Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 203 Umbridge's Lesson 1

Harry and his friends soon had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the semester. When they entered the classroom, they found Professor Umbridge already seated behind the podium.

"Good afternoon, students!" she said after all the students had sat down.

Several students mumbled "Good afternoon" in response.

“Tsk, tsk,” Umbridge frowned. “That won’t do. I want you to answer like this: ‘Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.’ Now, please say it again: ‘Good afternoon, students!’”

“Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge,” they replied in unison.

“That’s right,” Umbridge said in a high-pitched voice, her overly sweet tone making Thea frown.

"Put away your wand and take out your quill," Umbridge issued her first command.

Many classmates exchanged gloomy glances, and Harry had a strange, bad feeling about it.

Then, Umbridge opened his briefcase, pulled out an unusually short wand, and slammed it against the blackboard. Immediately, two lines of text appeared on the blackboard:

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Return to basic principles

“Class, the teaching of this course has always been discontinuous and unsystematic, hasn’t it?” Umbridge turned to face the class and continued, “The teachers keep changing, and many of them don’t seem to be following the curriculum standards approved by the Ministry of Magic.”

"So I'm here this year, and these problems will be corrected."

"Now, please copy down all the words on the blackboard."

Umbridge tapped the blackboard again, and another large number of words appeared on it.

The only sound in the classroom was the scratching of quill pens writing.

Soon, everyone had finished copying.

Umbridge spoke again, "Next, I need you to put your books on page five and read Chapter One: Introductory Basic Principles. Don't whisper to each other while you read."

The content in the textbook was undoubtedly very dry, and the young wizards' voices gradually lowered after only a few minutes of reading.

Seeing this, Umbridge issued another task, "Since you don't want to read it, then copy the first chapter!"

Upon hearing this request, Harry could no longer resist.

“Professor, what’s the point of us copying and reading this? Shouldn’t Defense Against the Dark Arts be a practical course?” Harry was the first to object.

Umbridge opened his eyes and glanced at Harry. "Mr. Potter, I'm glad you have such a precious thirst for knowledge, but let me remind you that you are neither a specially trained educational expert from the Ministry of Magic, nor are you qualified to judge the purpose of any subject."

“Our learning program was designed and formulated by wizards who are much older and wiser than you. You will learn defensive spells in a safe and risk-free way—”

"She wouldn't be talking about those parasites begging for food at Fudge's feet, would she...?"

Draco leaned closer to Thea and grumbled, his eyes full of disdain.

"They're just desperately trying to cover their ears and cut off Potter's tongue," Thea said, her tone laced with sarcasm.

The conflict between Harry and Umbridge is escalating, and several more people have joined the fray.

"Professor, why is there not a single word about using defensive spells in the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook?" This was Granger.

"What if we are attacked?" This was Dean Thomas's question.

"Was it during the exam that we first cast those spells?" This was Parvati's question.

"Enough!" Umbridge roared, successfully silencing the other young wizards.

But Harry still wouldn't give up; he couldn't bear to spend his future Defense Against the Dark Arts classes copying notes.

But what if—

Time seemed to slow down at that moment, and Thea could clearly see the barely concealed malice and expectation in Umbridge's eyes.

What is she expecting?

Thea slowly turned her head to look at Harry, who was standing straight. His face was full of anger, as if those three words were about to be uttered at any moment.

Thea's eyelids twitched, and the blood she had been suppressing in her throat suddenly erupted—

"cough--"

The sudden cough was particularly noticeable in the classroom, successfully interrupting Harry's next words, and a pool of blood appeared in front of Thea.

The classroom suddenly fell silent. Everyone was stunned by the crimson blood in front of Thea. Harry's mouth dropped open and his pupils dilated instantly. Hermione clenched her fists tightly, and the others were no better off, all looking petrified.

“Professor,” the one who broke the silence was Thea, who had just coughed up blood. She was wiping the blood from her mouth with a handkerchief in her hand, “I may need to go to the medical wing…”

"Of course..."

Umbridge's voice was elusive, and almost in the next second, she immediately realized Thea's identity.

He grew up in the Malfoy family.

Former heir of the Black family.

The rumored successor to the current Dark Lord...

Her back was immediately soaked with sweat. Damn it, why didn't she remember that the other person was also in this classroom? If only she hadn't been in such a hurry…

"Miss Black!"

Seeing Thea get up to leave, Umbridge immediately called out to her, "Do you need a student to accompany you?"

Thea's gaze traveled from the fine beads of sweat on the other person's forehead to the unease in their eyes. She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth and pointed with interest at the wizard standing ramrod straight in the classroom.

“Then… Mr. Potter!” Thea glanced past the worried Draco and called Harry’s name. “Thank you, Professor Umbridge.”

Umbridge had intended to object, but Thea's thanks made it impossible for her to refuse.

"otherwise………"

Thea hummed in confusion, "What's wrong?"

“Nothing!” Umbridge immediately changed her tune. “I meant, is one enough?”

"That's enough." Thea lowered her eyes. This was so unchallenging. Sure enough, there were too many parasites in the Ministry of Magic.

Harry was completely bewildered from beginning to end. From Thea coughing up blood to him being called out by Thea, the whole thing took only a few breaths.

He stood there, stunned, until Dean nudged him, which brought him back to his senses. He then mechanically walked over to Thea.

"Then we'll be going now, Professor."

"Go."

Although he regretted missing today's good opportunity, Umbridge could only swallow his anger, knowing there would be plenty of time in the future.

Harry was completely bewildered as he watched Thea walk ahead of him. Although he didn't know why she was doing this, he instinctively tightened his grip on his wand in his sleeve.

"Remember to think before you speak in the future." Thea suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Harry almost bumped into her.

"Why?" Harry retorted instinctively after regaining his composure. "Are you afraid I'll say something I shouldn't? Like... about your background?"

Thea's ambiguous gaze fell on Harry, and the way she looked at him like he was a child made Harry even angrier.

"What gives you the right to look at me like that?!"

"High and mighty," Thea repeated thoughtfully, then suddenly laughed, "You think my gaze is high and mighty?"

"I was just feeling sorry for Dumbledore. His savior, on whom he placed such high hopes, still doesn't know Umbridge's true intentions and foolishly walked right into her trap. Now he's even blaming me, his savior..."

"A trap?" Harry stood there, stunned.

A flicker of pity crossed Thea's eyes. "Go talk to Professor McGonagall. You don't trust me, but you should trust her."

After saying that, Thea turned and strode away.