blogombal Chapter 102 Seeing Phoenix, Fudge is filled with trepidation
Chapter 102 Seeing Phoenix, Fudge is filled with trepidation
Chapter 103 Seeing Phoenix, Fudge is filled with trepidation
Picking up where we left off, Harry wanted to protect Dumbledore at the school, but unfortunately he was missing a crucial piece of evidence.
Snape, being a man of wide experience, didn't say a word more, but raised his wand and performed a brilliant act.
How ingenious this method is? Let's leave that aside for now.
Inside the Forbidden Forest cabin, Hagrid was cutting large chunks of beef and sifting through a bowl of wine, wolfing it down.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, they suddenly heard a loud banging sound outside the door, and several Taoist figures could be vaguely seen through the cracks in the door.
It should be noted that usually only Harry, Ron, and Hermione come and go here, but today there are several more figures, towering and several feet tall.
Hagrid grew suspicious and immediately drew his crossbow, stepping forward. "Who is it?"
"Good evening, Hagrid. Please relax."
The visitor didn't introduce himself, but Hagrid recognized him by his voice. He quickly dropped his bow and arrow, flung open the door, and exclaimed, "Professor Dumbledore, what brings you here?"
When the doors were wide open, Dumbledore stood in the moonlight. Although it was pitch black all around, his robes shone with a hazy silver light.
Hagrid was about to invite Dumbledore into the house for a drink when he glanced at Dumbledore's shoulder and froze instantly.
Behind the old headmaster stood a dozen or so wizards, each holding a wand, their faces expressionless.
In the center stood a short, stout middle-aged man. His gray hair was like tangled weeds, and his face was like a greasy mound. He wore a striped suit with a scarlet collar sash, and dark purple pointed boots with gold-threaded cloud patterns. He had a green top hat tucked under his left elbow and a fancy stick held between his right fingertips.
This person was none other than Cornelius Fudge, who held the top position in the Ministry of Magic.
Upon seeing the Minister of Magic, Hagrid suddenly recalled Harry's past words, and his mind went blank. He exclaimed in surprise, "What are you trying to do?"
"I think we don't need to be too harsh, Hagrid." Fudge stepped into the room. "You opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago, and now it's been opened again. It seems I have no choice but to take you with me..."
Before Fudge could finish speaking, Hagrid was already drenched in a cold sweat, inwardly groaning. He regretted not taking Harry's golden words to heart; now he had indeed been arrested by the Ministry of Magic.
Upon hearing the words "take me away," he could no longer contain himself and cried out in alarm, "You're going to put me in jail?"
"Rest assured, Hagrid, Azkaban is very humane now. We even provide newspapers for some well-behaved prisoners—"
"Cornelly, I don't recall ever agreeing to let you take Hagrid away," Dumbledore said softly. "I only agreed to let you see him."
Fudge's expression froze, and he gripped his wand tightly. "Dumbledore, you should know the seriousness of this matter. Three students have already been killed."
"This is even more serious than your application to keep a dragon at school."
"Three?!" Hagrid's eyes widened. "When did the third one appear?"
"Just now, Marcus Flint was attacked. His mother is a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors."
As Fudge rambled on, he stole glances at Dumbledore. Seeing him as still as a meditating monk, his face expressionless and his mouth silent, Fudge grew increasingly apprehensive, unable to fathom his thoughts.
Listen, dear reader: This Cornelius Fudge was a mediocre man, lacking any lofty ambitions and only able to produce a little bit of literary talent.
How could such an ordinary person sit in the top position of the Ministry of Magic?
It turned out that Barty Crouch's son, who was competing with him, had sided with Voldemort because of his questionable family background, which led to Voldemort's downfall. Dumbledore, being a recluse and unattached to fame and fortune, declined the recommendation of the wizards.
Fudge, knowing his position was illegitimate and being inherently suspicious, feared Dumbledore might change his mind and try to seize his throne. Upon hearing any disturbance at Hogwarts, he immediately ordered a group of Aurors to patrol the school grounds.
Have you not heard: "When mediocre men usurp positions, they live in fear; when virtuous men violate the rules, they stand tall and proud"?
Fudge quickly summoned several Aurors behind him and exclaimed, "Dumbledore, you were involved in revising the Wizarding Code—are you now openly defying the entire wizarding world?"
Dumbledore remained silent despite his questioning. Fudge, seeing this, straightened his back like a pine tree, his sleeves billowing like a tiger, displaying his imposing official demeanor.
"Scrimgeour, take Mr. Rubeus Hagrid away."
"Hagrid," Dumbledore suddenly spoke, "do you have something to say?"
