Spellcasting Gods

"Call for help! He's too strong! There's no way we can stop him with just the few of us!"

In an instant, a cacophony of panicked and chaotic voices rose in waves.

It goes without saying that the short old man was none other than the current British Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

He looked extremely nervous, especially since the attacker's long, gray beard and hair were exactly like his old friend Albus Dumbledore.

Chapter 0775 Great Change

Avada Kedavra!

"Iron armor protects you!"

Disarm!

"Burning fire!"

……

The once bustling streets of London were transformed into a dangerous battlefield in the blink of an eye as wizards attacked each other. Several ordinary people who did not have time to escape were killed by the terrible spells shot from their wands, and their bodies were even blown to pieces.

Fortunately, it was just steps away from the British Ministry of Magic.

When the Luo brothers discovered that the Minister of Magic had been assassinated on their doorstep, they immediately mobilized all their forces without hesitation, relying on their numerical advantage to forcefully suppress their opponents.

Seeing that all-too-familiar figure, Cornelius Fudge finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted angrily, "Albus! Is that you? Tell me, why did you do this?"

"Hmph! Ignorant fool! You don't understand anything at all." The clone sneered and immediately used Apparition to disappear from the spot.

Although the fierce battle lasted only a short time, three unfortunate men had already died, and countless others were injured.

It can be said that he single-handedly overwhelmed most of the Ministry of Magic, and could leave whenever he wanted without anyone being able to stop him, which perfectly matches most wizards' perception of Albus Dumbledore.

Aside from the Hogwarts headmaster who defeated the famous dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in a duel and was greatly feared by Voldemort, it's hard to imagine anyone else who could have done that.

When Cornelius Fudge dragged his exhausted body back to his office, the first thing he did was call an emergency meeting. His bloodshot eyes blazing as he roared, "The eighth time! This is the eighth attack in just one month! Every single one of the victims is a department staff member! Can anyone tell me what we're going to do next? Just disband the department?"

“Sir, please calm down. Things aren’t as bad as you think,” Arthur Weasley tried to soothe old Fudge’s rage.

As a staunch supporter of Dumbledore, he never believed that the kind old man would go against all reason to assassinate a Ministry of Magic employee.

“Shut up, Arthur! I know what you’re trying to say, but the evidence is right in front of us. Are you going to defend him?” Cornelius Fudge asked through gritted teeth.

Normally, he might have used the relationship between the Weasleys and Dumbledore to ease the tension between them, but now, he only wanted to gain more support and defeat his enemy who was trying to kill him in one fell swoop.

Especially in recent years, he had felt that Dumbledore was eyeing his power as Minister of Magic, and the assassination attempt just now had brought this pent-up discontent to a breaking point.

Few people can remain calm in the face of power, and Cornelius Fudge Sr. was no exception.

"Your Excellency Minister! I believe we should issue an arrest warrant immediately! Mobilize all Aurors to apprehend Albus Dumbledore! The more critical the moment, the tougher the stance the Ministry of Magic must take. Otherwise, if we show weakness, we will lose the public's trust, and he can use his immense prestige to force us to concede, or even overthrow and reorganize the Ministry." Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, offered his opinion without hesitation.

Unlike Arthur, he was a thorough hardliner who had no interest in fame-seeking individuals like Dumbledore.

“Well said! I agree with Scrimgeour’s suggestion. Admittedly, Dumbledore has defeated dark wizards and saved the wizarding world many times in the past, but that cannot be used as an excuse for him to escape legal punishment.” An elderly woman of about fifty years old quickly nodded.

Unlike the previous two speakers, she was backed by the aristocratic faction led by Lucius Malfoy, who had been waiting for the right opportunity and would not let it slip by now that it had come to them.

Another man beside him exchanged a glance with the former and chimed in, "I agree too! Look at what Dumbledore has done at Hogwarts all these years! Not only has he been recklessly squandering the school's assets, but he has also repeatedly ignored the protests of the board of directors, treating the best magic school in Britain as his private property. Now he's even gone so far as to brazenly assassinate the Minister of Magic in public. He deserves to be executed."

"Gentlemen! I must remind you! We do not yet have any concrete evidence to prove that the man is Dumbledore." Seeing the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable, Arthur Weasley immediately stepped forward to try to change the subject.

