Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 201 The Loyal Umbridge

The Secret Brotherhood!
The first time I heard of an organization that Vaughn hadn't been able to find any trace of until now was when DeSantis, who was parasitizing the mental world of Essex, told me about it.

Interestingly, DeSantis, whom Vaughn encountered in Jack Graves's mental world last time, seemed unaware of the organization's existence.

Essex's stance was firm.

But Vaughn laughed.

Because of his two encounters with different "DeSantis", he realized that the wizard who was proficient in memory magic and was suspected of being legendary was definitely not as narrow-minded as Essex thought!

He ignored Essex's wary gaze, flicked his fingers, and the dense mist created by the Mist Charm spread out:
“Dear Bruce, before you firmly reject me, I think you’d better take a look at another ‘DeSantis’ and see if he matches your impression of him.”

.........

"Traitor" is undoubtedly a rather derogatory term.

In Kingsley's previous impression, Umbridge was synonymous with this word.

However, after actually interacting with him, Kingsley suddenly realized that the derogatory term "treacherous" actually describes a person's attitude and morality, and has nothing to do with actual ability.

At least Dolores Umbridge, that scoundrel, is far more capable, enthusiastic, and efficient than Kingsley imagined.

Perhaps her motivation stemmed from fear, or perhaps she was simply trying to curry favor with the authorities.

But in carrying out the tasks assigned by Mr. Weasley, Kingsley found her to be more proactive and efficient than any other WAC he had ever met.

He simply went back to his room to change his clothes, and when he came out again, Umbridge had not only changed back into her pink knitted dress, but had also attracted two Aurors.

Speaking of the Aurors who accompanied them, they have had little presence since arriving in America.

On the one hand, WAC had previously cooperated with the Federation, and the combined manpower of both sides was basically enough to handle team security, not to mention that they later formed a coalition.

On the other hand, the accompanying Aurors themselves were already divided because of Umbridge being turned into a toad, especially after Cornelius Fudge became furious but dared not retaliate against Vaughn, and took his anger out on the Shackles.

Some of those who were close to Kingsley felt a sense of impending doom; although they dared not defy the Ministry of Magic, they outwardly complied with its orders but inwardly resisted, spending their days holed up in the hotel and never venturing out.

Another group of Aurors chose to side with Fudge during this turmoil, and were therefore naturally ostracized by the other Aurors, spending their days doing nothing.

Williamson and John Dexter are prime examples.

The Aurors that Umbridge recruited were them!

When Kingsley arrived at the meeting point outside the hotel building, he overheard Umbridge giving the two a high-pitched lecture:
"...This is a top-secret mission. There are no details about the mission, and you have no right to know, but I believe you also understand that this is a rare opportunity—"

As she spoke, she walked up the steps, cleverly using them to put herself in a higher position despite her height disadvantage.

Williamson and Delilah unconsciously looked up at her, a strange atmosphere stirred by her words and actions. It wasn't magic, but an aura more difficult to understand than magic.

From Kingsley's perspective, the usually unruly Williamson and Dexter were easily swayed by Umbridge's aura.

Soon, the two became excited, seemingly already imagining themselves making a name for themselves in a top-secret mission, catching the eye of a big shot, and reaching the pinnacle of their lives.

It wasn't until Kingsley approached that the two snapped out of their reverie and revealed wary expressions.

"There are no useless people in the world, but they must be used in the right way..."

Kingsley, in the past, didn't fully grasp the meaning of this statement, after all, he had never been in a management position and had no experience.

Today, Umbridge has shown him what that means.

No wonder Mr. Weasley never kills anyone; perhaps in his eyes, everyone has value?
While thinking about this, Kingsley observed the expressions of Williamson and Dexter and felt slightly relieved. Although he didn't think Umbridge would dare to cause trouble, he couldn't completely let his guard down since the other party had brought his "confidants."

However, judging from the behavior of these two guys, I was probably overthinking it.

Sure enough, when Umbridge later had a chance to discuss the matter privately, the fat witch revealed her intention in bringing Williamson and Dexter along:
“Those two fools offended the esteemed Mr. Weasley. I heard it all clearly in the suite and was deeply indignant. As punishment, the only value they have left in their lives is to help us complete the tasks assigned by Mr. Weasley.”

The subtext is already quite clear.

If danger is encountered during the mission, these two guys will probably be used by Umbridge as cannon fodder to escape or buy time!

What a vicious woman...

As for the danger?

It definitely exists. Kingsley hadn't forgotten that he and the others were currently under "house arrest" by the Magical Congress.

