Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 219 Surveillance

Somehow, Thea's words spread like a prophecy throughout Slytherin at lightning speed.

Since the matter wasn't particularly important, Thea simply let them speculate, and during her breaks from class, she immersed herself in the dark magic books Voldemort had given her.

To be honest, he truly lives up to his reputation as the Dark Lord; even the books he provides have a strong dark style.

Upon opening the scroll, one finds a snarling witch covered in blood, surrounded by countless burning candles, suggesting some kind of sacrificial scene. The burning candles seem to have consumed her life force as well…

"Snap!" Thea slammed the book shut.

It wasn't for any other reason than that she felt a bit nauseous; she had just eaten lunch.

But these were given to her by the Dark Lord, so she couldn't ignore them. Thus, Thea decided to start by flipping through the titles.

As she flipped through the pages, she came across a book that stood out from the rest—"The Apparition Guide".

Oh, Thea realized, rather belatedly, that she had actually forgotten about the magic, which was why she and Draco had spent a miserable night on a flying broomstick.

what a shame!

Looking at the prominent words on the cover, Thea seemed to sense Voldemort's speechlessness.

All the other books were works that would send her to Azkaban for life, so this particularly "normal" book stood out.

It seems she's already finalized her Christmas plans.

------

Daphne has been acting strangely lately.

Seeing Daphne nearly spill her teacup again, even the usually easygoing Thea couldn't help but pinch her brow in exasperation.

“west…Xi’a…”

“It’s alright,” Thea waved her hand. “We can talk about it later.”

Daphne swallowed her words and nervously returned to her seat.

“Continue,” Thea gestured, indicating that they should continue the previous topic.

“...I heard from my father that Umbridge…”

After the meeting, Thea kept Daphne behind.

She slowly took a sip of the hot water in her cup before speaking, "You haven't seemed quite right these past few days. Has something happened?"

Daphne hesitated, her lips moving for a long time without saying anything.

Thea gradually lost patience. So what if she accepted a mission to monitor me? Why is she making such a fuss?

Could it be that after being "plastic" friends for so long, they actually believe they have feelings for each other?

Thea chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly composed.

"Can you tell me about it? Maybe I can help you."

It's unclear what struck a nerve with Daphne, but she immediately took a step back as if startled.

This action instantly made Thea lose her patience. "...If you don't want to talk, then leave. I'm busy."

Daphne was still annoyed by her earlier retreat when she heard the order to leave. She froze on the spot for a moment, then stiffly walked out of the conference room.

"Daphne?"

Zabini waved vigorously in front of Daphne, trying to find focus in her eyes.

"...Did Thea insult you?"

Although it's hard to imagine Thea swearing, that doesn't stop Zabini from using his imagination.

“No,” Daphne seemed to come to her senses, “...I didn’t say anything...and then I came out.”

“You…” Zabini’s relaxed expression slowly turned into a deep seriousness, “You really didn’t say anything?”

Daphne was startled by the question and asked in surprise and doubt, "What? Did I...do something wrong?"

“Completely wrong!” Zabini said mercilessly.

Seeing Daphne's puzzled face, Zabini sighed, "Why didn't you just say so?!"

Zabini couldn't understand it at all. Did Daphne really think she could fool the person inside?

They gave you a chance to explain yourself and to complain.

Who knew you would just stay completely silent?

How can people trust your camp with this attitude?

Zabini's gaze sent chills down Daphne's spine. Instinctively, she chose the most reliable method—she lunged at Zabini and pleaded in her most sincere voice, "Please, save me!"

"We've known each other since we were kids!"

Sure enough, this explanation made Zabini instantly uncomfortable. Looking at Daphne's pitiful face, Zabini coughed awkwardly.

"Alright! Since you're so sincere, I'll reluctantly help you this once!"

Zabini said generously, but when he thought about how troublesome this matter would be, he slowly frowned.

"Since we've already missed the chance to be honest... we might as well prove it with our actions..."

In a few breaths, an idea popped into Zabini's mind.

I wonder when that key figure will return...

As Zabini pondered this, his gaze slowly drifted to an office on the fourth floor.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Umbridge returned a week before Christmas.

Just by looking at her dark circles, the young wizards could tell that the Ministry of Magic had been in a terrible state lately. Thanks to Umbridge's popularity at Hogwarts, not a single young wizard truly welcomed her return.

Umbridge noticed the young wizards' indifference and instinctively wanted to lock them all up in solitary confinement, but Professor McGonagall was watching her intently.

Umbridge reluctantly abandoned the idea, but soon she found the person she most wanted to see in the crowd.

Thea accidentally made eye contact with Umbridge, and seeing the obvious scheming on his face, Thea suddenly began to doubt her own identity.

Is it that her background isn't compelling enough? Or is it that Umbridge is just too audacious?

She used to know how to cover it up, but now she doesn't even want to cover her shame anymore?

Was the incident she caused at the Ministry of Magic really that big?

Thea slowly fell into deep thought.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Perhaps because Christmas was approaching, Umbridge wasn't in a hurry to start her reforms right away. However, she called Thea to her office, and as time went on, Thea spent more and more time in the office.

Finally, on the day before Christmas, just before Umbridge's patience was about to run out, Thea relented.

Along with the release of the document approving the continuation of the study group, Thea also became the newly appointed leader of the monitor group.