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"See you tonight."
Cedric stepped out of the elevator, followed by Professor McGonagall.
The first three students had already left on other floors, and then only Kyle, Fudge, and Umbridge were left in the elevator.
"How do you feel? Were you shocked after seeing the inauguration announcement?" Fudge asked with a smile.
"I was really scared," Kyle said. "I thought it was a prank."
"A prank? Of course not." Fudge said, "This is an attempt that has never been done before. There are many people who submitted applications, but we think we should still choose students in fifth grade or above. The OWL scores are an important reference."
They arrived at the door of a room on the top floor with a sign indicating the Assistant Minister's Office.
"Your office, I keep my word." Fudge opened the door, "By the way, Dolores, those children may have a lot of discomfort when they come to the Ministry of Magic for the first time. As a professor, I think you You should go and help them.”
Umbridge, who was about to move forward, suddenly stopped and looked at Fudge with disbelief.
"Any questions?" Fudge asked.
"No, not really." Her voice was trembling: "I'll go right away."
"Thank you for your hard work." Fudge said casually. He walked directly into the room without looking at Umbridge.
Kyle couldn't help but look back, and met Umbridge's extremely malicious eyes.
Kyle had no doubt that if this wasn't the Ministry of Magic, and if Fudge hadn't been around, she would have cast a curse on herself.
"What are you waiting for, Professor." Kyle said with a smile: "Hurry up, otherwise you won't be able to catch the elevator in a while, and you will have to wait for a long time."
Umbridge's face turned red instantly and she gasped for air, which made her look more like a toad.
But Kyle didn't care. After he finished speaking, he didn't look at Umbridge again and walked briskly into the office.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 674: Anti-Death Eater Frontline
To be honest, this room is not big. It only has a set of tables and chairs and a bookcase that reaches the ceiling.
But compared to most offices in the Ministry of Magic, which are as small as a broom closet and have two or three people squeezed in, this one is considered top-notch.
For example, Mr. Weasley's Department for the Prohibition of Misuse of Muggle Articles. He had been there once before, and there were two desks in an office as big as a broom closet. The contents of the cabinet were overflowing, and the extra documents had to be placed everywhere where they could be seen, making it difficult to even find a place to find them.
Kyle had never understood why the Ministry of Magic didn't use the Invisible Stretch Charm to make his office more spacious.
He also asked Mr. Weasley, but got no answer. Mr. Weasley just said that it was fine as it was now, and that he was used to it and there was no need to do anything extra.
Arriving in the office, Fudge took off his hat and asked, "What do you think of this place?"
"Very good." Kyle said, "I'm officially at work now. Does the minister have any tasks?"
"It's not a mission." Fudge fiddled with his hat, "You are only in sixth grade now, so you still have to focus on your studies."
Kyle naturally didn't believe this. Fudge couldn't let Umbridge leave for no reason. He obviously had something to say.
Moreover, he still has one hundred and fifty galleons every month. This salary cannot be paid in vain. Fudge is not that generous.
This can also be seen from the fact that Cedric only has a pitiful seven galleons.
So Kyle didn't speak, just waited quietly for Fudge's next words.
Sure enough, a moment later, Fudge asked seemingly casually: "I heard from Albus that you saved Harry Potter in the last event of the Triwizard Tournament?"
"That's right." Kyle didn't hide anything and said, "A Death Eater used Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the castle and took the opportunity to kidnap Harry."
"How did you discover it?" Fudge asked, "I remember you were working on the third project at the time."
"Because the Triwizard Cup..." Kyle said, "It was replaced by a door key. When I got it, I was automatically teleported to where Harry was."
"Oh, I remember." Fudge suddenly realized, "I remember you suddenly disappeared after getting the trophy. To be honest, I always thought it was another project."
"No, I was sent to the top of a mountain..."
"So, you also saw the mysterious man resurrected?" Fudge's eyes flickered, staring at Kyle without blinking.
"I did not see the process of the mysterious man's resurrection." Kyle said calmly without changing his expression, "But there were indeed Death Eaters there planning something, and Dumbledore rushed over quickly and took me and Harry Leigh was sent back to Hogwarts.
"As for what happened next, only Dumbledore knows."
Fudge didn't speak, just looked at Kyle and fiddled with his hat.
He didn't think Kyle was lying, after all, everything was right... Kyle suddenly disappeared after getting the trophy, and then Dumbledore disappeared too.
And the most important point is that if Kyle also saw the mysterious man, then when Dumbledore hyped the resurrection of the mysterious man before, he had no reason to side with the Ministry of Magic.
Fudge's expression was a little complicated, with a hint of disappointment.
A month ago, the last thing he wanted to hear was the news of the mysterious man's resurrection, but now, he hoped it was true.
But Fudge himself was unsure. He was not sure whether the mysterious man was really resurrected. The reason why he published that report was because Dumbledore had no choice but to do so.
Ten Death Eaters escaped from prison at the same time. If this was caught, Dumbledore could easily oust him from the position of minister.
But even now that he has kept his position, he is not having an easy time. Since the prison break, a large number of letters have been sent to the minister's office every day, including many shouting letters calling for his resignation.
And these roaring letters were all sent to Dumbledore before.
