FicFrenzy
patreon
0681 The Confrontation
🕑 Added 2025-04-10 09:40:04 +0000 UTCIt was obvious that the Ministry of Magic had a network of patrols and well-placed informants strategically stationed throughout Hogsmeade. Otherwise, there could be no other explanation for how they had managed to receive the news about the incident and react with such unusual swiftness. These politicians, expert at the political chess game also recognized both the extraordinary sensitivity and the seriousness of this matter.
Hogwarts under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore and Bryan Watson, had essentially evolved into another special political entity within the British Wizarding World. In the past, when Dumbledore supported the façade alone, due to his 'weak' personality, the Ministry of Magic did not need to rush to Hogwarts to handle such matters like startled birds.
In those simpler times, Ministry officials could remain leisurely in their comfortable offices safely distanced from any immediate crisis. They could afford to wait with patience for Hogwarts to formally request their assistance and cooperation in whatever investigation might be necessary. This approach always gave them both the upper hand and the initiative in subsequent negotiations.
However, Bryan Watson's personality and approach to politics was in complete contrast to Dumbledore's more restrained diplomatic style. If the Ministry of Magic choose to stay out of this matter, and attempt to clearly shirk their responsibility, Bryan Watson would surely never let it go.
Perhaps the most significant issue was that the Ministry simply did not dare to adopt too forceful or confrontational stance towards Bryan Watson.
This was not only from Watson's own power, which made it practically impossible for the Ministry to effectively sanction him through conventional force or legal maneuvering, but more importantly, over recent years, the Ministry had left far too many political "handles" and potential scandals in Watson's hands.
If he chose to make them public, the current high-ranking officials in charge of the Ministry would undoubtedly be driven out of office by the enraged wizarding public without exception.
After returning to his desk, Dumbledore interlaced his slender fingers and rested his chin on them. His blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles gazed at Hermione's sleeping face, showing no signs of joy or anger.
Bryan, on the other hand, leaned on the sofa. He was also looking at Hermione, with a raging fury deeply concealed in the depths of his eyes.
Bang--
The anticipated delegation from the Ministry arrived very punctually.
As the minute hand on the wall clock moved four spaces with soft mechanical clicks, the steadily burning orange-red flames in Dumbledore's fireplace turned green. From the green flames, Cornelius Fudge and his secretary, along with Amelia, who had been specially summoned to appease the potentially angered Bryan Watson, appeared simultaneously in Dumbledore's office.
"She's alive, isn't she! Thank Merlin!" Fudge shouted with dramatical concern immediately upon fully appearing in the office.
He didn't even glance at Dumbledore or Bryan by the bedside. Removing his dark green bowler hat, he forcefully tugged at his bright red tie and rushed to the other side of Hermione's bed in a few steps.
"Look, Dolores, I can see her breathing! She's definitely alive!" Fudge exclaimed with exaggerated relief as he bent over Hermione's body, and scrutinized her for signs of life. Then, noticing with relief the faint rise and fall of her chest, he immediately straightened and turned his head toward Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic.
Umbridge stood slightly apart from the others, her unnaturally rigid posture showed her discomfort. Her face was unnaturally pale, almost chalk-white compared to the pink of her suit, and she was visibly struggling to transform her toad-like facial features into what presumably was intended to be a sympathetic smile but manifested more as a grimace.
The effect was absolutely unsettling. Her short, unnaturally perfect curly hair was decorated with a ridiculous oversized black velvet bow that seemed wildly inappropriate for a woman of her age and position, creating an overall impression that was both childish and vaguely sinister.
"That's wonderful! Simply wonderful!" Fudge exclaimed with relief. "I thought—oh, I must admit quite honestly—the initial report I received absolutely terrified me. Merlin's beard, if something catastrophic were to happen to Hermione Granger, how on earth would I possibly begin to explain such a tragedy to the wizarding public?
She's become something of a national treasure, hasn't she? After her spectacular performance during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, she practically became their darling overnight!"
