When Fudge heard that a group of parents was blocking his way, his entire face darkened.
Hogwarts students' parents waiting for him at the school gates—how could that possibly be a good thing? If Hogwarts had an active Floo Network connection, he would definitely have chosen to escape through it, but unfortunately, there wasn't one here.
Fudge could only grit his teeth and follow Dumbledore to the school entrance, where he was immediately surrounded by a dense crowd of parents.
All sorts of noisy voices poured into his ears, making Fudge's head pound, and even Dumbledore was hemmed in by the furious parents, unable to extricate himself for the moment.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Jamison quietly stepped aside, pulled out a roll of parchment, and began writing a letter—he intended to invite Lord Slytherin to come out and have a talk, to report on the progress of his work.
But halfway through writing the letter, the ink in his bottle suddenly floated out and formed a line of words on the parchment.
[What is it?]
Jamison Greengrass's brow twitched violently. He knew this was Lord Slytherin sending him a message—but he hadn't even caught a glimpse of the man!
Salazar Slytherin is watching you!
Such an experience would terrify others, but for Jamison it was pure joy, because for a thousand years the Greengrass family had always been favored by their ancestor.
The stronger Slytherin was, the more confidence Jamison had.
Jamison immediately replied on the parchment to Rhys, expressing his wish to meet him in person.
The words Jamison wrote on the parchment appeared exactly as they were on the sheet spread out before Rhys.
Helga, who was watching from the side, was utterly astonished. This wasn't her field of expertise, so to her it was a completely novel experience.
"Magic… fascinating, isn't it?" Rhys glanced at her with a grin.
Helga gripped her wand.
Rhys instantly shut his mouth and began writing his reply to Jamison.
Hufflepuff sneered coldly: "Yes, magic is indeed fascinating."
Rhys told Jamison that today was not a good time to meet. His presence inside Hogwarts was already far too conspicuous, and Rhys certainly wouldn't chat with him while he was under the spotlight.
If Jamison truly wanted to talk with him, then he should organize the parents who had come to confront Fudge and keep them at the school for a meal.
That way, Jamison himself would no longer stand out—after all, who could outshine Lucius Malfoy when it came to drawing attention?
At that time, Lucius would surely be the brightest figure under the spotlight, while the chances of Rhys and Jamison being noticed would be greatly reduced.
Mr. Jamison mulled it over and thought this approach seemed quite appealing. This was, after all, his alma mater, carrying all the memories of his youth—who could resist such a temptation? He made up his mind to push forward with this grand plan.
By the time Jamison finished his "conversation" with Rhys, Fudge had also wrapped up his so-called friendly and cordial exchange with the parents.
In a 'harmonious' atmosphere, both sides fully exchanged views and finally reached a consensus: Hogwarts was a sanctuary of magic, and the Dementors must be withdrawn from its surroundings.
The Ministry of Magic would instead dispatch Aurors to guard the various entrances to Hogwarts, to prevent Sirius Black from infiltrating the school.
Fudge rubbed his nose, which still reeked of blood, and straightened out his robes that had been pulled into a mess.
It seemed someone had taken the opportunity to punch him in the chaos, and more than a few had even managed to land kicks on him.
But thankfully, all that was behind him now, and at last, he could return to the Ministry.
As for the political consequences of this incident, he would think about that later. For now, he just wanted to go back, take a hot bath to wash away the bad luck, and then hide under his blankets for a long sleep.
Fudge hurried away, while the parents broke into cheers. Even Phoebe, who had once spoken up for Fudge at the Greengrass manor, abandoned him and joined the ranks of the gathered parents.
"Since we're already here, why don't we take a look around the school, have a meal before leaving?" Seeing the group still full of energy, but somewhat reluctant to disperse, Mr. Jamison took the initiative to speak up, steering the topic.
As soon as he said this, all the parents turned in unison to look at Dumbledore, who was standing nearby, watching the spectacle with amusement.
A stroll around Hogwarts—what a wonderful suggestion! Most of the parents present hadn't returned to Hogwarts since their own graduations.
At Mr. Greengrass's prompting, the idea of revisiting their alma mater, walking the grounds, and reminiscing about their youth was instantly sparked within them.
Of course, their enthusiasm also had something to do with the fact that they were all doing quite well in life. If they were in circumstances like Lupin's before being hired at Hogwarts, they probably wouldn't have had the heart to come back.
Dumbledore thought it over and decided that letting this group of parents in wouldn't cause any harm. Since they were all Hogwarts alumni, he straightforwardly agreed to their request. Still, out of caution, he decided to keep them close by his side.
"I'll take you around the grounds. If you'd like, we could even sit in on a class or two."
"Oh, that would be so inappropriate—"
"What an intrusion, haha!"
"Such an imposition…"
The parents' eyes lit up at once. Though their mouths said it would be too much trouble, their bodies very honestly stepped right into Hogwarts.
Instead of leading them straight into the castle, Dumbledore first took them to the Black Lake, showing them the Dementors' burial ground.
The parents were, of course, full of admiration: Hogwarts' defensive magic was truly incredible!
They even gave that protruding part of the Black Lake a name—"Dementor's Corner"—to commemorate the creatures now 'resting' at the bottom of the lake.
"But with Azkaban suddenly losing a hundred Dementors, won't that weaken its guarding force? Could it let more prisoners escape?"
The moment this question was raised, it sparked an extremely heated discussion.
The parents present were all quite concerned about whether Azkaban's inmates might break out—many of them had once been colleagues with those prisoners, so a little worry was natural.
But it wasn't sympathy for their former colleagues. Rather, they were afraid that if Azkaban wasn't properly guarded and those people broke out…
After all, the prisoners there were the most loyal followers of Voldemort. Any Death Eaters who had managed to remain free after his downfall must have had some degree of betrayal tied to their survival.
If those old colleagues broke out and came seeking revenge, that would be disastrous. The Cruciatus Curse would not show any mercy simply because one was a pure-blood wizard.
"Couldn't the Dementors just spawn little Dementors to make up the numbers?"
"Dementors can't reproduce, can they?"
"Then send Aurors in their place?"
"Go tell the Auror Office that yourself, see if they'll listen to you."
The discussion grew louder and more frantic, everyone worried that reduced guard power would lead to prison escapes.
Rhys, of course, was aware of their concerns. Glancing at Helga, who stood beside him, he suddenly came up with an idea that might solve their worries.
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