94 hp Diagon Alley

It was the pain in the scar that Harry had been feeling, wasn't it? said Dumbledore coldly.

"So, you admit that he's been feeling these pains all the time?" said Fudge quickly. "Headache? Nightmares? And maybe -- hallucinations?"

"Listen, Connelly," said Dumbledore, taking a step towards Fudge, who seemed to radiate that indescribable power once again, "Harry is as conscious and sane as you and me. The scar on his forehead It didn't confuse his mind. I believe that Harry's scar only hurt when Voldemort was lurking nearby or felt a strong desire to kill."

Fudge took a half step back from Dumbledore, but his expression remained stubborn.

"Excuse me, Dumbledore, I've never heard of a spell scar like a bell before..."

"I saw Voldemort return with my own eyes!" Harry shouted.He struggled to get out of bed, but Sirius and Mrs. Weasley held him back. "I've seen Death Eaters! I can name them! Lucius Malfoy—"

Snape moved abruptly, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes turned to Fudge again.

"Malfoy was acquitted!" said Fudge, clearly offended. "A very old family—giving generously to a good cause—"

"McNeil!" Harry continued to call out the names.

"Also acquitted! Currently working at the Ministry of Magic!"

"Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle -"

"You're just repeating the names of people who were judged not to be Death Eaters 13 years ago!" Fudge said angrily. "You can find those names in past trial reports! Look in the papers, Dumbledore — at the end of last year, the boy's head was full of queer tales made up—his lies got more and more outlandish, and you believed them all—the boy who could talk to snakes, Dumbledore, And you still think he's trustworthy?"

"You fool!" cried Professor McGonagall. "Those people's deaths were by no means the random act of a madman!"

"I can't see why not!" cried Fosse, his face flushed purple, as angry as Professor McGonagall, "it seems to me that you are all determined to create a panic and destroy our thirteen years. Everything that has been painstakingly created!"

Everyone present couldn't believe their ears.Fudge has always acted like an amiable man, albeit domineering and conceited, but essentially kind.It did not occur to him that the angry little wizard standing before him categorically refused to believe that his well-ordered, stable and comfortable world could be destroyed—that Voldemort might rise again.

"Voldemort is back," said Dumbledore again, "Connelly, you are so obsessed with your official position that you have lost your judgment." Dumbledore said, his voice gradually raised, and people He could feel the halo of power surrounding him, and his eyes glowed again. "I'll tell you now - just follow my advice and take some steps, and the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world will always remember you as the bravest and greatest Minister for Magic that ever lived. If you don't take Action - and history will remember it: you stood by and gave Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have worked so hard to rebuild!"

"Absurd," whispered Fudge, continuing to step back, "crazy..."

There was a silence.Madam Pomfrey stood by Harry's bed in a daze, her hand over her mouth.Sirius was still poised to pounce on Fudge for a duel.Mrs. Weasley stood in front of Harry, her hands on his shoulders to keep him from getting up.Bill, Ron, Hermione, the twins, and Gwen all stared at Fudge in amazement, like he was the biggest idiot ever.

"If you are so obsessed with your own way, Connelly," said Dumbledore, "we will have to go our separate ways. You do as you see fit. I - I do my will."

There was nothing threatening in Dumbledore's voice, it sounded like a statement, but Fudge was furious, as if Dumbledore was approaching him with a wand raised.

"Yes, yes, Dumbledore," he said, threateningly waving a finger, "I have always given you complete freedom. I have always held you in great esteem. I may not approve of some of your decisions, But I always keep silent. Not many people will allow you to hire werewolves, keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach students without consulting the Ministry of Magic. However, if you are going to turn against me—"

"The only thing I want to go against," said Dumbledore, "is Voldemort. If you go against him too, Connelly, then we're still on the same side."

Fudge couldn't seem to figure out how to answer.Unsteady on his little feet, he swayed back and forth for a moment, twirling his bowler hat with both hands.Finally, he spoke, with a hint of pleading in his voice, "He won't come back, Dumbledore, he can't..."

Surprisingly, Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, raising the left sleeve of his robes as he went.He held out his arm to show Fudge, who recoiled in horror.

"See," said Snape hoarsely, "see. The Dark Mark. It's not as obvious as it was an hour ago, when it was charred black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eaters all have Voldemort's brand on them. This is a way for Death Eaters to identify each other, and it is also Voldemort's secret signal to call them back to him. When he touches the mark of a Death Eater, we must immediately Apparated, appeared next to him. The mark has been more and more obvious for a year. Karkaroff's is the same. Why do you say Karkaroff is running away tonight? We both feel the mark burning. We We all know he's back. Karkaroff fears Voldemort will retaliate against him. He's betrayed many of his fellow Death Eaters, and surely no one will welcome him back among them."

Fudge stepped back from Snape again.He kept shaking his head, as if he didn't catch what Snape was saying.His eyes widened, obviously horrified by the ugly markings on Snape's arm, and he looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what tricks you're playing with your people, Dumbledore, But I've heard enough. I don't want to say anything more. I'll be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the way this school is run. I must go back to the Ministry."

He stopped at the door, turned, strode across the room, and stopped by Harry's bed.

"You've won the prize," he said curtly, pulling out a large bag of gold coins from his pocket and throwing them on Harry's bedside table. "Five hundred Galleons, divided equally with Diggory, you are the joint champions." .There should have been an awards ceremony, but in this situation..."

He put his bowler hat on his head, and went out of the room, closing the door behind him.As soon as he left, Dumbledore turned to look at the group by Harry's bed.

"There's some work to do," he said. "Molly . . . I can count on you and Arthur, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Of course not," said Mrs. Weasley.Her face was pale and her lips were bloodless, but her expression was resolute. "We know what kind of person Fudge is. It is because Arthur likes Muggles that has hindered his development in the Ministry of Magic all these years."

"Well, I need to send a letter to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "To all those who can be persuaded to see the situation by us, we must immediately inform that Arthur has access to those in the Ministry of Magic." Not someone as short-sighted as Connelly."

"I'm going to see Daddy," Bill said, standing up. "I'm going right now."

"Great," said Dumbledore, "tell him what happened. Say I'll be in touch with him directly shortly. But he must proceed with caution. If Fudge thinks I'm meddling in the Ministry—"

"No problem, leave it to me," Bill said.

He patted Harry on the shoulder, kissed his mother on the cheek, then put on his cloak and strode out of the room.

"Now," said Dumbledore, "should we have a good talk?" Dumbledore looked at Sirius and Snape in turn.The look on Snape's face was a mixture of anger and fear.

Dumbledore said, "I trust both of you. Now you should put aside your old differences and trust each other."

Gwen thought Dumbledore was simply asking for a miracle to happen.Sirius and Snape stared at each other viciously, with expressions of utter hatred on their faces.

"In the short term," said Dumbledore, with a hint of impatience in his tone, "I will be content as long as you are not openly hostile to each other. You may as well shake hands. You are now on the same side. Time is short and we are a minority." The few who know the truth must unite, or there is no hope for us all."

Sirius and Snape came forward very slowly and shook hands, but they still glared at each other viciously, as if wishing each other bad luck.They let go quickly.

"That's more or less the case," said Dumbledore, standing between them again. "Now you both have tasks. Fudge's attitude, although we expected it, changed the whole thing."