Chapter 533: Chapter 533: They Can't Afford to Provoke Him (Edited)
The words "rare" and "medium rare" were extremely irritating to Hermione. Upon hearing those words, her body shuddered.
Just as Draco was about to take advantage of the situation and deliver a few more mental blows to Hermione, a male voice, as slow as Draco Malfoy's, was heard.
"Draco, it's time to go." The person who arrived was Lucius and his wife Narcissa. Both were dressed in silk robes, looking as if they were fleeing.
Hoods, masks? None. The Malfoy family was a law-abiding wizarding family, how could they do anything against the International Statute of Secrecy?
Lucius Malfoy approached his son and leaned his cane on Draco's shoulder, pulling him out from under the tree. Lucius always carried his cane everywhere, not just to show off, but because that cane was his own wand. He had added a long enough handle to the wand's handle... That was why Lucius Malfoy's cane had a length of 45 centimeters, including the length of the handle.
Seeing his parents suddenly appear, Draco Malfoy fell silent. He wasn't the kind of person to go crazy in front of his parents. With Lucius, Draco was always calmer.
Narcissa wrapped her arms around her son's shoulders and quickly walked away without saying a word. She had not participated in the Death Eaters' "team-building activity." However, that didn't stop her from witnessing Tom's firestorm up close.
After seeing the firestorm, Narcissa just wanted to go home. When she saw her son seemed to be in conflict with Hermione Granger, she was almost scared to death: could you really mess with that girl?
The Patronus pair at the opening ceremony had already made their relationship with Tom Yodel clear. At that moment, Tom Yodel was just as intimidating to Narcissa Malfoy as Voldemort. If you angered him, he would unleash a firestorm, and you'd be left stunned. With someone like him, it was best to stay away.
She decided to go back home and properly educate Draco.
Lucius Malfoy took a couple of steps behind his wife and son, directing a long and meaningful look at Hermione.
"You have quite the boyfriend," Lucius's eyes bore intensely into the red-tinged sky.
Then, with a flick of his cane, he quietly left. Lucius wanted to mend his relationship with Tom and Hermione, not seeking friendship, but mutual avoidance. However, his pride prevented him from saying pleasant things.
If Tom were here, he would surely be very satisfied with the Malfoy family's attitude. That was why he had personally intervened, as the saying goes: one punch is worth a hundred.
After the Malfoy family interrupted, Hermione realized they had completely lost contact with the main group. However, if the main group is defined by the number of people, then they had the same number as Fred and the others.
In theory, when you lose your friends, you should stay put and wait. However, they didn't want to stay here because the flames on the horizon could spread to them at any moment.
The narrow path was crowded with noisy crowds, all turning their heads and looking at the not-so-distant red sky. The camp was not far from there; they could even smell the scent of burning wood.
Hermione noticed a group of teenagers in pajamas animatedly discussing by the road. Among them was a familiar face, the curly-haired girl who had been watching the match with her in the same compartment.
Hermione saw her, and she saw Hermione. Then the curly-haired girl excitedly waved at Hermione, gesturing for the others to be quiet.
In her opinion, Hermione was a very reliable witch, and in this chaos, what everyone needed was someone with determination.
"Do you know where Madame Maxime is? We can't find her," the curly-haired girl quickly asked Hermione.
"I don't know," Hermione shook her head, "Will they stay here? The fire could spread at any moment... Wait, look over there!"
In the firelight, Hermione vaguely made out a tall figure in the distance, and she believed it was Madame Maxime.
"Yes!" the curly-haired girl stood on her tiptoes and looked, immediately recognizing their headmistress, and they all started calling out to her, attracting Madame Maxime's attention.
When she arrived among her students, Madame Maxime calmed down the most excited children and then looked at Hermione, saying, "That commotion caused by Yodel is no small matter."
Hermione was startled and quickly asked, "What's going on?"
Madame Maxime pointed to the fire glow not far from there and said, "All of that was caused by Yodel. I passed by and saw him 'communicating' with the parade crowd, you know, tall people always see things others can't. I think the parade is already over."
Hermione: !!!
Is Tom the one who caused all this commotion? What has he done? Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Well, I have to take my students back to France. This meeting at the World Cup has really opened my eyes," Madame Maxime's patience ran out, and she ended the conversation, taking her students with her.
