"Dumbledore?"
After Crouch finished speaking, Kingsley, Arthur, and several members of the Order looked at him in surprise.
They had never heard Dumbledore say he wanted to become the Minister for Magic.
"Is this true, Barty?" Bones looked at the document folder on the table, asking with some disbelief.
She knew very well Dumbledore's aversion to the Ministry of Magic. If he had been willing to become Minister, where would Fudge have come into the picture? Even his predecessor, Millicent, would have voluntarily stepped down.
Mr Crouch sternly waved his wand, and a piece of parchment flew out from the document folder.
"The letter bears Dumbledore's magical power imprint; you can verify it yourselves."
Arthur and Bones, sensing the unique magical power upon it, both showed delight.
Handwriting could be forged, but a magical power imprint could not be replicated—this was common knowledge in the wizarding world.
Now they completely believed that Dumbledore was willing to become the Minister for Magic.
"If it's him, I have no objections," an Auror captain said excitedly.
"Me neither."
"It's about time. Look at what Fudge has done to the Ministry of Magic."
"This should stabilise public sentiment and boost the Ministry's morale."
Everyone present spoke in turn, all strongly supporting Dumbledore's election.
The reason they hadn't suggested it earlier was that they subconsciously assumed Dumbledore would refuse again, never even considering this option.
But now, thinking about it, it made sense. After all, the position of Hogwarts Headmaster now belonged to Lawrence, so he ought to find something else to do.
The only position matching his status was that of the Minister for Magic.
"So, the only candidate this time is Dumbledore, right?" Bones asked. "I'll go invite him over to discuss it, then complete the procedures before announcing it publicly."
"It's best to confirm it as soon as possible; we also need to boost public confidence."
"Don't go looking for Dumbledore just yet." At that moment, Crouch spoke again. Though he appeared calm on the surface, he was nearly breaking down inside.
At his age, he still had to accompany Wayne in his mischief and antics.
Mischievous children weren't scary; what was scary were mischievous children with both ability and a great sense of fun.
Wayne might just be playing a prank on a whim, trying to mess with Dumbledore for amusement, but the impact would affect the British wizarding world, and even the entire structure of the wizarding community.
Fortunately, most of these effects were positive—except for Dumbledore himself.
But what if one day Wayne developed some evil ideas? Who in the world could stop him?
"Barty?" Bones looked puzzledly at Crouch, who had fallen into a daze after speaking.
"It's like this..." Crouch, snapping back to attention, offered an explanation.
"Mr Lawrence and Dumbledore are currently attempting to track You-Know-Who's whereabouts. It's a critical period, which is why he entrusted the letter to me."
Crouch struggled to maintain a blank expression, ensuring no one could detect his unease. "So, we only need to submit Dumbledore's candidacy to the Wizengamot. Once everything is approved, we can announce it directly, saving a lot of time."
"Is that so..." Bones pondered for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.
Though it went against procedure, these were not normal circumstances. Crouch's point was valid - capturing Voldemort took priority.
Seeing that no one had further questions, Crouch secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He'd managed to bluff his way through.
If he failed to complete Wayne's task, his wife's physical body would be in serious trouble.
The meeting then shifted focus to investigating Fudge. The angry public needed an outlet, and the already-deposed Fudge was the perfect target.
The Anti-Corruption Unit took on the task, though it was destined to achieve little.
In fact, Crouch would eventually put in a good word for him, pinning all the blame on the escaped Death Eater Umbridge.
This was part of Wayne's deal with Fudge—trading money and reputation for the power he held.
...
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts.
Inside the suitcase world, three girls cautiously gathered around the Basilisk, examining it with both fear and curiosity.
The Basilisk was now on its last legs, both eyes gouged out by Wayne, leaving behind two bloody sockets.
Compared to the thousand-year-old Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort's 'daughter' was only half the size, despite being raised with secret methods and copious amounts of blood nourishment.
"Wayne, are you going to keep raising it forever?" Astoria asked after she'd seen enough, running back to the boy's side curiously.
"Of course not." Wayne ruffled her hair, looking at the dying Basilisk. "Just for a little while longer. We can extract plenty of venom from it."
"Won't that be dangerous?" Hermione approached worriedly. "It is Voldemort's Horcrux after all. Wouldn't it be better to destroy it sooner?"
After returning, Wayne had told Hermione and the others about the Horcruxes. When they learned such a cruel Dark Magic existed in the world, the girls had turned pale.
"Voldemort can't sense the state of his Horcruxes," Wayne explained. "His soul is already full of holes, his perception utterly terrible. Even if one was destroyed right in front of him, he wouldn't react. Raising it for a while and killing it before the duel poses no risk."
"That's good then." Seeing Wayne was confident, Hermione stopped trying to persuade him, instead growing eager to help collect the venom.
Wayne agreed, first dripping several drops of Ho-Oh's tears into the Basilisk's mouth - if Snape saw this, he'd be green with envy.
But he had to spare no expense. He'd been a bit too heavy-handed when capturing the Basilisk, nearly killing it outright.
After bringing it back, he'd also gouged out both snake eyes.
Wayne planned to use the two snake eyes to create artefacts. Even if they couldn't achieve the power of killing with a glance, petrifying anyone who looked at them was possible.
