Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 418, Section 412: Preparations Before the Big Movie

February 25th marks four days until the premiere of the Harry Potter movie.

Wizards of all ranks in the wizarding world are paying close attention to the film's developments, with interest reaching its peak. This is not only because the film is a novel thing, but also because it will reveal the secrets of Harry Potter, the "boy who lived."

Especially for children who grew up hearing the name "Mysterious Man," and who have never seen Voldemort, their fear is mostly due to herd mentality. Everyone is afraid, so they follow suit. But if you ask them why they are afraid, most of them can't give a clear answer. At most, they can stammer out very general words like "cruel, bad, evil."

Everyone is very averse to this name and rarely mentions his deeds. Do you think children who grow up under such circumstances would be curious about Voldemort?

As these children grow older, their fear turns into curiosity: why is this person whose name cannot be mentioned so frightening?

Just like the "old man with a back," "cat-faced old lady," and "flower-shooting monster" that were used to scare children when they were young, as they grow older, they are no longer as frightening as they were when they were young.

The movie's huge success was foreseeable.

Since the battle with the Ministry of Magic, a strange calm has prevailed. The Death Eaters haven't caused any trouble, but they've been contacting each other more frequently. The Aurors haven't been hunting down the hidden Death Eaters; they've just been intensifying their training.

The two seemed to have reached some kind of agreement, and fell into an eerie calm.

Although undercurrents were surging beneath this calm surface, most ordinary wizards were unaware of it; at least, things appeared calm on the surface.

"Will the Dark Lord really go on March 1st?" In an office at the Ministry of Magic, Scrimgeour and others gathered together.

He was both scared and excited.

Fear stemmed from witnessing Voldemort's overwhelming power firsthand that day; even the Aurors he led together couldn't withstand a single curse from him. Excitement arose from the fact that they, as Aurors, would certainly not be the only ones to deal with Voldemort; a host of powerful wizards, including Dumbledore, would also be joining the fray.

It's really hard to say who will win or lose.

"It's almost 100% certain. On one hand, he really wants to show the world his return, and on the other hand, he doesn't want people to know about his past. He has always considered himself a pureblood and doesn't want others to know that he is actually mixed-race."

Grindelwald, who portrays himself as Fudge, said, "He's completely deceiving himself."

Voldemort's secret is no longer a secret; more and more people know his identity, and perhaps only he himself still believes that no one else knows.

People feared him because his appearance was so sudden, no one knew his background, yet his strength was unmatched, and he treated human life as worthless. Therefore, everyone feared him, because human fear stems from the unknown.

He claims to be a descendant of Slytherin, a pure-blooded wizard of noble lineage, possesses Parseltongue, and shares a pure-blood supremacy ideology with those declining pure-blood wizards.

That's why he was able to raise such a powerful army of Death Eaters.

Once these lies are exposed, although the Death Eaters will still submit to Voldemort out of fear of his power, morale will definitely be shaken, as strong fortresses are often broken from within.

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This has always been what Grindelwald is best at and enjoys doing.

"We will continue to release information that this 'movie' will reveal a huge secret about the mysterious person's background."

Make the other side anxious; whoever loses their composure first will become flustered and reveal their weaknesses.

"Also, let those magazines and daily newspapers block the news. Remember one thing, the outside world is just a bunch of Death Eaters trying to recapture their former glory."

The news of Voldemort's return must be kept strictly confidential, otherwise it will cause huge panic, so the control over public opinion must be very strict.

"As for this book..."

Finally, he picked up the book "The Life and Lies of Dumbledore," which was already somewhat famous among a small group of people.

"Do we need to ban it?"

Scrimgeour asked, having spent so much time with this new "Fudge," he said. To be precise, not only he, the head of the Auror office, but all departments of the Ministry of Magic admired him greatly.

Compared to the previous one, it's like "one is in heaven, the other is on earth".

If the original Fudge had half of this guy's abilities, the Death Eaters wouldn't be able to cause any trouble, and even the pure-blood nobles would have to keep their tails between their legs.

"There's no need," Grindelwald shook his head. "The more you forbid something, the more curious people become. Doing so will only backfire."

People will ask you, "If you're not guilty, why are you forbidding it?"

This is a universal human sentiment.

Percy and the others nodded in agreement, indicating that they strongly agreed with this viewpoint.

"Then we..."

Scringer asked, feeling that after following this leader, he no longer needed to use his brain, since the other party would always give him the best answer.

"Let's leave it to those who disagree, and have our Mr. Lovegood lavish praise on his views," he then winked at the others, his gesture and expression remarkably similar to Dumbledore's: "and combine it with the content of 'Fudge's' army of fire spirits."

What's the best way to suppress the hype surrounding something?

They can simply shift the topic, grab the trending searches with other news, spread false information to confuse the public, or make everyone treat it as a joke.

"People's memories are extremely short."

Grindelwald summarized it this way, and everyone nodded in agreement.

If the other party had boasted about Fudge's great magical power, Grindelwald wouldn't have dared to contradict them and release the information, since a real drama was about to unfold. However, the problem was that even Grindelwald didn't actually have a single fire elf unit in the fire elf army.

"Minister, there is one more thing I need to report to you. This is a message from the strikers."

Scrimgeour spoke again.

"explain."

Grindelwald said calmly.

Scrimgeour continued, "Garrick Ollivander, the owner of Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley, seems to have disappeared recently."

A barely perceptible glint flashed in Grindelwald's eyes: "I understand. It's not time for Hogwarts to start yet; we'll find him before then."

"It seems Voldemort couldn't resist making his move and continuing to inquire about the Elder Wand's secrets. Unfortunately, while his intentions were good, he veered off course in a completely different direction."

"Although Ollivander is an excellent wand maker, unfortunately he has never handled the Elder Wand, let alone knows its secrets, so his efforts are destined to be in vain."

(End of this chapter)