Chapter 751 - 295: British Weightlifting Champion
Chapter 751: Chapter 295: British Weightlifting Champion
The post-match celebration was not possible for Vivi, at least, as she had too many urgent matters to personally handle.
After all, as the Minister of the Ministry of Magic, she couldn’t fully waste her time on personal affairs.
However, as the banquet ended and the hall gradually emptied, Dumbledore didn’t have the chance to invite Vivi to stay before Professor McGonagall stormed over, followed by Minister of Magic Fudge.
Seeing the Minister of Magic arrive at Hogwarts, the students decided to stay and watch the drama unfold.
"Dumbledore!" Fudge cast a sinister glance at the surrounding crowd, "A word!"
The students sighed in disappointment as Dumbledore turned back and called out to Harry.
"I’ll go and see what’s going on." Harry reassured Cassandra, "It seems like there’s some sort of emergency."
"Mm." Cassandra nodded.
Harry followed Dumbledore and the others to a side room.
As soon as they entered the room, the atmosphere suddenly grew cold.
"What happened?" Dumbledore sternly surveyed the room, glancing at Fudge and then at Professor McGonagall, "Why are you in the hall? Minerva, I’m surprised at you — I told you to guard Little Bartie Crouch —"
"There’s no need to guard him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked, "The Minister ensured that!"
Professor McGonagall had never been so impulsive; in Harry’s memory, she was always a calm lady, but now her cheeks flushed with anger, her hands balled into fists, trembling with rage.
"We informed Mr. Fudge that it was the Death Eaters who orchestrated tonight’s events," Snape spoke slowly and deliberately, "He seemed to fear for his personal safety, so he insisted on summoning a Dementor to accompany him into the castle... And then, he brought the Dementor into the office where Little Bartie Crouch was —"
"I told him you wouldn’t agree to it, Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall said furiously, "I told him you wouldn’t allow Dementors into the castle, but —"
"My dear lady!" Fudge shouted, and his display of anger was something Harry had never seen before, "As the Minister of Magic, my power is limitless — I have the right to decide whether to bring along a bodyguard! Because I was going to meet someone who was possibly very dangerous —"
But Professor McGonagall’s voice drowned out Fudge’s words.
"That creature — that creature, once it entered the office," she pointed at Fudge, her whole body shaking as she shrieked, "it lunged at Crouch and just — just —"
Professor McGonagall struggled to find the words to describe what had just happened; it was likely that the Dementor had given Little Bartie Crouch a fatal kiss.
It had sucked his soul out of Little Crouch’s mouth, leaving Little Crouch worse than dead, in Muggle terms, a "vegetable."
"By all accounts, he got what he deserved!" Fudge said aggressively, "He was responsible for several deaths!"
"But he can’t testify now, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, sharply eyeing Fudge, as if seeing through him for the first time, "He can’t provide evidence as to why he killed those people."
"Why did he kill them? Isn’t it obvious!" Fudge said furiously, "He was a madman roaming about! From what Minerva and Severus told me, he seemed to think he was following You-Know-Who’s orders!"
"Voldemort did issue him orders before, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, "Those deaths were an incidental result of the plans for Voldemort’s resurrection – the plan succeeded, and Voldemort has indeed returned."
Fudge was taken aback, as if struck by a heavy blow.
He blinked blearily, staring dumbfounded at Dumbledore, as if unable to fully believe what he had just heard.
After a moment, he seemed to gather himself and began to speak haltingly, still staring at Dumbledore.
"You-Know-Who... has returned? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You-Know-Who died fourteen years ago at Godric’s Hollow! Don’t joke with me, Dumbledore... or is it that you have some hidden agenda?"
As he said these words, Fudge’s eyes glanced at Vivi standing gracefully not far away and cast a look at Sirius leisurely reading a newspaper on the bench.
Perhaps... was Dumbledore planning to ally with that Grindelwald woman? Planning to usurp his position as Minister of Magic?
Ha, I have long heard, there was something indistinct between Dumbledore and that Gellert from the Grindelwald family...
Looking like he was considering supporting his granddaughter? Or perhaps using Grindelwald’s power to overthrow him and become the Minister of Magic himself?
The more Fudge thought about it, the more he believed it possible; his mind whirled, and he was convinced that Dumbledore wanted to seize power and become the Minister of Magic himself.
Yet he had completely forgotten that his current standing was entirely thanks to Dumbledore’s help.
And if Dumbledore had wanted to be the Minister of Magic, he could have done so a long time ago, without needing to make such a convoluted detour.
Long ago, after Voldemort’s initial downfall, had Dumbledore stepped forward and taken up the mantle as Minister of Magic, there wouldn’t have been any place for Fudge at all.