Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

The repercussions of Sirius Black's rehabilitation continue to expand.

"Did those nobles deliberately bring Sirius out because he's very strong and knows a lot?"

The wizards were also whispering among themselves.

"That was personally inspected by Dumbledore. Do you think that's possible?"

"Yes, with Dumbledore around, he would have seen through it if it really was a conspiracy. Even Dumbledore publicly stated that Sirius Black was innocent and that what happened 12 years ago was a miscarriage of justice."

"So many witnesses back then testified that Blake killed a large group of people, so all those witnesses were lying? My God, what terrifying energy is needed to make all these wizards point the finger at Blake?"

"This must be a conspiracy by nobles; only nobles have such power!"

"Will Dumbledore reopen the investigation? None of the nobles who gave their statements back then will escape."

When the magical newspapers reported the news of Sirius Black's exoneration, the nobles were thrown into disarray.

Many nobles sought connections and contacted higher-ranking nobles, hoping to obtain more information from them.

These panicked nobles had all participated in confirming that Sirius Black was the murderer.

If Blake were to overturn his conviction, then their initial testimonies would be incorrect.

The Ministry of Magic will definitely hold them accountable and make things difficult for them!
At the very least, the Ministry of Magic, led by Dumbledore, would definitely do just that.

Some nobles even found Lucius, who still holds a position in the Ministry of Magic.

"Lucius, you have to help me with this! I only accused Sirius Black with the support of your noble families. I never knew he was innocent!"

On this day, a special guest arrived at Malfoy's manor.

The guest was short and overweight, with two small mustaches that were meticulously groomed into symmetrical curves.

He wore a tall black hat and a formal suit, exuding an air of old-century aristocracy from head to toe.

However, in Lucius's eyes, these were merely nobles in name only.

True nobility emanates from within; it doesn't require luxurious clothing to adorn it, yet it is instantly recognizable as a nobleman.

Even though this fat man was dressed in fine clothes, he was still incredibly vulgar in Lucius's eyes.

"With the support of our great nobles?" Lucius asked slowly and deliberately, enunciating each word.

"What great nobles? Where did these great nobles come from? Nobles are nobles, there's no difference between big and small. Under Dumbledore's leadership, our nobles no longer have any special privileges, but instead serve the wizards wholeheartedly."

"Schalke, your words are easily misinterpreted; be careful what you say," Lucius said pointedly.

Schalke shuddered; at that moment, he felt that Lucius was extremely hypocritical.

There's no such thing as a noble family being big or small; if they're so capable, they can simply exchange their enormous Malfoy estate for a smaller one like their own.

He even claimed to be wholeheartedly serving wizards... Nobles don't get up early for nothing; he must have made a fortune by staying in the Ministry of Magic. That's what a hypocrite and ungrateful scoundrel is!
"Lucius, you must save me! That scoundrel Fudge is currently investigating nobles and has an arrest warrant from the Noble Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau. He can use the Aurors to detain nobles at any time."

In my opinion, this person must be removed, otherwise he'll remain a thorn in the side of the nobility!

Upon hearing the name "Fudge," Lucius finally reacted, lazily lifting his eyelids to glance at Schalke, and said slowly:
"I don't understand what you're talking about. If you haven't done it, who would investigate you?"
"Many memories of what happened more than a decade ago have faded. The testimonies from that time are there; if they have any questions, they should look for those testimonies. What use would it be for them to come to you?"

Schalke frowned: "You want me to pretend I don't know? But will that work?"

I learned from others that the Ministry of Magic's investigation this time is very thorough, leaving no one unpunished. Many nobles have already been approached by Aurors, and some have been taken to the Ministry of Magic.

You know, once you get to the Ministry of Magic, your life or death is no longer in our hands.

Lucius suddenly chuckled softly: "But what's the point of questioning you if you're already out of your mind? Even the Ministry of Magic can't just take a patient away from the hospital and prevent them from getting medical treatment."

