Cornelius Fudge and others raised their heads and saw Sirius suddenly standing up.
He scratched his fluffy black hair in distress, smiled bitterly, and walked past the crowd towards the door.
"If that's the case, then I'd better not listen. Professor Dumbledore, just tell me the result -"
As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius is very aware of Albus Dumbledore's caution in this regard. If the old wizard thinks "that secret" is important enough to sign a magical agreement, he may even use the "Forgetting Curse" on the exit mechanism.
"Buying insurance is by no means an ordinary thing.
And the best way to keep a secret is not to know the secret.
"A secret? I'm not that interested -"
Professor Sprout shrugged and glanced at the little witch she had planned to protect with a strange expression.
Judging from the current situation, without Dumbledore to smooth things over, Ministry of Magic officials may be the vulnerable party to be protected.
As for what secrets Elena hides, Professor Sprout is not too curious - the students of Hufflepuff House can be said to have the most secrets and the weirdest ones. If she wants every little wizard's secret
If she pays attention, she won't have to do other things every day.
More importantly, it's obviously dinner time, why are there so many little guys watching the fun outside?
As the Head of Hufflepuff House, she had to go out and take care of the children who were wandering around during meals.
"I'm the same as Sirius. Since it's a secret, let less people know about it——"
"So, Mr. Minister, Delis and I will be responsible for guarding the door?"
"Well, if anything happens, we will rush in immediately!"
As Professor Sprout and Sirius expressed their stance, Professor Lupine, Kingsley, and Delis also stood up and walked toward the door.
As a "witness", Hermione also followed Sprout and others out of the room at the signal of Professor McGonagall. In the eyes of most professors and off-campus visitors, the existence of this little witch was almost zero, or even
It wasn't until she left that many people just noticed her existence.
"call……"
Walking out of the solemn office, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
She was absolutely crazy, she actually listened to the white-haired dumpling's temptation and attacked the official professor.
Even with the illusion magic, smoke cover, and her "committing tool" was Elena's wand, when she saw a group of professors gathered in the office, she was still so nervous that she almost suffocated - let alone
Said, so many big names came later.
but……
Hermione's relief quickly turned to worry, and she looked uneasily at the closed door.
"That white-haired dumpling is really too messy this time. The Ministry of Magic and the school board may not let her go easily -"
at the same time.
Hogwarts Teacher's Office.
As the office door closed again, the room fell into an eerie silence.
"Okay, okay," Cornelius Fudge looked around, regaining his previous confidence, "Professor Dumbledore, can you tell us the reason now? What is so special about this little girl?
So much so that she dared to provoke the Ministry of Magic again and again."
Obviously, as Sirius and others left, the "Dumbledore camp" in the office was visibly weakened.
Except for Minerva McGonagall and the elusive Professor "Apocalypse", almost everyone else is a strong ally of Cornelius Fudge - plus the guards outside the door.
Two elite Aurors, the difference in numbers between the two sides was more than three to four times.
This undoubtedly greatly enhanced Cornelius Fudge's confidence, and now the situation in the office is completely in the hands of the Ministry of Magic.
"According to the information I got, she should have come from a Muggle orphanage in the Scottish Highlands, right?"
Lucius Malfoy said slowly, glancing at Elena condescendingly, and a hint of sarcasm appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Unless her real surname is 'Dumbledore', I really don't understand which child of a magical family can receive such extraordinary attention from you - of course, judging from past history, you have always treated orphans.
Quite caring..."
"Obviously, she is certainly not a Dumbledore child, Mr. Malfoy."
Dumbledore said softly, his eyes fixed on Fudge, and after a two-second pause, he said in a deep voice.
"Elena Kaslana is just her name in the Muggle orphanage, and she has a relative alive in the wizarding world - I just learned about this news last year. I think you should listen.
After her grandfather's name, Gellert Grindelwald."
"The Dark Lord you defeated decades ago? Is your news reliable?"
Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, pushed up her glasses and her expression became serious.
"It's very reliable. This is not a rumor that has been spread among the people——"
Dumbledore sighed, glanced at someone watching the fun, and shrugged helplessly.
"When I went to Nurmengard Castle last year, Gellert Grindelwald personally recognized Miss Kaslana's identity."
"Grindelwald? He's just an old and outdated dark wizard——"
Umbridge raised her eyebrows and snorted indifferently, without any concealment of the disdain and ridicule in her tone.
"Besides, if I remember correctly, the dark wizard should still be locked up in Nurmengard Castle. Sorry, Professor Dumbledore, I really don't understand what qualifications a descendant of a dark wizard has to have privileges... In fact
, in my opinion, this kind of broken seed should never have been eligible to enter the school in the first place, and now is the perfect opportunity to correct the mistake, just break her wand and lock her up with her grandpa.
