Chapter 416: Perjury, the Value of a Life-Saving Favor
Crack!
A bolt from the blue suddenly exploded in Harry's mind, followed by a continuous drizzle.
He accidentally sold Aaron out completely, but he really didn't mean to.
But the problem was, he had already sold him out, and it seemed too late to repent now. He couldn't possibly admit that what he saw was an illusion in front of everyone, could he?
"The facts are already clear," Fudge said, spreading his hands with a smug expression. "This was an operation planned by a Death Eater, aiming to spread You-Know-Who's terror.
That fake Moody was probably out of his mind to cause trouble at Hogwarts. Harry and the other four were threatened and retaliated against by dark forces, but You-Know-Who's resurrection is absolutely baseless."
"Fudge," Dumbledore said, looking at him sternly and emphasizing, "Lord Voldemort has returned. You must accept this reality and take action; only then do we still have a chance to salvage the situation.
The most important first step is to free Azkaban from the Dementors' control."
"Impossible," Fudge retorted, stamping his foot in anger. "If that resolution is proposed, I will surely be driven out of office.
Isn't it because Dementors are stationed in Azkaban that we can all sleep soundly?"
"They are Lord Voldemort's most dangerous confederates. You are letting them guard Lord Voldemort's most loyal servants—how is that any different from releasing them from prison?
Those fellows will not be loyal to you. Lord Voldemort can offer them far more power and pleasure than you ever could.
If Azkaban remains under the Dementors' control, they will bring Lord Voldemort's former loyal servants back to him, and then he will easily be able to restore the terrifying power he had thirteen years ago."
Fudge opened his mouth, looking extremely angry, but unsure how to express himself.
"Besides that, you must take a second measure—send a message to the Giants," Dumbledore continued.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I send a message to the Giants?" Fudge said aggressively.
"It's not too late to extend the hand of friendship to the Giants.
Before Lord Voldemort wins them over—he did this before, offering them rights and freedom."
"Are you mad, Dumbledore?
Giants are inherently brutal. If others found out I was in contact with Giants, my career would be over."
"Fudge, you are too obsessed with power, and this has made you lose your proper judgment.
Do as I say, take some measures, and the entire Wizarding World will see you as the greatest Minister for Magic in history.
But if you take no action, the Wizarding World will also remember that you stood by and allowed Lord Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we worked so hard to build."
Fudge shook his head and backed away, "This is impossible, it's too crazy. I cannot gamble my career on a child's unrealistic words."
"I'm telling the truth," Harry said again, but no one paid attention, all drawn by Dumbledore's long sigh.
"Cornelius, since you insist on going your own way, then we shall part ways.
You do what you think is right; I will act according to my will."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as Fudge was about to speak, there was a knock on the Principal's office door.
"Professor Dumbledore, Gaius and the others are back!" Filch shouted.
"Let them in."
The oak door opened, and Aaron, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleurentered the Principal's office together.
Their faces were all filled with exhaustion, looking no different from refugees, only slightly better than Harry.
Abel immediately darted out, tearfully throwing himself into Aaron's arms.
His two white paws rummaged in his pocket for a long time, pulling out a small bottle of clear white liquid.
"Don't bother, I don't have any external injuries. It's better to save this stuff," Aaron said dotingly.
"Your pet… is quite special," Fleur said, examining Abel with interest. "This is the first time I've seen such a loyal pet."
Abel proudly waved his paw, now seeing Fleur in a much better light.
"Is this also Phoenix tears?" Cedric asked, looking a bit unnatural.
"Sigh!" Aaron let out a sigh. "At that time, I was still relatively benevolent, so I only got this much."
Hearing this, Abel's eyes sharpened, and he turned to look at Fawkes.
The Phoenix trembled in fear, retreating to Dumbledoreand letting out a plaintive cry.
"Uh… please keep an eye on it," Dumbledore said with a complex expression. "If possible, it's best not to let it enter my office."
"Professor, don't be so stingy!" Aaron said nonchalantly. "As the saying goes… the victor is king."
He wasn't joking; he knew how rare Phoenix feathers were.
If he didn't bring Abel in, he wouldn't have a reason to pluck feathers; bullying the Principal's pet sounded bad!
But if he brought Abel in, it would just be a squabble between magical creatures. Accidentally plucking a few feathers and collecting some tears along the way would be harmless.
Dumbledore, uncharacteristically, rolled his eyes, feeling that he needed to strengthen Fawkes's protection in the future.
Abel's gaze wasn't scary, but it gave him goosebumps.
