Chapter 766: Sometimes the Truth Is Only in the Hands of a Few
Chapter 766: Sometimes the Truth Is Only in the Hands of a Few
Ivan flipped through the Daily Prophets Hermione had collected, each article portraying Dumbledore as an elderly, whimsical old man who had lost his marbles.
The final article read:
"He is too old; we cannot expect a wizard over a hundred to remain rational at all times. It is extremely dangerous to allow such a muddled-minded person to continue as the headmaster of Hogwarts.
For the sake of the next generation, the best thing we can do is to let this former legend stay at home and rest..."
"Hmm, it's quite amusing as a storybook..." Ivan put down the newspaper and commented with a wry smile.
"This isn't the time for jokes, Ivan! There are also many articles about you in here..." Hermione glared at him, clearly annoyed.
"Really? I didn't notice", Ivan said, flipping through the newspaper again.
Under Hermione's guidance, Ivan quickly found an article about himself on another page of the Daily Prophet. It painted him in a poor light, describing him as a proud, eccentric genius who, to gain attention, had conspired with Harry to fabricate the story of the Dark Lord's return, all while hiding it from Dumbledore.
There was even an article hinting that he came from Knockturn Alley and was forming gangs at school, aiming to become the next Dark Lord.
"This is just... ridiculous", Ivan's lips twitched, and he spoke in a tone of exasperation.
It was clear that the Ministry of Magic had pressured the Daily Prophet. Otherwise, the editor wouldn't have the nerve to fabricate such lies.
Only Dumbledore had the temperament to handle this calmly. If it were Voldemort, the entire newspaper staff would have been massacred.
Thinking about this, Ivan felt a headache coming on. While he found these articles amusing, over time, some wizards might start to believe them.
The real issue was that Ivan couldn't find a solution right away.
Despite having evidence against Rita Skeeter, she was just a Daily Prophet editor and couldn't make significant decisions. Even if she wrote favorable articles, they likely wouldn't pass the review process.
Negotiating was out of the question. The last time he disguised himself as Dumbledore and announced his candidacy for Minister of Magic, only to stand them up, the Daily Prophet's editor-in-chief was furious. The harsh criticism in the paper might be partly out of spite.
"Clearly, so many people can vouch for Voldemort's return! How can they do this..." Harry growled, biting into a biscuit as if it were Fudge.
"Because for Minister Fudge, we are all Dumbledore's people, and our words could be influenced by him, so they can't be taken as evidence", Hermione said, pulling out a thick book and speaking with conviction.
"Moreover, Fudge has no choice. He can only believe that the Dark Lord is dead; otherwise, his position as Minister of Magic would be over."
Ivan looked at the book Hermione held, titled From Clerk to Minister, feeling a mix of emotions. He had given her the book on a whim, but she had taken it seriously.
As Hermione said, Fudge wasn't entirely disbelieving of Voldemort's return, but the current situation didn't allow him to acknowledge it. After all, Fudge had aligned himself with the conservative faction, gaining the support of many. Now, he had to stick to his stance; otherwise, it would undermine everything he had done, shaking the foundation of his rule.
Let's not even mention the other things. Just the exposure of his past misdeeds would be enough for the enraged Wizards to immediately oust him from his position, and perhaps even tarnish his reputation to the point of being held accountable.
For someone like Fudge, his own interests always come first. What good would it do for the Wizarding World to thrive if he couldn't be the Minister of Magic?
So even with the Dementor riots and Peter Pettigrew's escape from Azkaban, Fudge would rather believe that all of this was a plot orchestrated by his political rival, Dumbledore.
After dinner, Dumbledore quickly stood up and announced the dismissal of the entire school, and the sound of chairs and desks being moved filled the air.
"I need to guide the first-year students, so you guys head back first", Hermione said, gathering the Gryffindor first-years to form a group as she picked up her books.
Ron, standing nearby, fidgeted with the Prefect badge hanging from his chest, took a deep breath, and looked a bit nervous.
Ivan said goodbye to the two and led Harry back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
Pushing open the dormitory door, they found Seamus and Neville already inside, seemingly in the middle of a conversation.
Seeing the two enter, Neville said happily, "Harry, Ivan, you're just in time. We were just talking about you."
"Talking about what?" Harry asked curiously.
"Harry, where were you that night when we were receiving the awards last semester?" Seamus hesitated for a moment.
"Didn't I already tell you? Peter Pettigrew used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Sirius Black and took me to Voldemort. Then Ivan and the others rescued me", Harry said, a bit impatiently, before suddenly realizing something.
"Wait... you don't believe us?"
"I do... of course, I do", Seamus said, looking at Ivan sheepishly, then continued dejectedly.
"But my mother thinks Professor Dumbledore is not mentally stable. She doesn't believe the Dark Lord is back and thinks you're lying... if it weren't for my insistence, she wouldn't even let me come back to school."
"Professor Dumbledore is not mentally stable? Is she the one who's crazy? How could she think that?" Harry was so angry he was shaking.
After Voldemort's resurrection, the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet did nothing but cause trouble. Only Dumbledore chose to stand up and reveal the truth, but he was labeled as senile and mentally unstable. Harry couldn't swallow this injustice.
"Alright, let's stop arguing", Ivan interrupted, looking at Seamus. "Seamus, you're fifteen years old now. You should make your own judgment. You were at the scene when the chaos happened during the tournament, so think about it."
"Don't forget, in your first year, no one believed you either, even though what you said was true", Ivan patted Seamus on the shoulder.
"So you're saying I wasn't wrong, and you really did ride a dragon in the Forbidden Forest that day?" Seamus's face turned red. He had told many people this story, but they all treated it as a joke.
"Otherwise, how do you think I managed to defeat Professor Quirrell?" Ivan shrugged and smiled. "Sometimes, the truth is only known by a few."
(End of Chapter)
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