"Mrs. Umbridge, the Dementors have been completely driven off," reported a burly man with little hair on his head, standing beside Umbridge, as he gave her a report on the recent battle.
"Brian, what I want is not their expulsion, but to severely punish those Dementors who dared to commit criminal acts!" Umbridge was quite dissatisfied with the term "expulsion." She wanted to give those Dementors who attacked her an unforgettable lesson.
She looked at the Aurors she had brought from the Ministry and squeezed a small smile: "Brian, I believe with your skills, you surely won't disappoint the department's expectations, right? The annual evaluation for the Aurors isn't far away. In my personal experience, if you can handle this incident properly and deliver a satisfactory result to the Minister, you'll definitely get an 'Outstanding' rating in your personal evaluation."
Umbridge's insinuations were quite evident: if you punish the Dementors, your evaluation will be "Outstanding." Of course, if you cower and hesitate, then it will be difficult to say what results you'll get in your evaluation...
Brian, as a veteran Auror with a long tenure at the Ministry of Magic, understood Umbridge's implicit message clearly. Or rather, one couldn't succeed in the Ministry of Magic if they didn't grasp the superiors' implicit messages.
As part of the Ministry of Magic's elite forces, Brian also had his own convictions. With a determined expression, he spoke aloud.
"Minister, as a representative of the Ministry of Magic, the Dementors who dared to attack you are no longer ordinary Dementors. We must strike hard! I will join the Aurors and the attackers to teach them a lesson."
Umbridge smiled with satisfaction. "Allow me to correct a small mistake. I am the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, so please call me Undersecretary. With a reliable Auror like you in the department, I can rest assured. I believe that in the future, you will undoubtedly become an Auror like your predecessor, Dawlish, an Auror the Minister can trust."
Brian was pleased to hear that. Although Dawlish wasn't very skilled in combat, he was a rising Auror within the Ministry of Magic. He had the Minister's trust and basically accompanied him whenever he went out, responsible for his security alongside Auror Kingsley.
There were rumors that when the current Head of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour, was promoted, one of the two would succeed as the next Head of the Auror Office.
Brian knew very well that he was unlikely to be the next Head of the Office, but being the Minister's confidant was not bad either.
And now, he just needed to teach the Dementors a lesson to win the Minister's favor and establish a connection with Umbridge. Why not do it? Dementors were just mindless dark creatures, so if they beat them up, they would simply be beaten up. It didn't matter if they harmed them, as they wouldn't have to pay for it.
"Yes, Minister. I'm getting ready to leave!" Brian enthusiastically gave instructions to his subordinates and departed.
Seeing how receptive Brian was, Umbridge's mood improved considerably. She had now made a decision; she had no intention of continuing to defend the Dementors but to use their punishment as a bargaining chip to gain the school's understanding.
Umbridge's limit was clear: the Dementors could not be removed from Hogwarts.
"Minerva, these Dementors have been out of control. I will send people to punish them. Don't mention the withdrawal of the Dementors from Hogwarts. You know I don't have that authority." Umbridge's second half of the sentence left Professor McGonagall speechless but also gave her a glimmer of hope.
"I will report the situation here to Minister Fudge. The course of action will depend on the Minister's considerations."
Hearing Umbridge's words, McGonagall sighed resignedly, indicating that it would be best if they were removed.
"They couldn't stop Black from entering Hogwarts, you know," McGonagall was feeling quite helpless as well. Now, the Dementors were only causing inconveniences at Hogwarts and had no benefits. And as for stopping Sirius Black from entering Hogwarts, after his successful infiltration once, that had become a joke.
What is the purpose of the Dementors' existence? To protect the Hogwarts professors and students? No, it's to make the professors and students feel like they are being protected. But now, even the students know that the Dementors aren't protecting them.
But no matter what Professor McGonagall wished for, the Dementors' attack on Hogwarts had been acknowledged. The way the Ministry of Magic handled it was mediocre, but at least the guilty Dementors were punished.
Professor McGonagall only hoped that these punished Dementors would learn their lesson and not harm the students again.
But for the Dementors, the story was not over yet. Brian and the others were about to teach them a lesson!
Umbridge left with Brian, having completely forgotten about Hogwarts' pudding. Umbridge's mind was filled with vengeance. She just wanted to see the Dementors trembling before the Patronus.
After resolving the situation, Professor McGonagall looked at the children behind her and said, "Alright, hurry back to the school. You'll still make it in time for dessert. Where's Yodel?"
Professor McGonagall was surprised to realize that Tom Yodel, who had been following them, had disappeared without a trace.
Hermione and Percy were also baffled. With the chaos that had just occurred, they hadn't noticed when Tom disappeared.
"He was here a moment ago..." Hermione was puzzled. Just a few minutes ago, Tom had been fighting alongside her, summoning and merging Patronuses to drive away the Dementors. How could he have disappeared so quickly?
At that moment, Hermione felt a slight weight in the inner pocket of her robe, as if something had fallen inside. However, her expression didn't change at all, as if nothing had happened.
"Maybe he went back to the castle ahead of us," Percy reasoned, offering a reasonable explanation.
Professor McGonagall found that explanation somewhat absurd, but there didn't seem to be any other option. She had been keeping an eye on the Dementors the whole time and was sure they hadn't taken Tom. So, the only possibility was that he had returned to the castle.
"Perhaps the pudding is more attractive to him," Professor McGonagall shrugged, heading towards the castle, followed by Percy and Hermione.
Taking advantage of Professor McGonagall and Percy not paying attention, Hermione pulled out something that had suddenly appeared in her pocket. It was a paper crane. Hermione unfolded the crane and saw a line of words written by Tom, which said:
[I'm going to talk to the Dementors, don't worry about me. Remember to bring me some pudding in the common room]
Hermione: ???