It was raining heavily outside, and Albert held up the umbrella handed by Isobel and walked into the rain-washed street.
Under the rain curtain, Hogsmeade looked very deserted. There was no Valentine's Day atmosphere at all. Pedestrians were coming and going on the street in a hurry, and there were not a few students at all.
Albert paused for a moment in front of the Death Eater's wanted poster. The price of the reward on the wanted poster was the same as Sirius's previous wanted poster. If anyone could provide clues to apprehend the fugitive, he could also receive a reward of one thousand galleons.
But, how credible is this wanted order?
The credibility of the Ministry of Magic is horribly low right now.
However, it seems to be a good idea to dig out Voldemort's lair and ask people from the Ministry of Magic to help with the mine.
The cold raindrops hit the umbrella and splashed on Albert's boots. He no longer stopped and pattered towards the Three Broomsticks Bar.
Because it was raining outside, the Three Broomsticks bar was busier than before. When Albert's eyes swept across the bar, he saw Lee Jordan waving to him.
"You came much faster than I expected!" Lee Jordan moved aside to make a place for Albert to sit down.
"Where have you been talking?" Albert asked straight to the point.
"Basically, it's almost done." Li Jordan looked at the reporter in front of him, indicating that if he had any questions, he could ask them directly.
"Ahem!"
Rita Skeeter coughed lightly and put down the parchment in her hand.
"Speak directly." Albert didn't intend to beat around the bush, that would be boring.
"You can't expect me to write for nothing, at least pay this price." Rita Skeeter spread her palms towards Albert. She knew that the guy in front of her was not short of money at all, "Also, this thing can't be
Use my byline."
"You are actually afraid. I thought you weren't afraid of this. After all, you have caused trouble to the Ministry of Magic in the past." Albert looked at Rita Skeeter, who was no longer glamorous, and chuckled. He turned his head.
He looked at Luna and asked, "It shouldn't be a problem if it's not signed!"
"No problem." Luna fiddled with the small paper umbrella on the cup and hummed Weasley is our king: "However, many people are willing to contribute to "The Quibbler" just to have their articles published in
In the magazine.”
"I can only give you this price." Albert held out two fingers: "I can give you half of the reward first."
As he spoke, Lee Jordan took out a small bag of Galleons from his pocket and placed it in front of Rita Skeeter.
"Honestly, there is no market for this kind of article, and it was published in The Quibbler. Do you think people will take it seriously? I think you know better than anyone else." Rita Skeeter actually didn't want to get involved.
Regarding the matter related to the mysterious man, even if you don't use your brain, you will know that this is a very dangerous matter.
"Or do you plan to publish it in..." Rita Skeeter was interrupted before she could finish her words.
"This is not something you should care about." Albert took a sip of butterbeer unhurriedly.
Mainly, of course, on "The Quibbler", and "Defense Express" was used to attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic. Otherwise, after this shocking article was published, no one would be shocked, even if it was "The Quibbler".
"Singing the opposite tune" will also be finished.
"Okay, deal. They are so unlucky." Rita mumbled, picked up the purse and stuffed it into her purse. She knew that if she didn't agree, her memory would probably be erased.
"Tell me your thoughts." Albert made a gesture of invitation.
Rita Skeeter took out her notebook and told Albert about her writing ideas. Starting from last year's Triwizard Tournament, she narrated the whole thing, combining Harry's report last time, and Fudge's report
Parts of the story were also added, plus Umbridge’s actions at Hogwarts, which were linked to the Azkaban prison break.
And of course, there are Albert's predictions for the future.
With Rita Skeeter's ability, it is not difficult to put together an article. She has done this often before, and now she can write it in more detail.
"You missed one thing, the Spanish incident last summer." Albert reminded, "At that time, Fudge insisted that Goyle, Crabbe and the others were not Death Eaters."
For some reason, after Rita Skeeter carefully analyzed it, she actually gave him the feeling that Fudge might really be connected to the Death Eaters.
