It was obvious that the Ministry of Magic had a network of patrols and well-placed informants strategically stationed throughout Hogsade. Otherwise, there could be no other explanation for how they had managed to receive the news about the incident and react with such unusual swiftness. These politicians, expert at the political chess ga also recognized both the extraordinary sensitivity and the seriousness of this matter.
Hogwarts under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore and Bryan Watson, had essentially evolved into another special political entity within the British Wizarding World. In the past, when Dumbledore supported the façade alone, due to his 'weak' personality, the Ministry of Magic did not need to rush to Hogwarts to handle such matters like startled birds.
In those simpler tis, Ministry officials could remain leisurely in their comfortable offices safely distanced from any imdiate crisis. They could afford to wait with patience for Hogwarts to formally request their assistance and cooperation in whatever investigation might be necessary. This approach always gave them both the upper hand and the initiative in subsequent negotiations.
However, Bryan Watson's personality and approach to politics was in complete contrast to Dumbledore's more restrained diplomatic style. If the Ministry of Magic choose to stay out of this matter, and attempt to clearly shirk their responsibility, Bryan Watson would surely never let it go.
Perhaps the most significant issue was that the Ministry simply did not dare to adopt too forceful or confrontational stance towards Bryan Watson.
This was not only from Watson's own power, which made it practically impossible for the Ministry to effectively sanction him through conventional force or legal maneuvering, but more importantly, over recent years, the Ministry had left far too many political "handles" and potential scandals in Watson's hands.
If he chose to make them public, the current high-ranking officials in charge of the Ministry would undoubtedly be driven out of office by the enraged wizarding public without exception.
After returning to his desk, Dumbledore interlaced his slender fingers and rested his chin on them. His blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles gazed at Hermione's sleeping face, showing no signs of joy or anger.
Bryan, on the other hand, leaned on the sofa. He was also looking at Hermione, with a raging fury deeply concealed in the depths of his eyes.
Bang--
The anticipated delegation from the Ministry arrived very punctually.
As the minute hand on the wall clock moved four spaces with soft chanical clicks, the steadily burning orange-red flas in Dumbledore's fireplace turned green. From the green flas, Cornelius Fudge and his secretary, along with Alia, who had been specially summoned to appease the potentially angered Bryan Watson, appeared simultaneously in Dumbledore's office.
"She's alive, isn't she! Thank rlin!" Fudge shouted with dramatical concern imdiately upon fully appearing in the office.
He didn't even glance at Dumbledore or Bryan by the bedside. Removing his dark green bowler hat, he forcefully tugged at his bright red tie and rushed to the other side of Hermione's bed in a few steps.
"Look, Dolores, I can see her breathing! She's definitely alive!" Fudge exclaid with exaggerated relief as he bent over Hermione's body, and scrutinized her for signs of life. Then, noticing with relief the faint rise and fall of her chest, he imdiately straightened and turned his head toward Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic.
Umbridge stood slightly apart from the others, her unnaturally rigid posture showed her discomfort. Her face was unnaturally pale, almost chalk-white compared to the pink of her suit, and she was visibly struggling to transform her toad-like facial features into what presumably was intended to be a sympathetic smile but manifested more as a grimace.
The effect was absolutely unsettling. Her short, unnaturally perfect curly hair was decorated with a ridiculous oversized black velvet bow that seed wildly inappropriate for a woman of her age and position, creating an overall impression that was both childish and vaguely sinister.
"That's wonderful! Simply wonderful!" Fudge exclaid with relief. "I thought—oh, I must admit quite honestly—the initial report I received absolutely terrified . rlin's beard, if sothing catastrophic were to happen to Hermione Granger, how on earth would I possibly begin to explain such a tragedy to the wizarding public?
She's beco sothing of a national treasure, hasn't she? After her spectacular performance during the first task of the Triwizard Tournant, she practically beca their darling overnight!"
