A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

"Fuji..."

Felix's eyes flickered. He had anticipated this scene; it was bound to happen sooner or later—if not today, then tomorrow or the day after. As long as Fudge didn't acknowledge Voldemort's existence, he would definitely cause trouble for Dumbledore and himself. To avoid this situation from continuing, Felix made some preparations in advance.

“Dobby,” he said softly.

A loud cracking sound was confined to the small space, echoing within the makeshift tent but unable to spread out. Felix withdrew his hand, calmly watching the house-elf that had suddenly appeared.

Dobby was dressed the same as before, but now he was carrying a large bag on his back.

"So, Voldemort and the Death Eaters have both left?"

“Yes, yes, Mr. Hyp! You guessed right!” Dobby flinched when he heard the name, then his big eyes sparkled as he looked at him with undisguised admiration. “I never imagined that Dobby would be involved in such a great thing. Dobby, Dobby is so honored.”

“However, however…” He glanced cautiously at Felix and opened the pocket on his back, “a few of them are unfortunately damaged.”

“This isn’t your fault; I was prepared for this,” Felix said.

The bag contained some small handheld cameras and their fragments—Muggle artifacts, without any trace of magic. The 'Future World' company had purchased a batch for research purposes, and had even received a discount due to the large quantity.

While Harry was suffering from the Crucifixion Curse, Felix had set up some defenses around the graveyard from a distance. Given the immense environmental damage caused by the Battle of the Graveyard, some losses were entirely understandable.

"Dobby has collected all the pieces he could find; maybe he can fix it," Dobby said, puffing out his chest.

“…You did a great job, Dobby.” Felix glanced at the completely shattered cassette tape in the bag; he didn’t know if it could still be repaired with magic.

He bent down and picked up a complete camera, fiddled with a few buttons, and leaned in to look at it. The image quality was quite poor, but he was still satisfied. "Voldemort's bald head is quite conspicuous... Dobby, hide them and don't tell anyone."

“Yes, sir, Mr. Hyp!” Dobby said gleefully, pleased to have gained Felix’s trust. He slung the large bag over his shoulder again. “Sir, if Mr. Lupin, or Mr. Harry Potter, asks—”

“They don’t know about this,” Felix said expressionlessly.

“Oh… okay.” Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared from the tent.

Felix stared intently at the spot where Dobby had disappeared.

He should have called Dumbledore. That would have been safer, but he ultimately rejected the idea. It wasn't about personal feelings—he and Dumbledore had always gotten along well—but rather his desire to minimize variables and maintain complete control over the situation. Therefore, he preferred to use Dobby rather than reveal it to Dumbledore.

"Human hearts are unpredictable..." he murmured.

Felix went to such lengths for three reasons: to complete the time loop, to resolve Hermione's time backlash, and to bring Harry, Meghan, and Harry back. Anything else was outside his consideration.

His and Dumbledore's understanding had always stemmed from their shared interest—destroying Voldemort. But this time, Felix's "interest" had changed, becoming much smaller; Voldemort was dispensable in his eyes, but he couldn't be sure what judgment Dumbledore would make.

A concern naturally arose:

Which is more important: his three objectives or finding an opportunity to destroy Voldemort's physical body and avert a war ahead of time?

Anything beyond our control must be excluded from the plan. This was Felix's true thinking when he was making his plans.

“Then, next, I’ll go out and face Fudge,” Felix muttered to himself. He guessed that Fudge would fabricate some dubious evidence to divert public attention and focus it on him. There was no way around it; he was indeed a prime suspect.

Fudge is likely to connect the "trespassing on the Ministry of Magic" with what happened tonight.

Fudge will then take him away under the pretext of 'cooperating with the investigation,' and Felix will definitely cooperate with him. If Fudge can even think of using Azkaban's Dementors to eliminate him as a threat, Felix will definitely applaud.

Once the decisive evidence comes out, Fudge will be doomed.

In fact, Felix could turn the tables now by presenting evidence, but he still felt it wasn't safe. The public's perception of Fudge has always been "weak" and "mediocre," but this assessment is far from the impression of "personally locking up the hero who fought against the Dark Lord"—the former is tolerable, but the latter is infuriating.

Anger could lead to Fudge's removal from office, whether he likes it or not.

Felix waved his hand to cancel the sound magic inside the tent, and the commotion and noise outside rushed in. He happened to hear Fudge's frantic roar—

"Are you going to oppose the Ministry of Magic?"

