"Boom——"
Dumbledore took off his glasses and wiped them.
"Boom——"
Dumbledore moved the Sorting Hat from the table to behind him.
"Boom——"
Dumbledore stepped back to avoid getting splattered with blood.
"Don't... that's enough, keep going and it'll really kill him."
Seeing that William wanted to continue, Dumbledore finally spoke to stop him, and upon hearing this, William nodded with apparent understanding. Then he sprinkled some Dittany on the corner of the desk, "Don't worry, this way he won't die—" He grabbed Fudge's head, smiled at him, eight shiny white teeth reflecting the light.
The whip soaked in iodine, beating and disinfecting simultaneously—
"Wait—"
Seeing this scene, Fudge's still somewhat sluggish brain was finally filled with fear. He shouted loudly, but his missing teeth made his speech unclear, only allowing him to beg indistinctly. William, however, showed no intention of stopping. On the contrary, seeing Fudge talk made his actions faster—
"Dumbledore! I'm the Minister—" Fudge hurriedly shouted. To be honest, even being able to utter such a long and difficult sentence in this situation was somewhat challenging for him. However, Dumbledore, under Fudge's terrified gaze, suddenly chuckled.
"Of course I know, Minister," Fudge heard Dumbledore say, "but I can't beat him."
"?"
Fudge raised his head, looking at William with terror and disbelief, and what responded to him was a mouthful of neat, shiny white teeth.
"Boom——"
"So damn troublesome——"
Throwing the thoroughly unconscious Fudge to the ground, William casually kicked him, then wiped the blood splattered on his hands, unable to suppress a sigh.
"You should think about how to clean up this mess—"
Dumbledore sighed as well, the elderly man rubbing the corners of his eyes, a fatigue that couldn't be concealed on his face—he was indeed a good person in the broad sense, but everyone has their own biases. If he were truly a saint, he wouldn't have let this person out.
Thinking this, the old man couldn't help but glance at the old man next to William, thumb raised in approval.
"Impressive!"
Grindelwald gave William a thumbs-up, all his words condensed into that one phrase, "What do you plan to do next?"
It's a problem of cleaning up the mess. Today, William beat up the Minister of Magic of the British Ministry of Magic in front of so many people, even in front of Aurors. No matter how you say it, it's hard to resolve this, right? Unless you cast a Forgetfulness Spell on everyone present...
But then the problem returns to the beginning. If everyone forgets this event... wouldn't it have been in vain?
A very realistic problem, Grindelwald directly voiced his thoughts, the old man smiling at William, seemingly waiting for his solution, but only saw a rather peculiar look, "Then just make sure this fat man can't forget, right?"
Saying this, William reached into his pocket and took out a small vial.
Inside was Swooping Evil Venom, which, when diluted in small doses, was enough to make someone forget a short period of time without any side effects. It was much easier to control than the Forgetfulness Spell—Newt had taught him how to use it. William glanced at Dumbledore, the old man nodding, apparently familiar with this method.
"But if you just let him keep his memory and release him, it doesn't feel deep enough..."
Grindelwald muttered, then he saw William's mouth curl into a sinister smile.
"Memorable? Isn't that simple?" he heard William say.
...
...
"... I will definitely do my job well!"
Walking out of the Headmaster's Office, Fudge suddenly felt as if it was a lifetime ago. He rubbed his somewhat sore head, but he didn't forget to shout with a trembling voice toward the not-fully-closed office door. His voice was respectful and polite, as if he was afraid of angering those inside.
There was no response, but the man visibly breathed a sigh of relief, then led Umbridge and the group of Aurors outside.
At this moment, everyone's eyes carried a hint of confusion. They looked at the ceiling as if it took a long time for them to realize where they were. Well, it seemed the Swooping Evil Venom did have some side effects, or perhaps that was the general side effect of "amnesia."
"Minister..."
Umbridge seemed to feel something was wrong. She kept rubbing her nose, which for some reason hurt so much it made her want to die, but... Moreover, before they came, they had agreed to take Sirius away, even if they couldn't, to ensure he couldn't continue living. But now...
While thinking, the pink toad turned to look back, feeling that something was off.
"Shut up!"
For some reason, Fudge now felt a chill every time he heard that cloyingly sweet voice.
"... We'll talk later," he muttered, speeding up his pace.
...
The perspective returned to the Headmaster's Office. At this point, there were not many people left in the room, besides the two main suspects of this incident, only William, Lupin, and a somewhat dazed Harry remained. Dumbledore had left early under the excuse of being "too tired."
This old man seemed really unwilling to meddle anymore.
He only told William to notify him if there was a plan, then he went back to his room.
"Good, you can start your family talk."
William leaned back in a high-backed chair, idly chatting with the Sorting Hat perched atop his head, then nudged a silent Harry with his chin.
The boy's memory hadn't been erased, so he probably remembered William's "violence" against Fudge. Otherwise, he wouldn't be staring in a daze at a foot of the desk where the Dittany had not been cleaned.
"..."
Lupin sighed, gently placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. He figured the boy was a bit confused by the series of developments. The previous plan was devised by Dumbledore, executed by him, but they all underestimated Fudge's determination...
Luckily, William acted quickly; otherwise, even he almost couldn't hold back.
Lupin also hadn't drunk the diluted Swooping Evil Venom water. The man looked at the shivering, plump silhouette kneeling at the center of the room, his expression extraordinarily complex.
"Why?"
He couldn't help but ask, and upon hearing his voice, Peter Pettigrew's voice involuntarily trembled.
"Remus..."
The latter lifted his face, a repulsive fawning expression on his chubby face, "I was scared! You-Know-Who captured me, he threatened me with... and my mother's life, I had no choice, Remus, I was afraid..."
"Afraid my ass—"
Sirius, now released by William, rubbed his wrists and kicked Peter Pettigrew in the face, unreserved fury in his eyes, "I still remember the expression on your face back then—you were excited! You were laughing! You were happy that you got James and Lily killed!!"
"Bastard!"
He kicked Peter's face with force, but the long-term poor nutrition had weakened his body, so after a dozen kicks, he was out of strength. He collapsed into a chair, tears unknowingly streaming down his face, gritting his teeth as he said, "I'll kill you! I will definitely kill you!!"
"No."
William's voice attracted the attention of the others. Seeing everyone looking his way, he continued, "At least not now. If you still want to clear your name, you need to find a way from this bastard, like make him confess." He looked at Sirius, and upon hearing this, the man exhaled a sigh of relief.
...whether reputation mattered or not.
But without giving Sirius a chance to voice his disagreement, he stood up, signaled for Kabuda to pack Peter Pettigrew back up, then hooked an arm around Lupin's shoulder, pulling him along as they walked out. "Alright, let them have a good talk. There's probably no one who knows Harry's parents better than Sirius—"
Everyone present actually knew Sirius was Harry's godfather, even Harry himself.
Lupin had told him many things during the Christmas holiday.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Walking out of the office, Lupin asked instinctively.
"Find a media outlet—this is explosive news; should fetch a good number of Galleons, right?"
William said as he unfolded the note Fudge had written for him, looking at the first name on the list—"Rita Skeeter."
"Besides, there's still some aftermath to take care of..."