"Since you all returned safely, can you tell us what happened?
We need to compare it with what Harry Potter said, to see if anything was missed," Fudge said earnestly, already treating Aaron and the other three as his last hope.
As long as what they said didn't match Harry's account, he would directly declare Lord Voldemort's resurrection to be entirely Harry Potter's delusion, a baseless fabrication.
The four exchanged glances and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"I'm very sorry, Minister for Magic.
I fainted at the time and don't know anything," Krum said with a regretful expression.
He was Bulgarian, an internationally renowned Quidditchstar, and Durmstrang's representative in the Triwizard Tournament. It was most fitting for him to start.
"Fainted? You fainted?"
"I fainted too," Fleur said, shivering. "I don't know what happened at the time, I suddenly lost consciousness."
Cedric shrugged, everything unsaid.
"Gaius, what about you?"
"Minister, those older Wizards all fainted. Do you think I could still be standing perfectly fine?" Aaron retorted.
Fudge raised an eyebrow and continued, "But Harry Pottersaid you fought a large group of Death Eaters, using several different advanced magic spells, and single-handedly killed a third of them."
"What are you talking about? I'm not that powerful," Aaron said, then feigned confusion and looked at Harry, "Even if you admire me, you wouldn't make up such a ridiculous story!"
Harry instantly froze. After finally recovering from his daze, he saw Cedric, Krum, and Fleur constantly winking at him.
Now he seemed to understand something, and swallowed the words he was about to say.
Aaron must have reached some agreement with the three of them, making them unable to reveal what they saw.
But in that case, the truth he spoke would be a one-sided story, and perhaps no one would believe it except for a few people.
"You…" Harry opened his mouth, wanting to speak but stopping. "You should know how serious this matter is; you can't pretend you don't know anything!"
The three looked at each other. You probably don't know the value of a life-saving favor.
Besides, they only concealed the part about Aaron fighting the Death Eaters; Aaron didn't make them conceal the most important part about the Dark Lord's resurrection.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Fudge clapped his hands excitedly, laughing happily, "I knew it was Harry Potter seeing illusions; he really made it up convincingly.
You-Know-Who resurrecting, completely impossible!"
"He really did resurrect," Krum suddenly said.
Fudge almost couldn't catch his breath. "Viktor, you… didn't you say you fainted?"
"I fainted after You-Know-Who resurrected; his magic was too powerful."
"Us too," Cedric and Fleur said in unison.
Fudge's mouth twitched violently, and he reluctantly shifted his gaze to Aaron, asking almost pleadingly, "Mr. Gaius, you didn't also see You-Know-Who resurrect, did you?"
"No," Aaron said, feigning a look of lingering fear and laughing awkwardly, "I was knocked out by a spell as soon as I landed.
After I woke up, I inexplicably appeared outside HogsmeadeVillage. If Cedric and the others hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known You-Know-Who had resurrected. It's truly terrifying."
Fudge was speechless, Harry looked bewildered, and the others shared a knowing glance.
Aaron perfectly absolved himself. Lord Voldemort had indeed resurrected, but his subsequent battle with the Death Eaters was all Harry's fantasy, or rather, a dream.
As for how they escaped afterwards, that was unknown.
But if they needed a reason, they could make one up, for example, some unknown powerful Wizard rescued them from Lord Voldemort.
The problem was, even if you knew the truth, you could only follow the script Aaron arranged, as three of the five witnesses were on his side.
"Typical of you," Adrian couldn't help but laugh, then gave a thumbs up. "You haven't changed after all these years; you always like to keep yourself out of it."
"Sis, I don't know what you're talking about," Aaron scratched his head, feigning a bewildered look that made the others secretly click their tongues.
"Never mind. Anyway, Genes will give me the records."
Aaron: …Holy moly! I forgot about that.
But it didn't matter; even without records, if Adrian asked, Genes could only answer truthfully.
"Impossible," Fudge still refused to believe. "Do you have proof? No, right? Then you can't prove You-Know-Whoresurrected."
"This is five…" Fudge paused, then corrected himself, "No, it's four students' pranks. Mr. Gaius fainted; he doesn't know anything."
As Minister for Magic, he could yell at most Wizards, but he knew there were people he couldn't offend.
It was fortunate that Gaius hinted at his complete unconsciousness, implying he wouldn't participate in testifying, otherwise he wouldn't have known what to do.
At this moment, Snape strode forward and rolled up his left sleeve.
He extended his arm for Fudge to see, and Fudge instantly turned pale, recoiling a few steps in horror.