Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

"They are mostly enthusiastic and energetic, but also very proud."

"I don't know what you did today, but you could only escape their control by sneaking away, right?"

"Your contact with the magical world is not deep enough, and you don't have your own flying broom. At least, traveling using the Floo Network is definitely not an option for you."

"And the minister standing there, although he claimed to have come for my sake, his nonchalant attitude when talking to me was not convincing at all, and instead proved that his target was someone else."

“If you did indeed arrive here on the Knight Bus, Harry, then I dare say that the Minister has been aware of your movements for a long time.”

"Was it the ticket seller or the driver? I don't know, but given how much importance they place on you, the Ministry of Magic must have received information about a little boy with luggage boarding the bus alone a long time ago."

"That's why the minister arrived here early to wait for you."

"Considering all the circumstances, and the major matter that is about to be reported, I can only speculate that the Minister is truly terrified that Black found you before the Ministry of Magic."

"Am I right, Mr. Minister?"

Seeing Eric's ambiguous smile, Harry couldn't help but turn to observe Fudge's expression.

Harry had never seen such an ugly expression. If looks could kill, Harry believed Eric would have died a thousand times over by now.

Chapter 22 He's just a child

"I do not know what you're talking about."

After a long silence, Fudge finally spoke.

But even Harry could see that this statement was not convincing at all, and Fudge probably didn't believe it himself.

Eric didn't respond to his denial, but just looked at Fudge with a smile.

Fudge's face turned ashen. He stared at Eric, his lips twitching slightly. A sudden feeling of helplessness washed over him, and Fudge barely managed to maintain his composure.

He couldn't see through Eric at all.

After thinking it over, Fudge realized he couldn't figure out Eric's background, so he turned and gave Old Tom, who was standing still, a wink.

Old Tom nodded knowingly, then went upstairs to Eric's side and said, "Come on, kid, I know you're not afraid, but you don't want to go to the Ministry of Magic over this."

"The minister could easily take you away because of this."

"Don't get yourself into trouble."

Eric did not resist old Tom; his goal had been achieved.

From the very beginning, he wanted to get in touch with Fudge.

Unexpectedly, before he could create an opportunity himself, Fudge came to the Leaky Cauldron bar on his own initiative.

Any single sentence Eric said was unacceptable to Fudge.

Fudge has a penchant for power and can only maintain a superficial politeness towards anyone who cannot truly threaten his position.

Conversely, Fudge also wouldn't allow people of far lower status to boss him around.

Fudge's thirst for power had reached an obsessive level.

Eric was well aware of this.

Therefore, Fudge's attitude towards him just now was already extremely perfunctory.

Eric just wanted Fudge to notice him.

Of course, he can't go too far; everything has to be done within the rules.

After all, the other party is still the Minister of Magic.

If you really want to take revenge on Eric, there are quite a few ways.

Eric couldn't subdue Fudge with magical power like Dumbledore did, so he had to choose other methods.

Even old Tom noticed Eric's deliberate attitude towards Fudge.

Old Tom walked behind Eric, and only when the people downstairs could no longer hear him did he ask in a low voice, "Why did you do this?"

Eric said calmly, "I just want everyone to be honest with themselves and with the people around them."

"Ha," old Tom chuckled, "Is that really what you think?"

Eric stopped, didn't answer, but turned back and smiled at old Tom before turning back and walking into the room.

On the other side, seeing Eric finally leave, Fudge breathed a sigh of relief, held back Harry who was distraught and wanted to follow, and forcibly took him to a small private room on the first floor, where he told him all the prepared words he had prepared beforehand.

This includes things like how his aunt, whom he had inflated, has returned to normal.

That was exactly what Fudge came here for tonight.

While we're at it, let's try our luck and see if we can spot Blake in Diagon Alley.

Unexpectedly, another Eric suddenly appeared.

Fudge's attention was entirely on Eric at this moment, and he just wanted to end his conversation with Harry as soon as possible.

There was no way around it; Harry's identity was too special, and even if Fudge didn't want to do it, he had to step in.

Fortunately, Harry is still easy to deal with.

Fudge managed to refocus Harry's attention on the trouble he had caused that day with just a few words.

Seeing Harry's completely relaxed expression after learning that he wouldn't be expelled from Hogwarts, Fudge felt that the world was still normal after all.

A child who is easily persuaded by an adult in just a few words—that's normal for a child.

