Hogwarts: The Witch Education Handbook

Chapter 519 The End of the Triumph Tournament

Chapter 516 The End of the Triwizard Tournament (The End)

In fact, that's exactly what Fudge thought.

Otherwise, why didn't he tell the Aurors to stop earlier? Why didn't he speak up to stop their attack at the crucial moment? The answer is obvious—he was waiting for Sean to give the order.

Even after Sean gave the order, he was still able to defend himself afterwards.

He said he originally intended to sacrifice himself to bring about Voldemort's demise, but unfortunately, everything was ruined by Sean's own actions.

In this way, his negative image of being captured by Voldemort will be completely reversed.

For Fudge, the comeback never happens on the battlefield, but in the post-match press conference... For him, that's the real battlefield.

Everyone has a different role, right?

"Release Minister Fouché, and we will grant your request."

Sean spoke earnestly to Voldemort. Hearing this, Dumbledore turned to look at Sean in surprise, wanting to say something, but Sean's words cut him off.

"We would have done this if it weren't for Minister Fudge standing there; any other wizard would have done the same. The opportunity to arrest criminals should not be obtained at the cost of other wizards' lives."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding air became oppressive.

Indeed, that is reality.

Whether it is a high-ranking minister or an ordinary wizard or citizen, life should be respected and protected equally.

Even when faced with a threat like Voldemort, the government should not abandon hostages in order to arrest criminals.

Such a choice is not just a moral issue, but also concerns the trust and order of the entire society.

The Ministry of Magic exists for the sake of the wizarding community, not to satisfy the selfish desires of those in power or to pursue personal victory. Abandoning hostages would only erode trust between the government and the people, and could even jeopardize the stability of society as a whole.

Today, another ordinary wizard can be abandoned, but will it be your turn tomorrow?

"We will not sacrifice anyone's life to arrest you, Voldemort."

Facing the reporters' cameras, Sean spoke righteously and eloquently.

"But your long-accumulated atrocities will ultimately not escape the punishment of the law. Sacrificing the innocent will not bring you victory; on the contrary, it will only deepen your sins."

Hearing Sean's words, Dumbledore fell silent. Although his expression was not good, he nodded and put down his wand.

"Phillips, stop saying such disgusting things. We'll see each other again."

Voldemort harbored a deep resentment towards the wizard who had prevented him from obtaining the Philosopher's Stone years ago. He made a sarcastic remark and then gestured for Bella to raise her wand as well.

"Phantom Appearance!"

With a spell, Voldemort and Bellatrix vanished from sight, leaving only Fudge's obese body slumped on the ground, panting heavily.

The next second—

Sean and several Aurors rushed forward to check on the condition of the "victims," ​​Fudge and Harry.

"How is it, Harry?" Harry shook his head. Sean then turned his gaze to the minister, who also noticed Fudge's wet trousers. After shielding himself from the view from behind, he unconsciously cast a drying spell on Fudge's clothes.

Fudge was deeply moved by this thoughtful gesture.

Before this, he had always resented Sean for not planning things properly, for not coming over sooner, and for dragging him into this quagmire.

But looking back now, it seems that everything was my own choice.

Sean had consulted him before making the plan... but he came of his own volition. Even the Portkey was something he took the initiative to photograph with Harry, thus giving Crouch the opportunity. Even... that old man Dumbledore was ready to give up on him, but Sean spoke up and saved him despite public opinion.

It's just a cruel twist of fate; when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause problems.

It's estimated that he'll need to discuss things thoroughly with Sean to avoid getting caught up in a media storm—yes, Fudge has already started thinking about how to work with Sean to turn things around at the press conference.

"Professor Phillips, Professor Dumbledore, I—"

2

Harry glanced at Fudge on the ground, then at Sean and Dumbledore in front of him, hesitating to speak. Hearing Harry's intention to speak, Fudge's expression changed—

"Harry, this isn't the place to talk. Let's go back and talk."

Sean interrupted Harry, leaving a few Aurors to clean up the mess and gather evidence. The group then used the port key to return to Hogwarts.

