From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

'Bertha has become much more reliable than before... but still...'

Voldemort shook his head slightly, his expression changing—he had to go to class now, to teach his students the allure of dark magic, and then, to turn them into his own people completely…

-

"Are you alright, Principal?"

The two Aurors who had been exchanging blows on the ground had already collapsed. The other leading Auror accompanied Gilbert and asked him with concern.

"I'm fine, and they treated me with great respect."

"But we have no choice, Principal, we can't take that risk..."

Gilbert nervously handed over his headmaster's wand and began to briefly describe what had happened during that time.

"Most of the professors were unaware of the situation, but they were very disappointed with the results... In addition, two deans explicitly opposed my involvement in the construction of the greenhouse."

"Everything was fine then, but about a week ago, the board of directors was suddenly convened privately. A group of board members who are not usually with us launched a collective attack, and the motion to file a lawsuit was passed that same day. They falsely accused me of destroying the most precious snakewood at your behest..."

"Fortunately, someone tipped me off, and I escaped the campus in time. However, the two deans quickly joined forces with the board of directors to take over the school and then used a large amount of money to suppress the news. The owls I sent out were also intercepted, and they even hired Purgers to hunt me down..."

"The Purgers? How dare they?"

"Yes, I feel it is the Purifier, but I am not sure. However, both the casting method and the targeted spells are very similar to the Purifiers described in the data."

"Then that must be it..."

"I've dragged you into this..."

Gilbert said with shame—he knew very well what the betrayal of the two crucial deans meant.

As a descendant of the first Aurors, a wizard named Fontana was hailed as the next headmaster—a title widely accepted, and he didn't usually find anything wrong with it.

However, it is clear that he has blocked other people's path.

The two deans were after him, and the Ministry of Magic's reaction was also directed at him—if he wanted to take power, someone's interests would be harmed, and this force was fully mobilized. Taking advantage of the departure of his biggest supporter, the old headmaster, they struck him hard on his vitals, and then, without stopping, they even started plotting against the old headmaster.

Who did it?

His mind was still a mess—who gave those guys the determination to use all their strength on him?

And who could persuade those two deans to resolutely betray the old principal without fear of retaliation, and even satisfy their ambitions without causing conflict between them?

He thought and thought, but he really couldn't find that key person who could persuade everyone.

"No, this is aimed at me... You're being implicated because of me..."

The old headmaster waved his wand, concealing the two unconscious Aurors. "You just happened to be back in the country dealing with the Serpentwood issue and became a target..."

"We must get back as soon as possible and see who this mysterious adversary is. He's so arrogant that he refuses to come and kill me personally to perfect his plan..."

"Perhaps this old geezer can still teach this student a lesson, and incidentally, peel back the veil of mystery to see who she really is..."

"What about the students?"

"Didn't they say they'd handle it well? Don't worry, no one will hurt the students, especially since they took over my school..."

The old headmaster waved his wand. "Besides, summer vacation is coming soon, and whatever they plan to do to my students will be nothing but wishful thinking..."

"Next, what we need to do is catch that mysterious guy and then take back our school."

"What about...the Magic Congress?"

"Them? We can't count on them—I was arrested and fled, you were arrested and fled, and I bet it won't be long before they can pinpoint that we used a lot of money... That's not a good reputation."

"But don't worry, Professor Elginbot."

The old man smiled and said, “Once we win, all obstacles will be no problem—it’s true that our Congress is good at wrangling, but what they’re even better at is helping whoever wins.”

Chapter 493 You say no and that's it?

"Couldn't they have gone any faster?"

In the minister's office, Fudge spoke in a helpless tone, but there was no trace of displeasure on his face.

The Aurors did a great job and resolutely did not declare the game over—even though Hogwarts' victory was already clear to everyone.

'However, this is a good thing. If other conflicts arise, they will also be on my side.'

Fudge smiled – while Hogwarts winning the Triwizard Tournament was certainly a good thing, it didn't really concern him much; it was merely icing on the cake for his reputation. But the Magical Congress of the United States coming to ask for help was a completely different story; it was powerful evidence of his international influence.

Even if the Magical Congress of the United States hadn't promised any benefits, or even if it meant paying out of pocket, Fudge still felt this operation was absolutely necessary—what better way to demonstrate power than by legally and legitimately arresting the headmaster of a magic school in front of a group of headmasters?

But he could only think these words in his heart, as it wouldn't be appropriate to confide them to his assistant. He slightly restrained his barely suppressed joy. "The Aurors ruined our almost won Triwizard Tournament. I think we should do something to make it up to our warriors. What do you think?"

"Of course, the students will appreciate your generosity—we can provide a special bonus and then announce in the newspaper that you and several officials from the Examination Authority have discussed and decided to grant them their previous awards based on their performance in this competition..."

"Hmm, good idea. You can handle the specifics. Also, draft a letter for Professor McGonagall, roughly stating that the department has decided to allocate a special fund to repair the arena damaged by the Aurors and to apologize for their rudeness—be tactful and don't mix in any other meanings."

"Yes, Minister."

-

"We actually won the championship!"

In the Gryffindor common room, everyone was indignant on behalf of Harry and his friends—just as the Aurors were trying to stop the match, Harry had already won the final trophy!