Fudge straightened his back, his round face suddenly lit with what appeared to be genuine joy. Finally, after this extended performance, he deliberately shifted his gaze to meet Bryan Watson's, clearly expecting some acknowledgment or perhaps gratitude for his apparent concern.
However, Bryan did not respond to Fudge's transparent attempt at connection. He continued to stare expressionlessly at the sleeping Hermione, his face giving no indication that he had even registered the Minister's presence.
Fudge's chin quivered slightly at this blatant denial, a momentary crack appeared in his political facade. With poorly concealed discomfort, he turned his head towards Dumbledore, his expression showing something akin to helplessness.
Yet, contrary to his obvious expectations of finding an ally in the typically diplomatic headmaster, he did not receive the anticipated warm reception from Dumbledore either.
Although Dumbledore did meet his gaze directly—unlike Bryan's complete dismissal—he too had an unusually cold expression. Those blue eyes seemed to effortlessly pierce through Fudge's carefully constructed political mask, laying bare his inner thoughts and calculations the very instant their gazes made contact.
The effect was immediate. Fudge's already pale complexion reddened at an alarmingly rapid rate, spreading from his neck upward like a rising tide of embarrassment.
Beads of nervous sweat formed across his forehead and began falling one after another, some catching in his eyebrows while others went down his increasingly flushed cheeks. He tugged at his collar as though it had suddenly tightened around his neck.
The atmosphere in the headmaster's office had grown oppressively heavy. Bryan and Dumbledore seemed to radiate authority like twin suns, their combined presence radiating a force that appeared to physically suffocate Cornelius Fudge, who shifted repeatedly from one foot to the other.
"Dumbledore," Fudge finally managed to say with difficulty, his voice came as strained and unnaturally high.
His face had taken on a truly terrible appearance, spotted with patches of red and white, showing his inner turmoil. Since the downfall of Voldemort and throughout his entire tenure as Minister for Magic, this was the first time on which Dumbledore had treated him with such obvious coldness.
Meanwhile, Dolores Umbridge remained unusually quiet, her bulging eyes were darting nervously between the present wizards. She needed to be more cautious of Bryan Watson.
These Ministry officials had developed, over years of political maneuvering, a reasonably effective set of strategies and approaches for dealing with Albus Dumbledore. They understood his triggers, his priorities, and most importantly, his lines that should not be crossed.
But Bryan Watson's meteoric rise to prominence had been too rapid, too unexpected for them to develop similar protocols. The Ministry had not yet fully adapted to the imposing presence and unpredictable nature of this formidable wizard who now stood undisputedly 'at the peak of his power' not just in Britain but throughout the European Wizarding World.
"I've already reassured you, Minister Fudge, there's absolutely no need for such excessive concern—" Dolores interjected with a carefully constructed smile of feigned delight.
She took quick, short steps to Cornelius' side, gazing at Hermione with a concerned expression, but her eyes were filled with indifference. The corners of those same eyes, however, were sneakily observing Bryan Watson's reactions, obviously quite wary of provoking any response from him.
"Hogwarts has both Dumbledore and Watson at its disposal. They will undoubtedly make up for this terrible oversight in security protocols. Miss Granger will surely be returned to perfect health in no time at all!"
'terrible oversight?'
The corners of Bryan's mouth tilted, finally focusing his gaze on Dolores Umbridge, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery.
"Bryan--" Amelia was well aware that Fudge had his own objectives in bringing her along. Only she could slightly ease the current escalating standoff.
Sighing inwardly, Amelia first greeted Dumbledore with a nod, then turned her gaze to Bryan. It lingered briefly on Hermione with a trace of sympathy.
"We received an urgent report that a young witch was viciously attacked by what appeared to be sophisticated Dark Magic while visiting Hogsmeade. What exactly happened? The preliminary report was very vague and made no mention whatsoever of the presence or detection of any known Dark wizards in the vicinity at the time of the incident."
"Miss Granger received what appeared to be an ordinary package from the Hogsmeade post office—" Bryan finally broke his silence. However, he positioned his body to face Fudge directly as he spoke.
