Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 205 Umbridge: For Mr. Weasley!

"Damn it!" Delilah cursed and yelled at Umbridge, "What kind of route did you take? Why didn't you go around that town?"

Umbridge glanced at him and said softly, "We're almost there. If we deviate now, who knows how far we'll have to go? Maybe we won't even be able to get past the agents' surveillance range."

"But those hyenas are chasing us again! What should we do now? FK! FK!"

Umbridge ignored Delilah's furious curses and continued in her sweet voice, "My dear John, go and hold off those two agents behind us to buy time for me and Shackleton."

John Dexter's eyes widened, as if he thought he had misheard: "What did you say?"

"Didn't you understand? This is your value, my dear. Minister Fudge will remember your contributions, and so will I..."

"FK! Do you fucking think I'm an idiot?" John Dexter roared, having reached his limit. "Don't fucking try to fob me off with Minister Fudge, you bitch! We agreed to use Kingsley Shackleton before we left, but look at what you're doing now. You're protecting him like he's your own father. Don't think I don't know you've already sided with Vaughn Weasley!"

No one is a fool.

Along the way, John Dexter was directed by Umbridge to intercept MAC agents, and even Williamson died as a result. Even if he was stupid, he realized that something was wrong and that it was completely different from what Umbridge had told him before he set off.

But this Auror, who graduated from Hogwarts with excellent grades, never expected that Umbridge would be even more shameless than he imagined—

Faced with his curses and resistance, Umbridge offered no explanation, but simply raised her wand and cast a spell on his broom:

"It's really sad. I wouldn't have done this if you had taken the initiative... Goodbye, dear Mr. Delicious!"

The curse wasn't very powerful.

However, flying brooms are sophisticated alchemical creations, and even the slightest external force is enough to cause them to malfunction.

For example, it can confuse its direction judgment!
John Dexter, who had never expected Umbridge to attack his broom so ruthlessly, was caught off guard when his broom, which had been flying forward, suddenly turned around and rushed back.

The opposing movement quickly widened the distance between the two sides. Kingsley only heard a series of angry roars. When he turned around, he could only see the small black dot representing John Dexter intertwined with the two small black dots representing MAC that were chasing after him.

The magical light flickered a few times in the distance and then disappeared completely!

Kingsley looked away, glanced at Umbridge who had a calm expression, and suddenly didn't know what to say.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, Umbridge giggled, "Don't worry, dear Kingsley, we're in this together, aren't we?"

Damn!

Kingsley shivered violently.

Thanks to Mr. John Dexter's "self-sacrifice," the rest of the journey was not hindered by MAC agents.

The last few miles passed in the blink of an eye.

In the distance, a mountain range blocked our view.

It was a vast mountain range, running northeast to southwest, close to the east coast, stretching for an unknown distance. Kingsley knew little about the terrain of North America, and because he had only followed Umbridge and the envelopes, he didn't even know where he was.

With their destination no longer far away, the two landed in a broad-leaved forest at the foot of the mountain and rested for a while.

“According to the envelope, the werewolf Mr. Weasley is looking for should be on the other side of the mountain, less than 10 miles away,” Dolores Umbridge said to Kingsley, who was eating chocolate to replenish his energy, while examining the envelope.
“We need to be careful when we go over there. It wasn’t a full moon last night, but those werewolves were probably already half-wolf. I heard that even if they took Mr. Weasley’s wolfsbane potion, they would still suffer a lot around the full moon. When people are in pain, they are more prone to stress.”

"you're right."

Kingsley nodded in agreement, but he was more concerned about another issue: "I've thought about it carefully, and John Delis's suggestion of taking a detour actually makes a lot of sense... We flew here following the directions on the envelope, and although we separated from MAC agents intermittently along the way, if the Magical Congress were interested, they could still determine the direction of our final destination by observing our movement trajectory."

He paused for a moment: "This might expose the werewolves, so I'm thinking, after we reunite with the werewolves, shouldn't we turn back and redirect the Magic Council's pursuit elsewhere?"

Before leaving, Vaughn told Kingsley the purpose of sending them to find the werewolves, but Kingsley felt that Vaughn might not have thought things through and might have overlooked their movements, which could have exposed where the werewolves were hiding.

He wanted to eliminate this potential threat.

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Kingsley saw Umbridge cover her mouth and giggle:
“My dear, do you really know our esteemed Mr. Weasley?”

"...?"

Instead of answering directly, Umbridge prompted, "Why did Mr. Weasley send us to find the werewolves?"

