Chapter 735
The Clown and the Demon King
Chapter 735 The Clown and the Demon King
"Oh...no, of course not..."
Dumbledore gave a slightly sarcastic smile: "Grindelwald said he was going to visit Fudge, not the Minister for Magic of England..."
Wade vaguely understood something, and he opened his eyes wide to ask, "And then?"
"And then?" Dumbledore's expression was somewhat subtle. "This very afternoon, he did indeed visit Fudge himself..."
Wade asked speechlessly, "Is that guy still alive?"
Dumbledore chuckled softly: "Of course, our former Minister of Magic didn't lose a single hair, it's just..."
He paused, then said sarcastically, "It will probably take him a while to regain his courage."
Wade scoffed: "So, the survival threat to the next minister has been automatically eliminated, and the position of Minister of Magic has once again become a highly sought-after prize?"
"exactly."
Dumbledore shrugged, his expression cheerful, his tone light, with a hint of self-deprecation.
With the sword hanging over their heads removed, others began vying for the ministerial position, and Dumbledore, who had previously been the "most popular choice," suddenly became an eyesore, with everyone wishing he would disappear as soon as possible.
Therefore, Dumbledore was finally able to return to Hogwarts, and this time, apart from a few people, the higher-ups of the Ministry of Magic no longer unanimously and resolutely tried to persuade him to stay.
The British Ministry of Magic was not transformed after Fudge's departure. In fact, it remained stale and shrouded in bureaucracy. Those officials who had once fawned over Fudge were now still hyenas and wolves chasing fame and fortune.
—Some of it is disgusting.
Wade wanted to mock those people mercilessly, to tear off their hypocritical facades, but seeing Dumbledore's expression as if he had unloaded a heavy burden, he swallowed his words.
He then asked, "Grindelwald visited Fudge... what did they talk about?"
Dumbledore tapped the table, and a glass of honey water appeared in front of both of them. He then said:
"It is said that Fudge was on high alert when they met, but Grindelwald didn't say anything from beginning to end. He just chatted with him about the weather, barbecue, afternoon tea and such... and then he left."
Wade: "Left?"
“Yes,” Dumbledore chuckled. “Fudge was worried that he had been cursed with some terrible curse, so he went to St. Mungo’s for a checkup, and that’s how we heard about it.”
Faced with this dramatic and absurd turn of events, a strange thought suddenly popped into Vader's mind—
Grindelwald's series of actions seemed to be paving the way for Dumbledore, forcing the British wizarding community to put him on the ministerial throne.
However, after Dumbledore made two clear rejections, Grindelwald backed down with a casual gesture... as if the British Ministry of Magic had simply misunderstood him, and that his "visit" was a literal "visit".
But soon, Wade dismissed this absurd idea.
Neither Grindelwald nor Dumbledore were the kind of people who would be blinded by love and indulge in frivolous pursuits. If Grindelwald truly wanted to do something, he would never help Dumbledore gain power that would stand in his way.
Just as his "just in time" appearance saved Dumbledore from being trapped in a difficult situation, it seemed like a good intention, but it was also possible that he was worried that Dumbledore would be morally coerced and have to agree to everyone's requests.
First they created a crisis... then they made it all seem like a joke.
He manipulated the entire British Ministry of Magic with ease, and with just a single sentence, he frightened the Minister of Magic into resigning.
Grindelwald asserted his presence with an extremely assertive attitude, making Fudge and his gang look like clowns, yet without arousing disgust or aversion from those in the know.
Ultimately, it's Fudge and his ilk who are overthinking and scaring themselves. What does that have to do with Grindelwald, who made things very clear back then?
However, this turn of events allowed Grindelwald to clearly see the capabilities and weaknesses of the British Ministry of Magic, weakening its authority without bloodshed, undermining official morale, and causing those in the know to lose trust in the authorities. The only way to reverse this weakness now is to stick to the previous decisions and allow Dumbledore, the only one who can truly stand against that person, to become the head of the ministry and reform the entire institution.
But this is precisely what is absolutely impossible to achieve—
Even disregarding Dumbledore's own wishes, those in power would not want such a powerful rival to take away the biggest share of the spoils.
Moreover, they all knew that, given this principal's style, when he became a minister, many people's irregular interests would be suppressed and dealt with.
Foolish, short-sighted, and corrupt.
This is the British Ministry of Magic today.
Wade sneered inwardly, but ultimately said nothing.
He doesn't like to shout out his thoughts—saying the right thing seems superfluous, saying the wrong thing seems stupid, tolerance might attract contempt and covetousness, and harshness might lead to alienation and avoidance.
The young wizard lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently tracing the rim of the teacup, his eyes thoughtful, but his expression indifferent.
He quietly raised his eyes and looked at Dumbledore, wondering how the headmaster would view Grindelwald's actions.
However, Dumbledore simply finished his cup of honey water calmly, his face expressionless. Seeing Wade looking at him, he asked casually, "Would you like some more honey water?...or juice?"
Dumbledore noticed that Wade hadn't finished drinking the water in his cup.
“No, no need,” Wade said. “I’m not thirsty yet.”
"Alright, enough with the small talk, let's get down to business."
Dumbledore put down his water glass, as if he were also putting down the Ministry of Magic's calculations and various tedious affairs. He got up and walked to the cabinet, taking out the familiar stone basin.
“If you don’t come to see me today, I will still invite you to come before curfew.”
Dumbledore placed the Pensieve on the table, poured the memories from the crystal bottle into it, and asked, "Would you like to see it? Tom Riddle from Horace's memories."
Wade walked to the Pensieve, his fingertips touching the rim, gazing at the swirling silver mist inside, and asked again, "Not waiting for Harry?"
“It’s not his time yet,” Dumbledore said, gazing at the Pensieve. “Some truths require considerable fortitude and courage to bear. I don’t doubt Harry’s courage, but… let’s wait a while.”
Deep down, he wanted to preserve Harry's current happy and innocent image as much as possible, and didn't want him to bear those dark and heavy burdens, so he postponed telling him the truth time and time again.
As for Vader...
It wasn't that Dumbledore didn't want to protect Wade, but before he even intervened, Wade had already thrown Voldemort's Horcruxes into the fire time and time again, so many times that even the headmaster began to feel sorry for the unsuspecting Tom.
Sometimes, Dumbledore suspected that Vader knew far more than he did, and he could only silently curb Vader's frantic pace, fearing that Vader would rush too fast and kill him.
Wade didn't react to Dumbledore's words. He simply nodded, bent down, and instantly fell into the darkness... landing in an office.
"Sir, I'd like to ask you something."
A boy asked in a polite, tentative tone.
(End of this chapter)