Chapter 207 A Reluctant Invitation

"What? Hermione gave up, but you came back?"

Time went by in the afternoon.

At noon, just as Lu Yunkai guessed, Umbridge came to the hall, and in front of Dumbledore who was eating there without saying a word, she issued a new school rule as a senior investigator of the Ministry of Magic.

Goyle had heard about it from somewhere before.

As soon as this school rule was announced, everyone was stunned.

Those who knew what happened in the classroom that day almost immediately turned their eyes to Lu Yunkai.

This naturally included Hermione.

She finally understood what Lu Yunkai meant by being targeted.

Harry was just detained, but it was not to the extent that Umbridge had to make a special school rule to deal with him.

So after lunch, Hermione found Lu Yunkai and expressed her understanding of his decision not to join their study group.

Because Hermione also came to her senses, letting Harry and Lu Yunkai, two people who were given special attention by Umbridge, appear in this study group together... It would be better to directly rebel against the Ministry of Magic.

But Hermione came to her senses, but that didn't mean Harry had come to his senses. He even thought that since Lu Yunkai and he were both targeted by Umbridge, they should unite to fight against the old witch...

So Lu Yunkai, a good friend with a straightforward personality, found Lu Yunkai again before the afternoon class and invited him again.

"I know my level is definitely not enough to teach them, but you can do it!" Harry's expression was very sincere, "Voldemort is not dead, we need means to protect ourselves..."

"Whether he is dead or not, what you are doing now is very dangerous." Lu Yunkai still shook his head with a smile, "You have to have confidence in Dumbledore and don't cause trouble for him."

"We learn things by ourselves to help him share his worries." Harry shook his head firmly.

"I don't think so." Lu Yunkai also shook his head firmly.

The two chatted a little awkwardly, and the class time was up, so the two parted unhappily.

In the next Herbology class, the tense atmosphere between Lu Yunkai and Harry seemed to continue.

Professor Sprout, who usually always had a kind smile on his face, seemed to be in a bad mood. Seamus Finnigan accidentally broke a flower pot, and then Sprout, who usually never deducted house points, deducted ten points from Gryffindor...

Even Hannah Abbott, Sprout's favorite student from Hufflepuff, didn't know what happened to her today.

However, Lu Yunkai knew.

Lu Yunkai found that the pot of forgetfulness grass on the top shelf of the greenhouse that Irene had arranged to give to Sprout seemed to be missing...

Considering that Professor Sprout is one of the most popular people in Hogwarts, there would be no foolish person who would want to take her things. Besides, forgetfulness grass is useless to most people in this school.

Only someone who takes the regulations of the Ministry of Magic very seriously would care about having such a pot of grass...

Lu Yunkai could guess with his toes where the pot of forgetfulness grass went.

So, after class, Lu Yunkai ignored Harry, who seemed to be waiting for him and wanted to persuade him again, and insisted on staying in the greenhouse until the end.

"Lu Yunkai? I was just planning to look for you..."

Professor Sprout spoke in a listless manner, with a bit of fatigue on her face.

But when she saw Lu Yunkai, she could still force a smile.

"Professor, I know it may be a bit inappropriate to say this, but... Forget-me-not is not a particularly rare herb for me. I'll give you another pot when the storm is over."

Lu Yunkai came close to Professor Sprout and said in a very low voice.

Sprout was obviously stunned when she heard Lu Yunkai's words.

She had an indescribable expression on her face.

"I'm not angry about that pot of grass... Although it's very precious, it doesn't make me so sad." When Sprout spoke again, her tone was very uneasy, "I'm angry with that Umbridge... But think about it, there's nothing I can do. No matter how special Hogwarts is, it's just a school after all!"

"... Professor, why are you suddenly saying these things to me? Should I pretend not to understand?" Lu Yunkai's expression was a bit strange.

It's just a school after all? If such words fall into the ears of someone like Umbridge, I'm afraid something bad will happen!

"Did I say anything just now?" Hearing what Lu Yunkai said, Professor Sprout, who was still a little angry, put on her signature smile again, and then sighed softly, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you alone in the past two days. When Umbridge came to me at noon today, I felt that she came prepared."

"Come prepared? You are doubting... Impossible! Irene will never go out and talk about the forget-me-not!" Lu Yunkai shook his head firmly.

