The Return to Hogwarts

Looking at Delilah, who was gradually losing his senses in the purple glow of his eyes, Amosta said softly,

"Take a look at some of your treasured memories."

Chapter 821: Fainting with force

2024-03-23

A sharp scream came from the office behind the door, but the angry and hateful scream stopped as he knocked on the door. Delilah hesitated for a moment, somewhat regretting his impulsiveness, but the minister's deep call from behind the door left him no room for regret.

"minister--"

Pushing open the door, Minister Fudge was sitting at his desk. His somber eyes and the gloomy aura he exuded made even the origami cranes flying out of the fireplace dare not approach. The fierce look on Ms. Umbridge's face made Derek deeply regret the time he had chosen to give his report.

Perhaps the news I brought will please the two top figures in the ministry?

With this thought in mind, Delisi hesitantly walked into the minister's office.

“I’d better tell me that you’ve found information about the sender of that damn package, Delilah.”

Unlike Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, Fudge's round face was deeply etched with the majesty of the Minister of Magic, which made Dexter panic.

"--I'm sorry, Minister and Ms. Umbridge, the Aurors are still investigating the package. You, you must know that...it will take some time."

The oppressive atmosphere in the office, like the calm before a storm, made it hard for Dexter to breathe. Perhaps wizards like Dumbledore and Blaine could disregard the authority of high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic, but he was absolutely powerless against the authority of wizards at the pinnacle of power.

"I have come here to report to you and Ms. Umbridge because of something interesting."

"interesting?!"

Fudge rudely interrupted Delilah's intermittent narration. His last shred of ministerial decorum prevented him from yelling at Delilah to get out of his office. Didn't this fool understand that nothing was interesting to him right now?

"Oh, it's not important!"

Delilah's stiff gray hair was covered in sweat. He didn't bother wiping the sweat from his damp temples, and immediately changed his story.

"Perhaps. I mean, Hogwarts students violated the Law of Wizardry Secrecy, including Harry Potter."

After much hesitation, Delilah finally revealed the crucial information, which indeed piqued the minister's interest. Even Ms. Umbridge, whose face was somewhat ferocious, stared at him intently after a moment of surprise.

"Harry Potter violated the Wizarding Secrets Act, which doesn't sound surprising."

But after the initial surprise, Fudge said rather uninterestedly,

"This isn't the first time that boy has done this. He previously used a hovering charm in front of a group of Muggles at his host Muggle house, and he also turned his aunt into a giant balloon because of an emotional outburst, during Sirius's prison break. But Dumbledore likes boys with this kind of rebellious spirit who treat the Ministry of Magic's laws as mere scraps of paper."

As he spoke, Cornelius Fudge's eyes and brows gleamed with anger once more.

"Just because he's the 'Boy Who Lived,' and has Dumbledore's... oh, and now Blaine's protection, the Ministry of Magic has to remain silent about his illegal activities. I assure you, Dolores, if any other boy dared to act this way, even if he were some descendant of Merlin, I would have the Dementors prepare a separate cell for him in Azkaban!"

"What interests me more is!"

Listening to Minister Fudge's rambling complaints and outbursts of temper, Deli's disappointment was visibly evident.

After Minister Fudge, Ms. Umbridge, and Ms. Burns went to Hogwarts because of the terrorist attack on Hermione Granger, Ms. Burns seemed perfectly normal, but the minister and Ms. Umbridge looked terrible, so it was obvious that they had 'lost out' to Dumbledore and Blaine.

Therefore, when he discovered that Harry Potter had broken the law, he rushed back to report, thinking he could please the minister. However, to his surprise, Minister Fudge did not value his discovery.

Fortunately, Ms. Umbridge seems to be somewhat interested in this.

"--What exactly did Harry Potter do, Dolittle?"

When she came to stand before her, Ms. Umbridge became all smiles and asked with great interest.

“Oh, is that so, Ms. Umbridge!”

Seeing that things had taken a turn for the better, Delix dared not slack off and immediately told them everything he knew.

"In order to investigate the package, we went to the post office in Hogsmeade and checked the mailing information there."

The three students of Hogwarts—Harry Potter, Ron Weasley (Arthur's youngest son), and Hermione Granger, who was attacked today—had gone to the Hogsmeade post office to mail something to London before the attack.

Seeing that Ms. Umbridge was listening intently, Delis quickly said,

"The registered address was a Muggle orphanage. This caught my attention, so I asked the postmen at the post office, and one of them told me that he heard the redhead, Arthur's son, say, 'I hope they'll like my old clothes. Oh, too bad I'm not like you, Harry, with so much gold to buy so much candy for them.'"

As you know, there's only one candy shop that gets a lot of attention in Hogsmeade, and that's Honeydukes. So, I found the owner and asked him, and he definitely remembered Harry Potter visiting his shop that day, because the boy was the biggest spender that morning; he bought almost every kind of candy in their shop!

Fearing that the minister and Ms. Umbridge might not understand, Delis said urgently,

"As you probably know, some of those candies contain magical elements. If they fall into the hands of Muggles, the magic will be exposed, which would undoubtedly be a violation of the Wizarding Secrets Act!"

Sending Honeydukes candy to the orphanage, well, that's the kind of silly thing that boy would do.

