"She immediately what?" Harry exploded, his voice cracking with outrage.
"Hold on—there's more," Orli said grimly, taking the newspaper and continuing with the tone of someone reading a death warrant:
"'...achieving unprecedented success in revolutionizing Defense Against the Dark Arts instruction while providing the Minister with vital intelligence about Hogwarts' true conditions.'
"However, sources confirm that Professor Umbridge has faced organized resistance at Hogwarts, suffering a calculated assault shortly after her appointment. The perpetrator remains at large, leading to justified suspicions that certain subversive elements within the school are mounting deliberate challenges to Ministry authority.
"This latest intervention has been formalized through Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, establishing the groundbreaking position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor.
"'This represents an inspired initiative by the Minister,' Percy Weasley revealed during yesterday's interview. 'The High Inquisitor will possess comprehensive authority to evaluate her teaching colleagues, ensuring all staff meet acceptable standards. Professor Umbridge has graciously accepted this additional responsibility alongside her existing duties, and we are pleased to announce she will commence her expanded role immediately.'
"The Ministry's decisive action has earned widespread parental approval.
"'I feel considerably more confident knowing Dumbledore will finally face impartial, professional assessment,' declared Mr. Lucius Malfoy from his Wiltshire estate last evening. 'Those of us genuinely concerned with our children's welfare have grown increasingly alarmed by Dumbledore's erratic decisions in recent years. We welcome the Ministry's vigilant oversight of this troubling situation.'
"Such questionable decisions undoubtedly include the controversial appointments previously documented by this newspaper: the employment of werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, and the mentally unstable former Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody.
"Persistent rumors suggest that Albus Dumbledore—former Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot—may no longer possess the competence required to manage Britain's premier magical institution.
"However, Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest over the High Inquisitor appointment.
"'Hogwarts is an educational institution, not a satellite office for Cornelius Fudge's political ambitions,' Madam Marchbanks declared. 'This represents yet another despicable attempt to destroy Albus Dumbledore's reputation.'
"(For comprehensive coverage of Madam Marchbanks's alleged connections to subversive goblin organizations, see page seventeen.)"
Orli finished reading and set the newspaper down with the careful precision of someone handling a venomous snake, her gaze moving between Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Well, now we understand why Dumbledore didn't protest Umbridge's appointment," Hermione said, her breathing rapid and shallow with barely contained fury. "He had absolutely no choice when the Ministry forced her on us... But now she's been granted authority to inspect other professors!"
"I know exactly how vicious she is," Harry said quietly, his eyes drifting to his hand where the white scar still gleamed like a badge of Umbridge's cruelty.
But Ron's face suddenly transformed into a grin that could have been borrowed directly from Fred's arsenal of mischievous expressions.
"What are you smirking about?" Hermione demanded, though her icy morning demeanor showed the first signs of thawing. She'd been treating Ron with arctic coldness all morning, despite his increasingly desperate attempts at reconciliation.
"Oh, I absolutely cannot wait to witness Professor McGonagall being inspected," Ron said with gleeful anticipation, his eyes sparkling with malicious delight. "Umbridge has no earthly idea what she's about to unleash."
For the first time that morning, Hermione's mouth curved upward in something approaching genuine amusement.
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