章 693: Chapter 690: The New Minister (Edited)
The vigorous power shift in the Ministry of Magic finally came to an end, and as expected, Cornelius Fudge was ousted by a surprisingly wide margin of almost unanimous "votes."
The Minister of Magic was also the one who, to the majority's surprise, took up the position.
Rufus Scrimgeour, the current Head of the Auror Office, was not chosen for being a hardliner, as there was no real confirmation of Voldemort's return, and the majority was accustomed to being cowardly and maintaining peace on the surface.
It was incomprehensible to many that Amelia Bones, the current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who had been a popular candidate, had recently declared that she would not run.
But Ms. Bones offered no explanation, so those who had supported her insisted that she wouldn't run and cast their votes for someone else, with Pius Thicknesse, the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, receiving the majority of those votes.
So, the result was that Pius Thicknesse, who until then had appeared as a subordinate of Ms. Bones and was not well-known in the outside world, became the unlikely but logical new Minister of Magic.
And shortly after Fudge resigned, another trial was held in the Wizengamot, against Dolores Umbridge, who had just been discharged from St Mungo's. The outcome of this trial was, as expected, that Umbridge was sent straight to Azkaban for a series of crimes.
Harry kept up with all the Ministry's events thanks to the Daily Prophet, one of the few pleasures he had at the Dursleys' house.
He was particularly thrilled to learn that Umbridge had been imprisoned in Azkaban, and he started doing somersaults in the room...
Accidentally, he kicked Hedwig's cage, startling the snowy owl resting inside, and then Harry was chased and pecked so hard that he lost a few strands of hair.
The best thing for Harry was that three days ago he had received a letter from Dumbledore, telling him that he would pick him up at eleven tonight and that he needed his help.
So today, after dinner, Harry packed his bags early and awaited Dumbledore's arrival.
On the other hand, the Dursleys, whom Harry had informed three days earlier that Dumbledore would come tonight, were in their element, wanting to leave to avoid Dumbledore's visit but fearing what the "strange people" might do to their precious home, so they didn't leave.
For three days, Vernon and Petunia were unable to make a decision.
"Why don't we go?" Petunia said cautiously.
She knew Dumbledore and even had a certain connection with him, but she felt very guilty at this moment.
It was Dumbledore who had given Harry to them to raise, and Petunia knew exactly what the family meant to Harry, so she didn't dare to confront Dumbledore at all.
"No!" Vernon gasped heavily and growled sternly, "Who cares about that Dun...".
"Dumbledore."
"Who cares about Dumbledore! Who knows what those lunatics will do to our house! Have you forgotten how they destroyed our fireplace?! And that bloody 'Quidditch World Cup' last summer! What a disgrace!" Vernon ranted resentfully.
He had boasted about the letter to the neighbors the first time he received it, only to find out it was a trick used by wizards to take Harry away, a grudge that Vernon had held onto for a whole year.
Petunia let out a whimper and looked at the fireplace, which had been repaired but not sealed again, with lingering fear.
"But..." she said worriedly, wrapping her little son in her arms, "What if they do something to Dudley again..."
Her fears were not unfounded. Dudley had received a pig's tail when Hagrid had arrived, then the Weasleys had enlarged his tongue dozens of times, and then Dudley had been attacked by a Dementor.
Dudley, who clearly had a strong trauma from these things, especially the Dementors, shrank into his mother's arms, trembling, not caring if his mother's small body could protect his larger-than-average size.
"We can let Dudley hide in his room," Vernon said.
However, this suggestion was met with firm opposition from Petunia.
"No!" she shouted. "What if those Dementors sneak up on Dudley?!"
Dudley let out a scream like a girl, and his body trembled even more.
Vernon's purple face showed a hint of fear as he wiped cold sweat from his forehead and said, not very confidently, "Well... as long as Dudley doesn't touch anything given by those monsters, he should be fine..."
Harry looked at the Dursleys with amusement, not explaining anything. He couldn't wait to see more of the drama unfold. It would have been too kind not to stir the pot. How could he help Dumbledore explain?
Besides, even if he did, the Dursleys probably wouldn't believe him, and Harry didn't care to go through that trouble.
As the clock approached eleven, the Dursleys were getting worse.
Dudley and Petunia huddled in a corner of the couch, while Vernon paced around the living room in a bad mood, occasionally grabbing a handful of hair or pulling at his shirt collar.
His normally immaculately groomed hair was now a chicken's nest, his beloved tie hung like a dead snake, coiled around his neck, and his collar was open, revealing a bit of curly chest hair.
"Damn it! How the hell is that Dunbuldore going to get here?" grumbled Vernon as he spun around for a moment, suddenly turning towards Harry, who was sitting by the window.
"It's Dumbledore." Harry felt that his temper seemed to have softened since his Occlumency had improved so much. He calmly corrected his Uncle Vernon's name to Dumbledore before responding, "I don't know, he didn't mention it in his letter. There are so many ways wizards can travel long distances, Floo Powder, Portkey, Apparition..." He counted on his fingers, ignoring the horrified looks from the Dursleys.
"Oh, yes!" Harry smirked evilly. "If he wasn't in such a hurry, Dumbledore might choose to ride a broomstick or a Thestral."
These terms, which sounded like the ramblings of a madman to the Dursleys, made their expressions even more terrified.
And Harry continued to scare them, "You may not know what a Thestral is," he explained 'kindly', "but it's a black Pegasus with bat wings and an eagle's beak that likes to eat raw meat with blood."
After seeing even his Uncle Vernon rush to the couch and huddle with Dudley, Harry hurriedly "reassured" them, "But don't worry, you can't see Thestrals. Only those who have seen death can see them."
Of course, all the Dursleys turned pale with fear, and Petunia almost fainted.
Harry would have continued, but it was already eleven, and almost simultaneously the streetlights went out.
Harry pressed his nose against the window and looked towards the sidewalk...
A tall figure, with a long cloak, was walking along the garden path and, seemingly, carrying a cat on their shoulder.
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