A quarter of an hour later, the bell rang for afternoon classes.

Ailina and Hermione headed towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom on the fourth floor of the castle.

Throughout Hogwarts Castle, this floor was the most hated place for a certain lost child.

Not only because the fourth-floor corridors of Hogwarts had the most forks and involved the most core subjects, but more importantly, because the armor in the "Armor Corridor," the main thoroughfare, would move from time to time, Ailina couldn't even rely on landmarks to remember the route.

The corridor on the right side of the castle was currently temporarily closed. Last year, this corridor served as the entrance to the "Dark Magic Final Practical Assessment" project. Passing through the turn of this corridor and going forward, behind a tapestry, was hidden the passage to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom...

Anyway, Ailina always thought that old potato must have cheated to find the classroom when he was substituting last year.

"Hermione, be a little more low-key in class later. You've heard Luna say it too, that Professor Umbridge is not quite the same as other professors. If you remember her position in the Ministry of Magic, you should understand what that means."

"Means... the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere with Hogwarts?"

"Well, it's not that sharp. It should be said that they are trying to integrate and blend into the magic education system."

Undoubtedly, Dolores Umbridge was a standard politician, bureaucratic yet extremely sophisticated and worldly.

Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic were currently in their honeymoon period. As long as Umbridge wasn't under the Imperius Curse, she would never, like in the original story, gamble her political career to blatantly interfere with Hogwarts' existing education system.

But on the other hand, if she did nothing at Hogwarts, it would also be a very bad situation.

As a special envoy with political overtones, Umbridge would definitely take certain aspects as a breakthrough and try to seize enough rich rewards for the Ministry of Magic and her own political career... This was probably also Cornelius Fudge's task.

However, no one knew what her goal was yet.

Ailina shook her head, frowned slightly, and said softly with some uncertainty.

"Since Luna specifically reminded us, let's pay more attention, don't you think? At least try to be low-key, don't let that Umbridge woman mark us as prey..."

If Ailina remembered correctly, Hermione directly confronted Umbridge in the first lesson of the original story.

If it wasn't for Harry Potter's strong taunting skills, little beaver would have become the "chicken" that Dolores Umbridge used to "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys" at Hogwarts, and if the same confrontation happened now...

This scene might be written into future magic history textbooks as the trigger for the "Third Wizarding War".

"I know, I know... you still have the nerve to tell me? I'm not a problem student like you."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes at the white-haired dumpling, somewhat inexplicably.

"Ailina, you should take care of yourself first - you've been given detention for a whole day right after the start of classes, even if you're the Goblin Empress now, even if you might be rich, you can't do whatever you want at school..."

"...Sorry, um..."

Ailina bit her tongue and wisely didn't continue teasing, casually responding.

"Yeah, you're right. In short, let's supervise each other, and try not to lose any more points today... I don't know what today's Defence Against the Dark Arts class will cover, but I hope these few hours this afternoon won't be too difficult..."

History may change, but it is difficult for human nature to change.

Or rather, having a grasp of the nature of certain adult wizards is one of the golden fingers Ailina can rely on.

Especially for bureaucrats like Dolores Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge, whose worldviews were already solidified, Ailina didn't expect them to give anyone any surprises from the beginning.

A toad is a toad, and a good-for-nothing is a good-for-nothing.

"I hope you take care of yourself, toad... otherwise..."

Ailina casually instructed Hermione, a dangerous glint flickering in her eyes.

You know, she worked so hard to change the world, not to let that bunch of Ministry of Magic parasites sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor.

...

Due to the chain reaction of the time delay in the morning, Ailina and Hermione were again among the last to arrive at the classroom.

When they walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, they found that Professor Umbridge was already sitting behind the podium.

Umbridge was still wearing the fluffy pink cardigan she wore the night before, with that black velvet bow on her head. She was currently staring at the lesson plan on the desk, muttering something softly to herself thoughtfully.

The little wizards in the classroom were silent. Professor Umbridge was still an unknown.

Whether for children from magical families or non-magical families, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, when faced with such an uncommon important figure, most of the little wizards showed varying degrees of restraint.

No one knew how strict this "special professor" from the Ministry of Magic would be on classroom discipline.

After all, in the descriptions of the second-year Class B students, she seemed to be even stricter than Professor McGonagall.

In an atmosphere of silence and oppression, Ailina and Hermione quietly passed through the classroom aisle and sat down at the old long table directly in front of the podium - just like in Potions class, the "scumbag death seat" was always reserved for them by default.

"Oh, you're two minutes late, ladies."

