Chapter 485 The Deal With Fudge

The heavy door panel of the trial room slowly opened, and the members of the Wizengamot filed out, their robes rustling as they walked, accompanied by whispered discussions and whispers.

Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge remained at the end. Umbridge's eyes were fixed on Harry, as if to poke a hole in him.

Harry felt like a thorn in his back under this scrutiny, and trotted out of the interrogation room as if running away.

Seeing that everyone was almost gone, Fudge approached Umbridge and said in a reproachful tone: "Dolores, you must take care of your men, I don't want to see any more trouble.

"Yes, yes, Lord Minister." Umbridge replied solemnly.

She also didn't expect that Sirius had arranged for someone to be around Harry in advance and actually took photos of the dementors attacking them.

Where does this go?

At this time, Levin, who was sitting in the corner of the auditorium, coughed lightly and stood up.

His movement attracted Fudge's attention, who suddenly stopped and frowned. When he found out it was Levin, Fudge's expression changed slightly, and he motioned for Umbridge to leave.

When Umbridge passed Levin, she showed a flattering smile. The smile spread across her face like a pink toad.

Levin suppressed the discomfort in his heart and nodded politely in return.

Umbridge seemed to be greatly inspired and immediately became energetic again.

She was holding a large roll of parchment in one hand and a small bag in the other. The short and fat figure left quickly at the door of the courtroom.

"Levin, can you give me some time so we can chat?" Fudge invited Levin, "Believe me, it won't take you too much time."

Levin smiled slightly, this was exactly what he wanted to stay at the end. Of course he would not refuse Fudge's invitation, so he nodded gracefully: "Of course, minister, it is my honor.

"Please follow me, Levin," Fudge said, looking around the courtroom. The gloomy environment and empty space made him feel uneasy. When he thought that his conversation with Dolores might have been overheard by Levin, he felt that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time.

He immediately walked out, Levin followed Fudge, and the two walked into the elevator in silence.

In the elevator room, they did not talk, but occasionally exchanged glances with other wizards riding in the elevator. The other wizards looked at this strange pair curiously, but neither of them paid any attention. In this way, they went straight to the first floor of the Ministry of Magic, where the minister's office was located.

As soon as he entered the minister's office, Fudge's expression was obviously much more relaxed.

He took off his magic robe, revealing the white shirt underneath. Then, he lifted up his dark green suit pants and sat behind the super large desk. Only the atmosphere here made him feel comfortable and at ease.

He lightly snapped his fingers, and a tray immediately appeared on the desk. On the tray were fragrant black tea and golden-baked biscuits.

"Levin, come and sit." Fudge motioned for Levin to sit on the chair opposite, and then he poured two cups of fragrant Ceylon lowland black tea.

As the aroma of hot tea filled the air, Fudge also started chatting, "Levin, I have to be honest with you. Harry's incident really caught us off guard. The dementors actually attacked him. It's simply unbelievable. I originally thought... Well, the current situation is very difficult anyway. We can't let this matter get bigger, otherwise it will be a devastating blow to the reputation of the Ministry of Magic. This is the most important thing at the moment. "

With that said, Fudge took a few cookies for himself and then pushed the plate towards Levin.

"Try this, it tastes good."

He tried to relieve the tense atmosphere with delicious food.

However, Levin didn't take the biscuits. He had seen this kind of trick from Dumbledore many times.

Levin just looked at Fudge steadily, waiting for him to continue.

Levin's reaction made Fudge a little embarrassed, but he still managed to smile at him, as if he were an uncle looking at his favorite nephew.

"Levin, I hope that the Quibbler will remain silent regarding what is going on in court today." He finally stated his true purpose with some pleading.

Levin lowered his head, lost in thought.

After a moment, he spoke slowly: "Minister, even if the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler choose not to report it, Sirius will probably not give up easily. He will definitely find other media to expose this matter."

Hearing this, Fudge's expression changed slightly, and he immediately thought of the troublesome "Rumor!" magazine.

He waved the cookie in his hand in a panic, causing a few raisins on it to fall to the table.

