It was raining heavily outside. Albert held up the umbrella handed to him by Yin Zebel and walked into the rain-washed street.
Hogsmeade looked deserted under the rain, with no Valentine's Day atmosphere at all. Pedestrians on the street were hurrying to and fro, and there were hardly any students to be seen.
Albert paused for a moment in front of the Death Eater wanted poster. The reward price on the wanted poster was the same as that on Sirius's previous wanted poster. If anyone could provide clues leading to the capture of the fugitive, they would also receive a reward of one thousand Galleons.
But how credible is this wanted warrant
The Ministry of Magic's credibility is terribly low right now.
However, it seems to be a good idea to expose Voldemort's lair and ask the people from the Ministry of Magic to help with the minefield.
The cold raindrops hit the umbrella and splashed on Albert's boots. He didn't stop and walked towards the Three Broomsticks Bar with a clatter.
Because it was raining outside, the Three Broomsticks was more lively than usual. When Albert swept his eyes across the bar, he saw Lee Jordan waving at him.
"You came much faster than I expected!" Lee Jordan moved aside to make room for Albert to sit down.
"What were you talking about?" Albert asked straight to the point.
"That's basically it." Lee Jordan looked at the reporter in front of him, signaling that they could ask any questions directly.
“Ahem!”
Rita Skeeter coughed lightly and put down the parchment in her hand.
"Just say it directly." Albert didn't intend to beat around the bush, that would be boring.
"You can't expect me to write for free. You have to at least pay me this price." Rita Skeeter spread her hands towards Albert. She knew that this guy in front of her was not short of money at all. "Also, this thing can't use my signature."
"You're actually afraid too. I thought you weren't afraid of these things. After all, you've caused a lot of trouble for the Ministry of Magic in the past." Albert looked at the no longer glamorous Rita Skeeter and chuckled. He turned his head to look at Luna and asked, "It should be okay without a signature, right?"
"No problem." Luna fiddled with the small paper umbrella on the cup, humming Weiss is our king. "However, many people are willing to submit articles to The Quibbler just to have their articles published in the magazine."
"This is the only price I can give you." Albert held up two fingers: "I can give you half of the reward first."
As he spoke, Lee Jordan pulled a small bag of Galleons from his pocket and placed it in front of Rita Skeeter.
"Honestly, there is no market for this kind of article, and it's published in The Quibbler. Do you think people will take it seriously? I think you know it better than anyone else." Rita Skeeter actually didn't want to get involved in anything related to the mysterious man. Even without using her brain, she knew that this was a very dangerous thing.
"Or are you planning to publish it in..." Rita Skeeter was interrupted before she could finish her words.
"This is not your concern." Albert took a sip of butterbeer slowly.
The main focus was of course on The Quibbler, and Defence Bulletin was used to attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic. Otherwise, if there was no one to take the blame after this amazing article was published, even The Quibbler would have been doomed.
"Okay, deal. They're so unlucky." Rita muttered, picked up the purse and stuffed it into her purse. She knew that if she didn't agree, her memory would most likely be wiped out.
"Tell me your ideas." Albert made a gesture of invitation.
Rita Skeeter took out her notebook and told Albert about her writing ideas. She started from the Triwizard Tournament last year and narrated the whole thing, adding part of Harry's report and Fudge's report, as well as Umbridge's actions at Hogwarts, and linked it to the Azkaban prison break.
And, of course, there are Albert's predictions for the future.
With Rita Skeeter's ability, it was not difficult to put together an article. She had done this often before, and now she could write it in even more detail.
"You missed one thing, the incident in Spain last summer." Albert reminded, "At that time, Fudge insisted that Goyle, Crabbe and others were not Death Eaters."
For some reason, after Rita Skeeter's careful analysis, he felt that Fudge might really be connected to the Death Eaters.
"You don't need to confirm something directly, but use an analytical and speculative tone, put the evidence in front of everyone, and let everyone make their own judgment." Albert added what Rita Skeeter missed.
