Albert, who was far away in Hogwarts, was unaware of the changes quietly taking place in his family.
When he first arrived at Hogwarts, he encountered a little trouble.
"Defense Association members disappeared en masse?"
Facing Moody, who complained to him about the lack of manpower and inquired about the members of the Defense Association, Albert reminded him helplessly.
"It's useless for you to complain to me about this. As you can see, I just arrived at Hogwarts and I don't even understand what's going on."
"Now the whole school is still a mess. We need help, especially over the deep ditch. The efficiency of everyone in dealing with the group of Inferi is simply appalling."
Moody had the urge to cover his face. He never thought that after losing the support of the members of the Defense Association, others would be so unbearable facing the Inferi.
"They are professionals after all, there is no doubt about it."
Albert suddenly stopped and glanced around the corner on the right, but quickly retracted his gaze and opened his mouth to try to calm Moody's irritable mood.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself and others. We finally won, and we shouldn't have to risk our lives to continue to bear everything."
"So, they dropped their burdens and ran away?" Moody's expression was particularly exciting.
"Don't worry, they probably didn't run away, most likely they just stayed in bed. After all, they were exhausted yesterday, and it's normal for them to want to have a good sleep."
"Also, even if everyone really doesn't want to stay and help, I don't think anyone can blame them." Albert calmed down all the expressions on his face and said in an irrefutable tone, "The one who should be blamed should be Magic.
The Ministry is a group of British wizards who did not participate in the final battle at Hogwarts, but are unwilling to provide help. The mess that is Hogwarts should not be solved by us."
Moody fell silent immediately. He never expected that Albert would respond to him so rudely.
"Actually, you don't need to be too anxious at all. The Ministry of Magic should really be worried about the Inferi. Anyway, those Inferi can't escape if they are thrown into a ditch, let alone cause us trouble. Just take your time and deal with it slowly.
If it doesn't work, someone will naturally set fire to the corpses in the two deep ditches."
"This guy..."
Moody looked helplessly at Albert, who was planning to stay out of the matter, and couldn't say anything else.
Because everything they did was done voluntarily to help, no one has the right to blame anyone.
"I admit that I am indeed a bit extreme." Moody took out the bottle of wine from his pocket and took a big sip into his mouth. "The current situation has not improved much at all, and many things cannot be counted on the Ministry of Magic. Kingsley
Even if they are willing to help us, the Ministry of Magic's mess is bigger than we thought."
"You have made a mistake from the beginning. It is impossible to clean up this mess in one go without using extreme methods. Since you don't plan to do that, let's deal with it slowly." Albert knew better than anyone else what the consequences were.
It was too troublesome, so he just took it out.
As long as he stayed out of it, it had nothing to do with him what other people wanted to do with the mess.
Moody obviously didn't want to continue talking about this embarrassing topic. He already knew what Albert wanted to express.
It's interesting enough that we are willing to come and help, and no one can blame them under any circumstances in this matter.
"Kingsley brought Professor McGonagall's appointment as principal. He has just walked around Hogwarts and should be discussing follow-up issues in Minerva's office." Moody still couldn't understand the young man in front of him.
"He seems to want to talk to you."
"Let's wait until Kingsley has finished his own business. We will naturally have time to meet."
"See you later, I hope I can hear some good news." Moody separated from Albert at the corner, and he limped to Professor McGonagall's office on crutches.
"Is it really okay not to give the new minister face?"
After Albert watched Moody disappear around the corner, Shanna's voice sounded from behind him without warning.
"He is just an agent, and face is given to each other."
After experiencing the Voldemort incident, Albert's last fear of law and authority was completely gone. Just like Dumbledore, when necessary, he could use the laws he made as toilet paper.
.
"As expected of you." Zannah said with emotion, "But that's what the Ministry of Magic is like, bullying the weak and shying away from the strong."
"Actually, it's the same, whether it's a Muggle or a wizard."
The two chatted while walking towards the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor. During this period, Albert also asked about the members of the Defense Association, but Shanna only said that he would know when the time comes.
"So, they got themselves drunk?"
After Albert walked into the Room of Requirement and saw a room full of hungover people, he looked speechlessly at Shanna next to him who also looked helpless.
"Last night, not long after you left, Fred and George got a lot of Muggle drinks from nowhere, and the result was like this."
Shanna has done her best to help everyone deal with the aftermath, so that things don't get out of hand.
"I should have prepared some Dreamless Potion for them to let them have a good sleep!" Albert was not angry at all, but without the members of the Defense Association, the work efficiency outside was obviously slowed down.
