This time, the person who came in was Umbridge.
She was wearing an earth-toned cloak and, as if out for a leisurely stroll, stepped into the banquet hall surrounded by a crowd of Inquisitorial Squad members.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen and ladies," Umbridge said in her pinched, affected voice. "I hope I'm not interrupting your gathering."
Hearing Umbridge's greeting, both the Weasley twins and the group led by that Ravenclaw boy all changed expressions.
They hadn't yet reached a clear internal consensus on how to deal with Umbridge.
And right now, what they were doing counted as an illegal gathering.
If this were strictly pursued, every single one of them could be expelled.
But that immediately raised another question.
How had Umbridge gotten here?
After all, this D.A. secret meeting had only been organized within a very small circle, with a level of secrecy far higher than before.
Very quickly, that question was answered.
Because Harry, Ron, and Hermione were shoved forward from behind by several grinning Inquisitorial Squad members.
"Aha!"
One of the rare Slytherin members of the D.A. said mockingly, "Looks like our argument didn't matter at all. Our Savior has already made the decision for us!"
Hearing this, Hermione couldn't hold it in anymore. She said aggrievedly, "We wanted to come straight here, but Umbridge… she sent people to say she wanted to see Harry, and then she took all of us with her."
"So that's your excuse for selling us out?" a Ravenclaw snapped angrily. "Wow! You're really something, aren't you!"
"Shut up, Toros! I believe Harry and the others wouldn't do something like that! There must be… there must be some kind of hidden reason!"
George shouted back angrily.
But his words sounded lacking in confidence.
The people around them paid little attention to what he said.
After all, the hard facts were right there in front of everyone. No matter what George and Fred said, they couldn't overturn that.
And just then, Harry, who looked extremely weak and was being supported by Ron and Hermione, suddenly lifted his head.
He first glared at Umbridge with eyes full of hatred, then slowly said, "Umbridge… she tricked me into drinking Veritaserum. She wanted to know where Dumbledore is, and information about Link. I'm… I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to…"
As soon as he said this, everyone in the banquet hall, including the Inquisitorial Squad members, looked at Umbridge differently once again.
Veritaserum was a banned drug strictly forbidden by the Ministry of Magic to be brewed or used privately.
No one doubted that Umbridge, as a high-ranking Ministry official, had the ability to get her hands on Veritaserum.
But if Umbridge really had used Veritaserum on Harry, then the implications were downright terrifying.
After all, no matter what, Harry was still Umbridge's student.
If she could use Veritaserum on Harry today, then could she use it on others tomorrow?
Umbridge naturally understood the significance of this as well.
She raised an eyebrow and said very casually, "That is a blatant slander! As Hogwarts' new headmistress and the Ministry of Magic's High Inquisitor at Hogwarts, how could I possibly break the law and use such a banned substance on my own student?"
"Honestly, Harry Potter, if you're going to make excuses, you should at least pick something believable instead of making things up on the spot."
"You really disappoint me."
As Umbridge finished speaking, the Inquisitorial Squad immediately burst into mocking laughter.
Ron and Harry angrily tried to rush toward Umbridge, but were forcibly restrained by the Inquisitorial Squad members.
However… most people's looks toward Umbridge didn't change much. They were still filled with deep wariness.
Because everyone knew that, given Umbridge's personality, this was exactly the kind of thing she might actually do.
This made Umbridge's expression turn ugly.
She coughed twice and changed the subject.
"Oh my! What a magnificent banquet hall. I really didn't expect that such a room would exist right next to my office."
She turned to look at Link and said in a cold, dangerous tone, "However, private gatherings seem to violate school rules, don't they? Mr. Flamel, don't tell me you still haven't given up and are continuing to run some kind of Dumbledore's Army?"
"Heh, Umbridge, your imagination really is impressive," Link sneered.
"But do you have any evidence for what you're saying? Or is this just wishful thinking on your part?"
As he spoke, the mocking expression on Link's face grew even stronger.
