The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 614 War (Part 2)

'

Riddle, or rather Voldemort, watched the scene unfold before him silently. He did not raise his wand, nor did he issue any commands. He simply stood quietly on the high slope outside Hogwarts, looking at the castle shrouded in a silver light.

"Should we attack?"

An Auror asked slowly at this moment.

"There's no need to be in such a hurry," Riddle said with a gentle smile.

Amidst the astonished gazes of all the Aurors, he strode towards the tent, saying as he went, "They're waiting for us to go in—why are we so eager to throw our lives away?"

"But—but?" The Aurors were momentarily at a loss for words at his contradictory orders, while Voldemort turned and said, "From this moment on—no one is allowed to send letters—and if you see an owl flying out of Hogwarts, kill it immediately."

His orders left everyone bewildered, as if they were his own doing.

He smiled softly, then walked into the tent.

Wars don't always break out where people see them; sometimes—in fact, they can break out in places people never expect.

With all the Aurors mobilized, the Ministry of Magic was now completely silent.

It was just Fudge himself, and seven or eight Aurors.

He sat in his office, feeling somewhat uneasy for some reason.

This matter was clearly entrusted to Mr. Riddle—who is far more capable than Scrimgeour—and Fudge had already heard about his planned attack when he left.

What else do I have to worry about?

"You may all leave now," Fudge said slowly.

"Minister?" Kingsley looked at him, pursed his lips, and seemed to want to say something.

"You may all leave now," Fudge said again. "I want to take him alone—"

'

"7

Kingsley looked at him silently for a few seconds, then shook his head slightly and walked out.

As Kingsley left, the minister's office immediately fell silent, leaving only Fudge sitting quietly in his chair, looking at the table.

What exactly am I doing?

For some reason, Fudge suddenly had this thought—what was the point of all this?

Arresting Hamilton, issuing a warrant for Dumbledore's arrest, attacking Hogwarts—were all of these actions done for the Ministry of Magic?

Still for myself —

But whatever the reason, after the storming of Hogwarts, did these things simply not continue?

For some reason, Fudge had never thought of such a thing before. He felt as if his mind and head were covered by something black, until now—he only slightly felt—that he seemed to have come to his senses.

He lowered his head slightly to look at the ring on his finger.

No, no, no—I have to do this. If I don't, those Dumbledore supporters will destroy the entire wizarding world.

He was acting in the best interests of the entire magical world—not simply for the sake of power.

Yes—definitely not—

"Clatter".

The office door was pushed open at that moment, startling Fudge, who was rubbing his ring. He looked up sharply, intending to scold the person in front of him, but what he saw was someone he had once trusted and knew so well, but now feared so much.

"Dumbledore?!"

"It's been a long time, Cornelius." Dumbledore nodded slightly, then walked slowly to Fudge.

"Help! Help!"

Where are they?

"Kingsley?!"

Fudge's shouts went unheeded, or rather, not only Dumbledore, but no one responded to him.

Dumbledore simply shrugged slightly and then sat down opposite Fudge.

"Connelly, maybe it's just the two of us talking right now."

2

"Dumbledore—Dumbledore—what are you going to do?"

"What do you think I'd do?" Dumbledore countered. "What do you think I'd do?"

"Overthrow the Ministry of Magic? Or destroy the entire wizarding world?"

"————" Fudge pursed his lips, wanting to tell Dumbledore that both were true.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly: "If I wanted to be a minister—why not on the day we defeated Grindelwald?"

"If I want to overthrow the magical world, why not cooperate with him?"

"Cornelly," Dumbledore murmured Fudge's name, "you weren't always like this."

"—" Fudge's face trembled, and he lowered his head, shaking as he said, "No—no—"

"You will do it—you definitely will—"

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore gently shook his head, then reached out and placed his hand on Fudge's hand.

Before Fudge could react, he suddenly grabbed the ring on Fudge's hand and pulled hard.

"Snapped!"

The ring that Fudge always wore was suddenly ripped off, and Fudge let out a piercing scream.

"Why did you do this! Give me back my ring—it's my ring!"

"Cornell!" Dumbledore glared at Fudge and roared, making Fudge tremble, and his eyes seemed to gradually clear.

"Dumbledore—Dumbledore—" Fudge seemed to have lost all his strength, his body trembling as he suddenly collapsed onto the table.

"I feel—I feel like I've been in a dream—" he choked out, "I feel like I'm not myself anymore—"

It's not me anymore —

"Dumbledore, was that a dream—or was it?"

Seeing his expression, Dumbledore sighed. "Who gave you this ring?"

"Lucius—Lucius Malfoy," Fudge murmured a name. "And—and Riddle."

'

""

Dumbledore didn't speak, but nodded silently. He lowered his eyes slightly, looking at the ring on his hand, where the gemstone was particularly dazzling.

After a few seconds of silence, Dumbledore slowly put the ring into his pocket, then looked at Fudge and said, "Cornelly, this is enough."

Fudge remained silent for a long while, then slightly raised his head: "Is it still too late, Dumbledore?"

"Of course you have enough time," Dumbledore said slowly. "There's always enough time."

"It's never too late to admit your mistakes and correct them; it's just a matter of whether you choose to correct them or not."

Fudge pursed his lips slightly as he listened to Dumbledore's words—he lowered his head and said, "You're right—you're right—"

His hands trembled as he took out a piece of paper and wrote his name on it.

"Make them all stop, stop—Hogwarts students should not be arrested—" he whispered. "Let this be my—final order."

Dumbledore nodded slightly and took the order.

But at that moment, he suddenly sensed something and raised his wand.

"Tom—you're here, aren't you?"