The subsequent development of the Peeves expulsion incident was a bit unexpected. The Ministry of Magic's interference in Hogwarts was not as intense as expected. It could even be said that there was no interference at all, as if the Ministry of Magic had completely forgotten about Hogwarts.
Without the disgusting toad, Hogwarts has regained new life.
The formerly arrogant and domineering investigation team became the target of everyone's revenge after losing Umbridge's protection. It was said that they were found in the bathroom the next day.
Although the expulsion of Peeves turned into a farce, it still had an impact. During the Care of Magical Creatures class, everyone suddenly discovered that Hagrid was missing.
Many students believed that Hagrid's disappearance was related to Umbridge because a group of Aurors were lying at the school gate that day.
The whole thing was soon spread as the Ministry of Magic wanted to arrest Hagrid privately, but Hagrid beat them all down.
No matter what the outcome, it cannot change the fact that Hagrid is missing.
Harry and his two friends even went to look for Albert about this, but Albert dismissed them by saying, "Hagrid is hiding temporarily."
Albert knew where Hagrid was hiding, but he didn't intend to tell Harry and the others. It was useless anyway and they couldn't help.
During Umbridge's hospitalization, Professor McGonagall, as the deputy headmaster, could only help with the aftermath. She wrote a letter to invite Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank to temporarily take over the Care of Magical Creatures class.
The most talked about thing in the whole thing is the statue of Umbridge in the entrance hall. Many Hogwarts students will stop in front of the statue. Everyone is curious whether the statue of the toad will be placed here for people to appreciate. If so, new students in the future can learn about the great achievements of the "toad" headmaster through the statue.
Not long after, a student in the Care of Magical Creatures class accidentally discovered signs of wizard activity outside the Forbidden Forest.
Later, Professor Grubbly-Plank confirmed that the wizards were actually employees of the Ministry of Magic.
What were Ministry of Magic employees doing in the Forbidden Forest
Rumors began to spread in the school that there was a huge secret hidden in the Forbidden Forest, and many Aurors from the Ministry of Magic even went deep into the Forbidden Forest to search for that thing.
The news spread like wildfire, and soon everyone knew about it. It was even said that Dumbledore had hidden a secret weapon in the Forbidden Forest.
No one knows what is hidden, but they all believe that there is a big secret in the forbidden forest.
However, what disappointed Albert was that the Ministry of Magic did not seem to plan to go deep into the Forbidden Forest, let alone fight with the Acromantula, otherwise the Aurors would probably not let the students discover their whereabouts.
"Mr. Anderson, Professor McGonagall wants you to go to her office." A young girl hurried over to relay Professor McGonagall's message to Albert.
"What's the matter?" Albert asked in surprise.
"It seems that an official from the Ministry of Magic wants to see you." The girl said shyly.
"I see. Thank you." After thanking the little girl, Albert packed up his things and walked towards Professor McGonagall's office.
When he arrived at the corridor outside Professor McGonagall's office, Albert met a group of onlookers who were eavesdropping on the conversation in the office with the help of retractable ears.
Albert smiled and greeted them, then pushed the door and walked into Professor McGonagall's office. In addition to Professor McGonagall, there was a familiar stranger inside. Albert had seen him several times before, Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic.
"Mr. Anderson, Mr. Scrimgeour wants to see you." Professor McGonagall introduced the Ministry of Magic official to Albert.
Albert nodded to Professor McGonagall, drew out his wand and cast a jamming spell on the wooden door, then turned to look at Scrimgeour and asked, "What's the matter?"
"You'd be perfect to be an Auror." Scrimgeour forced a kind smile.
"Not interested. Tell me what you want from me." Albert didn't intend to beat around the bush, and Scrimgeour's smile was scary.
"They say you're a fortune teller." Scrimgeour looked Albert up and down.
Albert said "hmm" without comment, and asked directly: "What do you want to predict?"
"The whereabouts of the escaped Death Eaters." Scrimgeour stated his purpose.
"One thousand each. You will be given Galleons after the prediction is completed. And I won't refund the money." Albert stated his offer. The high divination fee made Professor McGonagall doubt her own ears. This was simply robbing money.
