“Who is this Dumbledore?” asked the Pri Minister, having frequently heard Fudge ntion Dumbledore’s na.
“Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, widely recognized as the greatest wizard of our ti. Order of rlin, First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supre Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards,” Fudge rattled off in one breath. “Also, he is the only wizard that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-nad ever feared. He knows many secrets about the Dark Lord, probably…”
“Since this wizard is so great, why not let him defeat the Dark Lord?”
“This brings us back to our initial topic. You-Know-Who seems to be immortal,” said Fudge bitterly. “Or, he’s not easy to be defeated. Even Dumbledore can’t do it.”
The office fell silent again, and the Pri Minister stopped asking questions.
He couldn’t help but think, facing an immortal and terrible monster, could they really win in this war?
He felt that his head was in a ss and he couldn’t make sense of anything.
If possible, he really hoped to wake up and find that all this was just a dream.
About five minutes later, the silence was broken by the portrait, which suddenly spoke in its crisp, official voice.
“To the Pri Minister of Muggles. Requesting a eting. Urgent. Kindly respond imdiately. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic.”
“Yes, yes, fine,” said the Pri Minister distractedly.
As soon as his voice fell, the flas in the grate turned erald green again, rose up, and revealed a second spinning wizard in their heart, disgorging him monts later onto the antique rug.
The Pri Minister looked at this scene without showing any fear.
Fudge got to his feet and, after a mont’s hesitation, the Pri Minister did the sa, watching the new arrival straighten up, dust down his long black robes, and look around.
This man…
Looking at him, the Pri Minister’s first, foolish thought was that Rufus Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion.
There were streaks of gray in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimd spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp. There was an imdiate impression of shrewdness and toughness; the Pri Minister thought he understood why the Wizarding community preferred Scrimgeour to Fudge as a leader in these dangerous tis.
During the war, such a tough, hawkish figure was needed to lead.
Overall, the Pri Minister had a very good first impression of Scrimgeour, much better than that of Fudge.
He hoped that he could solve the current troubles, or at least not make the situation worse.
“How do you do?” said the Pri Minister politely, holding out his hand.
Scrimgeour did not rush to shake hands with the Pri Minister. His eyes swept around the room, as if to confirm whether it was safe.
His appearance made one suspect that a group of ard thugs might be hiding in the room.
Then, Scrimgeour grasped the Pri Minister’s hand hastily and pulled out a wand from under his robes.
“Fudge told you everything?” he asked, striding over to the door and tapping the keyhole with his wand. The Pri Minister heard the lock click.
“Er … yes,” said the Pri Minister. “And if you don’t mind, I’d rather that door remained unlocked.”
“I’d rather not be interrupted,” said Scrimgeour shortly, “or watched. You don’t seem to understand your current situation. You are in danger. This office is not safe at all.”
He pointed his wand at the windows, so that the curtains swept across them.
It was clear that sothing resembling a pane of glass with edges appeared overhead, covering them.
A silvery-white glow flashed on the glass cover, and the space returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
The Pri Minister looked around, trying to adapt to the situation. It was just a spell. He didn’t agree with Scrimgeour’s statent. Apart from the Queen’s place, his office was the safest in the whole of Britain and even the world. However, he admired Scrimgeour’s asures, which were clearly professional.
“I just heard from Fudge…”
“It seems that Fudge didn’t tell you everything very well, or you didn’t understand,” Scrimgeour interrupted the Pri Minister and said impatiently, “I’m a busy man and don’t have much ti to waste here. So let’s get down to business. First of all, we need to discuss your security.”
The Pri Minister’s initial good impression of Scrimgeour vanished. These wizards all seed the sa.
“Fudge just told that a crazy wizard wants to co and control . This is obviously ridiculous.” The Pri Minister drew himself up to his fullest height. “I am perfectly happy with the security I’ve already got. Thank you very —”
“Well, we’re not,” Scrimgeour cut in. “The protection asures you have here are equivalent to none. He can co here at any ti if he wants. It’ll be a poor lookout for the Muggles if their Pri Minister gets put under the Imperius curse, especially in the current situation. By the way, the new secretary in your outer office —”
“I’m not getting rid of Kingsley Shacklebolt, if that’s what you’re suggesting!” said the Pri Minister hotly. “He’s highly efficient, gets through twice the work the rest of them —”
“Obviously, that’s because he’s a wizard,” said Scrimgeour, without a flicker of a smile. “A highly trained Auror who has been assigned to you for your protection, but according to the latest intelligence I have received, this is not enough.”
“Now, wait a mont!” The Pri Minister shouted, “You can’t just put your people into my office. I decide who works for —”
“I thought you were happy with Shacklebolt?” said Scrimgeour coldly, interrupting him once more.
“I am — that’s to say, I was —”
“Then there’s no problem, is there?” asked Scrimgeour.
“I… well, as long as Shacklebolt’s work continues to be … er … excellent, there shouldn’t be any problem,” said the Pri Minister laly, but Scrimgeour barely seed to hear him.
“Now, about Herbert Chorley, your Junior Minister,” he continued. “The one who has been entertaining the public by impersonating a duck.”
“Fudge just told that he was controlled by soone!”
“Yes, he has clearly reacted to a poorly perford Imperius Curse,” said Scrimgeour disdainfully. “It’s addled his brains, but he could still be dangerous, so we’ve taken asures to isolate him. You need to appoint a new Junior Minister, and we will arrange for an Auror to co over as soon as possible…”
“Wait, Herbert might just need a bit of a rest and less alcohol…”
“Do not interrupt ,” said Scrimgeour impatiently, rudely cutting in again. “Let repeat, my ti is limited and cannot all be wasted here. Do you understand the current situation? The Aurors in the Ministry of Magic are short of staff, and every elite Auror is extrely valuable. Yet, we are assigning another one here, to make every effort to protect you and ensure your security.”
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