Chapter 1070: The Problem Solver
Chapter 1070: The Problem Solver
Before Fudge could fully process the situation, he found himself facing yet another new trouble.
All the newspapers, except for the Prophet, were reporting on the incident, and they even published a photo similar to the one he had received earlier. Although it wasn't the same photo, it was clearly of the same make, and one could see the Peeves on it splashing liquid onto the Aurors.
Moreover, the Aurors of the Ministry had collectively fainted near the gates of Hogwarts. In short, the Ministry had once again become a laughingstock in the entire British wizarding world. Many witches and wizards were questioning the competence of the Aurors, even suggesting that it was their incompetence that allowed the escaped Death Eaters to remain at large.
Fudge's political opponents took the opportunity to kick him while he was down, ridiculing his incompetence and hinting that his tenure as Minister was coming to an end.
Fudge had no choice but to convene a high-level Ministry meeting to discuss how to resolve the current predicament.
"I can assure you that this is definitely the doing of those people at Hogwarts," Fudge said, slamming several newspapers onto the table angrily. "Some ill-intentioned individuals are trying to smear the Ministry and undermine its credibility. This is a serious violation... " Fudge paused halfway, as if he had forgotten something, and turned to Percy.
"Disturbing the peace!" Percy supplied.
"Yes, disturbing the peace," Fudge said, waving his fist angrily.
The room fell into a brief silence as everyone lowered their heads, choosing to avoid looking at Fudge directly. This so-called "disturbing the peace" offense was a recent addition to the Ministry's laws.
Under Fudge's leadership, the Ministry was becoming more and more ridiculous.
"I understand your frustration, Minister, but we don't have the luxury of wasting resources on Hogwarts at the moment," Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, spoke up first.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he drew the gazes of the others, their eyes seeming to say: What do you understand? You understand nothing.
Scrimgeour ignored their looks and continued expressionlessly, "We are severely short-staffed. Based on the reports from the Aurors, it's clear that the Ministry's reputation at Hogwarts is terrible, and it's..."
"That's Dumbledore deliberately stirring up discord," Fudge interjected excitedly. "He's trying to form Dumbledore's Army to overthrow..."
"According to the intelligence provided by the Aurors, there never was a Dumbledore's Army to begin with," Amelia Bones had to interrupt Fudge, or else who knew where this topic would end up. "The so-called DA refers to the Defense Association."
"Dumbledore admitted it himself," Fudge roared. "I have a clear record of it, and Weasley was there to witness it."
"Yes, Dumbledore did admit to it," Percy chimed in.
"Perhaps there are other reasons," Scrimgeour said, frowning.
"That's not important," Fudge interrupted. "They've also formed a ridiculous 'Toad Alliance.' My point is, no matter how you look at it, the students of Hogwarts are very opposed to the Ministry's interference. We don't know if Umbridge's encounter is related to this, but... If those so-called 'Toad Alliance' or 'Anti-Toad Alliance' students choose to take other measures against the Ministry, sending more people to Hogwarts would be pointless. Unless we replace all the professors there and impose the strictest management, we will inevitably run into bigger troubles."
"There's also the information provided by Umbridge regarding Harry Potter," Rufus Scrimgeour continued. "To be frank, I'm highly skeptical of the veracity of those words. I'm not suggesting that Harry Potter is lying, but the source of his information is his godfather, Sirius Black, and there's no doubt that Black is a cunning wizard. Therefore, we can't be certain how much of what Potter said is the truth."
Rufus Scrimgeour had no intention of letting the Aurors venture deep into the Forbidden Forest to search for Dumbledore's alleged secret base. Who knew if this was even true, and he certainly didn't want his subordinates taking such a risk.
Even if they were to search the entire forest, it wasn't a task that a handful of Aurors could accomplish. If they all went, who would handle the other matters?
"I suspect there's something hidden in the forest," Piers Thicknesse spoke up. "Regardless of whether Mr. Potter is aware of anything or if Sirius Black is leading him on, those words carry some significance. At the very least, we can assume certain conditions and speculate on Dumbledore's intentions." They all took for granted that Umbridge had used a Veritaserum on Harry Potter, so they didn't doubt the information he had provided.
