Chapter 975: Master Lucius's Statement
It would take time to convince Shafik and the others to join forces, and before the new brand was established, Sirius had no intention of making things easy for the Malfoys.
If it's just a competition of financial strength, the Black family will not lose to anyone.
There was big news in the Daily Prophet again on Wednesday morning.
"The Making of a Hogwarts Warrior?" Ron looked at the newspaper in his hand in confusion. "Isn't it another one praising Malfoy?"
Harry picked up the newspaper that the owl had just placed on the table, "It's definitely not that. My godfather specifically asked me to read today's news carefully. It must be him who took action."
The title is standard, but the content of the article is quite explosive.
"As the only heir of the Malfoy family, Draco Malfoy's first thing when he entered Hogwarts was to get along well with Harry Potter.
But a month later, he completely changed his attitude..."
It's said to be very explosive, but in fact it's not that explosive. It just tells some of the things Draco has done verbatim.
For example, the reason for establishing the Black Swan Club, how he joined the school Quidditch team, and what he does in school on a daily basis.
The "Growth History" that occupies an entire page implies that Draco has a rich father. In addition, the dean has a good relationship with his father, so he can be said to be a very powerful person in school.
The end of the article once again introduces the Triwizard Tournament in detail, and the part about the Goblet of Fire selecting three warriors is repeated three times.
Combined with the above content, it is already clearly stated.
Lucius Malfoy, the rich, powerful and influential father, probably used some shady means to designate his beloved son Draco as the fourth warrior.
"Nonsense!"
Harry and Ron looked towards the Slytherin table.
Draco, who was a puddle of mud yesterday, flushed red, and as if he was having a last burst of energy, he used all his strength to tear the newspaper in his hand into pieces.
The pieces of paper that fell down seemed to symbolize his fragile little heart.
After tearing the newspaper, he lay back in the chair limply, as if he was about to close his eyes at any moment.
Harry shrugged at Ron and went back to his breakfast with a bright smile.
Today's toast is delicious and the blueberry jam is especially sweet.
Over the next few days, the Daily Prophet was frantically reporting on Draco's past.
Every day, one incident would be reported in detail, such as "bullying" two Muggle-born students on the train, deliberately challenging a student to a duel in the trophy room, instructing his younger brother to throw dung eggs in the Charms class, and deliberately destroying a broomstick in the flying class.
As the biggest "victim", Vincent almost laughed like a pig while eating breakfast every day.
Sirius was really mean, and this move completely made the Malfoy father and son lose their temper.
But soon, Lucius' counterattack came.
He simply paid for an entire page of the Daily Prophet just to publish a statement.
"To the People of the Magical World
Hello everyone, I am Lucius Malfoy, the current head of the Malfoy family.
Regarding some rumors that have been circulating recently, I would like to make a special statement:
First, I care very much about the future development of the wizarding world and have donated countless funds and teaching aids to Hogwarts. Therefore, the rumors that I indulged my son and repeatedly targeted certain Hogwarts students are all nonsense.
Second, the Malfoy family has always had strict education, and my son has high moral character and will never take the initiative to bully his classmates.
Third, my son has shown great talent in Quidditch since he was young. He joined the school team through fair and just selection. I have always supported the all-round development of young people, and the donation of the broomstick is the best proof of this.
Fourth, the Malfoy family is just a relatively old pure-blood wizard family. It does not have any so-called "privileges" and is not as powerful as the rumormongers say.
5. The Triwizard Tournament has always been selected by the Goblet of Fire itself. I don't know why there are four champions this year. Maybe the Goblet of Fire has its own ideas and thinks that there are four qualified students this year. But no matter what the truth is, I can guarantee it with my personality. I have never used the wealth in my hands to bribe anyone. There is something fishy about Draco being selected as the champion. Everything is the Goblet of Fire's own choice.
This is the end of my statement. I would like to say one more thing sincerely to everyone: please stop spreading rumors.
The rumormongers have ulterior motives and intend to discredit the Malfoy family, who are dedicated to peace and stability in the wizarding world. The public has sharp eyes, and I believe that everyone can think rationally and resist these rumors that are intended to destroy the Malfoy family.
Finally, I have a few words to say to the rumormongers:
Please stop spreading any false rumors immediately. The magical world has become so chaotic because of your existence.
The Malfoy family never bows to evil forces, and we will strike hard at anyone who attempts to undermine the stability and peace of the wizarding world.
If there are those who refuse to repent, I promise to mobilize all resources of the family, including but not limited to legal means.
Please do it well, thank you for your cooperation. "
This statement made many people laugh.
What you said sounds very high-sounding, but everyone knows the character of your Malfoy family.
A statement of clarification? No, it's a confession!
The next day, Sirius's response came.
He successfully convinced Old Shafik and others, and reported Lucius for embezzling charity funds in his real name in the Daily Prophet.
There are at least three charity fundraising events a year. How many gold galleons will this one cost?
Naturally, Lucius was the first to clarify the matter through the newspaper, and stated that every charity fundraising event was jointly organized by him and the Ministry of Magic, and there was no embezzlement of any form at all.
The Ministry of Magic, especially under Fudge's leadership...
Everyone knows what is going on, but no one dares to make it public.
Yet Sirius dared.
On Saturday, he, along with old Shafik and a few others, stormed into the Ministry of Magic and demanded that Fudge produce proof of the whereabouts of all the donations.
Where else would the donations go? Either in Fudge's pocket or in the Malfoy family's vault.
What could Fudge do? Of course he pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth.
"Please rest assured, I will give you an explanation as soon as possible."
After seeing Sirius and the others off, Fudge turned around and returned to his office with a gloomy face.
His "old friend" Lucius is usually a very shrewd man, how could he suddenly cause such a big trouble?
He knew Sirius's personality. Although he was a little impulsive, irritable and unruly, he was generally easy to talk to as long as you didn't provoke him.
"So..." Fudge understood that his old friend must have offended Sirius in some way.
……
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