"Of course, it's to take them away. Mr. Weasley believes that the situation in this country is too complicated and not suitable for development at the moment."

"Yes, that's the problem... Please put yourself in their shoes. If one day, someone suddenly asked you to leave England, where you've lived for over 30 years, what would you do?"

"I……"

Kingsley was taken aback. This was indeed a question he hadn't considered, because he had never put himself in the shoes of a North American werewolf before.

Yes, North America is indeed very dangerous.

The infighting among purebloods, the escalating conflict between purebloods and half-bloods, and wizards of Muggle origin, and the ever-present threat of DeSantis lurking in the shadows.

But beyond these dangers, there is no doubt that this is also home to the werewolves of North America.

Werewolves are a marginalized group, but they don't live in a vacuum. Before they became werewolves, they had family, friends, and classmates.

There are many, many people we care about living on this land.

In particular, the fact that these werewolves traveled thousands of miles to seek refuge after learning of Vaughn's visit to North America demonstrates their strong desire to overcome their werewolfism and return to their original lives.

They gathered here because they wanted their original lives, and now they're suddenly being asked to leave their hometowns and go with WAC... Do they really want that?

Seeing him lost in thought, Umbridge covered her mouth and let out a sweet, soft laugh: "Fool, it's obvious that the esteemed Mr. Weasley had already considered this, so he didn't give us any instructions on what to be careful about or tell us to be cautious."

"Mr. Weasley only asked us to follow the envelope and find the werewolves as soon as possible. Don't you understand his intention? Mr. Weasley knows that the Magical Congress will definitely not stand by and watch him take the werewolves away from North America. He wants our movements to lure the people of the Magical Congress here, so that the Magical Congress's actions will force those werewolves to give up their attachment to their homeland and stop hesitating and wavering!"

"..."

Kingsley was speechless, a chill running down his spine.

Although what he said earlier was just Umbridge's speculation, after thinking about his past interactions with Vaughn, Kingsley had to admit that the fat witch was probably not talking nonsense.

Using external threats to narrow down the werewolves' options and force them to obey the plan—that's exactly the kind of thing Vaughn would do...

On the other hand, he increasingly felt that the fat witch in front of him was indeed not simple. At least, she was very accurate in guessing Vaughn's thoughts!

Is this a case of two evil people sharing the same heart?

Putting aside Kingsley's inner grumbling, Umbridge was actually quite pleased.

In fact, she did not want to submit to Vaughn before; it was just a subconscious compromise that she felt she could not resist and had no choice but to accept.

But now, Umbridge feels that his compromise may not be a bad thing.

She disliked upright gentlemen; on the contrary, she admired ambitious individuals and ruthless villains, because only under such people could she find room to maneuver.

She is like mistletoe; she has no ability to stand high on her own, but can only parasitize on tall trees and rely on their height to overlook the scenery below.

“Mr. Weasley is only 12 years old, not even at the peak of his wizarding career, yet he is already a Potions Master and his magical abilities are very strong, at least in Transfiguration…” Umbridge shuddered as he thought of his experience of being turned into a toad during that time.

Then he chuckled out loud:
"And Fudge? He's old. His personal abilities are not even as good as Mr. Weasley's, let alone mine. He's just a petty guy who got to the minister position by taking advantage of others... Since we're all going to be dogs anyway, why not recognize the younger and more capable one as our master?"

In fact, Umbridge has thought about this question more than once.

Especially during the period when she was turned into a toad, for a long time in the early and middle stages of the transformation, she only had the appearance of a toad, but her thinking was still human.

She witnessed firsthand Vaughn Weasley's arrogance and Connelly Fudge's weakness and incompetence.

For someone as vicious as her, if her master cannot protect her, then is there any need to remain loyal?

Do not make jokes!
In the small forest, each of them had their own thoughts and considerations. The short rest time passed quickly. After eating chocolate and magic potions and regaining some strength, the two took to the air again.

After traversing the mountain peaks and fully entering the mountain range, we flew for another ten minutes or so.

At one point, as they flew over a jungle, Umbridge suddenly exclaimed, "Right here!"

At the same time, Kingsley sensed something below locking onto him and Umbridge.

A deep, resonant voice reached their ears:

"Look, what's this? A pair of lost wild swans in the middle of nowhere?"

"..."

Kingsley glanced at the short, stout Umbridge beside him and felt his reputation had been damaged.

.........

When Isabella woke up in the treehouse, the fog in the jungle had not yet dissipated.

