Umbridge's office fell silent. Fudge and Umbridge stared each other down.
Board of Governors!
Suddenly, Fudge fiercely swung his fist, his excited expression like discovering a new continent.
"That's right," said Fudge. "Bleedin' Brian did use the Board of Governors to get into Hogwarts, and it allowed him to appoint Hogwarts Headmaster directly! I can't believe I forgot that!
Umbridge's eyes, encircled by puffy eyelids, also sparkled continuously, as if weighing the pros and cons of the matter.
"Lucius!"
Fudge dashed up to Lucius, grabbing his arm, excitement radiating from him.
"The Board can dismiss Dumbledore and Brian directly, that's right! This is it! Are you with the Ministry, dear Lucius?"
"Of course, Minister--"
Lucius masked his contempt well, but he appeared to be in a difficult situation.
"I am more than willing to serve the Ministry, Minister, but as I just said, the Malfoy family was scapegoated for the Serpent's incident. We've been excluded from the Board of Governors list. It's truly an embarrassing situation. For centuries, the Malfoy family has been a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, but this honor has been lost on my hands--"
Looking at Lucius, Umbridge narrowed her eyes, as if she had already guessed what Lucius wanted.
Bringing up the old events, Fudge unconsciously showed some embarrassment. At that time, he was grateful to Brian for solving the Slytherin's Chamber and contributing the precious basilisk.
"How can we get the Malfoy family back onto the Hogwarts Board of Governors, Lucius?"
Umbridge looked at Lucius with a guileless gaze.
"Since the Board of Governors can exclude the Malfoy family, it must also be able to take them in again."
"It requires the vote of two-thirds of the board, Miss Umbridge--"
Lucius leaned forward slightly.
"The Greengrass, Everitt, and Black families altogether make up ten. I'm sorry, but some of them don't have very deep ties with the Malfoys."
Fudge also understood the situation, but he was not annoyed with Lucius Malfoy's calculation. He wanted to use the power of the Ministry of Magic to force all the members of the Board of Governors to agree that the Malfoy family should take control again over Hogwarts, but the Ministry of Magic also had to have a greater say in Hogwarts.
Using the Board of Governors to directly dismiss Dumbledore and Brian. Fudge's eyes sparkled with a gleam of cunning, and this matter seemed very tempting, but it was not a wise choice.
This is because it will inevitably lead to the most fierce resistance from Dumbledore and Brian. Fudge does not seek to completely break with Hogwarts at this time, but Dumbledore and Brian must support the Ministry of Magic's decision.
Arthur was surprised to see that just moments ago, Fudge and Umbridge were full of anger and now they were laughing and talking as they walked Lucius Malfoy out of the office, with Fudge's arm affectionately draped over Lucius Malfoy's shoulder.
"We will contact those families as soon as possible, Lucius. One week, I promise, it will be one week before we can restart the voting!"
"Thank you very much, Minister Fudge!"
Lucius smiled.
"The Malfoy family will ensure that the Board of Governors' opinions are unified, so that there will be no voice that differs from the Ministry."
"Minister!"
The conversation he overheard sent a chill down Arthur's spine. He couldn't understand it all, but it was clear to him that Fudge and Lucius Malfoy had reached some sort of agreement. Watching Fudge ready to put his arm around Lucius Malfoy's shoulder, Arthur called out.
Fudge completely forgot about Mr. Weasley. He was so engrossed that he stood there for several seconds before he remembered that Arthur also had something to discuss with him.
The portly face showed a hint of displeasure, but Fudge still stopped in his step.
"Accompany Lucius and Dolores, you can discuss the donation matter together."
"Very happy to help, Minister--"
Dolores said with a smiling face.
"So, come with me, Arthur, we'll talk in Dolores' office."
Fudge beckoned to Arthur with a hand and led the way back to the office first.
"Come on, Percy, let's clear this up--"
Arthur gave Percy an encouraging smile and pulled Percy's arm into the room as well.
"Who is this, Arthur?"