Felix paused, then withdrew his hand from the curtain.

A few minutes ago—

Fudge, heavily pregnant, paced back and forth in the open space. Less than a hundred feet away, two makeshift tents stood; one was being used as a temporary hospital; the other, where his destination lay, was blocked by others.

He stared at Harry, Ron, and Hermione guarding the door, feeling extremely irritated.

He had a strong urge to order the Aurors to force their way in and bring the person out, but he was hesitant, as Dumbledore was nearby... Besides, even if he succeeded and arrested the person in a high-profile manner, what if the investigation revealed that he had arrested the wrong person? How could he explain that to the public?

He'll be drowned in public criticism.

“Take care of them!” Fudge turned his head to the side and looked at Dumbledore. “They are openly defying the Ministry of Magic and me—I’ve said it before, I’m only asking Felix Heap to cooperate with the investigation, not to convict him, it’s just a precaution.”

“Connelly,” Dumbledore said in a deep voice, “I’m not refusing your request, but—as Miss Granger said, you’ll have to wait a while. Felix has just gone through a fierce battle, and he needs time to heal his wounds.”

“I’ve been waiting outside for an hour, an hour! I’ve made concessions… how much longer do you expect me to wait?” Fudge yelled. “Would I mistreat him? I’d definitely call the healers from St. Mungo’s—”

“The professor is the best healer,” Hermione said, her voice shrill as she trembled in the night. “Besides, are you really sure the healers at St. Mungo’s can handle Voldemort’s injuries?” She uttered the name with difficulty, and a collective gasp rose around her.

Fudge glared at Hermione and growled, "Don't mention that name! We're not sure about Mystic yet—"

“Minister,” Harry pointed to his clothes, “I can assure you, Voldemort is really back.”

“You’re probably under a Confusion Charm. Old Crouch even claimed his son was innocent for a while,” Fudge said impatiently. “You know nothing.”

“You can have someone check,” Harry said earnestly. “I was hit by several Crucifixion Curses; there should be some marks left, right?”

“A standard lie,” Fudge waved his hand. “Students can’t possibly endure the pain of the Crucifixion Curse, let alone several!”

“You fool!” Professor McGonagall shouted. “I can feel the storm brewing from the news I read in the papers! Think of Crouch, think of the Goblet of Fire’s hands and feet, think of everything Harry has said!”

Fudge's face turned purplish-red. "That was all—an accident! Minerva, my intelligence tells me that kid," he pointed at Harry, "has nightmares all the time, and, good heavens, he can talk to snakes! And now he says he withstood the Crucifixion Curse—"

“Uh, Minister,” Ron raised his hand, “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve also been hit by a Cruciatus Curse, and it’s really tough. I wish I could just die right now.” He grinned and said, “But I seem pretty lucid right now…”

A loud sob came from the crowd.

“Oh, poor little Ronnie! Poor Harry! What have you been through?” Mrs. Weasley said, sobbing, as Bill and Mr. Weasley embraced her on either side.

Fudge continued to stare at them stubbornly. He looked at Hermione and said, "You're not going to say you're also under the Cruciatus Curse, are you?"

“I didn’t,” Hermione said calmly. “The one who hurt me was Yaxley, a guard from the Ministry of Magic, ordered to protect us. That’s why I refused you entry. What if there were Voldemort’s moles among you?”

“Absurd! Absurd!” Fudge exclaimed, panting. “I’ll say it again, the truth hasn’t been found out yet, you can’t present your conjectures as facts.” He looked at Dumbledore and said in a pleading tone, “Dumbledore, please think of me, I have to do something.”

“Fudge, Fudge,” Dumbledore said sternly, “your biggest problem is that you did too little before and now you want to do too much, going further and further down the wrong path. What you need most now is to calm down, get the Aurors out, and I assure you, you will get the whole truth by tomorrow morning.”

Fudge, pale and terrified, looked at Dumbledore. "Tomorrow...? Whose truth? The truth you want?" He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

His words stirred up a hornet's nest. Professor McGonagall reprimanded loudly, and Hagrid and Moody's gruff voices echoed in the night sky. The students stared wide-eyed. What had they heard? Fudge was slandering their principal.

Fudge's body trembled slightly. "Dumbledore, you see, the testimonies of three students and a gentleman of good character—which should I believe? Besides, Yaxley is dead..." A shadow fell over his heart.

