(A/N: You know the rules and so do I. Want to read ahead (up to 40 chapters)? Go to my Patreоn and get your early access chapters :3
https://www.pаtreon.com/HPMan
May the magic be with you! Enjoy!
______________________
"So, what does this give us?" Ron muttered as he and Potter sat down on the floor next to another sofa by the fireplace.
"Oh, it's very simple, my red-haired friend," I took an upright position on the sofa, and Hermione pressed against my shoulder, forcing me to put my arm around her. "Tell me, what position does Fudge take in relation to us, Hogwarts and Dumbledore at the moment."
"How do I know what's in this Fudge's head?"
"From the Daily Prophet, of course! The "Daily Prophet", let it be known to you, is an absolutely ministerial newspaper. If you read between the lines, you can learn a lot of new things."
"And what is it?" one of the twins asked.
"For example, when the escape from Azkaban was made, two weeks later they wrote: «Obvious traces of the darkest magic were found, and Minister Fudge took the matter under personal control.» What conclusions can we draw?"
"But everything is written! What's there to think about?" Ron waved his hands, pushing Harry a little with his hand. "Sorry, buddy."
"It's okay," Potter rubbed his right hand and sat down so as to hide it from everyone.
"Wrong. We can say that neither the DMLE nor the Aurors know exactly how the criminals escaped — this is about "the darkest magic". In the interpretation of the ministry, everything that they cannot understand is "the darkest". "Personal control" — no one can either pick up the trail of the fugitives, or find them, and in general - the ministry is powerless, but don't worry! The Minister of Magic himself is dealing with this issue."
"Yeah... it's kind of strange."
"Now think about it," I looked around at all the people gathered, of whom there were already quite a few. "What was written in the Daily Prophet about the headmaster, Potter, and Hogwarts? Let me remind you: an old senile man lies as he breathes and brings a beautiful school to collapse. His protégé, Harry Potter, is a crazy psycho. The school is a hotbed of lawlessness and crime, and the teachers are garbage from the street. The headmaster and Potter are blatantly lying about the Dark Lord, undermining the authority of the Ministry, and the old senile man is aiming for the minister's chair."
The students murmured, and for a dozen seconds from all sides, only bewildered, and angry statements were heard, the addressees of which were all in a row. When the students calmed down a little and Hermione settled her head more comfortably on my shoulder, I looked at Harry, waiting for his reaction.
Potter looked at me with a serious look.
"I'm not lying. He really came back."
I just nodded in response and started talking about another topic:
"After the Tournament, when Dumbledore told Fudge about the revival of You-Know-Who, the minister said: «This will destroy everything we have achieved over the years.» Make no mistake. Fudge believes in his rebirth, but he will never confirm this information. He will refute it in every possible way and discredit those who say the opposite. At the moment, Fudge has set himself a goal — to discredit Hogwarts, the headmaster, and Potter. Note that you believe what is written in the Daily Prophet after the summer, but you do not believe Harry. How many times have you been burned because you didn't believe him, and then it turned out that it was in vain?"
The people whispered a little, nodded, or, on the contrary, became even more sulky from the fact that the liar was being acquitted.
"So, what about Umbridge?" Seamus put aside his favorite cards.
"What about her? Like I said, Umbridge's position is that of a minister. She's here to shake us up properly and squeeze out all the conspiracies, plans, disobedience, and so on, and it does not matter whether it really exists or not. Even this ministerial program. On the one hand, it is effective, but on the other hand, the effect of such a study will be short-lived, and the program itself is completely unfamiliar to us. Anything unfamiliar throws people off balance, irritates them. She will push us, shake us, make us break down and do stupid things, and already these stupid things will untie her hands. She needs the fact that some violation has been committed, after which she will execute the punishment. Here's Harry, for example."
"Why Harry right away?" Ron was indignant.
"What did you tell her that you earned a week's punishment?"
"By the way!" Angelina, who became the captain of our Quidditch team, almost screamed loudly. "How could you, Harry! On Friday, the selection for the keeper, and I told you that we need a full turnout..."
"Later, Angelina," I calmly interrupted the girl, condensing and increasing the volume of magic around me. To everyone's surprise, Angelina fell silent, puffed angrily for a couple of seconds, and nodded in agreement." Harry?"
"Well..." Potter looked at us all. "I said we need practice because... We have to learn how to defend ourselves, right? Right? Said that since Voldemort is reborn, we're all in danger. She started denying it and calling me a liar."
Potter clenched his fists.
"Well, I said that I was not lying, but she denied everything and did not listen to me. That's how it turned out..."