Chapter 722 The frightened Fudge
Kyle originally thought he would be taken to No. 12 Grimmauld Place, but unexpectedly, Fox ended up taking him to the Legal Enforcement Department on the second floor of the Ministry of Magic.
Before Kyle came, there were already many people here, and they were all acquaintances.
Chris, Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Auror Kingsley, Tonks...
And, of course, Dumbledore.
When Kyle arrived, Dumbledore was bending over, and a warm yellow light reflected on the walls on both sides of the corridor, flickering.
"Fox is back!" someone exclaimed.
Then everyone turned their heads.
"Kyle?" Fred rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong.
"Why are you, not a therapist at St. Mungo's?"
No one answered his question, because everyone subconsciously gave way to a path, and Kyle also saw clearly the situation ahead.
There was blood everywhere on the floor, and it had a weird purple color to it.
Amelia Bones of the Law Enforcement Division was lying in a pool of blood, breathing weakly.
Dumbledore put his wand against her body, and the warm light that Kyle saw before came from the tip of the wand.
In just a moment, Kyle understood why Fox had brought him here.
"Are you here?" Kyle asked directly, ignoring the dizzying discomfort.
"The situation is urgent. She can't move for the time being." Dumbledore said equally quickly: "You have to hurry up, Fudge has already reached the seventh floor."
"Okay." Kyle nodded and immediately opened the box.
"Wait...wait..." This is when a weak voice came.
It was Amelia. She tried to open her eyes, but this simple action took almost all her strength.
"Death Eaters...attacked...the Ministry of Magic..." Amelia said intermittently, "Tell the Aurors...to attack...not to...be left alone..."
She probably wanted to explain something, but her voice became lower and lower.
"Hurry up!" Dumbledore urged: "Mr. Weasley, Fudge is almost here..."
Although Dumbledore's words were vague, Fred and George immediately understood what he meant, nodded, and quickly ran towards the corner of the corridor.
Kyle's box is open.
"Turn around!" Chris said seriously.
Out of trust, everyone immediately turned their heads to the wall, including Chris, but when he turned around, he waved his wand and conjured a mirror on the ceiling.
"...Oh, Mr. Minister, you are here!"
"It's so scary, you must be prepared...Really, I can't even look at it."
The voices of Fred and George were heard not far away.
"Merlin, what happened!" Fudge couldn't hide the panic in his voice.
"I really don't dare to recall it. You will know if you see it for yourself."
"Slow down, Minister, be careful where you step, don't fall."
"Get out of the way, you two, and stay out of the way." This was Scrimgeour.
He quickened his pace and hurriedly appeared at the end of the corridor, followed by Fudge's belly.
Fred and George stayed at the end.
At this time, they were surrounding Fudge with their hands stretched out, fearing that he would fall if he ran too fast. This action looked too cowardly.
"Oh!" After Fudge saw clearly what happened in the corridor, he suddenly clutched his chest. "Is that Amelia?"
"I think so," Scrimgeour said in a deep voice, and walked over quickly.
"She was petrified."
Scrimgeour took out his wand, tapped Amelia's gray skin, and whispered: "Resume quickly..."
"The curse is lifted!"
"Appear immediately!"
He tried many spells in succession, but Amelia Bones showed no sign of recovery.
"It's a very sophisticated black magic." Scrimgeour glanced at the blood on the floor, "But it's also lucky that her petrified state saved her life."
He looked at Kingsley and Tonks in the crowd, and asked with a serious face: "Tell me, what exactly happened here."
"Death Eaters attacked," Kingsley said. "Just ten minutes ago, at the Ministry of Magic."
"They originally wanted to go to the first floor, but when they were in the elevator, Ms. Bones saw through their disguise, so the Death Eaters changed their target temporarily."
When he heard that the Death Eaters' target was the first floor, Fudge trembled suddenly.
Isn't the first floor where the minister's office is located?
The target of those Death Eaters was him, the minister!
For a moment, Fudge felt cold all over. If Amelia hadn't happened to take the same elevator as them, he might have been the one lying on the ground.
Fudge's legs were a little sore, and he tried to move his body so that he could lean against the wall.
But no one around noticed the minister's poor performance.
After hearing the two Aurors' explanation, Scrimgeour was furious.
"What about you, what are you doing! Why didn't even an Auror show up when such a big thing happened?"
