The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 385 Fudge's Dilemma

early morning.

As the golden six-petaled tulips quietly bloom high in the sky, the valley also welcomes a new day.

When the first rays of golden light fall, it feels like the gentlest awakening.

On the second floor of the tavern, in a quaint guest room.

"Hermione! Wake up!" Ino gently nudged the girl beside her.

Actually, after having a late-night snack last night, there's not much more to say; everything happened naturally.

"Let me sleep a little longer, I'm so tired!"

Hermione murmured and buried her head in the pillow.

Then, he turned into a silver-gray sea otter, as if only in this way could he escape the fate of being bullied.

Looking at the soft, cuddly sea otter on the bed, Ino didn't know what to say for a moment.

Honestly, Hermione should get some more sleep in her current state.

"Then you can sleep a little longer. I'll find someone to help you ask for leave." Ino stood up and looked out the window at the tavern.

Last night, he discovered a flaw in the valley that wasn't really a flaw: during the day, the sun shone like golden tulips, but at night, it lacked the embellishment of the moon and stars.

Otherwise, the night sky always looks somewhat monotonous.

At the same time.

After transforming into a sea otter, Hermione curled up in a ball, the soft bed temporarily relieving her fatigue from the previous night.

But just as she was about to fall asleep, her furry ears twitched involuntarily, precisely catching another word.

"Looking for someone...asking for leave?" Hermione repeated groggily.

half an hour.

"Oh my god! I need to take leave! I'm late..." came the sharp voice.

In the tavern room, after a brief commotion, silence returned.

Hermione left the valley.

In fact, Ino had always been a little confused about this. Logically speaking, the shelter and the valley were two independent spaces, and theoretically, their previous intersection had been severed.

But in fact they are connected to each other.

In his spare time, he had thought about the reasons, but in the end he only got a vague answer.

It seems to be because there are ice flowers and maple trees that he planted in the shelter.

The planted vegetation became something like anchor points or coordinates, creating a connection between two unrelated worlds.

But speculation is just speculation, and we'll have to find an opportunity to test it out later.

"Finding the moon and stars, now we have to plant trees too..."

Standing in the tavern room, Ino added another itinerary after Christmas.

Having a treasure trove but no time to explore it ultimately comes down to the passage of time.

After all, although people can now freely enter the story after the valley has changed, the flow of time has not been verified. If it is still as fleeting as before, everything is fine.

Otherwise, if he were to leave for another year or two, especially if Voldemort were not cooking, many unforeseen changes would occur.

……

When Enoch was angered by Voldemort.

The Ministry of Magic, far away in London, encountered a similar problem.

The once empty minister's office was now bustling with people, including all seven directors of the Ministry of Magic and several members of the Wizengamot.

Fudge sat upright on the sofa, looking at his former colleagues. Although they all looked worried, he knew very well how many of them were genuinely troubled and how many were just putting on an act.

"Now that you've read the letter, let's hear your thoughts."

Fudge looked around and asked in a calm tone.

He will not make any decisions until the situation becomes clear, lest he follow in the footsteps of his predecessor.

As Fudge finished speaking, Amelia, the female head of the Legal Enforcement Division, decisively took over the conversation:

"He's defying the secrecy laws. This isn't just an English issue anymore. My suggestion is to report this to the International Federation of Wizards and pool all our resources..."

Before Amelia could finish speaking, she had already drawn opposing voices.

"That's not how it works. The werewolf attacks have stopped, and what they want isn't the opening of the Department of Mysteries or the use of the Ministry of Magic's name to explore ruins around the world... We can talk."

The speaker was Tiberius Ogden, a member of the Wizengamo.

In contrast to Amelia's pro-war stance, Ogden is a staunch advocate of peace, after all, the once-mad Dark Lord has now shown rationality after his resurrection.

Since we are rational, we can sit down and talk; there is absolutely no need to fight to the death.

Ogden's words resonated with some people, almost all of whom were in high positions. In the past, confrontation was unavoidable, but now that things could be de-escalated, no one was willing to risk their own safety.

"Talk? Can't you tell that the other party wants to find something? You know better than anyone what the consequences will be if they can't find it."

Emilia's tone carried a hint of anger: a bunch of cowardly people who only know how to compromise and yield.

"And Dumbledore..."

"I think we can talk..."

After Emilia, the office was once again filled with discussion.

Despite the various discussions, Fudge remained oblivious, sitting upright on the sofa as if he were under a petrification spell.

In fact, these people were brought in to share the pressure, not to genuinely help with decision-making. And the more fiercely the two factions argued, the safer he, as minister, would be.

The idea is good, but it's obvious there are a lot of smart people here.

Bagman from the sports department remained silent throughout, as if he were asleep.

Similarly, many people adopted the same attitude as Bagman.

……

A while later.

After it was discovered that the argument was being repeated by the same few people, the situation reached a stalemate.

All eyes were once again focused on Fudge.

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, the minister had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak:

"I think... it's a good thing the werewolves stopped attacking, especially since the Muggle Prime Minister has already lodged a protest..."

"As for the rest, we will need to consult Dumbledore's advice."

The minister's evasive and diplomatic answer left many in the room speechless.

However, Fudge's tacit approval also angered many people.

"Just wait and see! Do nothing! Ha! You'll be satisfied once you've forced out another dark monster."

Amelia stood up and walked out of the office without looking back. Being in the same room with these people made her feel nauseous.

……

The person was gone, but Amelia's words awakened many people.

In fact, including Fudge, it seems that no one ever considered Svenburn's position from beginning to end; they just subconsciously assumed that the other party would stand with Dumbledore.

I never thought the other party would do anything outrageous. Just like in the battle at Hogsmeade, the other party would consider the lives of innocent people and abide by the rules.

But all of this is based on wishful thinking.

If the other party doesn't follow the rules...

At that moment, this small group of the most elite people in the English magical world simultaneously considered the worst possible outcome.

"That concludes today's meeting. I have other matters to attend to."

Fudge stood up, no longer caring about sharing responsibility; the most important thing right now was to sound out what was going on.

Compared to the conflict fifteen years ago, the current situation of the three of them is truly complicated for him, as it involves too many variables.

(End of this chapter)