"Pages 5 to 20!" Complaints from the fifth-year students echoed throughout the Slytherin common room. "A full fifteen pages in one night! This is a nightmare!"
But it wasn't just the Slytherins losing their minds. Every student who had endured Umbridge's class was sprawled out in their respective common rooms, faces blank with exhaustion.
The atmosphere in the room was so thick with resentment that it felt like it could summon Sadako herself.
"In specific situations... what comes next?" Daphne shut her book, stared at the ceiling as she tried to recite a few lines, then hastily reopened her textbook. "Oh, 'lawful and compliant'... implant into the mind... and then what?"
The Slytherins, stumbling through their textbooks and mumbling half-understood phrases, sounded like they were chanting the whispers of ancient gods. The room reverberated with what could only be described as a death chant, nearly sending everyone struggling to memorize their lessons into the afterlife.
The expressions of the fifth-years preparing for their O.W.L.s and the seventh-years gearing up for their N.E.W.T.s were particularly grim.
"It's all theory... ugh... I feel like my intelligence has leveled up again," said seventh-year Cassius Warrington with a forced smile. Given Umbridge's position as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, he pretended to flatter her, hoping to use the connection to secure a job at the Ministry after graduation.
"This curriculum reform is truly innovative," he said, feigning enthusiasm. "It reduces the risks of spellcasting in this class to... uh... zero. We should be grateful for Professor Umbridge's... creativity!"
The other Slytherins looked at him with a mix of admiration and disdain. Everyone knew about the many points he had earned in seventh-year classes thanks to Umbridge's favoritism.
"Cassius! You're something else!" Montague gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "You're so good at talking! Professor Umbridge absolutely adores you! I told you all those muscles we built weren't for nothing! Just look at how many points she gave you in one class! You've got to hold onto this luck!"
Warrington rolled his eyes.
The idea of relying on charm at such a young age made him shudder.
"All for the future," he muttered to himself, trying to rationalize his actions as he closed a copy of The Art of Speech. "If this favoritism can get me into the Ministry as a Deputy Minister, I'd gladly live in a mansion and ride a Firebolt for her—heck, I'd even settle for being a prefect."
The other Slytherins chuckled knowingly. For seventh-years like Montague and Warrington, having a high-ranking Ministry official at the school was a rare opportunity to curry favor and secure a future in the Ministry.
"This is a crucial connection!" Montague patted Warrington on the shoulder, taking a jab at Gryffindor. "It's about our future! Bear with it; no one would be foolish enough to provoke her—except for those silly lions, of course. I heard someone's getting detention already."
The common room was soon filled again with the buzzing sounds of students studying.
Even though many students doubted Umbridge's teaching methods, Montague's words rang true—
Despite the grumbling behind her back, not a single Slytherin dared to openly challenge a Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, especially when she treated Slytherin students from influential pure-blood families with such kindness.
But the word "none" was soon redefined by Jane Yu.
Because it wasn't long before Umbridge, unable to suppress her malice, chose to target Jane during the second class.
"You'll all do great, won't you?"
The Slytherins collectively lowered their heads, wishing they could hide under their desks to avoid her attention.
No one could memorize fifteen pages of text overnight. They wished they had two heads—one just for storage.
"Even if Rowena Ravenclaw herself came back to life, she couldn't do it!" wailed Daphne, who was on the verge of pulling her hair out.
Umbridge smiled sweetly, her eyes scanning the classroom before picking up the attendance list and dramatically closing her eyes to point at a name.
"Ah—let's see who the lucky one is?—Jane Yu! Please start reciting!"
The Slytherins, relieved to have escaped, cast sympathetic glances at Jane.
A true warrior dares to face a daunting recitation and confront the knife-hidden smile of Umbridge.
But Jane remained unfazed, even feeling a sense of ease in her field of expertise.
She proved firsthand that if Ravenclaw herself descended, she could recite the entire library.
With the intelligence-enhancing artifact invented by Ravenclaw—the diadem—Jane could even recite the textbook backward.
