"She's acting like she's sick." Hermione remarked sharply from the back, frowning as she asked, "What did the club ever do to her? Why are students not allowed to organize clubs? Is she going to interfere with the students' personal freedom?"
"I don't think so." Ron said from the side, "She's definitely targeting Harry, don't forget — Harry is preparing to lead students from other grades to study Defense Against the Dark Arts seriously. She's definitely trying to stop Harry's 'study group' from happening, I know her too well!"
"Oh, give it a rest, Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "You should know! Right now, Harry's a professor! A professor has the right to set up his own club without Umbridge's permission!"
"But Lockhart started the Dueling Club... Oh, I mean Lady Rozier, didn't she have to apply to Principal Dumbledore beforehand?" Ron asked with some concern.
He did not quite agree with Hermione's view.
"But there's no need for Umbridge's permission!" Hermione said, like an angry lioness, "She's just the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts class — for years one to four and years six to seven!"
Ron sighed.
"More than worrying about this, I want to know who the snitch is!" he said angrily, "Think about it, if no one had snitched, why would Umbridge know about Harry's actions? I think there were just too many people at the bar, maybe some classmate is Umbridge's spy — who do you think it could be?"
"Maybe Umbridge just knows!" Hermione said angrily.
"Face the facts, we don't know how many people we can trust here, anyone could run to snitch to Umbridge!"
Ron thought for a moment, then said a name: "Zacharias Smith!"
He clenched a fist into his palm, "Or — I think Michael Corner has been acting a bit suspicious..."
"Don't think poorly of your classmates, Ron." Harry held up a finger and said, "Don't worry, even if she has her ways, she can't control us — I mean, don't worry about it."
As they talked, they left the common room.
Upon entering the Great Hall, they saw that Umbridge's notice was not just posted within Gryffindor Tower.
There was a special tense atmosphere in the Great Hall, buzzing, unusually chaotic, as people ran around discussing the news they had seen.
As soon as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down, Neville, Dean, Draco, Luna, Fred, George, and Ginny rushed over.
"Did you see it?"
"Do you think she knows?"
"What should we do?"
They all looked at Harry.
"What can she do if she knows?" Harry said nonchalantly, "I'm the temporary professor of fifth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts, I have the right to start an advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts club, and neither Principal nor the board of directors oppose that."
"What if she involves the Ministry of Magic?" Ginny asked worriedly.
"Oh, Ministry of Magic," Harry chuckled and said, "the Ministry can't interfere with our free Hogwarts, don't worry Ginny, we have ways to deal with all kinds of potential dangers and threats!"
"Like what?" Fred and George raised their eyebrows and asked.
"That's a secret," Harry smiled at the twins, "Rest assured, the Ministry isn't just Fudge's one-man show, even if he wants to completely control Hogwarts, there are those who oppose him."
"Harry! Ron!"
Harry turned his head to see Angelina calling him.
She hurried over, looking very desperate.
"Did you notice she included Quidditch too?" Angelina said sadly, "Oh my, how could she! How dare she! We have to request to reassemble the Gryffindor team!"
"Huh?" Harry didn't quite catch what Angelina was saying.
"Impossible." Ron exclaimed in shock.
"You read the notice, it mentioned teams!" Angelina said angrily, "That old witch, what exactly is she doing with those Flying Brooms!"
At that moment, Professor McGonagall suddenly walked over.
The noisy hall quieted down instantly.
"Potter!" She called Harry's name sternly, "Come with me."
Ron looked at Harry with a concerned expression, feeling that Professor McGonagall calling Harry at this moment surely was not good.
"Don't worry." Hermione tugged Ron's arm, "It'll be fine."
"Alright." Harry got up and followed Professor McGonagall, under their classmates' concerned or worried gazes, leaving the hall.
The two walked to a deserted classroom on the second floor, where Professor McGonagall closed the door and said sternly, "Listen, Harry, the communication channels in and out of Hogwarts might be under surveillance, understand?"
"Under surveillance?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Exactly," Professor McGonagall spoke quietly and quickly, "I don't know what methods Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic used, but the communication by owl from inside and outside the school is basically under their control, so if you want to communicate with the outside world, definitely don't use owls — I hope you can tell Weasley about this."
"Understood." Harry nodded calmly and said.
"As for the Quidditch team, I'll try to find a way." Professor McGonagall said again, "I also don't quite understand why Umbridge ordered the disbandment of all clubs, but you should know, she is the Senior Investigator from the Ministry of Magic, and we have no way to stop her."
"But," Harry raised his eyebrows and said, "You're the Deputy Headmistress, and still the head of Gryffindor, how can she control you too?"