Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

Fudge really didn't know what kind of expression to use when facing Eric.

His opinion of Eric was contradictory.

On the one hand, he knew that Eric could potentially help him advance his career and find Sirius.

On the other hand, if possible, he certainly wouldn't accept a deal that involved similar blackmail from Eric.

So Fudge has been pretending to be dead ever since he received the letter from Eric some time ago.

Just as Eric said, the Ministry of Magic couldn't find Sirius Black at all.

Even now, despite rumors that Sirius Black has infiltrated Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic has not received any information.

This is a direct slap in the face to the Ministry of Magic.

Fudge ordered his Aurors to begin a near-frantic search.

I hope to find any trace of Sirius Black, even just a little bit.

Unfortunately, it's simply not there.

Eric's Halloween deadline has passed.

As time went by, Fudge grew desperate, his inner balance crumbled, and he gradually tilted toward Eric.

Now we know that Eric has done this again in public at the Duel Club.

Fudge knew he couldn't escape it any longer, so he had no choice but to go to Hogwarts with Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

His arrival also meant that he would agree to Eric's terms.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Fudge moved closer to Eric and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I accept. Tell me your terms."

"Don't worry, Minister, the best is yet to come," Eric said with a smile.

Chapter 117 The Mark on the Hand

Fudge asked, puzzled, "A good show? What good show? I just want to know where Blake is."

Eric said, "You'll get Blake himself when you come back from the Christmas holidays, I promise you."

Fudge asked, "Why wait until after Christmas?"

Eric and Ron's confinement was scheduled for the first day after the Christmas holidays.

Fudge was about to say something to Eric when Amelia Bones interrupted him from behind.

As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Burns is a key figure in the Ministry of Magic.

She was a relatively fair middle-aged witch who, in the original books, protected Harry from being expelled from school, but was ultimately tortured and killed by Voldemort.

The entire Borns family were supporters of Dumbledore.

Amelia Bones's brother, Edgar, was one of the founding members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Her niece, Susan Bornes, was in the same year as Harry and was a student at Hufflepuff House.

As soon as Amelie Bones arrived at the scene, her Aurors spontaneously dispersed to take control of the situation.

The students had all been evacuated, leaving only Eric and a group of professors.

“Minister, we have a brief understanding of what happened. Now we need to use the Flashback Charm on his wand to examine it,” Amelie Boynes said as she walked over.

Fudge had no choice but to step aside and go chat with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore appeared relaxed, showing no sign of Eric's worry.

Amelie Bones had a serious expression, and a seasoned Auror followed behind her.

Eric offered his wand, and the Auror tapped it, using a levitation charm to catch Eric's wand in mid-air.

Seeing this, Amelie Bones also took out her wand.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Amelia Bones began to cast her Flashback Spell.

A faint golden light emanated from the tip of her wand and slowly covered Eric's wand.

As soon as the golden light appeared, all the spells Eric had used recently flashed by.

The results of the examination came back quickly.

Amelia Bones exclaimed in surprise, "No... there was no spell on his wand that could kill Clement from beginning to end."

This result caused an uproar and elicited mixed reactions.

Most of those who exclaimed in surprise were people who had just witnessed Clement's death.

As for Lupin and Dumbledore, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Rita Skeeter, on the other hand, looked excited, and the camera shutter was clicking away frantically, almost smoking.

Fudge said from the side, "This proves that Eric is not the murderer of Clement, and we should announce this to everyone."

Amelie Bones said, "No, Minister, we cannot be certain yet. We have only temporarily ruled out the possibility that he used the wand to commit the crime."

Fudge exclaimed, "Doesn't that already prove the truth? Could he possibly kill another student in public with his bare hands?"

Dumbledore glanced at Fudge, who quickly looked away from Dumbledore.

Dumbledore said, "I trust Director Burns' judgment, Minister. We shouldn't interfere too much in her work. It's just a pity that the Duel Club has to be suspended for now."

