In the days that followed, Arthur persuaded Sirius Black to stay at Hogwarts while Scrimgeour took Peter Pettigrew back to the Ministry of Magic for interrogation.
The result came out quickly.
The Ministry of Magic used some special means to investigate Peter Pettigrew deeply.
Due to Arthur's influence, they couldn't clear Sirius Black's name.
As a result, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, paid a special visit to Hogwarts to demand an explanation from 'Dumbledore.'
"Cornelius, calm down. These incidents happened during Millicent Bagnold's term as Minister, and they won't have such a great impact on you."
Arthur comforted Fudge while holding a cup of hot tea.
Millicent Bagnold was the last Minister of Magic.
"Dumbledore, this incident is not just Millicent's problem. You're pointing fingers at the entire Ministry of Magic!"
Fudge straightened his tie and said anxiously that he was under a lot of pressure right now.
Although the Daily Prophet hadn't reported this news yet, so many students at Hogwarts had seen it, and many people already knew the truth.
"Cornelius, why don't you think about it from a different perspective? The Ministry of Magic itself has problems. As long as you distance yourself from this matter, you'll be fine."
Arthur suggested.
"Albus, do you mean...?"
Fudge's eyes brightened; he seemed to understand Arthur's intentions.
"Tomorrow, you should publish an apology in the Daily Prophet, admitting the Ministry of Magic's mistake and showing sincere guilt. Then you can visit Sirius Black to express your condolences, and I'll make sure he cooperates with you."
Arthur said.
Fudge grasped this immediately; in this way, even if the Ministry's reputation might be damaged, his actions and attitude as Minister for Magic would receive much praise, ensuring his position remained secure.
It may become even more stable.
"Thank you, Albus."
Fudge replied with a smile. Arthur couldn't help but sigh; this guy is so impulsive and easily swayed.
"No problem. Once you approve Gaunt's application to join the Wizengamot, it's all settled."
For the past few days, Fudge had been holding back Arthur's application to join the Weizengamot as a form of revenge for 'Dumbledore.'
"Of course, you know, I was just worried that the public might not be happy seeing a young member in the Weizengamot, so I hesitated for a few days."
Fudge lied as they exchanged insincere comments.
However, Fudge revealed another important matter: "Albus, are we really going through with the Triwizard Tournament changes? If we do, the Ministry will have to provide double the Galleons."
Fudge had received some suggestions from Dumbledore on the Triwizard Contest before, and he asked the people below to calculate it.
He discovered that if they followed Arthur's plan, the needed funds would be a lot.
"Fudge, don't you want the wizards in the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to see the success of England?"
Arthur's words once again hit Fudge's soft spot. He didn't want to miss any opportunity to consolidate his power.
In the end, Fudge agreed to Arthur's changes and promised that the Ministry of Magic would provide full support.
After he left the office, Arthur also had a smile on his face.
"Fudge, once these matters are done, your position as Minister for Magic will be secure."
The next day, the Daily Prophet's front-page headline published the Ministry of Magic's apology statement, expressing sincere remorse and awarding Sirius Black with a Second-Class Order of Merlin.
Sirius also issued a letter of forgiveness, in which he stated that the matter had been resolved.
He was too busy with Harry these days, and all his energy was focused on being with him.
The past few days have been the happiest for Harry. He felt a sense of family that he had never experienced before with Sirius.
Meanwhile, in a small town in Albania, an old man received a newspaper from England.
...
Dumbledore looked at the latest issue of the Daily Prophet in his hand and fell into silence.
'Wasn't it just half a month ago that I left Hogwarts? How did so many things happen already?'
The newspaper not only covered the entire incident with Sirius Black but also detailed the challenge from Scrimgeour to Dumbledore.
This was Fudge's way of dealing with Scrimgeour, as he knew that Scrimgeour had been eyeing his position.
Letting him make a fool of himself this time was a way to suppress a political enemy.
Dumbledore's heart was somewhat complicated at this moment.
He had been away for only half a month, and Arthur had already stirred up so many things.
If Arthur really became the Headmaster of Hogwarts, wouldn't he have to deal with the Ministry of Magic?
However, Sirius Black's release gave Dumbledore some relief. This was the only thing that brought him joy.
To be honest, Dumbledore finds Arthur a bit unpredictable now. Through his own identity, Arthur successfully joined the Wizengamot, but he also helped Sirius Black.
You could say he was power-hungry, but you could also say he was selfless.
In any case, Arthur was like being in a fog, and even Dumbledore couldn't predict what his next move would be.
Although Dumbledore wanted to return to Hogwarts to prevent Arthur from blowing up the school, he couldn't break free from his current situation.
After arriving in Albania, Dumbledore put in a lot of work to find where Bellatrix was. So naturally, he ran into Voldemort.
At this time, Voldemort had recovered about half of his strength through a very evil sacrificial curse.
Dumbledore had a short fight with him, but Voldemort and Bellatrix finally led Dumbledore away.
If he couldn't stop Voldemort now, things would become even worse once Voldemort completely regained his full power.
However, what puzzled him was that Voldemort claimed to have destroyed several of his horcruxes.
But Dumbledore had only gotten the book so far because it was one of the Horcrux.
Did Voldemort go crazy right after his resurrection?
Putting aside his thoughts, Dumbledore could only assume that this was one of Voldemort's strategies to keep him guessing.
"Hoot!"
Fawkes gave a cry, reminding Dumbledore that he had found some clues.
This old man set out once again on the challenging path of chasing Voldemort.
...
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