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In fact, his original idea about Lockhart was the same as Hermione's, but when he thought that the Longbottoms would benefit from it, his thoughts wavered.
This was probably a coincidence. After Lockhart was sent to St. Mungo's, he was placed in the ward where the Longbottoms were, so they naturally became the first beneficiaries.
Kyle nodded beside him.
Perhaps Lockhart didn't want to stay in St. Mungo's forever, nor did he want to go to Azkaban, so he simply chose to buy peace with money.
However, judging from the fact that he was still able to go to watch the Quidditch World Cup, it seemed that this former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor might have held back and not handed over all his money.
His books are very popular. As long as the amount of gold donated is shocking enough and can satisfy everyone, no one will care even if he secretly hides a little bit.
The few of them chatted along the way and soon passed through the village of St. Catchpole. They walked to the end of the path and turned a corner, and the Burrow suddenly appeared.
There was a shout from down the path.
"Oh, thank God, thank God!"
Mrs. Weasley had evidently been expecting them, for she came running up in her slippers, pale and nervous, with a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in her hand.
"Arthur, I was so worried. Fortunately, you are all okay..."
She stepped forward and gave Mr. Weasley a hug, the newspaper falling limply from her hands to the floor.
Kyle picked him up casually.
[Horror at the Quidditch World Cup]
The title was very attractive, and it was accompanied by a large photo showing a panicked crowd and a messy camp.
"So fast?" Kyle said in disbelief. "It's just over now, and it's already been reported?"
"The owl arrived half an hour ago," said Mrs. Weasley. "I was wondering why the newspaper was delivered at this time... I didn't expect such a big thing to happen. Merlin... The Dark Mark..."
Kyle opened the newspaper.
Several heads behind him also came over, and everyone wanted to see what the newspaper said.
This newspaper is much thinner than normal ones. It was obviously made in a hurry to take advantage of the popularity. The content on it is all related to the Quidditch World Cup.
"The Ministry of Magic is panicking...law and order are lax...Dark wizards are at large...gross negligence...shame..."
Ginny read the article above and shouted angrily: "Didn't the person who wrote this article see that even someone like Dad who is on vacation rushed to the front?"
"She won't see it...even if she does she won't write it down." Charlie pointed to a name in the newspaper, "Look who this is, Rita Skeeter. The articles he wrote are almost all fabricated."
"This woman is specifically against the Ministry of Magic," Percy said angrily, "and she must have known that almost everyone in the Ministry had gone to the Quidditch World Cup camp, so she sent out this newspaper overnight."
Harry tilted his head up...towards the name Rita Skeeter.
He remembered that the report about him driving to school at high speed last year was also written by this woman.
"Well, never mind that. I'm glad you're all right." Mrs. Weasley led them towards the house.
Arriving in the small, crowded kitchen, she made everyone a cup of hot cocoa, though Mr. Weasley insisted on switching to aged Firewhisky.
Ten minutes later, Mrs. Weasley brought in another large plate of sandwiches, which was the fastest thing that could be made.
But at this time, no one was in the mood to care about what to eat.
After enduring for so long, with the fire dragon and the riot, everyone's spirits have been tense. Now that we are suddenly relaxed and back to a familiar and safe place, we can't help feeling a little lethargic and just want to lie in bed and have a good sleep.
Mrs. Weasley seemed to understand this, so she asked no questions and waited until everyone had finished eating before she sent them upstairs, leaving Mr. Weasley alone.
Kyle returned to his home.
The lights were on in the room, but no one was inside.
On the table was a plate with a few slices of steaming fried eggs and bread, and next to it was a copy of the Daily Prophet, exactly the same as the one he had just seen.
I think Chris and Diana must have rushed back to the Ministry of Magic overnight after receiving the news.
It is conceivable that the Ministry of Magic will be very busy in the next few days because of Rita Skeeter's report.
But what Kyle couldn't understand was that Chris and Diana, one was from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the other was from the Department of Mysteries, what did this riot have to do with them, and why did they return to the Ministry of Magic overnight.
It couldn't be possible that Veela and Leprechauns were involved in the riot.
……
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 472 Before School Starts
It wasn't until the next night that Kyle found out why Chris had to rush back to the Ministry of Magic overnight.
To put it simply, the ministry was seriously understaffed, and the few people in the Department of International Magical Cooperation were totally insufficient. Anyone who could still breathe was called back to help.
The same thing happened to Mr. Weasley.
For a week in a row, they left before dawn and did not return until late at night.
So Kyle had been having dinner at the Weasleys' house these days, and every time he went there he would hear Fred and George making sarcastic remarks next to him.
Because Kyle and Cedric had teamed up to stuff them into the box, and they had been doing this since they returned from camp.
Cedric escaped because he was far away from the Burrow.
Finally, Kyle couldn't stand it anymore and agreed to take them for a spin in the box after school started, and they finally had a few days of peace.
Another incident that happened during this period was that Percy had a big fight with Mrs. Weasley.
The reason was that Rita Skeeter had published another article. She got the news from somewhere, saying that Mr. Weasley only cared about a few French students in order to please the headmaster of Beauxbatons, and watched more than a dozen wizards being killed without doing anything.
