The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 450 You can never wake up someone who pretends to be asleep

Everything that happened tonight seemed too weird to Fudge. He was just here to be the referee of the Triwizard Tournament, so how did he get involved with the Death Eaters and the You-Know-Who?

Not long after the Minister arrived at Hogwarts, he was invited by Dumbledore to the headmaster's office for a private talk, in which Dumbledore talked about all the strange things that had happened during the school year.

Starting with the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins, the farce of the World Cup, the fourth warrior who shouldn't have appeared, the disappearance (death) of Barty Crouch, and so on.

Dumbledore told Fudge everything he knew. But no matter what Dumbledore said, Fudge just didn't believe it.

This really sounded too unbelievable. How could a person who had been dead for many years come out to stir up trouble? It was no wonder that Fudge didn't believe it. He was the leader of the wizarding world, and he needed to be careful in his words and deeds to avoid widespread panic among wizards.

In desperation, Dumbledore had to temporarily give up his plan to persuade Fudge, and wait for the facts to speak for themselves, letting Fudge see everything for himself.

At night, the third task started on time. Ada and Harry, disguised as Sirius, touched the Triwizard Cup and were teleported to Little Hangleton by the portkey. Everything went according to plan.

Fleur Delacour was attacked and withdrew from the competition, and Viktor Krum also withdrew from the competition, but these did not attract Fudge's attention, and he still did not take Dumbledore's words to heart.

At this moment, Dumbledore discovered that Barty Jr. was missing. Barty Jr., disguised as Moody, was supposed to be patrolling around the maze, but he shook off McGonagall and Hagrid who were watching him and ran away.

Dumbledore immediately realized that something was wrong and that things had changed. He quickly stopped the game and asked the professors to lead the students back to the castle.

Although he knew that the plan had changed, Dumbledore could do nothing because he didn't know in advance where the portkey would take people. He could only wait for Sirius to send back the news.

But Dumbledore didn't just sit there and wait. After Barty Jr. escaped, the headmaster and his men searched Barty Jr.'s office.

There, Dumbledore found a magic chest in which Barty the Younger had been hiding the real Moody so that he could use Moody's hair.

Dumbledore rescued poor Moody and took him to the school infirmary for treatment.

In the school infirmary, Moody told Dumbledore and Fudge about his experience. Fudge finally believed that Barty Jr. was not dead, and also knew that Benedict Foley had escaped from Azkaban and mixed up with Barty Jr.

But the Minister still did not believe Dumbledore's conclusion. He did not think that the storm this man had created had anything to do with Voldemort.

In this way, Dumbledore patiently persuaded Fudge while anxiously waiting for Sirius to send him news.

After waiting for a long time, Dumbledore finally received a message from Sirius. Dumbledore made a door key in front of Fudge and invited him to go with him so that he could witness Barty Jr.'s conspiracy with his own eyes.

After all, there are some things that you can only believe when you see them with your own eyes, and Dumbledore really couldn't do anything about Fudge.

But Fudge was still a little hesitant. He did not trust the headmaster of Hogwarts and regarded Dumbledore as his imaginary enemy. Perhaps the Minister also had persecution delusions and always felt that some unruly people wanted to harm him.

Fudge could sit still, but Dumbledore couldn't. Barty Jr. had escaped, and Sirius had only sent back the news so late. There was only one possibility, that was Sirius and Ada were in trouble, trouble that was life-threatening.

There was no time to care about so many things. Every second of delay would put Sirius and Ada in greater danger. Dumbledore had to go ahead and no longer care what Fudge thought.

It was Dumbledore's initiative that enabled him to save Sirius, who was on the verge of death, in time, stop the Fiendfyre from invading the village, and force Voldemort to retreat.

But it was Dumbledore's pioneering move that made Fudge, who had been hesitating for a long time, miss out on the Death Eaters and Voldemort.

"Cornelly, you heard what Alastor said in the infirmary," said Dumbledore. "You also heard what Sirius said. This black fire is right in front of you. Don't you understand?"

Dumbledore adjusted his emotions and said calmly, "Cornelly, countless evidences indicate that he has returned tonight, in this burned place."

