The Return to Hogwarts

Voldemort's lips curled into a mocking smile; he was very satisfied with his analysis.

“Even if you’re right, Lucius,”

A reclining chair that had been placed to one side silently floated up and landed behind Voldemort, who slowly leaned back.

"Then why does Blaine have the courage to get rid of you?"

"Perhaps. Oh, my guess is--"

Lucius hunched his shoulders.

“Brain has found other support for Hogwarts. That Learning Machine Workshop, which Brain went to America to promote, I think he brought back some gold from there.”

"So, Blaine narrowly escaped the crisis you and the Ministry of Magic created for him?"

Voldemort said lazily, glancing sideways at Lucius, who was trembling all over.

Is this all you want to tell me?

"Oh, I've brought you a copy of the Daily Prophet, my master—"

Lucius cautiously took a folded newspaper from his robe pocket, but before he could offer it, the newspaper had already left his palm and floated to the Dark Lord's face.

"Oh!"

Voldemort's gaze swept over a few lines of text, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"Amostrath Blaine publicly declared that the Ministry of Magic's forced appointment of a commissioner to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a deliberate attempt to bring the flames of political struggle into the school and into the children. How interesting, he actually dared to say that?"

Voldemort sat up straight in the recliner, his wide robes rustling in the morning breeze.

“This foolish move will only make the Ministry of Magic target him completely.”

Voldemort said happily,

"But for us, it's good news that it has attracted the attention of the Ministry of Magic, making our operations easier."

"Just as you said, my master."

Lucius humbly echoed.

Turning his gaze back to the top of Lucius's head, the Dark Lord's expression softened slightly, his eyes flashing with a sinister light.

"Oh, thank you for bringing me this good news, Lucius. This will make me happy for a while. By the way, you didn't see anything before you came in, did you?"

Lucius's body trembled violently twice.

"I...I saw a black mist, Master, but I don't understand."

"Is it?"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the trembling Lucius Malfoy, then after a moment, he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, waved his hand, and leaned back in his recliner.

"Go down, Lucius. I don't have anything for you to do for now."

Lucius Malfoy let out a heavy sigh, and as if granted a pardon, he knelt and retreated from the terrace. Even as he descended the stairs, his legs remained weak.

Looking at the portraits hanging in the corridor that cast worried glances at him, Lucius felt only bitterness and a sense of relief. Of course, there was also a little doubt.

It seems the Dark Lord was fighting someone just now and suffered a defeat?

But what could that be?

Chapter 1032 Time Stands on the Side of Justice

2024-07-15

Voldemort's prediction was remarkably accurate. Amosta's remarks in the newspaper were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, immediately causing a huge uproar.

The Ministry of Magic is always busy in the mornings, whether in times of war or peace.

But the situation is different today.

An eerie silence hung over every floor of the Ministry of Magic, and the officials coming and going all wore expressions of unease.

"The second layer is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which includes the Office for Prohibiting the Abuse of Magic, the Auror Command, and the Wizengamor Administration."

The gate opened, and Sirius stepped out of the elevator car into a corridor with doors on both sides.

The fake windows on both sides of the wall cast bright sunlight into the corridor, illuminating it brightly, but they could not dispel the unease that permeated the air.

Sirius walked expressionlessly down the corridor, around a corner, through two heavy oak doors, and into a cluttered open area divided into many small cubicles. This was the famous Auror office in the British wizarding world.

Since Voldemort's resurrection, a large number of bad guys have poured into the country through various channels, making the country's security a mess.

The Aurors, who were already burdened with heavy workloads, couldn't rest for even a moment, and the office was practically deserted.

Sirius walked into the common office area, where, as expected, he didn't see any colleagues, but the wizards behind the two supervisors immediately turned their gazes toward him.

One of these two men was Rufus Scrimgeour, the nominal head of the Auror office.

Scrimgeour's gaze briefly met Sirius's before he looked away, continuing to read his newspaper with his head down, ignoring Sirius as if he were invisible.

