Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 233

Regarding the conflict between Dumbledore and Fudge, it turns out that Toby's method is effective.

What he wrote in the report of "The Quibbler" was not tactful at all, and he almost mentioned by name that the reason why Fudge was able to investigate and deal with so many clues was because of Grindelwald's secret assistance.

This was a suspicion that couldn't be ignored anyway—the Minister of Magic would cooperate with the former Dark Lord, and he was still committed to fighting the person who had defeated the Dark Lord?

Could it be that Fudge has become Grindelwald's subordinate, and all these things he is doing now are just secretly following Grindelwald's orders?

Turns out they were already together.

Perhaps it was because there were too many similar discussions in the wizarding world, and Fudge had nothing to do with "The Quibbler"—because at the same time this report was published, an article about "The Quibbler" appeared in the magazine that officially became Hogg The article in the Watts school newspaper has become one of the many symbols of Hogwarts.

If Fudge starts targeting The Quibbler, then he's clearly showing signs of attacking Hogwarts—that is, Dumbledore—to the outside world.

In this way, Fudge will only sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of rumors. Even if Dumbledore's criticism is useless, he will still be suspected of linking the Dark Lord.

This would bring unimaginable stains to his career, and it would be good to step down. If he was not careful, he would even be imprisoned in Azkaban, and Nurmengard said it might not be so.

On the other hand, during Lucius Malfoy's running around, he lobbied many senior officials of the Ministry of Magic, including the wizard members of the Wizengamot, and asked them to force Fudge to make a decision as soon as possible-such a stalemate It's not good for either of them.

Of course Lucius was helping Toby.He had to, and Toby caught his pain and used the locket to learn his worst fears.In Lucius' mind, Toby would definitely not be a person willing to let it go.

And, to be honest, the sales of "The Quibbler" also impressed him.

Almost suddenly, Lucius found that he had achieved what he had dreamed of doing for a long time - controlling a newspaper with sufficient influence without being controlled by the Ministry of Magic.

This is more in line with the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes.

The editor-in-chief allows Lucius to roam around those powerful wizards as much as he wants, without being punished and discredited one day like Fudge. He is very satisfied with his current status and thinks it is very suitable for Malfoy. Family style.

Of course, it doesn't matter who the boss is, as long as you don't think about it.

Toby also thinks that Lucius is not important, and he also doesn't think about it.

Until now, Lucius didn't even know the existence of a master edition—this is the defect of a layman—neither understands the wonders of the magic circle, nor how a newspaper operates.

Lucius just felt that Toby was really powerful, and he could run the newspaper in an orderly manner just by sitting in the office by himself.

Toby didn't know what his staff was thinking. He was receiving an unexpected guest at Hogwarts.

When he led the guest back to the castle, he deliberately covered him tightly. The students held back their curiosity and didn't ask who it was, thinking that they had all taken ancient magic classes, so maybe it was Hai. Professor Mo got another mummy out of nowhere.

After leading the other party back to his office, Toby closed the door, turned his head and said to the gloomy Scrimgeour, "Sorry."

His tone didn't sound apologetic at all.

"I can't help it."

No, it would be too much fun for the Auror Chief of Staff to pull off this disguise.

"However, you also know that the nearest Hogwarts is not very safe. It would be bad if you were captured by the White Demon King who came out of nowhere. Besides, I have to protect you from other people, for example— — Well, students, some of them are already starting to hate their parents who work at the Ministry of Magic, let alone you, the Auror leader."

Rufus Scrimgeour Trespassing on Hogwarts - that headline sounds good, tomorrow at the latest - no, let this be in the papers as soon as Scrimgeour is gone, with the intention of Want to sneak attack on Dumbledore—hey, it’s not topical enough, it needs to be more powerful. It’s better to write it as preparation for treason!Betrayed Fudge and officially joined this side of Hogwarts.The reason is even simpler. Grindelwald must have told him a lot about Dumbledore. As long as he praises the headmaster in a magazine, everyone will believe that Scrimgeour will be convinced by such a Dumbledore.

