When Umbridge finished her speech, she gave a polite bow toward the crowd, signaling that her talk was over and that it was now time for the audience to applaud.
Everyone was very cooperative. They burst into loud cheers and applause for Umbridge, their faces full of apparent joy.
Of course, this "joy" most likely came from the fact that Umbridge's endlessly dragging speech was finally over.
As for her remarks about reforming the workers' pay and addressing corruption in management, the majority of the crowd didn't care in the slightest.
As mentioned earlier, the people who came to attend the ceremony at this time were, for the most part, those with a strong desire for money.
To people like that, anything outside of real benefits was meaningless.
Besides, everyone thought Umbridge's words were just flowery nonsense to make herself look important.
After all, after spending some time around her, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that her teaching methods had earned her the reputation of a "theorist on paper" or "empty idealist."
Would someone like that ever seriously get their hands dirty with real work?
'Dream on!'
In fact, probably only John and Cedric were the ones who took Umbridge's speech seriously at all.
Especially that part about "rectifying corruption issues." That practically made it clear that Umbridge was looking for an excuse to go after Link.
Fortunately, they had already predicted this.
And Link had already provided them with a detailed countermeasure.
Who would have the last laugh was still anyone's guess.
John and Cedric exchanged a knowing smile. Then Cedric quickly stepped forward to escort Umbridge backstage, while John raised his wand to his throat again and announced, "Today's opening ceremony ends here! The remaining recruitment process, job listings, and salary announcements will be handled by our staff!"
As he spoke, John gestured toward a nearby office whose door was wide open, before hurrying off to catch up with Cedric.
Inside that office were four seventh-year Hufflepuff students waiting seriously at their stations.
They were all Cedric's classmates, "connections" who had entered the factory through him.
The fact that they could even use Cedric's recommendation already proved their ability and character.
Still, considering they were about to graduate and needed to focus more on their studies and job hunting afterward, Cedric had arranged easier, more flexible, and well-paid personnel positions for them.
Meanwhile, even though John's announcement was, as always, short and perfunctory, the crowd didn't care.
They let out a cheer and rushed toward the office, looking wild with excitement.
John and Cedric, too, were putting on their most enthusiastic smiles and energy.
With their warmth and flattery, they managed to stop Umbridge from leaving immediately. Instead, under their escort, she walked toward the only office in the factory with a solid wooden door.
John rushed ahead to open the door, bowing as he held it until Umbridge and Cedric went in one after another, then closed it behind them.
Compared to their attitude, Umbridge's demeanor was pure arrogance.
She was nothing like the humble, gentle woman she had pretended to be during her speech earlier. The mockery and malice were written all over her face now.
However, when she actually stepped into the office, and Cedric waved his wand to light up the room, her expression changed completely.
Now, her face showed nothing but shock.
Because what appeared before her eyes was a grand, magnificently decorated office.
And most importantly, its entire design was an exact imitation of the Minister for Magic's own office.
Even the windows used magical projection curtains similar to those at the Ministry, capable of changing the weather and scenery at will.
Umbridge's body began to tremble slightly.
She suppressed her anger and growled through gritted teeth, "Who gave you permission to decorate this place like this?! This is overstepping your bounds! It's an insult to the Ministry and to the Minister himself!"
"Ah!?"
John pretended to be startled. "But… but this office was specially prepared for you!"
Her expression froze. "For me?"
"Of course!" John said quickly. "As the supervising professor of our M.O.M.H.L Factory, how could you possibly not have your own office? From now on, this will be yours!"
"Oh… well… that's not bad at all," Umbridge said at once, her trembling ceasing instantly.
"But isn't this a bit too extravagant? I already have an office at Hogwarts, though it's a bit far. Remember, you can't waste resources like this again."
Both John and Cedric nodded rapidly in agreement.
But the corners of their mouths were already twitching upward.
Umbridge's sudden change of tone was just too dramatic.
And though her mouth kept spouting virtuous-sounding words, her eyes were already darting greedily toward the huge, ornate desk. The desire on her face was barely contained.
To be fair, though, that wasn't entirely her fault.
Long before Umbridge ever came to Hogwarts, Link had already used the Flamel family's influence to dig up her entire background.
Her greed for power was no secret to them.
In fact, Link had originally planned to decorate this office in a cute, pink "cat-girl" style, Umbridge's personal favorite. Both her Hogwarts and Ministry offices were decorated that way.
But then he decided against it, worrying that such familiarity might make her realize she was being investigated. So instead, they went with the Minister's style.
Judging by her reaction, the result was equally effective.
After letting Umbridge walk around the office, sit in the chair, and even touch the fireplace to test its warmth, John finally said to her, who was still visibly excited, "Sigh… actually, this office was specially arranged for you under Link's instructions. He even brought in antique furniture from the time of Hogwarts' Big Three!"
As he spoke, John tapped the nearby wooden cabinet, hinting that it was one of those "antiques."
Sure enough, Umbridge took the bait.
Her eyebrows arched, and she let out a disdainful little snort.
"Heh, is that so?"
"Of course! You wouldn't know, but Link's been feeling terrible about the incident when he spoke rudely to you before," Cedric chimed in. "He's been so worried he's gotten mouth ulcers!
But you have to understand him, at that time, his good friends Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and his fiancée Emily were all there.
And since Harry clearly dislikes you, Link couldn't afford to lose face in front of them. So he had no choice but to act tough!"
Umbridge sneered.
