Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 232 Umbridge Goes Mad Again

"Potter!"

Harry struggled to open his eyes and got up from the floor.

Snape stood before him, furious. "Explain yourself!"

“I…I don’t know what’s going on…” Harry rubbed his temples to calm the turmoil in his mind.

"I can't control my dreams..."

"You're not trying hard enough!"

For some reason, Snape seemed even angrier. "Listen, you must master Occlumency as soon as possible!"

Harry grew increasingly irritated by Snape's monotonous urging. He was trying his best! But he couldn't stop having those strange dreams!

Seeing Harry's stubbornness, Snape suppressed his impatience and shouted, "Continue! Potter!"

Harry instinctively gripped his wand, awaiting Snape's Legilimency.

But the faint screams of a woman in the distance interrupted their practice.

"Did you see anything unusual when you came down, Potter?" Snape gripped his wand and prepared to leave.

Harry shook his head and followed Snape out the door.

The closer they got to the foyer, the louder the women's screams became, and even the shouts of the young wizards were unusually clear.

“…Professor Trelawney?” Harry strained to make out the particularly disheveled figure in the center of the crowd. Her hair was a mess, her glasses were askew, and countless scarves and shawls were loosely draped over her body…

The most conspicuous things were the two large boxes next to her, which were standing crookedly on the floor tiles, as if they had been roughly thrown down the steps.

"No!" Trelawney screamed again, "No! This can't be... I refuse to accept it!"

“This is not something you can decide.” A particularly harsh voice rang out, and Harry turned his head to look. Sure enough, it was Umbridge.

“Aren’t you a prophet? You should have been able to foresee today, shouldn’t you?” Umbridge said in a high-pitched voice, making everyone who heard it frown.

“No! You have no right to fire me!” Trelawney seemed to have grasped at a straw. “No one has the right to fire me without Dumbledore’s permission!”

Trelawney's words made Umbridge frown instantly. "...The Minister for Magic has already signed your dismissal order. Even if Dumbledore came, he wouldn't have the power to change it!"

"is it?"

The casual question made Umbridge freeze instantly. Damn it! Wasn't Dumbledore not at school?

Harry turned his head to look like everyone else, and saw Dumbledore, dressed in a grey robe, strolling through the gap in the crowd toward Umbridge. In that instant, Harry knew that things were in order.

“Professor Umbridge, as the headmaster, I have the right to decide Trelawney’s fate.”

"But she is clearly not qualified to be a professor!"

"Therefore, I need to reappoint a divination professor!"

Now it's Umbridge who's furious.

Dumbledore didn't immediately object. Instead, he told Professor McGonagall to take Trelawney back to her room before speaking to Umbridge.

“Professor Umbridge, although the Minister of Magic has the power to sign dismissal orders, the Ministry of Magic can only intervene in the selection of professors when the Headmaster cannot find a suitable candidate.”

Dumbledore always wore a smile, as if nothing could stump him, and in fact, nothing could.

“I’ve already found a professor, so Umbridge doesn’t need to worry about it.”

Then, the appearance of a centaur professor thwarted all of Umbridge's plans.

Harry was relieved to see that Dumbledore had finally resolved the matter. Just as he was about to return to his dormitory, he caught a glimpse of Dumbledore seemingly giving someone a wink.

Harry instinctively looked in that direction and saw a very familiar person standing there—Thea.

Harry stood there, stunned.

Until Snape's gloomy voice boomed in his ears, "It seems the famous Savior has too much curiosity, so much so that he has forgotten that his Potions Professor is still waiting for him."

"Sorry, Professor Snape!" Harry apologized instinctively and followed Professor Snape into the cellar.

“Professor…I just saw Professor Dumbledore ask…Black to go to the Headmaster’s office…”

Snape paused slightly, but quickly resumed his normal pace.

"Potter! If you have any conscience at all, you should know that your task now is to quickly abandon your laziness and devote all your energy to your studies!"

Harry didn't miss Snape's slight pause, but this discovery didn't make him secretly happy; instead, it made him feel even heavier.

Practice, practice, practice!

He was clearly Voldemort's target, so why did you keep everything from me?!

Harry's agitation did not subside even after returning to the common room, and it intensified when he saw the familiar bloodstains on Lee Jordan's hands.

“It’s nothing, Harry!” Lee Jordan was still nonchalant, even showing off the scar on his hand. “That old woman got what she deserved today, so she took it out on us! The more badly I’m hurt, the angrier Umbridge is!”

Harry calmed down when he saw Lee Jordan wincing in pain from the force of the movement.

"Hermione, which spell do you think would be suitable for us to practice next?"

Hermione looked at Harry with considerable satisfaction, "...How was the Patronus Charm?"

"That's great!" Ron interjected, holding a glass of pumpkin juice. "Here, Harry, you haven't eaten much tonight, want a glass?"

"Thank you." Harry took the pumpkin juice, and the warmth in his palm gradually relaxed him.

Snape wasn't entirely wrong; at least his immediate priority was indeed to improve his strength. He really didn't want to relive the helplessness he felt when facing Voldemort.

Even though it was difficult, he was determined to try.

Snape was unaware that Harry had agreed with his words; he was currently in his office reporting to Dumbledore on Harry's recent training progress.

“He’s just like his father, equally arrogant and conceited… completely unable to listen to the lessons…” Snape’s expression twisted as he thought of Harry’s behavior in class.

Only at times like this would he miss students like Thea.

She has good comprehension skills, knows how to work hard, and doesn't talk back. She just practices obediently. Most importantly, she doesn't take kindness for granted!

Looking at Snape's expression, Dumbledore roughly guessed what the other was thinking. Remembering the news Thea had just brought, Dumbledore silently popped another candy into his mouth.