bacchusnovels Chapter 522 The Phoenix Order Meeting
Chapter 522 The Phoenix Order Meeting
Chapter 518 The Phoenix Order Meeting
"George Weasley, if you dare utter another word, I'll make sure you can't speak tomorrow."
"Goodness, our little Ginny's shy," Fred chimed in immediately, making an exaggerated gesture of clutching his chest. "Quick, George, retract the retractable ears so she can't hear Professor Phillips anymore!"
"Shut up!" Ginny shouted angrily, her cheeks burning. She grabbed the retractable ear with one hand and stormed off to the other side of the room.
"How do you know it's been blocked by an anti-interference charm?" Harry asked curiously.
"Professor Tonks told me how to verify it," Ginny replied irritably. "You just throw something at the door, and if it doesn't hit the door, it means you've cast an antidote. I've been throwing dung balls at the door from the top of the stairs, but they all avoid the door and fly elsewhere, so there's no way the extendable ears could squeeze under the door."
The air fell silent for a moment, and none of them spoke.
Just when this silence was about to solidify into an awkward moment, it was always necessary to find a target that everyone tacitly disliked to break the deadlock.
A hundred years ago it was Principal Black; a hundred years from now, it might be Snape.
Fred sighed deeply. "What a pity. I really want to know what that old Snape is up to."
"Snape?" Harry looked up immediately. "He's here too?"
"Of course," George replied as he carefully closed the door.
He went over and sat on a bed, and Fred sat down beside him. "He just read a report downstairs. 'Top Secret.'"
"Idiot." Fred rolled his eyes, his tone languid.
"He's on our side now," Hermione said, unusually speaking up for Snape.
"That doesn't mean he's not an idiot," Ron scoffed. "Look at the way he looks at us, like we're slugs."
"Bill doesn't like him either," Ginny added, her tone certain.
"Bill's here too?" Harry asked. "Isn't he working in Egypt?"
"He applied for a transfer and got an office job," Fred said. "That way he can come back and work for the Order of the Phoenix."
“Charlie has also joined the Order of the Phoenix,” George continued, “but he’s still in Romania. Dumbledore wants to gain as much international support as possible, so Charlie spends his time out of work contacting wizards from other countries.”
"That means," Harry whispered, "that the Order of the Phoenix is much larger than I imagined."
“Yes,” Ron nodded, “and we haven’t told you the most interesting thing yet—” he lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “Professor Phillips has stepped forward this time too, he wants to…”
"Shh!" Hermione immediately stopped her. "Let them tell him themselves."
Harry became increasingly restless.
Meanwhile, Sean listened attentively to the Order of the Phoenix meeting.
"We have confirmed that three former Death Eaters have recently gone missing. They may have had contact with Voldemort, and there is even a possibility that they have returned to Britain," said a member of the Order of the Phoenix. "More worryingly, they may be looking for new refuge and contacting their former followers who have broken free from the Dark Lord's control."
Moody grunted to himself, his devilish eyes darting around. "Those guys—humph, a wolf is a wolf, even if it wears sheep's clothing."
Sean listened, his heart pounding with fear.
When did the British Ministry of Magic become like a sieve?
Although the British Ministry of Magic, or even the British political arena, has always been cleaner than Merlin's underwear, and sometimes Ministry of Magic officials even know inside information later than journalists, it is truly shocking that such a thing could happen during a period of strict control.
Now, the Order of the Phoenix can truly be called a mini-cabinet.
Or rather, the House of Representatives?
Fudge was giving orders from above.
Many of the actual executives secretly joined the Order of the Phoenix, not only providing intelligence support but also actively participating in its gatherings.
This is no ordinary gang. In order to maintain the stability of the wizarding world, we must take strong action!
With this thought in mind, Sean unconsciously glanced at Bertha beside him, giving her a knowing look.
There's a mole among us. Go back and investigate thoroughly!
However, when he saw Bertha's eyes, which seemed to hold water, he suddenly remembered that the person sitting in front of him was not his capable subordinate Bertha Joggins, but Bella.
It's all the fault of those outlaws from the Order of the Phoenix; they made him lose his composure.
Bella misunderstood Sean's meaning and pretended to accidentally drop the quill pen on the ground, her slender figure then sliding towards the ground.
