Outside the hospital room, Harry was still talking non-stop.
He was so full of passion that even after speaking for over half an hour, he still showed no sign of stopping.
But Link's mind had long since drifted elsewhere.
Harry was, in fact, a rather sensitive, irritable, stubborn, and even extreme boy.
All these traits had been shown countless times in his daily life.
Just like when he was with the Dursleys.
On the surface, Harry always looked obedient, but in reality, he would occasionally dig a few pits to prank his cousin or uncle, often with remarkable results.
After enrolling in Hogwarts, those bad traits of his had also gotten him into danger countless times, even when there had been much better and safer ways to handle things.
That was what Link found most unbearable when he used to read the books.
He had complained countless times that if Harry weren't the protagonist, he'd probably have died seven or eight times already.
And what best showed Harry's stubbornness and extremity, without a doubt, was his relationship with Snape.
In the original books, Snape had shown again and again how he protected Harry.
For example, in the third book, Snape had secretly followed and protected the trio during their nighttime adventure to the Shrieking Shack.
Or when facing Lupin, who had turned into a werewolf, even after losing his wand, Snape still instinctively shielded the three of them behind him.
Almost every professor at Hogwarts, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Flitwick… they had all repeatedly told Harry that Snape was someone he could trust.
By the middle and later parts of the story, even Hermione, who had also once held deep resentment toward Snape, noticed something strange about him and began to change her attitude.
But Harry?
He ignored all of it.
He stubbornly hated Snape, even to the point of letting his imagination run wild, inventing countless reasons to blame Snape for things he never did.
Still, despite all these flaws, Harry possessed one other quality strong enough to cover up all the rest.
That was, kindness.
This was, in fact, the result of Dumbledore's deliberate nurturing.
Dumbledore's philosophy and teaching system, perfected through his reflection on Voldemort's failure, had successfully turned a boy who could have become a terrible person into a kind one.
It was precisely because of this kindness that Harry was able to slowly emerge from hatred and extremism.
So much so that, by the end of the original story, he changed his view of Snape, reconciled with Draco, and even stopped hating the Dursleys.
Link knew exactly what was going through such a boy's heart right now.
His kindness made it impossible for him to ignore any emotions related to Voldemort's rebirth. Yet, his extreme and stubborn nature would only make his actions seem foolish and reckless.
Facing a boy like this, Link felt that he absolutely could not deal with him the way Snape did, by constantly mocking and despising him.
Nor could he act like Dumbledore, speaking from above, preaching in grand philosophical terms, and telling him not to be stupid.
Experience had already proven that both of those approaches only made Harry more extreme, achieving the exact opposite of what was intended.
Thinking this through, Link simply raised his hand and interrupted Harry's long-winded monologue about his views.
"Harry, actually, I've been thinking these past few days about how to deal with Voldemort's return, and I've come up with a few ideas."
"What are they?"
Harry asked eagerly. Hearing that, Link grinned and said, "A great man once said, the ultimate law of struggle is to unite the majority and strike at the minority. I completely agree with that."
"What we need to do now, to resist Voldemort, is naturally to unite everyone we possibly can. Of course, that's not an easy thing to do."
"People's fear of Voldemort has long been deeply rooted in their souls. Just hearing that he's back, their first instinct isn't to fight, it's to submit or run away. That's why, on this point, I need your help."
"Me? I can really help you? Something like this…"
Harry's face twisted into a tangled expression of both hope and self-doubt.
But without a doubt, his emotions had been stirred.
Link smiled even wider and went on, "Don't belittle yourself, Harry. You're the one who defeated Voldemort more than ten years ago."
"Even if we both know how strange the truth of that is, it doesn't change the fact that your legend cleared the clouds from countless hearts ruled by fear of him. To them, you are truly the Savior!"
"So what I need you to do now is, in the name of Harry the Savior, personally write an 8,000-word speech!"
"I'll ask some of my friends in the media to publish it in the Daily Prophet so more people can read it. I believe this will definitely help them regain their confidence!"
Link's stirring tone rose higher and higher, and by the end, Harry was trembling with excitement.
He clenched both fists tightly and said firmly to Link, "Don't worry, Link! I won't let you down!"
"Of course. I believe you can do it."
Link kept smiling, softly encouraging him.
Inside, he was practically bursting with joy.
Since Harry was now so eager to do something, anything, against Voldemort, he might as well let him do it.
At times like this, no matter how absurd the task, as long as it could be tied to resisting Voldemort, Harry would throw himself into it with full effort and devotion.
That 8,000-word speech would keep Harry busy until the end of summer, meaning he wouldn't have time to bother Link again for quite a while.
And most importantly, that speech would also serve Link's future plans.
According to his thinking, all it would take was a bit of editing by someone skilled, and when the time came, they could use it to rally a wave of righteous fighters to charge against Voldemort, delivering yet another blow to the Death Eaters.
The more he thought about it, the closer Link's smile got to the edge of losing control.
Meanwhile, Harry was so fired up that he didn't even realize how hard writing a proper speech would be. He just said goodbye to Link and hurried off to start working.
But he hadn't gotten far down the hallway when a burst of hurried footsteps and faint sounds of argument came from the far end.
"You absolutely shouldn't have brought it into the castle! If Dumbledore finds out..."
"What a pity, but I can't help it, Minerva..."
As the voices argued, two figures turned the corner and came into view before Link and Harry.
It was none other than Fudge and Professor McGonagall.
"Ah-ha! Link! My little hero!"
The moment Fudge saw Link by the hospital door, his previously impatient face bloomed into a beaming smile.