Sirius frowned almost imperceptibly.

Because of Amosta, Sirius was particularly unfriendly to Sirius from the moment he entered the ministry. However, in the past few days, Sirius could clearly feel that Sirius's cold attitude had softened, and he no longer looked like he wanted to kill him with his eyes.

On another manager's desk sat Delisi, who, for reasons unknown, had gained favor and was forcibly promoted to the managerial position by the highest levels of the department.

This guy, who's barely smarter than a pig, now wields a lot of power.

With the direct intervention of Connelly Fudge, the expanded team of hitters, spearheaded by Ms. Burns, has fallen into his hands.

And the Auror command that originally belonged to Scrimgeour gradually fell into his hands.

The way Delilah was staring at him was pretty much what Sirius had expected.

Delilah, also holding a newspaper, looked at Sirius with pure hatred; his eyes were slightly red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his eye was twitching slightly.

"You're late, Blake!"

idiot--

Sirius also looked at Dexter coldly, not even bothering to pay attention to Dexter's words.

After walking to his seat and glancing at the few notes that didn't require his attention, Sirius raised his head, ignoring Derek's furious expression, and walked straight through the Auror office, pushing open another oak door in the inner room before leaving.

The sound of newspapers being slammed coming from the room behind him did not move Sirius. He quickly walked through the corridor, then turned left into another corridor, then turned right into a dimly lit, dilapidated corridor.

The door to a room on the right at the end of the corridor was slightly ajar, and Sirius, who was nearby, could hear muffled voices coming from inside.

The people in the room were also on high alert. Upon hearing Sirius's footsteps, they immediately stopped talking, and a wary face peeked out from the crack in the door.

"Ah, it's Sirius Black—"

Kingsley's dark face immediately lost its guard upon seeing Sirius.

“Oh, Kingsley—”

Sirius's frosty face broke into a grin.

"What are you doing here at Arthur's place, Kingsley? Why aren't you in your seat?"

"I'm not there for the same reason as you. Sirius Black only has Scrimgeour and Delilah there, which is suffocating for me."

Kingsley opened the door, letting Sirius squeeze into the 'Muggle Misuse Prohibition Office'.

"Oh, thank goodness Perkins took the day off, otherwise this room wouldn't be able to hold so many people."

Arthur said he moved some of the files from his desk and stuffed them under the filing cabinet to make room for Sirius to sit on the desk.

"Thanks--"

Sirius, seemingly unfazed, chuckled and sat down on Arthur's desk.

"Did you see this report? It's from Rita Skeeter, and it's about Amostella and Hogwarts—"

After Sirius settled himself down, Arthur immediately began waving the newspaper angrily.

"This is outrageous!"

"Outrageous?" Sirius said, somewhat surprised.

"Who are you talking about, Arthur?"

"Who else could it be!"

Arthur slammed the newspaper on the table. The cover featured a photograph of several young wizards standing timidly around a dining table in the Great Hall, on which lay a few pitiful slices of dry bread and potato pancakes.

"Molly was furious. I hadn't dared to tell her about the conflict between the Board of Governors and Hogwarts, but now that it's been reported, there's no way to hide it anymore."

She now knows the school board has stopped funding Hogwarts, and Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny will all go hungry at school! It took me a lot of effort to stop her from waving a spatula and going after the Minister!

Arthur also sighed repeatedly, clearly worried about his children's lives at school.

"Don't worry, Arthur—"

Remus didn't hide the fact that he'd been called by Amostall to escort the gold from Sirius and Amelia; however, without permission, he didn't tell Arthur and Kingsley, only offering comfort to Arthur.

“You know Amosta isn’t an impulsive person. Since he announced on behalf of Hogwarts that he was kicking out the Board of Governors, it means he already has a way to keep Hogwarts running.”

"Amosta is certainly not an impulsive person, but this time—"

Kingsley anxiously interjected,

"He said in the newspaper that the minister was openly turning the war against the children—most people felt the same way Molly did after reading those words."