The worst is undoubtedly the Hungarian Horntail, and the Hebridean Black Dragon. The former means that the risk of dying is very high, while the latter means that it is difficult for wizards to do any substantial damage to it, and if it is ok, the two fire dragons will be left to the end.

In addition to this, we are also preparing to add a little difficulty for the Warriors before the game

Spend. "Fudge went on to add, "We will have some innocuous gadgets for the Warriors before the game, they also need to choose..."

After hearing this, the warriors already wanted to kill.

It's hard enough just to deal with the fire dragon, and you have to give everyone extra support, which is too difficult for some strong people.

Finally, Fudge announced that between the third and fourth events of the competition, they will also hold an entertainment skiing competition, with only prizes, regardless of the ranking, so that the warriors can relax and relax.

Everyone knows that this game is to promote the "state-run" ski resort in Hogsmeade, but it's good to know this kind of thing, there is no need to say it.

The Warriors went back to ponder how to deal with the next game, and Fudge returned to the Ministry of Magic's makeshift offices in Hogsmeade, full of joy and longing to make a name for himself.

- Entering the room, he saw six or seven directors sitting there.

Fudge thought they had made a special trip to congratulate him, because according to the statistical report just handed over by the Daily Prophet, a full 157 of the radio stations in the world's 200 countries or regions broadcasted the Big Five competition. The competition, and the listening rate is also in the range of 20%-60%, has undoubtedly become the first brand

"Ha, so many people gathered here!" He laughed, "but it's time to celebrate, we all won..."

But none of the directors laughed, and they didn't even agree to agree.

Only then did Fudge realize something was wrong: "What's wrong? Why are you so serious?"

Rufus Scrimgeour dawdled for a long time under the eyes of everyone in the room, and finally made up his mind and stood up.

"There are cases, Cohen," he said sullenly.

Chapter 385 Collective inaction

"What? It's impossible!"

The news that Voldemort might have been resurrected hit Fudge like a bolt from the blue, making him dizzy.

After all, the current situation in the British wizarding world is so harmonious. The competition economy brought by the Big Five Tournament and the benefits brought by a wave of tourism in the future, not to mention flowers with brocade and fire cooking oil, at least it is Fengheng Yuda , Matsushima, he, Cornelius Fudge, is counting on this to become "the greatest minister in the history of the magic world"

-As a result, you are actually doing this for Lao Tzu at this time?

"Wait...let me stroke...that man, isn't he already dead?" Fudge shouted, struggling.

Scrimgeour of the Law Enforcement Division exchanged glances with Bode of the Department of Mysteries, then shook their heads with difficulty.

"We certainly hope he's dead, too," said Scrimgeour dryly.

"But the problem is that he has not been removed from the Wizards Directory of the Department of Mysteries. In the past ten years, this has been the biggest mystery." Bode added.

"But hasn't Rookwood been identified as his subordinate?" Fudge said impatiently. "He must have taken advantage of his position to secretly manipulate that list."

Bode is a real person. Hearing Fudge say this, he nodded: "It's not impossible."

"Look!" Fudge seemed to have found a life-saving straw, "We can't think that a ghost that has been dead for many years will come back to harm people just because of the nonsense of a beast... Moreover, the five-strong competition was held for the first time. For three games, we have all the staff

it's here.

This last sentence exposed Fudge's true thoughts at this time - what he is most concerned about now is the game, and the "prosperity" after the game - that is, whether he can get a "fair evaluation"

At this time, Jones, the new director he promoted, came to speak.

"Take it easy, Minister, no one wants to stop the game," she reassured.

When she said this, the others also noticed Fudge's concerns, and quickly expressed their positions one by one.

"Yeah, the game must never stop."

"The sponsors have paid for it, and we have to fulfill the contract."

"And the news will also be temporarily blocked. If the wizards around the world know that something is going to happen here, they may not come to travel."

Your words and my words, the words of these Ministry of Magic officials have made Fudge's mood a lot better.

While Scrimgeour's news is not necessarily false, the officials of the Ministry of Magic are surprisingly consistent when it comes to maintaining the apparent peace.

- It hasn't happened yet, hasn't it?

Just then, the people in the office were tapped three times.

"Come in!" cried Fudge.

The door was pushed open, revealing the "young man" who appeared to be very handsome behind.

"Ah, Minister, you're here too!" Lockhart pretended to be pleasantly surprised. "The reviews of this game from outsiders are unbelievable... Huh? Why is everyone here? Why don't we go to Three Broomsticks for a drink? How about a cup of celebration? I'll treat you.