"Tom started this fire?" George wasn't sure if he completely believed the news, but the source seemed reliable.
Hermione and the Grangers exchanged looks: This form of persuasion is very Russian! To prevent the parade crowd from burning the camp, he set the camp on fire himself?
Just as everyone was doubtful, it started raining from the sky, and the flames in the camp gradually extinguished. Anyone could see that the disturbance had calmed down.
As they returned to the camp, Hermione and the others saw Mr. Weasley with a group of Ministry of Magic wizards. The Roberts family was sitting obediently on the edge of the forest, while several Memory Modification employees crouched in front of them, helping them modify their memories of that night.
The Weasley's three adult children were also among those people; they all looked injured: Bill had a cut on his arm, Charlie had a magically burned shoulder, and Percy couldn't stop his nosebleed. They looked a bit disheveled and miserable, but in reality, their injuries were not severe.
"Oh, Chris!" Arthur saw Mr. Granger in the distance and jumped as if he had springs in his feet, quickly running toward him and giving him a tight hug.
"Merlin's beard, I'm so glad you're okay!" Arthur was very emotional; he really feared that Mr. Granger would also be attacked by those crazy fans because of his Muggle status, and that would have haunted him for life.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I have a very reliable young man who protected me," Mr. Granger smiled and patted George on the shoulder, who had joined them.
George, known for being cheeky and a prankster, blushed, showing some shyness, and saying he hadn't done much either.
But before they could exchange compliments, a wizard hurriedly arrived with bad news.
Chapter 534: Chapter 534: Consequences (Edited)
The man who arrived was also familiar; he was Mr. Amos Diggory, who had come to the Quidditch World Cup with Mr. Weasley. His son Cedric followed him, both carrying someone in their arms.
Mr. Weasley had a bad feeling. He rushed toward Amos three steps ahead and could then clearly see his son Ron in Amos's arms. Cedric was holding Harry, who looked a bit weak.
"What's going on?" Mr. Weasley looked at Amos, hoping to get some clues from him.
"We've just found your son on the path; he had been affected by a fainting spell... Cedric has sharp eyes and saw signs of destruction in the nearby bushes, so we followed it and finally found Harry," Amos Diggory quickly explained his discovery to Mr. Weasley.
"Did Harry say he was kidnapped?" Mr. Weasley couldn't care less about Ron at that moment; his mind was completely focused on the fact that Harry had been kidnapped by a Death Eater.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley," Harry replied weakly, his arm still throbbing and aching.
"Arthur, is it possible that...?" Amos Diggory was about to ask something more, but Mr. Weasley gave him a look to keep quiet.
"Harry needs a healer and a quiet environment to rest for a bit," Mr. Weasley said with a firm voice, "Let's return to the camp first. I hope our tents are intact..."
After making the necessary arrangements, Mr. Weasley led his children and the Granger family back to the camp. But there are no windproof walls, and the news of the attack on Harry Potter quickly spread.
...
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A series of pops like fireworks echoed in the camp, which was filled with steam. Ministry of Magic wizards appeared among the debris.
"Minister!" Dawlish stood up when he saw the figure of Bones, feeling a bit uneasy.
Bones nodded at Dawlish and approached Tom.
"Good evening, you've arrived a bit late and missed the most exciting part," Tom replied calmly. For him, the harshest punishment the magical world could give him was to expel him from Hogwarts and imprison him in Azkaban. For him, there wasn't much difference between that and a seaside villa.
Death penalty? Impossible, not even many Death Eaters had been sentenced to death, so neither would he be. Wand-breaking? He could make a new one. At this moment, Tom was practically a fugitive criminal; magical laws had barely any restrictions on him.
The reason he hadn't become a Dark Lord was the tether that still bound him.
Tom's actions went unheard, and the atmosphere around him was tense. The wizards Bones had brought with her were waiting for the Minister to give the order to capture the young wizard.
The tension also stemmed from the fact that Tom had caused a great commotion: protesters had burned dozens of tents, and Tom had burned thousands of meters...
It was like a comedy where a family cat catches a mouse but ends up breaking all the furniture in the house.
