I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 322 The Minister of Magic's Bureaucratic Style

Louis was not ashamed that he couldn't concoct a sleeping potion.

Money is all you need. As the saying goes, those who labor with their minds govern others, while those who labor with their bodies are governed by others. Look at how many things Professor Snape knew! Even with the lure of my big order, didn't he still obediently spend his days in the office making truth serum?

Although my professor is arrogant and reluctant, I know him well. His unspoken message is that he needs more money.

Harry drank the potion and collapsed unconscious on the bed. Louis glanced at the others, said nothing, and got up to leave.

Now that we've confirmed that Harry is fine, there's no need for him to stay here.

Pushing open the office door, Louis looked around but couldn't find Catherine. Seeing Sakuya fiddling with the old dried tangerine peel that Ye Ziyan had brought back from Seris, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, young master," Sakuya stood up and bowed slightly, replying softly, "This is aged tangerine peel that Madam Ye brought back from Seris. Would you like some to try?"

"Okay." Louis didn't refuse. Come to think of it, he quite missed this taste; he had liked it in his past life.

While Sakuya was making tea, Louis entered the bedroom. Catherine was sitting in a chair, her brows furrowed with a hint of melancholy.

"What's wrong, Little Moon?" Louis walked over and gently stroked her soft hair. "Still thinking about the Triwizard Tournament?"

Catherine didn't say anything, but instead wrapped her arms around Louis's waist, pressed her head against his stomach, and hummed in response.

Louis ruffled her hair, understanding Catherine's feelings, after all, she had prepared for this for over half a year. She thought victory was assured, but at the last minute, her home was raided. Even knowing that Voldemort's conspiracy guided Harry to a swift victory, she still couldn't accept it.

It seems that the calm he showed just now was just a facade.

Sakuya gently knocked on the door, pushed it open, and entered without disturbing their private time. She placed the teapot aside and quietly withdrew.

"You don't need something like this to prove yourself. Everyone in the school knows you're the strongest..." Louis said dryly, sounding more like he was describing a "champion of raw talent," but lacking confidence and completely lacking the confidence he had when he boasted about LGD's victory over A-8 in his previous life.

Catherine didn't answer, just mumbled "uh-huh." Louis didn't know what to say either, so he just hugged her and patted her head.

This perfectly reflects the current state of netizens. Whenever someone complains, they just chime in with complaints, then hug, pat, and rub them, acting like a pastry chef.

"How about we go hunting during the holidays? Maybe that will make us more happy?" Louis patted Catherine on the back.

Catherine remained silent, only shaking her head.

Louis was at his wit's end. After thinking for a long time, he finally decided to use the most straightforward way to comfort her.

……

To be honest, this method of comforting her was quite effective; at least Catherine was no longer thinking about the Triwizard Tournament. Of course, the price was that Louis received a row of teeth marks on his triceps.

The next morning, Louise was having breakfast in her office when Ron hurriedly called her away, saying that Harry should be waking up soon.

Louis grabbed the half-eaten sandwich from his plate, intending to ask Catherine to come along, but Catherine completely ignored him.

Well, it seems I really offended her badly. Louis shrugged and decided to go out first.

"Have you eaten, Ron?" Louis asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Ron looked worried. He nodded and immediately changed the subject to Harry: "Louis, do you think Harry might be in trouble? He didn't seem to be doing well yesterday..."

"Don't worry, good fortune will always be with you." Louis swallowed the sandwich in his mouth and decided to humbly ask, "By the way, Ron, may I ask you a question?"

Ron's heart instantly returned from Harry. He looked at Louise as if he were looking at a new continent, flattered and surprised, and said, "Ah... this... is there anything you can ask me... is there anything you don't know?"

"Of course, like how to comfort a woman." Louis shrugged, looked around to make sure Catherine wasn't secretly following, and then said softly, "I have a question. If Hermione didn't get first place in her grade, how would you comfort her?"

"Huh? Hermione's been number one in her grade ever since you stopped taking the exams..." Ron frowned, and after thinking for a while, he finally gave this unreliable answer.

Louis slapped his forehead and immediately said, "I mean, if, if..."

"If..." Ron thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "I'll take her to see Quidditch. You know, watching Quidditch is good for your mental and physical health..."

Louis: ...

Forget it, I shouldn't have asked Ron in the first place. I was so stupid, really. All I knew was that Ron was even more of a straight man than me, and I even asked him how to win a girl over...

Ron glanced at the distracted Louis and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? You seem distracted. Did you upset Catherine?"

"Oh, no, she's just in a bad mood." Louis shrugged. "I don't know how to cheer her up, that's all."

"Well... let her be for a couple of days. She'll figure it out herself in a couple of days anyway." Ron shrugged, indicating that he didn't care—after all, she wasn't his girlfriend, and her anger wasn't directed at him.

Louis glanced at Ron with disdain. Ugh... scumbag.

When they arrived at the hospital wing, Harry was still fast asleep. Beside him, Lylastrasa was reading a book, Aunt Molly was watching over him on the other side, and Hermione was peeling an apple.

Bill was nowhere to be seen, and Sirius wasn't there either. When Ron walked in, Aunt Molly quickly made a shushing gesture.

It seems Harry is still sleeping, and he's had a long sleep... Louise reached out and glanced at the time. He fell asleep at nine o'clock last night, and it's already 9:30 in the morning, and Harry is still fast asleep.

At that moment, a commotion began outside the door, and it seemed that there were many people.

"What's going on?" Louis pointed to the door, unaware of what was happening outside.