"Chapter One, Section One... The Fundamentals of Defensive Magic..."
She recited three pages in one go. As she had expected, Umbridge's face grew darker and darker. The lengthy assignment was clearly a trap to justify giving Jane detention if she failed.
When Jane reached the second chapter, Umbridge interrupted, her usual sickly-sweet smile returning.
"Miss Yu, that was excellent, but as the child under the guardianship of Headmaster Dumbledore, you should hold yourself to a higher standard!"
She smiled warmly, looking kind and approachable, but her eyes betrayed her malice.
"For you, reciting forward is too simple. So, let's change the method of assessment—"
"Start from the second-to-last paragraph of Chapter Three, and recite backward."
The Slytherins gasped. It was evident that Umbridge was trying to humiliate Jane.
But for Jane, whether reciting forward, backward, or sideways was as easy as breathing.
"Protection self for and others safeguard to essential is it, spells defensive of principles..."
As Jane recited, Umbridge's face turned from green to red to purple, as if someone had spilled paint all over her.
"Second chapter, third paragraph, second word! ... Fourth chapter, fourth paragraph, sixteenth word!"
The classroom echoed with Umbridge's furious and helpless voice.
The Slytherins couldn't help but snicker. Watching Umbridge flounder was far more entertaining than reading textbooks!
As they silently cheered for Jane, they glanced at the clock and whispered among themselves.
"Half the class is over!" "This is amazing!" "Jane is incredible!" "Just a little longer until class ends!" ...
The murmurs filled the room, and naturally, Umbridge heard them.
Realizing her attempt to find fault had turned into a complete farce, she finally stopped, panting with rage, and redirected her anger at the other students.
"Quiet!" she barked, her walnut-like eyes glaring. "Everyone, copy the textbook five times! Let these principles sink into your minds!"
The classroom fell silent, every student wearing a look of discontent.
"Professor Umbridge, I think we're all looking forward to today's lesson," Theodore suddenly stood up.
Umbridge, about to explode, squinted her eyes, only to recognize the sole heir of the Nott family. Her anger subsided.
"Of course!" she said, feigning cheerfulness. "But next time, please raise your hand before speaking. That's a new rule—"
"Before we begin today's lesson, I need a few students to come forward to help maintain classroom discipline—let's see—"
Driven by Fudge's will and the idea of currying favor with wealthy pure-blood families, she rattled off a series of names:
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Bulstrode, Miss Parkinson, Mr. Nott, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle... and Miss Greengrass... Mr. Zabini..."
Among those called, Draco's face twisted with a mix of relief and resentment; Theodore remained as stoic as ever; Pansy, Millicent, Crabbe, and Goyle looked smug.
Daphne and Blaise, however, stood up as if heading to the gallows.
"You'll maintain classroom discipline... lead the students..." Umbridge began her sanctimonious speech. "At the right time, I'll assign you responsibilities to oversee students, set an example, and guide their behavior..."
Her malicious gaze fell on Jane again as she sighed dramatically.
"Miss Yu, as a prefect under the guardianship of the Headmaster, it's incomprehensible that you've failed to uphold classroom discipline, allowing students to laugh and disrupt the class."
"I've always thought the way this school appoints prefects is too hasty. Of course, I'll discuss this with Dumbledore."
She seemed intent on finding more faults, but a weak voice interrupted her.
"Professor... cough, cough..." Blaise clutched his chest, raising a hand, his face pale. "I... I can't take it anymore—"
With a thud, he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
"Oh dear—" Umbridge shrieked, not forgetting to achieve her ultimate goal. "Miss Yu, as a prefect, why didn't you care about your classmate's health? Detention in my office tonight!"
Daphne let out a scream as her textbook inexplicably burst into flames, the flames leaping three feet high and nearly setting the curtains ablaze.
The classroom descended into chaos, with only Umbridge's shrill voice deducting points echoing through the room.
All of this was just an excuse to give her detention.
Hearing the words "detention," Jane surprisingly felt a sense of relief. "Finally," she thought.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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