The sun was still rising in the morning, and the people who had just woken up from their sleep were unaware of the series of major events that had happened last night. As usual, they were enjoying breakfast while reading the Daily Prophet delivered by the owl postman, and thus they were greeted with explosive news without any psychological preparation:
Scrimgeour resigns as Minister for Magic.
This jaw-dropping news appeared prominently on the headlines of the Daily Prophet.
No one knew why Scrimgeour resigned, but it was definitely not normal.
While the entire wizarding world was still in a daze, the news that Pius Thicknesse had taken over as the new minister spread quickly.
People gradually realized what had happened, but no one dared to step forward.
The coup was almost silent and did not cause any ripples.
Perhaps, it has something to do with the fact that Voldemort did not announce his usurpation of the throne, but instead hid behind the scenes and manipulated the Ministry of Magic.
This is a very wise approach.
Even though Voldemort was not sitting in the Minister's office, everyone assumed that he was the new Minister of Magic. As for Thicknesse, he was just a puppet used to handle daily affairs.
Another advantage of doing this is that it is not likely to provoke open resistance from the entire British wizarding community, let alone international disputes.
Of course, after Voldemort took control of the Ministry of Magic, he did more than just push his puppets to power. He also extended his hand to Hogwarts. Snape's appointment as the headmaster of Hogwarts was only a formal document away.
As for who killed Dumbledore, the blame was of course put on the famous Harry Potter. As the number one bad guy, his bounty was as high as 10,000 gold Galleons.
Of course, Harry was not alone. He was not the only one who was wanted for his life. Albert was also wanted for his life. Moreover, the reward was as high as 20,000 Galleons, which was beyond the reach of even the famous savior.
All those who died tragically in the Burrow were blamed on Albert. The words "notorious" and "murderous" were not enough to describe Albert's cruelty and violence.
However, the guests who attended Bill's wedding knew what had happened, but no one dared to speak up for Albert.
They backed down when it came to a matter of life and death.
However, the person involved did not think there was anything wrong with it. Instead, he looked at the wanted notice sandwiched in the newspaper with great interest.
"So, he gave me the title of a murderer, and the reward was only 20,000. That's too stingy!"
Albert, who was drinking afternoon tea, picked up the wanted list on the table and couldn't help but complain: "How much was the reward for the mysterious man back then?"
"I remember the highest was 10,000 before. Your 20,000 probably broke the record." Lee Jordan couldn't help but tease, "Why, you still want to turn yourself in to the Ministry of Magic and collect your own bounty in Galleons?"
"That's a good idea." Albert curled his lips and said, "If they are willing to pay, I don't mind dying once."
"Die once?"
Qiu Zhang, who was sitting next to Cedric, gave him a puzzled look.
"Use the compound potion." Shanna said without hesitation, "Disguise someone else as Albert and claim the reward directly under his name."
"The compound medicine will become ineffective after a long time and will be exposed."
"The biggest problem is that the British Ministry of Magic won't give him this amount of Galleons." Albert shrugged. "Otherwise, he could throw away his moral integrity and go collect his own bounty. After all, 20,000 Galleons is a lot of money."
"You're not short of money."
Everyone rolled their eyes at Albert. Although they didn't know what Albert was going to do, there must be something he could do when he said that.
"Who said I don't need money?" Albert put the teacup under his bounty order. "It also takes Galleons to maintain the normal operation of this place. Do you naively think that the things you use just appeared out of thin air?"
Everyone suddenly fell silent.
They were of no help in the matter.
There's nothing we can do about it. They just graduated and are a bunch of poor guys.
"It looks like we'll have more work to do in the future," Lee Jordan said suddenly.
"What job?"
"Robbing dark wizards." Lee Jordan said as a matter of course, "If we encounter them in the future, we should not only take their wands, but also empty their pockets if we have time."
A group of people actually discussed this matter seriously.
There's nothing we can do. Who told them they have no money
But it doesn’t matter, if they don’t have it, the enemy certainly does.
The originally serious atmosphere suddenly became weird.
"However, they are being too blatant now. Everyone must know that You-Know-Who has taken control of the Ministry of Magic." Angelina said doubtfully, "I don't think many people are fools, especially after reading about the new changes in the Ministry of Magic in the Prophet. Even Harry Potter has been put on the shelf, and so many Aurors witnessed Scrimgeour's death."
"Many people will actively hypnotize themselves and are unwilling to believe these so-called truths." Truman, who once worked in the Ministry of Magic, has a say better than most people here. "As long as their lives and property are not threatened, most Ministry of Magic employees don't really care who they work for. After all, everyone is just working for the Ministry of Magic, so it doesn't matter who is the Minister."
"As for the Aurors, it is obviously unlikely to expect them to risk their lives to tell the truth. You can't expect everyone to stand up to the You-Know-Who like Kingsley did."
“It’s unbelievable. Many people have experienced the last Wizarding War. How could they possibly think that the You-Know-Who…” Qiu Zhang really couldn’t understand.
"It's because many people have experienced the wizard war, so they know how to be fence-sitters to protect the lives and safety of themselves and their families." Kenneth said sarcastically: "After all, there is still Harry Potter, the savior, right?"
As someone who once worked in the gray area, Kenneth Toler knows these things better than most people.
In fact, if Albert had not shown extraordinary strength, and if he was not really good to his friends and was a worthy investment, Kenneth would not even sit here, but would start thinking of various ways to make money for himself.
"What should we do now?" Shanna asked, tilting her head.
"It's nothing. Just be patient. The Ministry of Magic will soon issue some unfriendly regulations." Albert suddenly asked Lee Jordan, "By the way, how is the situation of Mr. and Mrs. Weisley?"
"Not very good. They were tortured by the Cruciatus Curse and are very weak. Now they cannot go to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for treatment. In the end, it was Professor McGonagall who asked Madam Pomfrey for help in the treatment." Lee Jordan asked tentatively, "How about you go and see them too? I remember that you also have research in the field of treatment."
"Forget it. I'm just average at healing." Albert shook his head.
"The potion you gave me last time to slow down the Cruciatus Curse was very effective," Cedric reminded. He thought the Weasleys might also need that potion.
"I remember there should be another bottle in the medicine cabinet here. Fred and George must have taken it when they left."
"I think they might have forgotten in their haste," Lee Jordan said suddenly.
"Then let Dobby take it to them. I remember that the effect of that thing should be only average." Albert looked at Cedric. As someone who had used the potion before, he obviously had more say.
"It works," Cedric said.
After asking Dobby to deliver medicine to Wes and the twins, Albert talked about another purpose of coming here today.
"I plan to hold a meeting of the Defense Association this weekend to discuss recent events." Albert turned his head to Lee Jordan and said, "Also, I need our radio station to report on recent events."
"Everything?"
"People have the right to know the truth about everything, including the unforgivable crimes committed by the You-Know-Who and his minions, and the rescue of the Weisleys and others." Albert thought for a moment and continued, "We also have to remind Muggle wizards and alert them to changes in the situation. I believe it won't be long before the Ministry of Magic starts persecuting Muggle wizards, so we must warn them in advance so they are not caught off guard."
"Well, in the end, we need to open a new branch for other underage wizards to stay temporarily."
"Isn't it possible here?"
Cedric didn't understand why Albert would go to all that trouble.
"No, there are traces on underage wizards, and I don't want this place to be exposed." Albert tapped the table with his fingers, "We need to transform a safe house suitable for living for them to stay in. This will not only divert the attention of the Death Eaters, but also make them think that it is our headquarters. This requires everyone's help."