A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 256 Interlude

It's a shame that Snape didn't tell his joke in the end, as Felix thought the professor had a real talent for telling corny jokes.

He secretly made a note of it; next year's Christmas present was secured.

Felix was sitting next to Snape, about to make a joke, when the main doors of the Great Hall suddenly opened, and a large swath of snow swept in from outside.

A short, plump witch dressed in pink walked in. Felix heard Professor McGonagall, two seats away, take a deep breath, her black eyebrows furrowed tightly.

The short, stout witch was Dolores Umbridge, and behind her were two other people: a thin, dark-skinned middle-aged wizard with a gold ring on one ear, dressed as an Auror.

Felix knew him; he was the same man Fudge brought with him when he visited the school last year to see the Basilisk. Fudge called him "Kingsley".

The other was a witch, also dressed as an Auror, with a thick scarf covering her face. Judging from her lively little gestures, she was quite young. She was walking with Kingsley.

Dumbledore's smile vanished, and his surprised expression lasted only a moment before he stood up and said politely, "What a rare treat! I didn't know you would come on this special day."

"Professor Dumbledore, I haven't seen you in ages." Umbridge's toad-like face plastered with a conspicuous fake smile. "It's not that your vice-principal isn't serious and responsible... it's all about getting the job done, just like me, who can't help Minister Fudge out at Christmas either."

Dumbledore said calmly, "I have complete faith in Minerva; she has done an excellent job."

Umbridge seemed completely oblivious to the embarrassment, but the female Auror behind her had already turned her head away, looking as if she couldn't bear to look at her.

Kingsley stepped forward and said in a low, slow voice, "Dumbledore, we've come to share some new intelligence with you."

Umbridge immediately shrieked, "Kingsley! I am the investigator appointed by the minister—"

Kingsley didn't look at her, but his next sentence explained: "I only take orders from Minister Fudge and Scrimgeour—Dumbledore, there's been new progress regarding Sirius Black."

"I'm all ears, Kingsley," Dumbledore said gently.

"Someone spotted someone resembling Sirius Black in Knockturn Alley. According to our information, an unfortunate wizard was ambushed from behind and his wand was stolen."

"So, he's rearmed himself?" Dumbledore said. "I had thought he'd be wandering between the school and Hogsmeade."

Kingsley said, "We thought so too, so we let our guard down. But he might be more cunning than we thought. I'm going to London tomorrow—this is Tonks, Scrimgeour hopes to pass on a message through her."

"Tonks?" Dumbledore smiled as he looked at the young witch.

"It's me, Headmaster Dumbledore. It's so good to meet you," the female Auror said warmly, removing the scarf that had been covering her face.

Kingsley explained, “Tonks spends most of her time at Hogsmeade, just as a precaution.” He glanced at Umbridge, who was impatiently fiddling with the pink bow on her cuff. “Besides, she can also restrain Dementors.”

Dumbledore nodded and said, "No problem, Hogwarts shares the same concerns with the Ministry of Magic on this matter."

Kingsley fell silent. This man possessed a calm and taciturn demeanor, and once he finished speaking about the important matter, his presence immediately diminished.

In contrast to him, Umbridge finally found her chance, and said in a hesitant little girl's voice, "Thank you for Kingsley's remarks, Professor Dumbledore. I hope you will reconsider. Tonks—in some ways, not quite conformist—the Ministry of Magic would be happy to send a permanent team..."

"We don't need to discuss this matter further, Umbridge," Dumbledore insisted. "Go back and tell Fudge that if he has any ideas, he should come directly to me."

Felix, who was standing nearby, had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. Umbridge and Kingsley weren't working together. Fudge was behind Umbridge. It might have been a test, or maybe this woman was acting on her own initiative. In any case, she wanted to extend her reach into Hogwarts, but Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore both stopped her.

While Kingsley also obeyed Fudge's orders, he clearly didn't care about Umbridge's attitude as an investigator, and he was here to follow the orders of Scrimgeour—the Auror's Chief of Staff.

They left quickly, and after this incident, the professors weren't in the mood for jokes. The conversation inevitably turned to Umbridge; Black's threat was too distant, but this toad lady was simply hard to like.

Professor McGonagall said sharply, "I'm not one to speak ill of others, but Umbridge—" Her nostrils flared, clearly quite angry. "If you knew how she treats her subordinates and her own family, you'd understand how I feel."

"Is Umbridge bad to her family?" Felix asked.

"Ha! She has repeatedly claimed that her 'deceased' father was a prominent figure in Wizengamo during his lifetime, but in fact he is alive and well."

Flitwick frowned, recalling, "I seem to remember something. Umbridge is a rather rare surname. I recall there was a janitor named Umbridge at the Ministry of Magic over a decade ago..."

Just then, some students finally arrived. Two first-year students appeared together, and not long after, a sixth-year Slytherin student came with a gloomy face—he wouldn't have stayed at school if it weren't for something going on at home.

The professors' conversation lightened again. Dumbledore had left once and returned with a bunch of silver firecrackers. "These are firecracker hats, just like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. They're always a surprise."

He handed one to everyone at the table and asked cheerfully, "Anyone want to try?"

Felix looked at Snape, and Dumbledore followed his gaze. He winked and smiled, saying, "Severus, you definitely don't want to miss this."

As they were talking, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived. They watched in surprise as Snape impatiently pulled the string on a silver firecracker. The firecracker burst open with a bang, revealing a lady's pointed hat.

Dumbledore handed the hat to Snape, but Snape pushed it away without a second thought, so Dumbledore immediately swapped his own wizard hat for it.

Merry Christmas, ladies and gentlemen.

Harry and his friends stared in disbelief at Dumbledore's new appearance, speechless for a moment.

The meal lasted a full two hours, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. No one talked about Umbridge anymore, a topic that was considered disgusting, except for Trelawney, who appeared midway through the meal and insisted on counting the number of people before sitting down. When she counted twice and it was still thirteen, she couldn't help but shout loudly.

Trelawney sat down silently only after Felix politely reminded her that she might have forgotten to include herself.

(End of this chapter)