"I know it's definitely not Irene." Sprout smiled, "The Ministry of Magic can check the records of owl letters and item delivery."

"...Next time I will let Irene take the forget-me-not to Hogsmeade in person, and then you can go and pick it up, professor." Lu Yunkai frowned.

"That's not what I meant." Sprout waved his hand. "She kept asking me where the weed came from while she was searching my place. I think she may have known that the weed was related to you."

"Professor, do you think she was investigating the weed because of me?"

"Probably." Sprout nodded, "So I remind you to be careful. Although I don't know why she seems to be specifically targeting you, I know that if she collects a lot of bad things about you and then takes action against you, , Hogwarts...is really just a school."

"...I understand." Lu Yunkai would be a fool if he didn't understand what Sprout was talking about after hearing this.

"Well." Sprout had that tired expression on his face again, "You can leave now, I'm going back to take a rest."

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Professor."

Lu Yunkai bowed politely to Sprout, then turned around and left the herbology classroom greenhouse.

…

Dinner time, in the hall.

"Yunkai, where did you go after class in the afternoon?"

Blaise sat down next to Lu Yunkai, grabbed a chicken leg from the dining table and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Owl Tower." Lu Yunkai replied casually, "Why, are you looking for me?"

He actually went to the Room of Requirement.

It wasn't that he was asking for anything (of course he instinctively thought about the room to make the map, but unsurprisingly failed), he just wanted to find a place to be quiet and think carefully.

Lu Yunkai would not ignore what Sprout told him.

Sprout was not Trelawney. She had always been steady and she could tell Lu Yunkai that Umbridge might be looking for a reason to target him. Then Lu Yunkai had to figure out why Umbridge did this.

You know, if Umbridge collects evidence that Lu Yunkai is spreading the forget grass everywhere, which has been banned by the Ministry of Magic, she will definitely not only establish her power through him.

This is the time to send him to Azkaban.

But obviously this summer, Lu Yunkai "cooperated happily" with the Ministry of Magic and performed a drama of friendly exchanges between international wizards. Logically speaking, the Ministry of Magic shouldn't have any objections to him, a "submissive citizen", right?

Therefore, he stayed alone in the Room of Requirement, facing a large piece of parchment, sorting out his relationship with the Ministry of Magic for a long time, looking for any reason that might make the Ministry of Magic dissatisfied with him.

In fact, it didn't take him long to think before he found a reason that had been mentioned before but forgotten by him for various reasons...

Communication mirror.

Therefore, Lu Yunkai, who was sitting in the auditorium now, was in a gloomy mood.

"It's not me. It's Padma." Blaise lowered his voice and moved closer to Lu Yunkai, "She has something to do with you."

"Padma? I didn't see anything wrong with her during class in the afternoon!" Lu Yunkai glanced at the Ravenclaw table.

Padma was not seen.

"I don't know either." Blaise shook his head. "She said that if you are free later in the evening, she would like to ask you for a favor."

"What's the matter?" Lu Yunkai instinctively felt that this matter was not so simple.

What's more, he really isn't in the mood to deal with a girl he's not too familiar with right now.

"She didn't tell me." Blaise shook his head, "What, you don't want to?"

"...You've said so, even if I don't want to, do I still have to agree?" Lu Yunkai sighed softly.

He was really embarrassed to say that another thing he was upset about now was also related to Blaise!

"Interesting." Blais smiled and nodded, "Then you can contact her directly through the communication mirror... Do you have her contact number?"

"No." Lu Yunkai shook his head, and forced himself to speak up for spiritual education: "You!! You must tell her about this kind of thing! And you have to take me with you!"

"...Yes!" Blaise nodded, "I'll contact her."

"..."

Lu Yunkai smiled helplessly.

It's just that his mood right now is really bad and he can't laugh!

After hearing Lu Yunkai's "guidance", Blaise didn't waste any time. He took out the communication mirror and sent a message to Padma. After a while, Padma's message came over.

"She told you to go to the corridor on the eighth floor after dinner and she would look for you."

Blaise relayed the news on the mirror with some depression.

Obviously, Padma didn't want him to go there...

"She doesn't want you to go? Then why should I go?" Lu Yunkai looked at Blaise and became more and more speechless.

What made him even more speechless was the location. The eighth floor...Why did Padma ask him to go there?

What else can be done! Lu Yunkai is almost certainly related to the self-study group organized by Harry and the others!

