In the warmth of the room, Dumbledore and Eda ate chocolate as if no one else were present, occasionally taking a sip of hot water, indescribably comfortable.
Other than blasting the wooden door apart at the beginning, they hardly looked like they had come to cause trouble.
Yet the more Dumbledore acted this way, the more uncertain the four Aurors felt, having no idea what he was planning. The four of them stood there trembling, unsure whether to stand or sit, so anxious their hearts itched.
Walker was the most nervous of all.
In the past Dumbledore had always called him by his name; suddenly calling him Mr. Walker—how could the balding man not feel a chill run down his spine?
While waiting for Dumbledore's instructions at any moment, he kept sneaking glances toward the door, for reasons unknown.
The other three Aurors, meanwhile, secretly observed Eda.
She wore the same school robes as all Hogwarts students, a rose-gold necklace hung at her neck, and on the ring finger of her left hand was a dim, lusterless ring.
Aside from her outstanding looks, there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about the girl. If one had to point something out, it would be her composure.
Anyone with eyes could see that Dumbledore had come to pick a fight. Caught between her own headmaster and a group of Aurors, the fact that this girl could still devote herself wholeheartedly to enjoying her chocolate was truly rare.
Even after hearing that the Minister of Magic would soon be coming to confront Dumbledore, Eda still ate with relish, instantly making the Aurors in the room look inferior.
Pick any one of these four Aurors at random, and he would be old enough to be Eda's uncle.
As expected of someone who had taken down three adult wizards in her second year—the four Aurors actually found themselves feeling a bit of admiration for Eda at this moment.
With achievements like hers, she would not be lacking even among the Aurors. If Eda wanted, the head of the Auror Office would immediately grant her special approval to become an Auror and would warmly welcome her into the big Auror family.
You couldn't blame the four of them for judging Eda by normal standards. After all, they didn't know that she was a girl who had met Grindelwald, a girl who had stood face to face with Voldemort. Nor did they know that her grandmother was one of Grindelwald's die-hard followers, and she had nearly killed the current head of the Rosier family..
For someone as well-traveled as Eda, if merely meeting a Minister of Magic made her so nervous she couldn't eat, she might as well use the chocolate in her hand to slit her wrists.
The room was very quiet. The four Aurors didn't dare speak, doing their best to play dead. Dumbledore didn't want to speak; there was no need for him to make things difficult for these men, and his anger was not something they could bear.
Eda didn't want to speak either—she was still thinking about why Dumbledore had brought her along.
People at Dumbledore's level had others watching and trying to interpret their intentions in everything they did. Even if Dumbledore were to fart in public, some would think that fart carried hidden meaning.
But this time, Eda's attempt to read Dumbledore's thoughts was different from those bootlickers, because the headmaster truly did have some deeper intention.
It was obvious that Dumbledore had come to confront Fudge head-on, yet he had deliberately brought along a "burden" like her. It would be strange if Dumbledore didn't have some special plan.
Eda certainly didn't believe Dumbledore had brought her just so she could "collect the body" after things were over.
Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, someone burst into the Auror contact point again. A black-haired man slammed the wooden door open with a loud bang.
That door had really suffered quite a lot today—poor thing.
The man looked very young, in his twenties, neither balding nor bearded. Panting, he said, "This is bad… this is bad. The Dementors… the Dementors have gone into the school…"
His voice grew softer and softer, barely louder than a mosquito, because he had seen Dumbledore sitting in front of the fireplace.
The Ministry of Magic had sent Aurors to Hogsmeade for two reasons: first, to assist the Dementors, and second, to reassure the village's shopkeepers.
With the wind howling and rain pouring outside today, the Aurors on duty had grown lax.
They figured nothing would happen in weather like this, and Black wouldn't choose such a day to appear in Hogsmeade, so they holed up in the contact point instead of going out.
Sirius Black hadn't made any moves, but the Dementors had. They set aside their duties and ran off to the school to attend a party. Compared with work, these ugly dark creatures clearly preferred feeding.
If Fudge hadn't allowed them to use the Dementor's Kiss on Black after capturing him, they probably wouldn't have been so enthusiastic. And compared to a fugitive, the fresh students at the school—who had not endured nearly as much torment—were obviously more attractive.
