Chapter 1209: A Sense of Crisis
Chapter 1209: A Sense of Crisis
Ever since the International Confederation of Wizards dispatched a small group of Aurors into the British wizarding world, the chaos caused by the Dark Wizards had quickly subsided. However, the employees of the British Ministry of Magic still couldn't avoid the fate of working overtime from nine to five every day, even on Christmas Day.
Minister Scrimgeour believed that the enemy would not give them a holiday to rest, especially when the situation had eased. He became even more cautious and worried that the Dark Wizards were brewing some grand conspiracy.
The door to the Minister's office opened from the inside, and Kingsley and Arthur emerged, speaking in low tones about the reason Scrimgeour had called them in. The Minister hoped to conduct an interview with Harry and use it as a means to keep everyone on their guard.
With the help of the International Confederation of Wizards, peace had been restored to the British wizarding world. However, the brief calm seemed to make people forget the cruel fact that Voldemort was still alive and posed a constant threat to the peace of the entire wizarding community.
"Scrimgeour is worried that the Death Eaters are plotting something big," Kingsley said, agreeing with the Minister's concerns. Regardless, Voldemort would not rest until he achieved his goals, and if the Ministry let down its guard, they could very well face a devastating blow. Keeping everyone on edge constantly was not a sustainable solution, though.
"How is the protection plan coming along?"
Arthur suddenly asked about the recent news. Rumor had it that the Ministry was quietly building secret apartments to offer temporary residences for its employees, protecting their families from interference and threats posed by Dark Wizards, thus ensuring their safety.
As long as the stability of the Ministry's internal staff was maintained and the higher-ups were safeguarded from the Imperius Curse, the British wizarding world would not easily fall to the infiltration of Death Eaters, and Minister Scrimgeour's life would be secured.
"It's not done yet. It'll probably be some time before we can move in," Kingsley replied, careful not to divulge too much information here. He wanted to avoid drawing the attention of Dark Wizards to the plan, and the apartment complex also couldn't accommodate too many families, so there would need to be a selection process for those allowed to reside there.
"Looks like the Minister isn't optimistic about the current situation either," Arthur said as he took out his pocket watch to check the time, then turned to Kingsley. "Is it because of Mr. Anderson's prophecy?"
"Very likely," Kingsley agreed, thinking that Scrimgeour's heightened alertness stemmed from Albert's warning. The Minister trusted Albert's insights and had been seeking his help lately. With Aurors maintaining order in Britain, it was undoubtedly the best time to eradicate the Death Eaters.
Unfortunately, their efforts had not yielded significant results.
The smarter Death Eaters had gone into hiding and were no longer making public appearances, let alone daring to act as brazenly as they had before.
As for the foolish ones who didn't heed the warnings, they were likely dead by now.
The stalemate was not ideal for Scrimgeour, and according to Albert's predictions, the longer this situation dragged on, the worse it would become.
"Are you coming to the gathering at noon?" Arthur changed the subject. "Fred and George will be there too, and you can also..."
"I will," Kingsley replied, not forgetting the task assigned to him by Minister Scrimgeour. "And I can talk to Harry about the interview while I'm there. What do you think? Do you think Harry will be willing to accept the interview?"
"I don't know. We'll see," Arthur shook his head. "I support whatever decision he makes."
The two of them made their way to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, where they found Harry helping out by peeling potatoes. He looked a bit tired, as if he hadn't slept well the night before.
Kingsley brought up the topic of the interview directly.
"If you don't want to accept the interview from the Prophet, we can help you turn them down," Kingsley said, leaving the decision to Harry.
Harry fell silent for a moment after hearing this. He still held some resentment towards the Prophet for the way they had smeared his name in the past, and he couldn't rule out the possibility of it happening again in the future.
"What do you think Scrimgeour is up to?" Harry asked Arthur and Kingsley instead of giving them a direct answer.
