Compared with the warmth of Rose Manor, the atmosphere at No. 12 Grimmauld Place was a bit heavy and depressing.
After receiving the news that Harry had been attacked, Dumbledore hurried to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix to find out what had happened. He really couldn't understand why Harry was attacked by Dementors when there were people standing guard to protect him.
"Sirius, write a letter to Harry, asking him not to leave, and especially not to hand over his wand." Dumbledore made arrangements quickly, then turned to look at Mrs. Weasley, "Molly, ask Hermione and Ron to write a letter to Harry to calm him down. I've asked Minerva to go to Mrs. Figg to find out what's going on. If anyone is free later, let him take over Minerva's position."
"Also, who's on guard tonight?"
"It's me."
Mundungus shrank his neck and spoke weakly.
"Mundungus, what's going on?" Dumbledore walked quickly into the restaurant, staring at the guilty old man in front of him and asked, "Don't try to hide it."
"I… "
Mundungus stammered out the fact that he had taken time off to do big business, but he knew he couldn't hide it from Dumbledore.
"In other words, you left without permission before the shift change, and as a result, Dementors attacked Harry and his cousin?" Dumbledore's face became even gloomier.
"That's what Figg said. She saw it with her own eyes." Mundungus said, shrinking his neck. "I really didn't expect it to be like this."
"You really disappoint me. I remember Sirius gave you a subsidy." Dumbledore's eyes flashed with sharp light. He took out his wand, summoned parchment and quill out of thin air, and began to write a letter.
This incident affected Harry's cousin Dudley, and he had to write to Harry's Aunt Petunia to prevent them from kicking Harry out of the house.
After writing the letter, Dumbledore took out his wand again and cast a spell on the letter, turning it into a Howler. Even if the other party did not open it, they could ensure that they would know the contents of the letter and make Harry stay.
"I have to go to the Ministry of Magic and stop Fudge from expelling Harry."
Before Dumbledore left the hall, he handed the Howler to Mrs. Weasley and instructed, "Help me mail this letter as quickly as possible, and tell the owl to make sure it is delivered."
"OK."
Mrs. Weasley looked at the Howler in her hand, opened her mouth, and after giving some instructions to others, she hurried to the Diagon Alley Post Office to help Dumbledore mail the Howler.
There's nothing we can do about it, since all the owls at home are out sending letters to Harry.
"I was really scared. Dumbledore's expression just now was so terrible. I have never seen him so angry." Mundungus patted his chest with his hand, looking like he was still frightened.
"Mundungus, why was Harry attacked by Dementors?" Fred and George appeared from nowhere, holding Mundungus' arms on the left and right. Hermione, Ron and Ginny also walked over here one after another.
"How would I know, and even if I was there, it would be useless," Mundungus said irritably. He didn't expect that something bad would happen just after he left the group. Moreover, even if he was there, it would be useless. Mundungus couldn't summon a physical patronus at all, let alone drive away the Dementors.
"This is very strange." Hermione frowned and asked, "Apart from Azkaban, are there any other places with Dementors?"
"Probably not, at least not in Britain." Sirius shook his head and said, "No one likes those dangerous dark creatures. Most Dementors are concentrated in Azkaban by wizards to prevent them from wandering around and causing chaos."
"If that's the case, the only ones who would attack Harry would be the You-Know-Who and his..." Hermione was interrupted by George beside her before she could finish her words.
"The Ministry of Magic is also a possibility. I dare say Fudge would like to find an opportunity to expel Harry." Fred corrected, "Don't underestimate the politicians' subordinates. In order to achieve their goals, what would those guys not dare to do?"
"It's... unlikely." Hermione looked at Fred in surprise. It was hard to imagine that the Ministry of Magic would do such a thing.
"Don't have any illusions about the Ministry of Magic." George sneered, "Have you not yet seen the true nature of the Ministry of Magic? For the sake of their own power and interests, what can't those guys do?"
"Look what they did to discredit Dumbledore, just because he told the truth?"
"I think Fred and George are right," Ron agreed. "The Ministry of Magic has done a lot of terrible things recently. I wouldn't be surprised if they did this."
