"...Do you believe me if I say it wasn't intentional?"
William had already turned back into human form, absentmindedly expressing his apologies. He held the camera taken by Mafalda, the viewfinder showing a black-and-white image of a big bird tilting its head, looking a bit silly... Tsk, this photo is really damn ugly, is there a complaint channel?
Looking at his "Animagus photo ID," William silently complained in his heart.
Thinking about it, he flipped through the photos and couldn't help but chuckle.
Alright, a certain big black dog looks even sillier.
Then it's all good.
And as for what he said earlier, perhaps everyone else present might believe it, but definitely not Umbridge, who had just woken up.
"Sirius?!"
The woman, covering her already deflated cheek, mumbled a bit incoherently, her anger almost boiling over. She had just been kicked out of the Minister's office by Fudge, and her mood was already bad. She was preparing to return to her own "territory" to chastise her assistants and vent, but as soon as she entered, she was hit hard!
Do you know how much damage such a severe blow can cause to a fifty-year-old toad?!
Moreover, she recognized the person in front of her, a student from Hogwarts. On the day Peter Pettigrew was captured, he appeared in Dumbledore's office, spoke a few words, and although Umbridge couldn't even recall the content, Minister Cornelius Fudge actually accepted such a humiliating treaty?!
Not only did he not bring Sirius back to the Ministry of Magic, but he also criminally charged Peter Pettigrew!
This is a stain that would become a major point of attack by Fudge's political enemies. She was entirely doing it for the good of the Minister, yet that bastard not only didn't appreciate it... he even scolded her.
Despicable!
Remembering this, Umbridge's two large nostrils began to spray air, although she was clearly unaware that since that day, as long as Fudge didn't do anything outrageous, he could consistently gain support from many pure-blood families, securing his current position steadily—
Therefore, Fudge naturally didn't need Umbridge, his overly ambitious subordinate.
As for how the support from the pure-blood families came about?
Don't ask, as a "trusted insider," Lucius Malfoy claimed to know nothing.
The Sacred Twenty-Eight, excluding the Death Eaters (like the Carrows) from the summer night, and those with sparse populations (like the Black Clan) who couldn't form any power, William spent only two weekends during the first semester of sixth grade to have a friendly and cordial talk with each patriarch.
During the meeting, both sides discussed enthusiastically about building a better Magic Realm. Finally, under William's logic and emotional persuasion (referring to pointing a magic wand at their forehead), each clan's leader expressed their "support" for the projects William proposed.
The support methods included but were not limited to donating Golden Galleons, donating Silver Sickles, and donating Copper Knuts.
And all these Galleons and Sickles were used to support William's yet-to-be-completed studies (meaning lining his own pockets), while the pile donated to the Ministry of Magic, some unknown Malfoy Family patriarch expressed that he would handle it entirely.
And now, although completely unclear about these "inside stories" happening in the shadows, Umbridge still had a deep-seated dislike towards the boy in front of her. Perhaps it was related to being smacked into the wall with a wing, but that was "definitely" not the deciding factor!
Definitely not!
"You recognize me?"
William didn't show much surprise; of course, he remembered this lady. After all, her sickeningly disgusting style of dressing could only be looked at once, because just one more glance would...
As for the reason behind the counter-question, naturally his mind wasn't on it; he was handing the camera over to Sirius, then casually mocked his pee-like posture.
"This is, this is... this was obviously an accident!"
Sirius's face turned red, his murderous stare glancing over at Mafalda. He remembered that he clearly did a somersault at the time, so how did it end up as lifting a leg and peeing when it was captured? Moreover, shouldn't the photos in the Magic Realm be moving? What about this static photo?
This is not magical at all!
"...Are you guys listening to me?"
Having wasted half a day's worth of saliva, Umbridge squinted her eyes, glaring unfavorably at the group in front of her.
However, no one paid attention to her, not even William's perfunctory response remained. He placed the camera back on the table, greeted Sirius who was still mumbling, and the two prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
Umbridge's eyes flashed with coldness. She stared at their backs, having already thought of how to pick a bone in her next words. She decided to start with Sirius. After all, according to her deduction, this person was essentially an illegal Animagus, only registering today, and even—
As long as she was willing to find it, there were definitely many pieces of evidence to prove this! Furthermore, this might break the "hero" image the Ministry of Magic intentionally established for Sirius after Peter Pettigrew's downfall, turning him back into a criminal, never to rise again!!
Of course, she wasn't personally at odds with Sirius, but one can dislike another person sometimes just like liking someone, without any reason.