[The Next Morning]
The cleanup of Hogwarts was officially declared complete.
Percy strolled through the empty corridors with a smile on his face, the excitement in his heart almost impossible to put into words.
The last time he had been at Hogwarts, he had been a nobody with no power or influence, someone no one cared about at all.
But now, everything was different.
He had even helped drive Dumbledore away.
What an incredible achievement was that?
Taking a deep breath, Percy felt as though he were the king of the world.
He wanted to shout, to roar.
That was what he thought, and that was exactly what he did.
Right now, he felt he could do absolutely anything he wanted.
This was the beauty of power.
He spread his arms wide as if to embrace the world, inhaled with all his strength, ready to use his voice to awaken this ancient castle.
But just then, Link's familiar figure emerged from around a corner and came to a stop in front of him.
Right after that came Emily, Cedric, John, Newland, and Sigefin.
The six of them formed a fan-shaped line with Link at the center, quietly staring at Percy.
This sudden scene scared Percy so badly that he swallowed the roar that had already reached his throat.
"F–Flamel, my lord!"
Percy spoke nervously yet respectfully, and as he spoke, his once-straight back naturally bent forward.
This humble tone was completely different from his earlier arrogance.
Link did not reply, only silently looking at Percy.
Behind him, Emily and the others were all wearing mocking smiles.
They had already been watching Percy revel in himself for quite a while.
His exaggerated performance made it hard for anyone to feel even a shred of respect for him.
Percy bowed alone, his entire body growing clammy with sweat from nerves, since Link hadn't told him to stand up, he didn't dare straighten his back.
After a long while, Link finally said calmly, "Looks like you received Old Barty's 'education.'"
At those words, Percy's body shuddered violently. His legs went weak, and he dropped straight to his knees.
When Old Crouch had taken Barty Jr. away from Old Barty, he had also given Percy a very thorough "education" along the way.
During that process, Old Barty had even enthusiastically offered many highly constructive suggestions.
Old Crouch had accepted every single one of them.
Letting Old Barty participate had been Link's idea in the first place, giving him a sweet reward after slapping him hard across the face.
And that round of "education" had cut Percy to the bone.
Because strictly speaking, what Old Crouch did could no longer be described by something as simple as "torture."
It was the perfect fusion of Old Barty's invaluable experience from his long years of tormenting Death Eaters during purges, combined with Old Crouch's extensive experience in training beasts, an education that utterly destroyed Percy both physically and mentally.
That lesson had nearly beaten Percy, who had only just started to swell with arrogance, back to his original form.
It had also carved Link's personal mark deeply into Percy's mind.
Satisfied, Link nodded and said slowly, "Fudge seems to have had a breakdown just now. How is he doing at the moment?"
Percy pressed his head firmly against the floor and replied in a trembling voice, "Y–yes. Fudge is very smart. He seems to have realized that you are our true leader, and he also understands our purpose in expelling Dumbledore."
"So… he's fallen into despair."
"But it's fine. We'll help him pull himself together again!"
"That's your responsibility as an administrative assistant," Link said flatly. "Fudge can't die. At least not until we no longer need him at all."
"Y–yes! Yes! I understand! I guarantee I'll complete the task!"
Percy promised almost hysterically, and as he spoke, damp stains even began to spread on his lower body.
Seeing this, Link frowned in disgust, then turned and led the others toward the Great Hall.
Even long after Link had left, Percy remained kneeling on the floor.
———
As Link and the others went down the stairs, the first thing that came into view was the crowd packed in front of the notice board in the Entrance Hall.
The dense whispers overlapped and echoed off the walls, forming an uncomfortable buzzing noise.
But when people noticed Link and the others arriving, almost everyone fell silent.
At the same time, they made a path for him.
Link and the group followed the passage to the notice board and saw that the previous notice about recruiting members for the Inquisitorial Squad had been torn down.
In its place was a brand-new announcement.