If this news gets out, everyone will look bad, and doesn't the Ministry of Magic bear any responsibility for what happened back then?
"I think it would be better for the Ministry of Magic to first investigate who recorded the documents back then, and who signed their name to take responsibility, rather than bothering you aristocratic witnesses."

Schalke's eyes gleamed brighter and brighter; he already knew how to handle the situation.

Lucius then muttered to himself, "I remember there is a kind of drug that can drive people insane. If it is used properly, it will only cause people to become insane for a short period of time, making them look like they have a mental illness."

However, they will actually recover to normal after one or two months, and they will also lose all memories of the period during which they became mentally ill.

Because the disguise was so convincing, it was banned by the Ministry of Magic 50 years ago, and the formula was destroyed. However, some nobles still possess this potion in their collections.

Schalke couldn't help but say, "Lucius, my friend, thank you for helping me again!"

Lucius turned his head and said casually, "Don't contact the organization for a while, so as not to expose their whereabouts. They've managed to survive in the city with great difficulty, and I don't want to be caught by those hyenas so soon."

Schalke nodded: "Okay."

He was just confused because he was worried, but that doesn't mean he was brainless. He came to Malfoy Manor secretly and left secretly as well.

At the same time, after Sirius Black was exonerated that morning, Fudge received a long list of names.

The list included wizards from ordinary families as well as nobles; these were the people who had accused Blake of killing dozens of wizards.

This matter should have been handed over to the Aurors for investigation, but because some of the people involved were nobles, and the Noble Anti-Corruption Investigation Division had a higher level of authority than ordinary investigations, Fudge was responsible for investigating the noble part of the case.

He glanced at the three families at the very front of the line and felt a headache coming on.

Over the years, he has come to understand more and more about the authority of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department of the Nobles, and only then did he realize that this position was actually just a sinecure.

No wonder his work was so difficult to carry out; when he went to those nobles, they didn't take him seriously.

Because the nobles all knew that the Ministry of Magic wouldn't choose to purge them at this time, even if they were indeed corrupt.

After adjusting his mood, Fudge wasn't disappointed; in fact, he was quite happy.

After all, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division can directly mobilize Aurors, and if the situation is urgent, it can unconditionally mobilize two teams of Aurors.

Therefore, since becoming the director of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department for Nobles, although he has visited nobles and often found no results, and was frequently threatened by them, he has never worried about his life being in danger.

Because every time, he would bring Aurors with him. Over time, he developed a sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to command Aurors.

Look at the entire Ministry of Magic; even Minister Dumbledore doesn't take Aurors with him on every trip, yet he manages to make Aurors practically his personal bodyguards.

Fudge felt very troubled when he saw this list.

The list of nobles included not only minor nobles but also some major nobles, who might not even be allowed to enter the house.

When Sirius Black was convicted in that case, he was just a low-level employee and didn't know what had happened.

To be honest, asking him to reinvestigate what happened back then is not an easy task, as much evidence has been lost to the annals of history.

Some of the nobles have even died in recent years; he can't very well wake up these dead people to answer questions, can he?

Therefore, Fudge could foresee that the longer the case was investigated, the more likely it would become a dead end, with no resolution.

It's unclear what evidence Sirius Black presented that convinced Dumbledore to overturn his conviction.

Fudge's eyes lit up. Since the matter would eventually fizzle out after investigation, he might as well use it to make some extra money.

Those nobles back then were definitely involved in something wrong. They were instructed by others to give false testimony so that he could take advantage of their unrest and make some money.

And so, on that very day, Fudge arrived with a group of Aurors.

To send a warning to the other nobles, he acted swiftly, ordering the Aurors to capture the minor noble and bring him back to the Ministry of Magic for rigorous interrogation.

Of course, he knew that even if he went to the Ministry of Magic, he probably wouldn't get any results.

But with this example in mind, the next day he continued to take the Aurors to other noble territories, where the nobles all greeted them with courtesy.

