Chapter 300: Bones vs. Fudge
[ A.N: 300 Chapters, I never this story will reach up to this point, but here we are with 300th update. Thank you everyone who are still reading this story, means a lot to me ]
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Not long after the start of the Hogwarts summer vacation, a major event occurred at the Ministry of Magic.
Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, initiated a Wizengamot meeting.
At this meeting, she openly proposed the impeachment of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, accusing him of concealing Voldemort's return and deliberately covering up the truth.
During the Wizengamot session, she revealed everything that had happened on the night of the final task of the Triwizard Tournament, demonstrating to all Wizengamot members that Voldemort had indeed returned.
Cornelius Fudge vehemently denied the accusations, claiming that Bones was merely trying to incite panic to undermine his position as Minister of Magic.
A few years ago, Fudge's supporters might have had a stronger case, but after last year's events—including Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, the Dementor attack at Hogwarts, Sirius's exoneration, and the escape of Pettigrew—Fudge had become a figure of ridicule.
Many wizards doubted his competence, and even his supporters in the Wizengamot were fewer in number.
Naturally, these events had accelerated Fudge's alignment with the pure-blood faction.
However, despite this, Bones did not receive as much support as she had hoped.
There were still some wizards who, without seeing evidence themselves, were unwilling to believe that the Dark Lord had returned.
There are always people who prefer to bury their heads in the sand and deceive themselves.
However, Bones was well-prepared. She had summoned witnesses including the victim, Alastor Moody, the kidnapped Harry Potter, and those who rescued Harry—Alaric, Hermione, and Fleur.
Fleur had arrived in Britain earlier than Alaric had thought, so their separation had been less than a week.
Though there was no direct evidence of Voldemort's return, the testimonies of these witnesses significantly bolstered Bones's claims.
Especially with Alaric among the witnesses.
Alaric's previous disturbances at the Ministry and the Wizengamot were still fresh in everyone's memory.
His testimony was considered highly credible due to his formidable reputation.
Additionally, Bones had another powerful ally: Albus Dumbledore.
At this time, Fudge had not yet managed to suppress Dumbledore—indeed, in the original story, Fudge even declared Dumbledore a fugitive.
On the night of Voldemort's return, it was Bones who had opposed and split from Fudge.
Dumbledore, still the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, was presiding over the meeting and corroborating Bones's claims.
This left Fudge in a difficult position.
Although he had the support of the pure-blood faction, his approval rating was not high.
Without the presence of those ostriches, Fudge would almost certainly have been dismissed on the spot.
As it stood, the support was almost evenly split, with many ostriches and fence-sitters choosing to abstain.
The final result was that the Ministry of Magic maintained a skeptical stance regarding Voldemort's return.
However, Amelia Bones would be in charge of investigating and taking preventative measures within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
This outcome was within Alaric's expectations.
While Fudge had not been entirely overthrown, it was still a significant breakthrough.
At least Bones had gained a position equal to Fudge's.
Moreover, with Voldemort's increasing activity, more and more evidence would point to his return, and Bones would naturally have the opportunity to become the new Minister of Magic.
Meanwhile, during the search for Horcruxes, Alaric would also be able to receive official support from the Ministry, even though he considered the Aurors to be somewhat inept.
Nevertheless, the Ministry's information and official powers would be of sufficient assistance.
At this moment, the battle for power at the Ministry had spread to the media.
In publications like the Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet, there was a heated exchange between the Bones and Fudge factions.
One side promoted the return of Voldemort, warning everyone to be cautious, while the other side dismissed it as nonsense, urging wizards not to believe it.
The two sides were having a war of words.
Meanwhile, ordinary wizards were left confused.
They didn't know how to discern the truth from the falsehood, and since Voldemort's return wasn't exactly entertainment news, they couldn't just view it as a spectacle.
The entire wizarding community in Britain was in a state of panic.
During this time, Alaric invited girls to begin a journey to search for Horcruxes.
At that moment, four beautiful girls were sitting on the sofa in Alaric's home, all staring at the only male present.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
This was understandable.
The four girls were all exceptional and attractive, but they were all interested in the same person, which naturally made the situation rather strange.
Even though Alaric was accustomed to such scenarios in Game of Thrones world—even being with Daenerys, Melisandre, Arianne, and Sansa simultaneously.
The medieval setting and the education of those noble ladies were quite different from the modern education of the four girls before him.
Nonetheless, Alaric steeled himself and began his introduction.
First, he explained to the girls about Voldemort and Horcruxes—primarily addressing Cho Chang and Penelope—and then began detailing what they needed to do.
"The Dark Lord once mentioned that he wanted to split his soul into seven pieces, because seven is a powerful number," Alaric explained.
"This means, including Voldemort's own body, if his soul is split into seven, he would have six Horcruxes."
"Does that include Harry himself?" Fleur asked.
"Of course not," Alaric smiled.
"The Dark Lord didn't even realize that a piece of his soul was hidden within Harry's soul.
He certainly didn't expect that he had actually destroyed a part of his own soul."
The girls laughed, and the fear and apprehension about Voldemort diminished somewhat.
Alaric continued.
"According to the information I have, Voldemort's Horcruxes are likely to be relics of the founders of Hogwarts, as well as family heirlooms related to his bloodline—of course, his snake named 'Nagini' is also a likely Horcrux."
The girls were curious about Alaric's sources of information, but Alaric couldn't tell them it came from the Harry Potter books.
"Although Horcruxes can be ordinary objects that are easily overlooked, would Voldemort really store his precious soul in an old tin or an empty potion bottle?
Voldemort likes to collect mementos. He values magical items with historical significance.
His pride, superiority, and his determination to carve out an impressive place in magical history all lead me to believe that he would choose his Horcruxes with care, preferring items worthy of that honor."
"But that diary wasn't that special," Hermione pointed out.
"No, the diary proves he was the heir of Slytherin, as it records Voldemort's experiences of opening the Chamber of Secrets during his school days.
I believe Voldemort thought it was highly significant."
"And for the other Horcruxes, I can only speculate," Alaric continued.
"Given what has been said, I believe Voldemort would prefer items of high value.
The most obvious examples would be the relics of the four founders of Hogwarts.
After all, Voldemort was influenced by the founders throughout his life, especially since he prided himself as Slytherin's heir and wanted to negate the viewpoints of the other three founders."
Thus, the discussion shifted to the relics of the founders of Hogwarts.
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