Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

In order to protect completely unrelated Muggles, a wizard alone stood in front of dozens of drunk "Quidditch rogues", this behavior is considered heroic even in Gryffindor.

Lockhart understood that on the one hand, this was to divert the public's attention, and on the other hand, Fudge wanted to appease his own dissatisfaction, and bought Lion Pie to shut up.

And the Big Five Tournament, which had been being organized before, also became Fudge's life-saving straw at this time.

He made an impassioned speech at the Ministry of Magic's internal caliber unification meeting, asking the staff of the Ministry of Magic to work together to overcome the difficulties:

"...What we need most now is stability. If foreigners are allowed to make an attack on this matter, the safety of the Five Powers Tournament that we have prepared for a long time will also be questioned by others. In that case, it will be difficult to say whether it can be held smoothly."

Although I hate Fudge's pretext, his statement really hit everyone's deathbed.

If the Tournament, which has been publicized for more than half a year, is cancelled, then Lockhart's transformation of Hogsmeade, the investment of sponsors, and the preparations made by the entire British wizarding world will be in vain. The loss is unbearable for all.

So in the end, everyone had to acquiesce to Fudge's coercion, and conditionally joined hands to minimize the impact of this matter.

As for international disputes, Fudge has no way to deal with the anger of the Bulgarians: Lockhart does not have many channels to deal with such diplomatic incidents, so in the end this matter can only rely on Dumbledore.

After Dumbledore listened to Lockhart's report, he simply stated that this matter should be settled by him.

In Bulgaria, as one of the front lines against Grindelwald, almost everyone had a blood feud with the voodoo party. They have always been very sensitive to such matters, and Krum himself is a clear proof.

So after Dumbledore was invited to go out, he first found his allies in Bulgaria, and explained in detail the relationship between the Death Eaters and the Witch Party with these old friends.

Although the Bulgarians despised Fudge and made up their minds to use this matter to get a fortune from the British, they still wanted to show some face to Dumbledore who came to the door.

So on the last day before school started, the Bulgarians finally agreed not to spread the matter, and would send diplomatic notes to Greece, Albania and other countries to arrest Barty Crouch Jr. throughout the Balkan Peninsula.

Lockhart felt that they would not be able to catch that guy Crouch, let alone Voldemort who was hiding in Albania, but it was better than nothing, at least

can unify the position

Chapter 270

Although these diplomatic messes were complicated, to be honest, Lockhart didn't spend much energy on them.

What he is most concerned about now is the reform he will carry out to the wizarding world, and the second is to prepare for Voldemort's comeback. Even the Five Powers Tournament has a higher status in his heart than wrangling with others.

Therefore, the seizure of power that Fudge was worried about did not happen at all, and when he tentatively expressed the hope that Lockhart could follow the previous agreement to support him in the newspaper, Lockhart also agreed to him.

"Believe it or not, I think what the Ministry needs most right now is stability," Lockhart promised Fudge.

Thanks to many publicity campaigns, Lockhart's reputation in the British wizarding world is at least well-known, even if it can't be said to be at the top of the sky. He even launched a survey on "Dumbledore's successor in your mind" in "Witch Weekly" Among them, the people who voted for Lockhart accounted for 76.6% of the total. With Lockhart's vocal support, Fudge will be much better in a short time.

It doesn't matter if it is clear that this will increase Fudge's suspicion of Lockhart. Anyway, Lockhart estimates that this guy's term of office will not exceed two years.

Of course, apart from the news about Crouch Jr., the rest is not all good news.

For example, Gemma Farley, she sent a bad news for Lockhart - the pure-blood family is somewhat "dissatisfied" with Lockhart's performance

The reason why they made such a statement was of course because Lockhart protected the Muggle family after the World Cup.

Paar really shouldn't be involved. "Gemma's tone carried a hint of embarrassment.

blame.

Although it is unreasonable to say so, she has a position to complain, because after this incident, her parents' discussion of her marriage with Lockhart will be put on hold for a while, and she has said a lot of good things for Lockhart before. .

Although those who participated in the riots did not include mature and prudent people like Mr. Farley, but in the eyes of the upper echelons, the left and right were just two ordinary Muggles. This was not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of position.

