Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 248, Section 247: Huh? I'm going to be the minister?
Ron Weasley, 12 years old, only regrets that there aren't enough Death Eaters at Hogwarts, so that his heroic deeds would be fewer.

"I know, I know, you've said it countless times. You used the Soul Link Totem to share your injuries with Lockhart, making that bastard feel the pain too," Hermione said impatiently, rolling her eyes. "Instead of saying all that, you should thank Luna properly—if she hadn't used divination to find your location and led us there, no matter what totem you used, you probably wouldn't have been able to stop Lockhart."

Although it's hurtful to say such things to someone who has just been injured and has received honors, and it's not something a normal friend should do, even the best things can't withstand being talked about all the time, right?
On the first day, Hermione was still curious and listened to Ron recount what happened that day.

The next day, Hermione began to listen in shock as Ron twisted the events of that day.

By the third day, Hermione was already speechless as Ron fabricated the events of that day.

……

So now, all that's left for Ron among his friends is impatience.

“Yeah, after all, when we arrived, Ron was firmly bound to the totem,” Neville said casually.

"Hey! Bro! That's not how it works!"

Ron immediately panicked, and then came a series of 'If it weren't for me...' and 'Luna did have... but...' and so on, which were all gibberish and made everyone laugh.

knock knock.

Just as they were talking, there was a knock on Harry's office door. When Sirius went to open the door, he saw an unexpected person standing in the doorway.

"Fudge?" Sirius gave the man outside the door a disdainful look. "What are you doing here? Is working at the Ministry of Magic that easy?"

“Oh, Sirius, it’s nice to see you.” As if oblivious to Sirius’s rejection, he reached out to greet him, but after Sirius disgustedly avoided his hand, he nonchalantly forced his way through the door and said, “Harry? It’s nice to see you here—uh, I mean, can we talk? Just the two of us.”

Fudge kept gesturing with his hands in front of his chest.

"Talk?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Alright."

So Sirius and the children were herded upstairs, leaving only Harry and Fudge on the first floor.

“It seems you’ve been doing very well lately, Harry,” Fudge called Harry by his name affectionately. “Yes, that’s good, very good—I’ve heard about it, about you becoming the new headmaster of Hogwarts.”

“That’s just a suggestion, I haven’t agreed yet,” Harry reminded him. “And I still think Professor McGonagall is more suitable than I am.”

Compared to our previous meetings, Fudge was much kinder and more... well, how should I put it?

It's like a man desperately pursuing a woman who doesn't even like him.

I understand everything I understand.

“Oh, we all understand what that means, Harry,” Fudge said with a smile. “I admit that Professor McGonagall is indeed a very good professor, and I have respected her for many years—but she is really not suited for the position now.”

“Perhaps,” Harry said noncommittally, “but in any case, the appointment and dismissal of the headmaster of Hogwarts is not something the Ministry of Magic can decide.”

“Of course, of course, this is the rightful status and right of Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic will naturally not interfere,” Foley said with a fawning smile. “Speaking of which, have the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest been contacting you lately? The Ministry of Magic is worried about how to reward them for their help in the defense of Hogwarts.”

"Doesn't the Ministry of Magic have any precedents for similar awards?" Harry asked. "The centaurs haven't come to me about this."

“No,” Fudge shook his head somewhat awkwardly. “You know, we wizards…have our own standpoint, while centaurs and other magical creatures generally…”

It was a bit vague, but Harry understood what Fudge meant: wizards generally wouldn't admit that magical creatures had played a crucial role in their lives.

“That’s your business. I’m just a professor,” Harry said calmly. “But Triton’s tribe did contribute a lot to the defense of Hogwarts. Four centaur warriors died in the battle, and many more were wounded, some slightly and some seriously.”

"I know, I know," Fudge scratched his head in annoyance.

Fudge continued to speak in roundabout ways, offering pleasantries or mentioning the various difficulties the Ministry of Magic was currently facing, avoiding the main point—and since he wasn't in a hurry, Harry wasn't either, responding to whatever Fudge said.

"Speaking of which, Harry, do you have any intention of going into politics in the future?" Fudge finally asked casually. "I'm not talking about your current position as Minister of the Shamanic Order, but rather—Minister of Magic?"

Fudge held his breath.

"You're already thinking about a successor?" Harry asked directly, without giving Fudge any face. "That makes sense, but putting aside my age and experience, I have no interest in the position of Minister of Magic. You don't need to come here to test me."

"Aha, ahahaha" Fudge's face turned liver-colored in an instant, but he still didn't get angry. He just chuckled dryly and then put on a smile and said, "No, no, no, this is of course not a test. Age is not a problem. Harry, as long as you have enough strength and prestige, and can gain the recognition of most British wizards, you can become Minister for Magic."

“According to the latest poll from the Ministry of Magic, your approval rating is very high, Harry, really high.” Without giving specific poll numbers, Fudge just took a deep breath. “They really believe in you, that you are the next Dumbledore… or a young Dumbledore, not as senile as you are now. Sorry, I don’t mean any harm, this is what the Ministry of Magic staff heard during the poll, so if you really have any thoughts on this—?”

“No,” Harry said without hesitation. “I have a lot on my plate, and the most important thing for me is to train more reliable shamans as quickly as possible. You know what the outside world is like now; only enough shamans can balance the increasingly active elemental spirits.” “Is that so?” Fudge said dryly. “That’s perfect. I mean—we had a wonderful collaboration, didn’t we? You successfully cleared your godfather’s name, and I got Crouch to abandon his unwarranted ambitions. Looking back, those days were truly wonderful.”

