r18novel Chapter 545 Argument
Chapter 545 Argument
Chapter 545 Argument
This wasn't Fudge's first time at Hogwarts. He had previously had a big argument with Dumbledore in his office over Barty Crouch, and the two parted on bad terms.
This time, the scene was even more tense than that day. As soon as Xilun reached the door of the principal's office, he heard faint arguing coming from behind the heavy stone wall.
When he read the command and stood on the spiral staircase, Fudge's suppressed shouts became clearer, and each one became more urgent than the last, as if they were about to burst through the wooden door at any moment.
Xilun stepped forward to knock on the door, but the door creaked open as soon as his hand touched the bronze door knocker.
There were many people inside, including Dumbledore and Fudge, as well as several professors and some people who looked like Aurors, probably brought by Fudge.
However, everyone in the room was focused on Dumbledore and Fudge in the center, and no one noticed that Sherren had already walked in.
"The Mysterious Man is back? Nonsense. Don't be ridiculous, Dumbledore—" Fudge breathed heavily, as if someone had hit him hard in the face. "Listen to me, you, you can't believe any of this, can you?"
"In fact, I saw it with my own eyes," Dumbledore said.
"Just a few days ago, Bellatrix Lestrange, who escaped from Azkaban, used Polyjuice Potion to capture Siren Ollivander. When I got the news and rushed there, I saw Voldemort with my own eyes. He had already returned with the help of his servants."
“Listen to me, Dumbledore, this is absurd,” Fudge said. “Dwarf could not have been resurrected. Ollivander must have been mistaken—think about it, he’s just a teenager. Dwarf could have killed him with a flick of his finger. How could it have taken so long?”
"So you mean I was wrong too?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"It's not impossible that—perhaps some mad Death Eater transformed into his likeness."
"And then you fought me for hours?" Dumbledore's voice rose slightly, but he remained calm. "Honestly, I don't think I'm so confused that I can't even tell the difference between a Transfiguration Charm and a Transfiguration Charm."
"Also, Cornelius, you should have already led the Aurors there, right? I believe that both you and Rufus Scrimgeour could see that the swamp was filled with an incredibly evil aura of dark magic."
Fudge blushed slightly, but then revealed a defiant and stubborn expression.
"Speaking of which," he said, looking at Dumbledore, "I found two bodies in that swamp, and they were both killed by the Killing Curse. You did it, didn't you?"
He seemed somewhat smug, as if he had caught someone red-handed.
"Oh, Dumbledore, according to the Wizarding Code, the use of the Unforgivable Curse is strictly forbidden. I can put you in Azkaban right now."
"You fool!" Professor McGonagall, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "How can you suspect that Dumbledore used the Killing Curse? Don't forget that even during the most turbulent decade or so ago, he never used any Unforgivable Curse on Death Eaters!"
"Perhaps our Minister has forgotten," Professor Sprout said, frowning. "Dumbledore has countless ways to kill those Death Eaters; he doesn't need to use the Killing Curse at all."
"Maybe that's what he thinks too!" Fudge shouted, his face turning purple. "It seems to me he's deliberately using this method to confuse the public and make everyone think he's innocent!"
Professor McGonagall stared at him in disbelief, her body swaying from shock, and she quickly grabbed Trelawney's arm.
Professor Sprout, who was usually kind, was also furious this time and stared coldly at Fudge.
"Why don't we ask the other party involved?"
At that moment, Umbridge said in her sickeningly sweet voice, "Perhaps Ollivander saw the whole thing about Headmaster Dumbledore using the Unforgivable Curse, and he's already here."
In an instant, all eyes in the room turned to Xilun, who was standing at the door. Even some of the portraits on the wall that had been pretending to be asleep opened their eyes slightly.
"Don't be afraid, child," Umbridge approached with a forced smile. "Tell us, was it Dumbledore who saved you?"
"Yes," Siren said, instinctively taking a small step back to distance himself from Umbridge once again.
Umbridge's fake smile visibly froze for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and continued, "So how did he save you? Did he kill those people?"
"No, I did it." Sirens shrugged. "I killed them with the Killing Curse, then fought Voldemort, and successfully waited for Headmaster Dumbledore to arrive. Then he had Fawkes the Phoenix send me away."
For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if even the sound of breathing had ceased in the principal's office.
Fudge's eye twitched; he was about to lose his composure. He felt like his intelligence was being rubbed into the ground.
A fifth-grade student is fighting with a mysterious person?
How did he come up with this? Even the madmen in the fifth level of St. Mungo's, whose minds have been clouded by magic, couldn't possibly spout such nonsense.
That's a mysterious person!
The two people who were killed were no small fry either. One of them was Rodolphus Lestrange, one of the most troublesome Death Eaters more than a decade ago. It took the Ministry of Magic more than a dozen Aurors to capture him.
So, he was killed so easily in Xiren? Doesn't that make the Aurors seem incredibly incompetent?
Even Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout fell silent. They looked at Siron, opened their mouths as if they wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a word.
"Dumbledore, so you're prepared to believe all this, are you?" Fudge turned to look at Dumbledore. "To believe the nonsense of a mentally unstable child?"
Dumbledore's eyes flickered.
If he were just an outsider, his thoughts would probably be the same as Professor McGonagall's—even if he were willing to believe in Siron, he would still harbor some doubts in his heart.
But he was not a bystander.
He had personally visited the swamp and seen the magical traces left around it, including the fully formed Fiendfire, all of which indicated that Siron was not lying.
Although Dumbledore couldn't understand how Siren had done it, he did indeed fight Voldemort back and forth for a long time.
But he knew very well that even if he was telling the truth, Fudge wouldn't believe him. Not to mention Fudge, even Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout might not believe him.
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