"Hehehe… Those are nice words, but he should be the one saying them to me in person!"
"Oh, come now! Link just felt too embarrassed to face you again," John said, jumping in smoothly. "But even though he couldn't come himself, his sincerity is right here!"
At that, Umbridge instinctively looked again at the grand desk before her, then shook her head mockingly.
Clearly, the office alone wasn't enough to count as "sincerity."
John caught the signal immediately. With a cheerful smile, he placed a small pouch with an Extension Charm on the desk.
Whoosh!
The pouch wasn't tightly sealed. As he set it down, a torrent of Galleons emblazoned with dragon patterns spilled out, glittering brilliantly in the sunlight.
Umbridge's vision went completely golden. She couldn't take her eyes off it.
At that moment, John's smooth, honeyed voice came right on cue, "There's a full ten thousand Galleons here as a token of sincerity. As long as you're willing to forgive Link for his earlier rudeness, all of this will be yours."
He paused for a moment. When Umbridge didn't reply, he continued, "Don't worry, the magical serial marks on these coins aren't traceable."
"And, of course, this isn't a bribe, it's your salary! After all, you'll be officially overseeing our factory on behalf of the Ministry. How could we possibly let you work for free? This ten thousand Galleons is your monthly pay!"
This time, Umbridge finally reacted.
Her eyes were still fixed on the pile of gold, but her voice came out dazed and uncertain, "You think… it's reasonable for a part-time supervising professor to earn ten thousand Galleons a month?"
"Oh dear! How stupid of me!" John exclaimed at once.
"Of course it's not reasonable! My mistake, my mistake! Just think of it as a personal gift from Link himself, something we know nothing about. How's that?"
Once again, Umbridge fell silent.
Inside, a fierce battle was raging within her heart.
On one hand, she could clearly sense that Link's so-called "gesture of sincerity" wasn't as innocent as it appeared, in fact, it carried a faint trace of malice.
That was obvious from John's first attempt to disguise the bribe as "salary."
After all, salaries had to be logged officially. If she accepted the money under that name, it would leave a paper trail.
And then, Link would have leverage over her.
On the other hand… this was ten thousand Galleons.
In a magical society where the average annual income didn't even reach six hundred, this was an astronomical sum.
Even though Umbridge herself earned quite a high salary, and had literally just declared in her speech that she would fight corruption, this much money could easily overwhelm her logic and morals.
More importantly, although John's new explanation was blunt, she couldn't spot any immediate trap in it.
It looked like Link had tried to set a snare earlier with the "salary" idea, but when she cleverly sidestepped it, he gave up on scheming and chose to make peace instead.
Of course, there could still be hidden risks she hadn't noticed, but Umbridge preferred to believe the former.
Because ten thousand Galleons was simply too much. Too dazzling. Too tempting. Enough to blind both her eyes and her reason.
"Huuh… huuh…"
Rough, rapid breaths escaped her lips.
After several deep breaths, she finally seemed to make up her mind, snatching up the pouch from the desk and shoving it into her robes.
"Then please thank Mr. Link Flamel for me! I'm still his friend!"
Clutching the bag tightly, Umbridge bolted for the office door.
"Professor Umbridge, wait! You still have some left here!" John called after her, pointing to the gold coins she hadn't scooped up.
But Umbridge ignored him completely.
"Those are yours! Pocket money!" she shouted over her shoulder, and then fled the office like she was escaping a crime scene, straight toward her original Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
John and Cedric burst out laughing at the sight.
After a long while, when they finally caught their breath, John wheezed out between laughs, "Whew… Cedric, you recorded all that, right?"
Cedric, still breathing hard, grinned. "Of course! Don't worry."
He took out a small magical recorder and waved it in front of John.
"Then let's hurry and take it to Link. Things went so smoothly, he's going to be thrilled."
John smiled, and together they left the factory, heading toward the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle.
The meeting place Link had chosen this time was strangely secretive, so much so that entering it required a mysterious ritual. It left both of them nervous despite their excitement.
After all, the location was practically right next to the Headmaster's office.
Even as they left, the office where the recruitment was being held was still surrounded by a dense crowd of students.
———
An hour later, in the Room of Requirement, currently in its "study room" form, Link, seated in a soft chair, set down the small magical recorder in his hand. Inside, Umbridge's voice came to an abrupt stop.
"You two did an excellent job. I know it wasn't easy," Link said with a smile.
Beside him, Emily nodded approvingly at John and Cedric as well.
Her expression might not have meant much to Link, but for others, it was astonishing.
After all, Emily's nickname outside was "the cold, beautiful Ice Queen."
To get even a small smile from her was a great honor.
But at that moment, neither John nor Cedric felt honored in the slightest.
Their attention was drawn instead to the study itself, they were looking around curiously, touching things here and there, acting just like Umbridge had earlier.
Thankfully, Cedric had enough experience as a long-time prefect to quickly regain his composure.
"Link, this was something we should've done," he said seriously. "What I'm more curious about is, now that we have this recording, can we really take Umbridge down?"
Link nodded.
"Of course. Though it's just an audio recording, and it's clear you two led her a bit, all we have to do is edit it slightly and release it through the Daily Prophet's channels."
"Edit… a recording?"
This time, Emily spoke, her face puzzled. She had clearly never heard of such a thing before.
"In the Muggle world, editing audio is nothing special," Link explained.
"But in the wizarding world, that technique is currently only mastered by a few newspapers in the American wizarding community. It's normal that you didn't know."