Everyone seems to think this is a trick he came up with... in order to stay in the position of Minister of Magic.
And as time went by, such voices became more and more frequent, even appearing within the Ministry of Magic.
There are many ways to solve this problem, the simplest of which is for the mysterious man to appear in public.
As long as the mysterious man shows up, there is no need to say anything more.
But this was not within Fudge's control, and subconsciously he didn't want to see that scene.
So the only thing he can do now is to find more people, especially those who are famous, to prove it.
He also mentioned this to Dumbledore when he went to Hogwarts before, but it's just that so long has passed and there has been no progress at all.
Obviously, Dumbledore didn't want to help.
"Kyle..." Fudge asked suddenly: "Do you believe that the mysterious man has made a comeback?"
"Of course." Kyle said, "After all, it was said in the newspaper that he rescued ten Death Eaters. If it weren't for the mysterious man, who would be free to rescue those people?"
"But there are still many people who don't believe it." Fudge said in a deep voice, "This kind of mentality is very dangerous. The reason why I have to risk being kicked out of office to announce this to everyone is to make everyone do a good job." Prepare to face the war that is about to begin.
"But now many people insist that I am doing it for my own selfish interests. If this continues, our efforts will be in vain."
"That's right." Kyle nodded in deep agreement and said, "The minister means..."
"I remember that you seem to have a very good relationship with Mr. Scamander, right." Fudge said, "As a famous expert on magical animals, if he is willing to help, he may be able to change many people's minds."
"I understand, I'll try to convince Newt," Kyle said.
"That would be great." Fudge smiled, "Okay, you should get familiar with this place first. I still have some things to deal with."
He put on his hat and was ready to leave.
"Wait a minute, Minister." Kyle stopped him and said, "I have an immature idea that may also play a certain role."
"Oh? What do you think?" Fudge stopped and asked.
Kyle glanced at the closed door and lowered his voice:
"I think maybe the reason some people don't take our word for it is because it's so quiet out there right now."
"calm?"
"That's right." Kyle continued, "There has been no news since the Death Eaters escaped from prison, as if they were all hiding. This is not in line with their behavior more than ten years ago. It is normal for everyone not to believe it. of.
"After all, in most people's minds, Death Eaters with a mysterious person as their backer are extremely arrogant."
"But they are really hiding." Fudge sighed: "Neither the strikers nor the Aurors have found any trace of the Death Eaters."
"But what if we find out..." Kyle's tone rose slightly, "The Ministry of Magic has to deal with so many emergencies every day. Is it possible that the culprit of one of them is Antonin Dolohov."
Fudge raised his head and instantly understood what Kyle meant.
It doesn't matter whether the Death Eaters come out or not. The Ministry of Magic has to deal with so many illegal things and wizards every day. They can just pick one that has a bad influence and put the blame directly on the other person's head.
As for what counts as bad... Fudge remembered hearing Weasley and Perkins discussing this morning that someone had cast a transmutation spell in their garden in order to trick Muggles.
Isn't this a proper attack on Muggle streets?
Fudge was a little moved, but now he had two questions... Then he frowned and said, "But what if we can't catch anyone."
"Isn't that normal? Death Eaters are hard to catch." Kyle said, "As long as it is confirmed that they did it, it will be enough to make many people wary."
Fudge's eyes lit up. He took off his hat again, paced in place, and asked, "Then do you think if you want to investigate the Death Eaters, is it better to be a striker or an Auror..."
"Will not work."
Kyle said, "To deal with cunning Death Eaters, one needs someone who is meticulous, fearless of danger, and absolutely loyal to the Ministry of Magic. Moreover, this person must hold a high enough position, such as director or deputy minister... Only in this way can the investigation results be more convincing."
Fudge repeated Kyle's words, searching for a suitable candidate in his heart.
Thoughtfulness and nothing else matter, only loyalty...
In this way, all the directors were eliminated, and Fudge knew very well that it was impossible for them to help him do such deceitful things.
And even if they were willing, Fudge himself wouldn't be at ease.
But who else? Kyle, who originally made this suggestion, was the most suitable candidate, but he still needed to go to class and didn't have time.
Suddenly, Fudge thought of someone, someone who fit all the criteria perfectly.
"What do you think of Dolores?"
"Professor Umbridge?" Kyle thought seriously for a moment, "I think she is a bit overqualified at Hogwarts. The anti-Death Eater frontline is the stage where she can really display her talents."
"Anti-Death Eater front line?" Fudge thought about Kyle's words carefully and felt excited.
"Ah, I knew that letting you enter the Ministry of Magic was the most correct decision I made this year." Fudge said with a smile, "I didn't expect that on the first day, you would already think of a way to expose the Death Eaters' conspiracy. "
"I just provided a trivial suggestion, Minister." Kyle shook his head and said: "The person who carried out this work is the real hero against the Death Eaters."
"You're right." The sadness on Fudge's face disappeared, and he left the office with a smile.
……
To be honest, the Hogwarts students came to the Ministry of Magic this time just for a formality and to get familiar with the environment. They were not really expected to complete any work.
But even so, when they got off work in the evening, everyone's face looked like they were still unsatisfied.