He knew very well that people might not necessarily believe what others said, but they would most likely firmly believe in what they saw, analyzed, and determined.
"I dare say that if this article were to be sent out, the entire Ministry of Magic would explode." Rita Skeeter asked in a low voice, "Do you have a grudge against Fudge?"
"Aren't you very clear? Fudge has caused me some trouble before. You can think of this as a small counterattack from me. Of course, these don't need to be written on it." Albert took a sip of butterbeer and said indifferently.
"Are you sure it's just a little?"
Rita Skeeter suspected that if the article had been published, Fudge might have been ousted this summer.
Rita Skeeter had naturally heard the prediction that Fudge would soon step down.
Well, I wonder how she would feel if she knew that the culprit of the prophecy was sitting right in front of her.
The two chatted for about half an hour, and after they had thoroughly perfected the structure and content of the article, Rita Skeeter stood up and prepared to leave. Before leaving, she reminded him, "Absolutely, absolutely, you cannot use my name to be famous."
There was no other way. She was also worried that Albert would dig a hole for her, and then she would be really finished. Just look at the unfortunate Fudge and you will know that such a black-hearted guy really should not be messed with.
After Rita Skeeter left, Albert turned his attention to Luna.
"How are you preparing now?"
"What?" Luna was a little confused. Obviously, she didn't understand what Albert meant for a moment.
"It's about the Wizard Card Club," Albert explained.
"Not bad." Luna said suddenly.
"Time is running out. We will graduate at the end of June this year, and you will have to rely on yourself then. If you feel that you cannot inherit the Wizarding Club, I will have to temporarily hand it over to Hermione Granger." Albert then looked at Lee Jordan and said, "You have to hurry up. I have a feeling that Fred and George will leave Hogwarts early, and the time may not be far away."
"Are they really planning to drop out of school early?" Lee Jordan muttered, "They only have a few months left before graduation. Damn, this is really enviable."
"Didn't you expect this?" Albert looked at Luna again and said, "Do you have any other questions? If you do, you can ask now and we will answer them for you. If not, I will leave first."
"Well..." Luna took out a notebook from her pocket and said, "I have a few questions."
…
After Valentine's Day, Albert's mood was obviously much better. It might be because he had just spent Valentine's Day with Inzebel, or it might be because the Felicia Ricci potion he had been waiting for half a year was finally ready, or maybe it was because the predicted future did not deviate too much. Fred and George still left on their broomsticks, and Dumbledore was also driven away from the position of Hogwarts headmaster.
The known future may be boring, but at least it is safe, traceable, and controllable.
Before the mysterious man was defeated by Harry Potter, it was definitely not a good choice to completely deviate the plot and let the situation completely slip out of Albert's control.
Albert never thought of becoming a savior, nor did he like being a savior, and he didn't want to come out to clean up the mess. If possible, he didn't want to fight Voldemort desperately, even if he could defeat Voldemort in the end and gain a lot of experience, it would be a losing business.
In the past, there was really no other way. If you didn’t work hard, you would just be a loser. What’s more, the cheats are right in front of you. If you work harder, you will be a winner in life. Why not give it a try
It's different now. He has money, a family, a job, a wife, and a successful career. He is definitely a winner in life. Why should he take such a huge risk to fight a big evil like Voldemort? Even if he wins, he will still lose money.
For this, Albert admired Dumbledore from the bottom of his heart, although they occasionally disagreed on certain things.
Shortly after Valentine's Day, Hermione came to see him several times, but each time she seemed hesitant to talk.
She had obviously noticed the problem with the prophecy.
In fact, anyone with a little bit of brains and who believes in prophecies can find the answer from them, and Hermione is undoubtedly one of the best.
"Dumbledore may die in the near future."
Looking at the three saviors who finally came to ask him questions, Albert calmly stated this cruel fact.
"Who did it?" Harry was silent for a moment, and asked in a trembling voice. He really couldn't accept such an answer.
