Charles waited quietly within Hogwarts for the summons from the International Confederation of Wizards.
During this time, "Voldemort" had been making quite a ruckus. The Death Eaters, led by Malfoy, had launched several "terror attacks." Of course, while plenty of property was destroyed, actual casualties were surprisingly minimal.
To be precise—many were injured, but almost none were killed.
That was the result of Charles's strict restraint. He had no desire to see innocent lives lost because of this matter. Dumbledore would never have allowed it, and Charles himself couldn't bear it either.
Those who tried to kill him—fine, he could be merciless toward them.But the innocent? No, that he couldn't do.
Meanwhile, Cornelius Fudge was positively beaming. Outwardly, he acted harried and overworked, but in truth, the limited extent of Voldemort's destruction was largely credited to his "timely interventions."
Under his influence, several Pokémon Masters voluntarily lent Pokémon to the Ministry for combat operations against the Death Eaters.
This move not only boosted his approval ratings but also elevated the reputation of both Charles Gold and Pokémon across the entire British wizarding world. Public awareness of Pokémon had already surpassed twenty percent and was now climbing toward thirty.
Many even believed Charles Gold's contributions to Britain's magical community were worthy of a First-Class Order of Merlin. Even the Chocolate Frog Cards had been updated, lavishly praising his heroic deeds in the battles against the "Dark Wizard."
In fact, Fudge really did intend to issue two Orders of Merlin—one for himself, of course, and one to honor Charles Gold.
But just as the entire British magical world was singing Charles's praises, the evidence collected by American Aurors from the Magical Congress of the United States was finally presented before the members of the International Confederation of Wizards.
There were only two pieces of evidence:One—a Muggle comic book.Two—a recorded video from Hogwarts showing a Pokémon battle.
In both, a yellow creature unleashed bursts of lightning.
"Charles Gold's violation of the International Statute of Secrecy is now beyond dispute," muttered an elderly wizard from the benches. "Normally, we wouldn't preside over such a case ourselves, but the influence this boy has caused is far too serious. That so-called 'comic' has spread worldwide, and the British wizarding authorities seem intent on shielding him—they've taken no action at all!"
"What does Dumbledore say?" someone asked, turning toward an empty chair—the seat reserved for the Confederation's Supreme Mugwump, Albus Dumbledore.
Elder wizards like them could not ignore Dumbledore's influence on international affairs.
"No response yet," another said. "But I doubt he'll side with the Statute this time."
"Unbelievable. Half a century ago, he stopped Grindelwald to protect the Statute—and now, he turns a blind eye to this Charles Gold's misdeeds."
"It's not hard to see why. Grindelwald was just some foreign dark wizard, completely unrelated to him. But Charles Gold—rumor has it he's Dumbledore's successor, his most favored student!"
Newt: ???Grindelwald: ???If you say it like that, I might just light the gas stove, you know!
"The Statute of Secrecy must never be broken!" barked a severe-looking elder. "We have two choices—urge the British Ministry to punish Charles Gold themselves, or put him on trial directly!"
"Procedurally speaking, letting the British handle it themselves would be more appropriate," another noted.
"The problem is that Britain keeps dodging the issue!" protested a representative. "Dumbledore won't show up, Minister Fudge refuses to comment, and now he wants us to send Aurors to help him fight the Dark Lord! Why should we? Voldemort rose in Britain, wreaks havoc in Britain—let the British wizards deal with it!"
His words won broad approval around the table.
Offering humanitarian aid to Britain was one thing—but this?
Facing Voldemort wasn't a task where you sent one wizard and expected him to survive. Even entire teams might not come back. And what if Voldemort got pressured and fled Britain?
Then what—bring the chaos to their countries?They didn't have Pokémon or Dumbledore to keep the Dark Lord in check!
So yes—Voldemort was Britain's problem. They could keep him.
"I say we contact Fudge directly—pressure him into bringing Charles Gold to trial," one delegate concluded after lengthy debate. "Then we'll wipe the memories of all Muggles who know about Pokémon. Oh, and write to Dumbledore as well—make him attend in person. Let him feel some pressure too."
A few days later, the letter arrived on Fudge's desk.
Fudge gave a cold chuckle, stood up, and took a small bowler hat from the rack before glancing at Umbridge.
"Where's Crouch?"
"In his office, Minister!" Umbridge replied in her usual syrupy tone. She'd found Fudge increasingly impressive of late—decisive, commanding, obeyed by all. His authority within the Ministry was now absolute.
"Have him come here. Looks like we'll have to pay the Confederation a visit. And call Amelia too—she knows the legal angles better than anyone," said Fudge.
Before long, the three of them met in the Ministry's grand atrium.
Beside Fudge stood a tall green bird Pokémon—it stood upright on two legs, its wings folded neatly across its chest like hands: Xatu.
This was one of Charles's Pokémon, temporarily loaned to the Minister for protection.Fudge had also used Xatu's Future Sight many times to foresee Death Eater attacks and foil them in advance.
"So it's come to this…" Fudge muttered, shifting his gaze from Crouch to Amelia Bones. "My dear Amelia, I trust you've found those legal loopholes I asked for?"
Amelia's eyes were still fixed on the Xatu, but she nodded. "I have to admit, there's quite a lot of room for us to maneuver."
"Excellent!" Fudge's expression hardened into fury. "Those old fools talk big while we do the real work—let's settle this once and for all!"
"Xatu, go fetch Mr. Charles," Fudge ordered.
(End of Chapter)