In the office, Scrimgeour had made up all of this from Toby's reactions, and he had strong evidence to doubt it.Leaving aside Toby's thick pile of criminal records, "The Quibbler" has caused more troubles for the Ministry of Magic in the past few days than the previous years combined.

The most suspicious thing is that Scrimgeour witnessed Toby winking at Al behind the desk, and then Al stared at him and began to write.

How could Xixiu know how to read?
No, what is it staring at me for?
Scrimgeour frowned. "What is it doing?"

"Who?" Toby looked left and right: "Are you asking Al? Take it easy, what can a Niffler do, as long as you take care not to show the gold on the outside of your clothes--by the way, you are What are you here for? You haven’t told me the purpose of coming here. Bi told me that you couldn’t find enough manpower in Hogsmeade Village, and once again wanted to persuade me to join you, or to be an internal response.”

Scrimgeour was obviously not so stupid. Before the trial, he had cut off the idea of ​​recruiting Toby because of the Gump story that Toby told. Even Dumbledore certainly couldn't quite get his hands on him.

"neither."

In a very short time, Scrimgeour returned to his lion-like aura, and said in a powerful voice: "I'm here to negotiate with you, Toby Highmore."

In the silent gaze, it seemed that even the air froze.Skeletons—now two skeletons with heads, they hugged their shoulders, their teeth bumped up and down, and they made a rattling sound as appropriate.

Al smiled and looked at his little trick, and when Scrimgeour looked over at it, Al immediately started to write again, as if he wanted to write Scrimgeour to death.

This was also made up by Scrimgeour through Al's reaction.

As an Auror, he must always maintain a clear judgment on the situation around him.It's a pity that the other two guys in the room are not normal - who can read and write? This is also one of Haimo's secrets?Could it be related to a certain case?

At this time, after being silent for nearly half a minute, Toby finally spoke.

"I see." He said in a dazed tone, "You're going to throw in the towel, aren't you? Fudge sent you here? He finally can't stand the public opinion?"

"It's not about admitting defeat." Scrimgeour said emphatically, "It's a negotiation, a negotiation between you and me. I represent the Ministry of Magic, and you represent Albus Dumbledore."

Toby sneered, "You're talking as if Dumbledore is the enemy of the Ministry of Magic."

Scrimgeour kept a straight face, neither admitting nor denying the statement.

After repeatedly attacking each other for a long time, plus the smear actions that no one would give in, the key to the final debate still fell on the witnesses of both sides.

That is, Bathilda Bagshot, author of A History of Magic.

And the principal of Ouagadu - Babajid Akinbad.

If we only talk about the British wizarding world, wizards would have believed Bathilda Bagshot's remarks more, because most of the wizards here graduated from Hogwarts, and "History of Magic" has always been Hogger. Watts' official textbook - it is at the same level as "Ancient Magic".

It's really the same level, but the sales volume is much worse

Believe it or not, although Professor Binns's class is very boring, the book "History of Magic" is still very serious, and it can play an important role in various industries.

As for "Ancient Magic", let's not mention Toby's sadness - not long ago, the ranking of this book dropped again, and the overall trend was ups and downs, full of twists and turns.

But if Bathilda Bagshot had been as wise as ever, the wizards of England would have trusted her more.

But she has become dementia.

Bagshot was too old, which was unusual for Fudge's side, and their enemy witness was mentioned as Babajid Akimbad - the equally famous headmaster of Ouagadou, with powerful international credentials. Influence.

Toby looked stunned again.

"I understand again." He nodded and said, "You tried to contact Principal Akinbad. Unfortunately, he refused to perjure you for you, so you had to come to us to negotiate and ask me to say, For you, this is an opportunity. Don't you want to be Minister of Magic?"