"Of course, if you still don't believe it, you could always make us drink Veritaserum. After all, that's your usual method, isn't it?"
"Talking back to the headmistress! Link Flamel, fifty points deducted!"
Link had only just finished speaking when, before Umbridge herself could even respond, an Inquisitorial Squad member next to her harshly announced the deduction.
And it was fifty points in one go.
This also reminded Umbridge of something.
Indeed, just as Link had said, although Umbridge had forced Harry to drink Veritaserum, she didn't actually have any evidence that Link was still running the D.A.
Because the message Link had Hermione pass along only told them to meet at the factory's banquet hall in half an hour. It didn't say anything about attending a small D.A. meeting.
But that didn't mean she had no way to deal with Link.
After all, she, Umbridge, was no longer just the lowly Defense Against the Dark Arts professor she had been before.
She was now the headmistress of Hogwarts.
Whether Link was guilty, and what crimes he had, those things were entirely up to her word.
Once she realized that, the gloom on Umbridge's face vanished.
She smiled and said, "Organizing an illegal gathering in private, Link Flamel, one hundred points deducted. In addition, one month of detention, to be served in my office! Mm, and another month of compulsory labor. The specific task will be cleaning the girls' bathrooms."
As soon as she said this, Link's eyes became deep and terrifying, and a cold edge appeared on his previously expressionless face.
And as Link's subordinates, John, Cedric, and the others reacted even more strongly than Link himself.
They almost jumped to their feet instantly.
But in the very next moment, Umbridge's mocking gaze landed on them as well.
"Don't be in such a hurry. You're not getting off either."
"For participating in the illegal gathering organized by Link Flamel, every single one of you present will have fifty points deducted! In addition, half a month of detention!"
Hearing this, every D.A. member in the banquet hall clenched their fists tightly.
They didn't really care about the point deductions.
After all, now that point-deducting authority had become so rampant, house points, and even the House Cup itself, had effectively lost all fairness.
And once a game loses its fairness, not many people are willing to play anymore.
When fewer people care, the whole system's value naturally plummets, becoming worthless.
Everyone had already developed an unspoken understanding.
From now on, they'd just let Umbridge's own people play among themselves. Everyone else wouldn't get involved.
There was no point anyway.
If they dared, they could keep bragging about winning the House Cup.
Let's see if anyone laughed at them or not.
What people truly couldn't accept was the detention punishment.
Umbridge's detention methods, comparable to torture, had already become infamous throughout Hogwarts after being publicized by Harry, Neville, and others.
Being subjected to that for half a month…
Many people would probably start feeling pain in their hands just from seeing a quill afterward.
And on top of that, Link had been sentenced to clean the girls' bathrooms.
That wasn't just an insult to Link personally, it was an insult to the D.A. as a whole.
Under everyone's furious, teeth-gritting stares, Umbridge laughed smugly.
She truly reveled in this feeling, being hated to the point where people wanted to bite her to death, yet being completely powerless to do anything about it.
"The point deductions take effect immediately. As for the other detentions and compulsory labor, they'll begin the day after tomorrow," Umbridge said deliberately, putting on a look of false compassion.
"Your luck is really quite good! Tomorrow, Hogwarts will be holding my headmistress inauguration ceremony, so your punishments can only be postponed by one day."
Perhaps noticing the mocking expressions on people's faces after hearing this, Umbridge continued, "Of course! The main purpose of this ceremony isn't to celebrate my becoming headmistress of Hogwarts."
"It's to pass judgment on those members of Dumbledore's Army who were caught last night."
"Do you want to know what kind of punishment they'll receive?"
"Expulsion? No, no, no! Of course I won't do that! They were merely misled by Dumbledore, how could I expel them? I didn't even expel Link Flamel, the primary accomplice, did I?"
"They only need to read out their letters of repentance in front of the entire student body at tomorrow's inauguration ceremony."
"Then they'll receive a bit of Hogwarts' traditional punishment."
"What is traditional punishment?"
"Oh! That's my fault! I forgot you're still too young and never experienced education before Dumbledore's time."
