Before leaving...
Professor Snape suddenly remembered his two students.
Ron.
And Malfoy.
If he left now...
What would happen to them?
After a brief moment of thought...
He abandoned the idea of going back.
Although the Whomping Willow blocked the entrance...
The other end of the passage led to the Shrieking Shack.
Besides...
The binding spell he'd cast wasn't permanent.
Once it wore off naturally...
The two boys could simply leave on their own.
What Snape could never have imagined...
Was the miserable state those two "good students" were currently in.
The diarrhea potion Lewis had casually scattered throughout the tunnel had completely evaporated into the air.
Both immobilized boys had been breathing it in for quite some time.
At this moment...
Ron and Draco were desperately struggling against an overwhelming biological urge.
Finally...
Ron lost the battle first.
Thinking he could discreetly relieve a little pressure...
He tried to let out a harmless fart.
Unfortunately...
Life had other plans.
He never imagined...
That what escaped wasn't just gas...
But a very wet one.
The unmistakable sound immediately echoed through the tunnel.
Draco instinctively covered his nose in disgust.
He knew perfectly well...
That hadn't been just a fart.
Caught in such an embarrassing situation before his greatest enemy...
Ron's face instantly turned as red as his hair.
It felt as though his entire head had burst into flames.
By now...
Snape's restraining spell had begun weakening.
Whether driven by humiliation...
Or anger at Draco's mocking expression...
Ron suddenly lunged forward.
His entire body slammed directly into Draco.
The two boys immediately rolled together on the ground like wrestling caterpillars.
Draco gasped in shock from the impact.
But what truly horrified him...
Was his own rapidly failing self-control.
The collision became the final straw.
For the sake of Malfoy family dignity...
He had clenched every muscle with all his strength.
Now...
He couldn't hold on any longer.
A thunderous burst erupted from behind him.
Accompanied...
By unmistakable liquid sounds.
Draco Malfoy had quite literally...
Been beaten until he shit himself.
Seeing the devastating results of his tackle...
Ron burst into laughter.
"Serves you right!"
"You laughed at me..."
"Now you're just as bad!"
As for Draco...
His face twisted beyond recognition.
Pure-blood pride.
The dignity of House Malfoy.
His fragile self-esteem.
All of it...
Shattered alongside that single humiliating accident.
At that moment...
He cared about only one thing.
Revenge.
Revenge against the culprit responsible for all of this—
Ron Weasley.
With a furious roar...
Draco abandoned all concern for dignity.
Ignoring the violent turmoil inside his stomach...
He launched himself at Ron.
Naturally...
Ron refused to back down.
The two boys fought wildly.
Almost instinctively...
Each realized the other's greatest weakness.
Without hesitation...
They both began targeting one another's stomachs.
Thus...
Within the narrow tunnel...
Sounds of punches...
Shouting...
Insults...
And thunderous explosive blasts...
Repeatedly echoed together.
An unbearable stench rapidly filled every corner.
Before long...
Both boys were retching from the smell.
Yet...
The adrenaline flooding through their bodies dulled their discomfort.
Like two rabid dogs...
Neither would stop until the other suffered even more.
At one point...
Both of them thought about using Scourgify to clean themselves.
Unfortunately...
During their frantic struggle...
Their wands had long since disappeared into the darkness.
The pitch-black tunnel made searching impossible.
Eventually...
Both wands vanished beneath the ever-growing mess covering the floor.
Fortunately...
That horrific odor never reached Professor Snape.
By then...
He and the others had already left.
Lewis reopened his Portal.
Moments later...
The group arrived inside the British Ministry of Magic.
Tonks gestured for Lewis and Snape to follow.
The middle-aged Auror came along behind them.
The remaining Aurors escorted Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew elsewhere.
Tonks led Lewis and Snape into an elevator.
They rode directly to the first floor...
Home to the Minister's Office and Administrative Department.
The group walked down a corridor covered with luxurious carpeting.
They passed one polished wooden door after another.
Each bore a small brass plaque displaying the occupant's name and title.
After turning a corner...
The hallway opened into a spacious reception area.
