Lucius's ominous premonition soon came true.
To be precise, he experienced the worst day of his life since Voldemort's fall and resurrection.
On the day of Hogwarts' Parents' Open Day, he dressed in grand attire and attended the event with his wife.
The couple was eager to visit their beloved son, Draco, and reward him for his progress at school with great anticipation.
It was said that Draco had performed exceptionally well at school, thriving under the new educational methods. Not only had he assumed the position of Prefect, but he was also appointed as the head of the Inquisitorial Squad by Umbridge, leading students from all four houses and setting an exemplary role model.
Seeing the elegantly dressed parents around him, all with refined manners and hailing from Slytherin, his satisfaction reached its peak.
Though the dismissal of his business partner, Jane Yu, cast a slight shadow over his good mood—
He believed that her guardian, Dumbledore, would not let it slide easily.
All he needed to do was watch the show, observe the chess game between the two sides...
And intervene at the right time, adjusting his strategy as the situation evolved, to remain invincible.
Lucius, with a smile of strategic confidence, held his wife's hand tightly and looked on with pride as their son, Draco, with neatly combed hair and a spirited demeanor, dressed impeccably in his wizard's robe, took the stage as the student representative to deliver a speech.
"Respected Professor Umbridge, dear parents: Good morning, everyone!"
"I am Draco Malfoy, a fifth-year student of Slytherin House. It is an honor to speak as the student representative at the welcome ceremony of Parents' Open Day. As the head of the Inquisitorial Squad, I bear the responsibility of embodying Professor Umbridge's spirit on the front lines, regulating student behavior, and fostering a positive campus atmosphere, which has allowed me to grow immensely over the past few months."
"In the past few months, under Professor Umbridge's leadership, the school has undergone significant reforms, from which I have greatly benefited. I have learned how to be lenient with myself and strict with others, how to be kind to classmates, and how to help others. Of course, we have also been exposed to many advanced ideas and theoretical knowledge beyond the magical world, opening a window for our intellectual progress."
At this point, Lucius felt something was amiss, but it did not stop him from marveling at how much his son had grown.
Faced with the envious gazes of parents from all directions, the couple held their heads even higher.
"Professor Umbridge's advanced teaching methods have enhanced everyone's physical fitness: A healthy body is the first step to success. Without a strong body, we cannot engage in hand-to-hand combat with our enemies, nor can we endure long hours of intensive study."
"At the same time, our memory has been greatly trained and improved. We remember new ideas by heart, integrate new theories, learn knowledge we have never encountered before, and explore and understand unknown fields."
"Of course, the process of growth has not been smooth. Initially, faced with the impact of new ideas and the burden of classroom assignments, I felt tired and resistant. But as days passed, we gradually adapted to this life and embraced the differences..."
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience, and the reporters from the Daily Prophet, specially invited by Fudge, were furiously jotting down notes.
Every Slytherin parent wore an expression of envy for other people's children, while both Umbridge and Fudge beamed like two plump sunflowers.
This was an excellent start. The two firmly believed that after today, Umbridge would surely make a name for herself in the field of education, surpassing Dumbledore in reputation and securing her place in this school.
The Malfoy couple also temporarily set aside their worries about their son.
Unfortunately, they soon realized they had relaxed too early.
Their precious son delivered a heavy blow to them.
During the running drill performance by the outstanding Slytherin students, Draco removed his outer robe in front of the grandstand, casually threw it onto the grass, and revealed a Muggle T-shirt and jeans underneath.
Lucius felt as if that set of Muggle clothes had transformed into a massive hammer, striking his forehead and leaving him dizzy and blacking out:
"Draco—how dare—how dare he—"
His arm was grabbed tightly by Narcissa, whose face had turned pale, almost fainting:
"Am I seeing things? Is that...is that a set...a set of Muggle clothes?"
The couple's smiles had long disappeared from their faces, their mouths forming a straight line, their eyes fixed on their son running on the field.
The surrounding Slytherin parents let out exclamations of shock, casting mocking, disdainful, or gloating gazes at the couple. The laughter, like one hammer blow after another, left the couple seeing stars and feeling dizzy.
Seeing the once-arrogant Malfoy family humiliated was a juicy piece of gossip that delighted everyone.
But those who enjoy gossip often find themselves the subject of it.
Because their own children, running with all their might, also removed their wizard robes, revealing identical T-shirts and jeans!
Even the Daily Prophet reporter was dumbfounded in front of the camera, unsure whether to capture this scene or not.
The grandstand was in an uproar, with anxious murmurs buzzing and growing louder.
"What is going on? Professor Umbridge?" Old Nott stood up abruptly, angrily roaring, "This is your teaching? Letting my son, letting a group of noble Slytherin wizards wear Muggle clothes?"
"You better give us an explanation." Lucius spoke coldly, turning to the visibly displeased Fudge, "Cornelius, I think we need to reconsider the appropriateness of Umbridge's role as a professor at Hogwarts."
Umbridge was drenched in cold sweat; the confidence she had earlier now turned into acute anxiety.
Fortunately, as someone who could rise to the position of Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, she had a knack for flattering others and concocting excuses.
"This is a special design of student attire, unrelated to Muggles," she forcibly explained. "After exercise, students tend to sweat, and this newly designed clothing has excellent absorbency, preventing perspiration and allowing students to run better—"
The parents' eyes were filled with skepticism.
"Calm down, calm down," Fudge hurriedly intervened, attempting to mediate. "Professor Umbridge respects the students' creativity, reflecting our spirit of encouraging innovation. This attire effectively enhances the students' physical fitness and prevents them from catching colds..."
Thanks to their glib tongues, the voices of doubt were finally subdued, though no parent could muster a smile anymore.
Lucius paid no attention to the flustered explanations of Umbridge. He strode ahead, determined to attend a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
He wanted to see for himself what kind of education his son was receiving at school!
But he soon realized that the Muggle attire was not the worst; the chain of shocks delivered by the students in class truly left him floored.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨patreon.com/DarkGolds]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━