Chapter 457 Minister (Revised)
During the epic duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, accompanied by Len Harris, shuttled through the auditorium and visited the injured wizards.
Fudge felt that his cheeks were hurting, he felt as if he had been tricked by Harris, why you could bring them infinite warmth when they needed comfort most, and what, as a minister, sent to them on behalf of the Ministry of Magic Condolences can gain people's gratitude and support!
It was not as imagined at all. Those family members had found a way to vent their anger, begging or sternly threatening, asking the Ministry of Magic to announce the truth and punish the perpetrators severely. In order to appease these people, Fudge's bald forehead was covered with beads of sweat .
"Minister, wipe off your sweat. The weather is a bit hot." Lucius Malfoy beside him thoughtfully took out a handkerchief and handed it to Fudge, who wiped his forehead.
"Lucius, the Ministry of Magic will reply to you as soon as possible for the application you submitted last time." Fudge raised his chin, his voice full of goodwill.
"That's really great, Your Excellency the Minister." Lucius bowed slightly, with a smile in his eyes - but the smile was not sincere, it was just a polite smile developed by a pure-blood wizard who had practiced countless times.
In fact, in Lucius' heart, instead of being happy, he was hiding deep worries and fears.
His former master made such a big commotion, such a big move, and he not only didn't know it at all, he wasn't even summoned by his former master. And since he didn't get any news at all beforehand, he couldn't give any warning to the Harris family. Did the Dark Lord and Harris doubt the loyalty of the Malfoy family? Will it take action against the Malfoy family?
Thinking of this, Lucius looked worriedly at his son Draco who was helping to treat the wounded not far away, and felt both relief and fear in his heart. Dracora's performance just now was even in the presence of the so-called Alan? Harris's training class is also quite remarkable, completely different from last year when he was a mischievous little troublemaker, this year's Decola at least has made great strides in the strength of spells, far surpassing the average peers. However, I clearly told him that he must be careful at such a time, not to act blindly, but he forgot all about it after that damned Mudblood girl gave an order, that is a Mudblood!
"Please rest assured that our Ministry of Magic will severely punish the culprits. All those who planned and participated in this attack will definitely accept the most severe sanctions. In fact, according to the situation at the scene, we have already wiped out this group of thugs!" Fudge promised solemnly, turned around and praised the elite wizards in the intensive training class who were helping with treatment, "I have just seen your performance, great super-strong iron armor curse. Wait until you Graduation, the Ministry of Magic welcomes you."
"Especially you, Miss Hermione Granger." Fudge's face was bright, he was very satisfied with his memory, "Even if you were born as a Muggle, you can do so well, just now you are organizing everyone Defense, right?"
Although it was a compliment, Hermione just smiled stiffly and nodded her head as an admission of the implicit discrimination that existed among pure-blood wizards in the wizarding world.
At this moment, Fudge, who accidentally caught a glimpse of the referee's seat, stared blankly. He saw Albert leading a group of uniformly dressed Aurors to the referee's seat.
In the arena where order was gradually restored, Barty Crouch stood on the steps of the spectator stand, his expression more serious than ever, his withered and yellow face lacking a trace of luster, just like those uninjured adult wizards, in Pomfrey Under the command of his wife, he was kneeling on the ground to heal the wizards who were injured in the chaos.
At this moment, the sound of leather boots stepping on the ground was heard in a hurry, and people turned their eyes to the direction of the sound in horror. Albert led a few uniformed Aurors and walked straight towards Barty Ke. Rauch.
Albert stopped behind Mr. Crouch habitually, and raised his hand to signal his subordinates to stop their plan to arrest Crouch directly.
"Director Crouch, please forgive me, we have captured the mastermind of this attack, and he used the compound potion to transform into Alastor Moody's Barty Crouch Jr., that is, you According to the preliminary information we obtained through Legilimency, he escaped from prison with the help of you and your deceased wife, and in order to prevent him from being discovered by outsiders, you even told our own colleague of the Ministry of Magic, Uncle Sha Jorkins illegally used a strong amnesia, causing her current irreversible amnesia symptoms. Finally, because of your relationship with him and your role in the game, we also suspect that you have something to do with the people who appeared in these games Some "accidents" are related to this attack, and now you need to return to the Ministry of Magic with us to cooperate with the investigation."
Albert, as usual, lowered his voice when speaking to Crouch, but the wand he was gripping was evidence of his master's caution.
Crouch just continued to focus on casting healing spells for the wounded, without saying a word at all, until after the treatment, Barty Crouch stood up, patted the non-existent dust on his knees, and tidied up slowly. The magic robe, after straightening his hat at last, turned his head and said to Albert in a deep voice, "Lead the way!"
