Chapter 1062: Accomplices
Chapter 1062: Accomplices
"Wait, you can't do this! I am the Minister of Magic; attacking the Minister of Magic is grounds for expulsion from school!"
Upon seeing the Aurors guarding the front, Fudge couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. He never expected so many students to be waiting for him outside, nor did he anticipate the extent of their dissatisfaction towards him.
No, this is impossible! They must have been influenced by Dumbledore.
Although he didn't know who had shouted about beating him up earlier, Fudge had already decided to let Umbridge find that person and make them pay, even if he couldn't expel them.
"Remember what we went through last year and the hundred educational decrees posted on the notice board." Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were not easily intimidated. They shouted back, unafraid of Fudge's threats, "Don't be scared! Cornelius Fudge will be out of office soon. Take them down and teach them a lesson; we won't get into any trouble."
Percy opened his mouth, recognizing Fred's voice, but the situation was far from over.
"Do you really think Fudge and the toad will let us off easily? Do you want to experience the punishment quill again?"
The trio secretly raised their wands, pointing them at the Aurors blocking Fudge's path. "Let them know that we are not sacrificial lambs in their political struggles, nor are we pushovers they can bully at will. Let them taste our wrath and understand why the Anti-Toad League exists!" They shouted and cast the Disarming Charm.
"Use the Disarming Charm!"
Everyone was startled by Fudge's threat, but they snapped out of it when George shouted the spell. They all raised their wands and directed the Disarming Charm at Fudge and his group.
Whether they were Aurors, Fudge, or Umbridge, they were all knocked back by the Disarming Charm. Fortunately, their luck wasn't too bad; otherwise, they might have ended up spending a few days in the hospital beds.
As the group from the Ministry lay in a heap, the students felt a mix of excitement and apprehension.
Before the Aurors could struggle to their feet, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan cast the Stunning Spell on them, deciding to knock them out first to prevent them from hearing the upcoming conversation.
"Don't worry, Fudge will be out of office by summer; they won't be able to cause any more trouble." Fred and George walked to the front of the group and shouted to the students.
"We'll use the Obliviate spell to modify their memories. So, don't be afraid of their power or worry about retaliation." George called out to the students who were regrettful and uneasy. "If anything happens, blame it on us and the Anti-Toad League. Say that the two of us founded the Anti-Toad League."
After he finished speaking, Fred waved his wand and levitated Umbridge off the ground. Then, he used the Reviving Spell to wake her up.
Fred punched Umbridge in the face, right in her toad-like face, before she could react to the pain and shock reflected in her eyes.
George waved his wand, casually silencing the toad-like woman's screams. However, it was clear from Umbridge's twisted expression that she was in immense pain.
"I've always wanted to do that."
Fred took a deep breath and turned to the stunned crowd behind him. "For those who want to teach her a lesson, line up and take turns."
Umbridge, who was almost in pain, was shocked by Fred's words and started cursing. Unfortunately, George had temporarily removed her voice, sparing everyone from her threats and foul language.
"Calm down, I'll heal you."
Lee Jordan smiled maliciously as he took out the Essence of Dittany that Albert had given him and sprayed it on Umbridge's face.
George also cooperated by waving his wand to restore Umbridge's facial injuries.
"What are you doing?"
Professor McGonagall, who had just come out of Dumbledore's office, was shocked to see the students lining up to punch Umbridge. What made her twitch even more was that George and Lee Jordan were using healing magic and Essence of Dittany to heal Umbridge's injuries.
"We're taking revenge, Professor." George said casually. "This is an unprecedented victory for the Anti-Toad League. This person used dark magical artifacts and Veritaserum against us in the past, and she deserves some payback. It's entirely her fault."
"Sa...Save..."
Umbridge, who was half-conscious, tried to plead for help from Professor McGonagall.
"What? I think I'm going deaf, and there's sand in my eyes!"
Professor McGonagall rubbed her eyes, pretending she hadn't seen anything. "You few, come and help me take them to the school hospital."
"Ginny, that bastard Percy!"
Ron, seeing the unconscious Ginny, angrily ran to Percy's side and kicked him a few times before following Professor McGonagall to the hospital wing.
"Your punishment quill is quite painful." McMillan slapped Umbridge and then punched her in the nose.
"You guys are really bold." Harry walked up to Umbridge, who was already half-unconscious from the beating, and slapped her a few times. He asked curiously, "What's the plan now?"
"We'll modify their memories," George said innocently. "Someone threw a Slipping Spell here, and they accidentally stepped on it and fell. We all saw it; it was Peeves."
"Yes, we all saw it." Everyone nodded in agreement; after all, Peeves had caused the toad enough trouble.