"Hermione, don't be so naive, or you will suffer a great loss sooner or later." Sirius kindly reminded her and looked at Mundungus, "Where were you at that time?"
"I'm going to do a big deal." Mundungus' voice gradually faded away, and when he met Sirius's gaze, he couldn't help but shrink his head.
There's nothing I can do. I feel guilty.
Mundungus took Sirius's Galleon subsidy.
Although it was only a few dozen Galleons, and was used as a subsidy to buy things for the Order of the Phoenix members who were on guard duty, it was actually enough as a reward for their help in standing guard.
In fact, every member of the Order of the Phoenix who served as a sentry for Harry received this money. Since dealing with Albert, Sirius has become more mature and better at using Galleons to serve himself.
Although everyone is contributing to a great cause, they cannot go hungry, and those Galleons are earned for free. The purpose of giving Galleons to everyone is to encourage them to help take care of Harry.
"I'm sorry, I promise... never again."
Mundungus reached into his pocket, seemed to be hesitating about something, but ultimately decided not to take out the purse from his pocket and return the subsidy to Sirius.
"Don't do it again." Sirius stared at Mundungus for a while, and suddenly showed a strange smile: "Also, your so-called big business is not worth mentioning at all. Look, I made tens of thousands of Galleons in a casual trip to Spain. This is a big business."
"Really?" Mundungus asked, his eyes wide.
"Otherwise, where do you think I'll get the Galleons to give you subsidies?" Sirius said calmly, "Complete your task. If there is a chance to make a fortune in the future, I will call you. At least it's more profitable than your so-called big business, right? How much do you make from a big business?"
"I'm sorry." Mundungus also heard that Sirius made a fortune by betting. "I will do my job well in the future. Don't forget me when you make big deals."
"It seems that you have solved the problem."
A voice came from the end of the corridor, and Sirius turned his head to see Kingsley walking towards them.
"I learned it from Anderson. Mundungus just wants some Galleons. I just gave him a chance to make a fortune." Sirius pointed this out directly. "When did you come here?"
"Just now, I have roughly figured out what is going on." Kingsley asked with a strange expression: "Are you really going to take him with you to get rich?"
"Who knows?" Sirius shrugged and said, "Maybe the opportunity will come in a few days, maybe we have to wait for a while, maybe he will fail to seize the opportunity like you did."
Speaking of this, Kingsley felt a little depressed.
No one would complain that the money was too little, but who would have known that Sirius would actually become rich.
"What's going on at the Ministry of Magic?" Sirius brought the topic back on track. "Did Dumbledore solve the problem?"
"No, Dumbledore failed to convince Fudge. As you can imagine, Fudge wanted to expel Harry, but he agreed to wait until Harry was tried before deciding whether to destroy the wand and let Hogwarts expel Harry." Kingsley's expression was a little gloomy when he talked about this. "Also, Fudge did not admit that there were Dementors outside the control of the Ministry of Magic, and he directly pointed out that no Dementors left Azkaban without the consent of the Ministry of Magic."
"This was most likely done by a member of the Ministry of Magic who holds a high position." George interrupted from nowhere, "If it was a Death Eater, they wouldn't have used such a method, at least not just sending two Dementors to attack Harry."
"Besides, I don't think Harry's cousin can survive." Fred added, "This seems more like something the Ministry of Magic did deliberately to give them an excuse to expel Harry."
"The Death Eaters' conspiracy is really not that good. Remember the last time in Spain..." Dedalus Digg took a bite of his sandwich and complained indistinctly.
"It was different in Spain. Given Albert's character, he would definitely not put himself in danger, so the Death Eaters had no time to make a careful plan."
Having been roommates with Albert for several years, Fred and George understood Albert's personality and style better than anyone else.
Do you really think Albert risked his life to participate in the International Wizarding Duel Tournament
No!
It turns out that Albert didn't need any help at all. He could fool the Death Eaters all by himself and easily deal with the dark wizards who tried to cause trouble. As for Peter Pettigrew and several other Death Eaters, they looked like gifts deliberately left for Sirius.
"Fred, George, what are you doing..." Mrs. Weasley didn't like the Weasley twins being involved in these things. Most of their family were members of the Order of the Phoenix.
"I'm just reminding them so they don't make the wrong choice." The twins looked at each other and said in unison.
