"Heh~" The long, slender quill twirled in John's hand. He gently stroked the feather with his fingers and said lightly, "An interesting little tool, huh?~"
He made no move to write, instead fixing his gaze on Umbridge's increasingly stiff expression.
"Hogwarts has no precedent for punishing students with Dark Magic."
His slender fingers spun the quill between them as he looked at Umbridge with amusement. "What do you think the Ministry of Magic would say if they knew you were using Dark Magic on students inside school grounds?"
Umbridge let out a giggle, her voice syrupy sweet. "I'm merely helping disobedient students learn a lasting lesson."
"How about I give you a chance instead." John placed the quill back on the table and pushed it toward Umbridge, his tone meaningful. "Nah~ Copy it yourself. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to have the Ministry revoke your position."
Umbridge smiled, looking at John as if he were just a spoiled child. She pushed the quill back.
"My dear child, the world outside Hogwarts isn't as simple."
"Oh really?" John raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair as he slowly listed off names with amusement:
"Draco Malfoy."
"Pansy Parkinson."
"Millicent Bulstrode."
"Theodore Nott."
"Daphne Greengrass."
"..."
As the names of the Slytherin students were read out one by one, Umbridge was initially inattentive.
But gradually, her smile became harder and harder to maintain.
John rested his interlaced fingers beneath his chin, those deep eyes of his exerting an invisible pressure.
"I.. cough.. I don't understand the point of you saying all this?" Umbridge coughed a couple of times, forcing a fake smile to keep her composure.
"You don't understand?" John let out a low chuckle, his tone mocking. "You don't understand what the surnames behind those people represent?"
"Some are descendants of Hogwarts board members, others are children of high-ranking officials, nephews of public figures, daughters of wealthy merchants…"
Raising an eyebrow, John chuckled lightly, "If we wanted to, getting these people to jointly petition for the dismissal of an Inquisitor wouldn't be difficult at all."
Umbridge was now clearly struggling to maintain her smile. Her expression darkened as she tried to salvage her dignity with a gentle voice, "That may be true for them, but not for you."
"Oh, how foolish you are. But I like it. It's good that I chose you." John leaned back in his chair again.
"W-What do you mean!?"
"Nothing. It's just that you made a mistake. It's not me or them.." His eyes lifted slightly, carrying the air of a ruler looking down from above. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear and resounding: "It's us."
Bang!
The not-so-sturdy wooden door was kicked open by two large boys.
Malfoy walked in with a swagger like he didn't recognize his own kin, and under Umbridge's astonished gaze, he came to stand behind John.
Following him were Daphne, Pansy, Theodore… Slytherin green filled the office.
They stood in silence, yet the power they exuded was like glazed crystal—radiant and brilliant, refracting a blinding light that made one's eyes ache.
The pink cat plates on the wall were blocked by the students. In the center of the crowd, John sat, surrounded like a king among his court.
"You… you all!" Umbridge snapped sharply.
The only response she got was a series of wild, cunning, and cold eyes—some arrogant, some ruthless—all burning with fervor.
John stood up and casually adjusted the wrinkled cuff of his sleeve. "We are Slytherin—calculating, power above all."
"The weak gaze up at us. Remember our strength. Remember our poise. The strong fear us. Remember our unity. Remember our pride. God's grace may bring you to your knees. But we…"
John's lips curled into a smirk as he pushed the feather quill forward once again.
Under the fanatical gaze of the Slytherin students, his voice carried an irresistible power, calm yet commanding: "…will make you stand up."
Umbridge collapsed into her chair, her chest rising and falling violently.
She wanted—desperately wanted—to expel this Muggle-born student.
But she… didn't dare.
The Slytherins walked out of the office with their heads held high.
They had won.
No one could force their king to apologize.
They stood united, bristling with thorns.
Foolish rumors could not harm them in the slightest—they thrived amid whispers and gossip after all.
The weak seek the protection of the strong.
But Slytherin...
Was born strong!
Either turn a blind eye and let Slytherin matters be, or wait for the backlash from Slytherin and lose your position.
John had given Umbridge a choice.
Granted, he could have handled it on his own—but wasn't this outcome far better?
Ambition. Cunning. Glory.
Victory, in the end, belongs to Slytherin.
No one could shake them.
As the Slytherins exited Umbridge's office, the air was thick with triumph and tension. But just before they turned the corridor, Daphne halted.
