allendalepharm Chapter 136 is mine!
Chapter 136 is mine!
Chapter 136 is mine!
Fudge quickly found the answer.
Scrimgeour, the Auror office director, entered the office carrying a Pensieve. He carefully drew out the Silver Memory Threads by waving his wand and meticulously cast a spell to transform the threads into the silver liquid in the Pensieve.
"Minister, perhaps you should take a look at this."
This is a memory of their mission. Few wizards would do this, extracting their memories to show others, since memories are so fragile, and even a slight problem can have unimaginable consequences.
Scrimgeour's seriousness immediately made Fudge and Umbridge realize the gravity of the situation.
Fudge quickly scanned through everything. Even though he tried his best to hide his shock, his eyes still shone. He glanced thoughtfully at Umbridge, a mysterious smile on his face.
"Minister!" Scrimgeour's face was grave. "We must be wary of Gilderoy Lockhart..."
Before he could finish speaking, Fudge chuckled and simply uttered a single word: "Foolish!"
"Hmm?" Scrinker frowned. He didn't actually respect the politician in front of him that much, but there were some things he needed the minister's support for.
"Giddy Lockhart is an expert advisor to our Ministry of Magic's Beast Office, understand?" Fudge answered casually, then strode to the office window, pulled back a curtain, and peered down at the protesters and reporters outside the Ministry of Magic building.
"But he's Dumbledore's man, he..." Scrimgeour wanted to argue.
"Rufus Scrimgeour! I'm very disappointed in you!"
Fudge turned around and looked at him calmly. "I'm asking you, can our heartthrob stay at Hogwarts forever?"
"No, how long can he continue teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts? You should know that there are rumors that Hogwarts is cursed by that person, and no one can stay in that position for long."
"But the Ministry of Magic, oh, there's nothing more suitable for him than this place. Global influence, so many fans, his resume after teaching at Hogwarts, so many professional books he's published—this is where he can fully utilize all his strengths, like a fish in the ocean."
He became excited as he rubbed his hands together and paced around the office. "We must cheer for our Ministry of Magic hero, Gilderoy Lockhart! He thwarted a terrible plot and once again stood before the Aurors, protecting everyone from the attack of thousands of dreadful dark wizards!"
Yes, that's it.
He waved his large arms vigorously.
"He's a hero, a hero of our Ministry of Magic!"
Scrimgeour's face darkened. He had to realize that Gilderoy Lockhart was about to once again step on the Auror Office's head to gain even greater fame, and it was expected that this would likely be supported by most people throughout the Ministry of Magic.
Thousands of dark wizards?
Do you, Minister, believe such a statement yourself?
Fudge, could you be any more outrageous?
Obviously, it is possible.
Fudge, somewhat excited, turned to Umbridge, who was staring blankly at the Pensieve with a look of disbelief. "Make an appointment with Rita, a reporter from the Daily Prophet. Damn, that silly woman can be really useful sometimes. We need to publicize our Ministry's great victory and the great deeds of our Ministry's heroic employee, Gilderoy Lockhart!"
"Hurry up!" he urged Umbridge.
"Minister!" Scrimgeour couldn't take it anymore and raised his voice, only to see Fudge turn his head and stare intently at him. Suddenly, a pair of cold eyes appeared on that comical and foolish fat face, as if to say—buddy, think it over before you speak.
This made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
Fortunately, Fudge laughed again, a very harmless laugh, and put his arm around Scrimgeour's shoulder. "Hey, buddy, Gilderoy Lockhart is one of us, you know? I don't care how he got into the Ministry of Magic, he's one of us."
"Dumbledore..."
He took a breath. "Dumbledore gave him the Beast's Office? Ha, I could give him so much more!"
As he spoke, he looked at Umbridge and said, "We need to study our Mr. Lockhart more carefully. I need to understand him better so that I can figure out what kind of position would be more attractive to him and make him willing to stay in the Ministry of Magic."
"As long as people live in this world, they will inevitably have desires. Seize their desires, satisfy them, and even give them more! Let them come to us willingly!"
Umbridge's eyes darted around, and he immediately had an idea. Pointing at Scrinker, he said, "He's conducting a suspicion investigation on Mr. Lockhart, and he definitely has the most complete information."
"Merlin's beard!" Fudge exclaimed in surprise, even though he already knew about it. "A suspect investigation?!?"
He waved his hand forcefully. "Rescind it! Rescind it, Scrimgeour! I don't care what mistakes Gilderoy made, rescind it immediately! He can only be a hero of our Ministry of Magic, a hero without any blemish!"
He looked at Scrimgeour with a serious expression. "You'll agree with my approach, won't you? Completely bringing Mr. Lockhart into the organization of our Ministry of Magic?"
Scrimgeour was silent for a moment, then finally nodded. "Don't worry, I know what to do."
Really.
Having reviewed Lockhart's previous files, and with his extensive experience working on the front lines of the Auror for many years, he could spot Lockhart's problems at a glance.