Stepping out of the door, she could see an endless expanse of mist drifting from the valley to the mountains. The thick white mist stretched to the horizon, mingling with the clouds reaching down from the mountaintops, making her feel as if she were in the clouds.

This is the werewolves' campsite, and it was provided by her.

Since being rescued by the werewolves, she hadn't rushed to Boston to find Vaughn, but instead followed the werewolves. This wasn't because she was naive or easily trusting.

It was only after being rescued and taken back to the camp by the werewolves that she discovered they had been recruited by Vaughn.

The person in charge of the takeover was someone she knew very well.

Leaving her treehouse, Isabella headed toward a cave not far away.

"Hey Isabella, these are some freshly ripe cranberries, want to try some?"

"Thank you... Wow, it's so sour!"

"Isa! We're going hunting somewhere a bit further away this afternoon, wanna come?"

"Go! Call me when it's time to leave!"

He chatted with the werewolves he encountered along the way. This behavior would have been unimaginable just over two weeks ago, especially since these werewolves were already half-werewolf-like.

The so-called semi-wolf transformation is a transitional stage before the full moon transformation. During this stage, the werewolf has already developed a large number of wolf characteristics, such as hard black fur covering its entire body.

The skull deforms, and the mouth, philtrum, and nose gradually stretch into a canine-like muzzle.

Isabella heard the werewolves say that in the past, at times like this, they would stay away from the group and find a cave or pit to bind themselves.

To avoid fighting each other on the night of the full moon!

However, it is no longer necessary to do that. They have all taken wolfsbane medicine, although they still feel the pain of their bodies gradually deforming after taking the medicine.

But at least they won't lose their rationality.

The werewolves cherished this unprecedented experience. Even though they had been tormented by pain all night, they still got up early as usual, unlike her who was "lazy".

Some people picked fruit early in the morning.

Some people were packing their gear, preparing to go hunting in the distance that afternoon—as the werewolf began to transform, all the nearby animals had long since fled, leaving not even an insect behind.

However, the werewolves did not find it inconvenient. They had all experienced self-marginalization and hiding in remote areas in the past, and were already used to this kind of life.

Having arranged a hunting time with several familiar werewolves, Isabella breathed in the damp air rising from the valley and went into the cave.

The cave was very deep, and just as my eyes adjusted to the change in light, a burst of fire suddenly expanded deep inside the cave.

Then, a deafening roar!
"Cough cough!"

A blast of air, carrying dust, choked Isabella, causing her to cough repeatedly. She drew her wand, summoning a gust of wind to sweep the dust out of the cave. Then, speechless, she looked at the slender figure who had been blasted away and was just getting up, groaning, and muttered to herself in the remaining firelight:
"Can't you just shut up for even one day? No wonder Vaughn always says you'll get yourself killed someday!"

"Cough... Don't worry, this is just a small experiment. I can protect myself and there's no danger."

This is what you call no danger?

Looking at the place in the distance where there should have been a large stone platform, now only a pit remained, Isabella was speechless.

But she also knew that she couldn't control the other party. After all, the Lovegood family members seemed to be naturally rebellious, from the old to the young!
Yes, the witch who was just blown away by the "experiment" is Pandora Lovegood.

The two met because of Vaughn. Around 90, Vaughn published a series of papers on the properties of medicinal herbs and methods of extracting magic in "Extraordinary Potions".

Traditional pharmacists, accustomed to "simmering over a low flame" and "enlightening the mind about life and death through the mysterious combination of medicinal materials," are extremely hostile to the magical extraction method that advocates strict procedures, detailed analysis of properties, and has no "artistic ambiguity."

Isabella Rozier was the first person to support Vaughn at the time.

Lovegood was the second.

Of course, the former is from a purely academic perspective, believing that the magic extraction method is indeed more advanced, while the latter is just arguing for the sake of arguing and trying to gain popularity and traffic for their own magazine, "Singing the Opposition".

Because of the marginalization by traditional pharmacists at the time, Isabella's articles supporting Vaughn often couldn't be published, so she turned to submitting them to The Quixote, where Pandora was responsible for reviewing and editing them.

The two frequently exchanged letters and gradually became friends.

Once the summoned wind had cleared the smoke and dust from the cave, Isabella helped Pandora use a restoration spell to restore the destroyed stone platform and notebook.

Only then did the two have time to talk.

“I wonder how things are going in Boston. After the full moon, should we try sending some people to the towns on the other side of the mountain to find out what’s going on?” Isabella suggested.

