A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“Alright!” Aaron sighed. “The only reason I was there was to practice Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“Aaron,” Fudge gave him a warning look, “I hope you’ll be honest.”

“I know what I’m talking about, Minister,” Aaron said calmly. “I admit I may have made a mistake, but I didn’t mean to!”

Professor Umbridge, the senior investigator you sent, only taught us theory in Defense Against the Dark Arts class…”

“That’s systematic teaching,” Umbridge interrupted. “It’s for your own good. Classes are to prepare you for exams, and it’s also in accordance with the Ministry of Magic’s educational mandate.”

“But half of the OWLs exams that fifth-year wizards face are practical,” Aaron said directly. “By not allowing us to use magic in class, you’re essentially sentencing our practical exams to death.”

“Mr. Minister, you should know what the OWLs exams mean for fifth-grade students.”

This relates to students' future career choices, and failing Defense Against the Dark Arts can deprive many of these opportunities.

Fudge blinked, speechless for a moment.

Did he know? Of course he knew, but to prevent Dumbledore from building up a force to oppose him, he had no other choice but to resort to this tactic.

Sacrificing the future of a small number of children in exchange for a Minister of Magic who can bring prosperity and peace to the wizarding world is absolutely worthwhile.

Furthermore, if failing the exam is simply due to missing a year of Defense Against the Dark Arts class, then the child isn't particularly talented, and it wouldn't be a waste of his potential.

Umbridge seemed to sense her superior's embarrassment, widened her eyes, and pointed at Aaron, "Gaius, are you questioning the Ministry of Magic's decision?"

“Of course not,” Aaron waved his hand. “To be honest, after learning about your teaching methods, I even wrote a letter home.”

"What did Vico say?" Fudge asked immediately. He didn't care about the Ministry of Magic's decision, but if the Gaius family had objections, it would be difficult to resolve.

"My dad's not here, my uncle received the letter," Aaron began, spouting nonsense with a straight face. "He meant that the Ministry of Magic's decisions have nothing to do with him, but I absolutely have to get an O on my Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, otherwise..."

Aaron paused for two seconds, his eyes slightly reddening, his voice filled with grievance and indignation, "Minister Fudge, our family rules are quite strict. If I don't meet the requirements for my Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, I'll definitely be in big trouble when I go back home for vacation."

“You, you…” Umbridge clutched her chest in anger. “Nonsense! Hogwarts’ mail delivery channels are closely monitored. I have no idea you’ve sent any mail home.”

"Just because you don't know doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "I used Hogsmeade's delivery channels. No matter how capable you are as a senior investigator, you can't possibly have your hands sticking that far!"

Coincidentally, my Uncle Genes happens to know someone in Hogsmeade. Is it illegal to ask him to deliver a message?

Upon hearing this, Umbridge's face twitched violently, and Fudge also felt an immense headache coming on.

Everyone else was struggling to suppress their laughter, except for Marietta, who was utterly despondent.

"Because of my uncle's letter, I have higher requirements for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Even so, I did not object to Professor Umbridge. Instead, I secretly trained somewhere in private, just so as not to make things difficult for her.

But to my surprise, when I was training as usual today, the door to the House of Requirement was blasted open by a blasting spell.

I had no idea how I ended up here with Umbridge.

“Minister Fudge, I admit I violated school rules, but there are some extenuating circumstances,” Aaron continued. “Besides, we had an agreement that I would decide my own Defense Against the Dark Arts course during my time at school, and she had no right to interfere.”

Fudge: ......

Umbridge was struck dumb, and it took him a while to recover before he gave a hypocritical sneer, "That's just your side of the story."

“If necessary, Genes can come and testify on my behalf.”

Umbridge stared at Aaron in astonishment, not understanding where he got the audacity to say such a thing.

Genes is nominally Aaron's uncle, but in reality he is just the steward of the Gaius family; to put it bluntly, he is a servant.

How credible can a servant's testimony be when it comes to his young master?

“I won’t stoop to your level,” Umbridge said, barely containing her anger. Then, in a second, her tone changed completely. “Minister, you should remember that I reported to you last year about Gaius and Potter having a party with many classmates at the Hog’s Head pub in Hogsmeade.”

"Do you have any evidence?" Professor McGonagall demanded.

“I have Willie Wedsing’s testimony. He was drinking inside at the time.” Umbridge seemed to be basking in the joy of being a senior investigator, his face beaming with pride. “Although he was wrapped up quite tightly, it didn’t impair his hearing. He heard their conversation and then rushed to the school to report to me.”

"Oh!" Professor McGonagall seemed to realize something and exclaimed in sudden understanding, "That's why the Ministry of Magic dropped the charges against him for causing the sewage backflow in the toilets. Our judicial system is truly eye-opening!"

“A shameful depravity,” a portrait behind Dumbledore cursed. “In our time, the Ministry of Magic never made deals with despicable criminals. They would never do such a thing.”

“Thank you, Fosco,” Dumbledore said.

"Perhaps it's the criminal's heartfelt repentance, wanting to atone for his crimes!" Aaron said inappropriately.

“Yes, that’s it,” Fudge said.

Fosco put him in an awkward position, clearly criticizing his inaction during his presidency, but the idea of ​​a criminal redeeming himself through leniency was a different matter entirely.

Umbridge snorted, then looked at Aaron meaningfully. "These students' gatherings are Potter's attempt to persuade them to join an illegal group, the goal of which is to learn some spells that the Ministry of Magic deems inappropriate."

"That's true," Aaron said sheepishly. "But it was after the party that Professor Umbridge decided to ban all clubs with more than three members."