"Exactly! Those Aurors must have been bribed by the black-hearted Galon! Otherwise, they wouldn't be lying through their teeth and ignoring the already decided match!"

It should be a time for celebration, but everyone is so angry at the sudden appearance of the Aurors that they don't even care about spraying confetti. If it weren't for the Slytherin champions' performance during the match, they would be itching to go out and have a brawl to vent their anger.

"We don't accept this outcome, Harry! You're coming with us to find Professor McGonagall. We must protest! We can't let the championship be stolen by those traitors!"

The Aurors were previously a respected group among the students, but after everyone came to their senses, they increasingly felt that the Aurors had gone too far in that situation, so they had become the target of the students' attacks.

The most furious were Harry and his teammates, as well as Ron, especially Ron, whose face was almost the same color as his hair. "Cheating! Blatant cheating! They were definitely bribed! There's something fishy going on here!"

The students, growing increasingly angry with each argument, finally broke up their unpleasant celebration. Led by the prefect, several students mustered all their courage and prepared to protest to Professor McGonagall.

-

While the Gryffindors were getting angry, the other houses weren't idle either.

The Ravenclaws were particularly angry—they could accept high-level deception and traps, and they could accept a comeback achieved by a superior opponent, but what did it mean for a group of Aurors to come over and deliberately call a halt?

This is like repeatedly crushing their intelligence on the ground and then telling them, "I was just kidding!"

A lame excuse, deliberate delays, and an obviously suspicious arrest—people started to speak sarcastically about the Ministry of Magic. After all, everyone knew that those Aurors were just scapegoats; the real order came from the Minister of Magic…

"No, I can't take it anymore. I've decided to anonymously publish an article to mock this incident and tell the story of how we lost the trophy with the help of our own country's Aurors!"

Count me in!

"I'm going to write some jokes and publish them!"

While this group was making a fuss, another group also organized themselves and prepared to go to the dean's office to ask the dean what exactly happened in today's competition—they couldn't just watch the honor that was within their grasp slip away, could they?

-

"Depend on!"

Amidst the fluttering owls, a Slytherin student angrily slammed a letter onto the table. "Fuck Fudge! That guy sold us out after signing a few international contracts with the American wizarding world!"

"It's a bit disgusting, but now that you mention it, it's actually..."

"That's true, the vast majority of the orders were directly taken by their faction, including high-value import and export contracts!"

A chorus of curses erupted from the lounge—due to historical reasons, purebloods were not traded in certain trades, and the list involved this time was basically comprised of people from those few trades…

"No way, we have to go and complain to the dean! This is unbelievable! It's like nobody remembers all our efforts! Let's go, let's go find the dean!"

-

"Please come in."

When the knocking sounded, Professor McGonagall put down the letter in her hand with a puzzled look—and then called out towards the door.

"At this hour, the professors are preparing for their holidays. Who would come to my office?"

The door opened, and several Gryffindors, not very agile, shuffled into Professor McGonagall's office, led by their prefect, who was not very nimble.

'He's actually that angry…'

Professor McGonagall was greatly surprised. "Is it because of today's match?"

"Yes, Professor, you said..."

"The department has already provided a compensation plan. Whether it's the prize money they deserve or the treatment due to the champion, they will receive everything. In addition, the school will award Porter and his three teammates a special contribution award to recognize their special contribution to upholding the school's honor during the Triwizard Tournament."

Professor McGonagall smiled gently; she was delighted to see her students so united.

Unfortunately, as she laughed, the students behind her, especially the Weasley brothers, almost had to rely on the strength of those in front of them to keep their balance.

"Alright, go back now. The school will issue a notice soon, but the official notice will take about a day or two. But you can go back and celebrate for the Special Contribution Award now—but please note that the Triwizard Tournament has been suspended, so you can't use that as an excuse to celebrate."

As soon as Professor McGonagall finished speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said goodbye. Their legs suddenly regained their strength, and they quickly left Professor McGonagall's office, their faces filled with expressions of relief.

"They survived."

"Yes."

"Go back and announce the good news."

"Wait, help me up, I'm still a little scared..."

-

"Special Contribution Award?"

When Hogwarts awarded its four champions special service awards, Mrs. Maxim, who was in the carriage, became unusually angry.

Do they think we can't afford to lose?

"We have never suffered such an insult since the founding of Iphamoni School!"

"Cheating is a tradition, everyone does it. We cheat not because we can't win if we don't cheat, but because it's part of the three-way championship!"

“A loss is a loss. They outmaneuvered us in the early assessments, and then their ambush stalled us. They won the competition with their schemes, but that was a prize recognized by the competition, a special contribution award—who do they think they are?”

She glared angrily at her students, "Show some spirit! Go find Karkaroff! Do you think the victory of our three schools is under the Aurors' control? Before the Aurors were appointed, the Triwizard Tournament was decided by the three of us!"

"We must be honest about our failures and sincerely acknowledge that they were the champions who won the three-way battle!"

"I don't want us to be known in the history of all three companies as sore losers!"

As she spoke, Madam Maxim called out to her students and led four warriors toward Durmstrang's camp. The Triwizard Tournament had its share of winners and losers, and she could accept the blame for the losses, especially since her students had indeed done their best. She didn't want to be accused of being a sore loser—she refused to believe that Hogwarts would produce a student as despicable as Monta five years later!