Hagrid was struck by his sharp gaze, and suddenly his mind cleared, and he remembered Harry's words of salvation.
Just as he was about to shout, it felt as if a wad of cotton was stuck in his throat, and a weight was pressing down on the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth wide, but could not utter any words of help.
Why should I let others clean up my mess?
Why do I always need to ask others for help?
Fifty years ago, one had to ask a professor for help; now, one even needs the help of children decades younger than oneself.
Hagrid clenched his fist, glanced at the eight-ribbed pink umbrella in the corner, then at the giant crossbow at his feet, and a surge of resentment and anger rose in his heart.
I was clearly wronged!
Naskerlinger, the head of the Auror office, had spent half his life capturing Death Eaters and dark wizards, and possessed an exceptionally keen eye for talent.
Seeing Hagrid's gesture, he immediately raised his wand along with several of his colleagues.
"Mr. Hagrid, please don't move. I won't hold back."
"...Professor Dumbledore."
"Please speak, Hagrid."
"Harry, Harry asked me to give you a message—never forget your vow."
Having said that, Hagrid's face turned ashen, his lips ashen, as if all his life force had been drained away. His towering body swayed twice, like a drunkard pushing a mountain of gold and a jade pillar overturning, and he almost fell to the ground.
Fudge sensed something was wrong and quickly said, "What oath? What does this have to do with Harry Potter? Dumbledore, I don't want you interfering in this!"
"I'm sorry, Cornelius, it seems I can't let you take Hagrid away." Dumbledore shook his head and said softly, "I cannot break my unbreakable oath."
Having said that, the White Demon King slowly emerged, staff in hand. Upon seeing this, Scrimgeour and the other Aurors hurriedly took two steps back.
Fudge shouted angrily, "Dumbledore! Do you really want to go against the Ministry of Magic?"
"I will report this to the International Federation of Wizards! And to the elders of Wizengamo!"
"Since Mr. Dumbledore is unwilling, then so be it. After all, we didn't come here tonight for the purpose of this Forbidden Forest Warden."
Just as tensions were rising, a haughty voice suddenly rang out from outside the wooden house.
Everyone turned around and saw that the newcomer had white hair down to his waist; it was Lucius Malfoy, a member of the school board, with a short-haired woman with an angry expression beside him.
Lucius walked straight up to Dumbledore and said, "Mr. Dumbledore, because of your negligence, three students at Hogwarts have been murdered, one of whom was even a pure-blood—"
"Where is my son Marcus?" Mrs. Flint demanded of Dumbledore, gritting her teeth. "If he's really in mortal danger, I'll make you pay!"
Lucius took a letter from his robe and handed it to him. "This is an impeachment document signed by the twelve members of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Dumbledore, you are no longer the headmaster."
"Ah, that's right!" Fudge quickly chimed in, "You're not even the principal anymore."
Dumbledore sighed, rubbed his temples, took the potion for his headache, and ate a mouthful.
Upon hearing this, Hagrid could no longer contain himself and cried out, "You can't do this!"
"If Professor Dumbledore is gone, the situation at the school will only get worse!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Flint turned around abruptly and asked, "Has your son been murdered?"
"Oh, I—"
"Has your son been murdered?"
"Madam, I've never even been in a relationship—"
"I asked you if your son had been murdered!"
"Tsk tsk tsk..." Lucius shook his head and sneered, "Look at her, even the usually gentle Mrs. Flint has been turned into this—"
"Shut up, Lucius! Your son shouldn't be spouting nonsense!"
"Ha! I only regret that that scoundrel didn't suffer a terrible death, while this wicked beast got off easy!"
Suddenly, another loud shout rang out from outside the door, and everyone turned to look. They saw Harry coming in, carrying a knife and a cane.
When Dumbledore saw Harry, he surprisingly didn't feel any headache or fever and greeted him with a smile, "Good evening, Harry."
"I think you came here to find me because you must have obtained some crucial evidence."
Harry laughed loudly, "My parents gave me life; the headmaster understands me!"
Lucius was startled, fearing that his actions had given him away. He quickly stopped Mrs. Flint from questioning Harry.
What evidence do you have?
Harry stared at him for a moment, then sneered, "You wretch, you brought this upon yourself, and now you come to question me? You're Voldemort's evidence, aren't you!"
Upon hearing these words, everyone in the room reacted as if cold water had been poured into a pot of boiling oil, causing an immediate uproar.
Fudge quickly stepped back to Scrimgeour's side and called out, "Child, I think you should know that the Mystic is no longer here."
Harry looked down on him because of his sleazy appearance, timid demeanor, and despicable behavior.
"Ha! You wouldn't even dare mention death? Since you said you were gone, then you've come back today!"