"I saw the Dark Mark," Albert said calmly.
"How is this possible!" Ron was obviously unwilling to believe this cruel fact.
"This matter is definitely different from what we thought. I don't believe that Dumbledore would die at the hands of the Death Eaters. Even the You-Know-Who couldn't do anything to Dumbledore." Hermione analyzed calmly, "There may be something that we don't know about."
"Don't worry. The future is only the future. It has not happened yet. It is only predicted and can be forcibly reversed." Albert spoke to calm the three people. "I have already told Dumbledore the result of the prophecy. I think if Dumbledore does not want to die, he will definitely find a way to avoid the fatal dangers that may appear in the future and reverse his own destiny. So, you don't need to worry about it."
"Is this really possible?" Hermione asked in surprise. Not only her, but also Harry and Ron, who were stunned by the news of Dumbledore's death, were a little dumbfounded.
"Why would I lie to you?" Albert asked back.
"But… "
"As one of the most powerful wizards in the world, Dumbledore is fully capable of avoiding danger and changing his future as long as he is willing and knows the danger in advance." Albert explained, "Even a time converter may still be able to change the future to a certain extent after paying a huge price, not to mention something more uncertain like divination."
"But your predictions are always accurate," Ron stammered.
"That's because I never interfere on purpose, and those things are not worth my time." Albert guessed what they were thinking.
"Can the time turner really do that?" Hermione was also confused because this was different from what she had learned.
"Yes, but there are risks." Albert said to Hermione, "Professor McGonagall said that because she doesn't want anyone to do it. Most people will only make things worse, and..."
"Let me give you an example. Potter killed Wesley in a duel. Then, Hermione, you went back in time and used a Stunning Spell to attack Potter and Wesley, making them unconscious and successfully preventing the duel. In the future, it might turn out that someone attacked Harry and Wesley instead of Potter killing Wesley in a duel, and you are the only one who knows about this."
"Can't you just change your name?" Harry couldn't help but complain, but he also couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. To be honest, he was scared when he learned that Dumbledore might die in the future.
However, when he heard Albert say that Dumbledore also knew about this and had a way to change the future, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The future has not yet happened.
It can be changed.
In fact, Albert was also very curious. If Dumbledore hadn't died, where would the future lead
In fact, he didn't really want Dumbledore to die like this. After all, if the sky fell, there would be tall people to hold it up, so he wouldn't have to do it himself.
Unfortunately, even though he comforted Harry and the other two in that way, who knows what will happen in the future
"By the way, there is one more thing. I still don't understand what Umbridge wants to do?" After putting aside Dumbledore's matter, Harry asked the previous question again.
"What does Umbridge want to do?" Albert repeated.
"Yes, what does she want to do?" Harry continued.
"Expel you, get rid of Dumbledore, and become the new headmaster of Hogwarts."
"But what excuse is she going to use? The Defense Association?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"You must remember that they are the ones who make the rules. Whatever they say is what it is. If they say you are violating the laws of the Ministry of Magic, then you are violating the laws of the Ministry of Magic. You must understand that within the rules they set, you will never be their opponent."
The three of them opened their mouths slightly. Albert’s words had a great impact on them. Was it really like this
"Your opponent has never been a rule-abiding person, otherwise Umbridge and Fudge would not have come up with a bunch of educational orders to try to deprive Dumbledore of his rights. As the makers of the law, they are always high above and use these frameworks to restrain and restrict others. Perhaps the law's original intention has a good side. When the judiciary is corrupted and used to do evil, the harm caused is greater than anything else."
Albert looked at the three silent people and continued, "In the Muggle world, the collapse of a country usually starts with the corruption of the law and justice system. Other aspects will soon be infected and become a mess."
"Even if I don't say it, you can see their harm. When a government faces a credibility crisis, it is not far from being ruined, and the Ministry of Magic has already encountered such a problem. That's why I said that Fudge's successor is an unlucky guy, because he has no way to clean up the mess. Even Dumbledore can't solve the problem."