Chapter 265: The Burrow and Shifting Dark Clouds
Dumbledore and Harry's proclamation of Voldemort's return dealt a massive blow to the Ministry of Magic's conservative forces.
In their fear, the Ministry chose the British government's usual approach with predictable steps.
Stage One: The Ministry declared that nothing had happened.
Stage Two: Perhaps something happened, but the Ministry shouldn't take action.
Stage Three: Maybe action should be taken, but the Ministry can't do anything.
Stage Four: Perhaps something could have been done back then, but now it's too late.
Clearly, the Ministry was still in Stage One.
Ministry employees from bottom to top conspired to conceal Voldemort's return, trying to whitewash the truth.
Dumbledore and Harry were therefore heavily attacked, called a crazy old man and a lying boy.
"Speaking of which, I quite like Rita's commentary article about me, even though she called me a conservative old fool."
Dumbledore handed Aiden previous newspapers with obvious amusement.
"Could you give me a moment? Didn't I tell you about my experiences?"
At this moment, Aiden's brain was still a mess with obvious confusion.
After all, not everyone could sit calmly in the headmaster's office discussing beetles with Dumbledore after battling a Deep Realm King in dreams for a thousand years.
"Very well, you should rest properly. I'll come find you in a few days," Dumbledore said, also sympathising with Aiden's difficulties.
Having Fawkes take Aiden away, Dumbledore turned to look at the Sorting Hat.
"Why are you looking at me? Even if he's not my creator, I can't reveal this without his consent. Besides, didn't the four founders leave you hints? Never tickle a sleeping dragon." The Sorting Hat huffed with obvious attitude.
Inside the headmaster's office, a book and quill also glowed, indicating the Sorting Hat was right.
"Sigh," Dumbledore let out a weary sigh.
The headmaster's office fell silent again.
Fawkes carried Aiden through space back to the Burrow.
"Oh, Aiden, you're back," Hearing his aunt's voice again, Aiden felt like he was in another lifetime.
"Good afternoon, Aunt, but I need to rest." After saying this, Aiden flickered back to his room and fell into deep sleep.
Aiden slept for a full week with exhausted rest.
During his slumber, Aiden felt someone tickling his nose. He suddenly opened his eyes.
"Ah!" A feminine scream came with obvious surprise.
"Ginny?" Aiden asked with obvious puzzlement.
"Mom, Aiden's awake!" Ginny said, running straight out.
Then came the sound of footsteps on stairs as Mrs. Weasley burst through the door.
"Merlin's beard, you're finally awake. We were about to transfer you to St. Mungo's," Mrs. Weasley said with obvious relief.
"Er, there was an accident," Aiden could only explain awkwardly.
"Never mind, as long as you're okay. After all, you Prewetts are like this."
Mrs. Weasley was actually getting used to it with obvious resignation.
This reaction from Mrs. Weasley made Aiden start reflecting on whether he was being too dramatic.
After a normal lunch, Aiden again felt how good it was to be home.
In the afternoon, Sirius sent Aiden a message, asking him to come to Grimmauld Place.
Aiden used Apparition to reach Grimmauld Place, where Sirius was already waiting outside.
"Aiden!" Sirius said, giving him a warm hug.
"What's wrong? Why the rush to bring me here?" Aiden wondered with curiosity.
"Come on, let's talk inside," Sirius said, looking around and quickly pulling Aiden into the ancestral home.
Entering the parlour, there were many familiar faces.
Lupin, Kingsley, Tonks, Moody, Snape...
"This is a Phoenix gathering?" Aiden asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Dumbledore arranged for me to summon Order members, so I called everyone," Sirius said with a shrug.
"Wait, I'm not an Order member!" Aiden said with a frown.
"????" came seven confused voices.
Then everyone looked at Snape.
"He didn't invite you? Then how did you... never mind." This time it was Snape's turn to frown.
"Anyway, you know about his business, and everyone here holds no secrets from you," Snape said, clenching his fists on the table.
"What do you mean?" Moody asked, looking at him.
"Our famous Ravenclaw genius has walked to the forefront of the world in matters of the mind, hasn't he?"
Though Snape's words were ornate, Aiden heard no praise in them.
"You flatter me," Aiden said politely.
"Enough, we're not here to discuss this today. We need some action regarding Voldemort," Sirius said, standing up to moderate the meeting.
"What's there to say? He's already gathering an army. I can sense it. Knockturn Alley has been suspiciously quiet lately, especially their so-called Queen," Moody said, pulling out his flask for a drink.
Snape frowned at him with obvious disapproval.
"What? This isn't Polyjuice Potion. Smell it if you don't believe me," Moody said, trying to shove the flask under Snape's nose.
"Enough," Snape said, pushing his hand away.
"Tell us about the Ministry. Your information is more current."
Aiden questioned Moody while covering the tension between him and Snape.
"Same old story. Lots of idiots in the Ministry think suppressing the news will solve everything. I think they just want to offer Voldemort a surrender gift."
Moody snorted disdainfully, putting his hand on his walking stick and using it to support his head.
"The problem now is we can't wake these pretending sleepers, can only watch their actions, and Dumbledore himself doesn't seem to want to directly confront the Ministry," Sirius said with obvious frustration.
"So what should we do?" Tonks asked, raising her hand.
"Escalate the problem," Aiden said, narrowing his eyes.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, becoming interested.
"As the wizarding world's only administrative body, where does the Ministry's support come from?"
Aiden leaned back in his chair, his legs slightly crossed, his good figure faintly visible under his clothing.
"Wizards, no, merchants! They're closely connected to other wizards' daily lives," Sirius said, quickly catching on.
"Yes, as controllers of merchant raw materials, what do we need to do?" Aiden asked, lightly tapping the table with his finger.
"Cut off? No! Claim to merchants that our raw material supply has been hijacked! Through subtle ways, let the message pass from merchants to ordinary wizards!" Sirius said, understanding Aiden's meaning.
Aiden nodded with satisfaction, pointing at Sirius with his finger to show the others.
"Tsk tsk, why aren't you two Slytherins?" Snape asked with obvious marvel.
"I have a good relationship with the old hat," Aiden said with a smile.
Having clarified their action plan, everyone began their respective tasks.
The alliance between the Black and Prewett families caused severe market fluctuations in the wizarding world in a short time.
Meanwhile, a strange rumour slowly spread with growing intensity.
Along with violent commodity fluctuations in the wizard market, other wizarding families entered seeking profit.
But Aiden and Sirius sniped them before they could enter, leaving these purebloods' hoarded goods worthless.
Multiple pureblood families' massive losses made some economy-focused wizards believe they'd been targeted by the Ministry.
This further confirmed the rumours' existence.
The entire wizarding world, amid these treacherous changes, approached September with growing unease.