"There is nothing we can do about it. We finally won. It would be a pity not to celebrate." Shanna comforted: "Don't worry, they will wake up at noon at the latest."
"Is this why they convinced you?" Albert asked with a smile.
"Um."
Shanna knew very well how much pressure everyone was under, "I have asked the kitchen to prepare tomato juice for them."
"Forget it, let them continue sleeping," Albert looked at the group of people who were still sleeping, and left the Room of Requirement with Shanna. He didn't intend to disturb their rest at all. He also felt that these guys would probably not arrive until noon.
I can't get up.
"Actually, you don't need to care, just do your best," he comforted: "Anyway, we are not the ones who should have a headache for the mess at Hogwarts. If it doesn't work, isn't there still the Ministry of Magic?"
"Is this really a good idea?"
"What's wrong? This is not our personal matter. You are all so tired because the whole British magical world is on your shoulders. Naturally, you feel very tired, not to mention that no one pays us wages.
." Albert was not angry because of this, he just explained a fact to Shanna calmly.
"What you said makes sense!" Zannah couldn't help rolling her eyes, looking through the window at the large crowd of people dealing with the Inferi outside. "I heard that the Ministry of Magic has insufficient funds and may not be able to pay for Voldemort's death."
A bounty."
"This is completely within my expectation. When has the Ministry of Magic ever offered a reward, but they still need to pay for it, because I never take advantage of it." Albert never worried about this problem, as long as Kingsley was not
If you are a fool, you will come to discuss the bounty with him.
"It's really troublesome. We won with great difficulty, but why do I feel that after the war is over, there will be more troubles to solve."
Looking at the people moving the corpses to the Forbidden Forest, Shanna smiled bitterly and said, "Compared to this wizard war, the reality we need to face now is actually more cruel!"
"Because during the war, people only need to think about how to win, but after the war, people need to face the cruel reality and think about how to clean up the mess left during the war." Albert answered Shanna according to his own understanding.
The problem.
Is war cruel?
As a direct participant in this war, Albert really didn't have much emotion. In his eyes, the dead people were just a series of cold numbers.
The two separated on the second floor. Shanna planned to go to Principal McGonagall to explain the situation. Albert went to the auditorium alone. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the auditorium, he saw Harry who was performing his savior duties, although not everyone
Everyone was willing to accept the favor, but no one would deliberately cause trouble for Harry.
"Kingsley is already here. He hopes to meet you later."
When Hermione saw Albert walking into the hall, her eyes couldn't help but light up, and she walked quickly towards it. Ron behind her also nodded slightly to say hello to Albert, and asked about Fred and
George's thing.
"They drank some wine last night and are now hungover." Albert scanned the hall and found that some of the corpses of the war dead placed here had been taken away by his relatives.
"It's really enviable to have a celebration party secretly!" Ron finally understood why the members of the Defense Association disappeared en masse.
"After the war ended, there was a huge mess left behind. Even if Principal McGonagall wanted to hold a celebration banquet, she couldn't spare the time or energy."
"It's normal."
Albert saw things more clearly than most.
The last time everyone was able to recover from the pain of war so quickly was entirely because the Potter family shouldered everything alone.
This time there is no one to be taken advantage of. The damage and suffering caused by the war have fallen directly on everyone, so naturally no one has the heart to hold a celebration banquet."
This actually has something to do with Albert. He doesn't like heroes, refuses to be a hero, and refuses to shoulder everything alone.
After all, this is probably the fault of the British Ministry of Magic.
If Harry Potter had never experienced that, if the wizards in this country had not turned the hero into a tragedy, Albert might have really taken the risk and tried. He has the qualifications and the ability, but there are no ifs or ifs in this world.
We don't need heroes like that anymore.
"What do you want from me?" Albert abruptly changed the subject.
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot, come with me."
Hermione seemed to remember something, took Albert's hand and walked out of the hall.
Watching the two people leaving, Ron couldn't help but curl his lips and quickly followed them.
"Are you and Kingsley..." Hermione hesitated.
"Don't think nonsense." Albert interrupted directly, because when they passed the corner, they met Kingsley "by chance".
"Good morning, Mr. Anderson."
"Good morning Kingsley, is your matter over there?" Albert greeted the other party with a smile.
Kingsley was stunned for a moment. Fortunately, he did not change because he became the interim Minister of Magic. "It's over. It's a mess. I'm still having a headache as to how to solve it!"
"Then take your time. There will be plenty of time after the war is over."
