Chương 686: Chapter 684: Fudge's Time is Running Out! (Edited)
The trial finally concluded, and the Daily Prophet published an urgent supplement that evening, reporting on the trial's outcome.
However, due to Fudge's interference, the newspaper's account of the case was not entirely truthful.
The article made no mention of Fudge's misconduct or that he was the only one supporting the accusations. Instead, it focused on Dumbledore's "indifferent" attitude during the trial.
Although not explicitly stated in the report, it insinuated that the charges were not proven because Dumbledore used his prestige in the wizarding world to influence the jury's decision.
But this time, Fudge's control over public opinion didn't last long.
Just five days later, the latest issue of "The Quibbler" was published, featuring an article by Rita Skeeter detailing the trial.
At the end of the article, Rita Skeeter wrote:
"We cannot confirm at this time whether Harry Potter, Fish McGonagall, and Albus Dumbledore's claims about You-Know-Who's return are real, but Cornelius Fudge's mishandling of affairs is evident to all... If You-Know-Who has truly returned, is the current Minister of Magic truly capable of leading us against him?"
"Furthermore, Cornelius Fudge's personnel selection is concerning. In fact, the author has repeatedly highlighted the corpulence of certain individuals within the Ministry, which pales in comparison to Dolores Umbridge, the recently appointed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. This begs us to take another look at Cornelius Fudge's abilities."
"For more information about Dolores Umbridge, see page 57 of this issue."
After the latest interview with Fish and Harry, "The Quibbler" sold out again, and Xenophilius Lovegood had to print three times more copies in the span of a week to meet the enthusiasm of its readers.
Fudge was left in a bind.
He had planned to quietly rid himself of the Umbridge situation now that classes were over, but before he could do so, two articles by Rita Skeeter appeared like sharp knives, piercing him in the lungs.
But Fudge had no time to go after "The Quibbler" or Rita Skeeter because a group of people within the Ministry took advantage of the magazine's popularity to initiate a vote of no confidence against him, and now he was attempting a final defense.
"Hmph... That Fudge fellow is truly a waste," Voldemort said with a disdainful sneer after hearing the news brought by Walden Macnair from the Ministry of Magic.
He paused for a moment, reflecting, and asked, "As for the new Minister of Magic, do our people stand any chance?"
"If we mobilize the power of our family, there is still hope, but in doing so, Dumbledore is likely to realize it." Lucius Malfoy, the most resolute in this matter, bowed.
Voldemort tapped his fingers on the table, weighing the pros and cons, and then ordered, "Then... try to control the popular candidates."
"As you command, Master." The Death Eaters obediently followed the orders, then filed out in an orderly manner.
Meanwhile, members of the Order of the Phoenix were also busy.
After Dumbledore's trial, he had decided to involve the Order of the Phoenix in Fudge's removal.
Due to Fudge's various delays over the past year, and the Department of Mysteries becoming the center of his secret battle against Voldemort, although Dumbledore didn't want to interfere in the Ministry of Magic, he had to find a way to replace someone close to the Order of the Phoenix to prevent Voldemort from obtaining the Prophecy Orb...
At the very least, he couldn't have another Minister who would be a hindrance.
When the members of the Order of the Phoenix got involved, they discovered that Death Eaters were among the people who had ousted Fudge.
Now they had two more tasks: to prevent those who might be on Voldemort's side from becoming Ministers of Magic and to protect those who could become ministers.
In addition to the clash between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, other Ministry officials with ambitions for the position of minister were actively preparing.
There came a time when the Ministry was steeped in confusion.
At that moment, however, Dumbledore left London and went alone to Little Hangleton... the place where Voldemort had been resurrected.
In fact, upon learning of Voldemort's resurrection, Dumbledore had intended to come here to search for the Horcruxes, but Fudge did not believe in Voldemort's resurrection and kept him under surveillance, so Dumbledore had delayed his arrival to avoid alerting Voldemort.
Now that Fudge is finally embroiled in the impeachment trial, and Voldemort knows about the diary, he will likely retrieve his Horcruxes one by one when he has the Prophecy Orb in his hands.
It would be a good idea to monitor Voldemort and his men and wait for him to retrieve his Horcruxes, but that would be too passive on one hand, and on the other hand, Voldemort, with his pride, may be so confident in where he has hidden them that it would never occur to him to retrieve them.
So when Dumbledore saw that the time had come, he hurried.
Dumbledore had convinced Bob Ogden to give him his memories of the search for Marvolo Gaunt and Merope Gaunt when he worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so he knew exactly where Voldemort's father and mother's houses were.
Given Voldemort's disdain for Muggle blood, there was no way he would leave something as important as the Horcruxes in the Riddle House, where it represented his Muggle blood, so instead of heading to Little Hangleton, Dumbledore veered off the road less than a mile and a half and took a narrow dirt path.
On both sides of the road, the tall, dense hedges had not been tended to for a long time, and there were so many branches and leaves that extended from the road to its midpoint that Dumbledore couldn't see ahead.
Dumbledore raised his wand, tapped it twice on himself, and then illuminated it with the Lumos Charm as he strained to identify the bumpy, rocky dirt path beneath his feet as he moved forward.
The branches and leaves protruding on both sides were pushed aside by some mysterious force as he approached, only to return to their original position when Dumbledore moved away.
With some effort, Dumbledore followed the barely discernible dirt trail through the bushes until he reached a small, dark forest.
Like the undergrowth, it had not been tended to for a long time, and the trees grew so wildly intertwined that Dumbledore would have never found the dilapidated house, which was almost blended with the surrounding branches, if he hadn't already known from Bob Ogden's memory that the Gaunt House was among the trees.
"It seems I have found the right place."
Dumbledore held his white, radiant wand high and felt the faintest of magical reactions around the Gaunt house, a slight curve appearing at the corners of his lips.
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