"You don't need to directly affirm something, but use the tone of analysis and speculation, put the evidence in front of everyone, and let everyone make their own judgments." Albert added what Rita Skeeter missed.
thing.
He knew very well that they might not believe what others said, but they would most likely believe what they saw, analyzed, and determined.
"I dare say that if this article is published, the entire Ministry of Magic will explode." Rita Skeeter asked in a low voice, "Do you have any grudge against Fudge?"
"You don't know very well? Fudge has caused some trouble for me before. You can think of this as a small counterattack on my part. Of course, these don't need to be written on it." Albert took a sip of butterbeer and said lightly.
"Are you sure it's just a little?"
Rita Skeeter suspected that if this article was actually published, Fudge might actually be ousted from office this summer.
Naturally, Rita Skeeter had also heard the predictions about Fudge's imminent resignation.
Well, if she knew that the culprit of the prophecy was sitting in front of her, she didn't know how she would feel.
The two chatted for about half an hour, and after thoroughly improving the structure and content of this article, Rita Skeeter stood up and prepared to leave. Before leaving, she did not forget to remind: "Absolutely, never use my name.
Famous."
There was no other way, she was also worried that Albert would dig a hole for herself, and she would really be doomed by then. Just look at the unlucky Fudge and you will know that you really can't mess with that kind of guy with a dark heart.
After Rita Skeeter left, Albert turned his attention to Luna.
"How ready are you now?"
"How about what?" Luna was a little confused, obviously not understanding the meaning of Albert's words for a while.
"It's about the Wizard Card Club." Albert explained.
"It's okay." Luna said suddenly.
"There is not enough time. We will graduate at the end of June this year. At that time, you can only rely on yourself. If you feel that you cannot inherit the Wizarding Club, I can only temporarily hand it over to Hermione Granger.
." After Albert finished speaking, he looked at Lee Jordan and said, "You have to hurry up. I have a hunch that Fred and George will leave Hogwarts early, and the time may not be far away."
"Do they really want to leave school early?" Li Jordan muttered: "There are only a few months left before graduation. Damn it, it's really enviable."
"Didn't you expect that?" Albert looked at Luna again and said, "Do you have any other questions? If you have any, you can ask them now and we will answer them for you. If not, I will leave first.
"
"This..." Luna took out a notebook from her pocket and said, "I have a few questions."
…
After Valentine's Day, Albert's mood improved significantly. Maybe it was because he had just spent Valentine's Day with Isobel, or maybe it was because the elixir he had been waiting for for half a year was finally finished, or maybe
However, the predicted future did not deviate much. Fred and George still left on their broomsticks, and Dumbledore was also driven away from the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts.
The known future may be boring, but at least it is safer, has traces to follow, and is under control.
Before the mysterious man is defeated by Harry Potter, it is definitely not a good choice to completely deflect the plot and let the situation completely escape Albert's control.
Albert has never wanted to be a savior, hates being a savior, and doesn't want to come out to clean up the mess in the end. If possible, he doesn't want to fight Voldemort at all, even if he can finally defeat Voldemort and gain a lot of experience, then
It's a loss-making business.
In the past, there was really no choice. If you didn't work hard, you could only be a salted fish. What's more, the cheats are right in front of you. If you work harder, you will be the winner in life. Why not work hard?
It's different now. He has money, a family, a career, a wife, a successful career, and is a sure winner in life. Why would he take great risks to fight against a big devil like Voldemort, even if he wins?
Losing money.
In this regard, Albert admired Dumbledore from the bottom of his heart, although they occasionally disagreed on certain things.
Shortly after Valentine's Day, Hermione came to see him several times, but she hesitated every time.
She obviously noticed the problem with the prophecy.
In fact, anyone who has some brains and believes in prophecies can find the answer from the prophecies, and Hermione is undoubtedly one of the best.
"In the near future, Dumbledore may die."
Looking at the trio of saviors who finally came to question him, Albert calmly told this cruel fact.
"Who did it?" Harry asked with a trembling voice after a moment of silence. It was really hard for him to accept such an answer.
"I saw the Dark Mark." Albert said calmly.