Presumably out of recognition of those "in the system", Fudge, despite being a little wary, asked Scrimgeour to tell him what he had just told him, and together with the big boss.

The decision the family just made was also told to him.

After all, everyone was a colleague, and he had no reason not to tell Lockhart about it.

After listening, Lockhart restrained his smile.

"It turns out that...it's the same as the news I got." He put his tone in a deliberately heavy tone.

Fudge was terrified. "Same news as what?"

"Headmaster Karkaroff of Durmstrang, and the Potions Professor at Hogwarts, both of whom have recently had their Death Eater markings enchanted again, and former Auror Alastor o Moody was just claiming that he had just met You-Know-Who himself."

Hearing this, with the exception of a few in the Order of the Phoenix, the rest of the Ministry of Magic wore masks of pain.

Don't be so serious, everyone is here to eat.

In the original book, the news that Cornelius Fudge ordered the blockade of Voldemort is not entirely because he is powerful, and more importantly, many employees of the Ministry of Magic are also opposed to immediately releasing the news, so they will refuse Dumbledore. Clear facts revealed, they believe it will leave 'indelible scars' on the British wizarding community

Although the situation is somewhat different now, the bureaucratic nature of government has not changed. Not only did they refuse to make any substantive changes, but they also took a chance on Voldemort's return, believing that there was no "truth"

This is a fundamental flaw created by the system, and Fudge alone can't afford to carry such a big cauldron. Even if the Ministry of Magic later changed Scrimgeour to the position of Minister, Scrimgeour was still a bureaucrat by nature, so he was essentially no different from Fudge.

Although Harry Potter didn't know much about politics, there was nothing wrong with his assessment of Scrimgeour, and he instinctively sensed Scrimgeour's bravado and incompetent nature.

Lockhart knew this well, so apart from exchanging glances with Bird, Jones and others, he did not express any objection to their move.

"Of course, the competition must not be suspended." Lockhart also echoed.

His statement made Fudge's face look better. As a minister, Fudge would not allow any of his subordinates to oppose him at this time.

"Did Dumbledore know about this?" he asked again.

His question caused a wry smile from the people around him.

"Since Moody and Snape know about it, then Dumbledore will know," Lockhart answered honestly, "and I mean the man is really back, and the former Death Eaters will surely know. After being summoned by their master, I think, in fact, I will send someone to look at the prisoners in Azkaban, and they must have the dark mark on their bodies..."

"No," Fudge said with a pale face, and there was a hint of pleading in his tone. "Don't send anyone to Azkaban."

It seems that he is going to make up his mind and implement the ostrich policy to the end.

Seeing him like this, Lockhart couldn't help but marvel at how much a wizard could do when he wanted to deceive himself.

How much heart does it take to turn a blind eye to this danger?

It's just that Cornelius Fudge still looks shameless, and he still has a conscience in his heart, and he still feels ashamed when he hides it. This is far less than the ministers and secretaries of the Privy Council he has seen before. When he said this, he looked calm and even righteous.

Chapter 386 Authorization

On the way to report to Dumbledore, Lockhart pondered several times, and did not know how to tell him the performance of the Ministry of Magic in a suitable angle.

Of course, he was just worried about how to tell him. As for the inaction of the Ministry of Magic, Lockhart is completely understandable.

On the whole, in the face of the impending return of Voldemort, the Ministry of Magic should certainly do something to prevent it from slowing down.

But from an individual point of view, if anyone wants to make a difference in this matter, it is not known whether he can prevent Voldemort, but it is certain that he will take the blame if the matter fails, not to mention that there are other people from Voldemort's revenge.

To sum up, it is not impossible, but not cost-effective.

Lockhart did not intend for Dumbledore's faction to give up their contempt for the Ministry of Magic, or that the bureaucracy could not shoulder such a "microscopic" task. But that doesn't mean Lockhart intends to cede the executive powers of the Ministry of Magic, especially Voldemort.

Not to mention other J Voldemort ruled the Ministry of Magic, J, he forced the Iron Triangle to hide in Tibet, but he openly engages in bloodline theory in the wizarding world, which makes people a little unbearable.

After listening to Lockhart's introduction, Dumbledore, who rushed back to Hogwarts from outside, sighed softly.

"I see, it doesn't look like Fudge is going to take this responsibility... should it be unsurprising?"

