Ron, who had been fidgeting with the corner of the book ever since Hermione raised her hand, felt anxious. He was sure Professor Umbridge was going to say something bad about Harry again.
Professor Umbridge's smile widened. "Isn't that right, Miss Granger? You're simply on edge, worried that your... shall we say, 'unorthodox' friend Harry Potter might decide to unleash his dark magic on you next?"
"Professor Umbridge!" she protested, her voice tight with anger. "Harry isn't ..."
"Is it not what, Miss Granger?" Umbridge interrupted.
"Is not capable of such things? Dare I remind you where that boy is currently for murdering his three Muggle family members by performing the Unforgivable Curses!"
A heavy silence descended upon the room.
"He..." Hermione found herself at a loss for words and could not bring herself to continue his sentence.
"Silence, Miss Granger!" For the first time, the student heard the angry tone of their new Professor.
"The Ministry has made its final decision. I sincerely hope that you will not be like your friend who tried to go against the Ministry's law and order."
Hermione felt defeated. She looked around the room and saw everyone was staring at her. Not a single one of them was siding with her. Then she looked at Ron across the room.
Ron's warning look was clear. Don't antagonize Umbridge further.
She clenched her jaw, forcing down the retort that threatened to erupt. With a defeated sigh, Hermione slumped in her chair and cracked open the book.
Professor Umbridge, satisfied with silencing Hermione, scanned the classroom before going back to her seat.
The rest of the class continued slowly. Umbridge lectured in a monotonous tone, talking about theoretical concepts and Ministry regulations.
Finally, the bell rang, announcing the end of the class.
As students flooded out of the room, whispers about Hermione's outburst and Umbridge's vicious remarks filled the air. Ron, his face flushed with anger, rushed to Hermione's side.
"Are you alright?" he said, his voice barely a whisper.
Hermione shook her head, staring at the floor. "I feel helpless," she admitted, "There is no one around who understands what we are going through. I was hoping to talk with Hagrid, but he is also not here."
---
At the same time, in the headmaster's office, two individuals were present, and if one looked closely, they would notice that both persons had a rigid expression on their faces.
"Severus," Dumbledore spoke, his voice a gentle tone not matching his facial expression, "your report on the latest Death Eater gathering?"
Snape uncrossed his arms, his black robes alongside. "He plans to attack and capture Harry on the day the boy will be released from Azkaban. He has assigned Lucius and a few other Death Eaters to station on the way between Azkaban and the Ministry of Magic."
This was the third time that every member of the Death Eaters was called by Voldemort, and since the first gathering that Snape attended, he had been informing Albus about everything that was happening and what exactly the Dark Lord wanted. As soon as the Headmaster got this information from Snape, his mind began preparing a plan.
Harry was convicted on 2 August and sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment.
Thus, he would be released on 2 November.
Albus had a month till then to prepare the Order of Phoenix to block the attempts from the Death Eaters on that day. As Headmaster Dumbledore was about to speak with Snape about the plan, he saw the latter in a deep, worrying thought.
"Is there something else?" Dumbledore asked while caressing his beard.
Snape hesitated, then continued. "The Dark Lord... he appears unwell."
A flicker of surprise crossed Dumbledore's wrinkled face. "Interesting. You've never mentioned this before."
"There have been... subtle changes," Snape admitted. "His voice is raspy, his movements sluggish. But it wasn't until today..." He paused, his dark eyes shadowed. "He became enraged during a discussion. And then..." Snape shuddered slightly, the memory apparently unpleasant. "He coughed. A harsh, relentless cough that seemed to tear at him from within. Blood, Headmaster. Blood on his lips."
Dumbledore's eyes widened.
"Could it be...?" he whispered, his voice trailing off as a possibility flickered in his mind.
He rose from his seat and began pacing back and forth. Snape remained silent and let the headmaster get deep in his thoughts.
Finally breaking the silence, Dumbledore's voice reached Snape, "It's not certain, but I believe whatever method Voldemort has used for rebirth and got a new body must have a certain price to it. Now everything is slowly adding up."
The reason Voldemort has been inactive since his rebirth. It must all be due to the side effects of practicing such dark magic.
Since hearing about his return, there was one thing that was bothering Dumbledore. How could the dark lord let Harry Potter escape on the night of his rebirth in the graveyard after killing Cedric?
Now, Dumbledore had an idea.
Maybe the side effects started taking their toll on Voldemort's body, and he had to temporarily abandon the idea of killing Harry.
Seeing this weakness of the Dark Lord, Snape proposed, "This could be our chance to get him."
"No," Albus spoke, his voice regaining its usual composure, "while this news is indeed significant, we must proceed with utmost caution. A weakened Voldemort remains a formidable opponent. And after all, there are already many plans in motion. Hagrid should reach the giant camps today."
Plus, Albus could not tell Snape that he had already orchestrated so many things for the greater good. Harry Potter will need to suffer more, as he is the one who will be defeating the Dark Lord.
Sadly, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard currently alive, did not know that every part of his plan was a mess, and he had fallen again into one of the traps of the new Dark Lord Voldemort.
Soon, everything will begin falling apart.