bioinnovel Chapter 194 The Blind Student Discovers the Key Point
Chapter 194 The Blind Student Discovers the Key Point
Chapter 194 The Blind Student Discovers the Key Point
Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick walked in through a gust of snow and into the Three Brooms.
Hagrid then walked in, his tall and imposing figure blocking the view of the short, fat man behind him.
The short, stout man wore a dark yellow-green bowler hat and a pinstripe cloak—Cornelly Fudge, who loved all kinds of pinstripe clothing.
"Belvina!" Fudge called out. The Minister of Magic seemed very pleased, and must have had a very pleasant conversation with Dumbledore.
After leaving the principal's office, Fudge ran into Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick and made a last-minute appointment to have a drink together at the Three Broomsticks.
As they walked through the snow-covered grounds, the three of them happened to run into Hagrid, who was on his way to the Pig's Head, turning their trip into a trip for four.
Connelly, Fudge, and the other three didn't choose a place and all sat at the bar, with the minister sitting right next to Belvina.
In the cozy little bar, the minister fully displayed his affability, chatting happily with the proprietress, Ms. Rosmerta, who owned three brooms, and even buying the signboard lady a drink.
Soon, the enthusiastic Ms. Rosmerta brought drinks for the ministers and professors.
Violet Water is Professor McGonagall's, Professor Flitwick's is a glass of iced soda with whelk cherry syrup, and Minister Fudge's is the shop's signature drink, red currant rum.
There's also a four-pint of mead, which belongs to Hagrid.
Converted to metric units, four pints of mead is approximately 2.27 liters.
After a glass of redcurrant rum, Connelly Fudge started talking about the purpose of his trip.
On the surface, it's because of Sirius Black, who, as the only known escaped convict from Azkaban, is of paramount importance to the Ministry of Magic.
In reality, Cornelius Fudge wanted to ease tensions with Dumbledore, mend the rift between them caused by the Dementors, and regain the support of the Hogwarts headmaster.
After Belvina's outburst, Fudge spent a long time alone reflecting, his mind, which had been clouded by power, briefly clearing and resuming normal functioning.
That's why the Minister suddenly remembered what happened on Halloween Eve and used it as an excuse to have a heart-to-heart talk with Dumbledore, even though Christmas was just a few days away.
"Do you think Blake is still around here, Minister?" Ms. Rosmerta asked in a low voice. The bartender, having been invited by the Minister, joined the conversation about Blake.
"I believe he's still alive," Fudge said briefly. "Amelia thinks so too."
Ms. Rosmerta didn't care what the Minister of Magic thought, or the Chief of the Department of Law Enforcement thought; she began to complain sharply.
"Minister, did you know the Dementors have searched my bar twice?" Rosmerta complained. "Just when the Dementors were finally gone, the Aurors and the Strikers showed up. They're always here; no customers dare come!"
Whether it was the Dementors before, or the Aurors, the Strikers, and the Law Enforcers later on, they all had a very bad impact on the Three Broomsticks, delaying the bar's business.
Cornelius Fudge awkwardly touched his nose.
Following this, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick also began to complain, lamenting the impact the Dementors were having on the school.
This seriously affects the teaching progress.
Cornelius Fudge awkwardly twirled the brim of his bowler hat with both hands.
"It was Umbridge's idea to send Dementors to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade," Belvina said. "Now the Dementors are gone, and Umbridge has been punished."
Belvina, sitting next to Fudge, stepped in to smooth things over, helping the minister extricate himself from the awkward situation.
However, no matter how much he tried to shirk responsibility, it couldn't change the fact that Cornelius Fudge was the one who made the final decision.
Fortunately, both Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were experienced professionals and immediately knew when to back down, avoiding further embarrassment for the minister.
The bar owner, Ms. Rosmerta, was also a shrewd woman. After complaining a couple of times, she also backed down and stopped mentioning the bad influence that the Dementors and Aurors had brought.
Ron and Hermione, sitting in the corner, eavesdropped cautiously, while Harry, hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, barely dared to breathe.
They didn't know who Umbridge was, but they knew very well who Fudge and McGonagall were.
Encountering Belvina and Basilda with three brooms was bad enough, but they were in for even worse trouble when they ran into three professors and the Minister of Magic.
At this point, Connelly Fudge and Ms. Rosmerta started talking about Sirius Black again.
Whether Fudge was too happy or had drunk too much redcurrant rum, the minister had no sense of propriety and began to speak carelessly about Little Star's crimes.
Cornelius Fudge first mentioned that Sirius and James were best friends during their school days, and Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick also followed up by talking about the two's school days.
Hagrid, after drinking four pints of mead, remained tight-lipped, saying that James and Potter were as close as the Weasley twins.
The conversation between the four people sent chills down Belvina's spine. They didn't know that Harry was also in the Three Brooms, but Belvina knew perfectly well that.
Ding!
Someone's wine glass fell to the ground, making a loud noise.
Belvina looked in the direction of the sound and saw Hermione hiding behind the Christmas tree and Ron bending down to pick up a wine glass.