Everyone was waiting for Bones, as the Minister of Magic, to give a verdict on this incident. Whether she would be lenient or punitive depended entirely on her words.
Bones made a decision.
She crossed her legs and leaned seriously toward Tom.
"Tom Yodel, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I extend my heartfelt thanks to you."
When these words were spoken, the wizards surrounding Tom instantly understood the meaning of Bones: the Minister believed Tom was a good wizard. They all sheathed their wands, and the more astute ones bowed alongside the Minister to show respect to Tom.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the camp became a bit strange: the camp had turned into ruins, a group of wizards formed a circle and bowed toward one person...
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed that Tom had heroically died in the battle against the Death Eaters.
Fortunately, Bones quickly straightened up and looked at her subordinates. She sternly reminded them that the parade of Voldemort's followers was unacceptable to the Ministry of Magic and a violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Those who dared to cause riots at the World Cup final should face severe measures. Starting from this day, the Ministry of Magic must establish a special investigative team to uncover the truth and bring the culprits to justice.
Tom didn't believe in Bones's grand words. Investigation? Do you think the members of your investigative team weren't involved in the parade? If the Ministry of Magic's investigation were useful, why would he have to go out and create a "firestorm" for everyone?
To be honest, if Tom hadn't intervened, the Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom would have been left in a humiliating position in the international wizarding community. It had been beaten by the Death Eaters in front of a hundred thousand wizards from around the world, and after the incident, they couldn't even find a scapegoat. This was extremely embarrassing. After this incident, countries worldwide would question the strength of the Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom.
In the end, the Death Eaters had gotten away with it.
But when Tom used his powerful spell, the situation changed completely. As the new promise of the British magical world, he managed to defeat dozens of Death Eaters by himself, causing the enemies to flee in terror. Of course, when it came to propaganda, a little embellishment and decoration were done. The efforts of Dawlish and other Ministry of Magic members were spectacularly ignored.
The UK Ministry of Magic could use the situation to cover up the incompetence of its officials by highlighting Tom's brilliant performance.
"Can you tell me what just happened?" Bones wanted to hear it firsthand from Tom.
Tom, of course, didn't hide anything and told her the truth of what had happened.
This revelation brought surprise to Bones. She thought the Ministry of Magic officials had been completely lazy during the incident, but it turned out that Dawlish had also had a moment to shine. He managed to buy valuable time for Tom Yodel to cast the spells, facing more than ten Death Eaters alone and resisting their magical attacks.
This performance was truly outstanding!
"Dawlish, splendid work! You're our role model!" Bones showed a joyful smile on her face. She patted Dawlish on the shoulder and spared no words of praise.
At that moment, Ministry of Magic officials learned of the Minister's presence and that the disturbance had been completely controlled. Therefore, they rushed to the scene as quickly as possible. At that moment, they crowded around the four-story tent, leaving almost no space for anyone else.
What was curious was that some of them had been among the parade participants and would now add Dawlish's merits to their reports...
"Minister, that's too much praise," Dawlish said timidly. Although he had reluctantly supported at the time, the atmosphere had already heated up so much that he couldn't back down, which was not appropriate for his profession in the Department of Aurors.
Despite his initial reluctance, Dawlish still displayed great professionalism.
"Don't say that! If everyone were like you, the Death Eaters wouldn't even stand a chance. Everyone should learn from Dawlish," Bones decided. She was determined to elevate Dawlish as the representative hero of the Ministry of Magic.
Tom represented the British magical world, and Dawlish represented the Ministry of Magic. Both had performed remarkably in the attack, symbolizing a bright future for the British magical world.
"Minister, you're absolutely right!" a sweet and syrupy voice rang out among the crowd. After searching for a long time, they finally discovered the person who had spoken: Dolores Umbridge, the Ministry of Magic's special envoy to Azkaban.
Umbridge had a look of deep fatigue on her face. After receiving the news at Azkaban, she hurried here to try and seize the opportunity. However, exhaustion didn't change her fervent heart. She loudly praised, "We must also have the determination of Mr. Dawlish!"
Umbridge's flattery was too obvious, to the point where the atmosphere in the place became uncomfortable. The officials who wanted to speak closed their mouths. It was too obsequious, and in their minds, they complained that Umbridge was exaggerating too much.
Bones also felt uncomfortable and didn't know how to respond.
