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Chapter 634 – Prime Minister!!
It had to be said—the Prime Minister had been badly frightened the first time.
Later, Cornelius Fudge's appearance made him realize that there really was a group of wizards in this world.
And that these wizards even had a Ministry of Magic.
At that time, Fudge explained that his visit was merely routine, that they were simply another administrative group coexisting alongside the government.
So although the Prime Minister was terrified, he could still barely accept it.
But three years ago, Fudge suddenly rushed into his office.
He told him that a man named Sirius Black had escaped, and that there was also Harry Potter, and something about You-Know-Who.
Looking at Fudge's flustered appearance, the Prime Minister felt that he was overreacting—especially since these people didn't even dare to mention You-Know-Who's name directly.
Still.
Fudge's attitude made him uneasy.
The next time he saw Fudge was two years ago.
Fudge burst into his office again, telling him that something had happened at the Quidditch World Cup, and that someone had released the Dark Mark—said to be the symbol of You-Know-Who (dark lord ).
However, Fudge quickly added,
"I'm only here to inform you. Don't worry, it can't be him—Dumbledore is there!"
Then he casually mentioned,
"Oh, and by the way, we're holding a Triwizard Tournament and need to import some dragons from Egypt."
Dragons.
The Prime Minister felt as if his ears had malfunctioned.
The third time he saw Fudge was a few months ago.
Fudge told him that several Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban.
The Prime Minister was terrified.
But Fudge reassured him, saying there was no problem—they had Aurors, and the Aurors would spare no effort to hunt them down.
One piece of bad news after another made the Prime Minister dread seeing Fudge at all.
Not to mention, Fudge himself always brought trouble.
At the moment, the Prime Minister was reading reports from all over the country.
Collapsed bridges. Hurricanes. Murders. Riots.
Now his political opponents were already preparing to blame the government.
He was overwhelmed with his own problems and had no desire whatsoever to deal with wizarding affairs.
They should handle it themselves, he thought irritably.
Yet Fudge still appeared in his office at the appointed time.
The Prime Minister noticed that compared to their last meeting, Fudge looked even worse.
He had lost weight, his face was gaunt, and he looked utterly exhausted.
Despite himself, the Prime Minister felt a flicker of sympathy—but still asked irritably,
"What is it this time? We have plenty of problems on our side too."
"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Fudge said bitterly.
"Collapsed bridges, hurricanes… it's all caused by You-Know-Who. He's back."
The Prime Minister straightened up in shock.
"You're joking. Didn't you say he was dead?"
"I wish I were joking," Fudge replied with a bitter smile.
"But Dumbledore says he's back. Too many people have seen it. I saw it with my own eyes—he was clearly dead before…"
"Then arrest him!" the Prime Minister shouted.
"Catch him! Don't you still have Azkaban? You can't let Dark lord cause chaos in the Muggle world! Do you know how many complaints I've received?"
"Do you think I haven't tried?" Fudge said gloomily.
"All the Aurors have been dispatched. But they've achieved nothing. Our people are injured—or dead."
"I wrote to Dumbledore. He ignored me."
"I wanted those two boys to help me—but one is missing, and the other is gone."
The Prime Minister frowned deeply.
"So what you're saying is… You-Know-Who has returned, and that—what was his name—Black followed him?"
"Yes. Sirius Black," Fudge said awkwardly.
"But he's actually a good man. He fought against Dark lord . Everyone thought he'd killed people—but it turns out he didn't."
Despite the situation, the Prime Minister felt a trace of grim satisfaction.
At least his people didn't do things like that.
Fudge clearly didn't want to see him feel any relief.
"There's more," Fudge said gravely.
"The guards of Azkaban—the Dementors—have rebelled."
"They've defected to Dark Lord."
"We also suspect that giants are involved. The widespread destruction may be their doing."
"The Dementors rebelled? Giants too?!"
The Prime Minister stood up in panic.
"Fudge, listen to me—you're the Minister of Magic! You must take action! We ordinary people—"
But Fudge looked utterly defeated.
"That used to be my responsibility," he said quietly.
"But do you really think I'll stay in that position after all this?"
"Last week, the new Minister of Magic took office. I came to inform you first."
The Prime Minister felt a pang of sympathy, but still asked bluntly,
"When will he arrive?"
"Now."
A tall, imposing man stepped out of the fireplace.
Rufus Scrimgeour.
The Prime Minister immediately felt that this new minister was like an old lion—sharp, tough, and dangerous.
Scrimgeour glanced at Fudge, removed his hat, and bowed briefly to the Prime Minister.
Then he said bluntly,
"I'll keep this short. I'm very busy. You need additional protection."
"I'm perfectly satisfied with Kingsley," the Prime Minister snapped.
"I'm not changing him."
"He's one of ours," Scrimgeour replied calmly.
"You can't just place people here without my consent!" the Prime Minister protested angrily.
Scrimgeour ignored him.
"As for your assistant minister—we're sending him to St. Mungo's. The one who learned to bark like a duck."
"He only quacked a few times!" the Prime Minister protested weakly.
"That isn't normal," Scrimgeour said coldly.
"We suspect he's been affected by a Dementor-related curse."
"After being admitted, he tried to strangle three healers."
"Well, that's all."
"If anything comes up, Fudge will contact you."
They turned to leave.
The Prime Minister called out anxiously,
"For heaven's sake—aren't you wizards? Can't you solve this with a wave of your wand?"
"We believe in Merlin," Scrimgeour replied without turning back.
"And Dark Lord's side has wizards too."
For the first time since arriving, Fudge smiled faintly.
Then he paused and added thoughtfully,
"If possible… have someone look for a boy named Darren Potter."
"He's disappeared."
"If we can find him before Dumbledore does, we may gain an advantage."
"With strength like his, keeping him confined to Hogwarts was a waste."
"He should have joined the Ministry—joined the Aurors."
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