But sometimes the world is like this: there is no right or wrong, only perspectives.
Scrimgeour approved of Minister Fudge's approach and recruited Lockhart into the Ministry of Magic.
Therefore, he wouldn't mind helping Lockhart smooth over all the discord in his past qualifications, guaranteeing that even if the Auror Liaison Office of the International Wizarding Federation specially dispatched a global team of elite Aurors to investigate, they wouldn't find anything wrong.
"Very good." Fudge expressed his satisfaction.
"Next, you..." He hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand to indicate that it was alright, and turned to Umbridge, "Go and appease Lockhart, don't let him develop a bad impression of the Ministry of Magic because of this. I think you should be able to handle this perfectly?"
Umbridge adjusted his glasses. "I guarantee he'll feel like he's home."
"Very good!" Fudge strode back to his desk and sat down, pulling out a quill and parchment to start thinking about his draft. After a moment, he looked up at Scrimgeour. "You're going to Hogwarts to get that poor kid, Vincent Crabbe, right? I hope you can bring him here when I'm doing the press interview later, bring him here unharmed."
"Have the Silent Ones of the Department of Mysteries put his soul back in, and he'll appear during my interview, lively and healthy, full of gratitude towards our Ministry!"
……
Lockhart didn't wait long in the Auror's office before the Wizengamot Tribunal sent people to conduct an informal investigation.
Yes, the one who's here is the head of this department, the chief wizard—Albus Dumbledore.
Old Deng looked like he was in a hurry, and his body carried the weathered look of someone on a long journey.
He took the strong coffee Kingsley offered him, took a sip, and winced at the bitter taste before looking at Lockhart and Kingsley with a complicated expression.
"Voldemort himself showed up and knew I couldn't let this opportunity slip by, so he lured me away."
"Did you catch him?" Lockhart asked directly.
Dumbledore shook his head. "He possessed the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. I cornered him in the werewolf community and watched him hide in a house with the Faithful Charm cast."
This is a powerful safe house spell, and even someone as powerful as Old Deng is somewhat helpless against it.
The world of magic is so wondrous that there are always areas that leave people helpless. No one should look down on others in the world just because they possess a few extremely powerful spells.
In fact, the weak are protected from the terrifying threat of a terrible being by some mysterious magic, and this is precisely the most magical magic.
Even when Voldemort was at his weakest, he always found ways to evade Dumbledore's pursuit, which was what gave Dumbledore the biggest headache.
This is unlike dealing with Grindelwald before, where you could always find him wherever you went and just draw your wand and charge at him if you wanted to fight him.
"But it wasn't a complete loss."
A glint of light flashed across Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles, and a slight smile appeared on his face. "My magic has completely imprisoned him within the body of the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. The night of the full moon will be the perfect opportunity for me to deal with that cup!"
The cup, a Horcrux, Hufflepuff's Golden Cup.
Lockhart's expression shifted. The next full moon would be about two weeks from now. It seemed like it was time to give Tom some minor surgery.
It's quite interesting that both he and Dumbledore caught Voldemort by the skin of their teeth. Horcruxes seem to make Voldemort immortal, but they also bring danger.
and many more!
These aren't the only two Horcruxes appearing before us now.
And Harry Potter too!
Lockhart quickly considered the key point. He had tried before to teach Ginny how to resist the influence of dark magic, but with little success. However, that did not mean the path was unworkable.
Ginny won't work, but Harry might.
The title of savior isn't just given lightly; Harry possesses exceptional potential in the field of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
We need to explore further and invest more in teaching!
The office quickly fell silent. Dumbledore and Lockhart were both pondering their plans, while Kingsley sat quietly to the side, secretly observing the state of the two men before him.
He had previously thought that Dumbledore's recruitment of Lockhart was like his recruitment of the thief Mundungus—a kind act of kindness to help those on the brink of disaster, and also a hope that these people with outstanding abilities in their respective fields could make some contributions to the great cause of fighting the Dark Lord.
But now it seems that it's not that simple.
Lockhart's involvement in this matter was more profound than Lockhart had anticipated.
If that's the case, Lockhart might be a worthwhile investment.
Despite being just a seasoned Auror, Kingsley possesses resources far exceeding most people's imagination. Keep in mind, he hails from the Shackler family, one of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pure-Blood Families.
For example, Coban Yaxley, who also comes from one of the twenty-eight holy pure-blood families, knows many little-known secrets that ordinary people don't!
Lockhart would surely be interested in the enemy who framed him.
"How should we handle this if we have formal training?" he asked Dumbledore, needing to know the bigwig's thoughts and set the tone.
Dumbledore frowned at the mention of this man. "He needs to be put to trial, but not now. He's the best signpost for us to find the Dark Lord more easily."
"Leave it to me!" Lockhart suddenly interjected, smiling at the two before him, licking his lips. "I need his cooperation for some magical experiments."
"!!!" Kingsley suddenly felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.
(End of this chapter)