Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil.

The higher you elevate someone, the harder they fall. Any flaws that emerge later will be magnified, and by then, without them even lifting a finger, the public's disappointment and criticism will be enough to destroy everything Batty Crouch has achieved.

This simplest and most direct method of flattery to kill requires no complicated planning or excessive manpower or resources, yet it can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Puni didn't explicitly state the key point, but he knew Regulus would quickly grasp it.

Regulus was no fool to have managed to stand firm amidst the conflicts of pure-blood families.

Regulus, on the other side of the two-way mirror, remained silent for a good ten seconds. The doubt on his face gradually faded, replaced by sudden realization and admiration.

He finally understood Puni's intention; this seemingly unusual action was actually the most ingenious scheme!

This is far more sophisticated than simply attacking!

Looking at Puni in the mirror, he exclaimed with admiration and relief, "Puni, I'm certain once again that following you was the best decision I've ever made! With your advice and strategies, we're sure we can stop Batty Crouch from being elected minister!"

Puni smiled, picked up the quill pen again, and prepared to continue his homework: "Don't worry, just do as I say, and you'll see results in no time. Remember, the praise should be exaggerated enough, and the attacks on Fudge should be precise enough. Don't reveal any flaws. The rest, just wait and watch the show."

After hearing Puni's plan, Regulus's tense shoulders finally relaxed on the other side of the two-way mirror. He slowly let out a long breath, and the solemnity and doubt between his brows completely disappeared.

The worries that had been lingering in his mind were all resolved by Puni's ingenious plan. He finally felt completely at ease, and even his breathing became much smoother.

Puni watched all of this with a faint smile on his lips. His gaze fell on Regulus's reflection in the two-way mirror, and he slowly said, "It seems you agree with my idea. In that case, my idea is indeed feasible."

Upon hearing this, Regulus laughed and said, "Only you could come up with such a dirty trick, little Puni, you're really shameless!"

Upon hearing this, Puni burst into laughter, his hearty laughter breaking the silence of the room, and even his eyes were filled with amusement.

"Don't say that about me, Uncle. I'm very kind and gentle."

After laughing for a while, Puni gradually stopped laughing: "Oh, right, there's one more thing I need to tell you. Send someone to contact Connelly Fudge now, don't delay."

Upon hearing this, Regulus's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again: "Fudge? Why did you think of contacting him?"

"What we need to do now is not to get him on our side, but simply send someone to tell him that we, like him, do not want Barty Crouch to be elected Minister of Magic, so we will secretly help him during the election, that's all."

“We don’t need him to respond immediately or make any promises. We just need to let him know that someone is secretly supporting him and helping him suppress Batty Crouch.”

“Once he is actually elected minister, he will come to us without us having to approach him. After all, he needs the support of pure-blooded nobles to secure his position as minister, and he knows this better than anyone else.”

After saying this, Puni smiled and stood up from his chair, stretching to relieve the fatigue from doing his homework for so long.

He glanced down at the parchment on the table. All the Transfiguration assignments were completed, the handwriting neat, the content complete, and nothing was missing.

He waved at the two-way mirror: "Perfect timing, I've finished all my homework. You can take care of the rest. We'll keep in touch later, Regulus."

Chapter 78 Barty Crouch: A Twist of Fate? (Bonus Chapter)

Regulus wanted to say something more, wanting to ask about the specific details of contacting Fudge, and the follow-up arrangements for the backlash against Batty Crouch.

Before he could even speak, Puni had already raised his hand and pressed the switch on the two-way mirror. The mirror instantly lost its luster, and Regulus's figure completely disappeared from the mirror, and the call was also interrupted.

Puni put away the two-way mirror and casually placed it on the oak table. His gaze swept over the homework on the table, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He adjusted his wizard hat to make sure the crown wasn't exposed, then picked up his homework and turned to walk towards the exit of the Room of Requirement. Now that his homework was finished, he should leave and go to the library to look up some information about the Ravenclaw crown, and also keep an eye on the latest discussions in the dining hall about the Ministry of Magic's leadership transition.

People often say that one's position determines one's perspective and stance, and Puni firmly believes in this.

As the current patriarch of one of the 28 sacred pure-blood families, even if he disdains the glory of pure-blood, every consideration and every decision he makes must be based on the perspective of pure-blood nobles and seek the interests of the entire family.

