Chapter 324 Dumbledore's Response

The news in Hogwarts spread quickly.

On the day when the news about Crouch was reported in the Daily Prophet, a student asked Sherlock about the authenticity of the news and received a positive answer.

After Fudge's speech was published the next day, some wizard parents of some students received letters from the school, which mentioned that Sherlock admitted the authenticity of Crouch being kidnapped by Death Eaters sent by Voldemort.

But because of Fudge's speech and the rhythm of the Daily Prophet, such news was only circulated among a small number of students' parents. Even if it was spread to the outside world, it was not a big deal.

Although many people wondered why Voldemort would instruct him to kill Sherlock after taking his soul, instead of getting rid of Harry Potter, according to Crouch, Sherlock's reputation was not very big after all.

It was only in the newspapers for a few days when the basilisk threatened Hogwarts.

The only person who played an important role in this incident was Dumbledore.

On the third day after Crouch published the speech about Voldemort's return through the Daily Prophet, only a few people knew that Fudge of the Ministry of Magic privately used Floo powder to have a conversation with Dumbledore in Hogwarts.

But the result of this conversation was not very satisfactory to the Minister. It is said that he even broke his favorite teacup in the office that afternoon.

That is, on the evening of the same day, the Daily Prophet issued the second newspaper of the day in an emergency.

The serious matter did not even wait until the next morning.

The content of this temporary briefing was also very simple, with only one page, and a bold, oversized black font printed on it.

[Albus Dumbledore admitted the authenticity of Crouch's speech, saying: "The dark forces have never been far away from us."]

This report is an exclusive interview with Dumbledore by a reporter from the Daily Prophet. Through this, Dumbledore detailed the various anomalies of the Triwizard Tournament and implicitly mentioned that Sherlock was targeted by Voldemort because his mother had bravely assassinated Voldemort in his heyday.

Finally, it was confirmed that the Death Eaters led by Voldemort, who had previously imposed white terror on the British wizarding world, were gathering again.

The editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet, who was called to the minister's office by Fudge alone two days ago, had a crooked butt, but after getting a new position and attitude from Dumbledore, within two days, his butt began to tilt to the other side again.

Because anyone with a discerning eye could see that if only Crouch and Fudge had a disagreement on how to deal with Voldemort's return, Fudge would definitely have an absolute advantage.

But once Dumbledore publicly acknowledged Crouch in this matter, the situation would become completely one-sided.

Dumbledore's personal prestige plus Crouch's credibility as the director of the Ministry of Magic for nearly 20 years was simply not comparable to Fudge, a minister who had just completed the contraction of the Ministry of Magic's power.

The public opinion among wizards in the entire wizarding world also changed again on this day.

The British wizarding world began to panic, and some wizards even jointly requested to liquidate wizards with the Dark Mark tattooed on their arms, no matter what means they used to clear their names.

Fudge's personal reputation also suffered a great blow because of this incident. In the past few years of his tenure, he completed the recovery of power and replaced several important positions with his own people. Otherwise, it is estimated that someone would have proposed whether to change the minister in advance.

In Hogwarts, the attention of students was basically all attracted by this incident.

Through the interview with Dumbledore, they learned that Sherlock was actually a hero, and he had been attacked before the first project of the Triwizard Tournament.

At this time, someone finally remembered that Harry was selected as the fourth champion this year.

Recalling what he encountered in the second project, others finally believed that Harry's successful registration was not because of his own cheating, but it was very likely that someone was plotting against him.

It was in this environment that Sherlock came to the principal's office and wanted to ask him about his previous "plan".

Perhaps there was a special order, or perhaps it was because Sherlock came so often that he had become a familiar person in his eyes.

After seeing him, the stone monster guarding the entrance to the principal's office made way for him without asking Sherlock for a password, allowing him to go in.

When he reached the eighth floor through the spiral staircase and was about to knock on the door, he heard a faint voice coming from inside.

"…Is this what you want to see! Dumbledore! The entire wizarding world is in a panic, and the public's trust in the government has dropped to the lowest point! Many people even wrote to the Ministry, asking themselves whether they should choose to flee Britain now!"

Sherlock was not very familiar with this voice, but after a moment of careful recollection, he could already tell that it was Fudge's voice.

Dumbledore's voice naturally did not need to be identified by him, and even in the face of Fudge's questioning, his voice was still gentle.

"It is better to panic now than to unexpectedly discover the danger coming without any preparation later."

"Do you really believe the nonsense of that bastard Crouch! He has Alzheimer's disease and is imagining things all day long! Everyone knows that man died fourteen years ago!"

"You still dare not call his name, Cornelius, you are better than your predecessor in this respect. She is the most capable female minister I have ever seen. She never avoids the name of Voldemort..."

"I came to you this time not to discuss with you whether I can be better than anyone else!" Fudge's voice became sharp and high, "I want to know whether you want to announce it again in public! Crouch is a complete liar!"

Dumbledore's voice was very light, and Sherlock could imagine that he was shaking his head at this time.

"I'm sorry, Cornelius, I can't tell such a lie in public."

"Do you know what you are doing! Dumbledore! Do you know!"

"I think I know better than anyone else."

The conversation came to an abrupt end. Sherlock sighed lightly, and did not want to hide anything. He pushed the door and walked in directly.

Dumbledore sat there in deep thought, looking at the fire in the fireplace which had changed from pale green to orange-yellow.