Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 346 You Understand Me
After delivering his speech in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was in high spirits and full of confidence.

However, no one expected that just as he was walking briskly towards the future with his head held high, he would stumble and fall on the steps.

Because it happened so suddenly, most people didn't have time to react and were stunned on the spot.

At the critical moment, a figure rushed over with lightning speed and unstoppable force, extending a pair of strong hands to help Fudge up.

It was Percy Weasley.

From the moment Fudge entered the hall, Percy's gaze remained fixed on him.

That's why he was able to react immediately when he saw Fudge fall.

However, Percy didn't notice that Fudge, though he stood up, frowned slightly.

how to say?

Although the fall was somewhat unexpected, he was young and in good health, so all he had to do was get up, smile, and everything would be fine.

But then someone pulled this stunt.

He didn't come alone today.

To facilitate the publicity efforts, media outlets from the magical world, including the Daily Prophet, also came.

Fudge knew all too well the character of these reporters.

These guys are fast runners, and all they ever think about is making headlines.

He was certain that his fall would make the headlines tomorrow.

On the other hand, there seemed to be something hard on the student's chest, which made Fudge's ribs ache.

However, he couldn't argue with a student over such things, so after regaining his balance, he had to thank the person:
"Uh... thank you, but wait, you're Arthur Weasley's..."

Just then, Fudge noticed Percy's signature red hair and his face, which bore a striking resemblance to Arthur Weasley, and couldn't help but ask him a question.

"Minister, I am Weasley, Percy Weasley, the current Head of the Hogwarts Student Council, and Arthur Weasley is my father!"

Upon learning that the student was Arthur Weasley's son, he immediately and subtly pushed Percy's arm away.

Percy, however, was unaware of the change in the other party's attitude. When he heard the Minister of Magic ask about his relationship with his father, he trembled with excitement.

After introducing himself and his father, he bowed deeply to Fudge.

Because I bent so low, my glasses almost fell to the ground.

However, he didn't feel embarrassed at all, and continued:

"Minister, I am grateful for your care of my father. He often mentions you at home."

He said it was precisely because of your wise leadership that the magical world has maintained peace and stability over the years.

"Hahaha!"

Fudge chuckled and patted Percy on the shoulder when he heard his words. "Arthur really said that?"

"Absolutely true!"

"Great...great...By the way, you just said you're the student council president?"

"Exactly!"

Percy puffed out his chest, trying to show Fudge his student council president badge, and was delighted that Fudge remembered his position.

Fudge looked at the badge that had just poked him and frowned.
"I see... So you must know a lot about the students at Hogwarts, right?"

"Of course—assisting professors in managing students is the student council president's inescapable duty!"

"Great, could you please help me find Harry?"

"what?"

"Harry Potter, the boy who escaped death from the clutches of the mysterious man, don't you know him?"

Seeing Fudge frown, Percy quickly said:
"I know, of course I know!"
In fact, I know Harry very well, and he has always respected me…

"Then let's invite him over!"

"Uh... okay, sure."

Percy was initially quite happy.

The Minister of Magic personally assigning the task is putting pressure on himself!
However, when he heard that the other party wanted him to go to Harry Potter, he was not in a good mood.

But then I thought about it again, and it was clearly the minister's trust in me—otherwise, why wouldn't he send someone else to find Harry?

So he made up his mind to do this perfectly!

To be fair, Percy does have some abilities.

Despite the bustling and chaotic scene in the Great Hall, he quickly located Harry within the crowd and grabbed him.

"Harry, come with me!"

Harry was discussing Mycroft with Sherlock when Percy suddenly pulled him aside, leaving him completely bewildered.

Ron and Ginny looked at their third brother curiously: "Percy, what happened?"

"The minister wants to see Harry!"

Percy said with an envious look.

"Minister? You mean... Cornelius Fudge?"

"How dare you address the minister by his first name!"

Percy first made a accusation, then said, "Forget it, there's no time to explain—come with me now, we can't keep the minister waiting!"

"Is he ill?"

Seeing Harry, looking utterly helpless, being led away by Percy, Ron stared wide-eyed in surprise and couldn't help but complain to his friends nearby:

"Anyone who didn't know better would think he wasn't a Hogwarts student, but an employee of the Ministry of Magic!"

Ginny sighed, "Percy said he plans to go to the Ministry of Magic after he graduates next year."

"Even if he really did become a Ministry of Magic employee, it doesn't have to be like this!"

Ron said with disgust, "Even my father wasn't like him!"

Listening to Ron and Ginny's complaints, Hermione was a little confused: "But why did Minister Fudge want to talk to Harry? Didn't Professor McGonagall say that she didn't tell the Ministry the real story?"

“Who knows?” Ron shrugged and spread his hands. “But judging from Percy’s expression just now, he wouldn’t tell you even if you asked him—that’s just the kind of person he is.”

"To be precise, even if he wanted to say it, he couldn't."

Sherlock looked at Harry, who had been pulled to Fudge's side by Percy, and shook his head. "Because even he himself doesn't know."

As Sherlock said, Percy had no idea why Fudge was looking for Harry.

So after he brought Harry to Fudge's side, he stood aside and watched the two of them intently.

"Hello, Harry, we meet again!"

"Uh... hello, Minister."

Unlike the excited Percy, Harry only felt embarrassed after seeing Fudge.

Although he and Fudge did know each other before—before the start of the school year, Fudge came to Sherlock's house and told Sherlock and him not to leave easily.

At the time, Harry thought Fudge was a bit flamboyant, but overall a good person. However, this incident caused his attitude towards Fudge to change drastically.

In order to maintain their so-called authority, they refused to acknowledge reality and were unwilling to give Sirius Black justice, even after Sherlock had already captured Peter Pettigrew.