At least for now, those pure-blood nobles who have struggled to recover from the slump following Voldemort's downfall and are barely surviving have not aroused his disgust; on the contrary, they have given him a bit more enjoyment.

He often secretly observed the movements of these pure-blood nobles, watching them cautiously probe and gradually exert their family's influence on the outside world, attempting to restore their former glory.

They acted cautiously, proceeding step by step, fearing that a mistake would plunge them back into an abyss of no return.

Seeing their precarious and struggling appearance, Puni didn't find it funny at all. Instead, he found it quite interesting. This tenacity in rising from the bottom made him appreciate them more.

These pure-blood nobles mostly possessed substantial wealth and were accustomed to using Galleons as a tool to pave the way for development and restore their family's power.

Even so, with Minister Millison Barnold still in office, their development remained extremely difficult, and they had to proceed with extreme caution, as if walking on thin ice, where a slight misstep would plunge them into the abyss.

Puni knew in his heart that the root of all this lay with Minister Millison Barnold himself.

This minister has always disliked pure-blood nobles and is extremely averse to pure-blood ideology. Even though he maintains a fair and impartial attitude on the surface, he secretly uses various magical regulations to suppress the development of pure-blood nobles, hinder their efforts to restore their power, and make it difficult for them to smoothly advance any of their development plans.

Among all the pure-blood noble families that are recovering, the Lestrange family is the one with the best development momentum.

This family was severely weakened by following Voldemort, with most of its members imprisoned in Azkaban. Now, apart from the members imprisoned in Azkaban, only one person remains to support the family.

Even so, the Lestrange family still managed to expand their influence through their two major businesses.

Or rather, it's an industry.

The Battle of the Golden Dragons!

As for Werewolf, it does have quite a few enthusiasts, but it's not as popular as the Golden Dragon Battle.

However, despite the positive momentum, the Lestrange family's plans were repeatedly thwarted.

Several years ago, he formulated a detailed plan for Golden Dragon's branch stores, intending to open branches throughout the UK to further expand its influence, but so far, the plan has not been officially implemented.

Puni originally planned to use the Lestrange family's channels to promote the chessboard and cards overseas, especially to the American wizarding world, which has the largest wizarding population and the closest ties with the Muggle world, or to the East. However, this idea has never been realized due to various obstacles.

Puni did have some merits in his assessment of Minister Millison Barnold.

He acknowledged that the minister was indeed exceptionally capable, assertive, and lucky enough to maintain peace in the magical world amidst turmoil, achieving remarkable results during his ten-year tenure.

However, this recognition could not offset his dissatisfaction with the minister.

When Puni learned that Millison Barnold had decided to resign, he felt no regret.

She always tries to stop the Golden Dragon War from progressing, but I don't know what benefit she gets from it.

If he is like this, then other pure-blood families are even more so.

Therefore, Millison Barnold's downfall can be seen as an excellent opportunity for all pure-blood nobles—an opportunity to escape suppression and fully develop.

From then on, there was one more thing in the Hogwarts dining hall that all the young wizards enjoyed doing.

Every morning at breakfast, everyone looks up out the window, waiting for the flock of owls to bring the latest issue of "The Daily Prophet".

As Millison Barnold's term draws near, the ministerial race between Batty Crouch and Connelly Fudge has officially entered a heated phase, with the two engaging in fierce competition, neither willing to yield an inch.

Everything unfolded exactly as Puni had predicted. After enduring a barrage of attacks, Barty Crouch, through the efforts of those around him, successfully turned the tide and created a new image for himself. He remained the same impartial and incorruptible wizard, and even when his own son, Barty Crouch Jr., committed a transgression, he showed no favoritism and personally sent him to Azkaban.

Yet, this fair and selfless person was relentlessly attacked and slandered because of this incident, making him seem quite pitiful.

The sudden transformation from a previously respected and glorious figure to a pitiful and sympathetic one seems abrupt and even somewhat abrupt, yet it strangely won the sympathy and support of some wizards.

Many wizards who were originally neutral turned to Barty Crouch after seeing his "ordeal," becoming his supporters.

This change initially delighted Batty Crouch.

He never expected that a crisis would unexpectedly garner him more support, and that he seemed to be one step closer to becoming Minister of Magic!

He was initially very relieved, feeling that his campaign had finally taken a turn for the better.