Almost as soon as they sat down, a delicate voice suddenly rang out from the podium.

Professor Umbridge had already raised her head at some point, staring at the two little witches who had just entered the classroom with those drooping toad-like eyes, her short, stubby fingers gently tapping the list of students on the desk.

"Professor, but the second class bell hasn't..."

Hermione, who was still organizing her bag, was startled and subconsciously defended in a low voice.

The Hogwarts class bell usually rings twice. The first ring is to remind students to go to the classroom, and the second ring means the class officially starts. And when they stepped into the classroom and sat down at the desk, the second ring hadn't rung yet.

"Of course, I know Hogwarts rings twice, dear..."

Umbridge said in a delicate voice with affection, but her eyes were full of a sinister smile.

"The first ring is to notify students, and the second ring is to notify professors... well, it means it's time to start class."

Just as Umbridge was speaking, the Hogwarts class bell rang. The witch paused slightly, and after the sound completely disappeared, she continued to say softly in that delicate voice.

"...In my class, I hope you can arrive at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom five minutes before the second bell rings - so that we can start class on time, understand?"

"Given that this is your first time being late, I won't deduct points, but I will record the situation in..."

Umbridge smiled, picked up a notebook, tapped it with her short, stubby finger, and looked around the classroom.

"...the classroom record, which will be included in your final grade assessment. And if you have any violations of discipline in the course, it will also be recorded in this notebook... By the way, I value daily points quite a bit."

"But we didn't know before..."

Hermione was stunned and looked unconvincingly at the smiling witch, explaining cautiously.

If she had known this rule in advance, she would rather have eaten a few fewer bites of oxtongue than be late.

"Hermione, don't argue!" Ailina warned softly, pulling her sleeve.

As a bureaucrat from the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge was quite skilled in the technique of "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys".

Obviously, the two little witches who ranked first and second last year were just backgrounds for the old toad to intimidate other students. Even if the reason was a bit far-fetched, if they argued to the end, they would definitely be at fault.

Ailina stood up slightly, held down the unwilling little beaver beside her, and said with a smile.

"Madam Undersecretary, sorry, we'll be earlier next time."

"Oh, Miss Kaslana, it's Senior Undersecretary! Of course, you may not understand the structure of society."

Umbridge pursed her lips with amusement, waved her hand pretentiously, and corrected in a surprised tone.

"By the way, you should call me professor at school - don't get it wrong next time! Otherwise, I will deduct points!"

"Okay, Professor Umbridge." Ailina's eyes flickered, and she sweetly agreed.

Just like Cornelius Fudge's positioning of Umbridge, this was a stick used to stir up the situation.

With the power Ailina now controlled, if she wanted to deal with this toad, she wouldn't even have to give the order herself to make Umbridge disappear from this world silently, but...

What Ailina lacked now was not talent, what she lacked the most was kind people who could help take the blame.

After all, even if Tom Riddle could transform into thousands of forms, and the Death Eaters' forces were scattered around the world in secret, she couldn't push every mess, bad deed, and black pot onto the "most terrible dark wizard in history"!

And now, the two senior officials of the British Ministry of Magic were obviously promising wizards who could inherit the "will of the pot".

If such rare and precious "talents" were wasted directly because of some childish conflicts, or if they formed a chain of suspicious connections that might cause suspicion, it would be too pity.

Of course, from Dolores Umbridge's perspective, Ailina's well-behavedness was very much in line with her wishes.

"Sure enough, she is a pure-blood descendant from the oldest magical family..."

Umbridge nodded slightly almost imperceptibly, and praised inwardly.

As the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, she naturally knew the true identity of that Professor "Otto Apocalypse", and Umbridge had also learned some information through various channels about Ailina's relationship with that old man.

As for the rumors about muggle orphanages?

What about mudblood wizards who have never studied magic?

What about orphans from the non-magical world who lack education?

Perhaps those naive students and inexperienced professors would believe it, but as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge was too familiar with the routines of those hidden magical families... These were just pretenses to cover people's eyes!

She could tell at a glance that this little guy couldn't possibly be a mudblood from the non-magical world.

If she were really an orphan with no background, Dumbledore wouldn't have rarely used his personal connections last semester to apply for two Order of Merlin medals for this child - in the magical world, even a senior official in the Ministry of Magic would find it extremely difficult to obtain a medal, let alone a first-year student who was still in school.

"Okay, this time I'll just give a verbal warning, which won't be included in the final exam."

Umbridge pondered for a moment, and squeezed out a sweet smile on her pale, sagging fat face.

"Sit down, children... We're going to start class!"