He simply couldn't believe what a terrible disaster it would be for Dumbledore, and even the entire Hogwarts, if the Ministry of Magic signed an arrest warrant.

“No! Arthur, we have enough evidence. Have you forgotten that when I called Albus by his name, he didn’t deny it outright? Besides, besides Dumbledore, can you find another wizard who could easily escape from a dozen or so Roars?” Cornelius Fudge retorted with a sneer.

“Yes! Have you forgotten the case of the mysterious deaths of more than a dozen Luo Ao a few years ago? Perhaps... this was a conspiracy by the mastermind to frame Dumbledore.”

"Enough! Arthur Weasley! I am now, as Minister for Magic, announcing your dismissal. Get out! Get out of here! From this day forward, the Ministry of Magic has no need of Dumbledore's dogs. Rufus, I authorize you to immediately arrest Albus Dumbledore, and kill him on the spot if he resists. The British wizarding community has tolerated his misdeeds for far too long; it's time for everyone to understand that Dumbledore is just a mortal, and has no right to be above the law."

As he spoke, Cornelius Fudge clenched his fists tightly, his eyes flashing with a chilling madness.

“Understood! Rest assured, Minister, I guarantee that Dumbledore will be brought to justice.” The Auror’s office director stood up, gave a slight bow, and then strode away, disappearing down the corridor.

greedy!

Ambition!

envy!

vanity!

As long as humanity exists, it will never be able to escape its innate nature.

No matter how they try to hide it, they will inevitably hate and resent those minority groups who are smarter and more outstanding than themselves.

With just a little guidance, this sentiment can evolve into a large-scale, targeted movement of isolation and exclusion.

More than two thousand years ago in ancient Greece, the citizens of the city-state of Athens exiled their best leader in the name of opposing dictatorship.

The British wizarding community could, of course, use the same reasoning to attack Dumbledore, and even convict him and imprison him in Azkaban.

In fact, this incident precisely exposed the dark psychology of the masses described in "The Crowd," while Zhang Cheng, the mastermind behind it all, merely played a guiding and driving role.

He probably never imagined that, so soon after the entire plan was launched, Dumbledore would already be a thorn in the side of most of the Ministry of Magic's bureaucracy...

Chapter 0776 Arrest

Anyone who knows Rufus Scrimgeour knows he's a decisive man; if he makes an important decision tonight, he'll never wait until tomorrow to carry it out.

After receiving authorization from Elder Cornelius Fudge, this hardliner, known for his fearless courage like a lion, stormed into Hogwarts Great Hall in less than an hour and a half. In front of the teachers and students of the three magic schools, he shouted at the old man who was having a meal: "Albus Dumbledore! I hereby declare you under arrest for assaulting and murdering an official of the Ministry of Magic."

"what?!"

"Are you kidding me!"

"Have the people at the Ministry of Magic gone mad?"

……

Before the person in question could even react, the surrounding students and professors were already protesting.

Minerva McGonagall, in particular, who was in charge of teaching Transfiguration, even drew her wand, ready for battle.

Unfortunately, before she could make a move, Dumbledore raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down and stepped forward to ask, "Scrimgeour! You just said I attacked and killed a Ministry of Magic official, what evidence do you have?"

"Hmph! Stop playing dumb! Just a few hours ago, you launched an attack in front of the Department of Magic and killed three of us with your own hands. Now you actually want to pretend to be innocent here?" Rufus sneered and took out his wand to cast a scene replay spell.

moment!

A wisp of white mist rapidly spread through the air, revealing the fierce battle that had just taken place.

As the director of Luo Ao's office, whose function is similar to a hybrid of the magic world's army and police, he is not at all as reckless as he usually appears.

On the contrary, he is a tough-looking but sensitive person who understands that arresting a wizard with great influence cannot rely solely on forceful methods, but also requires evidence that can convince everyone.

At first, there were a few people in the Great Hall who defended Dumbledore, but the voices grew softer and softer until finally there was complete silence.

Not to mention most of the students who were watching the spectacle, even Minerva McGonagall had an extremely unpleasant expression on her face.

the reason is simple!

Despite the attacker wearing a mask, his height, voice, gaze, demeanor, and incredibly powerful spellcasting abilities were virtually identical to Dumbledore's, making it difficult even for his closest confidants to distinguish the real from the fake.