Who is this Eric, this oddball?

“Old Tom will arrange a room for you, okay, Harry?” Fudge felt a wave of heat and shook his clothes as he said, “You can stay here for a while. Old Tom will take good care of you. Don’t worry too much about your family. Of course they’re angry, but as long as you stay at Hogwarts, they’ll still let you go back next year.”

“But… I don’t want to go back, Minister…” Harry said anxiously, but Fudge interrupted him before he could finish.

With Eric interfering, Fudge had no time to listen to Harry's thoughts.

He gave Harry a few perfunctory words, turned and walked out of the small private room, called over two Aurors who were waiting at the door, told one of them to watch Harry, and said to the other Auror, "That kid named Eric is acting strange. I'll go up and hold him off for now."

“Go back to the department right now and do a few things. Go back and thoroughly investigate the information on that Eric from earlier. Find out where he came from, what his background is, and which family he comes from. He is definitely not an ordinary person.”

“If it is found that he has a problem, then you should bring a few more Aurors over immediately and take that Eric back to the ministry.”

"Even if nothing is found, have two Aurors follow me and keep watch on the second floor, waiting for my signal."

The Auror, Fudge's confidant, hesitated after hearing Fudge's instructions, saying, "But... Minister, he's just a child..."

Seeing Fudge's sour face, Auror wisely chose to shut up and left without saying anything more.

Chapter 23 Where is Blake?

Fudge didn't keep Eric waiting for long.

Less than ten minutes after Eric returned to his room, he heard a knock on the door.

Eric opened the door, and standing in front was old Tom, followed by Fudge as expected.

Fudge's expression remained unchanged.

He now looks nothing like the gentle man one would expect from a Minister of Magic; instead, he resembles an ordinary middle-aged or elderly wizard whose scandals have been exposed.

“Let’s talk alone, old Tom,” Fudge said coldly.

Old Tom glanced at Eric, silently stepped aside, and turned to leave.

After the door was closed again, Fudge did not exchange pleasantries with Eric as he had during their first meeting. Instead, he maintained his superior attitude, walked straight to the table and chairs, sat down, picked up the black tea on the table, poured himself a cup, and gestured for Eric to sit opposite him.

He deliberately performed his entire set of movements extremely slowly. During this process, neither Eric nor Fudge spoke much, and the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Throughout this process, Eric simply smiled and watched Fudge, without stopping him in any way.

It was as if he didn't care at all about Fudge's attempt to take the initiative in the conversation.

After waiting a few seconds and seeing that Eric was completely still, Fudge sneered and had to say, "You are indeed called Eric, right? Old Tom just told me that your last name is Clapton."

"Excuse me for speaking frankly, but I have no impression of the Clapton family, and I simply do not believe that an obscure wizarding family could produce someone like you."

Can you tell me which family you actually come from?

Eric remained silent.

"...You don't want to talk?"

“It’s alright, Eric, we have plenty of time.”

“I’ve met a lot of people who want to talk to Harry Potter, including you, all of whom want to get involved with Harry.”

"I really don't know what you're trying to do, or who told you to do it, but that's okay, we'll find out the reason slowly..."

Perhaps it was Eric's cold response that spurred Fudge on, for he began to talk incessantly.

As he spoke, his eyes never left Eric.

After talking to himself for a while, perhaps feeling annoyed, Fudge finally stopped, and the room fell silent again.

Almost the instant Fudge stopped, Eric suddenly blurted out a rather destructive statement: "I know where Sirius Black is."

"What!?"

Fudge was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up. His short, stout body swayed twice, and the chair behind him fell to the ground with a thud. The teacup on the table also shattered on the ground with a crisp sound.

Eric's voice still sounded gentle and calm, with a unique warmth, without a trace of aggression.

But what he said was completely unexpected by Fudge.

Hearing the commotion inside, the two Aurors standing outside hurriedly knocked on the door and called out, "Minister?!"

"What happened?"

Fudge quickly composed himself and called out towards the door, "It's alright! Stay outside!"

Fudge felt his voice tremble slightly, which instantly ruined the image he had just worked so hard to create.

But hearing those words from Eric was still incredibly shocking.

Fudge could hardly believe his ears.

Whether Eric's words are true or not, the way things have developed is something Fudge could never have imagined.

Sirius Black, who had the entire Ministry of Magic scratching its head, had his information somehow obtained by Eric.