Who am I?
Where am I?
What just happened?
Cornelius Fudge was completely panicking.
One moment he had merely been reviewing paperwork peacefully in his office.
The next—
He was suddenly being accused of turning the Ministry of Magic into a puppet government controlled by goblins.
What in Merlin's name had happened while he wasn't looking?!
Beside him, Dolores Umbridge immediately stepped forward in her usual efficient manner and hurriedly handed him several freshly printed newspapers.
The moment Fudge skimmed the headlines, his face went pale.
Scrimgeour.
You useless madman!
Did you really think you could simply arrest Lucien Grindelwald like that?!
The Saints Group already possessed enormous public influence across Britain.
Behind them stood multiple powerful pure-blood families led by the Malfoys.
And on top of that—
Lucien had been arrested after publicly helping ordinary wizards.
Public opinion alone could drown the Ministry alive.
Fudge steadied himself against the desk before forcing an awkward smile.
"Please calm down, everyone."
"This is merely a misunderstanding!"
"A misunderstanding?"
One wizard laughed coldly.
"What sort of misunderstanding leads to an eleven-year-old child being dragged into the Ministry by Aurors?"
"If dozens of witnesses hadn't been present, would you have quietly thrown him straight into Azkaban?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Fudge hurriedly waved both hands frantically.
"I believe Director Scrimgeour simply invited Mr. Grindelwald for questioning!"
"Once everything is clarified, he'll certainly be released safely!"
"Questioning?"
Another wizard sneered.
"Since when does questioning require armed Auror escorts?"
"Since when does questioning involve threatening innocent bystanders?"
"Do you take us for idiots?"
"If the Ministry doesn't provide a proper explanation today, we'll take this matter to the International Confederation of Wizards!"
"And the Wizengamot!"
"That's right!"
"We refuse to believe the British Ministry can simply do whatever it wants!"
Sweat poured endlessly down Fudge's forehead.
He wiped it frantically with a handkerchief.
"Please, everyone…"
"Trust the Ministry."
"We will absolutely ensure justice for Mr. Grindelwald!"
Then he turned furiously toward Umbridge.
"Why are you still standing there?!"
"Go notify Scrimgeour immediately and have Mr. Grindelwald released!"
Umbridge looked equally panicked.
"M-Minister… it's not that I don't want to…"
"The Ministry is completely surrounded right now."
"All available personnel are trying to maintain order outside."
"There's practically nobody left!"
"You idiot!"
Fudge nearly exploded.
"Do you not have legs?!"
"Go yourself!"
Umbridge finally snapped out of her daze and hurried toward the office doors.
Unfortunately, before she could even leave—
Several more figures approached from the corridor.
Arthur Weasley frowned slightly upon seeing Lucius Malfoy nearby.
"What are you doing here?"
Lucius immediately sneered.
"Do I need to report my movements to you, Weasley?"
"I have important business today."
"I'm not interested in arguing with you."
Arthur rolled his eyes and walked directly toward Fudge instead.
"As though anyone else here came for pleasant reasons."
Lucius ignored him entirely and entered alongside several prominent pure-blood patriarchs.
The moment Fudge recognized them, his heart nearly stopped.
"Mr. Malfoy…"
"Mr. Parkinson…"
"Mr. Greengrass…"
"Mr. Nott as well…?"
Then his eyes shifted toward Arthur and Molly Weasley.
At that point, Fudge already understood one terrifying truth.
Things had become far worse than he imagined.
Lucius spoke calmly.
"We merely came to inquire about Mr. Grindelwald's condition."
His tone wasn't especially aggressive.
But the fact that multiple major pure-blood heads accompanied him made the underlying threat painfully obvious.
This wasn't a request.
It was pressure.
And unlike the earlier crowd of angry wizards, these people genuinely possessed the power to destabilize Fudge politically.
Any single one of them represented enormous influence within magical Britain.
Together?
They could absolutely force him out of office.
Fudge's attitude instantly became dramatically more enthusiastic.
"Of course there's no issue!"
"Mr. Grindelwald was merely invited here for a few routine questions!"
"I was just about to send someone to check whether everything had concluded."
Molly Weasley snorted loudly.
She had once been an elite Auror herself.
And she understood Scrimgeour's methods better than most.
Even if he genuinely hated Dark wizards—
His ruthlessness was infamous.
"Minister Fudge," Lucius said smoothly, "before anything else, I believe we should first confirm Mr. Grindelwald's safety personally."
"After all…"
"You know Director Scrimgeour as well as I do."
"If something unfortunate already happened, I fear Ms. Umbridge alone may not be able to stop him."
Fudge's smile stiffened immediately.
That was precisely the problem.
Given how long Scrimgeour had wanted an excuse to target the Saints Group…
Who knew what methods he might already have used by now?
If Lucien appeared injured in front of these people—
The Ministry would explode tonight.
"Mr. Malfoy," Fudge said cautiously, "surely you understand that not everyone can simply walk freely through the Ministry…"
"Minister Fudge."
Arthur suddenly stepped forward.
"I'll go check personally."
Fudge's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
Absolutely not.
Sending Umbridge at least created a chance to quietly smooth things over beforehand.
But Arthur Weasley?
If he discovered Lucien had actually been harmed, he might hex Scrimgeour on the spot.
Fudge immediately snapped:
"Arthur Weasley!"
"I already said Umbridge will handle it!"
Before Arthur could respond, Lucius calmly interrupted instead.
"Minister."
"I believe Mr. Weasley is actually the better choice."
Fudge's intentions had been obvious from the beginning.
Lucius saw through them instantly.
"It isn't that I distrust Ms. Umbridge," Lucius continued mildly.
"But Director Scrimgeour's temperament is… difficult."
"If anything truly happened, I doubt she could stop him."
For once, however, Fudge refused to compromise.
"Please trust the Ministry."
Then suddenly—
An icy female voice echoed furiously from outside the office.
"Trust the Ministry?"
"Considering your current behaviour, one would think this building belonged to Dark wizards!"
Professor McGonagall stormed into the room like an enraged lioness before anyone could react.
Everyone immediately turned toward the entrance.
Dumbledore slowly walked inside.
Behind him stood all four Heads of House from Hogwarts.
....
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