https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1580-A-War-with-No-Victors-Part-30-/12529298/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1582-A-War-with-No-Victors-XXXII-/12529300/
Chapter 1581: A War Without Victors (Thirty-One)
Chapter 1581: A War Without Victors (Thirty-One)
Albert had long anticipated the changes that would occur with Kingsley, but as it had nothing to do with him, he naturally didn't bother spending time and energy paying attention to it.
No matter what Kingsley turned into, the world remained relatively friendly to the strong. As long as Albert himself was powerful enough, many troublesome matters wouldn't come knocking at his door.
At least, that's what Albert believed. He never thought that Kingsley would deliberately cause him trouble because of his refusal. That would be extremely foolish.
In fact, after returning to Britain from Australia, everything went smoothly. Even the construction of the Wizarding Village was progressing much faster than expected.
Joseph Clova was indeed a reliable architect. He helped Albert shoulder almost half of the burden, allowing him to slack off during work.
As for the big trouble that Percy had mentioned with certainty, it also did not erupt in Britain.
It was unclear if it was because Kingsley was no longer pressing hard on the Dark Wizards, or if it was just an excuse to get his help. For now, the magical world in Britain remained peaceful.
Even if it was the calm before the so-called storm, it had little to do with him.
Anyway, even if there was a riot of Inferi that hurt people, it was the Ministry of Magic's headache. He just needed to be like the vast majority of onlookers, hide far away, and quietly watch the show! Without any panel tasks and with no way to gain sufficient benefits, Albert had no interest in working for nothing.
Moreover, even if he wanted to help proactively, others might not necessarily appreciate it.
Furthermore, he was very busy every day. During the day, he not only had to help supervise the construction of the Wizarding Village, but he also had to spare time to go to Hogwarts to inspect the restoration of the castle. His evenings were equally packed with tasks—not only did he have to deal with the girls, but he also had to fulfill his duties as a husband. Thankfully, Alice was still young; otherwise, there would likely be even more things requiring his attention.
After dealing with the curious girls, Albert barely managed to divert the sisters' attention to the report on Dolores Umbridge.
This front-page report on the toad-like woman who lacked any distinctive features indeed successfully attracted everyone's attention.
The reason was actually quite simple—Umbridge incurred too much hatred. As a result, when the report of her impending trial appeared on the front page, it sparked heated discussions throughout the magical world.
In Katrina's words: "Many people want Umbridge to die."
This unabashed malice stemmed from the newspaper's coverage of Umbridge. And to make this newspaper more attractive, Percy had directly sought out Rita Skeeter, a woman who never shied away from stirring up trouble.
"Umbridge will definitely not be sentenced to death. The most she'll get is a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban." Regarding the upcoming Wizengamot trial, Albert could guess the outcome even without using his prophetic ability.
"I thought you would advise the new minister to sentence her to death." Isabelle knew that Albert disliked Umbridge and was curious why he didn't seize this opportunity.
"I once told Kingsley that we could use Umbridge as a scapegoat for everyone's anger when necessary, but our new minister believes that a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban is the harshest punishment for her." Albert wouldn't be surprised even if he hadn't seen Umbridge's fate in a prophecy, "Our Minister probably has his own considerations."
"There are no longer any Dementors in Azkaban, so-called life imprisonment is no longer the cruelest punishment!" After reading the report in the Daily Prophet, Katrina also believed that the woman deserved to die.
In fact, most people, like Katrina, hoped that Umbridge would be sentenced to death and believed that the Ministry of Magic would execute her. But Albert knew that they were destined to be disappointed.
"Life imprisonment is indeed an extremely cruel punishment, but for most people, they would rather see Umbridge sentenced to death to vent their anger."
Noticing Isabelle's gaze, Albert put down the newspaper and explained softly, "However, they probably won't do that. Don't forget that Umbridge was also a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic. No one wants such a fate to befall them, so Umbridge will definitely not be sentenced to death."
"But she did end up dying, didn't she?" Isabelle didn't think Umbridge could survive.
"How do you plan to kill her?"
Katrina looked at Albert in astonishment.
"This has nothing to do with me," Albert shook his head. "Those who have been persecuted by her will not let her off easily. After all, the suffering they endured cannot be easily wiped away by the Ministry's trial."
The next day, as the youngest member of the Wizengamot, Albert received a notice from the Ministry of Magic, hoping that he would participate in Umbridge's trial.
Many people expressed regret that they couldn't personally participate in this trial, especially Fred and George, who seemed to be considering whether to disguise themselves as reporters and sneak in.
"I really don't know what Kingsley is trying to do. If he hasn't figured out how to end this, there might be big trouble."
Walking alongside Bard on the way to the courtroom on the tenth floor underground of the Ministry, the former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor suddenly mentioned this matter, seemingly wanting to get some inside information from Albert, the Senior Advisor to the Minister.
Everyone was actually quite satisfied with Kingsley, who was willing to take responsibility. After all, someone had to clean up the mess at the Ministry. However, they didn't want Kingsley to mess up a good situation, as they all knew that the Wizengamot rarely sentenced anyone to death. The harshest punishment they could give was usually a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban, and such a verdict would obviously be detrimental to the current situation.
Especially after the trial of Dolores Umbridge began, everyone suddenly realized that the situation had spiraled out of control.
Because, after going through the trial procedure, Umbridge's numerous heinous crimes were laid bare before everyone.
With many eyewitnesses, it was almost certain that Umbridge was Voldemort's accomplice and henchman.
This alone was enough to sentence Umbridge to life imprisonment.
But to further substantiate her crimes, Kingsley had an Auror administer the newly brewed Veritaserum to Umbridge.
He intended to use the Veritaserum to expose Umbridge's brutality to everyone.
However, the result of this was that the final verdict on Umbridge became an intractable problem.
Should she be directly sentenced to death, or given a lifetime imprisonment? The new Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement felt like he was about to explode, starting to suspect if Kingsley had deliberately set him up.
No one expected the woman before them to be so insane and cruel.
If it weren't for the absence of the Dark Mark on Umbridge's arm, everyone would have considered her a Death Eater.
No!
Even Death Eaters might not have been as enthusiastic in assisting Voldemort, nor would they have been able to harm so many innocent Muggle-born wizarding families.
If possible, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement really wanted to kill Umbridge directly, but he couldn't do that. Because the harshest punishment the Wizengamot could give was life imprisonment, unless he was willing to take the fall for it and sentence the woman to death on the spot. But he knew he couldn't bear the consequences, nor could he act that way.
Therefore, when Kingsley hammered down the gavel and officially announced the final verdict on Umbridge, the entire magical world was shaken by that hammer blow.
(End of Chapter)
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