As night fell, Umbridge was still working diligently in her office.
It was only after truly taking up the position of Headmistress of Hogwarts that she finally understood just how busy and difficult the job actually was.
Annual enrollment statistics, budgeting for every course, campus repairs and maintenance, staff replacements…
All of these disaster-level tasks had to be decided by her alone.
If that were all, it would have been fine.
After all, Umbridge was a Ministry official from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, handling paperwork was child's play for her.
The real problem was that a large group of professors under her authority, led by Minerva McGonagall, resisted her from the bottom of their hearts.
And the direct result of that was that these professors adopted the classic "office warfare tactic", passive resistance.
After completing their own teaching duties, Professor McGonagall and the others flatly refused to carry out any additional work.
A mischievous student sets off a dungbomb in a classroom, stinking up the entire floor?
Simple, any professor could solve it with a quick Scouring Charm.
But they just wouldn't deal with it.
It wasn't within their job responsibilities anymore, so let Umbridge handle it.
A desk in the classroom is broken?
Sure, it could be fixed with a simple Repairing Charm, but still, leave it to Umbridge.
After all, she's the Headmistress.
———
There were simply far too many things like this.
It caused Umbridge's workload to explode overnight.
And the worst part was, she couldn't just fire all these rebellious professors.
After all, they weren't useless trash like Trelawney, these were the best professors in the entire UK in terms of teaching ability.
If Umbridge dared to fire them, furious parents would storm Hogwarts the very next day and smash her head in.
Even more frustrating was the fact that Umbridge still had to find a way to move into the long-sealed Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor.
As long as she hadn't sat behind that eagle-clawed desk, her position as Headmistress would remain illegitimate.
But solving this problem was extremely difficult.
Hogwarts Castle is a whole entity. In a sense, it's actually alive.
Its existence is somewhat similar to the Sorting Hat, though Hogwarts' intelligence is obviously much more primitive.
Still, that pitiful bit of intelligence is enough for it to recognize its master, that is, the Headmaster.
Umbridge did not obtain the Headmistress position through normal means, nor did she receive the approval of the previous Headmaster, Dumbledore.
As a result, what stood in her way now wasn't a simple stone guardian or some kind of riddle.
It was permissions.
And so, after remaining focused on her work until the second half of the night, Umbridge finally finished the previous day's tasks.
She stood up and stretched, staring at the mountain of documents piled up before her. Thinking of the even greater amount of work waiting for her tomorrow, she let out a long sigh.
This workload was almost on par with laborers in eighteenth-century London sweatshops.
The only difference was that Umbridge's heart was filled with hope.
Because she wasn't working for the students, she was working for herself.
Even though she had left the central power structure, Umbridge continued to pay close attention to the Ministry of Magic.
And that allowed her to sense the massive storm that had recently begun brewing inside the Ministry.
Judging by the current situation, Minister Fudge was probably on his last legs.
And the next Minister would most likely be the currently unstoppable Barty Crouch Sr.
For Umbridge, this was truly disastrous news.
After all, in order to curry favor with Fudge in the past, she, as a "little devil", had made life very difficult for Barty Crouch Sr.
Logically speaking, if Crouch really came to power, lackeys like her should be purged immediately.
But Umbridge managed to find a sliver of hope in all this.
That hope was Percy.
During a brief interaction just yesterday, Umbridge keenly noticed that Percy, the current Minister's assistant, was actually a very remarkable figure.
He seemed to be backed by some mysterious and powerful pure-blood noble family, had taken over most of Fudge's political resources, and now stood toe-to-toe with Barty Crouch Sr.
Umbridge believed that, as a former senior member of the Fudge faction, joining Percy's camp at this moment was only natural.
Although throwing in her lot with a greenhorn who had only graduated a few years ago was somewhat humiliating, it would at least preserve her political life.
Of course, going over alone wasn't reliable either.
After all, she was acting rather late. Percy's inner circle had basically already solidified, and squeezing into it would require something else.
For example, Galleons.
Making money wasn't particularly difficult for Umbridge.
She was the Headmistress of Hogwarts, after all.
There were simply too many ways to embezzle public funds.
One had to remember that Dumbledore had supported the entire Order of the Phoenix using nothing but the position of Headmaster.
More importantly, Hogwarts still had a major tycoon inside it, Link Flamel.
Umbridge had already planned everything out.
Tomorrow's inauguration ceremony would be the first step in her plan.
At the ceremony, while strictly punishing D.A. members, she would also significantly reduce academic pressure, ease the burden on students, and implement "happy education."
After all, Umbridge understood Hogwarts students all too well.
Most of these little brats had no self-discipline whatsoever. Their minds were filled entirely with fun and games. If professors didn't force them, they wouldn't study at all.
Umbridge swore that with just one decree, she would win the favor and support of the vast majority of students.
Even many professors would be pleased.
After all, it would make their jobs easier too.
Of course, such practices would cause the quality of Hogwarts graduates to plummet.
But Umbridge didn't care.
Given the Ministry's current situation, there would be a massive talent shortage over the next few years.
Especially in the Auror Department, their hunger for recruits had nearly reached a deranged level.
By then, no matter how poor the graduates were, they'd still be able to find jobs.
In other words, the negative consequences of her "happy education" policy would all be absorbed by the Ministry.
As for what would happen after a few years, once the Ministry filled its talent gap, that wasn't her concern.
Because by then, she would have already returned to the Ministry and reentered politics.
And after winning over the hearts of students and professors alike, she would imitate Dumbledore's approach, using her overwhelming prestige to divert and embezzle public funds.
Not only that, she also planned to elevate one faction while crushing another, heavily suppressing Link Flamel and his allies.