As for whether Voldemort was truly alive, Thicknesse chose to remain cautious, and many witches and wizards shared this sentiment.
"We don't have enough Aurors," Scrimgeour reminded them, frowning. "Perhaps you're unaware, but the Auror Office hasn't had any new recruits in three years."
The number of Aurors in the office was already low, and with no new hires in the past three years, they were facing a severe manpower shortage. Even if they wanted to expand their ranks, they had no means to do so unless they lowered their standards or... In any case, Scrimgeour didn't view those options favorably.
"I'm more concerned about the 'weapon' Potter mentioned," Amelia Bones said, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, drawing everyone's gazes.
"That's just a ridiculous fantasy," Fudge snapped, glaring at Amelia Bones.
"I must remind you that there have been quite a few incidents involving the Department of Mysteries recently," Amelia Bones said, unfazed by Fudge's irritation. "At the end of August, Sturgis Podmore attempted to break into the Department and was arrested. Before the Christmas break, Arthur Weasley was bitten by a snake. Broderick Bode was hospitalized for some reason, and his death is also suspicious. I initially thought that Roderick Bode's death was an accident, but now they have one thing in common: the Department of Mysteries. Is there something there that's attracting them or someone responsible?"
"Those are just your speculations, Bones," Fudge said irritably. "And the Department of Mysteries is well-secured."
"I think we should assign some witches and wizards to an emergency team to first investigate Dumbledore's secret base," Fudge decided. "As for Hogwarts, we'll leave it be for now. Once Umbridge recovers, she will continue to be in charge of matters there."
Everyone felt that Fudge was being absurd, and they couldn't fathom what he was trying to accomplish.
"Weasley, have you found out who's behind the mischief at Hogwarts?" Fudge asked, changing the subject.
"We should first find out who attacked John Dawlish and his team at the school gates," Scrimgeour said, feeling that Fudge was trying to shift the blame. "It was just one person, and yet he took down ten elite Aurors with ease..."
"There aren't many witches or wizards who would have the ability and audacity to do that," Fudge interrupted impatiently. "It's either Dumbledore or Albert Anderson. Given Dumbledore's personality, the likelihood of it being him is low, and..."
"Ahem..." Percy Weasley suddenly started coughing violently.
"......The likelihood of it being Albert Anderson is higher. As the Dueling Champion, it's not impossible for him to take down ten well-trained elite Aurors in an ambush." Fudge looked at his assistant and saw Percy winking at him. He frowned and asked, "Do you have something to add, Weasley?"
"No, Minister," Percy replied.
Percy sighed inwardly and decided to report to Fudge later.
"Speak up if you have something to say." Scrimgeour stared at Fudge's assistant, feeling that he had something to say. As the person assigned by Fudge to investigate the whole matter, he must have discovered some secrets.
"I think you must have a clearer understanding of the situation than anyone else. Give me your investigation report now." Bones spoke up.
"If you have any clues, it's best to report them immediately."
Not only Scrimgeour but also the others looked at Percy, having been scared by Fudge's blunders. They didn't want to step into another pitfall.
Piers Thicknesse stood up and reached out for Percy's report.
Percy hesitated for a moment and turned to look at Fudge.
Fudge seemed not to understand why Percy was looking at him, but he said, "Give it to him."
Percy handed the report to Thicknesse.
He took the report, flipped through the contents on the parchment, and then looked up at Fudge, falling into a brief silence.
Thicknesse's reaction seemed to indicate that there was a problem with the report and that it was related to Fudge, which was why Percy Weasley hadn't spoken up earlier.
The others also flipped through the report and fell silent. Finally, the report was placed in front of Fudge, and after flipping through it, he finally understood why everyone had reacted the way they did.
Albert Anderson had been in Transfiguration class at the time, and the entire class of students could vouch for him, so Fudge's suspicion of Albert was baseless.
Fudge glared at Percy, displeased with his assistant's behavior.
However, he would never realize that the report not reaching him promptly was entirely his own doing.