Fudge straightened his back, his round face suddenly lit with what appeared to be genuine joy. Finally, after this extended performance, he deliberately shifted his gaze to et Bryan Watson's, clearly expecting so acknowledgnt or perhaps gratitude for his apparent concern.
However, Bryan did not respond to Fudge's transparent attempt at connection. He continued to stare expressionlessly at the sleeping Hermione, his face giving no indication that he had even registered the Minister's presence.
Fudge's chin quivered slightly at this blatant denial, a montary crack appeared in his political facade. With poorly concealed discomfort, he turned his head towards Dumbledore, his expression showing sothing akin to helplessness.
Yet, contrary to his obvious expectations of finding an ally in the typically diplomatic headmaster, he did not receive the anticipated warm reception from Dumbledore either.
Although Dumbledore did et his gaze directly—unlike Bryan's complete dismissal—he too had an unusually cold expression. Those blue eyes seed to effortlessly pierce through Fudge's carefully constructed political mask, laying bare his inner thoughts and calculations the very instant their gazes made contact.
The effect was imdiate. Fudge's already pale complexion reddened at an alarmingly rapid rate, spreading from his neck upward like a rising tide of embarrassnt.
Beads of nervous sweat ford across his forehead and began falling one after another, so catching in his eyebrows while others went down his increasingly flushed cheeks. He tugged at his collar as though it had suddenly tightened around his neck.
The atmosphere in the headmaster's office had grown oppressively heavy. Bryan and Dumbledore seed to radiate authority like twin suns, their combined presence radiating a force that appeared to physically suffocate Cornelius Fudge, who shifted repeatedly from one foot to the other.
"Dumbledore," Fudge finally managed to say with difficulty, his voice ca as strained and unnaturally high.
His face had taken on a truly terrible appearance, spotted with patches of red and white, showing his inner turmoil. Since the downfall of Voldemort and throughout his entire tenure as Minister for Magic, this was the first ti on which Dumbledore had treated him with such obvious coldness.
anwhile, Dolores Umbridge remained unusually quiet, her bulging eyes were darting nervously between the present wizards. She needed to be more cautious of Bryan Watson.
These Ministry officials had developed, over years of political maneuvering, a reasonably effective set of strategies and approaches for dealing with Albus Dumbledore. They understood his triggers, his priorities, and most importantly, his lines that should not be crossed.
But Bryan Watson's teoric rise to prominence had been too rapid, too unexpected for them to develop similar protocols. The Ministry had not yet fully adapted to the imposing presence and unpredictable nature of this formidable wizard who now stood undisputedly 'at the peak of his power' not just in Britain but throughout the European Wizarding World.
"I've already reassured you, Minister Fudge, there's absolutely no need for such excessive concern—" Dolores interjected with a carefully constructed smile of feigned delight.
She took quick, short steps to Cornelius' side, gazing at Hermione with a concerned expression, but her eyes were filled with indifference. The corners of those sa eyes, however, were sneakily observing Bryan Watson's reactions, obviously quite wary of provoking any response from him.
"Hogwarts has both Dumbledore and Watson at its disposal. They will undoubtedly make up for this terrible oversight in security protocols. Miss Granger will surely be returned to perfect health in no ti at all!"
'terrible oversight?'
The corners of Bryan's mouth tilted, finally focusing his gaze on Dolores Umbridge, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery.
"Bryan--" Alia was well aware that Fudge had his own objectives in bringing her along. Only she could slightly ease the current escalating standoff.
Sighing inwardly, Alia first greeted Dumbledore with a nod, then turned her gaze to Bryan. It lingered briefly on Hermione with a trace of sympathy.
"We received an urgent report that a young witch was viciously attacked by what appeared to be sophisticated Dark Magic while visiting Hogsade. What exactly happened? The preliminary report was very vague and made no ntion whatsoever of the presence or detection of any known Dark wizards in the vicinity at the ti of the incident."
"Miss Granger received what appeared to be an ordinary package from the Hogsade post office—" Bryan finally broke his silence. However, he positioned his body to face Fudge directly as he spoke.