After dismissing most of the Aurors and batters, Sean consulted Dumbledore and asked to keep the reporters in the Great Hall for a reception.

The group escorted the already unconscious Crouch back to the headmaster's office, intending to question him about Voldemort.

Before entering the office, Fudge gave Sean a wink, and Sean understood immediately.

The two said they had some urgent Ministry of Magic business to attend to and found an empty classroom. Fudge carefully closed the door, and after confirming that no one was nearby, he looked Sean in the eye and spoke solemnly.

"Phillips, I made a mistake."

"What's wrong?"

"I...I..."

""

Fudge blushed as he met Sean's sincere and concerned gaze.

"When I encountered Voldemort, I tried to persuade him to surrender, so I tried my best to talk to him. But I failed, and he told me to surrender to him. I thought about it and realized that I could pretend to surrender to gain Voldemort's trust, and then wipe out Voldemort and his group of Death Eaters in one fell swoop."

As Fudge spoke, he became more and more righteous, and through his eloquent narration, a righteous image of a lone hero who sacrificed himself to feed a tiger leaped off the page.

"Isn't this great? Is there a problem?"

Sean pretended not to understand, then feigned a sudden realization.

"You want to tell this story at the press conference later? Don't worry, I'll arrange it. I'll have someone ask questions from the audience, and you can casually" bring up the story. It won't seem out of place at all."

This statement successfully brought Fudge back to reality.

If these words were spoken at a press conference, would anyone believe them?

"But the problem is, you rescued me."

"So, you want us to send you back to Voldemort so you can carry out your undercover plan?" Sean asked with a strange expression.

Fudge shook his head vigorously.

"That's not the key point. The key point is... other people know about this."

"You mean... Harry?"

While Fudge was still discussing with Sean how to properly resolve the matter, Dumbledore had already conducted one round of interrogation of Crouch Jr. in his office.

But... it had no effect.

However, the only thing that could be considered a gain was finding Moody, who was being held captive by Crouch Jr.

Moody looked extremely disheveled. His original hair had been pulled out by Crouch Jr., leaving patches missing here and there. His appearance was so pitiful that it would make anyone who saw it weep.

Mrs. Pomfrey arrived in a hurry and took Moody away.

"Truth serum. Let's use truth serum. And while we're at it, have someone bring Gilgamesh along."

Sean and Fudge walked in and said.

If Fudge hadn't been there, Dumbledore would have had Snape use Veritaserum to interrogate a prisoner in front of the Ministry of Magic, which would have been rather inappropriate.

Truth serum was delivered quickly, along with Glitter.

"Master Barty, Master Barty! What are you doing here?" She threw herself at little Crouch, her eyes darting around in terror at the crowd. "You killed him! You killed him!"

"Don't get agitated. He's just passed out," Sean said. "Give him the medicine."

An Auror bent down, pulled Crouch up, pried open his mouth, and poured the entire bottle of potion into it.

"I'll ask, you answer."

'

""

Throughout the questioning, Sean guided the conversation. This was primarily because Crouch Jr. knew that Crouch Jr. had been involved in the Goblet of Fire affair.

Therefore, some questions were only mentioned briefly without being asked in detail.

They merely asked him how he escaped and what he did in the third project, convicted him, and hastily took him away for custody.

Next comes the most important thing: what will be said at the press conference?

Because of the presence of reporters, and because Fudge nearly died at Voldemort's hands, Fudge could no longer hide Voldemort's existence as he had in the original story. In addition, he had almost died at Voldemort's hands, and even had something on him that Voldemort had—he wanted to bring Voldemort to justice more than anyone else.

Thus, the tone of the press conference was quickly set:

Voldemort has returned, and the British Ministry of Magic has called on the entire wizarding community to go on high alert.

Following this framework, the group established the general framework for how the entire British wizarding community should respond to the matter.

For example, strengthening vigilance, deploying strikers and Aurors to patrol regularly in various wizarding settlements, and conducting a census so that the Ministry of Magic can intervene immediately if a wizard goes missing.