Even more terrifying is that Dumbledore was not in public when the attack occurred; instead, he was hiding in the headmaster's office, where he only met with Ron Weasley once.

This means that...

The burden of temporarily absolving him of his guilt now rests entirely on the shoulders of a young boy.

In an instant, every intelligent person who understood this point turned their gaze to Ron, as if waiting for him to speak up and testify for Dumbledore.

After all, there are only a few thousand people in the British wizarding world, and everyone knows that the Weasleys are staunch supporters of Dumbledore.

Surprisingly, the Weasley's youngest son merely glanced indifferently at his headmaster and said expressionlessly, "Sorry, I was only in the headmaster's office for less than five minutes, so I can't prove that Dumbledore isn't the murderer."

“Ron! You?!” Minerva McGonagall was completely stunned; she never dreamed that this would be the outcome.

“Professor McGonagall, the school has always taught us not to lie. Do you expect me to lie and deceive the Ministry of Magic?” Ron blinked innocently.

“Excellent! Young man! You made the right choice!” Rufus pursed his lips, revealing a victorious smile. “Albus Dumbledore, tell me, are you now going to obediently come back with me to face trial, or are you going to rebel?”

“Scrimgeour, you may not believe me, but I still have to say it: I am innocent. This is a conspiracy.” The old man sighed helplessly.

He knew this whole thing was specifically targeting him from the beginning, but the problem was he couldn't explain it, and even if he did, no one would believe him.

"Sorry, I only believe in evidence. Go! Arrest him!" Rufus clearly didn't want to waste any more words and directly gave the order to Luo Ao behind him.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to surrender before I find out the truth." With that, Dumbledore drew his powerful Elder Wand and placed it on the two unfortunate men at the front.

However, he did not kill anyone; at most, he knocked them unconscious and then immediately used Apparition to disappear from the spot.

Ever since Zhang Cheng publicly pointed out the loopholes in Hogwarts' magical protection, any wizard with a little skill could use teleportation magic within the school, but very few could do it accurately. Dumbledore happened to be one of them.

"Damn it! He escaped? Issue an arrest warrant for Albus Dumbledore immediately! Put it on the front page of the next issue of the Daily Prophet!" Rufus roared angrily, his face stern.

In fact, anyone who isn't a fool knows how difficult it is to capture a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore.

His real purpose in bringing people here openly this time was not to capture them, but to shatter their facade of righteousness and justice, turning them into rats that everyone hates, just like Voldemort.

Undoubtedly, the arrival of Rhodes from the Ministry of Magic and the fact that Headmaster Dumbledore had become a wanted criminal cast a shadow over the ongoing Triwizard Tournament.

Just as the professors were trying to elect a temporary principal to maintain stability, Lucius Malfoy appeared in the Great Hall with a group of board members.

He first swept his gaze across all the students with a look of pride and disdain, then unfolded a piece of parchment and loudly proclaimed: "Ministry of Magic decree! In light of Albus Dumbledore's many years of misdeeds! From this moment forward, the administration of Hogwarts will be taken over by the Board of Governors. Every professor must undergo rigorous re-evaluation, and those who fail will be dismissed. I now, on behalf of the Board of Governors, appoint Mr. Zhang from the Far East as the interim headmaster!"

The voice falls!

Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape immediately exchanged a look, their hearts filled with horror.

Because they knew about the recent conflict between Zhang Cheng and Dumbledore, during which the former threatened to expel the latter from school this semester, and who would have thought that he would actually do it so quickly.

Zhang Cheng noticed the two men's subtle interaction, stood up, bowed gracefully, and said with a smile, "Thank you for the trust of the Ministry of Magic and the school board. As a guest who has come from afar, I am truly flattered. However, I would prefer to decline the position of principal. I believe it is time to delegate power and allow students to form a student council for self-management."

"Establish a student council for self-management?" A school board member from an aristocratic background frowned subconsciously, clearly not very enthusiastic about the plan.

"Yes! Ladies and gentlemen, we no longer live in the ancient Middle Ages, but in the modern era that champions freedom and democracy. It's time to make some changes..."

Chapter 0777 The Benefits of Delegating Power

A psychologist once said that there are only two ways to gain support.

One approach is to provide ample incentives, making it clear that the harder they work, the more they will be rewarded. This is the principle behind modern corporate practices that link the salaries and bonuses of senior managers to performance.