Of course, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this kind of thing was made up, but Percy believed it anyway. During breakfast, he complained to Mr. Weasley that his actions were not wise enough, and he also brought Bill and Charlie along.
Mrs. Weasley was furious and had a big quarrel with him, and Charlie even showed him directly what the methods of a dragon keeper were.
Percy didn't even finish his meal before he ran to the Ministry of Magic with a pair of black eyes.
"Don't mind him." Bill said to Harry and the others beside him, "Rita Skeeter never writes good things about others. She is best at confusing right and wrong, but many brainless people believe her."
In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the holiday, and Sirius and Lupin still hadn't brought him any letters.
In the morning, Kyle went to number 12, Grimmauld Place, but it was empty and the elf was not there.
Besides, there was no news from the Ministry of Magic.
Apparently, Sirius' retrial was put on hold.
What happened at the Quidditch World Cup had not yet been dealt with, and Fudge didn't seem to want to attack Crouch at this time.
But this is not difficult to understand. The Ministry of Magic is in chaos now, and a large number of Howlers are sent to the office of the Department of International Magical Cooperation almost every day.
If Crouch hadn't attracted public anger, letters complaining about the safety of the World Cup and demanding compensation for losses would probably have been sent to his ministerial office.
Fudge didn't want to spend most of his time every day dealing with those Howlers.
It was almost noon when Kyle returned to St. Catchpole Village.
Chris came back, and then left in a hurry with Charlie. He received the mission and had to go to Romania immediately. After learning about it, Charlie decided to get a bunch of portkeys. It happened that he only had the last day of vacation left, so he used the Ministry of Magic The door key can save him a lot of time on the road.
Mr. Weasley waited until very late before returning, dragging his tired body and looking exhausted.
"Things are getting out of hand." He sat in an armchair by the fire, fiddling listlessly with the wrinkled cauliflower on his plate.
"Rita Skeeter has been scrabbling around all week, looking for any more messed-up information to report from the Ministry, and her articles are causing us quite a bit of trouble."
"What about Malfoy, Dad..." Bill asked, "How is Malfoy? Is he imprisoned in Azkaban?"
"I really think so." Mr. Weasley sighed. "He insisted during the trial that he acted in a fit of madness because his team lost the game. He never thought it would become such a big deal."
"He's crazy?" Bill said angrily. "They've used the Cruciatus Curse!"
"I know, but there's no one to testify," said Mr. Weasley. "Remember, his spell didn't work, and there's no way we can prove it with a flashback spell."
"Moreover, a considerable number of jurors chose to believe Malfoy. They believed that the mastermind behind this incident was an escaped Death Eater. Whether it was the use of the Imperius Curse on Buck, forcing him to assassinate Harry, or the first use of the Killing Curse and the creation of the Dark Mark, it was all done by this Death Eater.
Coincidentally, Malfoy had already been arrested when the Dark Mark appeared, which means he had no connection with the Death Eater."
"That's complete nonsense...What about Principal Maxime, did she agree too?" Bill asked.
"The Ministry of Magic is still negotiating with her." Mr. Weasley said, "That's why Malfoy and the others haven't been released yet.
Even though he donated a large sum of gold and took the initiative to bear all the losses and compensation, Principal Maxim found the French Minister of Magic and insisted on an explanation, otherwise he would withdraw..."
Mr. Weasley paused for a moment before continuing: "In short, Principal Maxim and the French Minister of Magic are very resolute in their attitude. Fudge has been having a headache about this matter."
"I see." Kyle nodded. "He doesn't want to damage his international reputation, but he's also unwilling to give up Malfoy's gold..."
"You could say that." Mr. Weasley poured himself a small glass of whiskey, "But no matter what, Malfoy has to suffer this time... I've inquired about it, and the gold he promised to compensate is not a small amount.
"Plus, we have to give an explanation to Beauxbatons... There is news that the Malfoy family is already selling the shop in Diagon Alley."
"He should go to Azkaban!" Ron yelled in dissatisfaction, "I really want to see if Draco Malfoy will still be so arrogant by then."
Mr. Weasley said nothing.
If the Cruciatus Curse had been used at the beginning, he would definitely not have been able to escape, but now... it can only be said that Lucius's scheming over the years has paid off. He spent a lot of Galleons and finally got rewarded at the critical moment.
As long as the mistake is not too serious, there will always be someone to speak up for him.
Besides, the Dark Mark appeared at the perfect time, which gave him an excuse to escape punishment.
"I think you'd better go upstairs and see if everything is packed," said Mrs. Weasley, interrupting their conversation. "Go ahead and stop talking about Malfoy and let your father rest for a while."
"Okay..." Everyone took their things and went upstairs.
Kyle originally wanted to ask if there was any news about Sirius in the Ministry, but seeing that Mr. Weasley looked tired, he didn't say anything.
……
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 473: Angry Tonks
The next morning, everyone stood at the door of the Burrow, preparing to go to King's Cross Station.
Soon, a blue car drove over from a distance.
At this time, the Ministry's cars were in short supply. When Fudge learned that Harry was also here, he directly ordered the best car to be brought over.
This can probably be considered as returning a favor.
After returning from the Ministry of Magic that day, Harry stayed at the Burrow and never revealed the fact that he had been assassinated, thus saving the Ministry of Magic a lot of trouble.