Chapter 392 - 393: A Different Hogwarts

"That is precisely the problem!"

Umbridge raised her voice and pulled another document from her handbag.

"According to Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight, all practical Charms lessons must prioritise safety. I suggest..."

She paused deliberately.

"No wands during class."

The entire staff room fell silent.

Professor Sprout's teacup clattered against its saucer. Professor McGonagall's lips thinned into a straight line.

"No wands?" Professor Flitwick's voice trembled slightly. "In a Charms lesson?"

"Precisely!"

Umbridge said triumphantly, "Students can first learn the theoretical knowledge, then gradually practise it in their work after graduation."

Professor Flitwick's lips trembled as though he had been struck by lightning.

At that moment, Snape's low voice came from the corner.

"How... creative."

Umbridge seemed not to notice the sarcasm in his tone and turned towards the Potions professor.

"And effective! Speaking of which, Professor Snape, I also need to remind you to pay closer attention to the cleanliness of the Potions classroom. The smell coming from those storage cupboards is truly unpleasant."

She covered her nose and waved a hand theatrically.

"And your personal hygiene could also use some attention. As a professor, you should set a good example for your students."

The atmosphere in the staff room instantly froze.

Several professors drew in sharp breaths at once.

Snape slowly rose to his feet, his black robes sweeping silently across the floor.

He walked over to Umbridge and looked down at her, his voice terrifyingly soft.

"Allow me to remind you, Umbridge... Madam."

He deliberately emphasised the final word.

"My storage cupboards contain more than a hundred different poisons, each of which could turn that pink outfit of yours into suitable funeral attire within ten minutes."

"You... you dare..." Umbridge had clearly not expected Snape to respond like that.

"Furthermore," Snape continued in the same dangerously soft tone, "if your sense of smell is truly so delicate, I suggest using less cheap perfume next time. After all, some of the ingredients used in it are extracted from human excrement."

Umbridge's face instantly turned redder than her clothes.

Professor McGonagall cut in at exactly the right moment.

"That will do, Severus. If there is nothing else, you should prepare for your class."

Then she looked at Umbridge.

"The same applies to the rest of us, Madam Umbridge."

Umbridge angrily gathered up her documents.

"I will report today's events to the Ministry of Magic exactly as they occurred!"

"Exactly as they occurred?" Snape said expressionlessly. "Then I truly must thank Merlin, if you can manage not to exaggerate..."

After Umbridge slammed the door behind her, Professor Sprout could no longer hold back her laughter.

Professor Flitwick wiped his forehead.

"Merlin, is she serious? She actually expects me to teach Charms without a wand!"

Professor McGonagall's expression turned grave.

"This is only the beginning. I've received word that Fudge intends to appoint her as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, which will grant her even greater authority."

...

As Umbridge's power grew day by day, her increasingly absurd behaviour became even worse.

In Potions class, Snape moved grimly around the classroom while the students kept their heads buried in their textbooks.

Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione, "I'd rather face another dragon than sit through another lesson with Umbridge."

Hermione secretly flipped through a stack of thick books beneath the table, muttering, "I'm looking for some way to restrict her authority. There has to be a relevant clause somewhere. They can't possibly allow her to act completely unchecked..."

Ron sighed.

"I really wish Professor Greengrass would suddenly appear and teach that pink toad a lesson."

Bang! Bang!

A heavy copy of Advanced Potion-Making came down on Harry's and Ron's heads.

Both recoiled, while several students nearby nearly jumped in fright.

Snape stood behind them like a ghost.

"Is my classroom... some ideal place for idle conversation?" he asked coldly.

"Professor, we were just..." Ron hurriedly tried to explain.

"Just what?" Snape said disdainfully. "Disrupting the lesson?"

"We were just reading the potion recipes in the book..." Harry argued stubbornly.

"Oh... really?" Snape looked at Harry with a faint, unpleasant smile. "Then tell me, what is the recipe for the Swelling Solution?"

Harry and Ron opened their mouths, clearly preparing to invent something on the spot.

Hermione lightly kicked both of them beneath the table, warning them to stop arguing.

Snape noticed the small movement, sneered, and straightened.

"Before I deduct points, allow me to offer you some advice. Spend less time worrying about matters beyond your abilities, unless you want to drag yourselves and everyone around you into even greater trouble."

With a sweep of his black robes, Snape turned and strode back towards the front of the classroom.

"Now, if you can redirect your attention to brewing the Swelling Solution, you may still have a chance of salvaging your pitiful marks before the lesson ends."

Then he looked at Hermione.

"And you. This is Potions class, not a place for you to read unrelated books. If it happens again, don't bother attending my class."

Hermione reluctantly closed the law book beneath the table.

Meanwhile, in the Hogwarts of another timeline, Sagres had come to understand just how awkward Elit Samdron's position at the school truly was.

As a half-blood wizard of average talent who had become a professor through sheer hard work, Samdron had always been looked down upon by some of the Hogwarts staff.

At first, Sagres had failed to discover the factional struggles within Hogwarts from Samdron's memories.

The reason was simple.

Samdron was simply too honest. He had no idea they existed.

However, while impersonating him and gathering information, Sagres quickly became aware of the undercurrents running through the school.

The professors were broadly divided into three factions: the half-blood inclusive faction led by Transfiguration Professor Martha Kelly, the pure-blood supremacist faction represented by Potions Professor Ninas Buckle, and a small number of neutral professors.

One afternoon in the staff room, several pure-blood professors were gathered by the fireplace drinking tea, while Sagres, disguised as Samdron, sat alone in a corner marking assignments.

"If you ask me, some people can work as hard as they like, but they'll never overcome the limitations of their bloodline," Professor Carbok, who taught Magical Literature, said deliberately loudly as he polished his monocle. "No matter how much you polish a pebble, it will never become a gem."

Grevitz, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor sitting beside him, chuckled.

"At least he's diligent, isn't he? Though diligence can hardly compensate for a lack of talent."

Sagres did not even raise his head. He simply continued writing comments on the parchment in Samdron's slightly trembling handwriting.

He could feel several half-blood professors casting sympathetic glances in his direction, but none of them spoke up for him.

"Workplace bullying really does exist everywhere," Sagres complained flatly in his mind. "The staff meeting hasn't even started, and they've already taken turns making sarcastic remarks."

Fortunately, their insults had almost no bite to them. They were little more than childish taunts, so Sagres was hardly affected.

To maintain his disguise, he had imitated Samdron's timid manner almost perfectly while continuing to teach his students diligently.

___