Due to the earlier explosion and the news that Potter had been dragged off by Filch, everyone was dying to know what the toad was actually up to.
Didn't she say she was going to drive Peeves out?
How did an explosion just happen and then everything went dead quiet?
Everyone had been looking forward to seeing the Aurors battle Peeves.
What a letdown.
However, they quickly found a new source of amusement.
As they passed through the entrance hall, everyone was hit by a foul stench, and their eyes were immediately drawn to something covered by a black cloth.
Some curious student couldn't resist reaching out to yank the black cloth off, wanting to see what was hidden underneath.
The toad statue hidden beneath the black cloth instantly stunned the passing students, and the whispers rose like a tidal wave, making it the most hotly debated topic of the day.
The toad statue looked just like... no, it was a spitting image of Umbridge.
The news spread through the school on wings, and the entrance hall was soon packed with people, with even the professors running over to gawk.
The only problem was that the toad statue smelled a bit, and its location right next to the Great Hall meant it was likely to ruin the students' appetites.
Originally, people wanted to move the statue somewhere else, but not only did the charm fail, they were actually blasted backward by it—which finally explained why the statue was sitting right there in the first place.
Chapter 1002