Since Lockhart can protect a family of Muggles from having fun with the poor purebloods today, maybe he can give up the blood drawing policy of pureblood families tomorrow for the benefit of Muggles. right thing.

In other words, they felt that Lockhart had failed to recognize his position.

As for the riot itself, they have nothing to say. After all, who participated in the riot and who did not participate, everyone is clear about it, and the participants even include Malfoy, so there is still Du Shao who did not participate. Woolen cloth?

Only Lockhart himself is very clear that his position and principles have always been firm - it's just that those people have not been able to see it.

If Gemma wants to complain, let her complain. People always have to gradually clarify their position in the process of constantly experiencing things in the world.He only hoped that when everything was over, it would be the best if he could "break through all difficulties". If not, Lockhart also hoped that they could still sit down and have a cup of tea together.

Based on this consideration, Lockhart felt that it was not a bad thing that Gemma was forced to keep a little distance from him now.

Hogwarts ushered in Harry Potter's fourth school year in such uneasiness, and when the school started and Sirius decided to travel abroad again, the Ministry of Magic's investigation into the vicious World Cup event was finally completed up.

When the Ministry of Magic found the Flint family with the evidence, they immediately told the Aurors that they had absolutely nothing to do with them.

They claimed that the tent was set up by his family in the owl training base next to the forest, but it was stolen a few days ago, and August is the critical period for owl training, everyone in Flint’s family is very busy, there is no I don't have time to watch the World Cup.

The people from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement also confirmed their statement - just half a month ago, the Flynn Temple family reported that one of their tents had been stolen.

In addition, because it involved the remnants of Grindelwald, the Bulgarians also investigated the director, and they found a letter in the deceased's home.

In that letter, the person who wrote the letter claimed to be an "insider" of the British Sports Department, who specialized in gambling business, but a few days ago because the director Ludo Bagman was involved in gambling, the rest of them The crowd has no leader and may be laid off at any time, so everyone is trying to find a way to make a fortune.

The writer said that he was the same. He deliberately contacted Bulgaria through the "diplomatic channel" left by his father and asked him if he would like to make a bet.If Bulgaria wins in the end, they will take 30% of the commission, and if they do not win, they will pay him the full amount.

The Bulgarians did not know whether the letter was related to the killing of their chief, so they sent it to the British, asking them to continue their investigation.

After seeing the letter, Lockhart immediately went to goblin Gonuk.

Gornuk confessed to Lockhart that Bulgaria's director of international cooperation had indeed bet a large sum of money on him on the eve of the match, betting 15 times that Bulgaria would win and that Klum would catch the Snitch.

At this point, the whole truth finally came to light one by one.

Based on his familiarity with pure-blood families and the communication channels of the Department of International Affairs, Barty Crouch Jr. first contacted the Director of International Affairs in Bulgaria and asked him if he would like to make a small fortune through gambling.

Lockhart guessed that the director would not be able to agree so simply, he

It should be that he secretly learned about the situation in the UK, and wanted to confirm whether these were in line with what Crouch Jr. said.

However, Crouch Jr. will not show his flaws in this kind of place, because he only needs to pay more attention to the situation before fleeing, and he can learn about recent events in the Ministry of Magic from his father's official documents and letters.

Little Crouch used the special channel of the International Department to send letters, and all he said was the inside story of the British Ministry of Magic. He even said that Ludo Bagman was "resigned" because of gambling. It was so clear that Bulgaria's international director couldn't help but not believe it.

Therefore, it is inevitable that the international director of Bulgaria will be fooled in the end. Barty Crouch Jr. must know that the Flint family will not be able to come out in August, so he stole a tent from his family in advance, and then People pretending to be his family came to the Quidditch World Cup site and watched the game with others.

Of course, no matter how powerful Crouch Jr. was, it was impossible for him to engage in any "secret operations", so after the results came out, Ireland won the world championship—everything was just as he expected.

And after Bulgaria lost, the director naturally wanted to ask Crouch Jr. for an explanation. 5 Crouch Jr. only needed to ask the director out in the name of "I'll pay you the money".

Even if the Bulgarian wins, it doesn't matter, Barty Jr. can still come to him with the reason of "commission".

The rest is simple—whether it's a threat or Legilimency, little Crouch got the location of the Portkey to Bulgaria from the director, and then killed him with a Killing Curse cleanly. over him.