Aunt Molly glanced at Harry and whispered, "It seems Cornelius Fudge is here. He's been making a racket since around eight o'clock, it's so noisy... If they don't shut up soon, they'll wake Harry up..."

"What are they yelling about? What's going on now?" Louis asked, puzzled. "Has Voldemort attacked?"

At this moment, Harry also opened his sleepy eyes. He was almost as bad as Nobita now; without his glasses, he was practically blind. As soon as Lyrastassa saw that he had woken up, she immediately handed him his glasses.

Harry put on his glasses and saw who was in the room. He took Lylastrasa's hand and said thank you.

At this moment, Aunt Molly stood up. She didn't notice Harry getting up; her attention was completely drawn to the people outside... Aunt Molly was very angry at the noisy people outside, believing they were disturbing Harry's rest.

"That's Fudge's voice," she muttered, "and Minerva McGonagall's voice too, isn't it? But what are they arguing about? It's so early in the morning, can't people get some rest... really..."

Harry heard it too: someone was shouting and running toward the ward.

"It's a shame, but there's nothing we can do about it, Minerva," Cornelius Fudge said loudly.

"You absolutely shouldn't have brought it into the castle!" Professor McGonagall's voice sounded extremely angry. "If Dumbledore finds out—"

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the ward was suddenly flung open. Bill pulled back the curtain, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the door, unaware that Harry had already sat up and put on his glasses.

Fudge strode into the ward. Professor McGonagall and Snape followed closely behind.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge asked Aunt Molly, his tone less than friendly, almost as if he were interrogating her.

"He's not here," Aunt Molly said angrily. "Minister, this is a hospital ward. Do you think that just because you are Minister for Magic you can do whatever you want—"

Just then, the door opened, and Dumbledore strode quickly into the ward.

"What's going on?" Dumbledore demanded sharply, his gaze sweeping over Fudge and then Professor McGonagall. "Why are you bothering these people? Minerva, you really surprise me..."

Dumbledore's tone was somewhat veiled; he was ostensibly questioning Professor McGonagall, but in reality, he was criticizing Fudge.

"Ha! I think there's no need to ensure Potter's safety anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "Don't worry, the Minister has taken care of it! He's raised the security of the entire school several notches!"

Believe it or not, perhaps influenced by Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall also started speaking in a sarcastic and unsettling tone.

To be honest, Louis was a little surprised. He had never seen Professor McGonagall act so impulsively—not even when Harry was bitten by a spider, she hadn't been this anxious. An angry blush rose on her cheeks, and her hands clenched into fists. She was trembling with rage.

“We told Mr. Fudge that we discovered the Death Eaters were responsible for last night’s events,” Snape said in a low voice. “He seems to feel that his personal safety is also at risk, and he insisted on bringing a Dementor with him into the castle… Well, there it is, standing outside right now…”

"My dear lady!" Fudge roared, his previous mild demeanor now shattered, and he bellowed, "As Minister for Magic, I have the right to decide whether or not I want to bring bodyguards, because your school is not safe! It's teeming with Death Eaters!"

"It's not just the Death Eaters, Cornelius," Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his temples. "You probably don't know about Barty Crouch Jr.... He impersonated Alastor Moody, using the Triwizard Tournament and his Death Eater companions to orchestrate a series of plans, and now... Voldemort has returned!"

“Listen to me, Dumbledore,” Fudge said, a faint smile appearing on his face. “You…you can’t really believe all this, can you? God…the Mystic is back? Don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous…Since you’ve mentioned Barty Crouch Jr.…that guy is a complete madman, you know what he did tormenting the Longbottoms…how can you take the words of such a madman seriously, Dumbledore…”

Fudge's expression was priceless; he was utterly unwilling to believe that Voldemort had truly returned—it would do him no good, but rather be extremely harmful. The mere thought of losing his position as Minister of Magic made him tremble.

"Tonight, when Harry touched the Triwizard Cup, he was sent straight to Voldemort," Dumbledore said firmly. "He witnessed Voldemort's resurrection. You might as well come to my office, and I will explain everything to you in detail, if you have the patience."

As he spoke, Dumbledore glanced at Harry and saw that Harry was awake. Harry wanted to speak, but saw Dumbledore shake his head at him, saying, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to ask Harry any questions today. The third task of the Triwizard Tournament has exhausted him. I hope you won't disturb him; he's already pitiful enough..."

Fudge still wore that strange smile. He glanced at Harry with a less-than-friendly expression, then turned his gaze back to Dumbledore, asking hesitantly, "You—well—you're going to take everything Harry says at face value, aren't you, Dumbledore?"

He was met with a moment of silence, then Dumbledore spoke, his eyes gleaming: "Of course I believe Harry, without a doubt—I heard Crouch's confession after taking the truth serum, and I heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; their accounts corroborate each other without any loopholes—you wouldn't suspect they've colluded, would you?"

Sirius Black chuckled. "What kind of brain would one have to believe that Barty Crouch Jr., the Death Eater, is in league with Harry? Good heavens, Fudge, you can't possibly believe such a ridiculous story, can you?"

Fudge's expression was grim. Sirius's sarcastic tone made him very uncomfortable, yet he still wore that strange smile. He glanced at Harry again, trying to categorize the whole situation: "You're prepared to believe Voldemort is back, to listen to a mentally unstable murderer and a terrified child, and this child… he…"

Fudge glanced at Harry again quickly.

Louis understood exactly what Fudge was up to. He was trying to frame the whole thing as the ramblings of a "mentally deranged murderer and a frightened child" in order to cover up the news of Voldemort's return and prevent his position as Minister of Magic from being shaken by such a sudden event.

(End of this chapter)