This conversation between the two confused Hermione next to her. She originally thought that the relationship between the two was not good, but it seems that is not the case."
"Would you mind accompanying me to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest? We plan to dig a mass grave there and bury the unclaimed bodies of dark wizards."
"This is a very wise decision."
"There is nothing we can do about it. We don't have that much time to build graves for them one by one." Kingsley said with a wry smile, "The Ministry of Magic is still in a mess. We can't waste a month or two on this matter. Their corpses
I can’t wait that long.”
"Actually, I'm more concerned about whether the Ministry of Magic plans to erect a monument at Hogwarts to commemorate those who died heroically against the mysterious man?" Albert forcibly changed the topic.
"This is indeed a good idea."
The two of them walked towards the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest together. Under Kingsley's warning in advance, the others stayed far behind and did not come to disturb them.
"Now that there's no one around, I'll just tell you."
After leaving the others behind, Kingsley asked his doubts: "You don't seem to be optimistic about the current situation."
"Although the war is over, many things are not over yet. Everyone is watching you." Albert looked at Kingsley and said quietly, "Everyone is waiting for you to hand in the perfect answer."
Kingsley suddenly broke out in a large amount of cold sweat on his forehead, and he finally knew what he had overlooked.
Hatred!
As Albert said, although the war is over, the hatred in people's hearts will not be calmed so easily.
Unlike the sudden victory in the last Wizarding War, this Wizarding War was particularly brutal. Many people risked their lives to win the final victory for everyone.
These people are all his supporters, and they are watching him silently, hoping that he can give everyone the justice they want.
What if I can't give them the justice they want?
Will it be considered a betrayal?
"What do you think I should do?" Kingsley asked bitterly.
"To avoid a recurrence of what happened after the last Wizarding War." Albert looked at Kingsley's reaction and felt that the situation was not too bad.
"I know this, but it's not easy." Kingsley said with a wry smile. Naturally, he also wanted to uncover those hidden rats.
"Use an appropriate amount of veritaserum to interrogate them to ensure they are innocent." Albert suggested, "You can invite several potion masters and therapists from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Maladies to ensure the reliability of the medicine.
And use some simple questions to determine whether the prisoner needs in-depth interrogation."
"Perhaps, this is a good idea, but it is not easy to implement." Kingsley knew very well how difficult this matter was and how much resistance it would encounter.
"It depends on whether you have the courage, otherwise even if you become the new minister, you will still face a lot of troubles." Albert looked in the direction of the ditch and said, "I think you should know very well that they are no longer a group of arbitrary people.
Sheep driven by humans, but warriors who have experienced cruel wars.”
"They are a double-edged sword for you. Once you really make them despair of you and turn into a group of like-minded Avengers, you will realize that these guys are more troublesome than Death Eaters. You should have already
I’ve met an extreme guy.”
"What do you think I should do?"
Kingsley also realized how ridiculous his original idea was.
Although the war has ended, everything has just begun. It is obviously impossible for him to satisfy everyone, and it is obviously more important to satisfy his supporters.
"You know it very well, don't you?"
"I need to become the Minister of Magic first. I don't have the power to do that now." Kingsley hopes to get Albert's support.
"Is the Ministry of Magic planning to deny Voldemort's reward?" Albert suddenly asked.
Kingsley was stunned, probably not expecting that Albert would suddenly mention this matter.
"I would rather give you the reward, but you should be well aware of the current predicament of the Ministry of Magic, which cannot afford the money."
"I can donate this huge bounty, but the Ministry of Magic cannot refuse this money." Albert said about his request, "The families who died in the war need this money, and the warriors who participated in this war also need this money.
You need this money, and I don't mind if you use it to build your reputation, but the Ministry of Magic cannot ignore this bounty, it can only be used according to my requirements."
This was a deal that Kingsley couldn't refuse.
"It seems that you didn't believe that the Ministry of Magic would pay this high reward from the beginning." Kingsley reached out and shook Albert's hand, thus agreeing to the deal.
"Who let the Ministry of Magic ruin its credibility?" Albert shook his head and said, "Now, do you understand why I don't want to endorse your credibility?"
"Because I don't want to endorse the Ministry of Magic, and I don't want to be taken advantage of like a fool. I know very well what those guys are, and you are just too naive." Albert said meaningfully, "Where is the peace?
Such a cheap and cruel war is bound to result in rivers of blood and too few people will die. It is destined to be unable to quell the hatred created by Voldemort, let alone usher in true peace, and you obviously haven't made up your mind yet."