From a distance, Fudge saw Crouch being surrounded by the Aurors headed by Albert and Crouch was leaving. He couldn't keep the smile on his face anymore, and said to Lun gloomyly: "Is there something wrong with Owen?" Premeditated, what does he want to do?"
Before Lun could explain, he shook his robe angrily and walked away quickly.
Fudge was furious all the way. As soon as he returned to the Ministry of Magic, he was invited by Owen Harris, who had just issued the order to lift the blockade, to his own minister's office for an interview.
After learning that not only Crouch, but the entire Crouch's influence in the Ministry of Magic had been annexed and replaced by Owen Harris, Fudge couldn't bear it anymore. He stood up and put a book on the spine. The thick publication with a human face was slammed on the table in front of this subordinate who had been respectful to him before.
"Owen Harris! Do you still see me as the Minister of Magic?" Fudge's voice completely overwhelmed the painful groan of the face on the spine of the book because it was woken up.
"Minister, getting rid of Barty Crouch is good for you and me." Mr. Harris calmly took the seat he usually sat in when discussing with Fudge on weekdays, "You have been at odds with him for a long time, haven't you? "
"Don't do this with me, you and I both know that he is no longer qualified to be the Minister of Magic!" Fudge angrily punched the table.
"Did you know that your close "friend" Dumbledore was one of the masterminds for at least the first half of tonight's operation? Although the Aurors who participated in the operation thought they were going to deal with his remnants—some Death Eaters, But what Dumbledore told me was - You-Know-Who is back." Mr. Harris flicked his fingers on the table.
Fudge's body stiffened, and the news that the mysterious man might return made his upright body slump due to anger, and he kept muttering: "This is not true, this is impossible, the mysterious man is dead. ..."
"Is it true? I think he will take the initiative to contact you soon, Minister. According to the current situation, when our Aurors were preparing to go to the scene to cooperate with the operation, they found that the place was between Harry Potter and Deng After Bullido passed by, just like Hogwarts, someone cast a magic circle that prohibits apparition.
Although we got the news just now that they have returned to the arena safely, we have no way to confirm what exactly happened. However, Connelly, as a friend, I have to remind you that regardless of whether Dumbledore's news about the Dark Lord's return is true or not, if he does come back, then the public will definitely be more willing to see Dumbledore as the leader. Against the Dark Lord, after all he is the greatest White Wizard in the world right now, isn't he? Conversely, if he didn't come back, why would Dumbledore tell us that? Connelly, no matter whether the Dark Lord is really back or not, you should think about your position.
Also, you need to know that I knew that Moody was impersonating Barty Crouch Jr. at the beginning of Hogwarts this semester, and I wanted to arrest him at that time, but, Dumbledore It was his suggestion that stopped us, the Harris family, that made us wait until now to act. Who knows what he has prolonged for so long to plan? But it did give me a good opportunity to expand the results of the battle. "
Owen's words made Fudge fall into silence, and seeing that Fudge didn't say a word, Owen continued to bewitch Fudge: "Of course, the reason why I cooperated with him on this matter is to ensure that I can become a magician in a logical way in the future." Minister, but I'm not like you or Dumbledore..."
Fudge, who was in horror, raised his head in doubt when he heard the words. Seeing Fudge's blank expression, Owen couldn't help but shook his head and continued: "In this regard, my interests are consistent with yours. I also don't agree with you. I hope that Dumbledore will come to the fore and live in his shadow, and in the future you will need to ask and respect the opinions of a headmaster like you do now."
"Connelly, I am much younger than both of you. I can wait for you to retire and then take over the position of minister. Judging from the current situation of you and Dumbledore, the remaining time of your political life It’s running out. If you want to realize your plan and maintain power, you have to fight. My harvest today is enough to guarantee this. In addition, you are different from Crouch, you have not made mistakes, and the Ministry of Magic is the most powerful The main character is still you, and my fight with you will only start to split the Ministry of Magic, not to mention my odds of winning, and it is easy to bring opportunities for outsiders to take advantage of."
After finishing speaking, Owen picked up the magic book with a human face from the desk, flipped through it casually, and after giving Fudge a little time to digest his words, he added: "Actually, cooperating with someone is not cooperating. Well, although my personal preference is you, Minister, whom I have always had a good relationship with, but it is not so unpleasant to cooperate with Dumbledore today. If I choose him now, I will endure it for a few more years at most, but I think I will be able to sit still in the end. In the position I want, Secretary Fudge."