Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 304 Charlie

"Minister, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

Kingsley rose, gave a slight bow, and after receiving Scrimgeour's permission, turned and left the minister's office, closing the door respectfully behind him.

He straightened his robes and headed straight for the elevator. Even after entering the Ministry of Magic's main hall, he didn't see a single colleague who looked relaxed; they all wore expressions of deep sorrow and resentment.

He grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, went into the fireplace, and shouted "Leaky Cauldron!" The green flames immediately engulfed him. When he reappeared, he was in the still deserted pub.

Kingsley nodded to Old Tom, then pushed open the bar door. He glanced around the nearby alley, and seeing no one, Apparated away.

Kingsley stood in the small square, surrounded by hurried Muggles who seemed oblivious to his presence. As he walked forward, the row of houses in front of him slowly shifted to either side, revealing a newly appeared, seemingly old-looking house.

He knocked on the door, and it opened from the inside after a short while, revealing a gaunt face.

"Is no one following us?" Sirius asked warily.

"No, I'm very careful," Kingsley shook his head.

Sirius nodded, stepped aside to let Kingsley in, then quickly closed the door, and the two went inside together.

"Mad-Eye and Tonks are here, and Molly is preparing lunch..."

"Where is Dumbledore? Is he here?"

"Just arrived recently..."

They walked down the corridor, keeping their voices down, and pushed open the door to the room at the bottom of the stairs. They looked up and saw Dumbledore tossing a pile of cockroaches into his mouth.

"Oh, Kingsley, would you like one?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, thank you." Kingsley smiled and shook his head, then greeted Moody and Tonks in the room before sitting down in a chair.

"The minister has decided to take action against the werewolves," he said.

"It's about time," Sirius said irritably. "All he's done in all this time is publish a completely useless booklet and then get himself into a mess with those guys."

"Arthur knows that the department is short-staffed." Kingsley didn't refute Sirius, but simply smiled and explained briefly before turning to Dumbledore and saying, "He should contact you soon."

"I understand, that's good." Dumbledore nodded and said, "We really can't let the situation get any worse, it's time to take some countermeasures... By the way, you don't know yet, but Alastor just brought back news that many more of Voldemort's followers have entered Britain from the south."

Kingsley looked at Moody, who nodded slightly and said, "That's right, there are probably several hundred people, most of whom are down-on-their-luck werewolves from abroad who were taken away by that wretched kid."

"I think Rufus will receive the news by tonight at the latest," Dumbledore said.

"Then his plan is going to fall through?" Sirius interjected. "Hundreds of werewolves! That's not an easy task to deal with."

"The minister's intention is to capture and kill as many werewolves as possible. The main objective is still to capture Fenrir Greyback, after all, he is the leader of the werewolves, and capturing him would give the people some explanation," Kingsley sighed.

"If we can actually succeed, that would be great, but I'm afraid we won't be able to catch Greyback," Moody said in a hoarse voice. "Don't forget that wretched kid; he's done more evil deeds lately than all those Death Eaters have done in all these years combined!"

"Apart from Albus, none of us are a match for him." Moody then looked at Dumbledore beside him and asked, "Will his little girlfriend be able to come?"

"We cannot, and should not, involve students who are still in school, Alastor," Dumbledore shook his head, his tone heavy.

"What about Snape? What news has he got?" Moody asked again.

"Severus has not received any new information, nor does he know Strayed's whereabouts or mission."

"That's going to be tricky..." Moody shrugged and spread his hands. "I don't know if my old bones can stop that kid..."

Silence fell over the room. Everyone realized their greatest weakness: the lack of top-tier wizards. The battle a few weeks earlier had shown that Dumbledore had lost the ability to simultaneously deal with the Dark Lord and Ike, and the others were simply no match for those two.

If this problem cannot be solved, doing more things will be in vain.

Seeing the seriousness on everyone's faces, Dumbledore suddenly laughed, picked up a swarm of cockroaches and popped it into his mouth, savoring the bursting sensation, and said, "Gentlemen, aren't you overthinking this? Rufus hasn't told me about it yet."

"But Kingsley..."

Sirius Black was interrupted by Dumbledore before he could finish speaking.

"Kingsley only said that Rufus was interested, but whether or not he would actually do it was still uncertain."

"That's true. I can tell the minister still has some concerns." Kingsley nodded.

Seeing this, Dumbledore smiled again and said in a relaxed tone, "So gentlemen, there's no need for us to dwell on this too much. Besides, I'm prepared to meet with Rufus and have a talk, and I'll do my best to make this happen..." He then stopped smiling and said seriously, "But at the same time, we must also be prepared to do it alone..."

"No matter what, we have to curb Voldemort's arrogance..."

Just then, there was another knock on the door. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and couldn't help but smile.

"Is dinner ready, Molly?" Dumbledore asked. "I'm starving. You're not going to let an old man like me go hungry, are you?"

"I'm sorry, Dumbledore, you may have to wait a little longer," Mrs. Weasley said, a smile on her face. She stepped aside, pulled someone over, and pushed them in, excitedly announcing, "Great news! Charlie's back!"

"Oh my god! This is such great news!"

Everyone cheered and warmly embraced Charlie, who was beaming with joy, inviting him to sit down.

"You guys keep chatting, I need to go check on the stew in the pot."

"Okay, Molly."

As soon as Mrs. Weasley closed the door, Dumbledore asked Charlie, "Charlie, there must be something very important that brought you back at this hour, right?"

"Yes, tell me quickly, I desperately need some good news right now," Sirius chimed in from the side.

Charlie nodded upon hearing this. Although he still looked a little tired, you could still hear the excitement and enthusiasm in his voice.

"That's right! More than a dozen foreign wizards have offered to help us fight the Dark Lord, and they have already arrived in England!"

"And I also brought back a dragon..." Charlie asked, looking at Dumbledore.

"Sir, do you remember Norbert?"

(End of this chapter)