"Scrimgeour believes that everyone should remain vigilant," Kingsley explained. "After all, Voldemort is merely lying low, not truly defeated. This false peace won't last long. We suspect that he's plotting something sinister."
"Scrimgeour wants to use your fame," Arthur added, glancing at Kingsley. It was clear from his words that he hoped Harry would agree to the interview. "He wants people to believe that you endorse his policies, making it easier for him to implement them."
They could all guess Scrimgeour's intentions—to use Harry's reputation to strengthen his own position.
"Looks like my status as the 'Chosen One' is quite popular," Harry said sarcastically.
"Yes, Scrimgeour is trying to use you, that's what politicians do," Mr. Weasley said, looking at Harry seriously. "Of course, we also believe that it's not the time to let our guard down. But many people... are tired, Harry. We support whatever you decide."
"Actually, I think Scrimgeour would be better off seeking Albert's support," Harry said, ignoring Mr. Weasley's words and changing the subject.
"Mr. Anderson has been very helpful, and much of Scrimgeour's current success is due to Albert's contributions," Kingsley said, his expression a bit odd. "Because of this, Scrimgeour's attitude towards Albert has changed, but Albert sees through his nature and doesn't give him much attention. Scrimgeour doesn't have a good solution for this."
"That sounds like something Albert would do," Harry said with a light laugh. "Alright, I'll agree to the interview, but I want to see the questions in advance. You know how the newspaper likes to exaggerate things."
"That's wonderful," Kingsley said, relieved. Their task was now complete.
"How despicable!"
George stood at the door with a cup of warm butterbeer in his hand. He smiled and raised his cup to Harry, saying, "That's just how adults are. You could have refused, though. I bet Kingsley's expression would've been priceless."
"Yes, they're despicable and scheming, but I'm not a child anymore. I can make my own decisions and won't do something as boring as that," Harry said, knowing exactly what he was doing.
"Actually, I don't think it would make much of a difference even if you did speak out," Fred said as he handed Harry a cup of butterbeer. "Albert often says that you should never try to convince someone who doesn't want to believe. Even if you shout the truth in their ear, they'll pretend not to hear it."
Harry took a sip of the butterbeer and asked curiously, "What should one do in such a situation?"
"Just do your own thing, don't pay any attention to him," George shrugged.
"Harry, I got the mead you asked for. The best oak-aged mead," Sirius placed the small oak barrel in front of Harry and asked, "What do you need mead for?"
"It's for a gift. Dumbledore gave me a task to get some information from Professor Slughorn, and I plan to get him drunk first," Harry didn't hide this matter, as long as he didn't let them know the content, there shouldn't be a problem.
"Do you need any help?" Lupin asked.
"No, this should be enough. Slughorn likes to collect gifts, and I plan to give him this barrel of mead on his birthday," Harry didn't actually have much confidence in this plan, but his confidence came from the Felix Felicis and his backup plan.
Seeing Harry's confidence, Sirius didn't say anything more. Of course, he knew where Harry got the Felix Felicis from, and with good luck, he would surely succeed, so Sirius wasn't worried about Harry's plan failing.
The grand feast was supposed to be in the evening, but everyone was busy tonight, so they had to move the feast forward.
During the delicious meal, Kingsley brought up Scrimgeour's protection plan with Arthur.
"I know about this, and it's said that Albert will become the Secret-Keeper for that building," Fred put down his turkey leg and interjected.
"Why not Dumbledore?"
Mrs. Weasley was puzzled, as the Secret-Keeper for the Order of the Phoenix headquarters was Dumbledore, and there was no doubt that the headmaster of Hogwarts was the most suitable person for the job, after all, even Voldemort feared him.
If he wasn't willing, who could extract secrets from him?
"We suspect that the Death Eaters are plotting something against Dumbledore and Scrimgeour in secret," Mad-Eye Moody said bluntly, "So they chose Albert, that guy is also very powerful, and no one knows where he's hiding."
