A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 730 The Heights of Public Opinion

Although reluctant, William eventually sat down obediently between Snape and Sirius.

Sure enough, he immediately smelled a pungent odor on Professor Snape.

How can I describe it? It's like someone with body odor eating a hundred cloves of garlic, breathing on you, and forcing you to swallow cilantro.

Oh, it's truly the perfect dish to eat with rice!

Professor, what method did you use to marinate yourself so thoroughly?

William held his breath; he would rather suffocate than be suffocated by the stench.

That way, dying wouldn't be so painful.

Before he could say anything, Professor Snape started his antics, saying in a sarcastic tone:

"Shit, what kind of high-difficulty, top-secret mission did you go on?"

Otherwise, why would you be three minutes and fifteen seconds late, making everyone wait for you?

"Tsk tsk...you didn't go to ambush the Death Eaters, did you? You're something else!"

"Maybe he went to take a bath," Sirius casually taunted Snape.

Not everyone likes to have a strange smell.

William, can you smell it?

Did someone eat that stuff in the toilet? Otherwise, why does it smell so bad?

Sirius Black now likes to mock others by saying things like "They ate something awesome!"

There's a reason for that, of course. On the night Voldemort was resurrected, he followed William's orders and went to Hogwarts to provide support.

Afterwards, she secretly attended the celebration party that Gryffindor was hosting for Hermione, and got very drunk.

After returning home drunk, he lay on his bed and slept unconscious all night.

The next day, he was awakened by the stench. He pulled back the covers and saw that the bed was full of…

Kouqu!

He still thinks he accidentally lost control while he was asleep!

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

Snape and Sirius stared at each other with hatred, as if they both wanted to kill each other with their eyes.

William didn't speak, remaining as quiet as a timid wife.

It's none of his business; if he wants to do something, he should go do it himself.

However, under Dumbledore's stern gaze, the two only exchanged glances and did not go any further or make any physical contact.

This left William quite disappointed.

Now that William has arrived, the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix officially begins.

William was the first to speak... That's impossible, of course!

Although he is famous, powerful, handsome, and rich, and none of the people at this table are capable of fighting, he is too young.

Most of the wizards present were long-time members of the Order of the Phoenix from the last Wizarding War.

William had fought against Voldemort and had done many things that none of the wizards present had done.

But at least within the Order of the Phoenix, he's still a newcomer...lacking in experience and prestige.

That's how human society is; everywhere you go, you have to follow seniority!

It wasn't like that with Voldemort; he relied on his personal abilities.

Did you mess things up?

One day you might be the Dark Lord's favorite, the kind who stays overnight... and the next day you might just vanish into thin air like Avada Kedavra.

Tsk tsk, it seems that only the Death Eaters are capable of judging people solely by their abilities, without so much of that old-fashioned bureaucratic atmosphere.

But there are entry requirements for Death Eaters; not just anyone can join.

The threshold is pure blood; mixed-race individuals are acceptable, but Muggle-born individuals are not.

A pureblood is equivalent to being a top-tier university in the world, while a mixed bloodline is like being a top-tier university in China, or even a second-tier university.

A Muggle-born wizard... is equivalent to a non-major or college graduate; not only will they not want you, they will also kill you.

Therefore, changing jobs is impossible.

William sat there like a lackey... waiting to strike unexpectedly, to build up his prestige and seniority, so as to poach the principal's staff.

He wants to turn Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix into Stark's Akali-Order of the Phoenix.

Professor McGonagall was the first to speak.

Holding a thick stack of documents, she began to report on her recent work.

Professor McGonagall's report was long and tedious, mostly revolving around the wizards she had recently encountered.

Dumbledore needs to spread the news of Voldemort's resurrection and needs more people to join the Order of the Phoenix to fight Voldemort.

However, to avoid exposure and ensure reliability, the Society of Phoenix is still using the old-fashioned one-on-one contact method.

In other words, you can't just join the Order of the Phoenix; you need a reliable member to vouch for you.

This is a secret underground organization that exists solely to fight against the Dark Lord.

However, the results were not very good.

No one wanted to believe it... Voldemort had been resurrected.

Even with Dumbledore's speech and Stark's acknowledgment, everyone was still observing.

Dumbledore looked at Kingsley and asked, "What did Rufus Scrimgeour, the Auror's Chief of Staff, say?"

Is it possible to try and get it?

"I probed the director about this, but he didn't seem to believe me and said he needed more evidence." Kingsley shook his head.

"Evidence... Didn't Umbridge already take the Aurors to check the cemetery? There were such obvious signs of a battle there."

Sirius frowned.

"In fact, those two Aurors are Umbridge's men."

"They faked the scene, saying it was a landslide," Tonks explained.

"Yes, the department has already issued a formal statement defining the nature of this matter," Mr. Weasley sighed.

"I have an acquaintance in the Muggle Liaison Office who told me that Umbridge has sent memory erasers to modify the memories of neighboring Muggles."

Emily Vance said quickly:

"She also ordered the Office of Misinformation to contact the Muggle Prime Minister and have them announce that it was a landslide."

"...Perhaps we should take a step back," Mundungus, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up.

"Our targets are the Void and the Death Eaters. But if this continues, it might lead to conflict with the Ministry of Magic."

Mundungus received considerable support.

Many members of the Order of the Phoenix are officials of the Ministry of Magic. They don't want to fall out with the Ministry.

"We openly abandoned publicity, trying not to provoke Fudge, and secretly contacted those who believed in us," said Stoddill Podmore.

William shook his head dismissively.

Dumbledore crossed his arms, looked at William, and asked, "William, what's your opinion?"

Everyone looked at him.

William raised an eyebrow. Was this the beginning of paving the way for him and building his reputation?

"Speak freely, say whatever you want," Dumbledore encouraged.

William thought for a moment, then stood up, looked around, and said:

"My ideas are different from everyone else's."

"Of course we must deal with Fudge, and we must use the most drastic means possible."

"I know... everyone thinks Voldemort has returned, and believes that the main conflict at present is between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters."

But we also need to see reality clearly.

Three mountains stand before us—public opinion, Minister Fudge, and Voldemort.

"We must defeat them all, and in this order, we cannot get it wrong."

William braced himself on the table, his eyes gleaming:

"If we don't occupy the high ground of public opinion, the enemy will occupy it."

Just you wait and see. Next, the major newspapers will smear us and smear Dumbledore.

They would say that Dumbledore is old and has long been demanding and stressed at work.

They exhibit significant physical and mental fatigue, and there is a large gap between their social roles, self-expectations, and psychological feelings.

Over a prolonged period, their anxiety intensified, leading to a fixed mindset and ultimately, extreme behaviors.

"They dare to do this?!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed angrily.

"In fact, it has already begun, Professor," William said softly.

"I have some intelligence here, which I just obtained."

"That means, Professor Dumbledore, I'm afraid you won't be able to attend this International Wizarding Congress."

"Why?" Sirius cried.

"Fudge has revoked Professor Dumbledore's status as the British representative."

Everyone remained silent.

William shouted:

"Gentlemen, abandon all illusions. The battle began the moment we announced Voldemort's return."

That's right, it's a battle with Minister Fookie.

Voldemort is the greatest mountain we must ultimately defeat, but the first two are also must be overcome.