Laughing, he quickened his steps and called out, "I heard that not only did you win the Triwizard Tournament, but you also repelled the Dark Wizards who attacked! Splendid! I'm so proud of you!"
Hearing that, Link's expression changed sharply. But unlike Fudge's, Link's smile slowly faded until his face was completely blank.
"It's nothing. But you said the ones who attacked Hogwarts were Dark Wizards? I must correct you, those people were actually..."
"Oh, alright! This isn't the time to discuss that. By the way, is Dumbledore here?"
Fudge interrupted Link mid-sentence, clearly trying to steer the conversation away.
Just then, Professor McGonagall, heels clicking, finally caught up. Her lips pressed tightly together, she said coldly, "I told you he's not here! But that doesn't matter, I've already sent for him urgently. He should be here any minute now, and you'd better use that time to..."
Before McGonagall could finish, Dumbledore's voice arrived right on cue from the far end of the corridor.
"What's happened?" Dumbledore looked at Fudge, then at McGonagall, frowning sternly.
"Why are you here disturbing the patients? Minerva, I'm surprised at you. I told you to keep watch over Ludo Bagman. He's a key witness for us."
It would have been better if Dumbledore hadn't said that. The moment he did, McGonagall exploded, snapping sharply, "There's no need to guard him anymore, Dumbledore. The Minister has already taken care of that for us, permanently!"
As she spoke, McGonagall's cheeks flushed red with fury, her fists clenched, her whole body trembling in anger.
It was the first time Link had ever seen her so furious. Hearing the commotion, Harry, who had turned back, instinctively took two steps backward, he was genuinely terrified of McGonagall.
Following Dumbledore was Snape, who had only just seen Link earlier. Seeing McGonagall's agitation, he stepped forward to explain, "We told Minister Fudge that it was the Death Eaters who carried out the attack on the night of the Triwizard Tournament."
"Apparently, he then felt his personal safety was at risk and insisted on bringing a Dementor into the castle as a bodyguard. Then, he took the Dementor into Ludo Bagman's cell..."
"I told him you'd never agree to that, Dumbledore!" McGonagall burst out furiously, cutting Snape off. "I told him you'd never allow a Dementor to set foot in the castle again, but..."
"My dear lady!"
Fudge finally lost his temper too, stepping forward and shouting, "As Minister for Magic, I have every right to decide whether I want to bring bodyguards, and what kind of bodyguards they are! Especially when I'm here to meet someone who could be extremely dangerous!"
McGonagall had clearly suffered quite a bit of frustration from Fudge earlier. Now, she gave him no face at all, her voice rising like a child desperate to complain to a parent, "That thing, that thing had barely entered the office when it lunged at Bagman and... and..."
McGonagall was so furious that she could hardly find the words to describe what had happened.
But there was no need to.
From what she had already said, everyone there could piece it together.
That monster, the Dementor, had given Bagman the Kiss, sucking his soul out through his mouth, leaving him a living corpse.
Such a horrifying sight was beyond words to describe.
For a long moment, everyone present, except Link, who had never personally experienced a Dementor's terror, looked deeply grim.
At last, Fudge summoned his courage again, and said harshly, "From everything I've heard, he deserved it! He caused the disaster at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament! He shamed the Ministry of Magic!"
"He certainly committed grave mistakes. But he should have been judged by the Wizengamot! Yes, I had already planned for him to stand trial publicly before them, to personally confess what he did, and to reveal another terrible truth."
Dumbledore's gaze pierced into Fudge as he said coldly, "But now he's dead, executed by your private justice! He can no longer testify!"
"Private justice? I think I must remind you, I am the Minister for Magic, and also a member of the Wizengamot! The law gives me the authority to judge offenders myself! And you call that private justice? What exactly are you trying to say?" Fudge looked incredulous.
"Besides, Bagman was a madman! From what Minerva and Snape told me, you even believe everything he did was under the orders of that, you-know-who!"
"The one giving Bagman orders was indeed Voldemort and his followers, Cornelius," Dumbledore said tiredly, rubbing his temples.
"That's the other terrible truth I just mentioned. The attack on the night of the Triwizard Tournament was only one part of Voldemort's plan for his return. And now, that plan has succeeded. Voldemort has regained his body."
"He… he's back? That's impossible, don't joke about that, Dumbledore…"
As Fudge spoke, his body began to shake uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Dumbledore's expression grew even more weary. Patiently, he began explaining to Fudge what they had learned from questioning Bagman.
For some reason, Dumbledore deliberately omitted Obulus's name, only saying he was a merchant involved in smuggling between wizards and Muggles.
But that didn't really matter.
Because from Fudge's behavior since entering Hogwarts, and from what Link already knew of him, Link didn't believe Fudge would take this seriously or investigate Obulus at all. He probably wouldn't even believe Voldemort was truly back.
After all, what Fudge cared most about was stability.
That much was obvious from the fact that he had personally killed Bagman.
After so many days of investigation, could he really not know that the ones who attacked Hogwarts, and targeted Link and Harry, were very likely Death Eaters?
Of course he knew. But he couldn't let the public know.
Especially since a Ministry official had been acting as an inside man for the Death Eaters.
If that got out, society would fall into chaos, and his political career would be completely finished.
That's why he had rushed into Hogwarts to kill Bagman, because as long as Bagman was dead, he could reframe the whole incident as just another "Dark Wizard attack," something far easier for the public to accept.
Having understood this, Link no longer had any hope for Fudge. He crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and coldly watched the rest of the drama unfold between Fudge and Dumbledore.
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