69novels Page 412
Page 412
Dumbledore would use his influence and prestige to recommend a hardliner like Barty Crouch to serve as Minister for Magic, such as Scrimgeour, the current head of the Auror office.
Then, the new minister will take a "fight fire with fire" approach to deal with the dark wizards—using even harsher measures to combat the forces of darkness.
Fudge shook his head, trying to banish these thoughts from his mind.
He knew that Dumbledore was unlikely to become the new Minister of Magic himself—after all, he wasn't as eager for power as others.
But this did not prevent Dumbledore from using this crisis to push for changes in the Ministry of Magic.
Thinking of this, Fudge couldn't help but feel a chill.
This is why, after Jaina gave him a brief analysis, he immediately abandoned his decision to deal with this disobedient subordinate and instead allied with her to fight Dumbledore.
Gianna is absolutely right. She's still young and will reach that position sooner or later. There's no need for her to rush into challenging Fudge's ministerial position.
Rather than dealing with her somewhat disobedient subordinate, causing constant internal strife and significant losses to the Ministry of Magic, it would be better to concentrate on dealing with Dumbledore, a much greater threat.
Sure enough, not long after, an unexpected event occurred—Dumbledore announced to the entire school that Voldemort had been resurrected!
This news was like a bombshell that exploded in Fudge's mind.
He was furious and almost went crazy when he found out about it.
The fact that the students at Hogwarts all knew about this meant that most of the magical community in the Underworld would also know this earth-shattering secret.
When Fudge found out about this, he was furious. If the students of Hogwarts knew about it, it meant that most of the wizarding world would know about it.
Fudge roared inwardly, "That old fox Dumbledore! He really wanted to bring me down! He announced this news to put me on the defensive and make me lose the trust and support of the wizards!"
And now, Dumbledore has come knocking on his door again, pulling this stunt on him.
At this critical moment, Fudge knew he had to remain calm and not lose his composure.
He decided to put up with Jaina's arrogance for the time being and concentrate his efforts on launching a counterattack against Dumbledore.
He had to find a way to convince others that Dumbledore was senile and no longer fit to be the headmaster of Hogwarts.
At the same time, there was another thing that was giving Fudge a headache.
While firing the incompetent assistant gave Fudge a moment of satisfaction, the feeling was short-lived, and he soon found himself in a lot of trouble.
Fudge sat at his desk, facing a mountain of work documents, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
He needs a capable assistant to help him handle these tedious tasks, but the problem is that he can't find a suitable candidate.
Umbridge was absolutely loyal to him, that much is certain.
But her abilities were really limited, and she was completely useless at such a critical moment.
Fudge couldn't help but miss the young man from before—although he wasn't always the brightest, he was at least quite capable at work.
Just then, a letter of recommendation from Gianna caught Fudge's attention.
He picked up the letter and read it carefully, his brow gradually relaxing.
“Crouch’s assistant?” Fudge muttered to himself. “He seems like a pretty capable young man.”
He put down the documents in his hand, rubbed his aching forehead, and then turned his gaze to Percy Weasley's biography.
This young man demonstrated remarkable work ability during the time Crouch was causing trouble, which is one of the reasons why no one noticed Crouch's problems.
More importantly, it was this young man who first discovered Crouch's potential problems and helped gather a lot of evidence.
His passion and loyalty to the Ministry of Magic were exactly what Fudge admired.
Fudge decided to meet the young man in person.
If Percy Weasley were willing to pledge allegiance to him, that would undoubtedly be a good choice.
He also knew that Arthur Weasley had a close relationship with Dumbledore.
It would be ideal if he could use Percy Weasley to monitor the Weasleys and obtain information about Albus Dumbledore through them.
This way, he could better grasp Dumbledore's movements and formulate a more meticulous plan to deal with his old rival.
Thinking of this, Fudge couldn't help but reveal a smug smile.
He seemed to have already envisioned the day when he would successfully take control of the situation and utterly defeat Dumbledore.
Not long after, there was a gentle knock on the heavy wooden door of the Minister of Magic's office, and a somewhat uneasy Percy Weasley walked in.
"Weasley, have you heard anything lately?" Minister Fudge asked bluntly, intending to test the other's attitude first. "About Dumbledore."
Percy paused for a moment, but quickly realized what he meant: "Minister, are you referring to Professor Dumbledore's comments about...about that mysterious man?"
“That’s right.” Minister Fudge nodded. “Dumbledore believes Voldemort has been resurrected and has given me some… well… rather radical suggestions.”
"radical?"
Percy repeated the word, immediately understanding what was going on. "Yes, Minister, I've heard about it too. But it seems to me that Professor Dumbledore's words are a bit... hasty. After all, he hasn't provided any substantial evidence to support his point."
“You’re right,” Minister Fudge sighed. “The entire wizarding world is in a panic because of his remarks. Spreading such information without evidence is simply creating chaos. I’ve been receiving more shouting letters than ever before.”
Percy hesitated for a moment, then tentatively said, "Minister, perhaps we can use the Daily Prophet to reduce Professor Dumbledore's influence on the wizarding world. After all, that newspaper still has a considerable impact on the wizarding community."
Minister Fouché's eyes lit up, seemingly quite pleased with the suggestion: "Hmm, that's a good idea. We can find some suitable writers to write a few articles clarifying the facts, so that everyone understands what really happened."
