As Raja and the Golden Trio entered the Great Hall, they immediately felt the shift in the atmosphere. A new figure sat at the staff table, dressed in the ugliest shade of pink humanity had ever witnessed. The sight alone made Raja's eye twitch.

Dumbledore, ever the dramatic announcer, stood and cleared his throat.

"Students, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—Professor Dolores Umbridge, appointed by the Ministry of Magic."

The Hall, in perfect unity,booed.

"Such harmony," Raja whispered.

Dolores Umbridge, unfazed, stood up and cleared her throat with an ear-piercing"Hem-hem."

"I am here," she declared, "to instill discipline, structure, and proper education in this... lawless place."

Lawyer Raja raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so you're the villain this year. Got it."

The Hall chuckled, but Umbridge turned red. "Excuse me?"

Lawyer Raja leaned back, perfectly relaxed."Let's get straight to the point. What exactly are your qualifications for Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Umbridge puffed up like an offended peacock. "I have studied Ministry-approved materials and have extensive knowledge of theoretical defense!"

Raja blinked."So... you've never fought a Dark wizard?"

"I assure you, I have studied—"

"Everduelledanyone?"

"That is not—"

"Ever evenhelda wand aggressively?"

"That is irrelevant!" she snapped.

Raja gasped dramatically."Oh no. You're a PowerPoint professor! The worst kind!"

The Hall exploded with laughter, and Umbridge's face resembled a violently boiled tomato. Dumbledore rubbed his beard, amused.

Raja shook his head."Look, lady, I don't know if you read the job description, but the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is cursed. Every professor lasts a year—if they're lucky."

"That is a silly superstition," she said stiffly.

Raja smirked. "Oh, really? Lets see about that."

And thus,The Curse of Umbridgebegan.

It started small.

The first morning, Umbridge stubbed her toe on the corner of her desk.

"The curse," Raja whispered ominously from across the room.

The second day, the staircasesmovedevery time she tried to reach her class, forcing her to wander for an hour.

"The curse," Raja muttered again, shaking his head.

The third day, her tea was mysteriously spiked with amild laxative.

As shebarelymade it to the loo, Raja whispered, "The curse is merciful today... but tomorrow?"

Her eye twitched.

Her sleep deprivation began when whispers echoed in her room at night.

"Dolores... why are you here...?"

"You don't belong..."

"The curse is coming..."

She bolted upright, sweating. No one was there.

Then, the next night, she sawa shadow in her mirror. When she turned—nothing.

Her paranoia skyrocketed.

By the fourth night, she looked like she had aged ten years.

Raja, ever the concerned student, approached. "Professor, you lookterrible. Are you okay?"

"I—I am fine," she stammered, looking over her shoulder.

"You should really sleep, ma'am. You look like you'reone bad dream away from screaming your way out of this school."

She twitched.

Things escalated.

Her staircasevanishedbeneath her feet, only for her tomiraculouslyland on a cushion of air.

She started remember all the Raja's statements from the class whenever she was in a Predicament like he is ghost constantly reminding her.

"The curse isplayingwith you now," Raja whispers.

A chandelier almost fell on her.

"The curse grows impatient," Raja said gravely.

A broom cupboardsuddenlylocked her inside for an hour.

"It's testing your will to live," Raja told her solemnly.

By this point, Umbridge wason edge. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, and jumped whenever someone coughed.

Then cameThe Forbidden Forest Incident.

One night, under Raja's carefully placed hypnosis spell, shewandered into the forest.

She awoke tocentaurs staring at her.

Just as they reached for their bows,Hagrid burst in.

"WHAT'RE YEH DOIN' IN 'ERE, PROFESSOR?!"

She shrieked, ran out of the forest, andcollapsed at the castle entrance, mumbling, "The curse is real... the curse is real...!"

The last straw came when Rajalured her into following a little girl down a hallway.

She called out, "Little girl, are you lost?"

The child turned.

She had no face.

Doloresscreamed so loud that the ghosts winced.

She woke up in the infirmary, drenched in sweat,wailing in terror.

That morning, sheresigned and left Hogwarts immediately.

As she rode away in her carriage, Raja stood at the castle gates, waving.

