Chapter 384: Change the Soup but Not the Medicine (Edited)

After hearing the story and knowing all the details, Harry finally decided to believe in Sirius. There were too many people on his side! Professor Lupin, Tom, Hermione... but most importantly, there was Dumbledore. If there was anyone in the magical world Harry could trust without reservation, it was Dumbledore.

Now Harry felt as if something were choking him; he couldn't say a word. A strange feeling came over him.

"Very well, Minerva, take Peter to the infirmary and make sure he's under strict surveillance. There should always be a professor by his side until the Ministry of Magic members take him," Dumbledore said.

Professor McGonagall nodded, pulled out her wand, and said, "Levicorpus." An invisible cord seemed to hold Peter's wrists, neck, and knees, lifting him into the air. Though he was standing, his head hung limp like a puppet, with his feet suspended several inches above the ground.

"Humph, we should have chained him up," Sirius muttered, still resentful of Peter. However, he couldn't do anything with Dumbledore present, so he just gave Peter a couple of hard kicks.

"The two Weasleys, I think you should go back. You shouldn't waste your weekend in my office," Dumbledore said as McGonagall left. Then he started dismissing the others. He looked at Percy, who seemed disoriented, and mumbled to himself, "Maybe I should cancel the password for office entry and change it to a doorbell or something like that, that way only those with permission can enter..."

While saying this, he glanced at Tom. The others were fine; all the teachers and the Prefect had the right to know the password, but this guy, Tom, always guessed the password. Thinking about this, Dumbledore felt he should choose a new password. He had to think of some kind of candy.

Dumbledore claimed he didn't want anyone to enter without permission, but in reality, he was willing to let the students in whenever they could guess the password. Since becoming headmaster, the password to his office had always been some kind of candy: frozen lemonade, stacks of cockroach clusters, candy floss, buzzing bumblebees... It was his way of allowing young witches and wizards special access to talk to him when they needed.

The number of people in the office was gradually decreasing, and the story seemed to be coming to an end. Everything had been resolved. However, there was one person in the room who was not satisfied with this ending. That person was Tom.

He had disliked Fudge for a long time, he had nothing personal against him, in fact, he didn't feel a strong aversion to the chubby man who looked like a friendly neighbor. He simply hated people who didn't face adversity. In his mind, not being able to effectively strike back at the Death Eaters and Voldemort was a sin.

Fudge had made a big mistake and wasn't even as good as Chamberlain. Chamberlain's appeasement policy had at least brought "peace for our time" from Germany, but what had Fudge's ostrich policy brought? Improving the Prophet Daily editors' ability to invent stories?

If Chamberlain brought a roll of toilet paper, Fudge didn't even bring a piece of toilet paper, he only generated more. Tom thought that Chamberlain represented an appeasement policy, while Fudge's strategy could be considered an ostrich policy. One was dedicated to leading the enemy to invade other countries to maintain his own power and hegemony, the other simply played dumb and pretended not to see what was happening within British borders while Voldemort wreaked havoc.

Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was incompetent! Not only did he fail to take timely action after Voldemort's return, but he also tried to block information and suppress Dumbledore. Tom had had the idea to remove him from office for a long time, and the sooner, the better!

Because sooner or later Voldemort would return; that was an unstoppable trend. In that situation, Fudge would only become a nuisance. If he were allowed to continue in office without doing anything, everything that needed to happen would happen, and Tom's peaceful life would be disrupted.

Tom didn't want to take on the responsibility of being the savior after Dumbledore's death; it was too bothersome a task. But sadly, the situation in the Ministry of Magic in Britain was so lamentable that anyone who took office would be a disaster; there was only a difference of 20 or 40 points!

How many Ministers of Magic had changed since then? Always the same! Eugenia Jenkins, the Minister of Magic when Voldemort first rose to power, was unable to confront his challenge and resigned. Harold Minchum and Millicent Bagnold couldn't contain Voldemort. If it weren't for Harry's accident, who knows how long they would have lasted. After Voldemort rose to power again, Fudge and his successor, Scrimgeour, were no match for him either.

Five ministers, and they only had one strategy to deal with Voldemort: sending packages under Big Ben, placing them above and sending them below.

If Dumbledore had chosen to become Minister of Magic, things might have been better, but unfortunately, that wasn't possible. When Grindelwald threatened the entire world, he stayed at Hogwarts to teach. As imposing as Voldemort may be, he can't compare to Grindelwald. Why could Voldemort achieve what Grindelwald couldn't?

So is there no solution? There is a solution. Tom's proposed strategy is to change to an obedient Minister of Magic. Fudge is truly inefficient. The new Minister must be sensible, listen to Dumbledore; they must have courage and not cower at the sound of the word "Voldemort"; moreover, they must have outstanding skills, we can't choose an incompetent.

With these requirements, along with the necessary qualifications for Minister of Magic, the options are limited, but one name appeared on Tom's list of candidates.

Amelia Bones, the current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. Her brother, Edgar Bones, was one of the founders of The Daily Prophet, and her entire family was killed by Voldemort. This makes her a staunch supporter of Dumbledore.

This witch has exceptional talent and the necessary credentials, but most importantly, she is a person who supports Dumbledore. Appointing her as Minister of Magic would be the best option at this time.

After understanding all of this, Tom stopped Sirius Black, who was about to leave, and said, "Don't you want revenge, Sirius?"

"Revenge?" Sirius turned confused, "We've already captured Peter. Although I'd love to rip his head off and feed it to a cat, letting justice handle it is also acceptable."

"I'm not talking about Peter; I mean Fudge."