Fudge turned around and noticed that a familiar young man was following Arthur into the office, with a slight furrowed brow he said.
This question made Percy turn beet red, he stood there with his hands tucked in, a bit at a loss. It was Mr. Weasley who patted Percy on the back quite casually,
"My son, Percy Weasley, you must not have seen him for the first time, Minister."
"Your son?"
Fudge looked suspiciously at Arthur.
"He works for the Ministry too?"
Percy's face had turned back to normal, he was so eager for a hole to appear on the ground so that he could jump into it and hide himself. It wasn't so embarrassing.
"Oh, of course--"
Mr. Weasley naturally pulled Percy over to the sofa opposite Fudge and, after pushing him down to sit, sat down himself.
"He's been working in the Ministry for almost a year now, if you haven't forgotten. Old Barty used to have an assistant."
"Oh, I remember that!"
Fudge's face showed a look of realization.
"That's right, during the time when old Barty was missing, you helped the International Confederation of Wizards with many tasks. But later--"
Fudge narrowed his eyes as he looked at Percy, who was struggling to stand up straight.
"Because of Barty's situation, you received some punishment. If I'm not mistaken."
"You haven't made a mistake, Minister--"
Mr. Weasley nodded seriously. "The Ministry believes that Percy did not notice Barty Crouch's problem in time. That is to say, he didn't notice that Barty Crouch was kidnapped, and someone forged Crouch's notes to give him instructions for the work of the department."
"Oh--"
Fudge looked at Percy Weasley, who was trembling with fear, and leaned back into the sofa, turning his thumb carelessly.
"It's a reasonable punishment, isn't it, Arthur. I'm not targeting anyone intentionally, but since your son was Barty's assistant, shouldn't he notice that the letters he receives every day are not from his boss?"
It's truly terrifying to think about. If Verna Crano had set some terrible tasks in that way, and Percy followed the orders, it's hard to imagine how much loss the magical world would have suffered."
"That's entirely true."
Mr. Weasley's cheeks also turned slightly red. He was going to say "nonsense," but finally restrained himself and said "bias" instead.
"In strict terms, Percy only worked with old Barty for less than a few months. He didn't have an in-depth understanding of old Barty. Based on that, it's understandable that he didn't notice that something was wrong with old Barty. Only Percy was punished, and objectively speaking, this is unfair to Percy in the matter of old Barty, Minister!"
Mr. Weasley angrily said.
Fudge narrowed his eyes and thought about it for a long time before he remembered how they handled the matter at that time.
To suppress the impact, there was no grand display of dealing with anyone at the time, and old Barty's assistant, the thin young man in front of him, was sent to the centaurs' office in the Magical Creatures Management and Control Department.
The centaurs' office. The whole Ministry knows what it's like, there's nothing to do, it's just a department for retirement.
"So, what do you think should be done, Arthur?"
Fudge still maintained a casual demeanor, suggesting to move his son's position?
Now that the heat on Barty's issue had died down, moving Percy Weasley to a different department was just a small matter. However, Connelly was still unwilling, for no other reason than Arthur's own stance.
"My idea?"
Mr. Weasley looked at Percy and his eyes were filled with gentle kindness.
"To be honest, I think Percy is a talented young wizard, Minister, this evaluation is not based on our father and son relationship, Minister--"
Mr. Weasley said seriously.
"Percy was a prefect and the head of the student council during his time at Hogwarts. He obtained twelve NEWTS certificates with excellent grades, and has been putting in a great deal of enthusiasm into his work since entering the Ministry. Of course, he lacks experience, but this is not a disadvantage for young people, is it?"
"That's right--"
"Yes--" Fudge looked at Percy with a bit of surprise. Arthur's son was indeed quite outstanding. However, what of it? The Ministry of Magic gathers the best graduates from Hogwarts in every generation. It's not lacking prefects and student council presidents, nor is it lacking NEWTS certificates.
"But mistakes are mistakes, they must be punished. I think, oh, I suddenly have an idea."
(Chapter Complete)
