The Emerald at Hogwarts

Chapter 350 Minister's Office

In London at night, bright lights are lit up everywhere, and the streets are full of traffic and people, and it is very lively.

But near the lively and bustling city center, there is a desolate and deserted side street.There were just a few seedy-looking offices, a bistro and a dump truck that was overflowing.

There were only two pedestrians on the desolate side street, one was an old man with a white beard, and the other was a blond girl. The girl was holding a metal cage in her hand, and there was a lifeless mouse in the cage.

The old and the young were Dumbledore and Ada who had just left the Twilight Cabin. The two came here for an old case 12 years ago.

Ada looked around. Compared with the French Ministry of Magic built in Furstenberg Square, the entrance of the British Ministry of Magic was really inconspicuous, just as inconspicuous as the Leaky Cauldron.

"Here we are." Dumbledore said, pointing to a dilapidated red telephone box, "This is the entrance to the Ministry of Magic."

The red phone booth was really dilapidated, several pieces of glass were missing, and behind it was a wall that was badly painted.This entrance is simply terrible, completely underestimated.

"Professor, why don't we go in directly?" Ada said, "This phone booth really lowers the impression of the Ministry of Magic."

"Don't you think there should be different attempts in life?" Dumbledore asked back, "The guest entrance of the Ministry of Magic is a different attempt." After speaking, Dumbledore walked in first, facing Ada beckoning.

In desperation, Ada had no choice but to squeeze in.Fortunately, both of them are very thin, so they didn't feel particularly crowded.

The essential thing in a phone booth is, of course, the telephone equipment, which hangs crookedly from the wall as if some vandal had once tried to rip it off.

Dumbledore picked up the microphone and dialed the number 62442. If it is the nine-key input method on the mobile phone of later generations, this string of numbers will type the word magic.

As the dial whirred back to its original position, a woman's indifferent voice sounded from the phone booth. The voice didn't come from the microphone, it was loud and clear, as if an invisible woman was standing beside them .

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and business."

"Albus Dumbledore, Esmeralda Drizzt, come to see Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic," said Dumbledore.

"Thank you," said the woman's indifferent voice, "Guests, please pick up the badge and pin it in front of your clothes."

Ding Lingling, clattering, two square silver badges slid out of the metal coin chute.Dumbledore picked up the badge and handed Ada's badge to Ada.

"Visitor of the Ministry of Magic, you need to be checked at the security checkpoint and register your wand. The checkpoint is at the end of the main hall."

The ground of the phone booth trembled suddenly, and they sank slowly into the ground, with only the monotonous, harsh grinding sound in their ears.After a while, a thin golden light appeared, and then the golden light gradually widened.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said the woman's voice.The door of the phone booth slammed open, and Ada stepped out first.

It was night, so there were not many people in the magnificent hall, which seemed a little deserted.Unlike the starry ceiling of the French Ministry of Magic, the ceiling of the British Ministry of Magic is peacock blue and inlaid with glittering gold symbols.

Stepping on the shiny dark wooden floor, Ada, led by Dumbledore, walked straight to the elevator through the fountain in the foyer and the ironic solid gold statue.

Dumbledore entered the Ministry of Magic in a normal way. That was just for him to experience life. It didn't mean he was really going to undergo a wand test. Didn't you see that the headmaster didn't even bother to wear a badge?

In front of the elevator, some wizards working overtime or on duty recognized Dumbledore and greeted the principal one after another, and Dumbledore responded one by one.

After saying hello, Dumbledore took Ida into one of the elevators, and no one else followed.

The fence door slammed shut, the elevator rose slowly, the chain rattled, and the indifferent female voice from the phone booth reappeared.

It wasn't until the first floor that Dumbledore took Ada out of the elevator, where the minister's office and the logistics department were located.The floor is covered with thick carpets, and the walls are covered with cold, black tiles, solemn and solemn.

There is a small sign on each wooden door on this floor, with the name and position written on it.Ada also saw a familiar name: Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary for Magic

At one of the largest doors, Dumbledore and Ada stopped, and the Minister's Office arrived.There was no knock on the door, and Dumbledore did not speak, but the door of the office opened automatically, and Fudge's voice came from inside.

"Ah, Albus, did you bring any good news when you said you were coming?" said Fudge loudly. "Let me guess, did you hear about Black, or did you catch him?"

In the spacious and luxurious office, there was another person besides Fudge.Umbridge, still an unappetizing girl fan, was still holding a stack of parchment in her arms.

"Almost, Connelly, I brought a very nice gift," said Dumbledore.

Fudge stood behind a large desk, and he beckoned Dumbledore and Ida who had entered the office to sit down quickly.The minister's expression was very enthusiastic, and he didn't seem to be unhappy at all because of the previous Hogsmeade incident, as if he had never had any estrangement with Dumbledore.

