A look of surprise crossed Dumbledore's eyes.
It seemed he hadn't expected Fudge to refuse outright.
In the past, although Fudge sometimes disagreed with him, he never chose to confront him directly.
In most cases, they would even choose to compromise!
But today...
Dumbledore's gaze shifted, and he gave Fudge a deep look.
"I understand, Cornelius."
After receiving a reply, Dumbledore did not press the matter further.
He left the Ministry of Magic and returned to the headmaster's office, where he sat back in his rocking chair.
He recalled the information he had gathered about Fudge during this period.
Prior to today, he had not heard anything about what had happened around Fudge.
The only thing that could be called a change was... Argus!
But Argus and Fudge only interacted for a short while!
It was hard even for Dumbledore to believe that Fudge's attitude could change so drastically in such a short time.
"Is it really you, Argus?"
"In just a few minutes, it has had such a big impact on Cornelius!"
"As expected of your successor... Gale!"
...
After completing his examination at St. Mungo's Hospital, Argus was taken back to the manor by Mrs. Weasley.
Vinda received the news shortly after Argus left the Ministry of Magic and was now waiting at the door.
Upon seeing Argus return, the worry in her eyes slowly faded.
She quickened her pace and went to meet them.
"Argus, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Vinda."
Argus shook his head and looked at Arthur and Mrs. Weasley beside him: "Aunt Vinda, these two are Mr. Arthur Weasley and Mrs. Weasley."
"They took me to St. Mungo's Hospital."
"Thank you for your help." Vinda smiled and nodded to the two of them.
"Ms. Rosier, you're too kind."
Arthur held Vinda Rosier in exceptional respect, while Mrs. Weasley showed him little restraint.
She pulled Vinda aside and gave her a lot of instructions about Argus.
This made Arthur, who was standing to the side, feel a little embarrassed.
"Thank you, I will be careful."
Vinda showed no impatience and nodded with a slightly serious expression.
"Now that Mr. Grindelwald has arrived, we'll take our leave."
Arthur felt some pressure in front of Vinda, and spoke with more restraint.
Vinda only spoke slowly after the two had left.
"That Weasley lad is quite something. If I remember correctly, his wife is the sister of the Prewett brothers."
"The Prewett brothers?" Argus had no recollection of these two people.
The original book provides very little information about Mrs. Weasley's past, only mentioning that she was once an Auror elite, and offering only a few other details.
"These two were the original members of the Order of the Phoenix, and they were killed by Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War."
"Not bad."
Vinda explained calmly.
Argus raised an eyebrow.
He knew the reason for Vinda's investigation without even asking.
Need I even say more about the Order of the Phoenix?
Over the years, during his time with Vinda, Argus had noticed more than once that although the other woman seemed to have let go of what happened back then, she actually still had a lingering hurdle in her heart.
They paid close attention to Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix.
They probably already knew the information about the two initial members by heart.
"Aunt Vinda, after I was taken away, were the acolytes alright?"
Argus was not interested in Mrs. Weasley's past, but instead asked about the acolytes.
"No, after you were taken away, I left a few people behind to continue arranging today's activities."
"I gathered most of them together to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to cause trouble."
"I originally intended to go to the Ministry of Magic in person, but the Malfoy boy kept secretly sending people to deliver messages."
"However, I reckon he didn't expect Scrimgeour to be so audacious as to actually try to use Veritaserum!"
Vinda felt a chill run down her spine as she recalled this.
This time it was Veritaserum; even if you force-fed it, it would only cause a lot of trouble and wouldn't harm Argus.
But what about next time?
Who could guarantee that they wouldn't force-feed Argus some deadly magic potion!
"I miscalculated in this matter."
"I only thought he would use some methods to force me to talk; I didn't expect them to be so shameless."
A slight chill ran down Argus's spine as well.
He had planned everything, but he never expected Scrimgeour to be so stubborn!
It was like a scholar encountering a soldier—you couldn't reason with them.
"Fortunately, you and Lucius acted quickly enough; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"Aunt Vinda, remember to send a gift to the wizard who came to help."
"There are quite a few ordinary wizards from the British wizarding community who came today. We couldn't get in touch with them, so let's hold some activities at the shop tomorrow. Consider it our acolytes returning a favor."
"I personally prepared the gifts for the four Headmasters of Hogwarts and Dumbledore."
"As for Weasley..."
Argus felt a slight headache when the topic of Arthur and Mrs. Weasley's gifts came up.
Given their personalities, they definitely wouldn't accept the gifts he offered them.
But if they didn't give a gift, everyone else would receive one, and the Weasleys would be the only ones left without one, which would cause a lot of gossip.
"Never mind, I'll visit the Burrow in person tomorrow. As for gifts, just prepare some everyday items."
"How are the sales at the store today?"
"Excellent!" Vinda's tone revealed undisguised satisfaction when she mentioned this.
Her gaze toward Argus was filled with excitement.
"I earned nearly 10,000 Galleons in just one day!"
"In the past, this would have been our monthly profit!"
"If it weren't for the huge incident at Gringotts at noon, today's profits would have at least doubled!"
"Ten thousand is quite a lot." Argus nodded, indicating that the number was acceptable.
"What's going on at Gringotts?"
Vinda scoffed: "They're playing dead! What kind of noise could they possibly make!"
"Unfortunately, the British wizards are very hostile towards them because of what happened at noon."
"Many wizards have taken out the Galleons they had stored there."
"No matter how the goblins tried to persuade them, it was no use. If they got a little emotional, the wizard would just say, 'Goblin, are you going to start a third rebellion?' and they would be too scared to say a word."
Argus frowned: "No movement from the pure-blood families?"
"Their wealth is far beyond that of ordinary wizards, and it won't be transferred anytime soon," Vinda explained softly.
"That's true."
After the two briefly discussed the gifts and the upcoming activities at the acolytes' shop, Argus finally returned to his room.
A long-lost feeling of fatigue washed over him.
He fell into a deep sleep, hugging his pillow.
...
The next morning.
Argus, carrying some gifts, knocked on the door of the Burrow.
A handsome figure with long red hair appeared.
"You are... Mr. Grindelwald?"
...
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