After being rescued by the werewolves and reunited with Pandora, he learned that Pandora's mission was twofold: to rescue him and to gather the werewolves, so that he could be taken to Boston to meet up with Vaughn at a crucial moment.

Isabella then took over the team's operational planning—to stay away from crowds and avoid being discovered by American forces, while also being close enough to the East Coast to be able to quickly approach Boston when needed.

Isabella, who had been wandering in America for over a year, had participated in civilian armed groups, and had even fought as a guerrilla, brought the group here.

The terrain here almost completely follows the Alabacia Mountains on the east coast, perfectly meeting the requirements!

They have been hiding here for about half a month.

To avoid being discovered, they haven't stepped out of the mountains these days, but Isabella feels that waiting like this isn't a solution.

She still hoped to establish contact with Vaughn's side.

Hearing her words, Pandora was about to say something.

A werewolf rushed in: "Mrs. Lovegood, Ms. Rozier, Washington and the others have discovered two intruders!"

"...A male and a female wizard, riding flying brooms. Washington and his team didn't dare to make any rash moves, but simply restrained them. It's still unclear where they came from; perhaps they are MAC agents from a nearby town..."

The creature that broke in was a half-werewolf, covered in short, coarse black fur, with a protruding muzzle that caused some air to leak from its mouth.

Influenced by the full moon, his overall appearance has become more like a wild beast than a human!

Only the barely visible, still-dark skin beneath his black hair indicated that he was a Black man.

His name is John Peters. When Isabella was captured by the Aurors of the Magical Congress last time, it was Peters who recognized her and rescued her when he led the werewolves to raid the stronghold.

He is also the number two player in this werewolf team of over 500 people.

The number one character is, of course, Pandora!
Upon hearing Peters' final guess, Isabella interrupted him: "It can't be a nearby town. I know this place very well. After Halloween last year, I joined a civilian armed group and hid here for a long time."

“The nearby towns near the mountains are sparsely populated and poor, and they are close to Canada. Almost no outsiders would stay here. Even the Magic Congress has forgotten about this desolate place. After all, not far down the mountain are big cities like Boston, Portland and New York.”

Peters shrugged in response to her statement: "Relax, I was just stating a possibility, not denying you."

"Humph!"

Pandora stood to the side, lost in thought, and did not react to the argument between the two.

Such conflicts have been common in the past. Unlike ordinary werewolves, the werewolf leaders, led by Peters, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the strategy of staying in the mountains instead of heading to Boston immediately.

They hope to soon walk in the sunlight like the werewolves of England and regain their former identities.

Over the past few days, Peters and the other werewolves have repeatedly nitpicked at the mountain area that Isabella had chosen.

Isabella understood perfectly well that they weren't actually targeting her, but rather Pandora!
After all, it was Pandora's order to stay away from Boston for the time being.

Thinking it over, Isabella glanced at Pandora, who was deep in thought, and sighed inwardly.

Through these days of getting to know each other, she discovered that Pandora was not a qualified leader.

Before this, she was just an ordinary spell developer and a housewife, with no idea how to manage others.

All she did was rigidly follow Vaughn's orders, which is why Isabella had suggested establishing contact with Vaughn after the full moon.

As Isabella was pondering this, Pandora looked up beside her, and Isabella quickly snapped out of her thoughts, hearing her give an elegant, soft command:
“Peters, come with me up there and take a look… Isabella, go and gather the other werewolves, tell them what’s going on, and lead them to the training ground to meet up.”

"Yes!"

The intruders were discovered at the mountaintop outpost. After leaving the cave, Pandora and Peters mounted their brooms and flew close to the treetops towards the summit.

Isabella, following Pandora's instructions, went to gather the werewolves.

This task was not difficult. To avoid being exposed, the werewolf team had been maintaining strict discipline since they moved to the Alabacia Mountains.

Apart from necessary hunting, all werewolves are not allowed to roam more than one mile from the camp.

However, a group of over 500 people cannot be managed simply by shouting a spell. It is morning now, and many people are gathering berries, washing clothes, and preparing food in the surrounding area.

Isabella first found some werewolves she was on good terms with, explained the situation to them, and then instructed them to scatter and contact other werewolves.

While waiting to rejoin the team, she was still thinking about the team's situation.

“Pandora is almost unable to control these werewolves. They rushed to Boston the moment Vaughn arrived in North America. They are extremely proactive and have a strong desire to escape their past marginalized state. They are still willing to obey and hide in the ravines now only because they need the wolfsbane potion that Pandora brought. Once the full moon night ends…”

(End of this chapter)