"THE CURSE STRIKES AGAIN!"he bellowed.

The whole schoolcheered.

Maya, ever thetsundere Ultimate Helping System, appeared before Raja with her usual mix of annoyance and begrudging care.

"Listen up, idiot!"she snapped."I have important news. You can nowanchorthis world as your main world, and—"

Raja, not even letting her finish,fist-pumped the air like a victorious anime protagonist.

"MULTIVERSE, BABY!"

Maya sighed."Yes, you loud buffoon. Themultiverse option is available, but the real kicker is you can also adjust thetime dilationinside it."

Raja's eyes gleamed with pure greed.

"You mean... I can basically turn this into aVR gamewhere I pop in and out whenever I want? I can enter a world, have a blast, then return to the exact moment I left in this one? Like an OP isekai protagonist?"

Maya crossed her arms."Essentially, yes."

"Oh-ho-ho! Thepower! Theflexibility! The endlessquestionable life choicesI can now make!"

Maya glared."I swear, if you act like a buffoon in every Universe—"

"Maya, please. I am a man of culture."

Maya rolled her eyes."Sure you are. Anyway, the default setting allows you tocompresstime. If you sleep 8 hours in the main world, you can set time flow however you want in another—1 minute here could be a whole day there, or whatever ridiculous ratio you prefer."

Raja clasped his hands together, looking up at the heavens."Thank you, ROB-sama, for giving me Maya-chan, the tsundere system of my dreams!"

Maya immediately zapped him.

Just as Raja was getting over his electrocution, Mayacasuallydropped another bombshell.

"Oh, by the way, you can meet theHogwarts spiritnow."

Raja perked up."Hogwartsspirit?! Like, an adorable floating castle ghost? A cute NPC? A sentient AI? A tsundere like you?"

Maya deadpanned."First of all, I'm not a tsundere. Second, don't scare her. She's... let's say, delicate."

Raja smirked."Maya, my dear, that sounds like a challenge."

Maya instantly regretted everything.

With aflash of light, Raja found himself inside ahidden chamber beneath the castle. A small,wispy, golden lighthovered before him.

"Hello?"the spirit said in a soft, curious voice.

Raja, ever the dramatic menace,dropped to one knee like a royal knight meeting a fairy queen.

"HOGWARTS, MY LOVE! MY HOME! MY BELOVED CASTLE! I HAVE RETURNED!"

The spiritfloated back in fear.

Maya facepalmed."I told you not to scare her, you idiot!"

The tiny spirit blinked, confused, and Raja quicklytoned it down.

"Ahem. Sorry about that. What's your name, little one?"

The spirit tilted its head in confusion.

"BLASPHEMY!"Raja shouted."Then I shall name you...Hogi!"

The spirittilted its head."Hogi?"

"Yep. Short forHogwarts, but also sounds adorable, like a tiny magical marshmallow."

Hogiseemed to consider thisand then nodded." I am Hogi!"

Maya groaned."You just met and already turned her into a clone of yourself."

Raja grinned."I am aninspirationto many, Maya."

Raja sat cross-legged on the floor, watching the tiny spiritfloat in circlesaround Maya, clearlyfull of excitement.

"So, what's her deal?"he asked, tilting his head.

Maya, ever theexasperated mentor, explained.

"Hogi manifested200 years ago, but because no one trained her, she never developed properly. She barely speaks, doesn't understand magic control, and until recently, she didn't even know how to interact with the castle."

Hogi, hearing this,puffed up proudlyand floated to Raja.

"B-big... bro?"she stammered, looking at him expectantly.

Rajabeamed."Yes! Big bro Raja will make you excellent, just like me!"

Hogi immediatelymimicked his stance, trying to posejust like him.

Mayafacepalmed so hard she nearly dislocated something."And this is why I wasn't available for weeks. I was training her, not watching your disgusting activities, yousex demon."

Rajachoked on air."W-WHAT?!"

Hoginodded rapidly."B-big... s-sexy... d-demon!"

Rajafroze in horroras Mayazapped him into next week.

And thus, thelegendary Hogwarts spirit met the world's worst influence.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com