The afternoon sun cast long shadows across Dumbledore's office. The room was prepared for a significant meeting, with chairs arranged in a semicircle around Dumbledore's large, intricately carved desk. A sense of anticipation filled the air.
One by one, key figures arrived. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, entered with a serious expression. Following him were representatives of prominent pure-blood families, including Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley. Professors McGonagall and Snape arrived as well, their faces showing concern.
In the room, everyone had a different expression, especially Fudge, who looked as if someone had murdered his family. "Dumbledore, shouldn't you be catching Sasuke instead of calling this meeting?"
"Fudge, there is no need to pretend. I think Aurors from Azkaban have already informed you," Dumbledore replied calmly.
Hearing Dumbledore, Fudge snapped back, "Do you want me to believe that nonsense?"
Before they could continue their argument, the door opened again. This time, it was Sasuke followed by Clarissa. Watching both of them casually enter the room, Fudge yelled, "Aurors, grab these criminals!" But there was no response.
"Fudge, you should stop shouting. The Aurors you brought are sleeping," said Sasuke as he looked around at all the faces. "I really want to know if there is any point in having this meeting." After saying this, Sasuke sat down. Clarissa sat beside him.
The room fell into an uneasy silence after Sasuke's blunt statement. Dumbledore cleared his throat, trying to restore some semblance of order.
"Thank you for joining us, Sasuke, Clarissa," Dumbledore began, his voice calm and steady. "The reason I have invited all of you is because of recent conflicts, and I am afraid they are going to escalate."
Lucius Malfoy leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Dumbledore, there have been too many conflicts. Which one are you talking about?"
Dumbledore gave a small, understanding nod. "The events involving Voldemort almost getting resurrected and Ms. Clarissa's conflict with the Ministry, which is soon going to escalate."
Fudge, still visibly agitated, interjected, "Dumbledore, don't talk nonsense. Voldemort is dead. Do you think I will ignore you for harboring criminals?"
Clarissa, maintaining her composure, replied, "Criminals? I think everyone knows who the real criminal is—scamming my family, taking away all the properties, and resurrecting Voldemort. Is there any bigger criminal than you?"
"Originally, we thought you were just a little greedy and took away a bit of Clarissa's wealth, but you have gone too far, sending someone to prison just so you could swallow a pure-blood's property. Fudge, you have crossed the line," Lucius added.
Hearing Lucius, Fudge got furious. "Lucius, don't forget it was you who wanted that healing potion!"
Feeling all eyes on him, Lucius Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "I just inquired about the healing potion. I never asked you to scam someone. Let me clarify, I never received any potion up till now."
Arthur Weasley spoke up, his voice firm but respectful. "While the letter you sent explains everything, I don't understand. This is just a conflict between Ms. Clarissa and Fudge. Why are we here to discuss a student when we should be discussing the mysterious man almost getting resurrected?"
Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "While I would like to talk about the Dark Lord, our current problem is the actions of Ms. Clarissa and Sasuke, since their every action is going to affect the entire British magical world."
Professor McGonagall, her face stern, added, "I don't think there should be any conflict. The Ministry just needs to return all their property."
Clarissa chimed in, "That should not be possible. Even if they give me back my property, they can't change the fact that they have already used the healing potion."
Fudge, though still clearly unhappy, replied, "I need to remind you that the potion was stolen. We didn't use it."
Clarissa looked at Sasuke, receiving his nod. She continued, "No one cares about your statement. The suffering you have caused me and my family—you are going to pay a heavy price, along with the Ministry."
Dumbledore stepped in before she could continue. "I don't think we need to go down that road. It's better if we take a step back, especially you, Ms. Clarissa. I understand your anger, but violence would only create more problems."
Clarissa spoke again, her voice measured. "You are not going to say I should forget my anger or something like that?"
Dumbledore took a deep breath. "I believe there is no need to involve innocent people. If the Ministry suffers too much damage, it will cause lots of unrest. If you want, we could take action against Fudge and some of his closest ministers who proposed this idea of annexing your property."
"Wait, wait. Are you forgetting I am the Minister?" Dumbledore raised his hand and used magic to shut Fudge's mouth. "So, where was I?" After a pause, Dumbledore resumed his speech. "As you know, Voldemort almost made a comeback. Instead of fighting each other, it's better to reserve our strength for the long, upcoming dark night."
Sasuke leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Voldemort or not, what does that have to do with me? You know he can't cause any problem for me."
Dumbledore met Sasuke's gaze. "Sasuke, while your methods are interesting, even I could find some flaws to exploit them. It has never been about one person. You might be safe from Voldemort, but what about the people around you? Every day Voldemort stays alive, he is a threat to anyone you care about."
Sasuke met his gaze without flinching. "Then I just have to train them harder. If they still have an accident, I would say they deserve it."
Hearing this, Dumbledore got worried. He didn't think Sasuke was the type of person who didn't care about his friends.
Snape, understanding Dumbledore's mood, said, "Sasuke, not everyone is a genius. You can't train someone to become strong."
Sasuke sighed. "Professor, then you have no idea how capable I am", Pointing to Arthur, he said, ''Let me give you an example,If I pick his daughter and train her for three years, she would be as strong as her father.'"
Arthur Weasley, sitting on the side, got confused about why his daughter was mentioned.
Dumbledore looked around the room, meeting each person's gaze. "This is a pivotal moment for us all. United, we can face the challenges ahead and protect our world from the darkness that threatens it."
Dumbledore finally sighed, his shoulders slumping, realizing it might be a little harder to pull Sasuke to his side. "I just hope you will not take any action against the Ministry of Magic while I can ensure justice is served."
With that, the meeting continued, shifting to more detailed discussions about dismissing the current Minister of Magic and compensating Clarissa. For Sasuke, they proposed ignoring his behavior of taking out prisoners in exchange for him ensuring Bellatrix would not cause any problems.