Even though the so-called house arrest is currently ineffective, no one can say for sure what the Magic Congress's attitude is.

Because they were unsure of the destination and duration of the mission, the group carried backpacks or handbags that had been enchanted with a Seamless Stretch Charm.

It contained some emergency supplies.

After Kingsley and Umbridge checked each other's preparations, it was already late. The sky, obscured by urban light pollution, was devoid of any starlight, and a full moon had already risen above the treetops.

"Ow—"

Kingsley unfolded the letter Vaughn had given him, and as the letter transformed into an arrow pointing in a direction, they mounted their brooms and followed closely behind.

Behind them, from the magnificent hotel building, the faint sound of wolf howls could be heard.

Kingsley took one last look at the building.

He knew that the full moon transformation had begun...

.........

Just as Kingsley, Umbridge, and others set off, in distant New York, at the Woolworth Building.

The latest plenary session of Congress has been suspended once again.

As always, the meeting was not paused because the parties had reached a consensus on the matters discussed, or because "significant progress had been made."

Instead, the men, unable to persuade each other verbally, resorted to physical "persuasion" once again!
The scene in the huge council hall was more chaotic than before. One of the negative consequences of the seven pure-blood families temporarily losing their seats on the council committee was that the pure-blood alliance, which was not composed of the twelve pure-blood families, had also joined the elderly fighting competition.

Several councilors, including Fisher and Graves, who were of pure blood (12), grabbed a few white-bearded wizards and gave them a good beating. The white-bearded wizards trembled, but they were equally unwilling to back down, grabbing their legs or pulling their hair, using every means possible.

Even one of the Graves family members, a member of parliament, had a pair of dentures embedded in his forehead.

I wonder which elder left behind this treasure.

However, the chaos in Parliament today lacked the usual listless and perfunctory gavel strike of Speaker Josiah Parker.

Even the members of the Council of the 12 Purebloods and the Pureblood Alliance, the real power figures, were not sitting in their seats in the council hall.

In a corner of the hall, a heavy door protected by magic blocked out the noise from outside. This was a luxurious little conference room, which was brightly lit at the moment.

The atmosphere in the small meeting room was somewhat somber.

At the oval conference table, Speaker Josiah Parker sat in the center. His gaze swept to his left, where there were only four chairs, all occupied by members of the Pureblood Alliance.

On the right, unlike the left, there are 12 chairs, but only 5 are occupied, leaving 7 empty. There is only a soft stool behind each chair.

This is the seat for the 12 purebloods, and Donald is sitting behind Graves' high-backed chair.

The room was silent; no one spoke. Josiah Parker observed for a moment, then picked up the mallet in front of him and tapped it.
"Distinguished committee members, and representatives of the families representing the seven missing committee members who are here as observers, you have all agreed to meet here, and I believe you, like me, are tired of the endless arguments and fights. We must reach a consensus and make a resolution regarding WAC... We can no longer continue this entanglement; we must reach a conclusion today!"

Donald slightly raised his eyes, and the expressions of the various committee members he saw were all different.

"What's there to discuss?" Across from her, a gray-haired witch gave a forced smile. "In my opinion, before deciding on the WAC issue, shouldn't we first sort out the governing structure of Congress? Losing seven seats in a row has brought multiple departments to a standstill, causing so much delay!"

Donald knows the gray-haired witch, who is from the Rappaport family.

That's right, it's the Rappaport Act. The prefix in the act's name comes from the fact that it was enacted by Speaker Emily Rappaport at the time. Because the twelve purebloods are constantly at odds with each other, the Speaker's seat is usually chosen by default from a smaller, weaker family, in order to fairly protect the interests of the twelve purebloods.

However, in 1790, Emily Rappaport, who was in office at the time, happened to be in a "good time" when the magic leak caused by Bartholomew Byrben, a descendant of the Purgers, had a very bad influence.

Caught off guard, the North American magical community urgently needed a clear solution to the incident, so Emily Rappaport seized the opportunity to introduce the Rappaport Act.

Muggles and wizards were officially separated by law from that point on!
This act also brought the Rappaport family enormous political prestige, so much so that 100 years later, during the relocation and reorganization of the Magical Congress in 1892, the Rappaport family, with an overwhelming advantage, was jointly nominated by the small pure-blood families that had not yet formed an alliance to enter the Council of the House.

She was also the only one elected among the five seats on the Academy Committee belonging to the Little Pureblood Clan—the other four seats were puppets set up by the 12 Purebloods more than 100 years ago to show fairness and appease the Little Pureblood Clan!
Such immense political prestige naturally aroused the vigilance and suppression of the 12 purebloods, but the subsequent generations of the Rappaport family were quite shrewd.