Anyway, the effect of intimidating the little guys had been achieved, so she didn't need to continue targeting those two little witches.

No matter what, Paracelsus's face still had to be taken into consideration.

...

"Good afternoon, students!"

After all the students sat down, Umbridge cleared her throat and said clearly.

A sparse response rang out in the classroom, with many students mumbling "Good afternoon" as an answer.

"Tsk, tsk," Umbridge narrowed her eyes and said softly with some dissatisfaction, "That won't do, will it?"

"I want you to answer like this: 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' Please do it again. Good afternoon, students!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." The students answered in unison.

"Oh, that's right!" Professor Umbridge said in a delicate voice.

"It's not too difficult, is it? Now please put away your wands and take out your quills. We're going to start class."

Many students exchanged surprised glances. There were quite a few courses at Hogwarts that didn't use wands, and many of them were full of interesting content, such as Potions, Flying, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures...

But judging from the situation last semester, Defence Against the Dark Arts was clearly not among the courses that didn't use wands.

Professor Quirinus Quirrell used paper and pens a little in class, but after Professor Otto Apocalypse started substituting, let alone books and textbooks, most of the time there weren't even tables and chairs in the classroom.

Almost every Defence Against the Dark Arts class, the students were waving their wands and practicing offense and defence.

Therefore, after hearing such an unfamiliar instruction, a low murmur instantly rang out in the classroom.

Unlike the other students, Ailina didn't take out her chopsticks from the beginning.

"Sure enough, it's that familiar Umbridge, textbook education that couldn't be more standard."

She watched Hermione put away her wand and take out her quill, ink, and parchment, and raised her eyebrows thoughtfully.

And the most interesting thing was... old radish didn't have any objections?

Ignoring the murmurs in the classroom, Professor Umbridge opened her handbag, took out a wand that was surprisingly short, and tapped it hard on the blackboard. Two lines of words immediately appeared on the blackboard:

[Defence Against the Dark Arts]

[Returning to Basic Principles]

"Students, this year, we will be studying a carefully arranged, theory-centered, Ministry-approved Defence Against the Dark Arts course. The Ministry believes that theoretical knowledge can more effectively help you understand magic and pass exams."

Professor Umbridge turned to face the class, clasped her hands together, placed them squarely in front of her chest, and said.

"After all, the purpose of the school is to get students to pass exams. And unfortunately, Hogwarts seems to have been too focused on practice in the past, so that many wizards don't know how to use magic cautiously and legally after graduation. And in my class, you will learn about Defence Against the Dark Arts knowledge in a safe, risk-free manner."

"Of course, these problems will be improved in the new Hogwarts curriculum standards. Please write these words down."

She tapped the blackboard again, and the two lines of words disappeared, replaced by "Course Objectives".

[1. Understand the basic principles of Defence Against the Dark Arts.]

[2. Learn to identify occasions where it is legal to use Defence Against the Dark Arts.]

[3. Evaluate Defence Against the Dark Arts in the context of practical application.]

The classroom was filled with the rustling sound of quills writing on parchment.

Two or three minutes later, after each student had copied down Professor Umbridge's three course objectives, she asked: "I heard that Wilbert Slinkhard's *Defensive Magical Theory* was not included in the book list before the start of this semester, right?"

A jumbled answer rang out in the classroom.

"I think we need to do it again."

Professor Umbridge said, repeating patiently as if teaching a child.

"When I ask you a question, I want you to answer 'Yes, Professor Umbridge.' Or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' Let's do it again: Does every student have Wilbert Slinkhard's *Defensive Magical Theory* on hand right now?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge." The whole class answered loudly.

"Good, very energetic--"

Dolores Umbridge nodded with satisfaction and tapped the blackboard hard with her wand.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of lines of dense text appeared in the center of the blackboard, filling all the space.

Professor Umbridge left the blackboard, sat down in the chair behind the podium, her drooping, toad-like eyes stared at the somewhat dazed little wizards, and clapped her hands happily, saying in a relaxed tone.

"I want you to pick up your pens and start copying from 'Chapter 1, Introductory Basic Principles'. I will change to the next page in twenty minutes, and then I will check your copies one by one at the end of class. Start now..."

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Hooray~ Another big chapter~ Just made it~ (ps not charged~)

ps: Ailina actually entered the annual character audition, also in 88th place, barely making it~ The most important thing is that she was actually placed in Group E with Crow-gege's Shang Jianyao, who is in first place. Losing to the champion is not embarrassing. This wave, this wave is a big victory for Group E!

ps2: Don't waste that true love charm on Ailina... Give me some chapter comments and monthly tickets~