Umbridge was wearing a pink cardigan rather than her work uniform. It looked extremely flashy, with several cat-like creatures embroidered on it in white thread.
She was surrounded by several Aurors, who fawned over her like stars surrounding the moon, as she strode in through the stone doorway.
"Is the duel over? Where is Dumbledore?"
Then she saw the mess before her. She screamed, gasped for breath, and asked in a panic.
"Dumbledore was killed in a sneak attack by You-Know-Who. He fell through the veil, from which there is no escape," Professor McGonagall said somberly.
"What? This is impossible!" Umbridge exclaimed, her bulging eyes widening in horror.
Then she glanced at Professor McGonagall.
"They are all witnesses," Professor McGonagall said, gesturing toward the people behind her.
Umbridge was stunned. It took her a while to recover and accept the news, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
"This news must be kept secret for now! Otherwise, the wizarding world will be in great trouble!" she emphasized quickly as soon as she came to her senses.
"I refuse to go along with your ideas."
Professor McGonagall's expression turned extremely ugly.
She had already guessed what Umbridge was thinking.
She felt nauseated at the sight of this woman.
Even now, she was still concerned about her position.
"Death is nothing to be ashamed of, nor is it something that should be covered up, especially since he sacrificed himself for the stability of the wizarding world," Professor McGonagall continued solemnly.
"McGonagall! I am the Minister, and for the sake of the greater good, I command you in my capacity as Minister for Magic: this news must be kept secret."
"I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts."
Professor McGonagall stared directly at Umbridge with her hawk-like gaze.
"Your grand strategy? It's nothing more than wanting to keep your current position."
Umbridge was startled by her gaze and took several steps back, but an Auror behind her helped her up.
Another tall man walked over to Umbridge.
The man was powerfully built, with short, straight hair. He looked serious and rarely smiled. His hair was a light grayish-white.
"Delix, stop them for me."
Supported by two Aurors, Umbridge arrogantly issued her order.
The man raised his wand, glaring menacingly at the group of Hogwarts students and teachers, as though he intended to prevent them from leaving without a promise from them.
Just then, Flitwick, who was standing beside Professor McGonagall, quietly muttered a spell.
Because of his short stature, no one noticed him.
With a clang, the already unstable ceiling above them made several noises, as though something had come loose.
A pure-black iron light fixture suddenly fell from above and struck Delix hard on the head.
The tremendous impact produced a muffled thud. The strong man swayed several times before collapsing unconscious.
"You dare attack an Auror? I'm going to arrest you!"
Umbridge stared in disbelief before screaming.
She no longer bothered pretending to be sweet and gentle. Her voice was shrill, irritable, and rude.
"No. It seems the decorations hanging from the ceiling suddenly fell because this place has been in disrepair for so long."
Professor McGonagall replied politely and with restraint, though her tone betrayed a hint of anger.
"Let's go, colleagues, children. I think we need to think carefully about how to move forward."
McGonagall addressed the group, completely ignoring Umbridge.
The group hurriedly left, and the remaining two Aurors did not dare to stop them.
Who knew what other "accidents" might happen because of years of disrepair?
Hermione's steps were somewhat unsteady and stiff.
The same was true for the others. Most of them had a strange, involuntary trembling running through their bodies.
That was due to grief.
Only Snape remained aloof, seemingly unaffected by Dumbledore's death.
After that night, he probably wouldn't feel any deeper sorrow over the passing of anyone.
As everyone was about to leave the lowest level of the Ministry of Magic and step back onto the elevator, Luna glanced behind her.
Not far away stood the archway, with no walls supporting it, and the somewhat tattered black curtain hanging from it continued to flutter.
Even though there wasn't a breath of wind around them, the scene was extraordinarily eerie.
The girl murmured almost imperceptibly,
"Maybe Professor Dumbledore is still in this world."
Not long ago, a fierce battle had been taking place far away from the Ministry of Magic.
However, it was somewhat different from the battle that had occurred at the Ministry.
This was a battle between the living and the dead.
More precisely, it was a battle between the long-lost Draco Malfoy and countless Inferi.
It was said that this was also a place where Salazar Slytherin had once frequently visited.
Today, a new face had arrived at a cave whose entrance had been sealed for hundreds of years.
He waved his hand lightly.
The stone gate in front of him instantly shattered and flew away, opening a passage.
In stark contrast to the narrow entrance, after taking a few steps into the dark cave and raising his wand to illuminate the surroundings, one suddenly found that the space opened up.
The cave had been hollowed out, and a huge platform had been carved out with chisels and axes. A wide stone staircase had then been built upon the platform, extending from the bottom all the way to the top.
Several gray-black stone pillars stood above, with carved stone serpents coiled around them.
According to the information provided by Salazar, this was the altar of a wild wizard who had descended into madness through evil.
Whether wizard or Muggle, aside from Voldemort, who had gone astray because of an unavoidable congenital defect inherited from the previous generation, there were always various factors that could lead an otherwise normal person down the path of depravity.
This wizard was no exception.
A wild wizard who had never received a proper magical education had hoped to use the power of magic to resurrect his lover.
However, even the Resurrection Stone, one of the three Hallows, could not achieve true resurrection.
How could a wild wizard possibly accomplish such a thing so easily?
As expected, the attempt at resurrection failed.
Instead, it created a monster.
Unable to withstand the blow, the wizard himself also descended into endless madness.
When Salazar had traveled to this place, nearly ten villages in the surrounding area had already fallen into an Inferi paradise.
Resentment and discontent permeated the air.
He had easily subdued the wizard, who had been on the verge of becoming a "necromancer."
However, he had been helpless against the resentment accumulated from countless grievances. Even Salazar himself had been unable to completely purify it.
They could only establish several magical arrays, hoping that the resentment would gradually dissipate over time.
He had estimated that by now, the resentment should have mostly disappeared.
In reality, the opposite was true.
The magical array used to suppress the evil thoughts had lost its effectiveness, perhaps because it had itself become contaminated.
Inferi seemed to be emerging from it in an endless stream.