Walker finally understood why Dumbledore was angry.
His mouth suddenly felt dry, and he had no idea how to explain this to Dumbledore, nor how to explain it to Minister Fudge.
Walker opened his mouth, but no sound came out. In the end, he shut it helplessly.
He knew he was finished. As the person in charge today, the blame would ultimately fall entirely on him. The Minister would never carry the can.
The room fell silent again. Compared to the previous silence, this time there was an added air of unease. It wasn't just Walker—everyone else felt they wouldn't meet a good end either.
Even if the five of them hadn't neglected their duties, if a whole swarm of Dementors wanted to rush into the school, it wasn't something they could have stopped. The blame would still have landed on them.
Fortunately, they really had been slacking off today, so carrying the blame didn't feel quite as unjust.
No one knew how long passed. Just as Eda felt sleepiness rising, Cornelius Fudge finally arrived.
The Minister was dressed splendidly; in that outfit he looked even more like a politician. He ought to have been in the Palace of Westminster, not in this shabby wooden house in muddy Hogsmeade.
The Minister had not come alone. Behind him followed Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a man and a woman Eda did not recognize.
The man looked strong, with stiff hair cut very short, and carried a stern expression. The last woman made Eda frown the moment she saw her; that outfit in girlish pink was simply an assault on the eyes.
A pink hair clip, a pink bow, a pink ruffled skirt, and an extremely small pink handbag. Eda was sixteen this year, and even she wouldn't dare dress like that, yet this auntie in front of her dared to go out looking so delicate.
So ordinary, yet so confident—Eda truly had her eyes opened.
"Oh, Albus, what is it that has you in such a hurry? Is there news of Black?" Cornelius Fudge sounded very warm, as if being summoned to cold Scotland had not made him unhappy in the slightest.
But Fudge's enthusiasm met Dumbledore's cold shoulder. It might have been better not to mention Black; the moment his name was brought up, Dumbledore grew even angrier.
"Cornelius, do you know what happened today?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you know what those Dementors you trust so much have done?"
Fudge did not respond, nor did he make a sound.
Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, walked over to Walker. "What happened? What does Professor Dumbledore mean?"
"Director, the Dementors… they lost control. They broke into the school…" Walker stammered. His expression was miserable; he could already see himself packing his bags and being thrown out.
"Ahem, ahem." A sharp, affected girlish voice rang out abruptly in the room.
Eda touched her throat in confusion. She was certain that the girlish voice had nothing to do with her—but she was the only girl in the room!
The short, stout woman dressed in pink stepped forward. "Mr. Walker, what nonsense are you spouting? All Dementors are under the Ministry's management. They will not lose control, and they certainly would not rush into a school."
As she spoke, the woman looked toward Dumbledore. The implication seemed to be that Walker had said such slanderous things under Dumbledore's instruction, in order to smear the Ministry and the wise Minister.
Her appearance made Eda uncomfortable to look at. When she spoke, that broad, slack face of hers trembled along with the movements of her mouth.
Eda was not a shallow person who judged by appearances, but this Ministry official—who looked like a gas cylinder that had somehow come to life—really made it difficult to feel any goodwill.
"And you are?" Out of politeness, Eda decided to ask the name of this auntie who thought herself pink and delicate.
The woman replied arrogantly, "I am Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, you ill-mannered girl. Hogwarts' standards of education are truly declining; are the students all this rude now?"
Umbridge's remark, clearly meant to insult someone by innuendo, made the corner of Eda's mouth twitch.
In the spirit of courtesy returned for courtesy, Eda decided to let Umbridge know what real politeness was. Eda asked, "Pink is delicate—how old are you now? And has anyone ever told you that dressed like this, you look very much like a pink toad?"
"You rude little beast!" Umbridge flew into a rage and drew her wand. It matched her figure quite well—both were very short.
"Apparently not. But that's all right—you've heard it today." Eda didn't care in the slightest whether she was a Senior Undersecretary or not.
Umbridge grew even angrier. She gripped her wand tightly; if Cornelius Fudge hadn't been present, she would absolutely have given this ignorant little girl a thorough lesson.
"Professor, she insulted me just now, didn't she?" Eda turned her head to Dumbledore. "And from the looks of it, she even wants to attack me. So, Professor, may I teach her how to behave?"
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