Yes, Yaxley is dead. Who is the power behind him? Could it be... impossible!

Just then, a large sound of footsteps approached from a distance, and the crowd parted to let in the Aurors who had come to reinforce the Ministry of Magic.

"Minister, all the Aurors and strikers from the department are here, but..." Delilah said cautiously, glancing around cautiously.

“Very good,” Fudge said. “Very good!” he repeated loudly, as if he had gained countless courage.

He stared into the air, refusing to look Dumbledore in the eye, and ordered the Aurors: "Arrest Felix Hyp. Anyone who obstructs him... will be considered an obstruction of justice and taken away with him."

“Listen to me, Fudge! Think about what you’re doing!” Dumbledore stepped forward, radiating an indescribable power.

Fudge couldn't help but take a half step back, but he still stubbornly refused to look at him. "You should also think about what you're doing, Dumbledore!" he retorted, waving his hand, and the dark mass of Aurors and strikers raised their wands and advanced step by step.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you take the professor away like this.” Hermione raised her wand, trembling.

“Minister, I used to respect you a lot, but I never expected this—” Harry shook his head, took a step forward, and Ron stood next to him.

Fudge finally lost his temper and roared, "Are you going to fight the Ministry of Magic?"

“That depends on how you define ‘opposing the Ministry of Magic’ and ‘opposing tyranny,’” a voice murmured from the crowd. Fred and George stepped forward, drawing their wands and pointing them at Fudge.

Fudge's eyes widened.

Then another student stood up.

“My grandmother said to stick to doing the right thing. What you’re doing is wrong,” Neville said, trembling, as he raised his wand. His words drew agreement from the Gryffindor students.

“Minister, we hope you will reconsider,” Cedric said, standing in front of Harry along with Collins and Roger. Students from the other three houses, led by the three champions, stepped forward and stood before Harry and his companions, pointing their wands at Fudge and the group of Aurors.

“Let’s go too,” Draco Malfoy said to his two henchmen, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the growing crowd.

The members of the Magic Rune Club came out;

Some of the students who had taken the dueling class came out;

Some students who had taken the ancient magic script course also came out;

On many other occasions, students who had received casual advice from Felix stepped forward;

Red sparks flew from the tip of the staff, brighter than the night sky.

When only one or two people stepped forward, the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic could still calmly advance; when a third of them were pointing at them, they stopped; when more people were infected by the solemn and tragic atmosphere, and, led by their companions, silently raised their wands and looked at them with eyes full of anger, and when this number exceeded half, the Aurors only wanted to flee this place immediately.

"You, you all—"

Fudge stared blankly at the wands pointing at him from all directions, his Auror's courage bursting like a soap bubble in the sunlight. He felt dizzy, and only one thought occupied his mind—

He's finished.

Chapter 489 Hats and Rings

"Snap—"

Several young wizards holding wands stared at a portly man holding a large, slightly smoking camera, which had just produced the sound.

“Bozo, take a few more pictures,” ordered Rita Skeeter, who was trembling with excitement. This was big news, comparable to, or even greater than, the Ilvermony student protests in France—the president of the Magical Congress of the United States hadn’t stepped down then, but in Rita Skeeter’s view, Fudge’s resignation was almost a foregone conclusion.

She looked up and was surprised to find herself the center of attention.

“The public needs the truth, um—I will report the truth.” She said with a fake smile.

Rita Skeeter was wearing a dark red robe today, with some sequins attached to the hem. It wasn't very conspicuous in the night—at least much more understated than her previous appearances, which is why many young wizards didn't notice her.

Harry noticed that her nails had changed from bright red to emerald green.

“That annoying girl—” Ron muttered, then added, “She’s not that bad, actually. Apart from being really annoying at first, she’s been pretty decent. She even helped us a few times, which is strange…”

Collins snorted beside him.

"What?" Ron asked in a low voice, puzzled.

“Haven’t you seen the recent reports about her?” Cedric stammered. “After a few months of silence, she started publishing a lot of articles, spreading rumors about warriors, and fabricating stories about her private life…” Qiu had argued with him about it a few times, but it was a happy problem.

The short photographer, Bozo, was taciturn but short-tempered. "Make way, this is a photo that could win a news award—" he said gruffly, shoving aside a little wizard and choosing the right angle. With a few clicks and a puff of purple smoke, Fudge's big face was captured on film.

At this moment, Felix came out of the makeshift tent, cleared his throat, and looked around.