Not only did they withstand the suppression, but they also gradually won back the other four puppet seats within the entire council. The pure-blood alliance formed by those small pure-blood families was also inextricably linked to them.

Furthermore, the fact that the Pureblood Alliance seized power after the disappearance of the seven committee members was likely orchestrated behind the scenes by the Rappaport family.

Upon hearing her speak, Donald knew that another argument was about to break out.

Sure enough, on the side of the 12 purebloods, one of the committee members from the Rothschild family immediately retorted: "Marianne, how do you plan to sort things out? How about we hand over all the power to you? And then you can use that power to go and contact Vaughn Weasley, how about that?"

"Abernathy!"

"Why are you shouting so loudly? I'm not deaf or blind. Don't think you can fool us by sending people to contact Vaughn Weasley. Everyone knows what you're up to. A bunch of traitors, trying to use Vaughn Weasley's expertise in spatial magic to help you analyze the Portkey coordinates, right? Trying to sell the coordinates to the Federation, right?"

Upon hearing Luo's words, Donald broke out in a cold sweat.

The information revealed in his words was almost entirely consistent with the facts he knew.

Even though he had overestimated the power of the 12 purebloods, he was still secretly alarmed. For a moment, he even suspected that the 12 purebloods might also know about his connection with Vaughn.
However, after the initial shock subsided and he calmed down, Donald felt something was amiss.

If the 12 purebloods had truly sensed his disloyalty, he would probably have been captured long ago—the devastating losses caused by Jack's betrayal had strongly stimulated the sensitive nerves of the 12 purebloods.

In the past few days, as far as Donald knows, 12 families have publicly dealt with a number of suspected members. Note that they are only suspected, not confirmed!
Unbeknownst to many, there are still countless wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice.

A 12-blooded warrior under stress won't give you any evidence!
He glanced at the five pureblood alliance members opposite him and suspected that the 12 purebloods might have planted spies on their side, and that the intelligence had been leaked from there.

If Donald could guess it, then the committee members certainly couldn't have been unaware of it.

Marian Rappaport's lips drooped slightly, and her aged but still sharp gaze swept over the other four committee members.

But she didn't say much, and even when faced with Abernathy Rhodes's questioning, her expression didn't change. She sneered, "Clumsy slander. Vaughn Weasley and his WAC are jackals, and the Federation is a tiger. Who would cooperate with jackals and tigers?"

"Are you 12 families trying to frame us to divert attention? These past few days, you've been avoiding questions about the Purgers. You've also been blocking the investigation into the disappearance of Michael and other committee members. The esteemed 12 families, who claim to be forever pure, the purest of pure blood, tsk tsk, have you really violated the Secrets Act and the Rappaport Act?"

"What purgers? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Stop playing dumb, Steven Greenstinch. There were so many Aurors present when Jack Graves betrayed us. Even if you sabotaged it and used 'DeSantis' as an excuse to refuse the memory erasers from continuing their memory extraction investigation, don't forget that Dreamcatcher was also monitoring that area at the time..."

"We suspect that some members of the Dreamcatcher operations team have been parasitized by DeSantis, so the Dreamcatcher data is not accepted."

"Ha, just as I expected, this is exactly their true colors. I'm not surprised at all."

"That's normal. A person with a dark mind sees everything as dirty..."

As expected, the argument escalated.

Donald sat quietly on the soft stool, trying to minimize his presence, and prepared himself for a long battle.

He knew very well that whether it was the Porter, Weiss, and Fontana families of the Ilfamoni gang, or the Graves family, or the current pure-blood alliance led by Rappaport.

Whether they support or oppose it, the focus of the dispute has never been simply whether or not the WAC should be allowed to be established in the United States.

Rather, it's a question of who will gain the upper hand!
Of course, the families that clearly expressed their desire for dominance in the WAC were nine of the twelve pureblood families, including Graves, as well as the pureblood alliance such as the Rappaport family.

Relatively speaking, the Porter, Weiss, and Fontana families, who are outliers among the 12 purebloods, have unclear goals. At least in Donald's view, their positions are rather strange.

To be precise, there was no consensus within the Ifamoni gang.

Before Michael disappeared, Donald had heard him complain privately more than once about the Stewart family's stubbornness, complaining that those "Mudbloods" were out of their minds, only thinking about introducing the WAC model, but not mentioning the distribution of power at all.

It's like doing a good deed!
Donald hadn't cared much about these things before, until Michael disappeared. As the highest-ranking member of the Graves family in Woolworth, he was forced to participate in the work that Michael had originally been in charge of, as a family representative.