[Ministry of Magic Decree]
[Dolores Jane Umbridge (Hogwarts High Inquisitor) is hereby appointed to replace Albus Dumbledore as Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.]
[This decree is issued in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight.]
[Signed—]
[Minister for Magic, Cornelius Oswald Fudge]
"Tsk." Newland smacked his lips the way Link often did and said quietly, "Looks like that show-off Percy Weasley wasn't lying. He really did get Fudge to do his job."
"That's just his duty," John said coldly. "If he couldn't even do his own job properly, he'd deserve what came to him."
Newland shot John an annoyed look.
He felt like there was something behind John's words.
At the same time, Hermione squeezed through the crowd with Ron.
She waved her arms and shouted loudly, "Oh! Link! You're okay, thank goodness! Thank heavens!"
Link looked in Hermione's direction, and the crowd quickly made way for her, letting her come straight up to him.
"Oh my God! I can't believe it…" Hermione panted. "What on earth happened last night? I asked Harry, but he wouldn't say anything. He just locked himself in the dorm and hid under the covers!"
As soon as she said that, Link noticed the eyes of everyone around them light up.
They suddenly crowded around him, looking at him with eager curiosity.
The commotion Umbridge and Fudge had caused at Hogwarts the night before had been enormous.
And when they went after Dumbledore afterward, the Inquisitorial Squad had even searched every house common room.
As a result, it seemed everyone had heard that Dumbledore had subdued two Aurors, along with the Minister for Magic and the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, before escaping.
Yet this notice contained no detailed explanation of what had happened the night before.
And so, Link became the focus of everyone's attention.
After all, only a handful of students, including him and Harry, had actually witnessed everything.
"Link, tell us already, what really happened?" a Gryffindor girl said, blushing.
"I heard Dumbledore seriously injured the Minister for Magic, and that Fudge is still lying in St. Mungo's. Is that true?"
Before Link could respond, a Ravenclaw boy excitedly asked, "And Umbridge! Was she really killed?"
The moment those words were spoken, a wave of delighted gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Umbridge is dead?"
"Is that true?"
"I really hope she is! Then we might finally get a few good days!"
"That damn toad!"
———
The topic quickly veered off into whether Umbridge was dead or not.
John and the others were left speechless at the sight.
The speed at which rumors spread had already exceeded their expectations.
The chaotic scene pushed Hermione's already anxious emotions to a breaking point.
She clenched her fists and shouted angrily, "What are you all thinking?! How could Dumbledore possibly kill Umbridge? Do you really think that's something to be proud of? That's slander against Dumbledore!"
Her shout abruptly silenced the crowd.
But the silence didn't last long.
Soon, someone spoke up again, "That's true. I saw Umbridge smashing that monster statue on the eighth floor half an hour ago. She looked full of energy, not injured at all."
"Well, that's a shame."
"But why was she smashing the monster statue?"
"What else could it be? Obviously she wants to take over the Headmaster's office!"
Ron also seemed interested in the topic and added gleefully, "Too bad the Headmaster's office sealed itself off. Umbridge couldn't get in at all! After that, she got mad out of sheer embarrassment…"
As Ron finished speaking, loud laughter erupted from the crowd.
Ron's face flushed with pride, and he continued smugly, "Ha! It's exactly the punishment she deserves! Always trying to boss all the teachers around, that stupid, arrogant, power-hungry old toad!"
Listening to the crowd, Link frowned slightly.
He realized that most people at Hogwarts were more focused on how miserable Fudge and his group had become, and didn't really care much about Dumbledore being expelled.
Emily had spent so much time with Link that she could easily guess what he was thinking. She leaned over and whispered, "Everyone actually thinks Dumbledore will be back before long. Since Fudge and the others can't catch him, they can't really stop him from returning to Hogwarts."
"And they don't have much reaction to Umbridge becoming Headmistress either. She's been throwing her weight around here for ages anyway, they're already used to it."
Link shook his head.
"That's because they haven't suffered enough."