He appears to be stroking a pen on the carpet, but in reality, he is stroking Sean's magic wand.
Dumbledore is still sitting there!
But I have to say, this kind of stimulation is really great.
Bella knew how to play, but she also knew her limits. In just a few moments, she picked up the pen again and sat back down in her seat with a serious expression.
However, this coy act only fueled his desire.
"Therefore, we must speed up the pace."
Sean finally spoke, taking over the conversation from the member of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Voldemort has not yet fully recovered, which is the best window of opportunity for us to take the initiative. He cannot afford to catch his breath."
He looked at Dumbledore.
"I can establish a special response team directly under the Ministry of Magic within my authority, select the most reliable people, and combine the resources of the Order of the Phoenix to set up a real strike core behind the scenes."
The people around the conference table immediately fell silent.
When it comes to selling the Ministry of Magic, it was him, a high-ranking official, who did it! How could any of these mid-level officials be as successful as him, a high-ranking official?
"This—is this your personal action?" Kingsley asked in a deep voice.
"No, it's an official plan of the Ministry of Magic's Department of Law Enforcement," Sean said in a flat tone. "I will personally oversee its formation and personally approve the membership of every member."
Then he dropped another bombshell, which was also the main reason he came here for the meeting today.
Many people received the message in advance, but were unsure whether Phillips was telling the truth.
"Minister Fudge has recently expressed great dissatisfaction with Professor Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic. I even received advance warning that he might take related actions."
"Therefore, I suggest—"
"If Minister Fudge takes extreme actions when necessary, our entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement (excluding strikers) will be on the line."
One hundred and thirty-five wizards can cooperate with the Order of the Phoenix to initiate a special impeachment process (coup d'état, purging corrupt officials) and support Professor Dumbledore as the new Minister for Magic.
As I mentioned earlier, when it comes to selling Fudge, it has to be him, Fudge's confidant. None of these people could match his success.
It would be best if all three sides fought until their brains were completely destroyed.
Upstairs, the younger children, along with the Weasleys, shifted the conversation to a name none of them wanted to mention—
Percy Weasley.
"You absolutely mustn't mention Percy in front of Mom and Dad," Ron whispered to Harry, his voice unusually tense.
"Why?" Harry was taken aback.
"Because every time Percy's name is mentioned, Dad smashes whatever he's holding to pieces, and Mom bursts into tears," Fred shrugged, looking helpless.
"That's really terrible." Ginny sighed sadly, her eyes dimming.
"I think we've finally gotten rid of him," George interjected, his expression a mix of embarrassment and disgust.
"What exactly happened?" Harry asked, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"Percy had a huge fight with Dad," Fred said in a low voice. "I've never seen Dad so angry; it's usually Mom who yells at people."
“That was the first week after the semester ended,” Ron continued. “We were getting ready to come to the Order of the Phoenix when Percy came home and proudly told us he’d been promoted.”
"You mean a promotion?" Harry frowned. "Are you kidding me?"
Because of Crouch's affair, the Ministry of Magic always has to find a few people to take the blame.
As the minister, Fouché certainly cannot be blamed.
Therefore, the only person who could take the blame was Crouch's secretary and direct contact, Percy Weasley. But then again... it seems that taking the blame for one's boss and getting promoted is not an uncommon thing.
This event is documented in countries around the world, for example...
“Yes, we were all baffled,” George said. “After Crouch’s incident, Percy was investigated. They said he should have noticed Crouch’s mental instability and reported it promptly. But you know Percy, Crouch put him on his own, and he was itching to take over the entire Ministry of Magic.”
"Then why would they promote him?"
“We don’t understand it either,” Ron shook his head. “He came home that day, acting all high and mighty, even more so than usual. Then he told us he’d been transferred to Fudge’s office and become an assistant minister. For someone who’s only been out of school for a year, that’s a top-notch job.”
"He probably thought Dad would be happy for him," Fred added, his tone somewhat somber.
"But Dad wasn't happy at all." Harry frowned. "Why?"
"Because Fudge recently threw a tantrum at the Ministry of Magic." George's tone turned cold. "He gave a strict order that no one is allowed to have any contact with Dumbledore, not even his name."