Scrimgeour stared straight at Toby, like a lion before hunting.

"I almost forgot." Toby said with a smile: "In the report of "The Quibbler", you also became Grindelwald's subordinate. It just so happens that you, the person involved, are here now, so I can give me a chance to interview you Tell me? Tell me, how did Grindelwald persuade you to help him pass the news to Fudge? An Auror like you should not agree to help this. Grindelwald is so easy to let people Are you convinced?"

The last sentence was emphatically spoken by Toby in such a weird tone that he couldn't understand Scrimgeour's actions - such a dangerous message for an Auror, especially when it comes to the world. This behavior is extremely irrational when you are fighting against the most powerful white wizard.

It's against Auror ethics.

Scrimgeour's cheeks were puffed up, and it could be seen that he was on the verge of rage.

Toby suddenly thought of a guess.

"Don't tell me." He whispered: "After you left Nurmengard, Fudge sent other people to the prison, so as to bypass the news you knew. Or, from the beginning, Fudge There are people around you. These words are not spoken by Grindelwald to you, but to the people around you—that is, Fudge's people."

Judging from Scrimgeour's reaction, Toby felt that his guess was pretty close.

"Tsk tsk tsk." He shook his head and said, "A power struggle? It's terrible, it's ugly."

"Don't waste time." Scrimgeour interrupted before Toby spoke again: "I said I came to negotiate, and I also know that Hogwarts has been having a hard time recently."

Scrimgeour was right about this.

Uninterrupted, there are always parents clamoring for students to be expelled from Hogwarts - the fact that Dumbledore himself admits that he is suspected of killing his sister has long been spread, no matter what the reasons or secrets are Not everyone can accept it.

There used to be a school council to deal with this kind of thing, but now - the Black Devil Foundation doesn't have enough people, and Toby can't do anything carelessly, and those parents haven't violated the rules, so it's impossible for him to force the students to stay. At Hogwarts, that would make the school look like a prison.

Moreover, maybe the headmaster would let go at some point and let the students leave the school voluntarily, which would definitely bring an unprecedented disaster to Hogwarts.

But Toby didn't agree right away, he kept his eyes open and asked, "Then what do you want to do?"

"It's very simple." Scrimgeour said simply, obviously thinking about the draft: "The debate between the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler must stop, the sooner this matter is the better. Besides, after a while From time to time, the minister will entertain guests from some countries in Hogsmeade Village, which is obviously a celebration, but—”

At this time, Toby said: "But Fudge still can't stand the international pressure, right? Linking Grindelwald is a big, big crime, so big that Fudge can't bear it anyway. The Ministry of Magic cannot afford such a threat, they must get an answer as soon as possible."

"As for the reason for choosing Hogsmeade as the location—"

Toby sneered again and said: "You guys are really thoughtful. In this way, the Aurors who were sent before have an excuse to explain. They are not to beware of Dumbledore, but to eliminate risks in advance for this celebration Turn a mobilization into a routine job, so that the Ministry of Magic of other countries will know that Fudge and Dumbledore are not enemies, and it is even more impossible to be with Grindelwald."

Scrimgeour didn't respond to Toby's words.

And other things, such as the disposal of Peter Pettigrew, the placement of Sirius Black's "body" and most importantly - the control of the dementors, he didn't mention them.

Maybe it's not time to negotiate.Or, very likely, Fudge was just planning to throw them away after they were used up, and instead continued to secretly target these people at Hogwarts.

Toby didn't think it was impossible. Maybe even Scrimgeour didn't know about it.Bypassing Scrimgeour, after all, Fudge had already done once during the Nurmengard affair.

"Let's talk about the celebration first."

Toby said quietly, "I have an idea about this celebration."

"What idea?" Scrimgeour asked tricky.

"Hogwarts must be held!" Toby said firmly: "If you don't even agree to this, then there is no need to talk about other things."

(End of this chapter)