It was only then that they truly realized that the Stewart family had indeed shown extraordinary enthusiasm and "naiveté" in their handling of Vaughn Weasley's visit to North America and the introduction of the WAC model.

These days, the agenda of every meeting Stuart has remained unchanged—they demand that the Magical Congress lift its ambiguity and questioning of Mr. Vaughn Weasley's diplomatic status, recognize the complete legality of his academic visit, and acknowledge the legitimacy of the WAC, with him at its core, in the United States.

Their goal seems to be simply to befriend Vaughn Weasley and ensure the smooth implementation of the WAC model in America.

No one knows why the Stewart family did this, and according to Donald's observation, the Porter, Weiss, and Fontana families also seem to be unaware.

Donald noticed that in recent meetings, when Stewart proposed motions, Porter, Weiss, and Fontana were somewhat hesitant and not as firm as Michael had previously stated.

Of course, the three families did not show any explicit opposition, but instead remained on the same side as the Stuart family—this was not surprising, as the three families were too deeply involved with Ifamoni, and Ifamoni had always been under the control of the Stuart family.

Questioning Stewart is tantamount to undermining themselves!

Moreover, the Stewart family has more than just these three allies in Congress.

The situation in Congress is very complicated. Even the 12 pureblood families cannot be of one mind, let alone the many smaller pureblood families outside of the 12 pureblood families.

Even with the support of the Rappaport family, they united to form the Pureblood Alliance.

But that doesn’t mean their will and voices are united. For various reasons, the Pureblood Alliance is divided into many factions, some of which closely follow Rappaport, while others have a more ambiguous and detached attitude.

Others are staunch supporters of Stewart, such as Isolt Thayer and James Stewart's adopted son from over three hundred years ago, now the Butt family.

As legend has it, Isolde Thayer was a kind, trustworthy, and charismatic witch. Native American wizards have kept their promises and protected Iphamoni to this day.

Those who received her help, such as the pure-blooded families of the Butt, have remained steadfast in their friendship and support for Stewart for over three hundred years.

Thinking about it, Donald glanced around the small conference room again.

The Pureblood Alliance and the 12 Pureblood Families were arguing heatedly. Mr. Abernathy Roth rolled up his sleeves, revealing his thick arms. Judging from his posture, if it weren't for the conference table blocking the view, he probably would have slapped Ms. Marian Rappaport across the face long ago.

However, Ms. Marian was not someone to be trifled with. Her wrinkled, thin hands, with sharp nails digging into the table, looked as if she wanted to scratch Abernathy's face raw.

Donald paid no attention to their stale argument; he was focused on observing Josiah Parker at the head of the table!
He couldn't believe that Speaker Josiah Parker, who could see the problem, wouldn't realize who the real underlying cause of the stalemate was.

Therefore, Josiah Parker may have brought the committee members and representatives to the small meeting room today to take advantage of the privacy of the plenary committee meeting and exclude Stuart and the interference of the small family members who support Stuart!
To narrow down a broad dispute to a limited number of people.

Next, as long as Josiah Parker can temporarily reconcile the conflict between the Pureblood Alliance and the 12 Purebloods, this protracted dispute can come to a temporary end!

dong dong dong-

The crisp sound of the mallet interrupted the argument, and both sides looked up toward the source of the sound.

Josiah Parker’s thick white beard trembled as he said solemnly, “Ladies and gentlemen, I understand that the demands of all parties are different and I understand your respective positions, but I want to emphasize again that with the disappearance of Michael and other commissioners, the situation that Congress may face is becoming increasingly complex and contradictory. We do not have the energy to continue this endless wrangling. I hope that you can break free from prejudice and irrational confrontation.”

To his left, Marian Rappaport pursed her thin lips: "Your Excellency Speaker, the Pureblood Alliance is very responsible in trying to resolve the problem and clean up the mess left by those guys, but unfortunately, some people have no sincerity in cooperating at all."

"Cooperate? Haha, sorry, the descendants of the Twelve Aurors never yield to dogs that wag their tails to outsiders!"

"Are you introducing yourself, Abernathy? Please forgive my bluntness, but I can't imagine what it's like to be a dog for a Muggle!"

The tension was rising again.

Josiah Parker struck the gavel again: "Commissioners, please calm down!"

Although the Speaker of the Magical Parliament is closer to a puppet in terms of power structure, he is, after all, the supreme leader recognized by law and the nominal leader of the 200,000 wizards in the United States.

While they might not show respect in private, Marian and Abernathy still had to give them some face in public settings like this.

(End of this chapter)