บท 720: Stubborn Fudge
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
Harry's words were like a deep-water bomb dropped into a calm black lake, causing an uproar in the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore frowned and stared at Harry without speaking.
Fudge's face was contorted, and he angrily interrupted Harry. "Nonsense! You could never have met him, you must be lying!"
"I didn't, sir…" Harry tried to defend himself, but Umbridge interrupted him.
"You said you knew about the You-Know-Who's plan, Potter?" Umbridge demanded.
Harry nodded his head blankly.
'That is the greatest lie of all! If, as you claim, You-Know-Who is alive and planning something secret, how did you hear of it?' Umbridge's words were harsh, her serpent-like eyes fixed on Harry.
"It was Voldemort himself!" Harry shouted back. "I had a dream in which I turned into a snake and sneaked into a hut where Voldemort was staying, talking to Peter Pettigrew…"
Before he could finish, Umbridge laughed mockingly. 'A dream?'
Fudge's lips curled into a sardonic smile, and he turned to the Aurors and said, "Ah, it seems the matter is perfectly clear…"
"You all heard him, didn't you? Mr Potter is going to tell us that he's had a few bad dreams over the past few days about You-Know-Who trying to murder him, which probably frightened him so much that he had to sneak into the Headmaster's office in the middle of the night for comfort…"
The Aurors laughed at this, and the heavy atmosphere in the Headmaster's office was swept away.
"It's not the first time, Mr. Minister! I dreamed of him last time, trying to catch me, and Barty Crouch dropped my name in the Goblet of Fire!" Harry stammered, trying to defend himself.
Fudge paid no attention to what Harry was saying and snapped at him impatiently, "Listen, boy! This is no place to fool around, and I don't have time for your ridiculous dreams, and the Ministry has more important things to deal with…"
"And… Albus, I think you might want to get some rest, in case you're not thinking straight, and I can't believe you're obsessing over a child's nightmare!" Fudge complained, looking at Dumbledore.
"Sometimes dreams bring omens…Cornelius!" Dumbledore's face remained calm, but his gaze upon Fudge was filled with a power that was hard to put into words.
"How else are you going to explain the Dark Mark that rose from the Quidditch Cup this year? Peter Pettigrew's escape was also a most telling sign!
The fact remains that Lord Voldemort is aided by Pettigrew, who has grown strong and is planning to become even stronger!"
"That's enough, don't talk to me about this!" Fudge snapped, cutting Dumbledore off, his face turning purple with anger.
"Are you telling me this child has the gift of the Seer? And that Peter Pettigrew is dead, and the Dementors killed him, right in front of me, and I know better than you do! The Dark Mark that day was just an accident, and the Aurors have received word of it. It's only a matter of time before they catch the troublemakers!"
Fudge countered Dumbledore's every word with the sharpest of words.
He could not understand why Dumbledore was stirring up such panic, when the wizarding community was in such peace, and the Dark Lord had been wreaking havoc for more than a decade, and the Death Eaters were locked up in Azkaban.
And he, as Minister for Magic, had worked so hard over the years to maintain this peaceful scene!
Fudge even suspected that Dumbledore was deliberately trying to create a crisis, as he was known to be the only one the Dark Lord feared, thus allowing Dumbledore to raise his voice and oust Fudge as Minister for Magic.
The atmosphere in the Headmaster's office remained tense, and no words from Dumbledore could sway Fudge.
Ivan, watching from the sidelines, shook his head to himself. He knew very well that Fudge would never accept reality unless Voldemort came back to life right then and there. Instead, Fudge would stubbornly believe that this was all part of Dumbledore's political machinations to gain power over him.
After a fruitless discussion, Fudge left angrily, only to be interrupted by another set of footsteps.
"It must be Barty!" Dumbledore guessed, turning to look at the door.
Fudge stopped in his tracks.
As Dumbledore had expected, Crouch soon came through the door, Moody at his side, cane in hand.
Upon entering, Moody's magical blue eye scanned the Headmaster's office and caught the looks on Fudge's and Dumbledore's faces.
"It seems your discussion did not go well?"
"Cornelius does not agree with me…" Dumbledore replied, raising his eyebrows.
"How do you expect me to believe you, Albus?" Fudge demanded angrily. "The Ministry of Magic is a place of evidence, and you can't expect me to tell the Aurors, the saviour of the wizarding world, Harry Potter, that he had a dream, so they'll have to go to all the trouble of finding the mysterious man who's been dead for over a decade!"
"It's more than that. There's a lot of evidence in front of you, Cornelius! It's just that you refuse to believe it!" Dumbledore growled.
"Proof? Where? Why didn't I see it?" Fudge scoffed, turning back to the floor.
"Or are you referring to this charred corpse with its face obscured? No one can prove that it was Barty Crouch Junior!"
"I can prove it!" Crouch, who had been silent for a long time, took a few steps closer. He was also looking at the corpse covered in white cloth with a troubled expression.
"Cornelius! He's my son. I can't be mistaken, and there's no point in lying to you… Besides, I think you should really listen to Albus's advice. If there's anything you don't understand, I'll be happy to answer it…"
'No, I don't think that will be necessary! You're under arrest, Barty!' Fudge said coldly, waving his hand and Umbridge and the others immediately surrounded him.
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