“Just state your purpose, Minister Fudge,” Harry said impatiently. “This is a school, not some government department. I don’t have time to waste on you.”

“Of course not,” Fudge said immediately. “What I mean is, can’t we be more direct in our conversation? We know each other better than those ordinary wizards outside, and we’ve had a history of cooperation—can I announce to the public that I’ve received some advice from you?”

"It's not just about the Minister's choice, but also other matters, like centaurs, the elements, or demons—whatever. I'd be happy to hear advice from an expert as capable as you, Harry," Fudge said repeatedly. "Perhaps you'd be happy to accept a new position? Like an advisor to the Minister of Magic or a senior assistant to the Minister?"

Fudge finally revealed his true thoughts, and Harry finally understood why Fudge had come.

Just like when Fudge first took office last year, he was not favored by everyone to become minister, but he became minister by relying on his opponent's mistakes. Therefore, in order to keep his position and win the support of the people, Fudge packaged himself as an extension of Dumbledore's will.

Before doing anything, Fudge would always send an owl to Dumbledore to ask for his opinion. Even though Dumbledore would always respond that he would not interfere with the Minister of Magic's decisions, Fudge would always say in the final public announcement that it was Dumbledore's opinion.

It was through this method that Fudge gradually secured his position, and now he simply wants to repeat it.

After all, life is really tough for Fudge right now.

Ron was enjoying himself, but he was suffering just as much.

Fudge now doesn't even dare to walk into the Ministry of Magic's main hall to go to work every day, because it's full of protesting wizards chanting slogans for him to step down—in the past, Fudge would have loved the feeling of parading around the Ministry and having everyone he met greet him, but now he can only walk through the Floo Network from his home directly to the Minister's office.

And then there's the bombardment of owl droppings.

Fudge's involvement in leading the Aurors into the Battle of Hogwarts and his subsequent escape after the initial encounter with the demons was not kept secret. Even though he had ordered everyone in the Auror office to remain silent afterward, the Aurors, having already experienced a life-or-death battle, did not take the now-disgraced Fudge seriously, and the news spread.

Rita devoted a whole page to mocking Fudge's desertion. In those days, even the chaos around the world and the increasingly out-of-control secrecy laws couldn't overshadow Fudge's headlines. Dumbledore was just missing, but Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had run away.

Rita also interviewed Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror's office, and Scrimgeour didn't hold back for Fudge, telling the whole story of what happened that day. He even praised Harry a lot, using his own experience to prove that Professor Potter's abilities were not just empty words.

“I refuse,” Harry said calmly. “Accept reality, Fudge, you’re finished—you should have thought of this when you ran away from the battlefield that day. You don’t deserve to be a leader.”

"At least if you resign now, you can still save some face. But if the ordinary wizards join forces to overthrow you, you will really have nothing left."

There was no answer. Fudge seemed to have been suddenly drained of his energy, drooping down from the inside out, even his back became hunched.

“But I’ve only been in office for less than two years…” Fudge managed to squeeze out a few words, “I don’t want to…”

“There have been ministers who died after taking office,” Harry said. “At least you won’t die.”

Upon hearing the word "death," Fudge's body shuddered. He said nothing more, but stood up looking utterly dejected. Without even saying goodbye, he picked up his hat and turned to leave.

Before Sirius and his three companions, who were secretly eavesdropping upstairs, could rush downstairs, the office door was knocked on again. Harry opened the door and saw Scrimgeour, who had fought alongside him, standing in the doorway.

“Fudge was just here, wasn’t he?” Scrimgeour asked seriously as soon as he sat down.

“Yes, you came after him?” Harry poured the guest a cup of tea.

“Someone in the department said he was going to Hogwarts, and I knew he would come to you,” Scrimgeour snorted. “He can only get some support from you now. You didn’t agree to it, did you, Professor Potter?”

“No, I will not help someone who deserts his post. Fudge’s status makes it perfectly reasonable for him to die there,” Harry replied calmly.

“That’s right. As our leader, he should be at the forefront, not running away. No one in the department supports him anymore. I don’t know what the point is for him to cling to that position,” Scrimgeour scoffed dismissively.

“That’s all your business. I’m just a professor,” Harry said, shaking his head. “But to receive such a visit—you want to become the new minister?”

“I’m not a pure politician, Professor Porter,” Scrinker said frankly. “So I won’t mince words to disguise myself. So my answer is—yes, I think, and I believe I have the ability to be a better minister than Fudge.”

“Then what you should do is participate in the election and win public approval,” Harry nodded and said. “Just don’t do the stupid things Fudge has done. I have high hopes for you; at least you’re a pragmatic person.”

"Don't you have any ideas, Professor Potter?" Scrimgeour continued. "Not only the British wizarding world, but the entire wizarding world is facing significant challenges right now. I believe the Ministry of Magic needs a capable and visionary leader more than ever before. If it's you, I'm willing to forgo this election and fully support you, Professor."

Harry looked at Scrimgeour in surprise, not understanding why the Auror Minister would think so highly of him and approve of him.

"why?"

To be honest, Harry was wondering how things had turned out this way without him even realizing it. Pure-blood nobles and many wizarding families wanted him to become the headmaster of Hogwarts to ensure the school's safety, while others hoped to become the Minister of Magic to lead the British wizarding world forward.

(End of this chapter)