Chapter 200 Furious
Chapter 200 Furious
Chapter 201 Furious
The Ministry of Magic had originally planned that the Dementors would search Hogwarts Castle for two hours, checking every nook and cranny before leaving.
Yes, they checked every corner. From the beginning, they knew the missing Dementor couldn't possibly be in the castle.
To their surprise, the search had to be abruptly ended only half an hour after the Dementors entered the castle.
The reason was that some Dementors couldn't resist the temptation and tried to force their way into Ravenclaw's common room, resulting in the leader of the Dementors being blown up by the enraged Professor Flitwick!
As a former dueling champion and Hogwarts Charms professor, Philius Flitwick was clearly more adept at using the Patronus Charm than Professor McGonagall.
His guardian spirit was a tiny hummingbird, incredibly fast, so the Dementor exploded in mid-air like fireworks, leaving only a wisp of smoke and half a tattered cloak.
Unfortunately, in this incident, the Dementors had violated the rules first, and Professor Flitwick had to take action to protect his students, leaving even Connery Fudge with no choice but to intervene.
Furthermore, the Dementors' actions thoroughly enraged Dumbledore, and a silver phoenix appeared in the sky above the castle!
In order to prevent all 197 Dementors from perishing within Hogwarts Castle, Scrimgeour decisively gave the order...
End this search and get all the Dementors out of the castle.
Connelly Fudge said nothing, but instead supported Scrimgeour's actions.
It was just an experiment, there was no need to pay such a high price.
Just as he was pondering what kind of excuse he could come up with to get away with it, a stuntman suddenly rushed over, holding a piece of black cloth in his hand.
He whispered something in Fudge's ear.
"Really? — Hmm, I understand." Fudge frowned.
He walked quickly to Dumbledore's side.
"Albus, the missing Dementor has been found."
"Oh?" Dumbledore's voice rose slightly.
"Here it is." Fudge took out the tattered cloth. "This was found by the Strikers near the Forbidden Forest. There are also magical traces and Black's footprints next to it."
"Are you sure these are Black's footprints?" Dumbledore asked.
"The striker has been confirmed; it was definitely Black," Fudge said. "It looks like Black killed that poor Dementor, that vicious one—"
"Speaking of ferocity, I think it's more fitting to describe Dementors," Dumbledore interrupted him rudely. "Then, Minister, is there anything else?"
"No, I mean, things have been resolved satisfactorily, haven't they?"
"I hope so," Dumbledore said.
A few minutes later, Scrimgeour led all the Dementors away from Hogwarts Castle.
Dumbledore waved his hand, and a golden-red light spread out, causing the ice crystals and frost in the castle to melt rapidly, wetting the floors and walls.
Suddenly, dozens or even hundreds of house-elves appeared out of thin air. They took tools and cleaned up the water stains in the blink of an eye.
The entire castle was thus transformed, or at least looked much cleaner.
"Did they really find that thing in the Forbidden Forest?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," Hagrid said, adding that he had returned with the batter.
"We found it south of the Forbidden Forest. The footprints are real. I've been watching it the whole time."
"That's strange," Dumbledore said, puzzled. "As far as I know, Sirius Black doesn't seem to have the ability to kill Dementors. Also, his years in Azkaban make it unlikely that he could have learned the Patronus Charm in such a short time."
"So, how exactly did he kill a Dementor?"
"Maybe they have help," Hagrid blurted out. "Like how I can't kill the Basilisk alone, but I can with Fluffy."
"That would be terrible," Dumbledore said softly.
"That person can help Black kill the Dementors, so could he help him get into the castle?" Snape glanced at Lupin sideways, and anyone could tell who he was referring to as "that person."
"I don't believe anyone in this castle could help Black break in," Dumbledore said, making it clear that the topic was off.
"Of course, Headmaster, so do I," Snape said after a moment of silence.
"I need to check if there are any Dementors left in the castle," Dumbledore said. "After that, we can have the ghosts inform the students."
"Oh, and don't let the postponed Quidditch match drag on too long; the castle needs some laughter now."
"How about this afternoon?" Ms. Huo said, completely ignoring the almost continuous storm outside.
"I can't wait any longer," Dumbledore said with a smile, heading upstairs to the headmaster's office.
Meanwhile, outside the castle.
An unseen umbrella blocked the heavy rain, and Connelly Fudge stood beneath it with a somber expression.
"You just said, how many Dementors appeared in total?"
"One hundred and ninety-five," Scrimgeour said. "I counted it; there's no mistake."
Fudge's face turned even uglier.
They brought a total of 197 Dementors this time. Even if Felix Flitwick killed one, there should still be 196 left.
Now, however, there are two missing.
This means that another professor also killed the Dementors, but didn't tell them.
"This is outrageous! Do they even respect the Ministry of Magic?!" Fudge exclaimed angrily. "And Dumbledore, he—."
His words became increasingly harsh.
But Scrimgeour simply turned his head to count the number of Dementors, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
But in his heart, Scrimgeour sneered.
He knew all too well how Fudge got his position as Minister of Magic.
To put it bluntly, it was just good luck. His biggest competitor withdrew for some reason, and with Dumbledore's support,
That's how he went from an obscure deputy director of the Disaster Management Department to the Minister of Magic.
To put it another way, if Dumbledore were to announce that he wanted to become Minister of Magic, Fudge would be impeached and removed from office tomorrow for stepping into his office with his left foot first.
Fudge himself knew this, which is why he only dared to say it here, not in front of Dumbledore.
It took Fudge about ten minutes to calm down, and at the same time, he thought of something else.
"Where is Sirius Black? Is he in Hogwarts Castle?"
"No," Scrimgeour shook his head and said, "I brought a tracking scope, and the number of wizards' footprints in the castle matched the number of professors perfectly; there were no extra people."
"So, Black is really hiding in the Forbidden Forest?" Fudge frowned. "Have the Dementors search the Forbidden Forest again."
"It's not possible right now," Scrimgeour said. "A Dementor has been killed, and they're very upset about it."
"They have a lot of complaints?" Fudge exploded, shouting, "Why did we make the decision to retreat?"
Are they afraid of Dumbledore? It's not that they're afraid; it's to protect those fools!
"Very well, since the Dementors have objections, let them go back to Hogwarts Castle to take revenge. I won't stop them. Let them go; I want to see how many of them come out alive!"
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