This process was somewhat tedious and made me drowsy.

As for Fudge, Harry didn't say anything, perhaps he wanted to but was still hesitant.

Sean had originally planned to give Harry psychological counseling, but he didn't have time now, so he had to send Harry away in advance to take him to Madam Pomfrey for a medical check-up.

"Everyone, I know you've all been busy and running around tonight, but the matter at hand leaves no room for us to worry about anything else. As you can see, that person... has returned."

As soon as he said that, a low murmur arose from the audience.

The reporters' expressions shifted from initial focus to a more serious tone. Some whispered amongst themselves, while others gripped their pens or cameras tightly, a sense of tension and unease instantly rising within them.

It's impossible to say I'm not afraid.

The decade or so that Voldemort wreaked havoc in Britain left a deep impression on these journalists; the terrifying memories of those years were deeply ingrained in their minds and could not be erased.

Especially some of these wizards, who were just children back then, are now grown up.

Those nightmarish memories from their childhood have profoundly affected their lives, becoming an indelible shadow.

This is the same principle as keeping tigers in a zoo. If you hit a tiger with a slipper when it's a cub, it will still be afraid of that slipper when it grows up.

But to say how scared I was, I wasn't really that scared.

Just hours earlier, they had witnessed Voldemort flee in panic from their encirclement, even offering Fudge's life in exchange for his own.

Although they knew that Voldemort wasn't afraid of them, but rather of the Aurors with their wands, and Dumbledore and his group.

But when you actually participate, you also feel a sense of pride.

"This time, we are facing a matter of life and death for the entire wizarding world."

"Minister Fudge is sitting here because he witnessed Voldemort's resurrection and personally experienced the incident where Voldemort almost took his life. But he was not afraid and remained steadfast in the face of Voldemort's threat. This sets an example for each of us in the face of this great battle."

Fudge stood up very naturally and nodded slightly.

Snap snap snap—

The applause from the audience was deafening.

"Therefore, today's press conference is also related to Voldemort."

"Voldemort's return may be sudden, but we have been prepared. At the same time, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I hereby officially activate the full emergency plan, mobilizing wizards across the country and throughout Europe, and indeed the entire wizarding community, to a state of high alert."

"We can no longer afford to be complacent; we can no longer allow any wizard to live in Voldemort's shadow."

"We have issued warnings to all wizarding schools, magic guilds, and wizarding communities around the world, and are maintaining close contact with all allies to ensure the rapid dissemination of information."

"Whether it's the Ministry of Magic, the House, or individuals, we must all stand together and work hand in hand to resist the impending darkness. Minister Fudge will personally lead the Ministry's forces to launch a counterattack against Voldemort and restore our peace and tranquility."

"

'

The press conference lasted a long time, about two or three hours.

The document also includes information regarding the trial of Crouch Jr., who, due to the severity of his crimes and the overwhelming evidence, will have his Wizengamot trial canceled and be directly imprisoned in Azkaban.

However, in order to shut Crouch up completely, Sean also devised a plan.

In addition, there was a public announcement regarding the three-way battle for supremacy.

The results of the third event in the Triwizard Tournament were invalidated due to Crouch Jr.'s interference.

Logically, the team should have been facing a precarious situation in Europe, but due to this very situation, the three-way competition was cancelled once again.

All selected warriors, regardless of their performance or whether they are eliminated, will receive a commemorative trophy.

If it were yesterday, Karkaroff would certainly have been unhappy, because he was absolutely certain that Krum would win the championship. But the news of Voldemort's return had terrified him.

If it weren't for so many Aurors watching over him, he probably would have already run away.

Where to run? Perhaps the East would be safer.

Mrs. Maxim had no objection to this, but she still needed to tell the three warriors of Beauxbatons about it.

Come to think of it... she doesn't seem to have seen Furong all day.

After taking care of everything, Sean skipped dinner and went to the infirmary to "clean up Fudge's bottom."