Bulgaria is not far from Albania. If Lockhart guessed correctly, Crouch Jr. may have appeared beside Voldemort by now, licking his shoes.

Chapter 270 Persuasion

After listening to Lockhart's full report on the Quidditch World Cup and his conjectures, Dumbledore didn't have any shocks on his face. Instead, as Lockhart imagined, he just said flatly, "I see." "

Although it was really hard to imagine that Dumbledore would show panic, but when Lockhart saw him so calm, for some reason, he always felt that Dumbledore seemed a little impatient.

Of course, Dumbledore's confidence lies in his strength. Even if Voldemort in his heyday suddenly appeared in front of him, he would still be able to punish this former disciple to face the wall and go to jail

Dumbledore believes in prophecy, so in the past ten years, he has been "waiting" attitude, waiting for Voldemort's comeback.

Even because Voldemort has never been resurrected, Dumbledore couldn't hold back, and took the initiative to release the news of the Philosopher's Stone, sitting and watching Professor Quirrell "bring over" Voldemort, just to see his good student again, and he didn't know Voldemort Are you moved?

As Barty Crouch Jr. fled to Bulgaria, Dumbledore knew without thinking that Voldemort's resurrection was officially on the agenda, and he would soon be able to see the green body of this guy again after his rebirth.

Thinking about it carefully, I was a little excited.

While Lockhart was thinking wildly, Dumbledore slowly spoke.

"Little Crouch is a dangerous enemy, Gilderoy.

Although you have mentioned to me the difficulty of this man, I find that I still underestimate him.

In this incident, I saw a man who was cruel and knew how to use his emotions

The guy who gave him the perfect combination of ferocity and cunning, and at the same time was very mobile..."

Having said that, Dumbledore sighed.

When Crouch Jr. was tried back then, even he thought that the young guy had just gone astray, and Barty Crouch Sr. was just trying to save face, and he was sent to Azkaban.

But now it seems that although the old Crouch did a little too much without knowing it, but the little Crouch definitely deserved what he deserved.Even though he has been in prison for many years, most of Crouch's crimes are still unpaid, let alone new debts.

Lockhart agreed with the headmaster's judgment: "I think so too, the combination of brutality and ignorance is nothing more than a minor nuisance, but for capable villains we usually call it a 'disaster'"

Hearing what he said, Dumbledore suddenly remembered what Lockhart had said about Barty Jr., so he asked one more question.

"Gidero, although I may be in a daze, I am sure I have a fairly good understanding of Voldemort's thoughts and habits, so I know exactly what he will do.

But for Barty Crouch Jr. -- to be honest, I don't know how he's going to act. Would you like to analyze from a politician's point of view why he did what he did and what he's going to do next? "

"You mean that little Crouch could have left quietly, but in the end he chose such a high-profile way?" Lockhart asked back.

"Yes, I thought he would try to keep a low profile as much as possible before resurrecting the Dark Lord, but he chose to do so, which makes no sense, as it would undoubtedly put the Ministry on the alert."

Lockhart smiled: "I see, it seems that the way of thinking does determine a person's behavior... Although it is unwise for Crouch Jr. to do so in terms of the secrecy of his actions, but from a political point of view, he Undoubtedly a good move..."

Dumbledore sat up straight, waiting for Lockhart to continue.

Regardless of what others say about the Dark Lord, in the eyes of us politicians, he is more an emotional "vent hole" for the wizarding world than a "regime". If we must characterize it, the Death Eater is more like a "Terrorist organizations' not "administrative groups'"

Having said that, Lockhart looked up at Dumbledore, as if trying to see if he could understand what he meant.

"I understand." Dumbledore said knowingly, as if you can't expect a person who has never seen an elephant to draw an elephant. Even a pure-blood family has no training and does not know how to govern. "

"So, as long as Voldemort is going to have actual control over that power, he's going to need someone to back him up, and not just simple minded people."

"Correct."

"Then, Voldemort's most loyal servant, Barty Crouch Jr., naturally has to plan ahead, paving the way for his master's return."

Lockhart explained roughly, and kept observing Dumbledore's reaction, and Dumbledore was worthy of his exquisite heart, and the speed of understanding made Lockhart feel that he could say more.