"You see, back then, if you made a mistake, you would be hung up and whipped!"
"This fine tradition wasn't abolished until Dumbledore became headmaster."
"Fortunately, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, is a man who truly knows quality. He preserved a complete set of the instruments used back then in excellent condition."
"I think you'll all come to like them very much."
She lifted her gaze to Link at the head of the long table, her eyes flashing with vicious light.
"Especially you, Link Flamel. You'd better behave yourself and be a law-abiding good student. Otherwise, you will definitely get to enjoy all of this."
"Of course, there's no need to rush to argue or get angry right now. Just wait until you've seen tomorrow's trial."
"Finally, I wish you all a pleasant time."
"We're leaving!"
At Umbridge's command, the Inquisitorial Squad followed behind her and left arrogantly.
Some of the bolder ones even flipped Link and the others the middle finger.
In their eyes, the situation had already been settled.
Link could no longer run rampant through Hogwarts like before, because with Umbridge as headmistress, she could whip an iron lash across his face at any time.
Bang,
As the banquet hall doors were slammed shut, George and Fred, who had already reached their limit, also slammed their hands on the table and jumped to their feet.
"Let's do it, Link! We can't just sit around waiting to die!"
George and Fred's words were like a signal.
Many people who had been silent before now loudly echoed them.
Very quickly, cries of fighting Umbridge to the bitter end filled the banquet hall.
And this time, even the Ravenclaws who had previously favored compromise all remained silent.
After all, among those Umbridge planned to publicly judge tomorrow were their brothers, sisters, friends, and upperclassmen.
Looking at the faces in front of him, twisted with anger, Link smiled.
He shook his head at George and Fred and said, "Yes, we do need to act. But not using the method you two suggested."
"Why not? We're not afraid of sacrifice!" George and Fred snapped angrily.
"I think you're just scared! But that's fine, if you won't do it, then we'll go do it ourselves! Anyway, instead of putting up with this here, the two of us might as well go start a business!"
As his words fell, another wave of agreement rose up.
Though this time the voices were fewer, and mostly from Gryffindor, there was no denying it was still a considerable force.
That was Gryffindor's defining trait.
They were brave, unafraid of danger, and not afraid of sacrifice, but at the same time, they were also easily incited.
Because of this, getting them to side with Voldemort was unlikely, but getting them to do foolish things that still fit within their moral framework was ridiculously easy.
And yet, in the face of George and Fred's nearly insulting words, Link wasn't angry at all. Instead, he laughed.
"What I mean is, your idea is far too small-minded, and far too boring."
"Just like Toros said earlier, even if your plan were carried out, at most it would only make Umbridge feel a bit uncomfortable."
"It wouldn't have any real, fundamental impact on Umbridge's rule."
"That is not what I want."
George and Fred looked at each other.
The anger on their faces vanished completely, replaced by shock and disbelief.
Smart as they were, they had already roughly guessed what Link wanted to do.
It was just that… it was far too crazy.
So crazy that even the two of them, self-proclaimed 'madmen', found it hard to believe.
George said hesitantly, "So… you mean to..."
Before he could finish, Link stood up with a savage grin.
"If we're going to do this, then we're taking Umbridge down, maybe even sending her to Azkaban!"
"Doesn't Umbridge want to hold a grand inauguration ceremony tomorrow?"
"Then we'll help her out!"
"We'll blow this whole thing wide open!"
As soon as he said that, the banquet hall fell silent for a brief moment, then erupted into earth-shaking cheers.
And surprisingly, Toros and the others who had previously opposed George and Fred were now the most excited of all.
But that wasn't strange.
Because at this point, Umbridge had clearly included them in her targets as well.
And on the other hand, if Link's plan succeeded, they would gain benefits far greater than anything Umbridge could have offered before.
Amid the deafening cheers, Link looked coldly toward the tightly closed doors.
Umbridge would probably never realize that she was nothing more than a crop.
And now, the crop was ripe.
Which meant it was time for the harvest.