"...Good morning, Minister."
"..."
"Minister?"
"...Hm?"
"You're blocking the way for other visitors, Minister."
"What... oh, fine."
Fudge hurriedly stepped out of the fireplace, the green flames rising behind him. The person emerging from the fireplace glared at Fudge's back, ready to reprimand the portly man occupying the Floo Network, but upon seeing his face, quickly composed their expression.
"Minister?"
"Morning."
Fudge mechanically replied with a good morning.
"Are you all right?"
"What is it?"
"I mean, are you all right? Your complexion..."
"Complexion?"
Fudge instinctively touched his cheek. The fat hadn't decreased, but as his thoughts gradually returned to normal, he guessed his complexion was far from pleasant. Indeed, the heavy dark circles almost made him look like a panda, and his slightly swollen white skin seemed closer to the dead...
But closer to death.
"Last night, some... cough, cough, handling official business. Quite busy."
Fudge briefly explained, how else could he say it? That he was frightened all night by Voldemort suddenly emerging from the grave? Moreover, yesterday's official business was indeed hectic; the attack on Malfoy Manor by Black Wizards wasn't a small matter. Because all attackers were killed on the spot, the aftermath required delicate handling...
For instance, Fudge had just opened his office door to see Lucius Malfoy sitting on the sofa drinking coffee.
"Good morning, Minister."
"...I now hope yesterday was just a dream."
Fudge groaned, squeezing his body and all his fat into the large office chair, throwing the dark green hat that clashed with his outfit onto the table. The man stared blankly ahead, his expression so calm it could only be described as looking death-like.
"If so, that dream was too real..."
Lucius sighed as well. You should know that he was the biggest victim of this incident—the Malfoy Manor was half demolished, and some severely damaged areas couldn't be fixed even by Repairing Charm. It was costly...
Although he wasn't short of money, who wouldn't feel the pain when taking it out of their pocket?
"Those... people in black, what are they after?"
Fudge pursed his lips, sat up straight again, grabbed the inspection report from his desk, and looked at the Auror's report. Honestly, aside from their race, nothing much was deduced about these people. Sometimes Fudge really wondered if he was being too harsh on the Auror Office.
Since Voldemort's overthrow, there haven't been many people joining the Aurors for years, and under Fudge's intentional suppression, the office has mostly new recruits now. Never mind the ability to solve cases; if they didn't destroy the scene, they were considered well-trained.
Head of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour, had repeatedly "spoken" to Fudge about this issue, but he always brushed it off.
After all, he couldn't give too much power to his greatest political rival—only this somewhat headache-inducing balance method was viable during safer times. But Fudge did clearly see yesterday, the Dark Lord...
Although he fainted when Lucius was tortured by Crucio, when he woke up...
At that time, Fudge thought it was the end of the world.
And given the scene, only a mere five Aurors arrived at the scene quickly, never mind dealing with Voldemort; they probably couldn't even handle the later batch of black wizards who appeared from nowhere. This incident forced Fudge to consider how to bolster the Auror security force without giving power to Scrimgeour...
At the very least, in such situations, the Aurors arriving on the scene shouldn't be too few, or if things go wrong, he might not survive.
Since Lucius mentioned that Voldemort had escaped, Fudge hadn't slept all night. Whenever he closed his eyes, he seemed to see that sinister face, and himself tormented to madness by Crucio.
Only after experiencing that time personally did Fudge fear this much.
Over a decade ago, at his peak, Voldemort could truly make children cry at night.
"I don't know."
Lucius shrugged with a helpless expression. William had briefed him on many things yesterday, but not the identities of those people. Lucius didn't bother fabricating a reason; no matter what the Aurors asked, he had only one answer: "I don't know."
As for William and Voldemort's existence, he directly concealed it, which changed the entire story.
Anyway, those Black Wizards are dead, so dead that even the Philosopher's Stone probably couldn't save them. Although the number of corpses struck down by the Killing Curse is indeed suspicious, Lucius insisted he was a victim, and his testimony matched Fudge's almost entirely. In the end, the Auror Office had to drop it.
As for Fudge... he truly knew nothing.
"So... that You-Know-Who, is it really him who returned?"