"That sounds ridiculous," Ginny muttered, "Are the Death Eaters crazy enough to target Dumbledore?"
"Don't forget what happened recently. Voldemort tried to kill Albert through Hermione, and the other two time points obviously correspond to Dumbledore and Scrimgeour," Harry felt that the others probably guessed Dumbledore's dire situation as well.
If he were to die, then the so-called protection plan would truly be in jeopardy.
"Actually, if we build a few more of those buildings, and everyone hides, the Death Eaters will probably be left staring at nothing," George diverted the topic to avoid unpleasant subjects.
"Voldemort's terror stems mostly from his threats to other wizarding families. Once they are no longer vulnerable to his threats, people won't be as afraid of him, at least not worried about their families being targeted," Tonks also agreed with Scrimgeour's protection plan, at least they wouldn't have to worry about their families.
"Sounds like something Albert would come up with, only he would do such a thing," Harry mumbled, and now whenever he heard about something odd, he would subconsciously think it was Albert's doing. As far as he knew, the Defense Association had also set up many so-called "safe houses".
"Yes, it was Albert who suggested this to Scrimgeour," Fred nodded in explanation, "This will help prevent the Ministry of Magic from being completely controlled by Death Eaters, and it will encourage more people to dare to stand up against them."
"Everything really does revolve around him," Harry couldn't help but quip.
If possible, he actually wished that Albert could help him eliminate Voldemort, but that was merely a nice thought.
Voldemort was ultimately something he had to deal with himself.
"Harry..."
Hermione nudged Harry with her foot under the table.
"Ouch, who kicked me just now?"
Ron suddenly looked up and scanned the room, searching for the culprit.
"Oh, right, I hope I can learn Apparition during the Christmas break. I mean, I hope someone can teach us in advance," Harry said, turning to Kingsley.
"I recall that sixth-years are eligible to sign up for Apparition training," Kingsley raised an eyebrow, looking at Harry in confusion, "After the Christmas break, you should be starting your Apparition lessons."
"I know, but I still hope that this semester, Hermione, Ron, and I can ensure that we master Apparition," Harry said seriously, "This is important."
"Harry, you guys can definitely..."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry shook his head in interruption, "This isn't about showing off, it's important, and we must be prepared to deal with the changing situation in the future."
Everyone looked at each other, understanding Harry's meaning, and finally, Kingsley nodded in agreement.
"Lupin, you teach Harry, Hermione, and Ron," Kingsley looked at Lupin and asked, "You have teaching experience, and so does Sirius. Moody, I remember you don't have much going on these days, so teach Harry some Dark Magic Defense techniques as well, some Auror training won't hurt."
"You..." Molly was a little angry.
"Molly, Harry will have to face this eventually," Arthur placed his hand on his wife's shoulder and shook his head, interrupting her, "He's not a child anymore."
"He's still just a boy," Sirius said calmly, "Harry is a man now, and we all know what he has to face in the future. He needs to grow up, and your overprotection will only harm him."
"Sirius," Lupin frowned, feeling that Sirius' words were too harsh.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley, but I don't want to spend my entire life running and hiding," Harry said calmly, "And sometimes, escaping is meaningless, especially when your opponent is Voldemort. He will definitely try his best to kill me."
"Cough, being able to master Apparition in advance has a lot of benefits, at least you won't have to worry about not being able to learn it later," George quickly changed the subject to ease the tense atmosphere, "Back then, we also learned Apparition in advance with Albert's help, and our progress was much faster than the other students."
"Albert taught you Apparition?!" Kingsley raised an eyebrow, "Seems like he never took the Ministry of Magic's laws seriously."
"As long as no one knows, it's not breaking the law," George said with a smile.
For some reason, Mr. Weasley suddenly looked embarrassed, as this reminded him of the flying Ford Anglia.
"Is that really the case?" Hermione asked curiously.
"There are always loopholes in the law," Kingsley explained awkwardly.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
