#449Professor appointed by the Ministry of Magic, Malfoy's escape routeAI Model: gemini-2.5-flashChapter 449: The Professor Arranged by the Ministry of Magic, Malfoy's Back-up PlanAt the entrance of the First Courtroom, Aaron looked at Cornelius Fudge with interest. "I wonder what the Minister for Magic wants to discuss with me?"Fudge grinned and hesitantly asked, "Mr. Gaius, what do you think of Dumbledore?""Exceptional talent, powerful strength, benevolent, gentle, wise, possessing excellent insight, but..."With each word Aaron spoke, Fudgeand Umbridge, who was beside him, looked increasingly grim, until a turning point appeared, and then their eyes lit up with surprise."But what?" Fudge quickly pressed."But I don't particularly like him," Aaron said, shrugging. "I know it sounds a bit contradictory, but it's the truth.Dumbledore's ability, wisdom, and way of handling things are all very admirable and worth learning from, but he is too shrewd. Every time I deal with him, I feel like he wants to get something from me."Clap! Clap! Clap!Fudge clapped his hands excitedly. "As expected of the heir of the Gaius family, Aaron, your judgment is truly impeccable.I've also had this feeling, especially recently; it's become so clear that it frightens me a little."Hearing this, Aaron sneered inwardly.That was truly shameless. He made his evaluation based on facts, but Fudgewas simply afraid that Dumbledorewould seize the power in his hands."Mr. Gaius," Fudge extended his hand towards Umbridge. "Allow me to introduce you. This is Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Ministry of Magic. I plan to appoint her as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor at Hogwarts.""A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gaius," Umbridge gave Aaron what she thought was a benevolent smile, which was so disgusting it almost made him vomit his breakfast.Because the Undersecretary was short and fat, resembling a toad.If it were just her ugliness, that would be one thing, but from her smile, Aaron read a strong sense of insincerity. She was definitely not a good person."May I be so bold as to ask, does Professor Dumbledore know about this?""Him?" Fudge chuckled and shook his head. "He doesn't know yet, but I don't think he'll refuse.""Then I have no objections," Aaron said, raising an eyebrow.He naturally saw that Fudge wanted to extend his influence into Hogwarts, but he wasn't worried, because Umbridgewas to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor.However, the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professorat Hogwarts was cursed; no one had managed to last more than a year so far.The first four Professors: one died, one was captured, one was forced to resign, and one was imprisoned for a year. He was quite interested in the future outcome of this Undersecretary."Excellent! I'm sure you and Umbridgewill cooperate well at Hogwarts.""Cooperation is out of the question," Aaron immediately said. "I only have two simple requests.""Please state them," Fudge used a respectful form of address. As long as Aaron didn't disrupt his arrangements for Hogwarts, let alone two requests, even two more wouldn't matter."First, I will have free reign over the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.""No problem," Umbridge immediately said. "It's only natural to give preferential treatment to a genius."Aaron secretly scoffed in his heart. Umbridge was definitely not cut out to be a teacher.When he made this request to Gilderoy Lockhart, he at least struggled a bit to maintain his dignity as a Professor, but this one directly handed over her teaching authority without a moment's hesitation."Second, I don't care what the Ministry of Magic does, but it can't control me.""This..." Umbridge paused, then turned to Fudge. "Minister, what do you think?""Alright," Fudge mused, nodding. He only sent Umbridge there to target Dumbledore. A student who couldn't be controlled and couldn't control others was harmless.Aaron and Fudge parted ways in the Department of Mysteries on the ninth floor, seemingly unrelated."Young Master, do you think Umbridgecan't teach you?""Nonsense," Aaron rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you can't see her true colors. She had one face in the courtroom and immediately put on another outside. Even Fudge can't compare to her face-changing skills.""That's true. It's a miracle she became an Undersecretary at the Ministry of