Efraim pored through Hermione's Daily Prophet, which described Dumbledore as an elderly, wilful child.
The last report said so.
He is too old to be expected to keep his wits about him at all times, and it is extremely dangerous to keep such a half-witted man on as Headmaster of Hogwarts.
For the sake of the next generation, the best thing we can do is to keep this once-legendary wizard at home recuperating…'
"Well, it's interesting when you read a storybook…" Ivan commented as he put the paper down.
"This isn't the time for jokes, Ivan! There are lots of stories about you in there, too…" Hermione scowled at him.
"Yeah, did I?" Yvonne opened the paper again.
Following Hermione's directions, Ivan soon found news about himself on another page of the Daily Prophet.
Not much was said about him, as he was described as an arrogant, eccentric genius who, in an attempt to steal the show, managed to fool Dumbledore and, along with Harry, created the story of The Resurrection of the Mysterious Man.
There was even a report suggesting that he was from Knockturn Alley, and that he had formed a gang in order to become the next Mystery Man.
"That's… ridiculous," Ivan said, his mouth twitching.
Needless to say, the Ministry of Magic must have put pressure on the Daily Prophet, or the editor who wrote the article would never have had the nerve to make it up.
Dumbledore was the only one with a good attitude. If it had been Voldemort, the entire newspaper would have been slaughtered.
Ivan felt a headache coming on as he thought about it. He had only seen the news as a joke, but over time, some wizards might actually believe it.
Crucially, Ivan could not think of a solution for a while.
He might have information on Rita Skeeter, but she was just an editor for the Daily Prophet and could not decide much. Even if she was willing to write articles that were good for her, she would not pass the review.
Negotiations were even more out of the question. The last time he disguised himself as Dumbledore to run for Minister for Magic, he stood them up, angering the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet.
"There were so many witnesses to Voldemort's return! How could they…" Harry bit into a piece of pastry as though it were Fudge.
"As we are all under Professor Dumbledore's command and may have spoken at his behest, we cannot be used as evidence for Minister Fudge's claim…" Hermione continued, taking out a thick book.
"And Minister Fudge had no choice but to believe that You-Know-Who was dead, or his position as Minister for Magic would have been over."
Ivan looked at Hermione's copy of The Little Clerk to the Minister for Magic: How a Wizard Ascends to the Top of Power with mixed feelings. He had given it to Hermione on the spur of the moment, but he hadn't expected her to actually read it.
As Hermione put it, Fudge did not completely disbelieve in Lord Voldemort's return, but rather because the circumstances did not allow him to.
After all, Fudge had won the support of many when he chose to side with the conservatives, and now he had to go all the way, or he would be repudiating everything he had done, which would undermine Fudge's rule.
If his past misdeeds were exposed, the angry wizards would immediately throw him out of office, and his reputation might even be ruined.
For a politician like Fudge, his own interests came first. If he could not become Minister, then what good would the wizarding world do him?
Therefore, despite the Dementors riot and Pettigrew's escape, Fudge preferred to believe that Dumbledore, his political enemy, was behind it all.
After dinner, Dumbledore rose and dismissed the entire school, and the sound of crashing tables and chairs could be heard.
"I'm going to give directions to the first years. You can go back," Hermione said, gathering the Gryffindor students with her books.
Ron fidgeted with his prefect badge and took a few deep breaths, looking nervous.
After greeting them, Ivan took Harry back to the Gryffindor common room.
When she opened the door to her room, Seamus and Neville were already there, chatting.
Neville was delighted to see them. "Harry, Ivan, you're just in time. We were just talking about you."
"About what?" Harry asked curiously.
"Harry, where were you the night you received your prize last term?" Seamus hesitated.
"Didn't I tell you? Peter Pettigrew used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Sirius and brought me to Lord Voldemort, and then Ivan and the others rescued me," Harry said impatiently, before realising what was happening.
"Wait… you don't believe us?"
"Of course…of course I'm willing to believe you," Seamus said sheepishly as he looked at Ivan, then continued dejectedly.
"But my mother thought Professor Dumbledore was mentally unstable. She didn't believe You-Know-Who was still alive and thought you were lying… She wouldn't have let me come to school if I hadn't insisted."
"Professor Dumbledore is mentally unstable? Is she insane? Why would she think that?" Harry quavered.
After Lord Voldemort's return, the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet did nothing but stir up trouble, and Dumbledore was the only one to step forward and reveal the truth.
"All right, stop arguing," Ivan said, interrupting the argument. He looked at Seamus and said, "You're fifteen years old, Seamus. You should be able to judge for yourself. You were there when the riot broke out on the day of the game. Think about it."
"Don't forget, no one wanted to believe you in your first year, even if it was true," said Ivan, patting Seamus on the shoulder.
"So I'm right. Did you really fly through the Forbidden Forest on a dragon that day?" Seamus's face was bright red. He had told this story to a lot of people, but they treated it like a joke.
"How else do you think I beat off Professor Chino?" Ivan asked with a shrug and a smile. "Sometimes the truth is in the hands of a few."
(PS: Send a two-in-one chapter tomorrow. Maybe you'll feel better about it.)