"I'll give you a thousand Galleons as a reward for information leading to the capture of the fugitive." Scrimgeour nodded in agreement. After all, providing clues and catching the criminal would also give him a thousand Galleons.
"No, I think you are mistaken. I am not providing you with clues of wanted criminals, but providing you with prediction services. One thing is another." Albert corrected, "Also, whether you will get the reward of 1,000 Galleons for providing the Ministry of Magic with clues to catch the fugitive is still a question mark. The Ministry of Magic refused to pay my reward last time, so don't mention the reward to me, it sounds disgusting. Now if you need me to make a prediction for you, please pay 1,200 Galleons first."
Scrimgeour raised his eyebrows slightly, but was not angry about it. He had heard about that incident, and if he were in her place, he probably would not have any good feelings towards the Ministry of Magic.
"It seems that we need to talk!" Scrimgeour turned his head to look at Professor McGonagall.
"I'm outside. Call me if you need anything." Professor McGonagall reminded with a frown.
"Don't worry," Albert said soothingly with a smile.
"Can you really predict the future?"
Scrimgeour asked curiously after Professor McGonagall left.
"If you don't believe it, then why did you come to me?" Albert asked.
"Everyone says you can predict the future, but some things are hard to believe until you see them with your own eyes." Scrimgeour made a gesture of invitation, motioning Albert to sit down and talk. He waved his wand and produced a cup of black tea for himself. It was not that he was stingy and did not prepare a drink for Albert, but he knew that Albert probably would not touch the drink he prepared.
"That's right. I can understand that there are very few wizards who can really peek into the future." Albert waved his wand, turned himself into a cup of milk tea, and sat down opposite Scrimgeour. "But you don't need to worry. I will predict first and then pay you. When you see the result of the prediction, you will naturally not have any doubts."
"It was you who sent me the radio, wasn't it? And the time of the Azkaban escape?"
Scrimgeour took a sip of black tea and looked at Albert sharply. "In fact, you knew I would take the initiative to find you, or you foresaw this day coming a long time ago."
Albert neither admitted nor denied it, but just drank his tea quietly.
That was enough for Scrimgeour, because sometimes silence meant acquiescence.
"Is the You-Know-Who really resurrected?" Scrimgeour suddenly asked.
"I thought you didn't believe it." Albert said meaningfully.
"Disbelief is sometimes an attitude." Scrimgeour said angrily: "Dumbledore directly announced this matter and made the wizarding world a mess. He should..."
"That's true," Albert looked at Scrimgeour and asked with a smile, "But will it be useful to discuss it?"
Scrimgeour did not answer. If discussion had really worked, it wouldn't have turned out like this.
"Dumbledore is different from you, so he is greater than most people." Albert sighed softly.
"Great?" Scrimgeour was clearly unimpressed.
"I don't think there's any need to beat around the bush. Just ask whatever you want to know. But..." Albert kindly reminded, "This consultation will cost money."
"I thought you had money." Scrimgeour raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not short of money, but some things are not meant to be free, and sometimes free things are more expensive," Albert said meaningfully.
Scrimgeour took a small bag of money out of his pocket and put it directly in front of Albert. He had asked Percy some questions about Albert before coming here, so he was well prepared. If he wanted to get the information he wanted, this money was unavoidable.
"Do you know where the mysterious man is hiding?"
"The Ministry of Magic intends to let me divine his hiding place?" Albert asked back.
"Yes," Scrimgeour nodded.
If he really became the Minister, it would be inevitable that he would increase his prestige by cracking down on dark wizards.
"I advise you not to." Albert shook his head.
"Why?" Scrimgeour asked, puzzled. "You can't find You-Know-Who."
"It's useless even if we know. The gap in strength is there. Even if the Ministry of Magic summons all the Aurors, they can't stop him." Albert guessed what Scrimgeour wanted to do.
"So, you know."
"It should be possible to predict, but some things can only be known after trying." Albert naturally knew where Voldemort was hiding, and he was indeed prepared to send the Aurors over there to take advantage of the situation, but not now.
