A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 709 What to do

"I'm going crazy!"

Hermione sent a message, and Charles's communication laptop immediately emitted a piercing and continuous sound, like the howling of the wolf that had run into the vicinity yesterday and had its tail stepped on, loud enough to wake a dead person.

Charles jolted awake, sprang out of bed, his sleepiness instantly vanished.

He rubbed his eyes, staring blankly at the incomprehensible shouts from the communication laptop, before finally realizing what was happening.

The sky outside the window was still a deep, inky blue, and the stars had not yet faded.

It's noon at Hogwarts now, but it's 5 a.m. here.

Charles rubbed his eyes and opened his communication notebook.

"What's wrong?" he replied briefly, his fingers sluggish from lingering sleepiness.

It was almost time. After sending the message, Charles got out of bed, yawned, and headed to the kitchen area, deciding to make breakfast first so that his brain could be fully awake.

A new day always starts with filling your stomach.

He preheated the frying pan on the stove and skillfully poured in a little oil.

Two pancakes sizzled in the pan, gradually turning golden brown.

Three fried eggs were prepared, and the yolks slowly solidified within the egg whites.

Several pieces of bacon were fried, and the rich aroma of smoky meat began to fill the small room.

Finally, a bowl of milk with dried fruit and oatmeal—simple yet enough to provide energy for the whole morning.

During this time, Hermione, on the other end of the communication notebook, seemed to have finally found an outlet for her emotions, pouring out everything that had happened from yesterday to today like beans being poured out.

Charles deftly flipped the fried egg over. His communication laptop floated beside him at eye level, buzzing and vibrating incessantly. Hermione's usually neat and tidy handwriting appeared rapidly on the page, but now it seemed somewhat hasty and sloppy due to her excitement.

Hermione wrote: "Something big happened at yesterday's Quidditch match!"

"That despicable, vicious bastard Malfoy used that unforgivable word to insult Ron and Harry's mother!"

"That word, you know, it's a particularly insulting word for Muggle-born people!"

"Harry completely lost control after hearing that!"

"My God, this is the first time I've ever seen Harry so angry!"

The writing paused abruptly here, the ink even smudged a little, as if Hermione had used too much force while writing, or her fingers were trembling and she needed to try to calm her turbulent emotions.

Charles roughly understood what was going on, and while putting the fried eggs onto a plate, he took a moment to reply, "Harry hit Malfoy?"

Hermione immediately replied, "He pounced on Malfoy like an enraged lion, punching him repeatedly, fast and hard, so much so that Malfoy was constantly suspended in the air, never having a chance to land!"

George and the others went up to grab Harry, but he swung his arm and pushed them away.

"I was worried that Harry would kill Malfoy, so I jumped onto the field and managed to pull him away!"

"The scene was completely chaotic, with gasps and screams filling the stands."

Charles frowned, slowing his icing on the pancake. His hand hovered above the pancake, his attention completely drawn to the description on the parchment. He immediately asked, "The stands are so high off the ground, and you actually jumped?!"

"Are you hurt?"

Hermione replied, "I don't care."

"The consequences of this matter are extremely serious."

"Malfoy was badly beaten by Harry and needs to stay in the school infirmary for a week to allow his broken bones and internal organs to heal."

"Umbridge was there, she had absolutely a huge weakness on him, and she was so excited she could laugh out loud!"

"While Professor McGonagall was away from the commentators' area, she entered the arena to take Harry back to her office, grabbed the microphone from Lee, and announced on the spot that due to 'extreme violence and unforgivable behavior,' Harry was banned from Quidditch for life! In addition, he was suspended from school for a week and placed in solitary confinement for reflection!" "Professor McGonagall was shocked and looked at Umbridge in disbelief."

"Harry hasn't said much since last night. He's just been sitting by the fireplace in the common room, staring blankly at the flames."

“That’s a lifetime ban… My God, you know what Quidditch means to him? It’s one of the few things in his life that makes him feel free and happy.”

"I'm sure Umbridge is more despicable than Dementors in Harry's eyes!"

"Harry was completely gloomy now, as if the light in his heart had been taken out, and as if he had been kissed by a Dementor."

Charles frowned, but did not reply.

Harry beat Malfoy so badly in public that Umbridge's actions were theoretically justified.

Then, Hermione's handwriting changed slightly, revealing another kind of heavy and helpless worry.

Hermione: "Ron is in a bad state too. He feels that he is the root of all this and the culprit."

He believed that if he hadn't acted like a fool on the field, letting in so many goals and performing terribly, Malfoy wouldn't have had the opportunity to mock and insult him so viciously, and Harry wouldn't have been so enraged as to take action.

He believed that he was the one who ruined Harry's Quidditch career.

"He's even more depressed than Harry now, like a ghost, hiding in his dorm and refusing to come out. He hasn't eaten since last night, and even my delicious potion didn't work."

Hermione's message then took on a more pronounced and intense tone of anger and deep concern, and her writing became rapid and sharp.

"What's most frightening is that Umbridge has become even more arrogant after successfully punishing Harry!"

"This morning, she was in the foyer, surveying her territory like a pink toad king, and then, for the utterly absurd reason of 'indecent attire,' she punished four lower-year Hufflepuff and Slytherin students in succession!"

"Now her flat, toad-like face is covered with a hypocritical and smug smile, as if declaring to everyone that she can now do whatever she wants here!"

“Charles, I’m really worried.”

"Starting with you, then with Harry, and continuing on..."

“I feel that Hogwarts is becoming…dark and suffocating in her hands.”

Discipline and punishment became the only principles, while fairness and justice were trampled underfoot.

“If this continues, Hogwarts will no longer be Hogwarts.”

“I think we have to do something; we can’t just stand by and watch this happen.”

Charles frowned as he looked at the last line of text.

He placed the fried breakfast on the table and began heating the milk.

The tranquility of the early morning was shattered by a storm in the distant castle.

He picked up the quill pen and wrote slowly and firmly in his notebook:

"Calm down, Hermione."

"Take a deep breath and repeat three times."

"I understand, this is really terrible."

"The most pressing issue is Harry and Ron's emotions. They need the support of their friends and cannot be allowed to wallow in self-blame and anger."

“But more importantly, Umbridge’s power must be curbed. We cannot allow her to continue to trample on the students and the castle in such a lawless manner.”

“I’ve got some information that you could have Neville ask his grandmother if she’s plotting anything related to Hogwarts.”

"Also, watch out for Malfoy. I'm worried that Umbridge might try to win over a group of his own student supporters by targeting him."

(End of this chapter)