Chapter 472: Before the Start of School
Chapter 472: Before the Start of School
It wasn't until the night of the following day that Kyle learned why Chris had rushed back to the Ministry of Magic overnight.
In short, the department was severely understaffed, and the personnel from the Department for International Magical Cooperation alone were insufficient. Anyone who could breathe was called back to help.
Mr. Weasley was no exception.
For an entire week, they left before dawn and returned late into the night.
During this time, Kyle had his meals at the Weasley residence, and each time he visited, he would hear Fred and George's sarcastic remarks in the background.
Ever since Kyle and Cedric stuffed them into a box, the two had been like this upon returning from the camp.
Cedric, due to his distance from the hovel, escaped this fate.
Finally, Kyle, exasperated beyond measure, agreed to take them for a spin in the box after school started, and only then did he manage to have a few days of peace.
During this period, another incident occurred. Percy and Mr. Weasley had a big argument.
The reason was that Rita Skeeter had published another article. She had obtained information from an unknown source, claiming that Mr. Weasley, in an attempt to curry favor with the headmaster of Beauxbatons, only cared about a few French students and remained indifferent while watching a dozen wizards being killed.
Of course, any discerning person would know that this was fabricated, but Percy believed it. During breakfast one time, he complained about Mr. Weasley's lack of wisdom and also brought up Bill and Charlie.
Mrs. Weasley was infuriated and had a big argument with him. Charlie even directly demonstrated what it meant to be a dragon keeper.
Percy didn't even finish his meal before fleeing to the Ministry of Magic with a pair of bruised eyes.
"Don't mind him." Bill said to Harry and the others beside him, "Rita Skeeter never writes anything good about others. She's best at twisting right and wrong, but many brainless people believe her nonsense."
In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the holiday, and Sirius and Lupin hadn't sent him any letters.
In the morning, Kyle went to Grimmauld Place Number 12, but there was no one inside, not even the house-elf.
Additionally, there was no news from the Ministry of Magic either.
Obviously, Sirius's retrial had been put on hold.
The incident at the Quidditch World Cup hadn't been fully resolved, and Fudge seemed unwilling to take action against Crouch at this time.
However, this wasn't hard to understand. The Ministry of Magic was already in disarray, with a large number of Howlers being sent to the office of the Department for International Magical Cooperation almost daily.
If it weren't for Crouch drawing the public's ire, those complaining about the security issues of the Quidditch tournament and demanding compensation for losses would likely have been sent to his Minister's office.
Fudge didn't want to spend most of his day dealing with those Howlers.
When Kyle returned to St. Catsby Village, it was almost the end of the day.
Chris returned once and then left with Charlie in a hurry. He received a task to go to Romania immediately, and Charlie, knowing this, decided to hitch a ride with the Ministry's door key, as his holiday only had one day left. Using the Ministry's door key could save him a lot of time.
Mr. Weasley waited until very late before returning, dragging his exhausted body. He looked completely worn out.
"Things are getting more and more out of hand." He sat in an armchair by the fireplace, listlessly fiddling with the wrinkled pineapple in the plate.
"Rita Skeeter has been running around everywhere, searching for more chaotic information from the Ministry of Magic to report. Her articles have brought us no small trouble.
"Where's Malfoy, Dad...?" Bill asked, "Is he in Azkaban?"
Mr. Weasley sighed, "I wish it were that simple."
"He claimed in court that he did it because his team lost the match, and he wasn't thinking straight at the time."
"Not thinking straight?" Bill exclaimed angrily, "They used the Cruciatus Curse on him!"
"I know, but no one can testify to that," Mr. Weasley said, "Remember, his curse didn't work, and we couldn't use a Flashback Charm to prove it."
"Moreover, a significant portion of the jury chose to believe Malfoy. They thought that the mastermind behind this incident was an escaped Death Eater, whether it was either using the Imperius Curse on Bagman to assassinate Harry, or being the first to cast the Killing Curse, and creating the Dark Mark, all traced back to this Death Eater."
Coincidentally, when the Dark Mark appeared, Malfoy had already been arrested, indicating that he had no connection to this Death Eater."
"What nonsense..." Bill asked, "What about Professor Maxime? Did she agree?"
"The Ministry is still negotiating with her," Mr. Weasley said, "That's also why Malfoy hasn't been released yet."
Although he donated a large sum of Galleons and took responsibility for all the losses and compensations, Professor Maxime found the French Minister of Magic and insisted on an explanation, or else she would withdraw..."
Mr. Weasley paused for a moment before continuing, "In any case, both Professor Maxime and the French Minister of Magic are firm in their stance, and Fudge has been having a headache over this matter."
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Kyle nodded, understanding, "He doesn't want his reputation damaged internationally, yet he's unwilling to give up on Malfoy's Galleons..."
"You could say that," Mr. Weasley poured himself a small glass of whiskey, "But regardless, Malfoy is in trouble this time... I've heard that the compensation he offered is not a small amount."
"Plus, he has to give an explanation to the Busbys... There's news that the Malfoy family has already started selling their shops in Diagon Alley."
"He should be in Azkaban!" Ron exclaimed indignantly, "I really want to see if Draco Malfoy will still be so arrogant."
Mr. Weasley remained silent.
If the Cruciatus Curse had been used, there's no way he could have escaped, but... it was only because of Lucius' years of networking that a large amount of Galleons were spread around, finally receiving their return at a critical moment.
As long as it's not a serious mistake, there will always be someone speaking up for him.
Additionally, the timing of the Dark Mark's appearance was also perfect, just in time to provide him with an excuse to escape punishment.
"I think you should all head upstairs and check if your luggage is packed," Mrs. Weasley interrupted their conversation, saying, "Go now, and stop talking about Malfoy. Let your dad rest for a while."
"Alright..." Everyone took their belongings and went upstairs.
Kyle originally wanted to ask if there was any news about Sirius in the next chapter, but seeing Mr. Weasley's tired expression, he decided not to speak up.
...
(End of Chapter)
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