"Exactly," John said, pointing toward the Great Hall with his chin. "Look, here comes the one who's going to make them suffer."
Link and the others followed his gaze and saw Draco striding into the Entrance Hall with a group of Inquisitorial Squad members, looking aggressive and full of swagger.
"We beat him up like that last time, how can he still be out here leading people? And it looks like there are even more of them," John said, confused.
"I heard about it from some Slytherin friends," Cedric explained.
"They said Draco Malfoy went around bragging last night that he'd fought bravely and personally captured the Chosen One, Harry Potter."
"He even claimed he used Harry Potter as bait to force Link Flamel to surrender."
At those words, neither Link nor the core members of the D.A. showed much reaction.
Instead, Hermione gritted her teeth.
"How… how dare he say something like that…"
"You don't need to be this angry," Emily said, glancing at her. "Forgetting lessons and never learning, that's his standard behavior."
"Otherwise, how do you think he'd dare be this arrogant when he was just taught a lesson not long ago?"
"If he had even a bit of memory, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state right now."
Hermione was left speechless.
When it came to understanding Draco Malfoy, there was no way she could compare to Emily.
At the same time, while they were talking, Draco and the Inquisitorial Squad had already entered the Entrance Hall.
"I received a report that someone here was insulting our beloved new Headmistress," Draco said smugly, chin lifted, speaking down his nose at everyone. "Is that right?"
Ron immediately shot back without backing down, "So what if we were? Are you going to go crying to Umbridge and tattle? I'm afraid she's too busy fighting with that stone monster right now to bother with you!"
Laughter rang out even louder from the crowd.
Clearly, no one was taking Draco seriously.
But in the very next moment, the Inquisitorial Squad behind him all raised their wands.
Under the dense, ready-to-fire red glow, the laughter in the Entrance Hall abruptly stopped.
A vicious expression flickered across Draco's pale face.
He looked Ron up and down, then deliberately dragged out his words, "I'm afraid I'll have to take points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."
"You can't take points from prefects, Malfoy!" Hermione stepped forward and scolded him.
"Ha! Of course I know prefects can't take points from each other, Miss Know-It-All," Malfoy laughed. "But the Inquisitorial Squad can!"
The hall erupted in shock.
A Gryffindor boy shouted angrily, "Are you joking, Malfoy? That's impossible!"
"Who says it's impossible?" Draco sneered along with the squad behind him. "This power was just granted to us by Headmistress Umbridge this morning."
Draco pointed at Ron.
"So now, Weasley, because you disrespected our new Headmistress, I'm taking five points from you!"
"Because you're dressed like a slob and ruining the atmosphere, five points!"
"Because your family is poor and a disgrace to pure-bloods, five points!"
"And because I hate you, another five points!"
"Oh! And Granger, talking back to me, five points!"
"Where's Scarhead?"
"Lying in the dorm recovering?"
"Sleeping in? Potter, five points!"
"…"
Draco kept pointing at people in the crowd, and every time he finished announcing a deduction, a clear clinking sound came from the four massive house hourglasses in the alcoves behind them.
That meant exactly what Draco had said earlier, he really did have the authority to deduct points at will!
The crowd immediately fell into panic.
People looked helplessly at Draco, and many tried to sneak away, only to be stopped and forced back by the Inquisitorial Squad.
Ron's face had turned as red as his hair from anger.
The Weasley and Malfoy families were sworn enemies.
The two families had been hurling insults at each other since their grandfathers' generation, and by this generation, the hatred had grown so thick it was almost impossible to dissolve.
Being insulted like this by Draco, Ron wanted nothing more than to charge forward and fight him to the death.
If he got expelled over something like this, his parents probably wouldn't even blame him, they'd likely give him a thumbs-up.
However, just as he was about to rush out, a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.
Ron struggled a few times but couldn't break free. Furious, he turned his head to see who had the nerve to stop him.
And when he did, he froze.
Because the one gripping his shoulder wasn't Hermione.
It was Link.