Little did he know that this seemingly advantageous shift had already been concealed by hidden dangers.

And all of this was under Puni's control.

The joy on Barty Crouch's face didn't last long; it was quickly replaced by an indescribable restlessness and unease.

Chapter 79 Barty Crouch: Another plot twist?! (Bonus Chapter)

What displeased him was not Connelly Fudge's proactive counterattack, but rather the supporters of his own camp.

He recently discovered that among his supporters, there is always a small group who manage to precisely occupy important pages in the Daily Prophet, publishing content that seems to be speaking out for him and praising his style of doing things.

However, a closer look reveals that the trickery involved goes far beyond what is apparent.

These reports, ostensibly praising his impartiality, repeatedly mentioned his past incorruptibility, specifically his act of personally sending his own son, Batty Crouch Jr., to Azkaban.

While seemingly highlighting his impartiality and incorruptibility, each mention inadvertently awakens the wizards' memories of that incident, indirectly reminding everyone that he could be so ruthless as to punish even his own son, demonstrating his cold-blooded methods.

What bothered Batty Crouch even more was that these reports, while praising him, would always find time to attack Connelly Fudge.

Despite being described as taking a break, the force and sharpness of the attack far exceeded the intensity of the anonymous attacks he had faced before!

Those words were scathing, full of sarcasm and slander, making Cornelius Fudge seem utterly worthless, as if he weren't even qualified to be an official in the Ministry of Magic.

Most damagingly, these reports maliciously attacked Cornelius Fudge's Hufflepuff origins, mocking Hufflepuff wizards as mediocre and incompetent, merely following the rules and lacking any leadership skills.

It even implied that someone from Hufflepuff's family was unfit to head the Ministry of Magic!

Such remarks undoubtedly stirred up a hornet's nest.

Barty Crouch knew that Hufflepuff had a large number of wizards in the British wizarding world, no less than Gryffindor. They were always united and hated it most if anyone belittled their house.

The targeted report caused an immediate uproar upon its publication.

Countless Hufflepuff wizards were thoroughly enraged. Those who were originally neutral put aside their prejudices and took the initiative to stand with Cornelius Fudge, publicly expressing their support for Fudge's candidacy for minister, in order to protest against those who denigrated Hufflepuff.

Suddenly, a wave of support for Cornelius Fudge swept through the wizarding world. Fudge, who was originally at a disadvantage, saw his popularity skyrocket, showing a trend of surpassing Barty Crouch.

Barty Crouch held the latest issue of the Daily Prophet, clutching the newspaper tightly, his face terribly grim.

He studied the reports word by word, those that seemed supportive but actually harbored malicious intentions. His unease grew stronger, and a terrible thought gradually became clear in his mind.

These people are not genuinely supporting him; they are not supporters at all, but enemies who have infiltrated his camp specifically to harm him!

He immediately ordered his trusted confidants to secretly investigate those who published the reports, hoping to find out who was behind them.

But before the investigation could yield results, more negative news followed.

His close associates reported that, after interviewing and investigating ordinary people, they found that many wizards who originally had a good impression of him and even planned to vote for him now felt hostile towards him because of these strange reports.

The public's discussions gradually took a turn for the worse. Some complained privately that Batty Crouch was too cold-blooded and ruthless, even sending his own son to Azkaban. They said that if such a person became a minister, he would probably be even more incorruptible and even inhumane.

Some even bluntly stated that those who support Barty Crouch are too extreme, daring to belittle even Hufflepuff, which shows that Barty Crouch himself is not as impartial as he appears. If elected, he will inevitably favor his supporters and suppress wizards from other houses.

Many wizards have made it clear that this incident has completely changed their minds, and they will never vote for Barty Crouch when electing Minister of Magic in the future.

Even if they still acknowledge his abilities, they cannot accept that he has such extreme supporters, and they cannot accept that someone is using his name to belittle their own academy and their peers.

Barty Crouch listened to all this feedback, and his frustration and anger grew stronger.

He finally realized that he had fallen into an elaborate trap!

Those reports that seemed to support him were actually destroying his reputation and undermining his supporters little by little. At first, he mistakenly thought this was a turn of events that would benefit him and did not realize the conspiracy behind it.

At this moment, he was both furious at the enemy's treachery and cunning, and regretful for his own negligence.

The campaign was suddenly plunged into an unprecedented crisis.