The decision for peaceful deliberation did not last long.
Just a few seconds after Madam Winstead began again, Mr Malfoy abruptly stood up.
"Am afraid I will have to excuse myself, I will not sit here and be part of the blind and dangerous decisions you are about to make."
Mr Malfoy barked, grabbing his coat which he had taken off only moments ago.
Most of the teachers frowned, with the exception of Snape. Even the Ministry officials looked at the man in confusion.
"Parents have a right to have a say in their children's safety," Malfoy continued sharply. "What you are doing here is dictating your decisions blindly on everyone. I will not tolerate that. I suggest you postpone this until the board has been freshly summoned and all parents notified."
"Mr Malfoy... "
Mrs Winstead now looked too frustrated to care about the man's connections within the Ministry.
"I assure you, I had a meeting this morning with the Minister, and this meeting has his full support. The Head of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures and Pokémon would have been here, but he had an emergency meeting with the other department heads."
"I don't care," Mr Malfoy waved her off. "The Ministry is free to deliberate on whatever it wants. But as I said, matters concerning Hogwarts, its students, and their parents must be decided by the board itself before any action is taken."
Mrs Winstead stared at him coldly, as though he had slapped her.
Dumbledore, who had not spoken thus far, didn't even look at Lucius. He calmly wiped his glasses, reclined slightly in his chair, and watched as the man worked himself into a frenzy.
"This is the least of your crimes in this school, Dumbledore," Malfoy continued. "I am told that your half-giant gamekeeper has been keeping dangerous creatures and Pokémon at that hut of his. And now you've gone ahead and named him a teacher. Does he even meet the standard?"
"But of course, you don't care," Lucius added bitterly. "I've had enough of your impunity. This meeting will be postponed until the board reconvenes and all parents are properly notified."
Dumbledore smiled.
"This meeting, Lucius, will go on," he said calmly. "But I will gladly see you out. I understand your views, but every man is entitled to his opinion. However, as you very well know, matters such as the formation of clubs fall entirely within my jurisdiction."
He adjusted his glasses slightly.
"I have the authority to make such decisions. In fact, informing the board was merely a precaution."
There was a slight pause as both men eyed each other adamantly
"As for Hagrid, yes. If you had taken the time to consult the powers and privileges of the Headmaster, you would know it is within my authority to appoint teachers, with the board's approval, which I have already received."
A faint glint fell in his eyes:
"But of course, any decision that does not go your way, Lucius, is suddenly 'not decided by the board.'"
Mr Malfoy's face darkened.
"You dare go on with this then?"
"I do," Dumbledore replied simply.
"I warn you, Dumbledore. The consequences of this will not be favorable to you."
"I have heard your warning, Lucius. Now, we have a meeting to continue. If you will not stay, then please see yourself out."
Malfoy scanned the room, from the teachers to the Ministry officials.
There was no support.
His eyes flicked briefly to Snape, but Snape did not meet his gaze. And Malfoy seemed to realize that even Snape had no say in this.
He straightened his chest arrogantly.
"Severus, make sure my son is not involved in any of this insanity."
Snape did not respond.
With that, Mr Malfoy turned and walked toward the door. It opened for him and shut the moment he stepped out.
A brief silence followed.
The room felt heavy as everyone tried to collect themselves. The meeting had already been interrupted too many times, and even the agenda was beginning to fall apart.
"What is wrong with that man?" Mrs Winstead muttered.
Then, turning to Dumbledore, she added, "Albus, I want you to know you have the Minister's full support. Lucius seems too delusional to even care about the Ministry's stance. If anything, the Department of Pokémon Affairs holds the mandate on all matters concerning Pokémon within the country ."
"Lucius is sometimes blinded by his anger," Dumbledore said calmly. "Let us make the most of this meeting. We need a resolution by Monday, I must announce this to the school. The students have been anxious, and I am quite tired of the rumors circulating. Letters must also be sent to the parents. Lucius is right about one thing. They must be informed."
"Of course," Mrs instead nodded now turning back to her notes…
Throughout the entire altercation, Magnus, Hermione, and Fred had sat frozen in place.
"Mr Magnus, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore continued gently, "I hope this disturbance has not unsettled you. Please, carry on."
"Thank you, Headmaster," Mrs winstead said.
"From what you have told me, Mr Magnus, it seems possible that there may be alternative ways to achieve these evolutions. I believe we can all agree that our first priority should then be finding a safer method of triggering this transformation. As for conditioning, in my opinion, you have been doing quite well."
She then turned to fred
"My only other question is for Mr Weasley. Since your Pokémon underwent the conditioning, did you observe anything unusual during that period before the transformation ? Anything worth noting?"
Fred shifted slightly.
"Something out of the ordinary," Mrs Olenna clarified. "In behavior, interactions, or responses."
Fred nodded.
"The Evee became more active during the day. More playful. I mean, it was always playful, but… more than usual."
Mrs Winstead watched him closely, then glanced at Magnus.
"Just that?" she asked.
Fred hesitated.
"… it also started responding to me before I even gave commands. Like, if I was about to tell it to sit, it would already be sitting."
He scratched his head.
"At first I thought it was coincidence, until Magnus told me it was part of psychic type abilities."
"Interesting," Mrs Winstead said. "So it became attuned to your thoughts."
"I think so."
"You think so, or you are sure?"
"I'm sure… I guess."
"Mr Weasley," McGonagall cut in firmly, "you are being asked for certainty."
"Yes, Professor. It became attuned to my thoughts."
"Fascinating," Elena murmured. "I would very much like to observe this later at the club."
She turned back to Magnus.
"Mr Magnus, you mentioned you were conditioning two Pokémon. The other belonged to Mr Weasley as well?"
"Yes," Magnus replied. "George's Pokémon."
"You were conditioning it to become… Umbreon?" she asked.
Magnus nodded quickly.
"Yes. Umbreon. It exists… people just think it's a different Pokémon, but it's actually an evolved Eevee that becomes a Dark-type."
"And what triggers this evolution?"
"Unlike Fred's Espeon, which develops during the day, Umbreon evolves through high friendship at night."
Snape's voice cut in for the first time.
"These 'types'… are they also part of your theory?"
"They are," Magnus replied not daring to look at the man
"So aside from these two, did you attempt to evolve any other Pokémon?"
Magnus shook his head... He meant pichu of course...the git was trying to frame him using illegal thought he had accessed
"No. I didn't have the time."
"Very well," Olenna said, turning to Dumbledore.
"It is my recommendation that we begin with a small pilot group. Mr Magnus' knowledge currently seems limited to Eevees, so we should start there, where success has already been demonstrated. Once we gather more data, we can expand."
"That was my thought as well," Dumbledore nodded.
"But that would be unfair to some houses," Snape interjected. "My house, for instance, has only a handful of Eevees."
"Then we begin with those few," Olenna replied smoothly. "Until we develop methods applicable to other Pokémon."
"I propose five members from each house," Dumbledore added. "Each house will select its own participants to ensure fairness."
"That is agreeable," Olenna said.
"And what happens after a student successfully evolves their Pokémon?" Sprout asked. "Do they leave the club and make room for others?"
"That would be inefficient," Dumbledore replied. "The more knowledge we retain within the club, the faster we can guide new members. Those who succeed should remain and mentor others."
"In any case," Mrs Winstead added, "this will not only be a Pokémon initiative, but also a learning opportunity for all involved."
"Exactly my thoughts," Dumbledore clasped his hands gently.
"Thank you all for your patience. And once again, I apologize for the interruptions. I look forward to seeing you all at the official launch of the club."
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