Without a word, she spun on her heel and strode back into the office.
Umbridge looked up in alarm, her face still pale from the confrontation.
Daphne's voice was sharp, low, and venom-laced: "Stay in your place, you filthy toad."
The words hit like a slap. Umbridge's mouth opened, then closed again, stunned into silence.
Daphne didn't wait for a response. She turned on her heel and rejoined the group, slipping back to John's side.
...
Outside of Slytherin, no one else could replicate this operation.
Because they weren't united enough.
Brave lions, proud eagles, peaceful badgers—
None of them could do it.
The weak were the majority, soft and powerless.
Even the brave lions couldn't withstand a few petty rumors.
When John had come out of Umbridge's office, Ron—who had been gloating a little—was dumbfounded.
Harry was rubbing the back of his hand, confused as to why John looked completely unscathed.
"You should've known it wasn't John who snitched," Hermione let out a breath of relief and snapped, "If it were him, why would Umbridge summon him?"
Ron still felt that Umbridge was biased toward Slytherin.
He had no idea what happened—just thought that since Umbridge came from Slytherin, of course she was unfair.
After all, Angelina had to plead and negotiate endlessly just to keep the Quidditch team from being disbanded.
...
Meanwhile, inside Slytherin's common room.
Malfoy was proudly telling John how he'd kicked the door open.
John glanced at him and said, "Pretty sure I saw Goyle and Crabbe knock the door open."
"Ahem, that's because you didn't see the kick I landed—it was the most critical part."
John found that hard to believe.
He placed his right hand on the table and tapped his fingers against the surface.
The greatest strength students had was unity—pity that no other House ever considered that.
They turned to the professors, hoping Dumbledore would step in, not realizing that if they just united, even if Umbridge were the Minister of Magic, she wouldn't dare expel all the students at once.
Students weren't just students—they were someone's son, someone's daughter.
It was the families and connections behind them that gave them real power.
If they understood that, Umbridge wouldn't seem so terrifying.
Heh~ keep this momentum up, Dumbledore's complaint box will be full in no time!
Smiling, John noticed Malfoy being called away by Montague.
Probably something about the Quidditch team.
Last term, the Triwizard Tournament had overshadowed the Quidditch season. Now that Montague was nearing graduation, he had to make sure he didn't go down as the worst Slytherin Quidditch captain in a decade.
Slytherin's winning streak couldn't end under his watch.
"Looks like Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang are having relationship problems," Pansy said to Daphne, gossiping.
"Hmm? How so?" Daphne asked.
Pansy said, "He's been too busy since becoming the Head Boy. Cho Chang feels neglected."
Upon hearing that, John thought, No wonder Cho was at the Hog's Head. So that's what's going on.
Whether the two would break up had become a hot topic among the girls at Hogwarts.
Cedric wasn't like Percy, always with a stiff face. He was a warm and witty Head boy, and also the Triwizard Tournament's top contender.
Handsome, charming, and well-spoken.
Who wouldn't like someone like that? You could say most girls in the school were just waiting for them to break up, ready to swoop in without missing a beat.
Pansy, the biggest gossipmonger of them all, had even secretly placed a bet that they wouldn't make it past Christmas.
John brought it up in the Constellation Society too. Cedric gave a wry smile and said, "You know, with everything going on, I've been pretty busy."
Cedric added, "But Cho is probably just feeling lonely. She needs some friends around her."
"Having her spend time with the others is good. Might even help her grades, don't you think?" Cedric seemed unbothered about Cho joining the Defense Against the Dark Arts special training group.
He and John were on the same page—letting Cho learn a bit of self-defense was a good thing.
As for the Constellation Society, he'd never even thought about letting Cho join.
Because he knew exactly what he and the others were doing—things that were far too dangerous.
"About your matter…" Cedric hesitated before asking John.
John nodded and calmly said, "I'm still preparing. I won't take any risks until I'm fully confident."
Cedric let out a sigh of relief. He was now the oldest member of the Constellation Society at Hogwarts.
Having seen and experienced more than most, he fully understood just how dangerous John's mission was.
After their talk, Cedric had to return to handling student council matters.
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Hi! Uncle is crying like a baby because he watched Bambi (again... hehe), so I'm the boss now and posting this chapter for him!
He's the one who edited it so if anything is weird or spelled wrong or whatever, it's not my fault!
Hope you like the story and have a super awesome day!!!