"If, I mean, if it really can't be handled, we can push all the responsibility onto us. At worst, let the Ministry of Magic wanted us. Anyway, the wanted won't last too long."
The Weasley twins exchanged a glance, their mouths stretching into wide grins as they completely disregarded the Ministry. Since they had already done what they set out to do, they didn't plan on staying in school any longer.
After everyone took turns giving Umbridge a sound beating, they tossed her aside while she was half-conscious and proceeded to erase her memories.
"Now..."
Unfortunately for Fudge, he couldn't escape his fate and was dragged out of the pile by the twins.
When Fudge finally regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by a group of students.
"We really have to thank you for those Educational Decrees. But don't think that just because you released Azkaban prisoners and sided with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you can escape punishment. Your master won't be able to protect you forever, and from what I hear, he doesn't really care about the lives of his servants," George added, making sure to pin the blame on Fudge and put themselves on the moral high ground before they started.
Many students were stunned by the twins' words.
"Is that true?"
"He's good friends with Lucius Malfoy, and Malfoy's cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, were identified as Death Eaters by the Spanish Ministry of Magic. Malfoy himself is also on Harry's provided Death Eater list," Fred calmly reminded them. "If you've been reading the newspapers, you'd know that Fudge was the one who helped cover this up. As for evidence, I'm sure it won't be long before my words are proven true, just like the recent prison break."
Everyone started whispering among themselves, discussing this new information.
"Now, let's not get sidetracked."
"Beat him up!"
The group of students encircled Fudge and began kicking him, as they knew they were running out of time. Albert had just sent a message that he was on his way with a group of people.
"Ahem, I think the Aurors are almost here," Lee Jordan said, clearing his throat to remind the others. "Let's wrap this up!"
"When they get here, you know what to say, right?"
"They slipped and fell here on their own," everyone replied anxiously.
"Don't worry, with Albert here, there won't be a problem," George assured them as he waved his wand and cast the Obliviate spell on a few people. As for what would happen next, Albert would come and further tamper with their memories; there was nothing to worry about.
"Are there really three or four dozen Aurors from the Ministry here?" someone asked curiously.
"About that, yes," Lee Jordan confirmed.
Everyone sucked in a breath, startled by the number.
"What do they plan to do? Are they crazy?"
"They probably want to capture Dumbledore and suppress us at the same time," Fred said, sharing a glance with George. "That's why I said beating them up wouldn't cause us any psychological pressure."
"Where are they now?" McMillan asked curiously. "I bet Fudge and that toad are waiting for the Aurors to rescue them."
"Albert blocked them outside the school," Lee Jordan said with a malicious smile. "He said that since three or four dozen Aurors came to Hogwarts without the permission of the principal, they probably had ill intentions, so he didn't let them in."
"How did he manage that?" Many people were incredulous, knowing from their attitude that these people didn't respect students at all. They were curious how Albert had managed to block them outside.
"Who knows?"
"That's truly impressive, Albert."
...
They didn't chat for long before they saw a group of people approaching.
"What's going on here?"
Albert, seeing the crowd gathered outside the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor, pushed his way through and spotted Fudge and his group lying on the ground, unconscious.
Two Aurors who had come with Albert drew their wands, startled by the scene.
"Calm down," Albert glanced at the two Aurors and then asked the students around him, "What happened here?"
"They suddenly rushed out of the Headmaster's office and then collapsed here, we don't know what happened," a few girls quickly spoke up, and the others nodded in agreement.
"They collapsed here?"
The middle-aged, slightly balding Auror's face twitched; he was clearly stunned by this explanation. If it weren't for the fact that Flitwick had kept the others outside the castle, he wouldn't have believed this story for a second.
However, the other Auror was not so patient. He glared at the students, clearly suspecting that they had attacked the Minister of Magic.
"It was Peeves," Fred explained. "You know, Peeves hates Umbridge, so he threw some stuff at the entrance, making the area in front very slippery. Be careful when you walk over there."
"Why didn't you send her to the school hospital?" Albert ignored the Aurors and asked the students directly. "And what exactly happened? Why are there a bunch of Aurors from the Ministry outside, and why is Professor Flitwick keeping them out?"
Albert looked around at the students. "Has anyone seen Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"Oh, I know about this," Harry stepped forward and said, "They just accused Headmaster Dumbledore of forming Dumbledore's Army and planning to rebel against Fudge."
"Potter, this isn't funny," Albert frowned.
"Well, as you know, Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't stoop to such things, but Fudge and Umbridge seem to have made up their minds. They even used large amounts of Veritaserum on Ginny, Colin, and the others, which really angered Headmaster Dumbledore..."
"What's this Dumbledore's Army?" The others were confused as well, as Fred and George had just given them a lot of calming potions.