This was a time lag, but we didn't violate any Ministry of Magic regulations at the time.

Umbridge opened his mouth, remained silent for a few seconds, and then looked at Aaron with schadenfreude. "Widsin also mentioned to me that Gaius, you seemed to admit to them that you saw the resurrection of the Mystic."

Fudge's eyes narrowed, and his voice turned sharp. "Is that so?"

"How should I put it?" Aaron frowned slightly. "The situation at the time..."

“Just tell me directly whether this happened or not?” Umbridge pressed.

She knew Fudge well enough to know that if Aaron dared to admit it, Fudge would definitely turn against him.

Then, she won't have to worry about anything when she wants to deal with Aaron.

She couldn't bear the humiliation she suffered during that time if she didn't leave a few scars on his arm after being confined to solitary confinement and forced to write sentences for a month.

"That's true, but..."

"Haha." Umbridge had just burst into laughter when she heard the word "but," and her heart skipped a beat, her laughter abruptly stopping.

“But what?” Fudge asked.

"Minister, are you sure you want me to speak here?"

“Right here, now, there’s no time to hesitate.” Fudge’s voice was urgent; he wouldn’t be at ease until he understood Aaron’s position.

“Alright!” Aaron shrugged, turning to look at Umbridge, whose face had turned ashen as if he’d swallowed a dead fly. “I don’t know Widsin, but he should tell you that I also said something back then: I will never admit to the Dark Lord’s resurrection once I leave the Hog’s Head.”

Fudge raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Let me give you a shout-out," Aaron said without batting an eye. "I don't know if the Mysterious Man has been resurrected, but his resurrection will undoubtedly motivate students to study."

"I'm a minor after all, so making a few jokes shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

"This...is this a joke?" Percy asked, taken aback.

“Why not? I have never publicly admitted to such nonsense,” Alyn said confidently. “Senior Percy, can you honestly say you never said you wanted to be Minister for Magic?”

Percy: ......

Holy crap! What did I ever do to deserve this? Why would they go to such lengths to trick me?

He has his eye on that position, but to say that in front of the current Minister of Magic would be suicidal.

Sure enough, several more black lines appeared on Fudge's forehead.

I'm not even dead yet, and you're already thinking about seizing the throne? That's utterly rebellious!

A fierce glint flashed in Umbridge's eyes. She had worked so hard for Fudge for so many years, all for the sake of advancing further and taking the second position.

I never expected this! Now there's another competitor. This is intolerable!

Percy sensed the intense malice from both sides and immediately tried to defend himself, saying, "Don't talk nonsense, I was just..."

"Just kidding, right?" Aaron said playfully.

“I, I…” Percy stammered, “I just wanted to one day become a great person like the Minister who has dedicated himself to the wizarding world, I had no other intentions.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Aaron said with a smile, then looked at Fudge. “I believe the Minister understands what I mean. I’m not like Harry Potter; I’ve never said a single word in public that is detrimental to the Ministry of Magic.”

Fudge nodded blankly, feeling a little relieved despite his anger.

It seems the other party is still maintaining neutrality, which is enough; at least they are not an enemy.

“Minister, I…” Umbridge hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

"Alright, I know what you're going to say," Fudge said somewhat helplessly. "I believe Mr. Gaius has no objection to the Ministry of Magic."

Umbridge was still somewhat unwilling, but Fudge had already made his stance clear, and she dared not disobey her superior's orders, so she could only change the subject.

"Education Order No. 24 has been in effect for nearly six months. Even if their first gathering was not illegal, subsequent gatherings will certainly be illegal."

“Well,” Dumbledore said with a polite smile, “I don’t deny that claim, but what evidence do you have to prove that there were any such gatherings afterward?”

If I'm not mistaken, Professor Umbridge, it seems you only caught Mr. Gaius in the Room of Requirement!

Umbridge paused for a moment, then smiled broadly. "There might have been some unexpected issues with this arrest operation, but we have witnesses. Why do you think Miss Ekmor is here?"

“Wait a minute,” Aaron interrupted, a bewildered expression on his face. “Excuse me for interrupting, Professor Umbridge, you don’t think we’ve been organizing this gathering for six months, do you?”

“You dare say you don’t?” Umbridge retorted.

"Of course not. We haven't organized any gatherings since the implementation of Education Order No. 24."

“Haha, Mr. Gaius, that’s not up to you.” Umbridge smiled and looked at Marietta. “Miss Eckmore, how many parties like this have they organized in the past few months?”

Marietta didn't speak immediately, but looked at Aaron through the slit in the window. However, she felt uneasy after noticing his confident demeanor.

"Well, it seems it's a bit difficult for you to speak."

Let me ask you another question: Have these kinds of gatherings been held regularly over the past six months?

You just need to nod or shake your head; I'm sure that won't activate the curse.

Marietta hesitated for a long time before nodding with difficulty.

"Ridiculous." Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "Minister Fudge, is this how the Ministry of Magic operates? Frame-ups without any evidence?"

“That’s sophistry,” Umbridge said. “Isn’t Miss Ekmor’s face evidence?”

“Who knows if she drank the wrong potion?” Aaron retorted directly. “I suggest Professor Snape thoroughly check his storeroom; there might be one or two bottles missing.”

“I didn’t,” Marietta said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t drink any potions, I really didn’t.”

"Okay, judging from your expression, you're probably not lying. Something really did happen!" Aaron turned his face away with some disgust. "I can heal your face, but it really doesn't count as evidence."

Chapter 482 The Scapegoat, the Whistleblower Who's Caught Between the Crowd and the Insider

"You...you said you could cure my face?" Marietta asked incredulously. "Really?"