Some had even prepared to bribe him, casually slipping him magical banknotes.

The nobles were incredibly wealthy. Even some of the minor nobles were so generous that Fudge hadn't expected them to be so extravagant this time.

Later on, King Galleon could no longer satisfy Fogina's ever-growing ambition.

He began asking the lesser nobles if they could visit their family treasuries, stating bluntly, "I'm setting up an underground exhibition hall to receive items sent by other nobles via owl mailman, free of charge."

As it happened, Schalke was one of Fudge's chosen targets, and Schalke was taken aback when he heard Fudge's request.

In fact, he was already prepared to take the medication and feign madness as soon as the situation turned against him.

We've already spoken with his personal caretaker; if he develops a mental illness, we'll send him to St. Mungo's for treatment.

He only suspended the plan after hearing from the nobles behind him that Fudge could be bribed.

But now Fudge's appetite is growing, and he even wants to visit his family's treasure vault!

For nobles, the family treasury itself represents a kind of historical heritage. Once it is exposed to others, it is no different from appearing naked in front of others.

At that moment, Schalke thought to himself, "If I had known, I would have pretended to be crazy immediately."

Schalke thought long and hard, not wanting to escalate the conflict with the Ministry of Magic, so he took Fudge to visit a fake sample collection exhibition that he had specially arranged.

His actions did not conceal anything from others; on the contrary, they inspired the nobles on the investigation list.

Some families that didn't have a fake family treasure vault took this opportunity to quickly create one.

Apart from some very special artifacts, many precious historical artifacts have not been well maintained over time and have become rusty and dull, but wizards still choose to collect them.

Not for any other reason than to be able to always cherish the glory of the past.

Fudge, who was being fooled by the nobles, had no idea that they had almost crippled him, and happily carried home a large pile of fakes.
-
Time flies, and the weekend is here soon.

A lot happened this week, but the most important thing was that Lin Xia improved the black pill again.

She carried the pills with her at all times, and there was only a faint scent of wormwood, which was mostly masked by the stronger aroma of spices.

Therefore, after she carried the black pills, people mostly smelled the floral scent and didn't easily detect the bitterness inside. Only some people with a particularly sensitive sense of smell could smell it.

In addition, while studying the black pill, Lin Xia discovered that the pill not only eliminated the wizards' tension about her aura through the transmission of scent.

The black pill can also shield a wizard's aura to some extent!
This greatly helped Lin Xia when she went out.

After the professor's thorough examination confirmed that there were no problems, Lin Xia took the school's application form for leaving Hogwarts and headed to the Ministry of Magic.

The only regular way to leave Hogwarts and go somewhere else is by taking the Express, which students need to take from Hogsmeade Station to other places.

However, since Hogsmeade was still closed, Lin Xia went through a bit more trouble, using her flying broom to reach the next station in Hogsmeade before taking the express train to the Ministry of Magic.

The express train was completely empty today, with Lin Xia as the only passenger.

Lin Xia even went out of her way to greet the train conductor and bring him a gift.

Looking at the empty train, it was obvious that the school had arranged a special express train for her so that it would be easier for her to get to the Ministry of Magic.

Although the captain's duty is to drive, Lin Xia is still very grateful for the contributions made by the trainee.

After all, it's the weekend, and maybe the train conductor is off today too.

Upon arriving at the London station, Lin Xia chose to take the most common local mode of transport—a taxi—and arrived at a specific red telephone booth.

After getting off the bus, she looked around to make sure it was the right phone booth, then went inside and dialed the number "62442" (the numbers correspond to the keypad letter "magic").

After dialing the number, wait a short while, and the phone booth will dispense a silver badge with the visitor's name printed on it.

At the same time, a female voice came from the phone: "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, Lin Xia."

After confirming the visitor's identity, the phone booth began to descend into the ground.

Upon opening the door once more, Lin Xia found herself in the Ministry of Magic's main hall. (End of Chapter)