Perhaps it's time to let Harry know more about Sirius. Belvina thought for a moment and then ignored the four people who were talking without keeping their mouths shut.
"Black was the best man at James and Lily's wedding—I mean Sirius, and later they made him Harry's godfather," Cornelius Fudge said. "Of course, Harry knew nothing about it. You can imagine how tormented it would be for him to know."
At this moment, Cornelius Fudge looked nothing like the Minister of Magic; he resembled more of an old lady from a village intelligence station.
She's such a chatterbox!
"Because Black is in cahoots with the Mystic?" Ms. Rosmerta asked softly.
"It's even worse than this, darling—." Fudge lowered his voice and mumbled in a low voice as he recounted everything that had happened back then.
The Curse of Loyalty, the Secret Service, the double agent Sirius Black, and of course, that night in Godric's Hollow.
Professor McGonagall, with a somber expression, spoke of Dumbledore's suspicions from years ago: someone was constantly leaking information to the Mystic, including information about James and Lily's whereabouts.
Hagrid, standing nearby, recounted his experience with even greater resentment: he had encountered Sirius Black that night in Godric's Hollow and even argued with him. Hagrid was genuinely glad he hadn't entrusted Harry to Sirius.
Belvina rested her hand on her forehead, utterly speechless. She couldn't understand why these people were discussing such things in a bar.
Logically speaking, shouldn't people be dismissed when discussing such important matters? There are other customers in the bar, and most importantly, Harry is definitely eavesdropping.
Even if you can't resist discussing it in a bar, can't you find a more private room? Can't you set up a spell to prevent others from eavesdropping?
Belvina sighed helplessly; the world really was a huge makeshift operation.
Just as Belvina was lamenting how hasty things were, Connelly Fudge and Professor McGonagall brought up Peter Pettigrew again.
In Professor McGonagall's memory, Peter Pettigrew idolized Sirius Black and James as heroes, and Peter was never on the same level as his friends.
Cornelius Fudge said that Peter was very brave. Peter Pettigrew was the first to find Sirius Black, and Peter, driven mad with grief, wanted to kill Sirius Black to avenge the Potters.
Only then did Belvina finally perk up; the part that interested her was about to begin.
Most of the Ministry of Magic's old case files are written records, which are nothing compared to the direct accounts of those who experienced them firsthand.
That's right, the street fight between Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew was personally led and cleaned up by Cornelius Fudge.
He was then the deputy director of the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters.
Fudge slowly recounted the tragedy that occurred on the streets of Muggle, the content of which was largely the same as the records in the old case file, with only slight differences in the details.
The first person to pull out the wand was not Sirius, but Peter Pettigrew. However, Sirius was faster and easily killed his other good friend, Peter Pettigrew.
“I spoke with Blake briefly when I visited Azkaban last time,” Cornelius Fudge said slowly. “I was surprised to find that Blake seemed perfectly normal, and he spoke to me quite rationally, which made me uneasy.”
Sirius Black was one of the most heavily guarded criminals in Azkaban, with Dementors constantly by his side, yet he managed to remain sane, neither going mad nor breaking down.
"He even asked me if I'd finished reading the newspaper, and he was incredibly calm," Cornelius Fudge continued. "He said he needed the crossword puzzle in the newspaper to pass the time. Can you believe it? He actually asked me for a whole newspaper!"
If Fudge hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that anyone could remain conscious and rational under the relentless influence of Dementors day and night.
"Minister," Belvina straightened up, "you gave Sirius a newspaper?"
"Yeah, doing crossword puzzles to pass the time, either he's crazy or I'm crazy," Fudge said. Who would believe that an Azkaban convict would play crossword puzzles in prison?
Belvina's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Minister, do you remember which newspaper and which issue it was?"
Bassheda, who had been muted, sensed Belvina's excitement, but she couldn't understand why the newspaper was so exciting.
Azkaban was isolated from news, and Sirius Black had no access to information. He probably saw something in the newspaper Fudge gave him that led him to decide to escape.
“Of course, it’s the Daily Prophet,” Cornelius Fudge said, then paused for a moment and added, “Let me think…”
That was the issue with the Ministry of Magic's top prize; Arthur Weasley won the 700 Galleons jackpot.
Belvina remembers that newspaper issue, and she even privately criticized Arthur Weasley.
The Weasleys, who were like an overpopulation guerrilla family, were not well-off, and the prize of 700 Galleons was a godsend.
However, instead of using the money to improve his family's life, Arthur Weasley took his family on a trip to visit his eldest son, who was far away in Egypt.
Belvina suddenly stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I just remembered something important, please excuse me."
After saying that, Belvina hurriedly dropped a few Galleons, flew away, plunged into the swirling snow, and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
Basilda also stood up and said softly, "Then I'll take my leave too. Sorry, everyone."
Bassheda picked up her cloak and stepped into the swirling snow. She didn't know what Belvina had discovered, but what Belvina had found must be very important.
"What's wrong with those two?" Cornelius Fudge asked, puzzled.