Umbridge unconsciously thought she was hallucinating, but the Dementors' movements were real, and she couldn't ignore them. She looked at Professor McGonagall and the young wizards behind her. Umbridge gritted her teeth and made one last effort.
"Perhaps I expressed myself poorly. I mean, do you enter Hogwarts just because you're hungry, with no other reason? Didn't you discover the trail of Sirius Black or something like that?"
The Dementors nodded.
That's right, they were just hungry.
"Hungry... we didn't find... Black..." The Dementors added a clarification, fearful that their response might be ambiguous.
Hearing this, Umbridge was left with no options. She couldn't believe the Dementors were so straightforward and didn't even attempt to hide their intentions. How could they be so naive? Now she felt dizzy and confused. Trying to get a testimony from the Dementors had been her last desperate attempt, and now they had fallen into the trap.
Umbridge was furious. She felt the Dementors were a bunch of brainless idiots, if they even had brains. Now she decided to "sacrifice" some of the Dementors to make amends with Hogwarts.
Behind Umbridge, Professor McGonagall didn't understand what the Dementors were saying, but from their reactions, it seemed like the Dementors were admitting guilt. Her expression became strange.
"I didn't expect these evil beings to be so straightforward," McGonagall thought. Her gaze narrowed as she considered how to use this "confession" to her advantage.
Tom fully understood the conversation. He was suppressing laughter with great effort. Among those present, he was the one who best understood the Dementors, so he knew that their reaction was completely normal.
Dementors, purely evil creatures from a human perspective, were simply straightforward from the perspective of other creatures. To them, humans were just food. If we analyze Umbridge's question from their perspective, it would be like someone asking you, "Did you go to the cafeteria yesterday because you were hungry?"
Obviously! Why would I go to the cafeteria if I'm not hungry?
"Did you go to the cafeteria because you heard the professor assigned homework that was there?" Tom asked.
Of course not! I went to the cafeteria because I was starving!
From the Dementors' perspective, humans were merely ingredients. Their obedience to the Ministry of Magic's orders was due to the lesson they had previously received from the Ministry, where a group of "ingredients" brutally attacked them. It was the Patronus charm that subdued them, not the Ministry's authority. Unfortunately, most Ministry employees considered their submission as something natural, disregarding their own characteristics.
Dementors cannot be bound by human morality; the rules of human society have no effect on them.
Umbridge couldn't understand this. She only knew how to use force to solve problems.
"I must impose a punishment on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. Your unauthorized entry into Hogwarts goes against the contract you have with the Ministry... Contract violators must be punished... So this is what I'm forced to do."
"Expecto Patronum," she waved her wand, summoning her own Patronus, a white cat. Each time she invoked her Patronus, she imagined scenes in which she wielded her power over others without restrictions, giving her a strong sense of pleasure. And in the midst of that pleasure, her Patronus gradually became tangible, finally manifesting a solid Patronus.
"Oh!"
McGonagall, Tom: o(Д)っ!
"Oh..." exclaimed McGonagall and Tom, surprised. They didn't expect someone like Umbridge to be able to use the Patronus charm and manifest a solid Patronus. However, it made sense; Umbridge was a "moral vacuum," but she rarely used dark magic, her mind was quite sane, and the things she fantasized about were genuinely pleasant... Therefore, Umbridge, as a villainous character, used the Patronus charm in an extremely discordant way.
The white cat lunged at the Dementors and gave one a swipe with its claws, making it emit a pained cry.
Umbridge's summoned Patronus was slightly different from that of other wizards, perhaps because it originated from negative joy. Its attacking power against dark creatures wasn't as strong as that of a traditional Patronus. Therefore, the attacked Dementor didn't flee but instead began to call its companions.
"Ingredients... to fight!" The Dementor quickly rose in the air as it started shouting loudly, trying to attract more fellow Dementors.
Several Dementors swirled around it, and though Jasmine's white cat fought back furiously, each strike caused a Dementor to emit a pained cry and become incapacitated, but it couldn't immediately drive them away. Instead, it attracted more nearby Dementors.
As more and more Dementors arrived, the clear sky suddenly darkened, and the temperature of the surrounding air dropped.
Umbridge's expression suddenly changed.
"What's happening?" she exclaimed with a hint of panic. "Why aren't they fleeing?"
Professor McGonagall didn't bother to respond. She drew her wand and, at the same time, shielded the students behind her with her other free hand.
At that moment, the Dementors began to descend one by one and circled around Umbridge.
"I am an inspector sent by the Ministry of Magic! I speak on behalf of the Ministry! I warn you, do not worsen your crimes!" Umbridge shouted shrilly.
The Dementors ignored her and instead looked at the Dementors who had been attacked by Umbridge, asking them what had happened.
"What... happened?"
"She... suddenly... attacked us..."
"The woman... who asks... strange questions..."
The Dementors quickly realized that the chubby and crazy woman in front of them had attacked her own comrades and claimed to represent the Ministry of Magic to punish them.
This instantly ignited their anger.
They were already extremely resentful of the Ministry of Magic's lack of rations, and now someone appeared out of nowhere wanting to punish them without reason. How could they endure it?
Gradually, they closed in on Umbridge.
Umbridge paled and gripped her wand tightly. "Back off! I warn you!"
The Dementors remained unfazed.
Umbridge acted. She directed her Patronus at the Dementors, but taking down one only resulted in another swiftly taking its place. Soon, her Patronus grew weaker.