Magic.""That only proves there's a problem with the leadership of the Ministry of Magic. Their nauseating faces make anyone sick," Aaron sneered. "Fudgewon't be Minister for Magic for much longer. He's been deceiving himself all this time, but Lord Voldemort won't remain hidden just because he wants him to.Once Lord Voldemort appears before the public, all his efforts, including slandering Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter, will become a joke.""It truly pleases your subordinate that Young Master can think of this!""Tch!" Aaron pouted. "Stop treating me like a child, alright?""Until Young Master marries and has children, you will always be a child in your subordinate's eyes.""Heh heh!"The two got into the elevator, and as soon as they entered the main hall, they saw Lucius Malfoy."Hmm... I think we can talk?"Aaron:..."Interesting, truly interesting. I'm really busy today.First Dumbledore wants to talk to me, then Fudge wants to talk to me, and now Uncle Lucius wants to talk to me.If I didn't know your relationships, I'd suspect you all planned this."Lucius's mouth twitched slightly, and he gave an embarrassed laugh. "This just proves your ability, doesn't it?"Aaron shrugged. "What does Uncle Lucius want to talk about with me?"Lucius pursed his lips, wanting to speak but hesitating. "There are too many people here; it's better to go somewhere else.""Let's go to my place!" Aaron said. "Uncle Gines, I'll trouble you.""Wait, if anyone sees me leaving with you..."Lucius didn't finish his sentence, but both of them understood his meaning.The House of Malfoy thrived for a reason. Aaron was even a little ashamed of his own lack of such caution."Uncle Lucius, if anyone reports to Lord Voldemort, just say that you acted on your own initiative, wanting to persuade me to submit to him, but I refused.""This..." Lucius pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily.Gines sent Aaron into the fireplace, then grabbed Lucius's arm. "The Floo Network of Gaius Castle has certain restrictions; only authorized individuals can freely enter and exit through it, and Apparition is not possible unless accompanied by an authorized person.""I understand."Poof!As green flames erupted, Gines Apparated with Lucius.The next moment, the three appeared together in the hall of Gaius Castle."Please have a seat, Uncle Gines," Aaron gestured, then snapped his fingers, and a cup of tea automatically appeared before Gines."Thank you!""Don't be so reserved," Aaron smiled. "There are no spies of Lord Voldemortin our home. You can speak freely, say whatever you want."Lucius hesitated for a moment, then looked directly into Aaron's eyes. "You-Know-Who has returned, and my identity is that of a Death Eater...""I know that.""Yes, of course you know," Luciussighed, then pulled up his sleeve. The Dark Mark was particularly clear on his arm. "Narcissa and I both have this mark on our arms. We followed Lord Voldemort back then for the sake of pure-blood interests.""But it turns out you were wrong.""Yes," Lucius gave a self-deprecating smile. "We gradually realized his true nature. He is a madman, frighteningly insane.But realizing it is useless. Once the House of Malfoy leaves the Death Eaters, there's only death.""I understand. Circumstances are stronger than people. To survive, one can only take this path, even if it's a road of no return.""Lord Voldemort currently trusts me, but I know this trust won't last long.""So you want me to help the Malfoys?" Aaron said meaningfully."I hesitated for a long time before deciding to ask for your help.""If I'm not mistaken, you started considering a fallback plan for the House of Malfoy as soon as you learned about Draco and my relationship, didn't you?"Lucius nodded, not denying it.After a moment of silence, he continued, "I know some of the rules of the Gaius family. You can't save a Wizard family for no reason.But if Narcissa and I encounter any accidents, I hope you can help Draco."Aaron sighed slightly. "He's one of my few friends at Hogwarts. I'll help him as much as I can.But let me say this upfront, I can't guarantee there won't be any accidents.""That's enough," Lucius felt a wave of relief. "We can make an agreement. As long as Draco is safe, I can decide to give half of the House of Malfoy's wealth to Gaius, and the other half will be jointly decided by you and Draco on how to handle it.""That won't be necessary," Aaron waved his hand. "That bit of