There was a moment of silence. Fudge touched his slightly sore lips, his brows furrowed. His sluggish appearance almost made Umbridge, whose eyes were gleaming with excitement, gasp for breath.

"Don't you realize... cough, I mean, this is a golden opportunity, Minister!"

"An opportunity. But we still have to deal with the Muggles for that boy, you mean?"

Fudge looked at Dolores with some confusion, but when he saw that Dolores, who had just been furious about losing her power, was now looking excited, Fudge finally realized what was going on.

"--You mean, using this as an excuse to attack Dumbledore and Blaine? But you know, Dolores, it's just a small matter."

Umbridge glanced at the sullen-headed Delilah, thought for a moment, and decided not to kick him out. She suppressed her excitement and spoke in a seductive tone,

"As I just said, Blaine and Dumbledore have clearly been trying to interfere with your decisions, and they will only go further. We must retaliate. Of course, it would be unwise to attack them directly, but now we have a good opportunity!"

Umbridge was panting with excitement.

"We all know that Harry Potter is Dumbledore and Blaine's prized student. Oh yes, the mistake he made was indeed a small one, but if..."

Umbridge's excitement made her resemble a blushing toad, completely oblivious to the grotesque appearance of her狰狞 smile, her tone laced with malice.

"What if those magical candies caused more serious damage to Muggles?"

Seeing the eerie glint in Umbridge's eyes, Fudge felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

He wanted to reprimand his female assistant, who had always stood firmly by his side, but before he could speak, the image of Blaine's arrogant demeanor and Dumbledore's uncharacteristic solemnity in Dumbledore's office a few hours earlier flashed into his mind, cutting him off from what he was about to say.

“Of course I know this involves risks, Connelly—”

Umbridge whispered seductively.

"But just this once will completely eliminate the hidden danger. From now on, Dumbledore will have to bow down and comply with the Ministry of Magic's instructions, and Blaine will be expelled."

Make Dumbledore obey, and get Amosta Blaine out of Hogwarts and out of England!

Before he knew it, Cornelius's face flushed red, and his temples throbbed wildly. This bright future was indeed very tempting. If he could really use that boy to achieve this goal, the Ministry of Magic would be free of any obstacles.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Cornelius, Dumbledore, and Blaine are all focused on that little witch. They won’t realize that we’ve already got leverage over her and are waiting for the right moment.”

Dumbledore and Blaine were not high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic, but their status in the eyes of the people was too high, their popularity in the wizarding world was too great, and coupled with their unfathomable magical power, they were more dangerous than any political enemy!

"What are you still hesitating for, Cornell?"

The urgency in Umbridge's voice gradually made Connelly's eyes turn bloodshot and his breathing become hot.

"What do you plan to do, Dolores?"

Become!

In an instant, Umbridge's breathing became smooth, and suddenly, she turned her head to look at the hunched-over Delilah, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Dalis, can I trust that you are absolutely loyal to the Ministry of Magic and absolutely devoted to the Minister?"

Suddenly jolted awake, Delilah's short, stiff gray hair bristled. He looked up and found that not only Ms. Umbridge, but also the Minister was looking at him with a serious gaze.

"Of course!"

His voice had become hoarse at some point, but his neck was flushed red as he tried his best to straighten his chest and express his feelings.

"My loyalty to the minister is unquestionable!"

"Excellent, Delix!"

Umbridge let out a series of sickening, silvery laughs.

“You know that Burns is trying to expand the striker team, Delilah. It has been decided and will be implemented as soon as possible. This new team will be led by an employee who is loyal to the Ministry of Magic and to the Minister.”

As she approached the excited, trembling Delilah step by step, Umbridge chuckled sweetly.

“Go, Dexter, stop Harry Potter from committing a foolish act that could expose the wizarding world. I’m sure you can do a fine job, won’t you?”

"You started this war!"

Watching Delilah stride away, Cornelius Fudge's face finally turned sinister behind his desk.

Chapter 822 The Arrival of Qingling

2024-03-24

Wow!

With a wave of the magic wand, the collapsed beams, rubble, and brick walls in the courtyard, along with the ruins scattered on the ground, seemed to fly into the sky as if time had reversed. With a series of cracking sounds, they quickly repaired themselves, and in the blink of an eye, a delicate two-story building was restored to its original state.

As the wisps of silver light were gradually peeled away from his temples, Delilah's eyes, filled with resentment and terror, became blank. Finally, his head lolled to the side, and he fainted.

The bright moonlight was obscured by a passing cloud, and the earth was immediately bathed in darkness. On the balcony of the neighboring yard, a Muggle family who had been admiring the moonlight grumbled a few words of dissatisfaction, got up, picked up their stools, and went back inside.

Once their figures disappeared from sight, Amosta flicked her wrist and raised her wand, causing the unconscious Delilah to float back to his bedroom. Then, she removed the barrier.

The fresh, cool breeze that rushed into the courtyard diluted the dust particles that filled the air. Amosta took a deep breath, dispelling the gloom and murderous aura surrounding him. After glancing at the glass bottle gleaming in his palm, his figure disappeared in a slight ripple of air.

"Trouble, Amosta?"