"Dumbledore's reputation is ruined in the department these days, you know?" Fred said, "because of Crouch Jr. and Moody's affair."
They said Dumbledore was bad at judging people, not even realizing that Death Eaters had infiltrated Hogwarts. Adding to that the Quirrell and Lockhart incident a few years ago, they believed Dumbledore was old, his eyesight was failing, and he was no longer fit to stay at Hogwarts, unable to even guarantee the students' most basic safety.
"Dad also said that Fudge made it clear that anyone who has any connection with Dumbledore can no longer stay in the Ministry of Magic."
"But Professor Phillips 1"
"Professor Phillips was an accident."
This explains why so many members of the Ministry of Magic were present at the Order of the Phoenix.
If you're laid off or someone they're wary of, of course you need to find another job.
Of course, the most important point is—for justice.
George took a breath and continued.
"The problem is, Fudge has started to suspect Dad. He knows Dad and Dumbledore have a good relationship. And he's always thought Dad is a bit strange—a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, yet so fascinated by Muggle stuff."
"But what does that have to do with Percy?" Harry asked, puzzled.
“That’s exactly what I was going to say.” George sighed. “Dad thinks Fudge moved Percy to his office so he could keep an eye on our family—and Dumbledore, too.”
Harry whistled. "I bet your partner would love to hear that kind of speculation."
Ron let out a dry laugh.
“He was absolutely furious,” he said. “He said so much—ugh, it was awful. He said he’d been struggling ever since he entered the Ministry of Magic, trying to shake off the bad reputation his father had given him. He said his father had no ambition, which was why we’d always been so poor—you know, we’ve never had much money—”
"What?" Harry blurted out in disbelief, while Ginny let out a low growl like an angry cat.
“I know,” Ron said in an even lower voice, “but what’s worse he went on to say that it was stupid of Dad to get involved with Dumbledore, and that something bad was going to happen to Dumbledore soon, and Dad would be in trouble too.”
"He said he—Percy—knew who he should be loyal to, and that he was loyal to the Ministry of Magic. He also said that if Mom and Dad insisted on 'betraying' the Ministry of Magic, then he would let the whole world know that he was no longer a member of our family."
"That very night, he packed his bags and left," George added. "He's living in London now and refuses to come back."
Harry was silent for a few seconds, then muttered a few curses under his breath.
“Mom hasn’t been in a good mood lately,” Ron sighed. “You know her, she can’t help but cry when she thinks about things not being right at home. She rushed to London to talk to Percy, but he slammed the door shut in front of her.”
"I don't know how he managed to pretend he didn't see his dad when he ran into him at work," he said with a wry smile. "He probably just pretended not to see him."
Perhaps it was because the atmosphere in the room was too somber, or perhaps she didn't want to hear any more about Percy, or perhaps she wanted to test whether the retractable ear could still be used.
In short, Ginny left the room with her extendable ears and headed downstairs.
As it turned out, he ran right into Sean.
Five minutes ago.
Dumbledore's refusal was entirely expected.
Whether Dumbledore took his words to heart is unknown, but the other members of the Order of the Phoenix certainly did—they were clearly somewhat moved.
Dumbledore was quite pleased.
While Phillips' behavior was highly inappropriate, the fact that he went to such lengths for himself is quite touching.
The meeting was still in progress, but halfway through, Sean noticed that Bella suddenly winked at him, then stood up apologetically and told everyone that she wasn't feeling well and needed to go to the restroom.
What are you going to do? What are you going to do?
Although they differ by only one syllable, they represent two completely different meanings.
At Blake's old house, which was being used as a meeting place for the Order of the Phoenix, and Bella... the buffs seem to be fully stacked.
This reminded Sean of a time a few years ago when he "played" with Bella, also here, with Riddle guarding the goal.
Who knows... what new tricks Bella might pull off at home?
For example, what if she wore the Slytherin robes she wore when she was at Hogwarts and dressed up as a young girl? Even if it wasn't a cosplay, with Bella's current Bertha-like figure, it would still be a novel experience.
So, I didn't continue thinking about it—
"Excuse me, everyone, there seems to be something wrong with the food in the Ministry of Magic's dining hall today. I'll go to the restroom as well. Please continue."