bioinnovel Chapter 403 The Increasingly Grim Situation
Chapter 403 The Increasingly Grim Situation
Chapter 403 The Increasingly Grim Situation
Fortunately, with a veteran in charge, the group, who had been laughing and joking without any seriousness, finally became serious.
Kingsley Shackles, who spoke first, had been involved in the Ministry of Magic’s manhunt for Bertha Jorkins.
The massive manhunt had been going on for months, and the Aurors, the strikers, and the law enforcement teams were all growing weary, with most of them in a state of apathy.
The Auror office, led by Scrimgeour, was helpless in the face of this situation and could not change the passive attitude of the magical civil servants no matter how hard they tried.
To be honest, Minister Connelly Fudge was unhappy; if he didn't tell the truth, his staff would mistake negativity for positivity and go through the motions without putting in any real effort.
Rufus Scrimgeour, who looks like an old lion, is itching to slam his fist on the Minister of Magic's head.
"Judging from the current situation, unless the mysterious man comes forward on his own, it's impossible to find him," Kingsley concluded. "This is much harder than finding a needle in a haystack."
Kingsley looked at Sirius and continued, "Back when we were hunting Sirius, at least we could hear some rumors, but now we can't hear anything at all. We're like a bunch of deaf and blind people."
As he spoke, Kingsley Shackles shook his head helplessly, saying that the Ministry of Magic's search operation was a waste of energy and time.
"Can't we find a way to get rid of Gummy Bears?" Sirius said to Belvina. "The longer he stays in the minister's position, the worse the world becomes."
"Gummy Bear" was the nickname Sirius Black gave to Cornelius Fudge.
Not very harmful, but extremely insulting.
"I can give you Connelly's home address," Belvina said. "One dark and stormy night, you can storm in and kill him!"
As she spoke, Belvina made a very undignified throat-slitting gesture.
"There's no need to be so simple and crude; it's better to use gentler methods," Sirius muttered.
For Belvina, assassinating the Minister of Magic was not difficult; the challenge lay in maintaining stability after Cornelius Fudge's assassination.
If the Ministry of Magic falls into chaos, Voldemort could very well seize the opportunity to rise up. If he were to take control of the Ministry of Magic in secret, even shutting down the Order of the Phoenix would be a good ending.
Therefore, it is not advisable to use violence to assassinate Connelly Fudge unless absolutely necessary.
"How about trying the Imperius Curse?" Sirius suggested a not-too-bad idea. "Or like Crouch Jr., we could use Polyjuice Potion."
"While the Ministry of Magic has many problems at the moment, please don't think of the Minister's guards as so insignificant," Kingsley interjected. "The little gummy bear you mentioned is very protective of her life; she's always accompanied by guards wherever she goes."
As he spoke, Kingsley glanced at Belvina, noting that even this former retainer of the Prince of Wales could no longer approach Fudge alone.
"Does Fudge still not trust you?" Moody asked gruffly. "If it weren't for your help back then, he wouldn't have gotten the ministerial position."
"Things aren't that simple," Belvina sighed. "Right now, in Cornelius's mind, the most dangerous person is Professor Dumbledore, followed by Amelia, and I'm third."
Even though Belvina put on a good show, she had taught at Hogwarts for four years, and the rift created by those four years couldn't be mended in just one month.
Especially in the current situation, Cornelius Fudge sees everyone as a troublemaker, and Belvina, who has rendered meritorious service to the emperor, is an even bigger troublemaker.
"But there's some good news too." Belvina changed the subject. "Amelia is gathering her strength, and when the time is right, she can launch a vote of no confidence and oust Connelly."
With the two female directors working together, along with some neutral parties, given the right opportunity, Fouché and his backers will have no choice but to step down in disgrace.
As for when the time will be right, no one can say for sure; it could be as quick as three to five days or as slow as several months.
However, Belvina had a secret plan: she could use someone to force the ripening of the crown and bring about the overthrow of the government ahead of schedule.
"I chose to join the Ministry of Magic and become an Auror to capture evil dark wizards, not to go into the mountains to find someone who doesn't exist," Tonks said, holding his head. "The Ministry of Magic is so disappointing."
It can only be said that Tonks is still too young, and her understanding of the Ministry of Magic is far from sufficient.
"It's already quite impressive that you were able to search for someone who doesn't exist, at least you skipped the fourth stage of the quasi-crisis response tactics." Belvina said to Tonks, "Connelly initially denied the Dark Lord's return."
"If Fudge refuses to admit it, things will only get worse," Tonks said. "Um—may I ask, what is the standard four-stage crisis response strategy?"
"If I understand correctly," Kingsley said slowly, "in the first phase, the Ministry of Magic claimed that nothing had happened."