Both, he and Dumbledore had already given Fudge a warning. If they didn't give the Minister for Magic some face, although Fudge couldn't do anything to them, Amelia's position in the Ministry would definitely become difficult.
The matter wasn't particularly complicated. In just two minutes, Bryan had already explained it clearly.
The three representatives from the Ministry had obviously not anticipated the situation to unfold as it had.
They had all thought that some deranged, rogue Dark wizard had somehow managed to infiltrate Hogsmeade undetected by their security measures, and Hermione Granger had merely been tragically unfortunate to be randomly selected as the target of this hypothetical madman's attack.
If that scenario had indeed been the case, the Ministry would undoubtedly have been forced to bear the full impact of responsibility for inadequate security protocols and insufficient protective measures in a village regularly visited by hundreds of underage magical students.
"Oh, according to your explanation of events, Mr. Watson, that means—" Umbridge quick to identify potential escape routes from accountability, said with poorly disguised delight after a brief moment of astonishment.
"I mean perhaps, that this Miss Granger, through some carelessness or foolish action of her own, inadvertently offended some powerful Dark wizard leading to—"
"Cornelius, who is the head of the Department of Magical Transportation?" Dumbledore directly interrupted Umbridge's attempt to attribute part of the responsibility to Hermione herself, and his tone was ice cold.
Bryan silently chuckled. It was rare to see such a tough side of Dumbledore.
"Oh, what? Transportation?" Fudge responded, clearly caught off-guard by Dumbledore's sudden and seemingly unrelated question. He nervously wiped the sweat from his furrowed brow with an embroidered handkerchief that he hastily extracted from his pocket, and instinctively looked toward Umbridge for support or guidance.
"Well, Dolores has been directly overseeing that particular department since her promotion to Senior Undersecretary. The previous head retired rather suddenly, if you recall. What's the specific matter concerning Transportation, Dumbledore?" His voice carried a note of genuine confusion mixed with growing uneasiness.
Umbridge's already unpleasant face flushed a shade of red in an instant upon having attention drawn to her departmental responsibilities. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Dumbledore with resentment.
"The culprit responsible for this attack sent the cursed package to Hogsmeade through the official post office, Minister—"
Bryan said expressionlessly as he stood up. Across Hermione's bed, he coldly stared at Fudge and Umbridge. "May I ask, for the sake of absolute clarity in this matter, if the wizarding post office and its operations fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Transportation?"
Fudge was visibly stunned into momentary speechlessness, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly several times like a fish suddenly finding itself on dry land.
Meanwhile, Umbridge's complexion began to alternate rapidly between red and white like a magical revolving lantern as her bulging eyes showed unmistakable annoyance and growing alarm.
If the incident had been classified mainly as a security breach, the first Ministry official to face serious criticism and potential professional consequences would undoubtedly have been Amelia Bones, whose department was responsible for public safety.
That was precisely why she had accompanied the Minister and Bones with relative peace of mind, confident that whatever had happened in Hogsmeade likely fell outside of her direct responsibility. She had not expected the matter to take such a dramatic turn and suddenly become directly associated with her department!
Umbridge's eyes narrowed as she glared venomously at the expressionless face of Bryan Watson. At this critical moment, she realized that she would need to craft some sort of plausible justification for her department's failure—some explanation that might deflect at least part of the blame. Expecting Fudge to speak on her behalf was unrealistic. However, unfortunately, Watson did not give her the opportunity.
"This package was sent to Hogsmeade through the official channels of the post office under the regulatory authority of the Department of Magical Transportation, it was not delivered by private owls, nor by the Hogwarts owl postal service. Therefore, the Department of Transportation bears an absolutely unshirkable responsibility in this matter!"
Bryan said coldly.
"Doesn't the post office conduct any form of prior magical inspection or security screening whatsoever before accepting and subsequently delivering packages?"
*******************************
For More Chapters; patreon.com/FicFrenzy