"What do you think are the chances of Anderson being the mysterious wizard in Dawlish's description? You should know him, right!" Scrimgeour ignored the sullen Fudge and was more interested in Albert Anderson.
Percy glanced at Fudge and, seeing that he didn't object, cleared his throat and said, "If we're talking solely about ability, I think it's quite likely to be Anderson."
"Is he that formidable?" Thicknesse asked curiously.
"He's the Dueling Champion," Scrimgeour reminded them.
"I think that should be his publicly displayed skill level," Percy recalled. "In fact, Albert Anderson has been constantly pushing the boundaries of my understanding of genius. As you know, he's won numerous world championships, yet no one knows his true limits."
"Although Mr. Anderson has had some unpleasant dealings with the Ministry in the past, the likelihood of him causing trouble for the Ministry is low."
"Why?"
"Based on my understanding of Anderson, he's more likely to simply ignore the Ministry."
"Go on." Scrimgeour urged.
"If the Ministry were to initiate a conflict with him, given his personality, he would definitely counter-attack fiercely. It wouldn't be as simple as being taken down by a Stunning Spell."
The three who had been disarmed fell silent.
"Continue."
"While Mr. Anderson is on good terms with Hagrid, he actually gets along well with most witches and wizards. He even founded the Wizarding Card Club and invited students from all four houses to join."
"So, Anderson is on good terms with students from all four houses. Even with Slytherin, the house with the most strained relationship with Gryffindor, he can still find friends." Percy looked around at everyone and continued, "So, even if Albert doesn't like the Ministry, the most he would do is not work for them after graduation, especially since he has an entire class of students to vouch for him. The probability of him being that mysterious wizard is very low."
"I recall Potter mentioning that Anderson can predict the future?" Rufus Scrimgeour was more interested in this matter. "Since he was able to help Black find Peter Pettigrew, can we use his ability to locate the escaped Death Eaters?"
The others began to murmur among themselves.
"That... the probability is low." Percy felt that they were being delusional. Given Albert's personality, he would most likely ignore them.
"Is it because Mr. Anderson has had some unpleasant dealings with the Ministry in the past?" Scrimgeour frowned and asked, "Well, Weasley? I assume you know something about this."
"It seems like..." Percy glanced at Fudge stealthily.
"What is it? Spit it out, don't beat around the bush."
"Well, the Ministry didn't give the reward for capturing Black and Pettigrew to Mr. Anderson. Later..." Percy glanced at the others in the room and lowered his voice. "... the Wizengamot Youth Award."
"If we want to make use of Anderson's prophetic abilities, what should we do?" Scrimgeour asked, pressing for an answer. If Anderson was that capable, many problems could be easily solved.
"It's difficult. Unless the Ministry is willing to pay a large sum of galleons for a divination fee, he might agree to help."
"Is that possible?"
"Based on my understanding of Anderson, it would depend on... his mood." Percy didn't think they would succeed.
"Even if we offer a large sum of galleons, it still depends on his mood?" Everyone frowned.
"Mr. Anderson is very rich. Extremely rich," Percy recalled.
"Are there any other ways to get him to work for the Ministry? Now is a critical time for us, and I..."
"My suggestion is not to completely provoke him. That would be unwise. You never know what might happen when someone who rarely loses their temper finally does, especially since Anderson possesses abilities almost on par with Dumbledore."
"Do you think he's on par with Dumbledore?" Amelia Bones raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Perhaps not now, but he will definitely reach that level in the future. Unlike Dumbledore, Anderson is an all-rounder. He's at the top in every field. Perhaps aside from giving birth, there's nothing he can't do."
"I suggest we reach out to him. If Anderson is willing to provide us with information, we can offer him the galleons promised in the wanted posters as a reward." Rufus Scrimgeour looked up and said to everyone, "Whether it's capturing the escaped Death Eaters or... no, just capturing the escaped Death Eaters is enough."
Scrimgeour suspected that the one who had warned him earlier was Anderson. He intended to reach out to him when he had the time, as it would be mutually beneficial.
(End of Chapter)
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