. 25, which had been hard-won and suppressed. The double anger overlapped, and he showed signs of turning to the dark side.

Beside him, Umbridge, dressed in his signature pink outfit, wore a sickeningly sweet but utterly cold fake smile, looking exceptionally smug.

Some noticed a restless unease in her eyes, suggesting she was plotting something.

Before the banquet officially began, as usual, the principal gave a brief speech.

This time, however, Dumbledore only said a few words and before everyone could start eating, Umbridge stood up.

Dumbledore was clearly stunned for two seconds, his face darkened, and he quickly sat down.

Umbridge stood up, cleared her throat, and spoke in a deliberately affected, coquettish voice. The voice was amplified by magic and clearly reached every ear in the Great Hall.

"On this joyous night, I have to make a regrettable decision." She wore a fake smile. "In order to uphold the discipline of Hogwarts and uphold the educational spirit of the Ministry of Magic, we must deal seriously with any violations of school rules."

The auditorium fell silent instantly, everyone sensing something was wrong. No one had expected someone to announce a punishment before the banquet; it was incredibly disappointing.

Umbridge's gaze swept across the Gryffindor table, finally settling on Charles, who was engrossed in studying a pumpkin puff.

“Charles Smith,” her voice suddenly rose, as if announcing a verdict, “for blatantly violating school rules and using unauthorized magical items and potions, his behavior was egregious and had a very negative impact!”

"After careful consideration, it has been decided that Charles Smith will be suspended from school from November 1st until the start of the Christmas holidays!"

"Hopefully, Charles Smith will reflect on his mistakes during this time!"

The canteen fell silent; you could hear a pin drop. Both humans and ghosts stared at Umbridge in disbelief.

This time, even ghosts wouldn't know she would make such a decision.

With a "buzz," the entire cafeteria erupted in a huge uproar!

Many students wore expressions of disbelief, and whispers swept through the room like a storm.

Many people knew that Charles had been punished, but they didn't expect the situation to be so serious, and they all inquired about what kind of magical items and potions he was involved in.

On the professor's bench, Professor McGonagall's face instantly turned ashen. She looked at Umbridge in disbelief, then at Dumbledore.

She was surprised to find that Dumbledore was just as astonished as she was, clearly unaware of this turn of events.

The other professors also frowned, sensing that this was probably just the calm before the storm.

"This is not fair!"

A loud, angry voice suddenly drowned out all the noise.

Harry jumped up from the Gryffindor table, his body trembling slightly with excitement, his eyes burning with anger as he stared straight at Umbridge on the professors' table.

He shouted, "Charles has been detained..."

“Mr. Potter!” Umbridge interrupted him sharply, the fake smile vanishing instantly, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze, like that of a venomous snake. “You always seem to enjoy challenging authority? Or perhaps…”

She drew out her words, her voice filled with malicious threat: "Don't you think the taste of Azkaban has taught you to behave yourself?"

These words struck Harry like a cold, deadly spell.

The anger on his face receded like the tide, leaving only shock and a barely perceptible trace of fear.

"She knew? How could she know about my trip to Azkaban to see Griphun that day?"

Harry assumed Umbridge knew he had gone to Azkaban that day, which made all his subsequent rebuttals stuck in his throat, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

He stood there frozen like a statue, only able to watch as Umbridge's victorious smile spread across his face.

Umbridge continued to threaten, "Potter, if I can get you to Azkaban in the summer, I can get you to go a second time!"

Harry then realized that she was referring to this.

When the students in the cafeteria heard Umbridge's words, it was like a boulder being thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a huge wave of panic.

Azkaban?

"Did Umbridge send Potter to Azkaban?"

"How could she..."

Many people know about Harry's trip to Azkaban, while many others don't.

Hearing this suddenly had a huge impact on them.

Fear spread like a plague between the four long tables.

Previously, people's impression of Umbridge was still that of a "hateful professor," just like many people hated Snape.

But at this moment, the word "Azkaban" directly equates her with truly cruel and cold-blooded persecution by power.

Everyone was afraid that if they accidentally disobeyed Umbridge, they would be sent to that terrible place.

The gaze directed at the pink-clad figure on the professor's bench was instantly filled with indescribable fear and apprehension.

Umbridge's gaze swept over the four long tables, pleased with the students' reactions; his preparations during the summer had yielded the expected results.

However, at this moment, Charles, the person involved, seemed to be detached from the situation.

When Umbridge announced the suspension, he merely raised an eyebrow, a "I knew it" expression flashing across his face before returning to his composure.

When Harry stood up to defend him, he even reached out and gently tugged at the hem of Harry's robe, gesturing for him to sit down.

While the entire Great Hall was gripped by panic over news of Azkaban, he had already picked up his tongs and slowly placed the roasted ribs from the plate in front of him, then placed a large piece in Harry's lap.

Then he picked up the glass, took a sip of pumpkin juice, as if all the commotion, fear, and anger around him had nothing to do with him.

His eerily calm demeanor contrasted sharply with the near-boiling atmosphere of panic in the Great Hall, so much so that Hermione touched his forehead to check if he had a fever that had damaged his brain.

Charles sat calmly in the center of the clamor, eating and drinking as if Umbridge's severe punishment, which could have ruined a student, was just a passing breeze.

Or perhaps he was setting an example for the students by showing them that only by eating well can they have the energy to stop classes.

(End of this chapter)