After HP shared the dream, Lao Fu was conquered by me

Chapter 318 Dispute (2)

"So, what if Harry and I are talking about the same list? Would two people's nonsense be exactly the same?" Lamia sneered.

"Professor McGonagall must have told you a long time ago. Let me repeat the names Harry mentioned." Lamia continued, "Lucius Malfoy..."

"Malfoy was acquitted!" Fudge interrupted, clearly offended. "A very old family, generously donating to good causes..."

"McNeill!" Lamia recalled the voice she heard, matched the relevant faces in her mind, and continued to call out the names.

"He was also acquitted! Currently working at the Ministry of Magic!" Cornelius Fudge seemed even more certain that Lamia was lying.

"Avery--Nott--Crabbe--Goyle--"

"That's enough. Even if you all say the same thing, so what? Everyone in the wizarding world knows that these names are the names of those who were convicted of not being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" Fudge said angrily. "You can find those names in the past trial reports!"

"McGonagall, I've told you before that children of this age are full of weird stories, and their lies become increasingly bizarre. How could you believe them? Moreover, that boy can talk to snakes, and you still think he's trustworthy?"

"You fool!" cried Professor McGonagall. "So many wizards have died because of this. Don't their deaths make you understand?"

"That was just an accident!" Fushi also shouted loudly, his face flushed purple, and he was no less angry than Professor McGonagall. "It seems to me that you are all determined to create a panic and destroy everything we have painstakingly built over the past thirteen years!"

Lamia couldn't believe her ears. Fudge was such a stubborn person. How did he become the Minister of Magic? Were all his competitors elves?

"Voldemort has returned," Professor McGonagall said again. "Fudge, if you accept this fact immediately and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. Dumbledore has long said that the first and most important step we must take is to free Azkaban from the control of the Dementors -"

"Nonsense!" Fudge shouted again. "Abolish the Dementors? I'd be thrown out of my office if I ever suggested that! Half of us only sleep soundly at night knowing that there are Dementors standing guard in Azkaban!"

"Cornelly, the rest of us wouldn't sleep well if we knew you were letting Voldemort's most dangerous cronies guard the very people who would do his bidding at a moment's notice!" said Professor McGonagall.

"Those guys can't be loyal to you, Cornelius! Voldemort can provide them with much more power and pleasure than you can! Once Voldemort has the support of the Dementors, his former sworn enemies will return to his side, and then it will be difficult for you to prevent him from regaining the power he had thirteen years ago!"

Fudge's mouth opened and closed, as if no words could express his anger.

"I repeat, the second step you must take—and you must take it immediately," Professor McGonagall continued, "is to send a letter to the giant."

"Sending a message to a giant?" exclaimed Fudge, suddenly able to speak again. "What on earth is Dumbledore plotting, what madness is he talking about?"

"Dumbledore is right. Offer them a hand of friendship before it's too late," said Professor McGonagall. "Otherwise Voldemort will win them over. He has done this before. He is the only wizard who can offer them rights and freedom!"

"You—you've got to be kidding me!" Fudge gasped in shock, shaking his head and shrinking back from Professor McGonagall. "If the wizarding world knew I was associated with giants—and people hate giants—it would be a conspiracy, Dumbledore's conspiracy. He's going to ruin my career!"

Cornelius Fudge seemed to have finally figured out Dumbledore's purpose, and he shouted loudly with conviction.

"Cornelly, you are so obsessed with your official position that it has blinded your judgment," said Professor McGonagall, her voice gradually rising. "You attach too much importance to so-called pure wizard blood! You have always been like this!"

"Have you lived this long and still not figured out that a person's origins are not important; what matters is what kind of person he becomes when he grows up!"

"Your Dementors have just wiped out the last member of a very ancient wizarding family – and look at the path that man has taken in life! I tell you this – if you follow my advice and take certain steps, the Ministry and the entire wizarding world will forever remember you as the bravest and greatest Minister of Magic who ever lived."

"But," Professor McGonagall paused, watching Cornelius Fudge's expression closely, "if you fail to act - history will remember that it was your inaction that gave Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have worked so hard to rebuild!"

"Ridiculous," Fudge whispered, continuing to back away. "Madness..."

There was silence.

Lamia seemed to hear Cornelius Fudge's inner struggle. He actually believed it, but he would definitely not do as Dumbledore planned.

"Okay, Minerva, leave the rest to me." Dumbledore suddenly appeared behind the pillar, without even Lamia noticing.

"Cornelly, if you persist in your delusion and in your own way," said Dumbledore, who had evidently heard the whole story, "then we shall part ways. You will do as you see fit, and I—I will follow my own will."

There was no threat in Dumbledore's voice; it sounded like a statement, but Fudge was furious, as if Dumbledore were looming over him with a wand raised.

"Yes, yes, Dumbledore," he said, waving a finger threateningly. "I've always had them pass messages to me. I just thought you were confused. Everyone knows I have always respected you. I may not agree with some of your decisions, but I always keep silent -

—Not many people would allow you to employ werewolves, keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach students without consulting the Ministry, but if you're going to go against me—"

"The only one I seek to oppose," said Dumbledore, "is Voldemort. If you oppose him, Cornelius, then we are still on the same side."

Fudge seemed at a loss for words. He staggered back and forth for a moment, unsteady on his little feet, twirling his bowler hat in his hands.

Finally, he spoke, with a hint of pleading in his voice, "He won't come back, Dumbledore. He can't possibly..."