You can never wake up a person who pretends to be asleep. Whether in school or in Little Hangleton, Dumbledore said all the good things, but Fudge just refused to believe him.

Fudge said, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Benedict Foley, Barty Crouch Jr., and him, I didn't see any of the people you mentioned tonight!" Of course he didn't see them, because Fudge was hesitant and had a lot of dirty thoughts. If Fudge came with Dumbledore, he would be able to see Barty Crouch Jr., and maybe even get a glimpse of Voldemort.

But he was destined not to see Fuli's body, as it had been burned by the fire long ago, leaving not even a trace of ashes.

"I would like to ask the Minister, what is the matter with this fire? A skyfire?" Ada said loudly. She had tolerated Cornelius Fudge for a long time and she really couldn't feel comfortable unless she confronted him.

Fudge was very dissatisfied with Ada's interruption. He felt that this girl was relying on Dumbledore's favor to ignore him, the Minister of Magic.

Fudge growled, "What are you trying to say? Are you trying to say that You-Know-Who caused the fire, or that you and You-Know-Who had a duel?"

Although Fudge arrived a step late due to his own hesitation and missed the most exciting content, and only caught up with the fire, Sirius still gave the minister a brief introduction of the situation.

Although Fudge didn't show it on his face, he secretly scoffed at Sirius's words.

How could a little girl who hadn't even graduated from school face the mysterious man alone, no matter how talented she was? And this girl was still alive and kicking, interrupting the conversation between the big shots, how could this be possible!

Fudge loudly rebuked Ada and continued, "You said he was back, but you should at least pretend to be back so that you can deceive people. If it was really like what you said, how could you stand here and talk to me!"

Your brain circuit is invincible and your ideas are very clear. You, Trist, are not dead. This is the best proof that the mysterious man has not come back, unless you die in front of me!
I don’t know what gave Fudge such courage. He seemed to treat Ada as a soft persimmon that he could bully at will, and he also treated Vida as a soft persimmon.

Perhaps it was the surveillance shackles on Vida's wrists that gave the minister the illusion that Vida Rosier was nothing special, and was a wimp like those pure-blood families he controlled.

As soon as these words came out, Ada's anger instantly exploded. She had been humiliated by Voldemort tonight and had been holding back her anger for a long time. Now Fudge cursed her to death. How could she tolerate this!
But as soon as Ada made a move, Laura beside her quickly hugged her and stopped her from continuing. Dumbledore at the far end also spoke to stop her and asked Ada to calm down.

Dumbledore could dissuade Ada, and Laura could hug Ada, but they both ignored the silent Vida, the wizard Vida Rosier.

A green light lit up and slid accurately past Cornelius Fudge's ear and disappeared into the darkness behind the minister.

Then, Vida said coldly: "This is just a warning. If it happens again, I will prepare a coffin for the Minister myself."

Vida's sudden attack shocked everyone present, but it saved the face of the frightened Fudge.

After all, the Aurors were well-trained, and those who could protect Fudge were no weaklings, so they reacted quickly. Two of the Aurors stood in front of Fudge, acting as human shields, while the other Aurors drew their wands and pointed them at Vader.

One side pulled out its wand and refused to give up, while the other side naturally would not allow itself to be bullied.

Laura let go of Ada immediately, and she also drew out her wand, pointing it at Fudge in the crowd, as if to catch the thief first. Needless to say, Ada never let go of her wand.

In the cemetery that had turned into scorched earth, the people who had just worked together to put out the fire were instantly divided into three factions: Luo, Fu, and Deng, and the situation became tense.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you something." Vida's voice was cold and ruthless. "Could you please tell me, Mr. Minister, how many people are there in your family?"

Dumbledore, who belongs to the third faction, is having a headache. Ada alone is enough to give him a headache, but he didn't expect that Vader would also be such a headache! Dumbledore is really helpless.

At this moment, Sirius, who originally belonged to the third faction, silently drew out his wand. His steps were his choice, and he stood on the side of Vida and Ada.

Fudge, who had more people than him, remained silent in the face of Vader's provocation. It was unknown what Fudge was thinking. He did not look at Vader Rosier, but at Dumbledore.

It was as if Dumbledore had instructed Vader to do this.

(End of this chapter)