.”
Lock...lock together?
The corner of Dumbledore's mouth twitched, as if he was remembering some unbearable past events.
If fate allowed him to choose again, Dumbledore would never throw Elena into Nurmengard Castle just to save trouble.
And the most outrageous thing is that now, in terms of emotions and paperwork, Grindelwald has really become that little girl’s elder?!
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, no matter what kind of 'mercy' promise you have made to the dark wizard."
Cornelius Fudge's expression became relaxed, and he spoke in a smooth tone while twirling the top hat in his hand.
"You see... As the Minister of Magic, my position is difficult - we never compromise with dark wizards. If she makes a mistake, she must be punished accordingly, and considering her family genes - I am
Talking about the influence of family history - maybe we should be more cautious and strict..."
"I agree with Mr. Minister. The Hogwarts School Board exists to ensure objectivity and fairness."
Lucius Malfoy looked at Elena meaningfully and whispered indifferently.
"To be honest, I don't think there is any need to keep this matter secret."
At the same time, although Professor McGonagall did not speak, she also looked at Dumbledore with a puzzled expression.
Obviously, in the eyes of most people, Grindelwald is too far away from this era, so far away that his name is not even as famous as Death Eaters like Peter Pettigrew - of course, another reason is because Grindelwald was originally
During the period when Waugh's power was at its most powerful, it did not touch Britain.
"Ah, judging from the chocolate frog card, this understanding is certainly correct."
Dumbledore nodded slightly, took off his glasses from the bridge of his nose, and rubbed his brows tiredly.
"However, if you read the literature carefully, you will notice that Gellert Grindelwald is slightly different from other wizard criminals."
Dumbledore said, his eyes slowly scanning the faces of Fudge, Umbridge, Lucius and others, "Grindelwald was 'self-imprisoned' in Nurmengard Castle. When he planned to leave prison, he
, almost no one can stop him. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Would the International Federation of Wizards allow such a thing to exist? Well, how did he escape the sentence?!"
Cornelius Fudge frowned, obviously aware of some of Dumbledore's concerns, or he thought he was aware of them.
The "elderly and weakened version of Voldemort" who can escape from prison at any time is a threat that cannot be ignored. As a wizard who defeated Grindelwald but did not completely defeat him, Dumbledore's caution is not incomprehensible.
,but……
"Oh, dear Professor Dumbledore, I think you may be making a mountain out of a molehill."
Umbridge put on a fake smile and said sweetly, helping Fudge express his thoughts like a roundworm in his stomach.
"The Ministry of Magic has never been afraid of the threat of dark wizards. One of our jobs is to combat the forces of dark wizards - let alone an old man who has been imprisoned in a foreign castle for decades. Even if the original mysterious man is resurrected,
Today's huge Auror lineup can also be easily arrested. If you are worried about the dark wizard's revenge, we can even take a preemptive strike and control him in Nurmengard Castle..."
"Of course, the Ministry of Magic is indeed more reassuring and more prosperous than before."
Dumbledore said politely, looked at Fudge calmly, blinked, and suddenly changed the subject.
"If Voldemort can be used as a comparison to help you understand better, then the biggest difference between Grindelwald and Voldemort is that after his fall, his followers - who call themselves 'saints' - were not
Judgment, many of them are still active or living in seclusion in various corners of the wizarding world, which is one of the reasons why the International Federation of Wizards cannot take any more action."
"Saint? Foreign Death Eater?"
Cornelius Fudge couldn't help but sneered and shook his head disapprovingly.
"Okay, then they...well, how many people did that 'saint' have in total - let's count the heyday, you can give a rough estimate, and then think about it carefully, do they dare to go to the UK to act recklessly? Azkaban
The guards kept complaining that there were not enough prisoners.”
"The heyday? I don't know the exact number, but I guess there were at least..."
Dumbledore glanced at Grindelwald not far away with a strange expression. After pondering for a few seconds, he slowly stretched out a finger.
"Ten? A dozen?"
"Well, there can't be a hundred people, right?"
Cornelius Fudge made a casual guess, shrugged his shoulders and pretended to analyze.
"If there are really one hundred, then based on the number of Aurors in the Ministry of Magic, we would have to recruit 30 people to be roughly equal to the number of 'foreign Death Eaters' who lived in the last century. Then
It’s indeed a lot of pressure——”
"No, Connelly..."
Dumbledore shook his head with a complicated expression and said softly.
"At least, I mean, conservatively estimate, there are at least as many people in the British wizarding community."