"I don't want to shirk responsibility." Kingsley shook his head, "We rushed over immediately after hearing the news of the fighting, but by that time, the Death Eaters had already escaped."
"This is impossible," Scrimgeour said. "Apparition is prohibited in the Ministry of Magic. How could they escape!"
"It's not Apparition, it's a portkey." Kingsley said solemnly: "We saw with our own eyes that the Death Eaters gathered around a cane and disappeared collectively."
"Is there more than one Death Eater?" Fudge asked tremblingly.
But Scrimgeour was not too surprised.
Amelia Bones did not get into the position of Director of the Legal Enforcement Department by flattering her, her strength is not weak either.
In a one-on-one situation, it was impossible for those Death Eaters to defeat her in such a short time.
Unless there are enough people.
But Scrimgeour couldn't figure out how the Death Eaters got into the Ministry of Magic. They strictly guarded every passage here, especially the corridor where the fireplace was located, where two large looking glasses were installed. Logically speaking, there were no Maybe someone sneaked in silently.
As a result, there were only three Death Eaters, and they had not received any news.
This made Scrimgeour's face burn, as if he had been slapped hard.
"I think we need to go to the Department of Magical Transport," Tonks said. "I suspect there's someone there to help them."
"Then what are you waiting for?" growled an irritable Scrimgeour.
After Kingsley and Tonks left, he also used his wand to lift up the petrified Amelia on the ground. "Minister, I have to send her to St. Mungo's immediately. Please give way."
"Okay, okay, we're going to St. Mungo's." Fudge said hesitantly as he tried to get closer to the wall.
Amelia Bones is attacked in the Ministry of Magic, seemingly causing him to completely lose his cool.
"Thank you." Scrimgeour looked at him and frowned, but didn't say anything. He just walked towards the elevator with the petrified Amelia.
After hesitating for a moment, Fudge immediately followed.
"Wait, Rufus, I'm with you."
Perhaps in Fudge's opinion, it was safest to be around the head of the Auror Office, so he followed him without hesitation.
As for what others think...it's normal for a minister to be concerned about his colleagues who have been attacked, isn't it?
And nothing else is important compared to your own safety.
After they left, Dumbledore and Kyle also walked out of an office next to the corridor.
A second before Scrimgeour arrived in this corridor, Dumbledore took Kyle and hid in it.
"We shouldn't be in the Ministry of Magic right now, neither you nor I," Dumbledore explained.
But Kyle felt that he just didn't want to get involved with Fudge or anyone else.
Of course, he didn't say it out loud.
"But Professor, what is going on?" Kyle stood still not understanding what happened, why Amelia Bones was attacked, and why Dumbledore appeared in the Ministry of Magic.
Before Dumbledore could speak, Chris whispered from the side: "Someone is here again."
In fact, there was no need for him to remind them. Everyone heard the dense footsteps not far away. It was obvious that there were more than one or two people coming this time. It should be members of the Ministry of Magic who had received the news and wanted to check the situation.
"This is not the place to talk." Dumbledore grabbed Kyle's arm, "Follow me."
Kyle felt like the world was spinning for a while. When he came to his senses again, he found that he had appeared in the foyer of No. 12 Grimmauld Place, opposite Phineas's portrait.
But at this moment, he was still in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, with only an empty picture frame in front of him.
"Who's there!"
Mrs. Weasley, who heard the commotion, rushed out of a room, wand in hand.
"Dumbledore, Kyle? Why are you here?"
"It's a long story, Molly." Dumbledore explained: "Can you get me a cup of black tea? More sugar, if possible."
"Oh, no problem, I'll go get ready." Mrs. Weasley said and walked into the kitchen.
Dumbledore and Kyle followed.
"You must be curious as to why I appear in the Ministry of Magic?" he asked.
Kyle nodded and Fox just told him he needed the basilisk and took him away.
"That's because I received news that the Death Eaters are preparing to attack people from the Ministry of Magic, hoping to shock people."
Dumbledore sat on a chair next to the dining table, "I thought their target was Fudge... and that's exactly what happened. The Minister of Magic was killed. Nothing is more frightening than this. But I didn't To think that things have changed so much."
"Did Ms. Bones see through the Death Eater disguise?" Kyle asked.
"Yes, in fact at the Ministry of Magic, most of what they said is right. Although I rushed over as fast as I could, I was still a little slow."
Dumbledore's tone was a little complicated, "Amelia has always been a careful witch with keen insight, which has been shown since she was still in school.