"I can't say that to her directly." Blais shook his head helplessly, "Forget it, you do me this favor, I will just remember this relationship."

"...I'm not asking you to owe me any favors! I just want to help you get things done!!" Lu Yunkai rubbed his head speechlessly, "Do we still need to talk about these favors?"

"...No more." Blais shook his head helplessly.

It’s really not necessary! But he didn't know what Padma meant. She obviously came to him to ask Lu Yunkai for help, but she didn't let him get involved.

Lu Yunkai, who was not hungry because of worries, lost his appetite after being made such a fuss by Blaise. He casually said a few words to the disappointed Blaise and left the hall.

He didn't go back to the dormitory or go to the eighth floor where he had an appointment with Padma, but walked out of the castle directly.

Behind the castle, next to the Whomping Willow.

This place is deserted and is the safest place in the entire Hogwarts.

Lu Yunkai took out the communication mirror.

Not long after.

"Hey! Master Lu, why did you think of contacting me?"

Mrs. Zabini's weird voice sounded in the mirror.

With her charming and beautiful face, it was really uncomfortable.

"The Ministry of Magic seems to be planning to take action against the communication mirror." Lu Yunkai was too lazy to talk to Mrs. Zabini, and directly pointed out the purpose of the call.

Mrs. Zabini's face was fixed for three seconds.

Then she sighed softly.

"So fast? How did you know?"

"Umbridge collected evidence of my sending the forgetfulness grass to Professor Sprout in school." Lu Yunkai said simply.

Sure enough, without Lu Yunkai's explanation, Mrs. Zabini narrowed her eyes just after hearing this sentence.

There was another five seconds of silence.

"This group of people is really ruthless. They are more vicious than I thought." Madam Zabini gritted her teeth.

"Didn't you guess that this day would come when I was still studying the mirror?" Seeing Madam Zabini's reaction, Lu Yunkai felt a little relieved and asked casually.

"Well. So you don't have to worry too much. Fudge may not dare to do anything to you, let alone her, a deputy minister." Madam Zabini nodded, "But you should also be a little careful and don't give them any handles. Bargaining is very tiring."

"Don't worry. Even the pot of grass, they can't catch any handles on me." Lu Yunkai shook his head, "But it's not the thieves who are afraid of stealing, but the thieves who are thinking about it. This Umbridge is really disgusting..."

"This can't be blamed on others." Madam Zabini put on a teasing smile on her face again, "Who You were asked to help Fudge promote the International Wizarding Union this summer? Sirius's prison escape nearly forced him to resign two years ago, but he managed to regain his support thanks to the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament. Now Fudge has the final say in the Ministry of Magic, and Umbridge is his absolute confidant. Otherwise, do you think anyone can ask for it that night and get the Ministry of Magic's Educational Order the next morning? "

"...It turned out to be my fault! ! " Lu Yunkai sighed.

"So! The people in the Ministry of Magic can't do anything to you, but don't expect anyone to be able to drive Umbridge out of Hogwarts. Not to mention me, even Lucius and Dumbledore don't have this ability now." Madam Zabini shook her head, "You just need to study hard recently."

"I want to study hard, but your son sold me out!"

"...Ah? What did that stupid boy Blaise do again?" Hearing Lu Yunkai talking about Blaise, Madam Zabini was a little amused.

"Harry Potter has gathered a group of people in school, and wants to secretly learn Defense Against the Dark Arts without Umbridge's knowledge. They asked me to tutor them, but I refused, and then your son sold me to his girlfriend." Lu Yunkai said simply, "You said I couldn't refuse him, right?"

"... This brat!!"

"Okay, I have to go to the appointment for your son now." Lu Yunkai glanced at the time, and finally reminded Mrs. Zabini: "You should start to pay attention to the things in the Ministry of Magic, and don't let them deliberately or unintentionally plot against you."

After that, he ended the call, put away the magic mirror, and returned to the castle.

All the way to the eighth floor.

"Lu Yunkai!!"

He didn't even have time to step onto the last step on this side, and Padma's voice was already heard over there.

Looking over there, Lu Yunkai knew that he was right.

There were several people standing in front of the tapestry of the troll beating Barnabas with a stick, and Padma was among them.

It really is the Room of Request.

Lu Yunkai immediately thought of the room with all kinds of magic props for practicing.

Harry did find a good place to take classes!

…