"How is this possible!" Ron obviously didn't want to believe this cruel fact.
"This matter is definitely different from what we thought. I don't believe that Dumbledore will die at the hands of Death Eaters. Even the mysterious man can't do anything to Dumbledore." Hermione analyzed calmly, "Among them
There may be something going on that we don't know about."
"Don't worry, the future is just the future. It has not happened yet. It has only been predicted, but it can still be forcibly reversed." Albert spoke to appease the three of them. "I have already told Dumbledore the result of the prophecy.
I think if Dumbledore didn't want to die, there would definitely be a way to avoid possible fatal dangers in the future and reverse his own destiny, so you don't need to worry about this."
"Is this really possible?" Hermione asked in surprise. Not only her, but also Harry and Ron, who were stunned by the news of Dumbledore's death, were a little dumbfounded.
"What did I lie to you for?" Albert asked.
"But……"
"As one of the few most powerful wizards in the world, Dumbledore is fully capable. As long as he is willing and knows the danger in advance, it is not difficult to avoid danger and reverse his future." Albert explained, "Even if it is
The time turner, after paying a huge price, may still be able to reverse the outcome of the future to a certain extent, let alone something more uncertain like divination."
"But, your predictions are accurate every time." Ron stammered.
"That's because I never interfered intentionally, and those things are not worth my time to interfere." Albert guessed what they were thinking.
"Can a time turner really do that?" Hermione was also confused because these were different from the knowledge she had learned.
"It can, but there are risks." Albert said to Hermione, "Professor McGonagall said that because he doesn't want anyone to do it. Most people will only make things worse, and..."
"Let me give you an example. Potter killed Weasley in a duel. Then, Hermione, you went back in time and used a coma spell to sneak attack Potter and Weasley, putting them in a coma and successfully preventing the duel.
In the future, it may turn into someone sneaking up on Harry and Weasley, rather than Potter killing Weasley in a duel, and only you know about it."
"Can't you change your name?" Harry couldn't help complaining, but he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. To be honest, when he learned that Dumbledore might die in the future, he was quite scared.
However, when Albert said that Dumbledore also knew about this and had a way to change the future, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The future hasn't happened yet.
can be changed.
In fact, Albert is also curious about where the future will lead in the story of Dumbledore not dying.
In fact, he didn't really want Dumbledore to die like this. After all, if the sky fell, there would be a tall man to hold it up, so there was no need for him to step in personally.
It's a pity that although he comforted Harry and the three of them like that, who knows what will happen in the future?
"By the way, there's one more thing. I still don't understand what Umbridge wants to do?" After putting aside Dumbledore's matters, Harry asked the previous question again.
"What does Umbridge want to do?" Albert repeated.
"Yes, what does she want to do?" Harry continued to ask.
"Fire you, drive Dumbledore away, and become the new headmaster of Hogwarts."
"But, what excuse is she going to use? Defense Association?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"You must remember that they are the makers of the rules. Whatever they say is what they say. If they say you violate the laws of the Ministry of Magic, you will violate the laws of the Ministry of Magic. You must understand that within the rules they set, you can never be theirs.
opponent."
The three of them all opened their mouths slightly. Albert's words had a great impact on them. Is this really the case?
"Your opponent has never been a rule-abiding person, otherwise Umbridge and Fudge would not have come up with a bunch of educational orders to try to deprive Dumbledore of his rights. As the makers of the law, they are always aloof and use these frameworks
To restrain and restrict other people, perhaps the original intention of the law has a good side. When the judiciary is corrupted and used for evil, the harm caused is greater than anything else."
Albert looked at the silent three people and continued: "In the Muggle world, the collapse of a country usually begins with the decay of law and justice, and other aspects will soon be infected and become a mess.
"
"Even if I don't say it, you can see their harm. When the government has a credit crisis, it is not far from being doomed, and the Ministry of Magic has already had such a problem, so I said Fudge's next successor is a
Unlucky guy, because he can't clean up the mess at all, even Dumbledore can't solve the problem."