chsdbacks Chapter 153 Fudge's Troubles
Chapter 153 Fudge's Troubles
Chapter 153 Fudge's Troubles
Fouchi stood in the minister's office, facing the window with his hands behind his back, exuding an air of superiority.
There were two newspapers on his desk.
One is a dissenting voice, the other is the Daily Prophet.
The Daily Prophet reprinted an article about the roar of the French gargoyles.
The article describes in detail how a giant bat, hundreds of meters long, wreaked havoc, and was eventually stopped by an unnamed headmaster of Hogwarts, an unnamed legendary alchemist, an unnamed prophet Welsh, and finally, an unnamed Mr. Gale.
An accompanying photograph details the intense sense of oppression and suffocation created by the contrast between the giant bats and the Muggle skyscrapers against the moonlight.
Especially the fire bats that were later set ablaze by the raging flames. That was a fear that seeped into the depths of my heart!
According to the contributor to Gargoyle's Roar, a person who writes under the pen name "Lady Noble," this giant bat is capable of easily killing dozens of Aurors.
In the other photos accompanying the article, there are several troublemakers who keep Fudge up at night, such as Larvin, Larvin, and Larvin.
These people were all smiling broadly, with a group of captured vampires and the motionless remains of the giant bat lying on the ground behind them. "Damn it!" Fudge's voice acting was just right.
The other newspaper on the table, however, offered a different perspective and did not report on the matter.
Instead, it published some current situations in the British wizarding community and some comments from the wizarding community after the incident escalated.
These were basically ministerial orders issued with great confidence after discussions between him and Umbridge.
For example, the Nirvana Research Association issued a statement saying, "Fudge is an idiot."
And some highly respected old wizards also issued statements.
"Fudge has corrupted the Ministry of Magic."
"Fudge set a bad precedent."
"Fuggi is good for nothing, but he's number one at causing trouble."
Finally, editor-in-chief Xenophilius Lovegood, offering a dissenting opinion, published his sharp critique: "A minister who only knows how to rely on outsiders to pretend to be powerful—anything he's done since taking office could be done better by a dog! After all, dogs don't fight for power, raise private armies, secretly plot, or overthrow the world!"
Fudge wouldn't be so angry if it were just someone publishing unfavorable comments about him in the newspaper.
But as a political being, when unfavorable remarks affect his political standing, it's like pulling a sore spot on a normal person, killing his parents, and then killing his offspring in front of him.
But there's nothing he can do now.
It wasn't just because Auror Chief of Staff Scrimgeour was unwilling to send Aurors to arrest those who attacked Fudge.
More importantly, Fudge discovered that, apart from the Daily Prophet, the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Magic, both newspapers and communicators were very hostile to his ministerial orders.
Especially on the communicators, all the young people were venting their discontent. Fudge could vaguely sense the fear and unease in them—meaning that his position was precarious.
In the wizarding world, even within the Ministry of Magic, people and staff who came to do business would always show a look of disgust whenever Fudge's ministerial decree was mentioned, as if the Old Gods were seeing the Old Seal.
Why is this happening?
Amidst the overwhelming public opinion surrounding him, Fudge felt as if he were a small boat navigating between the crests and troughs of a stormy sea, where he could potentially plunge into the ocean and perish at any moment.
"Umbridge is right. I have the power. I'm the minister, so they should listen to me. Why should they express dissatisfaction with me? How dare they express dissatisfaction with me and even resist me!"
His eyes held a mixture of anxiety, anger, fear, and resentment as he muttered to himself.
Two days ago, after Fudge sent the Aurors to find Arthur Weasley and Ralvin, Fudge was full of confidence on the first morning because Arthur had arrived. Although the conversation between the two sides was not very pleasant, the fact that Arthur Weasley had come meant that he still recognized Fudge's authority as minister.
He felt somewhat anxious on the first afternoon.
The next day, his anxiety turned into anger, and he believed that Ralvin was disregarding the Minister's authority because of his good relationship with Hogwarts.
By the afternoon of the following day, he vowed that even if it meant a direct confrontation with Dumbledore, he would teach Ralvin and his men a lesson. He was prepared to sign a ministerial decree, directly ordering Scrimgeour to send Ralvin and his men to Azkaban.
But by the third day, which is today, Fudge's anger and anxiety had been transformed into unease and fear by the newspaper reports.
It's precisely because he didn't witness that battle that he wouldn't have felt even a little anxiety or anger, and he would have knelt down faster than anyone else.
"Minister, something's happened again." Umbridge rushed in, sounding very anxious, and even her usual deliberately high-pitched, sweet, and affected voice was no use.
Fudge turned around and found that his capable assistant not only didn't speak in a high-pitched voice, but his clothes were also clearly wrinkled from running around for a while, which was definitely not the image that a self-proclaimed noble and respectable lady should present.
"What happened?" Fudge took a deep breath, suppressing unnecessary emotions—a required course for any political creature.
"Diagon Alley, Knockout Alley has happened." Umbridge gasped for breath.
This made Fudge a little anxious: "What on earth happened?"
Urged on by Fudge and feeling the pressure of authority, Umbridge didn't dare breathe too loudly, forcing herself to utter a complete sentence: "A march! A huge march! It's said to have been started by those shady dark wizards of Knockturn Alley!"
"The protest has become so large and widespread that it's out of control!"
Fudge, who was already on edge, felt his blood rush to his head and his vision go black after hearing the news of the protests. He slumped onto the sofa, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
At Umbridge's gasp, Fudge struggled to open his eyes. Having just received this news, his ears were ringing, his vision was blurry, and his tense mind had become numb.
After a while, or perhaps a long time, he opened his mouth, and a voice much lower than usual came out. Although the voice was much lower, it sounded quite coherent.
"Tell Scrimgeour to arrange for the march to be reduced in size as much as possible. Then you go and warn the Daily Prophet, demanding that it not publish this news."
"Also, take some thugs and visit each shop in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley to teach those owners a lesson and make them know when to shut up."
"Finally, let's sing a different tune. Arrest Xenophilius Lovegood, and while you're at it, take away his newspaper-making equipment. No reason needed, I'll sign the ministerial order."
Umbridge sensed a dramatic upheaval in Fudge's words and quickly pledged his loyalty: "Yes, sir. Your wise decision will sweep away all the troublemakers."
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