"There's no question that there's a lot of dissatisfaction with the status quo in the wizarding world these days, and they need someone to lead them and attack what they see as 'old' rules, but they're not sure who that person is, and they're not Bird is willing to fill this role. "

"Just like the thugs you stopped." Dumbledore once again understood his words at the speed of light, "No one will take responsibility for this."

"Those who are willing to take responsibility are now inside Azkaban." Lockhart reminded the headmaster, "The people who stay outside are 100% rats."

Having said that, Dumbledore finally understood what Barty Jr. did

"So, he hopes to use this way of blatantly challenging the Ministry of Magic to announce to all the fools that "Death Eaters still have the power to act" and dare to fight against the Ministry of Magic? "

Lockhart didn't say anything dead: "I guess that's the case. Little Crouch hopes that these fools will bet on both sides as soon as possible, and will spontaneously slow down the pace of the Ministry of Magic to gain time and development for his reborn master. resource."

"Will someone be willing to provide it?" Dumbledore was very concerned about this.

"Definitely." Lockhart reassured very simply, "For these big families, being able to use some "external possessions" to ensure the safety of the family is not an unreasonable decision for them.Even if they bet on both ends, they have enough resources in their hands. "

This is like the terrorists in the Muggle world. Immediately after the riots, a bunch of inexplicable organizations will jump out and take this responsibility.

You ask why they are so high-profile?Nonsense, of course they have to make a high profile, otherwise how can those bigwigs donate money to people who are so useless that they can't even go around Scotland Yard to carry out two terrorist attacks?Those bigwigs in the financial market hate world peace very much.

How can they make money and harvest leeks without major events bringing volatility to the financial market?Is it possible to rely on the dividends and dividends to eat in peace?Of course, only when there is a panic or something can there be investment opportunities.If there is really no terrorist activity, then it would be fine to have an Afghan crisis, a Syrian crisis, or a Ukrainian crisis.

Barty Crouch Jr. launched a standard terrorist attack, and it was the kind that was big enough to go abroad. This is undoubtedly trying to announce something to the wizarding world. He is afraid that the Ministry of Magic will replace the He is "advertising".

Facing Dumbledore, Lockhart directly stated his conclusion: "...That is to say, from a political point of view, the best countermeasure for the Ministry of Magic at present is to continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb, and to reduce the impact of this matter to the outside world. Shrunk down a little, and then dispatched an elite force to go deep into the

Intensively and comprehensively strangled Voldemort's power in its infancy. "

According to Lockhart's understanding, the Ministry of Magic in the original book really wanted to do this in the end, but they didn't have elite troops on hand.

Dumbledore was a little unhappy about what Lockhart said.

"Why not just say 'he's coming back'?Wouldn't it be better to wake up the wizarding world from top to bottom earlier? "

After hearing Dumbledore's countermeasures, Lockhart felt a little tired.

Of course, if it is just to fight against the dark forces, Dumbledore's strategy is undoubtedly the best solution.

But the problem is that political issues are never a purely technical issue, let alone a math problem. There is only one definite result for a problem.

Although the situation is quite different from the original book, Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic are still arranging their affairs according to their own logic, so sooner or later there will be conflicts between the two sides.

"Because there are not only good people and Death Eaters in this world." Lockhart could only persuade him first.

Chapter 270 It's time to join the WTO

There is no doubt that everyone has their own mission, and Harry Potter's mission is to physically destroy Voldemort, so he only has to think about these.

But Dumbledore can't, because in addition to being a master of magic, he is also a politician, so he has to think about how to kill Voldemort politically.

Although the effect of what he has done in the past ten years cannot be considered good.

Although Dumbledore didn't say so, the escape of Barty Crouch Jr. did give him a sense of urgency.

If it was in the past, maybe he could continue to look for Voldemort's Horcrux leisurely, but not now.

Because he wasn't sure whether Voldemort would check what he left behind immediately after his resurrection, even if he didn't check, he would learn about the situation from Malfoy and Bella when he regrouped the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore would never take chances on such trivial matters.

Although he has already guessed that Voldemort will make 6 Horcruxes, and it is obvious that 2 of them have been destroyed, Dumbledore is still not sure what the remaining [-] are.