章 279: Chapter 279: Suspension and Substitution (Edited)
"Minister!"
Cornelius Fudge, dressed in a striped robe, came to a sudden stop. He had an expression of deep and enduring weariness on his face. In the past two days, the number of magical incidents in the British Isles had multiplied several times, and leads on the fugitive Sirius Black were as elusive as snowflakes, causing unrest throughout the Ministry of Magic.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes of the Ministry of Magic were already working at full capacity, but as soon as they dealt with one incident, a new one would arise. As for the news about Black, it often turned out to be some scruffy vagabond.
Many people blamed Fudge for not revealing it to the Muggle Prime Minister, and it turned out that the Muggles were not much help but rather caused a lot of problems. And that was where their assistance ended. The Muggle Prime Minister's main concern at the moment was not a fugitive from the Wizarding World but rather a general election.
All of this put Fudge under immense pressure, and he felt like his nerves would break at any moment, but still, upon seeing the face of his visitor, he managed a smile. "Good evening, Lucius. What brings you here?"
Lucius, still with his sleek blond mane, dressed in a finely tailored black wizard's robe and holding a cane in his hand, said angrily, "Minister, just now, my son was attacked by a Hippogriff at Hogwarts!"
Lucius was furious, gripping the cane so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"My son, injured by a beast!"
Fudge pondered for a moment. "The right of a wizard is supreme. If a Hippogriff injured your son, then send some men to execute the beast. Why come to me? Wait, why is such a thing at Hogwarts? Did your son go to the Forbidden Forest?"
Fudge's way of thinking was very simple. He was completely considering the situation from a wizard's perspective. In his eyes, a Hippogriff hurting people was the same concept as a dog biting people. Both had to be eliminated if the owner of the dog was a commoner.
"That's not true! My son, the heir of the noble House of Malfoy, could never have gone to the Forbidden Forest on his own. He was taken there by the new professor of the Care of Magical Creatures class, Rubeus Hagrid!" Lucius was greatly pleased to see Fudge's attitude, and he was prepared to request to accompany the Executioner to Hogwarts immediately to behead the offending Hippogriff.
"Ah, well... it turns out to be Hagrid, who succeeded Professor Kettleburn," Fudge's expression became unnatural. "I remember him, he's a big fellow..."
Now Fudge was like a traffic cop at a DUI checkpoint dealing with someone he shouldn't. He was a bit anxious. He knew Hagrid too well. If it was just Hagrid's animal causing problems, killing it would be fine. But it was clear to everyone that Hagrid had Dumbledore behind him! Wouldn't Dumbledore be upset if they dealt with the Hippogriff directly in this manner?
Given the circumstances, it was not good to anger Dumbledore. Fudge needed Dumbledore's reputation to keep the International Confederation of Wizards afloat, and he needed his help to deal with a series of disasters... and to catch Sirius in the process.
Fudge hesitated.
"Minister, I will request the Executioner..."
"Wait, Lucius," a deep voice came from behind Fudge, "If I recall correctly, Hagrid seems to have the right to appeal. According to the procedure, we cannot execute him directly."
Fudge's spirits lifted upon seeing faithful Kingsley standing behind him, and he felt a sense of reassurance. Kingsley, well done! It was as if Fudge had found a lifeline. Yes, how could they do anything out of place?
But then a sweet voice came from behind Kingsley. "The Minister can execute him if he wishes, and the Minister of Magic holds great power!"
The voice belonged to a short, toad-like witch who was standing behind Kingsley, so well concealed that neither Fudge nor Lucius had noticed her.
"Oh, no, let's stick to the plan!" Although Umbridge's words pleased Fudge from the depths of his heart, he didn't dare to admit what he had in mind. "I am but a humble social instrument, a public servant of the English wizards, who must not be disobeyed. Lucius, you'll have to fight Hagrid before anything else."
Lucius felt somewhat offended by the softness of the encounter, but he said nothing. As far as he was concerned, taking legal action was a victory for him, just delayed by a few months. How could a rough half-giant win against the patriarch of a pure-blood family in court? Lucius was far superior, both in his connections and his knowledge of the law.
It was an advantage for Lucius that Fudge adopted this stance.
"Well, then I'll wait to see you in court." Lucius nodded, gripped his cane, and left. He was extremely efficient. Malfoy had been injured in the first lesson of the afternoon, found Fudge in the second, and before dinner, Hagrid had received a notice from the Ministry of Magic and the School Board.
...
After dinner, Harry, Ron, and Neville went to Hagrid's cabin before it got too late. When they knocked on Hagrid's door, they found that he had already had quite a lot to drink.
"It's over. I'm probably going to break the record. There has never been a teacher in the history of Hogwarts who has been expelled after just one class," Hagrid said quietly as he struggled to identify the visitors.
Somehow, the image of the brown-haired Ravenclaw girl came to Harry's mind, and if she were here, she would have told them who the least experienced professor at Hogwarts was: History of Magic, right?
Fortunately, after careful questioning, they realized that Hagrid's comment had been a drunken remark and that the school had not imposed any punishment on him so far... but he needed to face a lawsuit with Lucius.
"It's my fault. I made too much of a spectacle. I should have kept the Hippogriff in the back and started the school year with some Flobberworms or something," Hagrid said sadly as he attempted to take another sip of his drink, but Harry stopped him.
"It's not your fault. You're just trying to give us a good lesson," Harry said reassuringly.
Ron said angrily, "It's all Malfoy's fault, isn't it?" He took Hagrid's glass and carried it outside to empty it. "You've had too much to drink, Hagrid."
Hagrid fell silent for a while and burped.
"I want to see Professor Dumbledore. I want to take a leave of absence so I can focus on my case with Lucius." Hagrid made a decision.
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