When questioned by Ivan, Umbridge was quick to explain.
Three days ago, as she passed through the Entrance Hall, she overheard several students talking about the gathering and stopped them out of curiosity.
"At first, these nasty little devils didn't want to tell the truth, but after I threatened to tell their parents about it and fired them, they told me about the meeting…"
Umbridge was quite pleased with herself as she continued to scribble on the parchment with her black quill.
Every time Umbridge slid her pen across the paper, the back of her hand would split open and an identical scratch would appear on the back of her hand, which, after covering half of the paper, would be joined together with the words "Obey School Rules".
However, this minor injury did not interfere with Umbridge's desire to speak, or rather the pricking sensation made her even more excited.
Ivan nodded as Umbridge explained the situation to him, and it seemed that things were going better than he had expected, as Umbridge had not been the one to contact him to report the incident, but had been overheard.
Ivan didn't hold it against the children who had revealed information about the rally. They were underage wizards, after all, and were easily frightened. Ordinary students were terrified of dropping out of school and calling their parents…
Umbridge continued to ramble on. "After learning of the existence of an illegal student body at Hogwarts, I reported the incident to the Ministry of Magic, and Minister Fudge, believing that Dumbledore must have been behind it, held a last-minute meeting to pass Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four, and told me to get to the bottom of the matter…"
"Does that mean the Ministry already knows?" Ivan murmured, rubbing his chin.
After discovering that there were over a hundred members of the so-called "interest group", he guessed that there was no way to keep this a secret.
However, Ivan did not expect to be exposed so soon, as he thought Umbridge would not be so quick to inform Fudge.
Fortunately, Dumbledore took the blame for him…
Yvonne thought for a moment, then came up with an idea and said, "Well, tell you what, Umbridge … the next time you go back to Fudge, tell him that this illegal student organisation does have something to do with Dumbledore."
'But he's very careful, and you won't get anything on him for a while, so you'll need some time to gather evidence, remember?' Ivan instructed Umbridge sternly.
Ivan had no intention of going head-to-head with the Ministry until the planned preparations were complete, and avoiding trouble for a while was the right move.
Of course, this would not take long. According to the latest intelligence he had received, Voldemort could not wait any longer. Within a month, there would be the perfect time to strike against the Ministry…
Umbridge, fearful of disobeying Ivan's orders, took them to heart.
"If Minister for Magic Fudge is killed, who will take over?" Ivan asked suddenly.
Umbridge was too stunned to take Ivan's advice, but under the influence of the Imperius Curse, she was able to think of a reply.
"There's a good chance it will be the Auror Office Director, Rufus Scrimgeour, who is currently the most sought-after candidate for the next Minister. Of course, there's also a chance for the Head of the executive branch, Pierce Thicknesse…"
"Rufus and Pierce?" Ivan asked, rubbing his chin as he tried to recall information about the pair.
None of them seemed to be easy to deal with. The original dimension was full of resistance factions, and none of them had surrendered to Lord Voldemort, so they were unlikely to side with him.
Neither of them ended up well. Rufus was tortured to death, and Pierce was taken over by the Imperius Curse.
While he could learn Voldemort's use of the Imperius Curse to forcibly control a Minister for Magic, it would not be a long-term solution…
As Ivan considered this, Umbridge suddenly pointed coyly at him.
"To be Minister for Magic, there is… there is me!"
As she was now the Senior Undersecretary to the Ministry of Magic, she was qualified to serve as Minister for Magic, although she was not a popular candidate, as she did not have the support of many.
It was for this reason that she was willing to serve as Fudge's pawn in the battle against Dumbledore, in the hope that she would gain Minister Fudge's full support after Dumbledore's downfall and become the most powerful candidate to succeed him.
'You … let it go?' said Ivan, glancing at Umbridge and thinking she was imagining things.
Although Umbridge was, in a sense, perfectly suited to the job, had the potential to become Minister for Magic, and was a good enough lackey to listen to, Yvonne did not have a good opinion of her, and it was distasteful to choose her as Minister.
After Ivan's clear refusal, Umbridge was somewhat disappointed.
Ivan, however, could not be bothered with her change of mood and proceeded to enquire about Ministry intelligence.
Under the influence of the Imperius Curse, Umbridge revealed everything she knew, and as the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic she was privy to the vast majority of its secrets.
'You mean there are anti-Apparition Alchemy Arrays at the Ministry of Magic?' Ivan asked curiously, after Umbridge had told him about them.
'Yes, Mr Harls, but only in an emergency,' Umbridge replied deferentially.
"For example, during the last Wizarding War, the Ministry of Magic activated an Anti-Phantom Apparition Alchemy Array, sealed all the fireplaces, and combined this with the Ministry's internal protective array to create a formidable fortress… which resisted several attacks by the You-Know-Who."
"No wonder Lord Voldemort was reluctant to attack the Ministry," Ivan said, understanding in his eyes. "It was an attempt at war, and he suffered a loss and was unable to get inside?"
Back in the day, after Dumbledore's death, Voldemort had no match for him.
Even so, the cruel Dark Lord had no intention of attacking the Ministry of Magic directly, and instead chose to corrupt and control the high-ranking Ministry officials, indirectly taking control of the city.
Ivan had previously believed that Voldemort was just as reluctant as Ivan to increase the costs of the subsequent administration, but now it seems that the Ministry's protective magic array does have its merits, at least in the sense that Voldemort should not be confronted.
Since it was not easy to attack from the outside, they could only start to disintegrate internally, which was exactly what he wanted…