As Ho-Oh's tears dripped into the foul-smelling mouth, the Basilisk quickly recovered its vitality, becoming restless.
Wayne hit it with a Petrification Spell to control it, then directed Hermione and Cho to collect the venom.
After feeding and caring for it for a month, the collected venom would last him a long time.
...
After working late into the night, Wayne sent the girls back to their dormitories, then took a shower and went to bed.
The next day, he called Neville and his parents into a classroom, where Bellatrix was bound to a chair, glaring fiercely at him.
Upon entering, the gazes of the family of three fell upon Bellatrix. Frank and Alice were furious, while Neville took two frightened steps back and grabbed his mother's hand.
"Headmaster, why is Bellatrix here?" Frank asked in confusion.
Wayne put away the potion still sitting on the table. "I was questioning her about Voldemort's intelligence, though unfortunately I didn't get the answers I wanted."
He had just used a strong dose of Veritaserum combined with the Imperius Curse to interrogate her, hoping Bellatrix might have clues about Hufflepuff's Cup.
Indeed, the Cup had been given to Bellatrix by Voldemort long ago, but she hadn't kept it at Gringotts at that time. Instead, she had hidden it... in the Lestrange family cemetery, buried alongside one of the family ancestors.
What a filial descendant.
After discovering several of his Horcruxes had been destroyed, Voldemort took it back, and Bellatrix didn't know where he'd hidden it since.
"I don't need to explain the history between you and Bellatrix," Wayne said casually, whipping her across the face. The pain made her veins bulge. She was now experiencing the same treatment little Barty once received.
"The Ministry considers Bellatrix already dead. How you deal with her is up to you - consider it a welcome gift for our new professors." As Wayne finished speaking, Frank's eyes lit up.
Alice showed some reluctance. "She should face legal judgment."
Wayne smiled. "Professor Alice, I believe Madam Longbottom has told you how she used a powerful Memory Charm on Neville when he was young, resulting in his poor memory now..."
The couple both nodded, while Neville looked at them blankly.
"The spell's side effects are one thing, but Bellatrix's existence is also a psychological burden for Neville," Wayne explained with a smile. "If he can completely let go and actively forget that unpleasant experience, I believe both Neville's memory and magical aptitude will improve."
Alice's demeanour instantly changed as she glared viciously at Bellatrix. "Headmaster, does it matter if we kill her?"
"As I said, she's already dead." Wayne handed the whip to Alice and strolled out of the classroom.
The moment the door closed, Bellatrix's screams could be heard. He thoughtfully cast a Silencing Charm so it wouldn't disturb anyone else.
A mother's love makes one strong. The inherently kind-hearted Alice, even when tortured to madness herself, had been unwilling to deal with Bellatrix through extralegal means.
But when it came to Neville, she immediately became the coldest person.
Bellatrix would certainly enjoy these final moments of her life.
...
Arriving at the hospital wing, Harry had woken up, with Ron beside him peeling an apple.
Seeing Wayne approach, Ron tactfully left, giving the two space.
Since waking, Harry had been listless, constantly thinking about his identity as a half-Horcrux. He greeted weakly, "You're here."
"Get out of the hospital as soon as you're able," Wayne said, taking Ron's former seat. "Master Legilimency quickly - Voldemort still hides Horcrux secrets in his mind."
Harry thought about it and decided that even if he died, he should make things difficult for Voldemort rather than giving up on himself.
"I understand," Harry nodded firmly, then said, "Wayne, I have a request."
His tone sounded like final words before death.
Wayne nodded strangely. "As long as I can manage it, just say it."
"I want Snape to be my training partner." A hopeful gleam appeared in Harry's eyes. "Practising the Legilimency Spell always requires a suitable target, right? Didn't you say Snape is a master of Occlumency? Having him as my training partner would definitely be more effective than Ron."
Wayne stared at him in shock.
Was Harry trying to get himself killed while taking Snape down with him?
"Are you certain about this?" Wayne warned. "I can help you summon Snape and make him cooperate with you, but after everything is over, he'll definitely go mad with revenge."
"You said it yourself - after everything is over." Harry shrugged with feigned nonchalance. "How could I possibly care about something that far ahead?"
Ever since that night when Wayne failed to separate the soul fragment, Harry had already accepted that he wouldn't live much longer.
Despite his misgivings, Wayne eventually agreed to this suicidal request.
When Snape first heard about it, he had no intention of going. He was a professor; how could he serve as Potter's training partner?
But when Wayne revealed Harry's status as a Horcrux, Snape completely broke down, nearly rushing to the Hog's Head to confront Dumbledore physically.
The only things that had kept him going all this time were his desire to avenge Lily Evans and his promise to protect her last remaining legacy in this world.
Only when Wayne told him there was still a chance for Harry to survive - provided he cooperated fully - did Snape agree, abandoning his plan to confront the old headmaster.
...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On Wednesday morning, Wayne planned to visit Slughorn after breakfast.
But when he saw that day's copy of the Daily Prophet, he knew today's plans would have to change - "The Strongest Minister in History: Dumbledore Takes Immediate Control of the Ministry of Magic".
...
Hog's Head.
Dumbledore sat with Aberforth, having stared blankly at the newspaper for a full five minutes.
Then came his most furious roar since that summer in Godric's Hollow:
"WAYNE LAWRENCE!"