#311 - Chapter 311 Furious Fudge

The ground beneath his feet was instantly ripped away, and the surrounding scenery became blurred. Peter felt a sensation of spinning, as if his entire body was falling rapidly in a whirlwind.

A moment later, he and his mother crashed heavily onto the forest floor of an unfamiliar place. Towering trees surrounded them, blocking out the sky and making it nearly impossible for sunlight to penetrate the dense woodland.

Peter immediately scrambled to his feet, his eyes fixed on the deep wound on his mother's chest.

Fear and despair surged through him, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

"No, no, Mother, I'll heal you..." he muttered, his voice shaking, on the verge of collapse.

He raised his mother's walking stick, waving it frantically, chanting various healing spells over and over, trying to stop the flow of blood.

Peter's movements became increasingly frantic, his breathing rapid, sweat dripping down his forehead, mixed with tears, each of his cries filled with despair.

"Quick... Peter, my child... listen to me."

Peter's mother, ignoring her own injuries, grabbed Peter's hand and said weakly.

"This is not the time to relax. Those Aurors could be here any minute. Don't worry about me, run!"

"No, Mother," Peter cried, trembling, "I'll heal you, and we'll go together."

"Don't worry about me... I'm dying. You can't save me. Go, quickly! Don't waste the opportunity I've created for you."

Peter's mother shook her head weakly, fully aware of the severity of her injuries, and feeling her life force continuously draining away.

"Leave the wizarding world, leave Britain, go somewhere where no one can find you."

"Don't think about avenging me, Peter. You must survive, even if it means living like a rat..."

Peter's mother's voice grew weaker and weaker, her breathing gradually fading until her head lolled to one side, and she was gone.

Watching his mother's lifeless body, Peter broke down completely.

Overwhelming grief instantly engulfed him, tears streaming down like a burst dam, snot mixing with tears as they flowed freely.

He collapsed beside his mother's body, wailing loudly, each cry filled with heartbreaking pain.

Remembering his mother's instructions, Peter forced himself to stand up, used a spell to dig a large pit in the ground, and buried his mother completely.

Looking at his mother's simple grave, boundless hatred surged from his heart, hatred for Sirius Black, for the Ministry of Magic, and for the entire wizarding world.

He would have his revenge. He would exact a ruthless revenge on the wizarding world.

Peter took one last lingering look at his mother's grave, picked up her walking stick and the protective badge, and Apparated to the outskirts of London, then transformed into a rat and scurried into the sewers.

About ten minutes later, a burst of flame appeared out of thin air in the forest, exploding violently. Accompanied by the bright cry of a phoenix, Dumbledore emerged from the flames.

"It seems I was a step too late," Dumbledore said, examining the surroundings carefully with his wand, quickly understanding what had happened.

Peter Pettigrew had escaped completely, and his mother had died in this place.

Originally, he had planned to see Peter, this pathetic student, off on his final journey today.

Unexpectedly, just as he arrived at the Ministry of Magic, he was approached by a pale-faced Fudge, who begged him to help find Peter Pettigrew's whereabouts.

He used the Ministry of Magic to arrive at Azkaban and pinpointed the exact location of the portkey's destination from Peter Pettigrew's cell.

But after arriving, it was already too late.

Dumbledore looked at Peter's mother's simple grave, gently shook his head, and then followed the traces of Peter's Apparition to the outskirts of London.

Looking at the sewer where Peter had last disappeared, Dumbledore sighed softly, summoned Fawkes, and returned to Azkaban with its help.

In Peter's cell, Fudge was raging.

"Can anyone tell me what exactly is going on here? Why was Peter Pettigrew able to escape?"

Fudge was nearly driven mad. Today was supposed to be the live broadcast of Peter's execution, to intimidate the lawless elements of the wizarding world.

The reporters had all gathered at the Ministry of Magic, waiting for the time to come to Azkaban for the live broadcast.

At such a crucial moment, such a big mistake had occurred. Wasn't this announcing the Ministry of Magic's incompetence to the whole world?

"Are you all pigs? You couldn't even handle an old witch in her sixties or seventies. Not only were three of you injured by her, but she even managed to take Peter Pettigrew away."

"How did she bring in her wand? How did she hide her portkey? Why weren't they detected?"

Just as Fudge was shouting loudly, Dumbledore reappeared in the cell.

"Dumbledore, how is it? Did you catch Peter Pettigrew?" Fudge's face was full of hope. He only hoped that Dumbledore could bring good news.

"I'm sorry, Cornelius," Dumbledore shook his head gently, "Peter has run away and is now likely hiding in the sewers of London. As for his mother, she has died from her injuries."

Hearing this news, Fudge felt a wave of dizziness.

Unlike Sirius Black's escape, this mother and son had openly mocked the Ministry of Magic, then violently resisted arrest, escaping from the heavily guarded Azkaban in broad daylight.

It was over. The Ministry of Magic's reputation had been completely trampled into the ground by this mother and son.

Not just the Ministry of Magic, but more importantly, himself.

He had already endured more than half a month of abuse. Thanks to the media's efforts, the public had just begun to praise him not long ago.

With such a thing happening, the public would once again think he was incompetent.

Thinking of this, Fudge could no longer suppress his anger: "Dumbledore, how could you not catch Peter? You are the most powerful wizard in the world!"

"Alright, take the Aurors with you and have them carefully examine the last place Peter Pettigrew appeared."

"I don't believe there isn't a single clue!"

Just then, an Auror rushed in: "Minister, the reporters are making a lot of noise. The execution time is almost here, and they want to come to Azkaban early to adjust the live broadcast equipment."

It's already like this, and they still want to broadcast!?

Did they want the entire wizarding world to watch the traces of Peter Pettigrew's escape?

Fudge, already in a bad mood, vented his anger on the Auror in front of him again, and the ranting continued for a long time before stopping.

After venting his emotions, Fudge was completely headache-ridden.

He first asked Dumbledore to take the Aurors to check Peter's tracks, but he also knew in his heart that finding a rat in the London sewers was really a fantasy.

Then, he prepared to go back and face those troublesome reporters.

Fudge really wanted to tell the reporters that Peter and his mother had tried to escape and were directly killed by the Aurors, so today's broadcast was canceled.

But thinking about the consequences of the lie being exposed, he shook his head and gave up this ridiculous idea.

Alas...

Why am I, this Minister of Magic, so unlucky...

......................

Just as Fudge was dealing with the reporters' questions, Sebastian brought a young man to the Ministry of Magic.