Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 186, Section 184: The Chain Reaction After Sirius's Prison Break

The Daily Prophet featured this news on its front page, and this issue sold exceptionally well, almost selling out completely.

The Daily News included Black's basic information in its newspaper: a fanatical worshipper of Sirius Black, who once killed thirteen people and blew up a street with a single spell. Evil, insane, bloodthirsty, cruel, and a notorious killer.

But all of this was irrelevant to Dudley and his friends, who continued to live peaceful lives in Godric Valley.

The castle is safe.

Unfortunately, one of the Ministers of Magic didn't think that way.

In his view, Black's escape from prison was definitely to kill Harry Potter. He was a loyal follower of that mysterious man and even betrayed his best friends, the Potters, who were Harry's parents.

So he will definitely come looking for Harry.

If Harry Potter were killed by the escaped Black, his political career would be over, and he would definitely be ousted from his position as Minister of Magic.

Thus, Fudge, the Minister of Magic who had served for over a decade without accomplishing anything of note, surprisingly began to show interest in Harry Potter, the savior of the wizarding world.

They assumed he would be at his aunt and uncle's house, but when they arrived at No. 4 Privet Drive, they learned from Mrs. Dursley that Harry had already gone off with his cousin and they didn't know where.

Fudge panicked.

"Why did you let them out of your sight?"

Fudge yelled at Penny in a fit of rage.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Fudge felt a powerful surge of force as a large, furry hand pushed him away forcefully.

Vernon burst out of the room, shielding Penny behind him, and glared fiercely at Fudge: "Hey! Fatty, stay away from my wife!"

"They're not children anymore, and they're wizards. Are we supposed to keep them tied to our sides all the time?"

"I was already a Boy Scout when I was their age."

"I don't want to see you again. Now, get out of my house!"

Since having little Lily, Vernon seems to have been rejuvenated, working out hard to get in shape. Although his obesity hasn't completely disappeared, he's already quite fit.

He is at least physically stronger than Fudge.

"Muggle!"

Fudge fell flat on his backside, and after getting up, he angrily pulled out his wand, intending to teach Vernon a lesson.

"Commander Fudge, I don't recommend that you do this."

Before Fuji could cast his spell, a deep voice rang out beside him.

"I should remind you first that these two are Mr. Potter's closest relatives, and also Mr. Dursley's parents."

"If you do that, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among the two of them, which I'm sure is not what you want to see."

"Wizards cannot cast spells on Muggles indiscriminately, not even on someone as superior as you."

The speaker had brown hair and thick eyebrows. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses were a pair of sharp yellow eyes. His serious expression and square face gave him an air of authority.

With his curly hair, he looked just like an old lion.

This is Rufus Scrimgeour, the current head of the Auror Office.

He was in charge of the mission to capture Sirius Black.

As a former veteran, Rufus did not address Fudge as Minister, but as Commander.

Incidentally, Rufus himself had a good relationship with the Caro family, and Dudley had met with him a few times.

Upon hearing the name "Dexter," Fudge paused in his actions.

Fudge didn't really care about Harry, even though there were rumors that he might be a powerful wizard.

He didn't believe that claim at all; he simply regarded Harry as an ordinary little wizard, well, the kind with a bit more fame.

But Dali is different.

Dudley's swift removal of Lucius from the board of trustees was quite a sensation, and Lucius was ridiculed for a while afterward. Dudley himself left a deep impression on Fudge; a character who could command the support of all Slytherin was definitely not simple.

Fudge is incompetent, but he's not stupid yet.

"Have the Ministry of Magic's 'Matchmaking' team found any trace of them?"

After leaving Privet Drive, Fudge tried everything he could to find Harry's whereabouts, but Dudley's anti-tracking measures were so effective that the Ministry of Magic couldn't find a trace of him.

There has been no news for three whole days.

"Could he already be dead? No, we have to find Harry!"

Gradually, Fudge began to panic. His obese body began to tremble, and he kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. With each passing minute, he became more anxious.

Of course, he wasn't worried about Harry's safety, but rather about his own ministerial position.

"Mr. Dumbledore should know their whereabouts; he knows everything."

It's unclear who made the suggestion to Fudge.

Normally, Fudge would never have given the person who made that suggestion a friendly look.

But things are different now.

"Yes, yes, Dumbledore! Quick, let's go to Hogwarts!" Fudge's eyes lit up when he heard the name Dumbledore, and he shouted impatiently, immediately ordering his men to go to Hogwarts with him.

When in doubt, Fudge would consult Dumbledore; that's what he always did.

"Connelly, calm down, the children are all fine, don't worry."

Dumbledore, dressed in a star-studded nightgown, looked helplessly at the intruders, Fudge and his group.

It was almost midnight, and he was getting ready to go to sleep.

"Albus, you promise!" Fudge insisted.

"I promise." Dumbledore's helplessness became even more apparent.

Why didn't I see you caring about Harry so much before?

Dumbledore recalled some things from the past; Fudge, who had just taken office as Minister of Magic, was not like this at all.

Although he wasn't very capable, he was very self-aware. Unfortunately, he changed after experiencing the taste of power over the years.

Obsessed with power and status, they also draw closer to so-called pure-blood wizards.

Did Dumbledore know where Dudley and the others were? Yes, he did know; Dudley had told him.

"Tell me, Albus, where is he? Please."

Dumbledore sighed as he listened to Fudge's constant pleas.

"I can tell you, but Connelly, you should go see them again tomorrow morning."

After receiving Fudge's assurance, Dumbledore told him the location of Dudley and the others.

"That place is safe. Uh, maybe even safer than Hogwarts," he said with a strange expression.

Dumbledore initially intended to say that its safety level was second only to Hogwarts, but then he thought about how many things had happened at Hogwarts recently: the troll invasion, Voldemort's remnant soul, Horcruxes (two of them!), and the Basilisk, among other things.

In short, it has absolutely nothing to do with safety.

(End of this chapter)