Fudge was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "Then produce your so-called evidence."
"However, I must remind you, Mr. Potter, that creating panic is illegal."
Harry sneered, "You bastard, you won't learn your lesson until you see the coffin! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"
Having said that, he took out a potion bottle filled with silver threads from his robe.
Scrimgeour frowned. "This is a memory?"
"Indeed! This is exactly what Gregory Goyle longed for!"
Listen, dear reader: It turns out that Harry couldn't find the Dark Magic item, so Snape used a clever trick to extract Goyle's memories of his evil deeds and store them in a bottle.
This bottle already contains a good potion, with the effects of the Pensieve. Just pull out the stopper, and the past will vividly appear before your eyes.
Fudge exclaimed in shock, "Forcibly extracting a student's memories?! Dumbledore, this is also a fault of your negligence!"
Harry, hearing him only talk about manipulating power and scheming, felt a surge of anger rising within him and cursed, "You son of a bitch! You wretched bastard, all you know is forming cliques and pursuing personal gain!"
"If that scoundrel Voldemort really comes, let's see if he'll spare your worthless life!"
This is the kind of thing that would make even a clay Buddha angry. It's like a child being scolded in public by a young boy.
Before he could react, Dumbledore waved his wand, causing the cork to pop out on its own.
As soon as the bottle was opened, silver threads shot out like a volley of arrows, just like the fireworks display on the Lantern Festival.
These silver threads suddenly dispersed, turning into a cloud of mist, within which appeared the old stories of Goller being bewitched by Draco.
When the silver mist completely dissipated, the room was completely silent, and everyone was dumbfounded, speechless.
After a long while, there was a loud thud, and Hagrid fell to the ground, stammering, "Tom, Tom Riddle—is that the Mysterious Man?"
His call seemed to awaken everyone in the room from a dream.
Mrs. Flint looked apologetic and whispered in Lucius's ear, "I'm sorry, Lucius, I was a little too harsh just now."
"I didn't know your son's condition was worse than being petrified."
"Where is Draco now?!" Lucius lunged at Harry, his face contorted with rage. "How is my son?!"
Realizing he had lost his composure, he took another breath. "Mr. Potter, Harry, I hope you can tell me how my son is."
Harry saw the panic on Draco's face and realized he didn't seem to be intentionally asking Draco to cause trouble. Remembering the incident at Flourish and Blotts where Draco had insulted Ginny, Harry knew perfectly well that this fellow had tried to kill two birds with one stone, but had instead shot himself in the foot.
Dumbledore frowned. "Harry, you didn't kill anyone, did you?"
Upon hearing this, Lucius nearly stumbled and fell over.
Harry cupped his hands in greeting. "Although I had this intention, unfortunately, I couldn't find Voldemort's books, so I spared his life in the Slytherin common room."
"Professor Dumbledore, I hope you will stay." Lucius suddenly turned his head, staring intently at Dumbledore. "Only you can stand against the Dark Lord—"
"Don't lie, Lucius!" Fudge cried out in panic, "No one can prove that it was the return of the Mystic!"
"Perhaps, just maybe, it's merely a dark magic artifact that can disguise itself as a powerful wizard!"
Seeing his disgraceful behavior, even Scrimgeour couldn't help but whisper to persuade him.
"Minister, no one would dare impersonate the mysterious person, so it must be real."
"We definitely need Professor Dumbledore right now—"
"The Board of Trustees has issued an impeachment document!"
Fudge ignored Scrimgeour completely, only squeezing the wand so hard his fingertips turned white. "And the Ministry of Magic will also be suspending you for investigation, Dumbledore."
"Minister," Lucius said grimly, "the most important thing right now is the safety of the children!"
"The Aurors' methods are no less sophisticated than those of the Hogwarts professors! And we have the advantage in numbers!"
Fudge took a breath. "Dumbledore, you've seen the impeachment papers from the Board of Governors. You no longer have the authority of the headmaster."
Harry leaped forward, shouting, "You want to take the Professor away? I'm not going to let you have your way today!"
"Mr. Potter, this is an adult matter, and has nothing to do with you, a child."
Harry ignored him, grabbed the phoenix crest, and shouted, "The professor has been stripped of his headmaster's authority, but I am! Then I should be the one to take over Hogwarts!"
"Today, I hereby appoint Albus Dumbledore as a centurion of house-elves, to receive a salary from Hogwarts and be under its protection. So be it!"
As soon as Harry finished speaking, the badge began to glow with magical light.
As soon as Fudge saw the phoenix spread its wings, his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
"Phoenix, the Phoenix Society!"
(End of this chapter)