Hagrid's Hut.
Outside, the wind and rain continued unabated. Hagrid poked at the bonfire.
"The thunder today is really loud. I've never heard anything like it before..."
Thump, thump.
A knock sounded at the door. Hagrid stood up to answer it and called out at the same time,
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Hagrid."
Recognising Dumbledore's voice, Hagrid quickened his pace and pulled the door open.
"Oh, good evening, Dumbledore. It's raining so hard, why are you..."
Hagrid stopped mid-sentence.
He saw someone else standing beside Dumbledore.
Short and stout, dressed in a suit with a bright red tie and wearing purple pointed leather boots, the man removed a dark green top hat from his head, tucked it under his arm, and smoothed his slightly dishevelled grey hair.
"Cornelius Fudge?"
Hagrid exclaimed in surprise, not expecting the Minister for Magic to visit in such weather and at such a late hour.
Lowering his head slightly, Hagrid looked past the doorway and saw several Aurors standing among the surrounding huts.
His heart immediately sank.
"Good evening, Hagrid."
Instinctively stepping aside, Hagrid retreated a few paces and dropped heavily onto a stool, which creaked loudly beneath his weight.
His face had turned pale as he looked from Dumbledore to Fudge.
"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but the Ministry of Magic must take action. The recent attacks at Hogwarts have become too serious!"
Fudge spoke quickly, as though he did not wish to spend any more time here than necessary.
At those words, Hagrid understood.
It was because of the Chamber of Secrets again.
Fifty years ago, he had been suspected in exactly the same way. Fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and a female student had died because of it.
Hagrid had been expelled for allegedly opening the Chamber of Secrets and releasing a monster, and his wand had been snapped.
"No, no, I didn't. Professor Dumbledore, you know I..."
Hagrid looked at Dumbledore with pleading eyes, speaking with a stammer.
"Cornelius, I must reiterate that Hagrid is absolutely not the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets. I trust him completely."
Dumbledore's tone was not his usual gentle one. Instead, it was firm and clearly displeased.
As for the Chamber of Secrets, he felt he was close to uncovering the final clue. Not only could this crisis be resolved, but there was also a chance to clear Hagrid's name and correct the injustice of the past.
Dumbledore had never believed that Hagrid was the Heir of Slytherin or that he would ever direct a monster to harm students.
Seeing Dumbledore frown, Fudge could not help pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the rain, or perhaps sweat, from his forehead.
In truth, Fudge was also extremely reluctant to come to Hogwarts late at night to make an arrest.
After all, this was Dumbledore's territory.
But the pressure was simply too great. The pressure from those pure-blood families was enormous.
Fudge had known about the previous attacks on students, but they had not caused much of a stir because those students were Muggle-born.
To put it bluntly, they were not important enough.
But Blaise Zabini, who had been petrified not long ago, was a pure-blood.
On the very night of the incident, Fudge was bombarded by letters from a large number of pure-blood parents, leaving him utterly overwhelmed.
Although Hogwarts possessed a cure for petrification and Zabini had quickly recovered and awakened, it made no difference. Those parents still found all sorts of reasons to berate Fudge relentlessly.
Fudge felt deeply wronged by the situation. He was indeed the Minister for Magic, but how was he supposed to control what happened at Hogwarts?
Yet he needed public support, and among all groups, pure-blood families held the greatest influence.
Never underestimate the pure-bloods. Although their numbers were small, the "support" they provided to the Ministry of Magic each year was extremely significant.
As long as Fudge wished to remain in office, he had to satisfy them.
After all, he was counting on receiving an Order of Merlin, First Class, after retirement. A Minister for Magic forced out of office early would never have the influence to make that happen.
"Albus, you trust Hagrid, and I trust you, but not everyone shares that trust."
"We both understand each other's difficulties. I need to give those pure-bloods an explanation."
Fudge knew very well that Dumbledore was also under pressure from pure-blood parents. In fact, besides genuinely caring about their children's safety at school, many of those people were probably using the incident as an excuse to make life difficult for Dumbledore. His reputation among most pure-bloods was not particularly good, after all.
"Don't worry, Albus. I promise the Ministry of Magic will follow proper procedures."
After years of dealing with Dumbledore, Fudge had learned that he was a man who respected rules and valued order, so he deliberately approached the matter from that angle.
Glancing at Hagrid, Fudge's eyes held a trace of helplessness and apology.
He did not really believe that the giant gamekeeper had reopened the Chamber of Secrets to harm students. After all, if Hagrid truly wanted to kill someone, with his size and strength, there would be no need for elaborate schemes.
But Fudge needed to protect his political career, so he could only wrong this suspect for the time being.
"I can only apologise once again. Hagrid's previous record is very unfavourable to him, and the Ministry of Magic has also consulted the Board of Governors, so this time..."
Hearing Fudge's words, rare anger flashed in Dumbledore's bright blue eyes.
"Cornelius, taking Hagrid away will solve nothing."
"Take... take me away? Where are you taking me?"
Hagrid's enormous body trembled as he asked uneasily.
"Uh, it won't take long. You won't be there for very long. It's only a precaution. Once the real culprit is caught, you'll be released immediately, and we'll apologise to you..."
He said that, but Fudge avoided looking Hagrid in the eye the entire time, as though he felt guilty.
Hagrid became even more frightened, his voice trembling.
"It won't... it won't be Azkaban, will it?"
Before Fudge could answer, another heavy knock sounded at the door.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man with platinum-blond hair walked in, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Lucius Malfoy! What are you doing here? Get out of my house! Leave!"
Seeing the newcomer, Hagrid's emotions immediately shifted from fear to anger as he shouted for him to leave.
Lucius gave a soft cough and covered his mouth and nose with a gloved hand. His eyes swept mockingly across the interior of the hut.
"You call this a house? Believe me, entering this place brings me no pleasure."
"I'm merely looking for... ah, Headmaster Dumbledore. So you're here."
Dumbledore's expression grew increasingly displeased, and the anger in his eyes deepened. He tried to keep his tone calm.
"Lucius, what business do you have with me?"
"Heh heh, something rather unpleasant, Dumbledore..."
As he spoke, Lucius pulled a rolled parchment from within his robes.
It was a temporary suspension order for Dumbledore, bearing the signatures of all twelve governors.
Dumbledore, a man who respected order and rules, would certainly be constrained by it...
Whoosh!
A ball of crimson fire suddenly erupted in the centre of the room.
Accompanied by a clear yet youthful cry, the flames quickly dissipated.
A handsome young man with dark green eyes appeared out of thin air, a small orange-red bird perched on his shoulder.
In his hand, he held up an old diary.
"It's certainly lively here."
"Headmaster, I have something I'd like you to see."
The Heir of Slytherin.
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