Both, he and Dumbledore had already given Fudge a warning. If they didn't give the Minister for Magic so face, although Fudge couldn't do anything to them, Alia's position in the Ministry would definitely beco difficult.
The matter wasn't particularly complicated. In just two minutes, Bryan had already explained it clearly.
The three representatives from the Ministry had obviously not anticipated the situation to unfold as it had.
They had all thought that so deranged, rogue Dark wizard had sohow managed to infiltrate Hogsade undetected by their security asures, and Hermione Granger had rely been tragically unfortunate to be randomly selected as the target of this hypothetical madman's attack.
If that scenario had indeed been the case, the Ministry would undoubtedly have been forced to bear the full impact of responsibility for inadequate security protocols and insufficient protective asures in a village regularly visited by hundreds of underage magical students.
"Oh, according to your explanation of events, Mr. Watson, that ans—" Umbridge quick to identify potential escape routes from accountability, said with poorly disguised delight after a brief mont of astonishnt.
"I an perhaps, that this Miss Granger, through so carelessness or foolish action of her own, inadvertently offended so powerful Dark wizard leading to—"
"Cornelius, who is the head of the Departnt of Magical Transportation?" Dumbledore directly interrupted Umbridge's attempt to attribute part of the responsibility to Hermione herself, and his tone was ice cold.
Bryan silently chuckled. It was rare to see such a tough side of Dumbledore.
"Oh, what? Transportation?" Fudge responded, clearly caught off-guard by Dumbledore's sudden and seemingly unrelated question. He nervously wiped the sweat from his furrowed brow with an embroidered handkerchief that he hastily extracted from his pocket, and instinctively looked toward Umbridge for support or guidance.
"Well, Dolores has been directly overseeing that particular departnt since her promotion to Senior Undersecretary. The previous head retired rather suddenly, if you recall. What's the specific matter concerning Transportation, Dumbledore?" His voice carried a note of genuine confusion mixed with growing uneasiness.
Umbridge's already unpleasant face flushed a shade of red in an instant upon having attention drawn to her departntal responsibilities. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Dumbledore with resentnt.
"The culprit responsible for this attack sent the cursed package to Hogsade through the official post office, Minister—"
Bryan said expressionlessly as he stood up. Across Hermione's bed, he coldly stared at Fudge and Umbridge. "May I ask, for the sake of absolute clarity in this matter, if the wizarding post office and its operations fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Departnt of Magical Transportation?"
Fudge was visibly stunned into montary speechlessness, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly several tis like a fish suddenly finding itself on dry land.
anwhile, Umbridge's complexion began to alternate rapidly between red and white like a magical revolving lantern as her bulging eyes showed unmistakable annoyance and growing alarm.
If the incident had been classified mainly as a security breach, the first Ministry official to face serious criticism and potential professional consequences would undoubtedly have been Alia Bones, whose departnt was responsible for public safety.
That was precisely why she had accompanied the Minister and Bones with relative peace of mind, confident that whatever had happened in Hogsade likely fell outside of her direct responsibility. She had not expected the matter to take such a dramatic turn and suddenly beco directly associated with her departnt!
Umbridge's eyes narrowed as she glared venomously at the expressionless face of Bryan Watson. At this critical mont, she realized that she would need to craft so sort of plausible justification for her departnt's failure—so explanation that might deflect at least part of the bla. Expecting Fudge to speak on her behalf was unrealistic. However, unfortunately, Watson did not give her the opportunity.
"This package was sent to Hogsade through the official channels of the post office under the regulatory authority of the Departnt of Magical Transportation, it was not delivered by private owls, nor by the Hogwarts owl postal service. Therefore, the Departnt of Transportation bears an absolutely unshirkable responsibility in this matter!"
Bryan said coldly.
"Doesn't the post office conduct any form of prior magical inspection or security screening whatsoever before accepting and subsequently delivering packages?"
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