Tonks' eyes widened instantly.
The Ministry of Magic is currently in Phase One, and Fudge is publicly claiming that nothing has happened.
"In the second phase," Mr. Weasley adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "things may happen, but we shouldn't take any action."
Tonks shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't understand why, if something was possible, no action was taken.
"In the third phase, perhaps we should take action, but there's nothing we can do," Moody said gruffly. "The Ministry of Magic has at least taken some action, though it hasn't been very effective."
The three people speaking were all veterans of the Ministry of Magic, and they knew the ways of the ministry very well. Only Tonks was an innocent bystander.
"In the final stage, perhaps we could have done something back then, but now it's too late," Belvina said. "The Ministry of Magic's actions, though ineffective, at least started moving."
"Merlin!" Tonks slumped into his chair. "I'm utterly disillusioned with the Ministry of Magic. Why won't it just disband?!"
The atmosphere in the large kitchen suddenly became heavy due to the incompetence and corruption of the Ministry of Magic.
Just then, Bill dropped another bombshell, one that dealt another heavy blow to the Ministry of Magic's image.
"The goblins don't trust the Ministry of Magic either," Bill said in a deep voice. "The goblins hate Fudge and the Ministry of Magic under his rule."
Bill, the eldest son of the Weasleys, did not join the Ministry of Magic. He remained in Gringotts, trying to bring the goblins to the side of fighting against Voldemort.
However, the goblins' stance was quite perplexing; they seemed not to believe Voldemort had returned and remained unmoved by Dumbledore's attempts to win them over.
"Could it be because of Ludo Bagman?" Sirius asked.
"That's part of the reason. Bagman caused the fairies to suffer heavy losses," Bill said. "Lagno was furious about it."
Although Ludo Bagman has received his due punishment, all the gold the fairies lent him has gone down the drain, and they haven't been able to get back a single copper nut.
The fairies already disliked wizards and their rule, and Ludo Bagman's actions deepened their animosity towards wizards, making them even more resistant to them now.
"I think the fairies might want to remain neutral," Arthur said. "Don't forget, the Mysterious Man also inflicted heavy losses on the fairies."
Ludo Bagman only caused goblins to suffer heavy financial losses, but Voldemort caused them to suffer heavy losses in terms of life; he once raised his knife against goblins.
"What if he offers the goblin an irresistible price?" Kingsley said. "Like—a wand."
In 1631, the Ministry of Magic passed a ban on wands, declaring it illegal for goblins to possess wands. The goblins were extremely dissatisfied with this, and the wand ban was one of the main reasons for their rebellion.
"That's really terrible," Belvina muttered. "The Fairy Overthrow Group will definitely be happy with this price."
Although the bloody fairy rebellion has long been quelled, the fairies' discontent persists to this day, and the Fairy Overthrow Group is determined to overthrow the Ministry of Magic's rule.
If Voldemort really uses the "wand ban" as a bargaining chip, the goblin overthrow group will most likely join his ranks and become the vanguard of the Dark Lord.
Bad news followed one after another, and the atmosphere in the large kitchen grew increasingly heavy, with everyone worried about the future.
Except for Mundungus Fletcher, the guy was already asleep, even snoring softly.
At this moment, Lu Ping, who hadn't said much all night, suddenly spoke up.
He said, "Over on the werewolf side—someone saw Fenrir Graybuck."
Upon hearing this, Sirius rubbed Lupin's shoulder, revealing that the murderer who turned Lupin into a werewolf was Fenrir Greyback.
Belvina also looked at Lupin with concern. If it weren't for that damned Greyback, Lupin could have had a happy life. He could have been as carefree as James and Sirius.
"Greybourne has been hiding for many years, and now he's suddenly reappeared—I think he must know something," Lupin said, patting Sirius's hand on his shoulder.
Everyone present nodded in agreement, agreeing with Lu Ping's assessment.
Fenrir Greyback has been in hiding for many years to evade the Ministry of Magic's pursuit. His recent reappearance likely indicates that he already knows of Voldemort's return.
Belvina frowned, seeing Fenrir Greyback as a very dangerous sign, a sign that Voldemort was about to gather his followers.
In the past, Greyback was Voldemort's weapon, a means for him to coerce wizards into doing things for him.
These wizards, coerced by Voldemort, may not be afraid of death, but they cannot accept that their children have been turned into werewolves by Greyback.
If Voldemort really starts gathering his followers, the Ministry of Magic can no longer delay and must remove Cornelius Fudge from office as soon as possible.
Belvina was determined to get things under control at the Ministry of Magic within a month and help Amelia Bornes smoothly take over power.
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