A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 40 Politicians' Methods

Drogon went to deliver a message to Dumbledore, while Miriam remained.

William took out five nut, and Milia haughtily stretched out one of her long legs, asking him to put the coin into a small leather pouch tied to her leg.

Then, carrying the remaining snacks, it flew off toward the owl enclosure at Hogwarts.

William opened the envelope, but inside was not a letter, but the latest urgent edition of the Daily Prophet.

Several people gathered around William, watching the latest investigation from the Ministry of Magic.

When William opened the newspaper, the headline was about the attack on the Ministry of Magic.

The headline, written in bold black ink, read: Shocking! Important physical evidence discovered in the Ministry of Magic attack case.

The photo below also included a picture of a magic wand!

William found him very familiar; he should have recognized him, having seen him in Diagon Alley not long ago.

—Lucius Malfoy's wand!

It was indeed Lucius's wand, engraved with the Malfoy family crest, and at the tip of the wand was a dent where a pigeon's egg had once been embedded.

That day in Diagon Alley, Lucius only found the pigeon egg but lost his wand. Now, he has mysteriously appeared at the scene of the Ministry of Magic attack.

"Could it have been Malfoy?" Qiu asked after reading the newspaper.

Based on everyone's descriptions, Lucius Malfoy didn't seem like a good person.

"Choi, they're all dark wizards!" George exclaimed angrily.

"When Mysterio fell from power, Malfoy should have been punished. He claimed that he was controlled by Mysterio and paid a large amount of Galleons in exchange for his safety."

The Malfoys are no good; I have no doubt about what they've done.

George was still furious about what happened in Diagon Alley that day, and Lucius cursed their reproduction rate as being like mud seeds.

Mudseed is the worst word in the magical world.

Cedric, chin in hand, said, "But we all saw Malfoy fighting in Diagon Alley that day."

Qiu pointed to a paragraph in the newspaper and said, "According to the report, the attack happened in the first half of the night, so he could have gone there."

You said he lost his wand, but who would steal a wand worth ten Galleons instead of a diamond?

This was very likely a staged performance by him.

Qiu's analysis makes a lot of sense.

But the twins exchanged glances.

Fred glanced around and whispered, "Remember that day when my dad said Mad-Eye was investigating Malfoy?"

"Who is Mad-Eye Man?" Qiu asked, puzzled.

George said, "Mad-Eye's name is Moody, and he's a semi-retired Auror."

Mad-Eye Han is formidable; the Death Eaters he's captured could fill half of Azkaban's cells.

Fred continued, "Most importantly, Mad-Eye is definitely on our side... I mean, he's very close to Dumbledore and very capable."

"Since Mad-Eye is monitoring Malfoy, has he found anything?" Cedric asked.

"There are some, indeed." George chose his words carefully. "These are things Fred and I overheard."

"My father told Malfoy that Mad-Eye was investigating him in order to provoke him into moving the dark magic items hidden in the house out of the house."

After Malfoy returned from the fight, he actually went out to sell things that night, and Mad-Eye caught him red-handed at Borgin Burke's Magical Shop in Knockturn Alley.

Fred said regretfully, "Mad-Eye was too hasty; he should have waited a few days!"

Although Malfoy sold the necklace that had been cursed, his dark magic wasn't very advanced; he was just testing the waters. At most, the ministry would fine him a small amount, and he could be released on bail without ever going to Azkaban.

Qiu thought for a moment and asked doubtfully, "But doesn't this just prove that Malfoy didn't attack the Ministry of Magic?"

He went out to sell things at night; how could he have had time to launch an attack?

Fred smiled wryly. "That's the problem. Mad-Eye was particularly upset when he heard that the magic had been attacked."

That night, if he hadn't arrested Malfoy, the other man wouldn't have been able to clear his name; he would have at least been sent to Azkaban for some time.

Qiu looked extremely confused. She frowned and said, "Since Malfoy didn't attack, why did the Daily Prophet report on Malfoy's wand? Isn't that deliberately misleading everyone?"

"Scapegoat, Cho," William explained. "The Ministry of Magic can't find the attackers, so Fudge needs a scapegoat to temporarily divert attention."

This would make them seem less incompetent, and reduce the pressure on the Ministry of Magic.

Wrongful convictions are never isolated incidents, and the magical world is no exception.

William had been puzzled for a long time.

Why did the Daily Prophet report extensively on the fight between Weasley and Malfoy during this period?

The conflict between the two families is common knowledge, and such matters are never discussed openly.

However, the newspapers with the largest circulation followed the story for more than half a month.

William now understood that Fudge was trying to cover up the attack on the Ministry of Magic.

When a major event breaks out, in order to cover it up, more trending topics must be used to divert the attention of the general public.

This is a technique that has been frequently used in later generations.

The general public, like fish, has short memories.

As the heat dissipates, no one will discuss that serious incident that made people grit their teeth anymore, until it erupts again.

The attack on the Ministry of Magic by dark wizards was a scandal that had to be suppressed.

This incident has undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to the Ministry of Magic's reputation.

Especially now, at this particular juncture, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has only been in office for six months.

Fudge could not tolerate being labeled incompetent. That would be devastating for a politician striving for long-term re-election!

So he chose to have the Daily Prophet report extensively on the fight in an attempt to divert everyone's attention.

However, Fudge underestimated the impact of the attack, and rumors still spread.

When the Ministry of Magic realized it could no longer conceal the truth, it simply stopped hiding it and revealed it on its own initiative.

At this point, more than a month had passed since the attack on the Ministry of Magic.

The public is outraged that the report and handling of the matter have been delayed for so long.

Often, ordinary people don't care about the truth of an event or its consequences; what angers them is being fooled.

When those in power cover up incidents, it is essentially a form of deception.

A shrewd politician will, at just the right moment, throw out the culprit, or one or two scapegoats, to once again divert the attention of the onlookers.

An attack that has the Ministry of Magic in a state of chaos is completely different from a case in which the perpetrator has been caught.

Malfoy was the scapegoat who walked right into the line of fire, and the magic wand found at the scene in the report was the best bombshell!

Regardless of the truth, William discovered that the newly appointed Minister of Magic was not as incompetent as Hagrid had previously claimed.

At least when dealing with ordinary people, Fudge is skilled and an extremely shrewd politician.

……

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(End of this chapter)