Ahead stood a magnificent mahogany door.
Where a Muggle door might have had a peephole...
This one contained an enormous magical eyeball.
Its bright blue iris slowly rotated.
According to Tonks...
The enchanted eye allowed those inside to see approaching visitors.
It also performed a basic security inspection.
Essentially...
A magical combination of surveillance camera and security scanner.
The brass plaque beneath it read:
Cornelius Fudge
Minister for Magic
After politely knocking...
Tonks received permission to enter.
The office door swung open.
Lewis immediately spotted Gianna Proudmoore sitting opposite the Minister's desk.
She smiled warmly.
The moment she saw Lewis...
She gave him a subtle, playful wink.
Behind the large desk...
Sat the current Minister for Magic.
Cornelius Fudge.
He wore his usual finely striped robes.
Seeing everyone enter...
Fudge immediately rose and courteously shook Professor Snape's hand.
Then...
His attention shifted toward Lewis.
A warm smile spread across his face.
But through his psionic senses...
Lewis could clearly perceive the calculations hidden beneath that politician's smile.
"Ah..."
"Lewis Green."
"We meet again."
Fudge displayed a brilliant, friendly grin.
"As expected of Hogwarts' finest student."
"Every time we meet..."
"You bring us another pleasant surprise."
"Thank you, Minister Fudge."
Regardless of how little he respected the man inwardly...
Lewis maintained impeccable manners.
If he intended to reshape Britain's magical world from within...
Then appearances still mattered.
"I've heard from Ms. Proudmoore..."
Fudge continued pleasantly.
"That you were the one who discovered both Sirius Black..."
"And Peter Pettigrew."
"Is that correct?"
Lewis nodded.
Before he could answer...
A sudden knock interrupted him.
The newcomer was a man in his fifties.
His posture was perfectly straight.
Every movement precise and rigid.
A short mustache, trimmed with ruler-like precision, rested beneath his nose.
Everything about him suggested absolute discipline.
Even his expression radiated stern authority.
Yet...
Lewis noticed something unusual.
His suit was badly wrinkled.
He hadn't even tied his necktie properly.
Dust covered his shoes.
The immaculate man had clearly rushed here in tremendous haste.
He hadn't even paused to straighten his appearance.
Lewis recognized him immediately.
The newcomer offered Snape a brief nod.
His gaze lingered on Lewis for a moment.
Lewis calmly returned the stare.
Eventually...
The man looked away first.
Fudge immediately stood.
"Oh..."
"My old friend, Crouch."
"What brings you here?"
Indeed...
This was the very man Lewis and Gianna intended to strike tonight.
The former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
One of the heroes of the first war against Voldemort.
Now Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
Bartemius Crouch Sr.
Peter Pettigrew had only just been captured...
Yet Crouch had already arrived.
Clearly...
Someone within the Auror Office had informed him immediately.
His influence inside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement remained considerable.
"Cornelius."
Crouch spoke in his usual rigid tone.
"I have important matters to discuss with you."
Not even the slightest smile appeared on his face.
Fudge frowned slightly.
"Miss Tonks."
"Please take Professor Snape and Mr. Green into the adjacent lounge for a while."
Lewis obediently followed Tonks.
The lounge was spacious and luxuriously furnished.
Entirely fitting for the Minister's office.
Snape casually dropped into a chair.
He turned his face away with a gloomy expression.
Clearly...
He had no interest whatsoever in speaking with Lewis.
Although Lewis had uncovered Lily's true murderer for him...
Being effortlessly defeated by his own student...
Then tied up in such an embarrassing fashion...
Was still far too humiliating for Snape to simply forget.
Lewis quietly chose another chair.
He casually flipped through a copy of the Daily Prophet lying on the nearby table.
At the same time...
His psionic senses silently extended beyond the magically soundproof walls.
The barrier blocked ordinary sound...
But not his mental perception.
Calmly...
He began listening to the conversation taking place next door.
The three people inside were among the Ministry's most powerful figures.
Their voices remained polite and composed.
Yet beneath those calm words...
Political blades were already crossing.
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