"Isn't it the Toad League?" Lee Jordan asked, feigning ignorance.
"I think they're talking about the Toad League," Harry shrugged helplessly, "but they came up with a bunch of so-called evidence..."
"The Toad League?" The other wizard, who was somewhat balding, looked bewildered.
"I don't know what's going on, but they're adamant about this Dumbledore's Army thing."
"So, the Aurors outside are here to capture Dumbledore at Fudge's behest?" Albert looked at the two Aurors with a peculiar expression. "That's quite a surprise. Now, Potter, where's the headmaster?"
"I don't know. To be honest, I'm still confused and don't fully understand what's happening," Harry shrugged. "I thought you might know something."
"First, transfer them to the school hospital. When Fudge and the others wake up, you can ask them what they plan to do," Albert said to the two Aurors. "Also, Professor Dumbledore is no longer at Hogwarts, and I suggest you don't enter the school. It might cause panic among the students, and those who don't know better might think you're here to suppress Hogwarts, which would reflect poorly on the Ministry's reputation."
With hundreds of students staring at them, the two Aurors dared not act too arrogantly. The situation seemed abnormal, and they were using ridiculous excuses like being knocked unconscious. It was as if they thought the students were fools.
"First, let's figure out a way to wake them up," the younger male wizard said as he walked over to Fudge and the others and cast a Reviving Spell on them, but it didn't seem very effective. It took a while before Fudge and Umbridge groggily regained consciousness.
"What's going on here? What happened to me?" Fudge asked, his voice full of authority.
"We have to capture Dumbledore! He's trying to assemble an army to overthrow me!" Fudge shouted as soon as he came to, immediately stirring whispers among the surrounding students.
"When did this so-called Dumbledore's Army appear in the school?"
"I don't know!"
"I thought it was always the Toad League."
"Or is the Toad League actually Dumbledore's Army?"
"I think the minister might have hit his head. Perhaps you should take her to the school hospital and have Madam Pomfrey examine her," Albert said, pointing to Fudge's head and expressing confusion at his strange behavior.
"What are you all doing? What's going on? My face hurts so much!" Umbridge exclaimed, touching her face, which felt as if it had been punched and slapped countless times.
"We were waiting outside the castle. Mr. Anderson said that since there were too many of us, we couldn't rush into the school, or we might cause panic among the students," the slightly balding Auror explained, glancing at Albert.
"Yes," Albert said calmly.
"Mr. Anderson, I suspect you're Dumbledore's accomplice!" Umbridge's expression twisted with hatred, and she glared at Albert as if she wanted to tear him apart.
"This isn't funny, Umbridge. Don't think that just because you're a professor, you can slander me with impunity," Albert said, looking directly at Umbridge, his tone cold. "Furthermore, Hogwarts is a place for learning. Don't bring the political scheming of the Ministry here and harm the students. Whatever grievances you have with Professor Dumbledore are your business, but don't use your position as a professor to step on me. No one is allowed to do that, not even the Deputy Minister of Magic. Now, apologize!"
"What?" Umbridge was almost amused by her anger. She felt very confident.
"I'm telling you to apologize," Albert said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"It must be Dumbledore who put you up to this! It has to be! Capture him, and maybe we can get information about Dumbledore from him!"
"I'm not Dumbledore, and I don't have his gentle temperament," Albert said, and then, in front of everyone, he slapped Fudge, sending him crashing to the ground. "So, don't use the same tactics on me that you would use on him."
"How dare you..." Fudge was stunned, clearly not expecting Albert to hit him.
The two Aurors had just raised their wands at Albert when their wands flew out of their hands, and they found themselves facing a hundred other wands.
"You two are useless, only capable of bullying those with gentle temperaments," Albert said, punching Umbridge squarely in the nose and knocking it crooked. "I've never bothered with you, and now you dare to cause trouble for me? Do you really think I have the same temperament as Dumbledore?"
"To be honest, I don't understand," Albert continued, looking at Fudge on the ground with disgust. "What made you brave enough to cause trouble for Dumbledore? Is it because his temperament is gentler and he's easier to bully? Has all the political maneuvering filled your head with rubbish? In the face of overwhelming power, your petty authority is nothing. The mysterious wizard has never taken you seriously."
"Believe me, if he wanted to, he could make you die in any position he chose, or he could make you suddenly disappear, and then control a wizard with the Imperius Curse to manage the Ministry. Or perhaps you're already under the control of the Imperius Curse?"
"How dare you..." Fudge's face turned bright red with anger.
"I only need to modify your memories slightly, and you'll forget all about today's events," Albert said, lifting his foot and kicking Fudge in the face again. "Believe me, with my skills and abilities, you'll never remember what happened today."
(End of Chapter)
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