"This matter is definitely related to the Ministry of Magic, perhaps Fudge, or someone around Fudge." George looked at Kingsley.
"Don't look at me like that." Kingsley said helplessly, "I spend most of my time protecting the Muggle Minister. Maybe you should ask Arthur. And why do you think so?"
"Albert always said that people who play politics are dirty, and they will do anything to achieve their goals." Fred reminded, "Don't you think it's very similar to what Fudge would do? Just like he did not hesitate to discredit Dumbledore, now he just changed his target."
"You have asked him." Mad-Eye Moody seemed to have thought of something and looked up at the Weasley brothers. "If this is true, the situation will be better. At least the advance guards who escort Harry will not encounter too much trouble."
"But why would they do that?" Kingsley thought the suggestion was absurd. "To get Harry expelled?"
"Just look at the information Snivellus has provided us." Sirius sneered, "If this is really Voldemort's conspiracy, then at the next Phoenix Order gathering, Snivellus will come with a long and smelly report to tell us that the Dementors that attacked Harry were Voldemort's conspiracy to get Harry expelled from the Ministry of Magic."
"If it wasn't Voldemort's conspiracy, then it must have been done by someone sent by the Ministry of Magic."
This statement was quickly recognized by everyone. Voldemort was undoubtedly the most suspicious person. If it was not Voldemort, the only suspect would naturally be the Ministry of Magic.
In the following time, in addition to discussing the attack, everyone was also listening to Mad-Eye Moody arranging Harry's transfer plan.
"The situation is not favorable to us now. Harry needs to appear in the Ministry of Magic for trial on August 12."
In the evening, Mr. Weasley, who finally got off work, brought back bad news to everyone, "Fudge really intends to use this opportunity to expel Harry."
"Look, if Fudge is thrown into Azkaban, he doesn't deserve sympathy at all. I suspect this is all his conspiracy. He just drove Dumbledore out of the Wizengamot and he couldn't wait to take action against Harry." Sirius said with a dark face and gritted teeth, "Let him continue to be arrogant for a while. When Fudge is driven out of power, I will definitely add insult to injury and make him stay in Azkaban prison for life."
"Don't worry, Sirius. Harry won't be expelled." Kingsley comforted him. "The Reasonable Restraint of Underage Wizards Act stipulates that magic can be used to save oneself when life is threatened, and we have evidence."
It was unclear whether Kingsley was speaking to Sirius or to someone else.
"No, Kingsley, the situation is not as good as you think. I haven't forgotten about Hagrid." Hermione said gloomily, "If the Ministry of Magic is determined to expel Harry, the so-called trial is useless. They just want to use this opportunity to humiliate Harry."
"What about Hagrid?" Everyone looked confused.
"Hagrid's Hippogriff was once sentenced to death by the Ministry of Magic," Ron explained for Hermione.
"How was this matter finally resolved?" Kingsley asked curiously.
"It seems that Albert let the Hippogriff go right under the noses of those executioners." Ron guessed, "Anyway, the Hippogriff disappeared."
"What did Albert say?" Hermione asked.
"He said that with Dumbledore around, Harry would be fine." George admitted that he had contacted Albert.
"I bet the Prophet will never mention the Dementor attack, or at least will keep it secret," Fred said suddenly.
"Because this matter can't stand up to investigation at all?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Yes, that's right." George seemed to see through everything and pointed out directly, "Some things cannot withstand investigation at all, but as long as they are not investigated, there is no problem. Maybe we should mention this matter on the radio and let everyone know that the Dementors are out of control. I think they have the right to know, rather than being treated as fools by the Ministry of Magic."
"You're right. This is a good and sensational topic. Since they are unwilling to report it, let us help him report it." Sirius agreed with the twins' suggestion, thought for a moment and said, "Before that, we need to protect Mrs. Figg to prevent her from being attacked in a despicable way. If Fudge really fires Harry, we can hide him in the headquarters, and we will settle the account with him after Fudge steps down next year."
Sirius had prepared for the worst. If Harry was unfortunately expelled, he would let him live in 12 Grimmauld Place temporarily.
However, the situation didn't seem too bad, and even Albert thought Harry would be fine.