Chapter 544 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron

Chapter 544 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
Schelling’s rise to prominence is not without its drawbacks.

On the surface, the Ministry of Magic was helpless against him, but in Hogwarts, he aroused the hostility of Umbridge, and Shearing successfully made her shift her focus from Dumbledore to him.

However, Umbridge soon discovered that Shearing was not another Dumbledore, he was more difficult to deal with than the old legendary wizard. Dumbledore was powerful, but his prestige was gradually fading - in the past twenty years, he had never demonstrated decisive power in reality, and his warning about Voldemort's resurrection was raised too early, causing many wizards to resist psychologically, and even under the propaganda manipulation of the Ministry of Magic, they regarded him as a stubborn, out-of-touch old man.

But Schelling was different; his timing was perfect.

After Florin's disappearance, coupled with the mysterious deaths or disappearances of Podmore, Bode, Moody and others, the Ministry of Magic was unable to give any reasonable explanation, nor was it able to bring the murderer to justice, which caused panic in society.

The explanation for the Death Eaters' jailbreak is full of loopholes and is unacceptable. The most puzzling thing is that when Sirius escaped, there were strikers and dementors everywhere searching for him, but this time when eleven Death Eaters escaped, not even a single dementor was seen.

With its accurate analysis and detailed reports, Schelling's "Malfoy Lookout" has become a trusted voice in the wizarding community. All the signs that have emerged support the Lookout's claims, making everyone aware of the truth that the Ministry of Magic has deliberately concealed.

Unlike Dumbledore, Schelling is not acting alone. He has the support of a huge amount of public opinion and public opinion. No matter how dissatisfied the Ministry of Magic is, any action against him without legal and reasonable reasons will be regarded as political persecution by the Ministry of Magic, which will only arouse greater backlash from the people.

Umbridge wanted to deal with him, but found that she could not simply use her power to discredit, isolate and marginalize him as she did with Dumbledore.

This is Shaylin Malfoy's method - political problems should be solved by political means!
……

In the corridor of Hogwarts, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class had just ended, and students walked out of the classroom in twos and threes, talking about the content of the class. However, the short and fat figure standing at the end of the corridor made everyone subconsciously lower their voices and even slow down their pace, for fear of being stared at by her.

Umbridge, wearing a pink robe, exaggerated ribbons and a hypocritical smile, stood at the door with her hands folded in front of her abdomen, her eyes fixed on a student - Shailene Malfoy.

"Mr. Malfoy." Her voice was like poison wrapped in frosting, soft but oppressive. "Please come to my office."

The students around cast curious glances at him, some of them whispered in a gloating manner, while many more looked suspicious. Recently, Umbridge had turned the whole school upside down, but her targets had always been Dumbledore and Harry Potter, but now she suddenly pointed the finger at Shaylin?

However, the blond boy who was named just raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"It's my pleasure." His tone was lightly playful, and there was no fear in his gestures, as if Umbridge was just an insignificant little character.

He walked forward with a leisurely pace, as if he was not summoned but came to the banquet on his own initiative. Umbridge's smile froze slightly, but then returned to normal and turned to walk towards her office.

When Xie Ling walked into the office, the air was filled with a strong smell of rose essence. The walls were covered with pink plates embroidered with cat patterns, and the whole room exuded a sickening sweetness.

Umbridge sat down behind her desk, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then put it down, still with that fake smile on her face.

"Mr. Malfoy," she put down her teacup and spoke slowly, "you seem to be very busy lately."

Xie Ling leaned back lazily in his chair, his eyes indifferent, "It seems that you, professor, care a lot about students' extracurricular activities. You are really conscientious and responsible."

Umbridge's smile widened slightly, but her tone became meaningful: "The Ministry of Magic has been paying close attention to Hogwarts, especially those... influential students."

She leaned forward slightly, her eyes sharp, "I heard that you've been doing a lot outside of school recently. Established a business alliance? And opened a...'illegal' broadcasting station across the country?"

Xie Lin chuckled, looking at her without fear, and said casually, "The professor is quite well-informed. However, the word "illegal" is used too quickly. After all, the content of the broadcast is just to spread facts and describe the current situation of wizarding society."

Umbridge's smile gradually faded, and her tone lowered a bit, "The Ministry of Magic doesn't like people inciting chaos, Mr. Malfoy, you'd better remember that in the wizarding world, challenging authority never ends well."

Sherin looked at Umbridge quietly, his eyes indifferent, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a hint of irony.

After a while, he suddenly chuckled, with a hint of contempt in his voice. "Professor, do you know how much the Ministry of Magic's financial income is?"

Umbridge frowned but made no reply.

Sherin continued, his voice calm and precise, each word seemed to strike the air: "Currently, the total economic output of the entire British wizarding society is less than one million Galleons, of which more than 80% of the tax revenue comes from pure-blood families and business families."

Umbridge's fingers trembled slightly, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the teacup.

Sherin continued, his tone casual as if he was chatting: "In other words, the entire Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, and even St. Mungo's Hospital, all rely on the taxes paid by our families to operate."

He leaned forward slightly, a meaningful smile on his face: "Of course, your salary, professor, is also included."

Umbridge's eyes suddenly froze, and the smile on her face finally showed a crack.

"I actually admire your courage," Xie Ling put on his usual devilish smile, but his pupils exuded a chilling coldness, "You know, with my current social status, even Minister Fudge has to try to build a relationship with me when he sees me, and you actually dare to... threaten me?"

Umbridge opened her mouth but found herself speechless.

Xie Lin raised a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, stood up from his seat, and continued: "You can give it a try - starting from tomorrow, all the merchants of the major pure-blood families and business alliances will withdraw all cash flow from Gringotts and stop paying all taxes."

The color drained from Umbridge's face instantly and her lips trembled slightly.

This move is to remove the fuel from the fire.

How can the Ministry of Magic function without financial support? Who will obey the Ministry's orders if they can't even pay basic salaries?
What’s even more terrifying is that if free public services such as Hogwarts and St. Mungo’s are forced to stop, the entire wizarding society will fall into chaos.

She could even imagine the wizards rioting.

At that time, as long as a person who is popular among the people appears, he will be able to become the new ruler with a wave of support.

"You..." Umbridge finally spoke. She tried to keep her composure, but her voice trembled. "You won't do that."

Xie Lin smiled slightly, his eyes full of contempt, and walked calmly towards the door, while saying the last sentence in a calm tone: "Then give it a try."

"Wait... wait a minute!" Umbridge's face had become very ugly. Her usual sweet voice was no longer there, but was now filled with tears.

Xie Lin stopped, turned around and glanced at her calmly. His eyes were calm, but they made people feel chilled to the bone.

"If the Ministry of Magic collapsed, who do you think wizards would follow?"

His voice was low and slow, and every word seemed to strike at Umbridge's nerves.

"Me? Or Voldemort?"

The door slammed shut and the room fell into deathly silence.

Umbridge's hands were shaking, and the teacup in her hands fell to the ground suddenly, with porcelain pieces scattering everywhere, but she couldn't move even a finger.