Umbridge trotted all the way to prepare drinks for the two visitors, and then the pink toad stood very dog-legged behind Fudge, and when Fudge looked at her, he showed a disgusting, flattering smile.

"That's really wonderful, I'm sure your gift will be very exciting." Fudge said, "You know, because of Blake, the people are very worried. I was discussing it with Dolores just now. on."

How to discuss?What are you talking about?Add dementors?Waiting for the dementors to capture Sirius might as well wait for Sirius to turn himself in to the Ministry of Magic.Ada complained silently in her heart, and leaned back by the way, the farther away from Umbridge the better.

Ada, who never judges people by their appearance, learned how to judge people by their appearance after meeting Umbridge.

"That's what I'm here for, Connelly." Dumbledore said, "We've caught the man who betrayed the Potters and the man who blew up half the street."

"Where is he? Where is Black?" Fudge asked excitedly. Black's incident caused the minister's public image to decline rapidly. The magic community was very dissatisfied with the performance of the Ministry of Magic. Some people even shouted slogans for Fudge to step down.

Unlike the stressed and excited Fudge, Dumbledore said slowly: "No, Connelly, the criminal is not Sirius Black, the real criminal is someone else..."

"You mean that Black was wronged?" Fudge interrupted Dumbledore rudely with a wave of his hand, "Impossible! How is this possible! Black is the Potter couple's secret-keeper, and only he has the chance to betray the Potter couple! Don't think, you're telling a joke, aren't you?"

Fudge was even more excited, as if Dumbledore was talking about the Arabian Nights.Umbridge behind Fudge had a disdainful expression on her face, and she was very disdainful of Dumbledore's statement, but in order to cooperate with the minister, she kept giggling.

Ada was afraid that if Umbridge continued to laugh like this, multiple eggs would come out behind her.

"This is not a joke, and April Fool's Day is still several days away." Dumbledore said, "Sirius Black is indeed innocent. The person who betrayed the Potters to Voldemort was Peter, Peter Pedilou."

Fudge laughed even louder, as if he had just heard the funniest joke of his life.

After laughing for a long time, Fudge said: "Albus, we all know that Peter's child is dead, and the poor child has only one finger left. In recognition of his bravery, he was also awarded the first class of the Order of Merlin." Where's the medal!"

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true. I saw Peter today," said Dumbledore.

Then the headmaster told the story of the Porter couple's secret agent, how Peter framed Sirius, and how Peter was caught today.

After hearing all this, Fudge acted even more stupid than Ron. He didn't believe what Dumbledore said at all, or he didn't want to believe it in his heart.

To believe what Dumbledore said, to believe that Sirius Black was innocent, proved the Ministry wrong.Twelve years of imprisoning an innocent man in the horrors of Azkaban is a mistake the Ministry of Magic does not want to take.

"It's impossible, it's absolutely impossible." Fudge said slowly, "Since Black was wronged, why didn't he say that he was wronged when he was arrested? Why didn't he say that he was wronged in the past 12 years? This can't be real!"

Fudge's performance was also within Dumbledore's expectations. Now that he came to see Fudge, Dumbledore was naturally fully prepared.The principal looked at Ada, and signaled that it was time for Ada to perform, and let me, an old man, rest for a while.

Bringing myself along is to let myself do this, of course Ada understands what Dumbledore means.So she simply placed the cage in her hand on the large desk.

Fudge and Umbridge frowned as they looked at the metal cage on the desk and the sluggish rats in the cage.Seeing Ada take out her wand, Umbridge stood in front of Fudge even more exaggeratedly, and pulled out his short wand by the way.

Pooh!A villain who can only be charming, Fudge's henchman.

Ada was very disdainful of Umbridge's behavior. She curled her lips and ignored the pink toad, who was approaching a formidable enemy. She tapped the cage with her wand, and the metal cage disappeared immediately.

Ada tapped the mouse on the table again with her wand, and a blue light lit up on the tip of the yew wand, and Peter Pedilou "incredibly" appeared on the desk in the office of the Minister of Magic.

The appearance of the wretched middle-aged man in the Mediterranean made Minister Fudge slump down on the chair.Fudge mumbled in a daze: "Impossible, how is this possible, how could it be like this..."

Peter didn't frame his good brother Sirius again, he just slumped on the desk without saying a word.

"Connelly, now that you see it, you should believe that Sirius is innocent, right?" Dumbledore said, "We have many ways to verify it, Legilimency, Veritaserum, etc."

And Ada really cooperated with Dumbledore very much, she took out another small bottle from her pocket.The colorless liquid in the vial was Veritaserum, and it only took two or three drops to tell a man all he knew.

(End of this chapter)