"So, you can find it?"
Scrimgeour felt that the guy in front of him was more and more strange. He seemed to know a lot of things.
"Do you know how to kill him once and for all? I mean the mysterious man?"
"You have to ask Dumbledore about this. The one who knows the You-Know-Who best is always his enemy." Albert said calmly, "But I don't think Dumbledore will tell you."
"What did Dumbledore hide in the Forbidden Forest?" Scrimgeour continued to ask.
"Aren't you looking for it?" Albert asked back.
"Nothing." Scrimgeour shook his head.
"That's really a pity." There was no regret on Albert's face.
"you do not know."
"Fortune tellers are not omnipotent." Albert shrugged and said, "Besides, are you really interested in this matter?"
Scrimgeour fell silent again. He was indeed not interested in this matter, so the Aurors were actually "slacking off" and no one was looking seriously at all. Today was already the third day, and he planned to call it a day and go back to tell Fudge that there were too few clues and nothing was found.
"Who will be the next Minister?" Scrimgeour's eyes flashed with a strange light.
"You really want to be a minister?" Albert looked Scrimgeour up and down and shook his head. "That's not a good position."
Scrimgeour remembered a report he had read.
"Who?" Scrimgeour pushed the bag of Galleons in front of Albert.
"If Amelia Bones doesn't die, she will be the new minister. If she dies, you will be the new minister." Albert took the bag of Galleons and reminded: "Even if you become the new minister, you will not live long. Are you really ready?"
The office fell into silence again. Scrimgeour suddenly grinned and said, "That sounds like something a liar would say."
"If you really think so, there's nothing I can do about it." Albert shrugged and said, "I never expect to convince everyone."
Scrimgeour fell silent again. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Scrimgeour did not want to die. Percy told him that Anderson's predictions were particularly accurate, just as Albert had said that he would become an assistant to the Minister of Magic after graduation.
"If Amelia Bones hadn't died..."
"The probability of Amelia Bones' death is very high. I have reminded her of this, but she did not take it seriously. However, Amelia Bones is a nuisance to the You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters." Albert said softly, "Since she is a nuisance, just kick her away or make her disappear."
Scrimgeour fell into a brief silence again, then suddenly asked, "Have you predicted my ending? Or have you predicted the future?"
"I know what you're thinking." Albert interrupted softly, "The mysterious man has become more brutal and has actually attacked the top officials of the Ministry of Magic?"
Although there had been similar examples during the last wizarding war, they were rare, otherwise old Barty would have been killed by the Death Eaters long ago.
"In fact, you have been ignoring one thing." Albert put down his teacup and said with a smile: "In the face of absolute power, your little power is not worth mentioning at all."
"What do you mean?" Scrimgeour's face turned ugly.
"In the eyes of the You-Know-Who, the entire Ministry of Magic is nothing compared to Dumbledore." Albert said with a smile, "Don't be angry, I'm just stating the facts."
"What do you want to say?"
"The whole of Britain lives under the protection of Dumbledore, and you actually want to undermine this protection." Albert had an undisguised sneer on his face. "Once the British Ministry of Magic loses the protection of Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in the magic world, it will completely collapse within half a year at the latest. And I suspect your death is related to this incident."
"That's impossible!" Scrimgeour immediately shook his head in denial.
He was not a fool like Fudge. Even if he disliked Dumbledore, he would never make the relationship between them too awkward.
"Who knows? The future can be changed, but it takes a lot of effort to change it. If you really become the new minister, I think we will meet again." Albert said meaningfully: "If you are willing at that time, before that, you need to recognize the situation and your own strength first."
Scrimgeour fell into a brief silence again, because Albert's words seemed to foreshadow the final outcome.
Amelia Bones dies, and Scrimgeour becomes the new Minister.
For some reason, Scrimgeour just couldn't be happy.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was still in a very bad mood.
"Is there any solution?" he asked.
"I don't know." Albert said softly, "I'm looking forward to meeting you next time."
"What a... disgusting guy." Scrimgeour's mouth twitched slightly, and he stood up and left.