Sherlock often criticizes Scotland Yard, but in Harry's opinion, the Ministry of Magic is not even as good as Scotland Yard!

Although the outcome was ultimately positive thanks to the Holmes brothers' strong intervention, it would be asking too much of Harry to pretend that nothing had happened.

Seemingly noticing Harry's cold attitude, Fudge also felt somewhat embarrassed.

He knew Harry Potter's special identity and also knew that Dumbledore would most likely tell him about the Ministry of Magic's first decision.

If I had known that the Muggle Prime Minister would intervene so forcefully, why would I have done it in the first place?

Fortunately, it's not too late.

So, ignoring Harry's expression, he brazenly took Harry's hand like an uncle facing his nephew, and began to fuss over him.

Seeing this, Percy kept giving Harry meaningful glances.

Harry knew he wanted Harry to respond to Fudge's enthusiasm.

This only made Harry more embarrassed—he really couldn't do it.

Harry is a magnanimous person; he can forgive anyone except those who killed his father or stole his wife.

But what Fudge did was actually related to the murder of his father.

“I have already heard the whole story from Headmaster Dumbledore.”

Fudge finally released Harry's hand, looked into Harry's green eyes, and said:
“Harry, your eyes really do look exactly like your mother's... To be honest, this whole thing has really thrown us into a panic. I was starting to think…”

"Never mind, but now that the truth is out and you're safe, that's the most important thing."

At this point, Fudge felt a bit hot, so he took off his striped cloak.

Percy, who was standing nearby, immediately took it and stood tall, waiting for Fudge's praise.

Unfortunately, Fudge didn't look at Percy again after handing him the cloak.

His eyes were only for Harry; the more he looked at him, the more he liked him.

Percy: □_□

"Now that things are over, you can go back to Privet Drive for Christmas and Easter."

Upon hearing Fudge bring this up, Harry finally broke his silence.

"But my friends and I have already registered to spend Christmas at Hogwarts."

“Things are always changing, Harry… Of course, if you want to stay at Hogwarts, that’s fine too, I can talk to the school about that—but what I have to say is…”

Fudge lowered his voice and glanced at Percy beside him.

The latter looked at him with a sincere expression, but made no move.

Fudge frowned, and seeing that the other person was still standing there, he had no choice but to speak:
“Weasley, could you excuse me for a moment? I have something I want to say to Harry alone.”

"Uh... okay, Minister!"

Percy agreed and immediately stepped aside.

He crossed his arms over his chest, looking around warily, as if afraid someone would come near him.

However, when Percy saw Fudge treat Harry like an old friend, he couldn't help but cast a look of envy and jealousy at Harry.

Fudge still ignored Percy and instead spoke to Harry:
"Um... we still don't know where Blake is."

Harry, you know me—I've always believed Mr. Black was innocent.

How could someone like that be a criminal? Your parents chose him to be their best man and your godfather.

You might not believe it, but when I visited Azkaban this year, I actually met with Black!

He was under close surveillance at the time, and the Dementors guarded his door.

Even so, after discovering clues about the case from twelve years ago, I overcame the difficulties and managed to talk to him once.

I think you probably don't know how terrifying Dementors are—"

"I know that all too well," Harry thought to himself.

"Harry, your godfather is a truly remarkable man!"
Most of the prisoners in Azkaban sat in the dark talking to themselves, devoid of normal consciousness.

But he was very rational, and even asked me for a newspaper to do a crossword puzzle.

It was at that time that I made up my mind to cooperate with him.

Next, we had a frank discussion and exchanged opinions on the case. We decided to release him—of course, publicly as an escape, which was also to lull Peter into a false sense of security…”

I believe you!
Harry found Fudge's seemingly righteous words utterly irritating.

If he hadn't heard Professor McGonagall mention this before, and hadn't heard Sherlock's analysis of Fudge, he might not have believed it.

At this moment, Harry just looked at Fudge with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he was trying to say.

Fudge realized he was rambling, so he quickly stopped and revealed his true intentions:
“Harry, what I’m trying to say is that if Black comes looking for you, you must urge him to turn himself in to the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible.”

"Confess? But Minister, you just said you believed he was innocent all along."

"Ahem, what I mean is, have him come to the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible to explain the situation."

Fudge was somewhat embarrassed and said rather awkwardly, not expecting Harry to be so perceptive as to spot the blind spot in his statement:

"For various reasons, he may not want to return to the Ministry of Magic for the time being."

However, as your godfather, he should listen to your advice.

Just think about it, we still have a Merlin Knights Medal waiting for him to collect!
Of course, it would be even better if you could inform the Ministry of Magic immediately when he comes to you.

Hearing this, Harry finally understood what the Minister of Magic meant.

Although the Ministry of Magic has publicly stated that Sirius Black's actions were carried out under its command, the truth is clearly not so.

This inevitably made Fudge worry that Sirius would talk nonsense everywhere.

If Sirius Black actually says something, the Ministry of Magic will truly become a joke.

There's always a group of people who thrive on chaos and are just waiting to expose the Ministry of Magic's dirty secrets.

That's why Fudge was so eager to recruit Sirius.

Judging from the previous situation, the Ministry of Magic simply did not have the ability to capture Sirius Black.

In the end, he could only place his hopes on his godson, Sirius Black.

Besides demonstrating the Ministry of Magic's incompetence, it also shows that Fudge is now resorting to desperate measures.

This made Harry chuckle. "Minister, so... you've known the truth all along, haven't you?"

"Ah...of course!"

Fudge blushed slightly, but quickly straightened his back and said confidently:

“Harry, you know me…”

(End of this chapter)