"But this time I really hope she doesn't have these good qualities... Your father and the others were always on the first floor, but they failed." Dumbledore sighed.
"I guess they must think that Ms. Bones has enough weight." Kyle said, "After all, she is also the director of the Legal Enforcement Department and one of the important members of the Wizengamot. In terms of influence, she is no less influential than Fudge. How many."
"You are right, I was negligent."
At this time, Mrs. Weasley also put a pot of tea on the table, and also brought Kyle a pot of pumpkin soda.
"Amelia, what's wrong with her?"
"He was attacked by Death Eaters and was seriously injured," Dumbledore said.
"Oh my God, in the Ministry of Magic?" Mrs. Weasley's voice was trembling. She had always felt that apart from No. 12 Grimmauld Place and Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic was the safest place.
Kyle glanced at Mrs. Weasley, the Death Eaters... or Voldemort should have wanted this effect.
Since his comeback, he has not made any big moves, and even if he has, he has failed one after another. Voldemort himself is not a low-key character. He likes to see other people's faces when they are afraid.
This time I probably want to take this opportunity to help everyone recall the fear of being dominated by the Dark Mark more than ten years ago.
As Dumbledore said, killing the Minister of Magic under the heavy protection of Aurors is much better than killing an unknown passerby wizard.
"But Professor, will they chase you to St. Mungo's?" Kyle reminded in a low voice: "There is a big difference between killing and seriously injuring someone."
"Don't worry, Sirius, Alastor and Remus have already gone to St. Mungo's in advance." Dumbledore said calmly: "Remus still has a double-sided mirror and can contact me at any time."
He took a sip of black tea, and when he looked at Kyle, his expression suddenly seemed dazed.
"Professor, what's wrong with you?" Kyle asked.
"It's nothing, I just feel a little weird." Dumbledore shook his head, "The basilisk that Tom regarded as a killing weapon turned out to be the key to saving people one day."
"You've said that once before."
"Really?" Dumbledore was a little surprised, "Did I say that?"
"In St. Mungo's," Kyle reminded him, "when we first used the basilisk to petrify the dark magic... well, the wizard."
"Yes, but no matter how many times I have experienced it, it is still a bit unbelievable, as if the Death Curse suddenly turned into some kind of healing magic."
Dumbledore said softly: "By the way, you should remember Stourge's name. He is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Sorry." Kyle spread his hands, he really forgot.
"Professor, there is one more thing."
"Tell me." Perhaps because he thought the taste was not right, Dumbledore added three more pieces of sugar to the tea cup.
"It's about the Department of Magical Traffic, they..."
"I can't answer you for now, Kyle." Dumbledore interrupted, "I don't know the specific situation, and it still needs investigation.
"But I believe in Barty. No matter what, he cannot collude with the Death Eaters. I firmly believe this."
"Well, I believe him too."
Mrs. Weasley said next to her, "Arthur mentioned to me that Barty was indeed a little depressed for a while, but he quickly picked himself up and started to develop a more complete method of operating the floo network. .
"That's the way he is, meticulous about his work, no matter where he is."
"Well, okay." Seeing that both Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley believed Barty Crouch, Kyle said nothing more and just reminded Dumbledore a little.
The Department of Magical Transportation may not have much presence in normal times, but in the event of a war, this department is definitely no less important than the Auror Office.
But Dumbledore should also know. After all, he has experienced some of the most famous wars in the wizarding world and has much more experience than Kyle.
Five minutes later, Dumbledore finished his tea and was ready to leave. He still had a lot of things to do and couldn't stay here forever.
"Do you need Fawkes to take you back to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked before leaving.
"No, no need." Kyle shook his head repeatedly, "I can apparate to Hogsmeade and then go back to school."
"That's fine." Dumbledore said, "Be careful not to get caught by Filch. The new school rules impose severe penalties on going out without permission. Even if I were the principal, I can't give you extra points for things outside of school."
Kyle was speechless. Wasn't it Fox who picked him up? Why did he go out privately?
But before he could speak, Dumbledore had already left, the door was closed, and silence returned to the room again.
"Honey, how about we go back after eating here," Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Although I would like to, I'm afraid I can't." Kyle shook his head, "I have to go back before dinner so as not to arouse suspicion."
"Okay then," Mrs. Weasley said, but she still brought a large bag of homemade fudge and beef patties, insisting that Kyle take them to school.