"Okay, okay..." Fudge said helplessly.

Just then, Snape's voice came from the side: "Headmaster, you should take a look at this..."

Everyone looked over and saw Snape walking slowly into the Great Hall with a gloomy expression.

He wasn't alone; a corpse was floating behind him.

Snape used the Levitation Charm to control the corpse and slowly placed it on the ground.

Fudge and Burns were both startled to see another body appear.

Dumbledore asked, "What's going on?"

Snape said slowly, “An outsider, who must have taken advantage of the dueling club to sneak into the castle, fled to escape punishment, and I found his trail in a basement of the castle dungeon. He tried to resist, and that’s how it happened.”

Fudge exclaimed in surprise, "Is he dead?"

Snape sneered: "If judged by the standards of normal biological survival, then that is indeed the case."

Burns and several Aurors stepped forward, took the body, and began a thorough examination.

Borns asked, "Where is his wand?"

“Here it is.” Snape handed over the corpse’s wand.

Burns and the Auror didn't waste any more words and resumed examining the intruder's wand.

After a moment, Borns said in an incredulous tone, "The Imperius Curse... the Imperius Curse has been detected on this wand."

Fudge was sweating profusely. Two people had died at Hogwarts all at once, and he was at his wits' end: "Can we be sure it was this person who used the Imperius Curse? Is it possible that someone else forged it?"

Fudge made a pointed remark, and Snape gave him a cold look.

This clearly implies that Snape may have fabricated evidence.

Amelie Boynes said, "Impossible. The Imperius Curse detected on this wand was used at least a day ago, and this person's time of death is indeed just as Professor Snape said."

“Is it possible…” Fudge continued.

Amelie Boynes knew what he was going to say and interrupted, "That's impossible, Minister. After testing with the Flashback Charm and the magic comparison, this wand does indeed belong to the deceased, and no one else used it during that time."

“Alright…” Fudge said sullenly, “So what exactly happened? Who is this person, and why is he at Hogwarts?”

This question silenced everyone. Dumbledore's eyes darted around, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Amelie Boynes thought for a moment and said, "We don't know yet, Minister, but I think this person's appearance has at least temporarily cleared Eric of suspicion. Now, if we can find evidence to prove that Clement was indeed controlled by the Imperius Curse before his death, Eric will be completely innocent."

This statement completely shut Fudge down.

Fudge looked at Amelie Bones with annoyance, but there was nothing he could do.

The Ministry of Magic has a clear division of responsibilities, and he is the minister, but in this matter, he cannot bypass the Director of Law Enforcement.

Eric's expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected this outcome.

Eric, who had been watching with a smile, suddenly spoke up: "Minister, why don't you take a look at his arm? Maybe there will be a surprise."

arm?

Everyone suddenly looked at Eric, and after he reminded them, they unconsciously looked at the corpse's arm.

The corpse's arm was now covered by the sleeve of a robe, making it impossible to discern anything.

Amelie Bones nodded, and an Auror stepped forward, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed the corpse's two forearms.

Then everyone was taken aback.

On the corpse's right forearm, a skull remarkably similar to the Black Mage's Mark was revealed, exactly the same as the one that had appeared in the dueling arena earlier!

The same skull, the same color, and the same triangle, appearing above the skull.

Upon seeing this mark appear, everyone present tensed up.

Snape quietly pressed the spot on his left hand where the Dark Mark had been, and for some reason, his left hand began to ache slightly.

Chapter 118 The storm is coming

Grindelwald's mark!

Upon seeing the mark on the deceased's arm, Fudge gasped and instinctively looked at Eric.

But he found that Eric didn't even look at him, only pretending to be slightly surprised.

Fudge then realized what was happening and quickly tried to cover it up, his heart filled with turmoil.

This is the mark Eric showed him at the Leaky Cauldron, and it's here again.

The same markings were also found on Clement's body earlier.

Fuji had a vague feeling that a storm was brewing.

The magical world... seems to be about to change.