Fudge's performance made Dumbledore feel a little regretful. After all, when he supported him, he still lacked some consideration. He only thought about how to get himself out of the political arena, so he just found someone who seemed to be modest and eager to learn. to support.

But who would have thought that such a prudent and prudent fat man back then would turn into a greedy Minister of Magic today?

Lockhart saw what he was thinking, and explained: "I don't think the minister doesn't know what's right, but after sitting in that position, there are some things he can't help himself."

"Can't help it?" Dumbledore shook his head. "The only thing forcing him is profit, Gilderoy. After staying in the melting pot of the Ministry of Magic for a long time, no matter who it is, it will become like that."

Lockhart agreed with his statement, but at the same time explained Fudge: "As a politician, it is often more important to do what is in your interest than to do what is right."

"It couldn't be more true, if a person can only do what he thinks is right in his life, not what is in his best interests, then he is a saint.

When he said this, Dumbledore kept staring at Lockhart, and he seemed to mean something inside and out.

"You are asking everyone to dig out their gains and losses, and then put them under the view of right and wrong. This is impossible." Lockhart thought without hesitation.

"So, are you like that too?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.

When people are old, Dumbledore rarely returns confidence in any one person or organization. On the other hand, the Ministry of Magic has never disappointed when it comes to not giving people the slightest hope.

Because he believes too much in the role of individual morality in society, in the eyes of others, Dumbledore often shows characteristics such as "credibility" and "stubbornness", even if it is proved that Dumbledore is right in the end. .

As for Gilderoy Lockhart, Dumbledore thought he could see through him, but recently he found that he seemed to be wrong again.

If a person who does things always speaks his own interests, but when it comes to the goal of doing things, appears in front of everyone, who is extremely majestic, bright, and righteous, I am afraid that everyone will think of him as a standard hypocrite.

And Lockhart is such a person. He puts great emphasis on rationality and balance of interests, but when he proposes a solution, you can hardly say that he is doing it for his own selfish interests.

People like this are rare. Even if Dumbledore lived to be nearly 120 years old, he couldn't remember how many such people he had in his mind. Among them, he was either a careerist or a paranoid.

While Dumbledore doesn't really care about the Ministry of Magic, he does care about who controls it.

Gilderoy Lockhart - If he's going to be a second Fudge, that might be a good thing, but if it's a second Grindelwald...

Well, it shouldn't be possible, because the magical powers are so different.

Dumbledore waited for Lockhart to defend himself, but Lockhart avoided his question.

"I'm going to organize an executive team," Lockhart said. "In the war with Voldemort, we must not ignore the role of public opinion, the military, and diplomacy. Even if the Ministry of Magic cannot be our aid, at least we should not let It becomes the enemy."

Seeing that he didn't want to answer, Dumbledore didn't force him.

"So, what are you going to do?" Dumbledore asked.

Lockhart was prepared: "First of all, I think we should figure out who is our enemy and who is our friend.

"Sounds like a cliché, can you be more specific?"

"Specifically, relying on Muggle-born wizards and half-blood wizards,

Unite all wizards engaged in agriculture, handicrafts, and service industries, as well as scholars at home and abroad, neutralize wizards who have interests in the Muggle society, and concentrate on fighting the hooligans who do not work, led by Voldemort, the rentiers who hope for nothing, and psychopaths. sociopaths and evil magical creatures. "

Dumbledore nodded frequently after listening, but at the same time raised a little question.

"Very good, even I can't summarize it more comprehensively... But in reality, it is difficult for us to define these people, right? As far as I know, many of the Death Eaters recruited by Voldemort were originally people with jobs, they just It wasn't going so well."

"It's not difficult," Lockhart said bluntly.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows: "Not difficult?"

Lockhart looked confident: "Yes, the stage is almost set, we just need to use a series of social activities to make all wizards realize where they stand, and then it will be easy."

Dumbledore chose to remain silent in a field he was not so familiar with.

"Since you are confident, go ahead and do it. There are also many people in the Order of the Phoenix who work in the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore considered permission.

"Thank you." Lockhart smiled.

Since Voldemort's threat was imminent and Dumbledore had not found enough Horcrux clues, he obviously didn't want to spend too much time on politics.

So he quickly changed the subject: "The top priority now is that I want everyone in the wizarding world to know that Voldemort is back as soon as possible, but from what you just said, what Fudge wants to do is completely the opposite... Can think Think of a way? For example, let two newspapers interview us and disclose the information?"

Lockhart hurriedly blocked Dumbledore's dangerous idea: "Better not