Tom didn't want Umbridge to hog all the attention, so he changed the subject directly and looked at Dawlish.
"Mr. Dawlish, your ability to use the Protego Charm is exceptional. You must have invested a lot of effort into it, haven't you?"
At this question, most people thought Dawlish had practiced the Protego Charm privately and had finally mastered it, but Scrimgeour and Naya from the Department of Aurors knew very well that Dawlish had used "tricks."
A real money spender to win.
After hesitating for a moment, Dawlish decided to tell the truth.
"A curse protection ring?" This familiar term brought memories to Bones. "Is it the kind of magical object the Ministry wanted to acquire before?"
"Not exactly, it's an improved version of that," Dawlish briefly explained how he obtained the ring after selling everything he had.
"It sounds fascinating," said Bones, very satisfied with the effects of the curse protection ring. Although the price was quite discouraging, Dawlish's performance today demonstrated the utility of curse protection magical objects. She was considering buying one for herself as a family heirloom.
"If all front-line Aurors had curse protection magical objects, we wouldn't feel so disappointed with the response to the protesters today," added Scrimgeour at the right moment.
Hearing Scrimgeour's words, Bones frowned.
"I remember the Ministry had been in collaboration talks with an alchemist before, but it seems we didn't reach an agreement," said Bones. Since taking office as Minister of Magic, her workload had increased significantly, and she couldn't oversee all the details. She had only heard about the controversy surrounding the acquisition before.
"Yes, Mrs. Monica angered the alchemist with her haggling, so he refused to do business with us," Scrimgeour took the opportunity to point out the "culprit" in front of the Minister.
Monica's face instantly turned pale. She had noticed that Bones had given her a glance. As Bones's assistant, she had been working with her for a while and knew very well when the Minister was angry. However, because they were in a public place now, she couldn't show her anger.
It's over... Monica felt bitter regret. She shouldn't have accepted those bribes in the first place. Now, she felt like a complete idiot. How did she ever think she could take advantage of that hot-tempered alchemist? She was utterly crazy.
Monica's stupidity was easy to understand. She had lived an easy life without facing any setbacks, which had inflated her ego and made her arrogant. She had succeeded on some occasions, but unfortunately, this time her capital was less than the cost of making a mistake.
Bones suppressed her frustration and looked at Tom and Dawlish. "The Ministry of Magic won't forget your contributions, but today is not a good day to give out rewards... hmm, I'll send a batch of tents... I hope you have a good night." After making the arrangements, Bones left, leaving the Ministry of Magic staff busy at the scene.
Under Tom's firestorm, there were almost no tents left in the entire camp. The fire even reached half of camp number two, and thousands of wizards lost their tents.
Although the remaining followers of the Death Eaters were blamed for this, it was not a viable solution to leave these wizards without shelter in the open. Therefore, the Ministry of Magic urgently sent a batch of tents, and those who didn't want to stay in a tent would have priority to use the Portkey.
Everyone decided to stay in the tents assigned by the Ministry of Magic. The living conditions in these tents were even better than the originals. They were twice as spacious and had no odor.
Interestingly, the hero of tonight's battle, Dawlish, also received permission to rest and didn't have to stay on guard. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to join Mr. Weasley and went into the Weasley's large tent.
After collecting the remnants of their belongings from the debris and settling into the new tent, no one rushed to sleep. It seemed like everyone had a lot to say.
"The Order of Merlin is secure!" Dawlish was very excited. "I just wonder what rank I'll be in."
Dawlish was very aware of his contributions. He hadn't launched any attacks; he had simply been a human shield, almost indistinguishable from a large column.
But as the saying goes, a person's development depends on their own effort, but they must also consider the course of history. Circumstances had led him to that position, and he had perfectly fulfilled his task. Shouldn't he receive a reward for that?
"Congratulations," said Tom as he served Dawlish a cup of hot chocolate. "Does the Order of Merlin come with any kind of reward?"
"Well, as far as I know, there isn't any," Dawlish recalled. It seemed that the Order of Merlin was simply an honor without any financial reward.
Tom felt a little disappointed, what do I need it for?!
The other people present: ...
"Let's change the subject," Dawlish said suddenly, not wanting to discuss the medal further.
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