gold is just a drop in the ocean for my family."Lucius was speechless for a moment. He didn't doubt Aaron's words, but it was disheartening that his biggest bargaining chip was not even considered important by the other party."Uncle Lucius, I will do my best to protect Draco, but the premise is that he doesn't get too deeply involved, otherwise, even if I wanted to pull him out of the mire, I'd be powerless.""You mean?""Tell him to have less contact with Death Eaters.""I understand.""Also, if you and Aunt Narcissa want to get out unscathed, try not to do things that invite public outrage, or you could consider being a double agent."Lucius was stunned. "That's too dangerous... Can it work?""Of course it can work," Aaron said seriously. "You don't need to pass on any intelligence, and you can even follow Lord Voldemort's orders, but the degree of completion or whether to leave traps is up to you.Past experience tells me that some small details can determine the outcome of a battle.""I'll consider it," Lucius said in a deep voice."If Uncle Lucius doesn't want to take risks, there's another way: take Aunt Narcissa and hide at my place."Before he finished speaking, Luciusshot up.Happiness came too suddenly. No dog would willingly take a risk unless forced.But the next moment, he calmed down. Malfoy knew better than anyone that there was no free lunch. "What does Malfoy need to pay?""First, half of the House of Malfoy's wealth," Aaron said lightly. "Don't misunderstand, Gaius has no interest in Malfoy's accumulated wealth, but gaining and losing are often proportional.For the sake of friendship, I can help Draco, but I cannot help his parents for free because of this.""And what else?""Until the Wizarding War ends, you can only stay in Gaius Castle.After the war ends, I cannot make any guarantees about your safety."Hearing this, Lucius fell silent.Wealth, he could grit his teeth and give up. The Malfoy family had accumulated wealth for almost ten centuries; even if half was given away, the other half, even if future heirs were spendthrifts, wouldn't be squandered in five hundred years.But not being able to guarantee Malfoy's safety after the war ended was something he couldn't quite accept, because hiding in Gaius Castlewould be seen as desertion by the Death Eater faction.As the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemortnever lacked loyal followers.Even if he completely died, these loyal followers, without a leader, would still pose a considerable threat to Malfoy."Hmph!" Lucius took a deep breath and finally made a decision. "I'll leave Dracoto you.""Don't worry, I'll keep my word.""Thank you. The Malfoys will never forget this kindness," Lucius said sincerely, immediately getting up to leave."Wait a moment," a flash of purple light flickered in Aaron's eyes, meeting Lucius's pupils directly.Lucius looked flustered, stumbled for a moment, then stood still, dazed."Uncle Gines, you know what I'm going to do, right?" Aaron hinted."I can guess," Gines said with a slightly unnatural expression. "And it's probably me who has to do it.""Good that you know."Gines shook his head helplessly, pointed his wand at Lucius's temple, and slowly drew out several strands of silvery-white light, carefully sealing them in a glass bottle."Alright, this memory cannot be accessed by anyone other than himself.In addition, I've implanted a false memory, so even Lord Voldemort's Legilimency won't find any flaws."A few seconds later, Lucius came to his senses.He looked at the glass bottle in Gines's hand and realized what had just happened. "Actually, if you had just told me, I would have cooperated closely.""The result would be the same," Aaron said indifferently. "You and Aunt Narcissa take care of yourselves. If Draco encounters any problems, he can always come to me."Lucius nodded immediately, then left through the Floo Network."The House of Malfoy is quite interesting," Aaron said, lounging on the sofa. "As expected of the best-performing among the twenty-eight pure-blood families. Before Lord Voldemort even finished his preparations, he was already looking for a way out.""Young Master, I must remind you," Gines said hesitantly, "the ancestral teachings of the Gaius family explicitly state that we cannot casually interfere in the disputes of the magic world, so...""I know what you want to say. This matter is unrelated to the family.I will abide by the rules. If I help, I will only do what I can."
