Chapter 158: Admonishment!
Umbridge was down.
But the Aurors who had accompanied her were all remarkably shrewd. At some point—perhaps the very instant Umbridge fell—they had quietly melted into the crowd, becoming indistinguishable from the protesters. Aurors who had just "joined" the procession exchanged knowing glances with those who had already infiltrated it.
Umbridge lay by the roadside, muttering incoherently—perhaps groaning in pain from the multiple spells, perhaps talking in her unconscious state.
"To the Ministry!"
"To the Ministry!"
The chant rose to a crescendo. Umbridge's contribution had been immense; she had effortlessly stoked a level of public outrage that magic alone could never have achieved. One after another, the protesting wizards vanished with sharp cracks. As the sounds of Apparition echoed through the alley, the crowd thinned until only the Aurors remained, still mingling amongst themselves.
The young Auror who had previously been eager to suppress the protest now looked worried. "Things have reached this point... the Minister will definitely consider us derelict in our duty."
"The Minister might think we failed, but he'll also think we did a good job," an old hand replied cryptically. His words sparked a wave of knowing looks and winks among the other veterans. Their faces were a flurry of expressions, like a printing press churning out hidden messages.
"Should we head back and see?"
"Yes, we need to go back and see!"
As a pillar of the Auror Office, Kingsley Shacklebolt couldn't understand why Scrimgeour was obeying Fudge's orders to arrest people and suppress the protest. Especially after Fudge's string of unreasonable decrees, Kingsley's opinion of the Minister was... well, all opinions. But despite his views, he was also dissatisfied with the divisive faction within the Ministry led by Ralvin. He believed Fudge lacked the ability to truly fracture the Ministry, and that Ralvin and the others were failing to see the bigger picture.
Walking behind Scrimgeour, Kingsley voiced his thoughts. "Mr. Scrimgeour, honestly, ever since Fudge promoted Umbridge, his decisions seem like they've been made with his head smeared in lard. But what Ralvin, Arthur, and the others are doing... it's really going too far."
Scrimgeour had just finished delegating a task and was heading back to his office from the lower levels. Hearing Kingsley's question, he simply shook his head. "I can't say for sure."
"Can't say?"
"If it were Crouch, perhaps he would have sensed something. But to be honest, my sensitivity to the nuances of the political situation isn't that refined. I just feel the wind has shifted." Scrimgeour opened his office door, ushered Kingsley inside, and shut it firmly. He didn't sit down but stood before his desk, brow furrowed. "Starting this year... whether it's Voldemort's capture, Ryan Welles's Communicator, or the giant bat invasion a few days ago... I keep getting this feeling of disconnect from how things used to be."
Hearing this, Kingsley felt it too. The year was barely half over, yet more significant events had occurred than in the previous decade combined. The only event in the past few decades that could compare in magnitude was Voldemort's defeat by Harry Potter.
"Now that you mention it, I agree the wind has shifted," Kingsley said. "But what does that have to do with what Ralvin and Arthur are doing?"
"Fudge's rise to power two years ago," Scrimgeour began, standing ramrod straight—a posture born from his long climb up the Auror ranks, "was not only due to Crouch's son's scandal but also because Dumbledore and the previous Minister felt a period of recuperation was needed. So they installed a leader who was relatively mild, even somewhat weak-willed..." His voice, though questioning, remained firm. "If the earlier actions only involved Ralvin, Ryan, and the younger ones, it would just signify youthful recklessness. But Arthur... he's Order of the Phoenix. He's Dumbledore's man..."
Yes, Kingsley thought. Fudge had become Minister with Dumbledore's tacit approval. Yet now, Arthur, one of his loyal followers, was showing Fudge no respect... Kingsley knew Arthur well; he wasn't the type to throw a tantrum because his position was too low. That left only one possibility. He voiced it uncertainly, "Perhaps... Mr. Dumbledore's stance... has changed?"
As he spoke, he saw Scrimgeour's eyes suddenly brighten, as if a long-puzzling problem had finally clicked into place. Then, Scrimgeour fell into a long, silent contemplation, his gaze unfocused as he ran through calculations and scenarios in his mind.
Kingsley himself was startled by his own words. Until now, the British wizarding world had been unaware that Dumbledore's attitude had shifted! This was critical! Even now, likely only a handful of people could discern this change.
The two men stood in silence in the Head Auror's office.
Meanwhile, the telephone booth entrance to the Ministry of Magic was completely mobbed. The alchemically enchanted response system inside was continuously dispensing badges emblazoned with the words "Seeking Justice." The system could dispense infinitely, but making the badges required raw materials. The Ministry didn't usually receive so many visitors, so the supply was limited.
However, the people arriving at the Ministry to demand a fair accounting from Fudge were all upstanding citizens of the magical community. They wouldn't hold a grudge against the service counter for poor service. They only wanted Fudge to do what needed to be done.
More and more people poured into the Ministry atrium, gathering before the "Magic is Might" statue, shouting slogans. Ministry employees passing by stared, wide-eyed. Some froze in place, unsure how to react. This was unprecedented. Never, since the founding of the Ministry, had such a large group of wizards come to "admonish" the Minister!
A few employees frantically ran towards the Minister's office, shouting as they went.
"Minister, bad news!"
"Minister Fudge, a crowd of angry wizards has broken in!"
"Quick, find the Aurors! Find Head Auror Scrimgeour!"
The panicked employees were few compared to the massive crowd of petitioners. Their frightened cries were drowned out by the unified chants.
"WE ARE HERE TO ADMONISH THE MINISTER!"
"ADMONISH THE MINISTER! CHANGE THE APPOINTMENTS!"
"ADMONISH THE MINISTER! RETRACT THE FOOLISH ORDERS!"
Ministry employees arriving for work that morning stared dumbfounded at the scene. It was like going on vacation, enjoying a nice meal, and suddenly being ambushed by Voldemort.
After listening to the chants for a few repetitions, a few employees snapped out of their shock and ran towards key departments like the Minister's Office and the Auror Office.
Only when the noise from the atrium finally faded did the Ministry staff deeper inside stare in shock at their colleagues who had run past, wondering if they needed to get their ears checked at St. Mungo's. After processing the information relayed by their ears, they all reached the same conclusion:
The Ministry is under attack!
~~~
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