Hearing Fudge's question in a deliberately low voice, Lucius couldn't help but lower his voice as well. He glanced around and then nodded heavily. Just thinking about it made Lucius's sparse platinum blonde hair start to sweat a little—yesterday's Crucio was too familiar, so familiar that there was no way Lucius could be mistaken.
"Afterward, was it... him who saved us?"
As he asked, Fudge glanced down at his wrist, where the black sleeve hid the mark on his arm. He took a deep breath, his voice slightly trembling.
"Yes."
Lucius nodded again. He hadn't expected William to appear immediately after receiving his distress signal. When Voldemort saw through his lie and raised his wand, Lucius really felt utterly hopeless...
Thankfully, although William liked rescuing at the last moment, he managed to do so most of the time.
"The man's strength is formidable. He nearly killed You-Know-Who on the spot yesterday, but... he managed to escape."
Lucius sighed deeply, the worry on his face genuine. He was planning to leave Malfoy Manor with Narcissa and find a place where Voldemort could never find them. The Fidelius Charm was a good method, the problem lay with the secret keeper.
Lucius had already begun selecting candidates for the secret keeper.
Couldn't be as foolish as James back then, picking a rat who had long betrayed them and joined the Death Eaters as the secret keeper.
"...Don't even think about it, the Auror Office doesn't even have enough manpower to protect the Ministry of Magic."
Fudge naturally understood the implication in Lucius's words, which was merely to apply for Auror protection. After all, almost all of England's visible combat power was in the Auror Office.
"...Speaking of which, Minister, I recall there's still some funding shortage for the World Cup happening this August?"
In fact, there's no shortage, but if Lucius were to give more, then Fudge could pocket more, of course, such bribery even in private shouldn't be openly discussed. But hearing Lucius's suggestion, Fudge's shameless heart was moved.
"...The Ministry of Magic can provide you with a safe house, very close to the accommodation arranged for the Aurors, but... you might have to be neighbors with Mad-Eyed Moody."
"..."
Alastor Moody, though missing an eye and a leg, was still recognized as the best Auror in the entire Ministry of Magic. Ordinarily, living next to him should be the safest option, but... all of this rests on the condition that Moody remains unaware of Lucius's past as a Death Eater.
Rumor had it that after retiring, the old man's paranoia had worsened, and Lucius feared that once they became neighbors, the man might curse him behind his back.
"...I'll let Scrimgeour and Mad-Eyed Moody understand, but..."
Fudge hadn't finished speaking, but his meaning was clear enough. Lucius understood, and he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and nodded, "Very well, but I will need to make some modifications to the house—"
"That's up to you, as long as..."
As long as the money is in place.
"Bang—"
Fudge hadn't finished his sentence when the room's door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a short, plump figure in pink crashed in.
"Minister..."
Umbridge squeaked, her voice sickeningly sweet, causing Lucius, seated on the sofa, to feel a cold shiver and rub his arm, sensing goosebumps rising. The pink toad that burst into the room also glanced at Lucius before pursing her lips hesitantly.
"I'd better leave then, please trouble the Minister with the house—"
Recognizing that Umbridge was evidently unwilling to speak in his presence, Lucius naturally didn't embarrass himself by staying and instead turned and left the office, thoughtfully shutting the door behind him, leaving the nauseating toad alone with Fudge.
Who would've thought the Minister actually liked her kind.
Lucius sighed, received his wand from the Wizard at security, and stepped into the green flames of the fireplace with plans to find those few people he had in mind and sort out the secret keeper issue, otherwise...
Alas, killing You-Know-Who is truly difficult...
And just as the green flames surged up and the troubled Lucius vanished in the fire, William emerged from the flames of a fireplace across from him.
"...What's the matter with you?"
Noticing Sirius standing in the middle of the Ministry of Magic's hall, looking around, William asked curiously.
"Nothing, just... I think I just smelled something really unpleasant."
Sirius twitched his nose, frowning as he looked at his surroundings. Ultimately, after finding nothing, he fanned his nose and returned his gaze to William, "Alright, I suppose it's gone now. Let me see which way we should go..."
Saying this, the man looked around, slightly puzzled.