By squeezing Link Flamel, seizing the M.O.M.H.L. factory, and obtaining massive amounts of Galleons.
The reason she had worked herself to the bone today just to go looking for trouble with Link Flamel was precisely to carry out this strategy.
And once she had the Galleons, everything would become much simpler.
Umbridge would use money to pave the way, bribing members of Percy's faction, including Percy himself.
Thus allowing her to return to the Ministry of Magic.
After going through this entire process, she would have money, a good reputation, and political achievements.
After returning to the Ministry and maneuvering a bit, she could probably even become the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Imagining the glorious scene of her complete success several years in the future, Umbridge fell entirely into an excited fantasy.
And by the time she gradually came back to her senses, the first rays of spring sunlight had already streamed into her office.
With bloodshot, reddened eyes, Umbridge stared at the sunlight on her desk, brilliant and precious like gold, and felt indescribably refreshed.
Spring is the beginning of all things.
And it was also the day she began her new journey.
This ray of sunlight was clearly a good omen.
Today's inauguration ceremony should be a great success.
Umbridge carefully washed up, then smiled as she pushed open the door.
The Inquisitorial Squad members were already stationed outside her office. They surrounded Umbridge and marched with great momentum toward the Great Hall.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few early-rising students.
The Inquisitorial Squad members naturally moved to drive them away, but this behavior was unusually stopped by Umbridge.
She pushed aside the guards protecting her and walked at the front herself, smiling and greeting everyone she encountered.
Even though those she greeted were often unwilling to respond, Umbridge was convinced that no matter their current attitudes, after today's inauguration ceremony, she would become the most popular Headmistress in Hogwarts' history.
What Umbridge didn't notice, however, was, from the shadows, many more malicious eyes were watching her.
———
"Hurry up! Ron, we're going to be late!"
Inside a Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Harry urged Ron anxiously.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ron complained sleepily while getting dressed. "I really don't get why you're in such a rush. It's Umbridge's inauguration ceremony, not ours."
Harry didn't respond. He was actually very tired too. Last night's upheaval, combined with increasingly heavy coursework as the O.W.L. exams approached, meant he hadn't slept at all.
And yet, right now, he was burning with anxiety.
He hadn't been able to stay until the end of yesterday's small meeting. Link had sent him to the hospital wing midway, worried that Veritaserum might cause lingering side effects.
But from what he had heard earlier, Link wasn't about to just give up.
Faced with Umbridge's oppression and bullying, resistance was inevitable.
And that moment of resistance would very likely be today, at the inauguration ceremony.
Finally, Ron finished sluggishly putting on his uniform.
Harry grabbed his hand immediately and rushed out of the Gryffindor common room.
By the time they arrived at the Great Hall, panting, the inauguration ceremony countdown had already begun.
The staff table was filled with professors from every subject, and the four long tables below were packed with students.
Most shockingly, in the corner of the staff seating, they spotted Percy and another wizard whom Harry found very familiar.
Both of their robes were embroidered with a large silver "W," clearly marking them as representatives of the Ministry of Magic.
Harry and Ron apologized as they squeezed through the crowd and took the seats Hermione had saved for them.
But from start to finish, their attention was completely captured by the decorations in the Great Hall.
They were astonished to find that in just one night, the Inquisitorial Squad had transformed the entire hall into the same pink, sugary style as Umbridge's office.
Large sections of the walls had been painted pink. Countless colorful ribbons and banners fluttered through the air. The portraits on the walls had all been replaced with images of cats, dozens of adorable cats in different colors chasing and batting at one another from frame to frame.
In stark contrast, Umbridge herself, seated at the very top of the staff table, had completely changed her usual attire today, wearing only a serious, neutral black wizard's robe.
But this was clearly just a temporary compromise. Her taste hadn't changed at all.
That much was obvious from the pink kitten-shaped button lining the inside of her collar.
"These decorations are absolutely awful," Ron muttered. "I feel like I'm about to puke!"
"Shh! Stop saying things like that!"
Ron had barely finished speaking when Hermione lowered her voice and pointed at the Inquisitorial Squad members patrolling nearby, warning them, "A lot of people have already lost points for complaining about the Great Hall decorations. You'd better behave, Gryffindor's hourglass is almost empty!"
"At a time like this, who even cares about House points anymore?" Ron shot back stubbornly.
But despite his bravado, he wisely stopped commenting on the decorations.
While Ron was being scolded as usual, Harry was anxiously scanning the crowd for Link and the others, as well as George and Fred.
Only after he finally found all of them in the packed Great Hall did Harry let out a breath, feeling his heart drop back down from his throat into his chest.
However, that sense of relief lasted only a short while before turning into unease.
Harry's feelings were deeply conflicted.
On one hand, he was worried that Link, George, and Fred might rashly confront Umbridge and cause irreparable consequences, like expulsion.
On the other hand, he desperately hoped they would stir up some trouble and completely drive Umbridge off the Headmistress's throne.
That would count as avenging Dumbledore.
If that really happened, then Dumbledore should be able to return to Hogwarts, right?
With these complicated emotions swirling inside him, Harry turned his head toward the high podium.
The golden bell there had rung three times in succession, signaling that Umbridge's inauguration ceremony had officially begun.
Soon, amid fairly loud applause from the Inquisitorial Squad and a small number of ordinary students, Umbridge rose from the staff table with a radiant smile. Ignoring the cold expressions of the surrounding professors, she slowly walked up to the podium.
"Cough, cough!"
She seemed a little nervous. After clearing her throat, she pressed her wand to her throat and used the Sonorus Charm to say, "Dear students, colleagues, and distinguished leaders who have come to bear witness, good morning! I sincerely wish you all good health and that each day will be better than the last! This beautiful wish is so strong and heartfelt, just like…"