Fudge was not a brilliant politician, but he was not a fool either. He immediately realized the brilliance of Percy's suggestion.
Administrative means are not an option to deal with Dumbledore; his immense prestige and power prevent the Ministry of Magic from taking action against him.
But it's a completely different story when it comes to attacks through public opinion.
This young man is indeed very talented.
Fudge abruptly changed the subject, asking, "By the way, Weasley, I heard Dumbledore recently revived that organization... the Order of the Phoenix? Yes, the Order of the Phoenix! He even invited your father to join, I think?"
Percy's heart skipped a beat; this question had come too suddenly, and he was completely unprepared.
“This… Minister, I… I’m not quite sure. My father has never mentioned this at home.” He quickly added, afraid of causing the minister to misunderstand, “But I think my father is loyal to the Ministry of Magic, and he has always been dedicated to it.”
Some time ago, because Dumbledore leaked information about Voldemort without authorization, Minister Fudge was furious and made it clear that anyone who had anything to do with Dumbledore could no longer stay in the ministry.
Percy dared not say anything out of turn, lest he cause trouble for his father.
Fudge was generally satisfied with Percy's attitude.
“Weasley, my previous assistant is no longer competent in his job. Would you be willing to take his place?”
Fudge suddenly said, "The investigation into Barty Crouch is over, and your performance in this matter was impressive. Ms. Proudmore also recommended you to me; she spoke highly of your abilities."
“Of course I am willing, Minister. I will do everything in my power to contribute everything I have to the Ministry of Magic.”
Although he had expected it, Percy Weasley was still overwhelmed by an indescribable joy. He clenched his fist and immediately declared his loyalty to Fudge.
He could roughly guess how Fudge's former assistant had lost his job.
Minister Fudge's expression suddenly turned serious: "Weasley, I need you to keep a close eye on your family. If they join that so-called Order of the Phoenix, I need you to report Dumbledore's movements to me promptly, lest he cause another major blunder."
When this was mentioned, Fudge's face turned furious.
"Even if he wanted to deal with the dark forces, he wouldn't have done it that way. That's just spreading panic, and Ms. Proudmoore doesn't approve of his ideas either. Because of his spreading rumors about the resurrection of the Mystic, many departments in the Ministry of Magic are now working overtime on this issue."
“是的，部长。我会密切关注家人的情况，并及时向您报告。”珀西立刻答应月!费群8?'5!7'6.!６';344!:2!免费提?"取.'次元鸡刺猬":菠萝?看群.简介'加";q?无偿接?"五折代购".
More "hundreds of books, free book search?, new books will be released from time to time?"
However, no one knows what Percy is thinking.
Minister Fouché nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. You can officially take office tomorrow. Do a good job, I have high hopes for you."
“Thank you, Minister, I will.” Percy left the minister’s office excitedly.
"He's quite an ambitious and intelligent person."
Fudge didn't care what Percy was thinking, nor did he mind that he was recommended by Gianna.
All he needed was for the young man to understand his meaning and to do things properly for him.
"Things should be a bit easier tomorrow."
After Percy left, Fudge immediately contacted the Daily Prophet and began operations as Percy had suggested.
He used the influence of the Daily Prophet to get Rita Skeeter to write a long article that righteously and forcefully clarified that the rumors of "Voldemort's return" were pure nonsense. At the same time, he cleverly incorporated the advice and precautions that Dumbledore had mentioned to him. Through the Daily Prophet's large readership, the article was spread far and wide.
Upon encountering this dramatic political struggle, Rita keenly sensed the problem and immediately contacted Gianna to inform her.
Jaina was very pleased with this; sure enough, Fudge and Dumbledore were going head-to-head.
What other attitude could she possibly have? Of course, it would be best if they started fighting!
Moreover, she believed that Dumbledore would suffer a loss at Fudge's hands this time.
As it turned out, Dumbledore's ideas were indeed unpopular. Fudge didn't even need to go to great lengths to smear him; he easily made the public believe that the once-great White Wizard had really grown old and perhaps was indeed a bit senile.
Yes, to declare Voldemort's return for no reason, what else could it be but senility?
However, Fudge did not stop there.
He knew that to truly solidify his position, he would need to deal with the boy named Harry Potter.
The renowned savior, the boy who survived a great calamity, Harry's fame resounds throughout the wizarding world, but Fudge cannot allow him to cause him trouble.
Fudge then used Rita Skeeter's article as a weapon once again, cleverly guiding public opinion to believe that the scar on Harry's forehead not only affected his appearance but also had a long-term negative impact on his mental health.
He even suggested that Harry might be hallucinating because of the cruel torture he had suffered at the hands of the Death Eaters.
This severely damaged Harry's public image, making him appear as an unreliable witness.
Who would believe someone who might have mental health issues?
At least those wizards who don't want to believe Voldemort has returned won't believe it.
As for the identities of the Death Eaters who returned to Voldemort's side, as Harry mentioned?
Fudge smiled dismissively. Without solid evidence, these accusations would be futile and would only bring him a lot of trouble.
Fudge certainly knew that some people's whereabouts were suspicious.
But as long as they behave themselves, don't cause trouble, and don't give others any leverage over them, he won't bother with them.
He now only wants to end his term peacefully and does not want any complications.
And what's the point of arresting all those wealthy pure-blood wizards?
Who will generously donate to the noble cause of the Ministry of Magic?
Are we counting on Weasley?