He looked at the scattered raisins with disgust, as if they were the source of his troubles.

"The influence of those third-rate media is limited, far less than that of the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler." Fudge tried to make his voice sound firmer, "As long as we can ensure that these two mainstream media do not report this matter, the bad news will The impact can be controlled within an acceptable range.”

Levin shook his head and clasped his hands, "Minister, we cannot avoid the problem. This is indeed the responsibility of the Ministry of Magic for its poor supervision of dementors, and we must bear the consequences."

Fudge was stunned for a moment and couldn't help raising his voice: "Does Jaina want to take back control of the dementors?"

He mistakenly thought that Levin was implying that Jaina hoped to take this opportunity to regain the power that should belong to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

When he thought of this possibility, he felt a surge of annoyance and worry.

"Minister, you misunderstood. We have no intention of defaulting on the contract." Seeing Fudge's reaction, Levin quickly reassured, "What I mean is that instead of trying to control the media and public opinion, it is better to shift the responsibility to management errors. that person."

Looking at Fudge's disapproving expression, Levin began to analyze in detail: "Mr. Minister, you should know the character of Sirius Black very well. If we blindly choose to avoid the facts, he may protest even more fiercely and even take more radical actions. . Only by letting him see that someone is responsible for this and receiving the punishment he deserves can he calm down."

He paused, and there was a trace of emotion in his voice: "Think about it, he once spent thirteen years in Azkaban because of a miscarriage of justice. Now, his godson Harry has suffered such injustice again. With Sirius That character—he didn’t even want compensation in order to watch Peter suffer the kiss of a dementor—such a violent temper. The longer I suppress him, the more violent the backlash will be.”

The tea cup in Fudge's hand stopped spinning unconsciously,

".々You mean to let Dolores take responsibility?" Fudge frowned and hesitated: "No, if I can't protect my men, what will other people in the Ministry of Magic think of me? They will be chilled."

No matter how bad Fudge is, he still sees this critical issue very clearly.

He clearly understands where his power comes from - it is precisely because he has such a group of subordinates who are willing to obey him that he is the Minister of Magic. Otherwise, he is just a mere order.

To maintain such a group of subordinates, there are only two ways at most: common ideals and common interests.

People like Fudge don't seem to have much political ideals, so all he can offer are benefits.

A sense of security is also one of these benefits.

These are actually the most basic political norms. From this perspective, Levin's proposal is very ignorant.

If the suggestion was made not by an underage wizard like him, but by a senior employee of the Ministry of Magic like Jaina, Fudge would suspect that the other party was deliberately provoking the county.

Levin raised his eyebrows slightly. Of course he knew that Fudge would not agree to this suggestion, but he did not say this to bring down Umbridge. He knew very well that it would be difficult for him to do this before Fudge truly collapsed.

He deliberately made such an unreliable suggestion, just to pave the way for what will happen next.

He pretended to think for a moment, and then made another suggestion: "Perhaps, you can consider taking back the control of the Dementors and take charge directly yourself. In this way, it would be equivalent to carrying out some kind of manipulation of Umbridge. "Form of punishment - stripping her of the authority she mismanaged while protecting her in the eyes of your subordinates [has caused her to lose her position altogether."

Fudge's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he felt that this method was feasible.

He secretly thought: "In this way, the control of the Dementors will still be firmly in my own hands, which can not only calm Sirius's anger, but also maintain the stability of the Ministry of Magic.

This time, Biji also let go of his uneasy heart.

He stood up, restored his elegant posture, refilled the black tea in his and Levin's cups, then slowly sat back on the chair behind the desk with the tea cup in hand, and said in a slow and unhurried tone: "So, Levin, can you Tell me how The Quibbler plans to cover this?”

"Of course, Minister. It is impossible for us not to report it at all," Levin blinked: "But we can selectively reveal some information and use more neutral terms to describe the entire incident. This both adheres to the authenticity of the news. principle, and avoid causing unnecessary panic and misunderstanding. The length does not need to be too long, just be concise and clear.