Chapter 496: The Fall of the Ministry of Magic

When Voldemort blew open the door of Azkaban, Cornelius Fudge was sitting leisurely in the Minister of Magic's office working overtime.

The table was filled with documents, and the magic quill was hovering in the air, ready to record his wise decisions at any time. Fudge picked up a cup of hot coffee, took a sip slowly, and a smug smile was on his face.

"During the Christmas holidays, the entire Ministry of Magic was empty, with almost no one on duty," he thought proudly, "but I, as the Minister of Magic, still stayed at my post conscientiously."

He snorted softly, and in his heart he admired his own dedication. He even secretly felt that there was no Minister of Magic more dedicated than himself.

"It is a blessing for the entire wizarding world to have me, Cornelius Fudge, as Minister. We must have the Daily Prophet publish a special report on this, and then set off a wave in the wizarding world to learn from the Minister of Magic."

He put down his coffee cup and happily opened a document. Just as he was about to continue working, a quick ring rang in his pocket.

He took out his magic cell phone and found that it was the president of the Magical Congress of the United States calling.

Why is this guy looking for me?

Are you preparing to send Christmas greetings, or are you preparing to express your admiration for yourself after hearing about your feat of sticking to your post even during the holidays?

Fudge smiled, pressed the answer button, and put the receiver to his ear.

However, before he could say "hello", a deafening roar came from the receiver.

"Cornelly Fudge! What the hell are you doing at the British Ministry of Magic? Are you deliberately sharing false information to harm us?"

A shrill roar came from the magic phone, which hurt Fudge's ears. He moved the phone slightly away from his ear and was about to ask what the other party meant when he heard the other party continue to roar.

"Didn't you keep saying that the mysterious man has not been resurrected? You bastard, you have caused us so much trouble."

Mystery man?

Fudge's heart suddenly rose to his throat, and the smile on his face had long since disappeared. He swallowed hard, and sweat began to form on his forehead.

"Wait, wait a minute, what is going on..." He just started to speak when he was interrupted again.

"How dare you pretend to be confused! Do you know how many of our men died? Do you know that Ilvermorny's headmaster, Agilbert, was also killed?! It's all because of your incompetence and false information!"

Fudge's face turned from panic to pale, and he could hardly hold the magic phone in his hand. He felt his mind was blank, and he could only listen to the other party's rapid-fire curses coming from the receiver.

The other party cursed for a full ten minutes. After that, he was too lazy to say another word and directly cut off contact with Fudge.

The busy tone from the receiver made Fudge sit in his chair for a long time. He put down the magic phone stiffly, as if the whole world had suddenly lost its color.

The mysterious man has really been resurrected and has gone to the American magical community to cause trouble.

Because of the mysterious man, only one in ten of America's elite Aurors survived, and Gilbert, the headmaster of Ilvermorny, also died.

Merlin's beard!

really?

How could this be?

Fudge's eyes were dazed, and cold sweat on his forehead slid down his temples. He seemed to hear the sound of his world collapsing, and the silence in the office made the fear even clearer.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly and paced around the office in panic.

Find a solution quickly, this news is too big to be kept secret!

But how should I tell the wizarding world? Should I contact Dumbledore?

No! You can't contact Dumbledore. Even if you resign, you can't contact him. He's just waiting to see you make a fool of yourself.

Fudge began to rummage through his boxes and found a resignation letter he had prepared long ago.

Hey......

At this point, the only option left is to resign.

Fudge sighed and was just about to consider whether to revise his resignation letter when he heard a series of explosions.

He opened the door angrily, grabbed a wizard on duty and asked, "What's going on? Where did the explosion come from?"

"I don't know, Minister, I just came out too..."

Fudge let go of the other person and walked towards the elevator angrily.

"I want to see which idiot caused this trouble. Don't you know that I'm in a bad mood now?"

As he reached the elevator, he heard the alarm blaring throughout the Ministry.

Super Alert?!

Who is setting off special alerts without their own permission?

Suddenly, Fudge's heart started to panic.

Could it be that the You-Know-Who called? Isn't he in the American wizarding world?

Ding--

The elevator in front of him opened, and the captain of the Auror team ran out in a hurry.

"Minister, I'm looking for you. A mysterious man and his Death Eaters have broken in." Without further ado, the team leader pulled Fudge into the elevator.

"Nonsense! You are lying, right?" Fudge's face turned pale, and he shouted through gritted teeth, "All the Death Eaters are in Azkaban, guarded by hundreds of Dementors. How did the You-Know-Who bring them here?"

"This is an ironclad fact, Minister." The team leader loosened his restraints on Fudge and said in a cold tone, "The Dementors may have betrayed us. In addition, I must remind you that the You-Know-Who has already led people to the Ministry of Magic Hall."

"The emergency signal has been sent out. You need to hold the mysterious man until support arrives."

Dragging a mysterious person?

me?

Fudge was confused, and before he could say anything, he was dragged out of the elevator by the team captain and came to the lobby of the Ministry of Magic.

The hall of the Ministry of Magic was in chaos, with many Death Eaters waving their wands and bombarding various facilities.

It was a mess. The once magnificent marble floor was now covered with charred cracks and deep explosion craters, as if it had been torn apart by the claws of a giant dragon.

Some floor fragments were even blown high up and hung on the magic chandelier on the dome of the hall, swaying and ready to fall down at any time.

In the center of the hall, the fountain sculpture that symbolized the authority of the Ministry of Magic no longer existed. The metal statues of wizards and house-elves were blown into countless pieces and scattered everywhere.

The Death Eaters waved their wands and wantonly destroyed everything in the hall.

Their laughter, spells, and frenzied shouts echoed in the space, mixing with the roar of magical explosions to form a suffocating storm of noise.

Some unlucky Ministry of Magic employees who failed to escape in time huddled in the corner, trembling with fear and despair written all over their faces, but they dared not make any sound, for fear of attracting Voldemort's attention.

Bellatrix stepped on the broken floor, looking at the mess with satisfaction, a crazy smile on her face. "Beautiful, my friends! Let the whole wizarding world know that we are back!"

She shot a spell at the ceiling, and the magic chandelier that was originally hanging on the dome of the hall finally couldn't hold on, and fell down with broken metal and glass, hitting the ground with a deafening noise.

Looking at those Death Eaters who were dressed in rags but were destroying things wantonly with hideous smiles on their faces, Fudge's face completely lost all color.

As if sensing Fudge's arrival, the mysterious man turned around and stared at the other person with his scarlet eyes. He spoke slowly in a low voice with a strange magnetism.

"Cornelly Fudge, nice to see you here..."