The World Through a Conspiracy Theorist's Eyes

In 1991, Fudge had only been Minister for Magic for less than two years. He had yet to strike deals with the great families and powerful wizards scattered throughout the various departments under his command, or raise a banner of his own.

At present, he still needed a heavyweight like Dumbledore to vouch for him in every respect.

So, the moment he received word from Hogwarts, he hurried over at once, his face piled with smiles and his manner utterly cordial.

There was no sign at all of the man he would become a few years later—once his power had grown, believing Dumbledore to be an orderly sort unwilling to flip the table, he would take advantage of Dumbledore's principles and shout at him.

As the saying went, taking favors made one beholden. With so many things he needed from others, Minister for Magic Fudge immediately stated that he would do everything in his power to advance Boggart controls, seal off the relevant information, and monitor for any possible warning signs after hearing Professor McGonagall's account.

The Director of the Department of Mysteries, who had come to Hogwarts with Fudge, was not so friendly. He tried to pry out more information.

But Professor McGonagall handled him calmly, and he gained nothing from it.

Strictly speaking, this incident had not been without danger, but it had been strangled in the cradle before it could cause much of a stir. The Ministry of Magic had merely been given a simple report, so even if the Department of Mysteries wanted to do something, it had nothing to hold onto.

Having made a fool of himself, the head of the Department of Mysteries was dragged away from Hogwarts by Minister for Magic Fudge.

"Fudge, this isn't some trivial matter. Are you fulfilling your duties as Minister for Magic by doing this?" The Department of Mysteries director frowned deeply. In his anger, he did not bother to be polite to the Minister.

"Of course I know this isn't a trivial matter. I'm neither blind nor stupid," Fudge replied irritably.

"Then you—"

Fudge cut him off. "Then what do you think we should do?"

"The way this was handled doesn't fit McGonagall's or Dumbledore's usual style." Professor McGonagall had once worked at the Ministry of Magic, so Fudge knew a little about her. As for Dumbledore, his greatest supporter at present, Fudge naturally studied him every day.

"Snape? Flitwick? Sprout?" Fudge named the heads of the other three houses besides Gryffindor, one by one.

"It doesn't fit them either."

"So... do you remember that child who stood behind McGonagall without saying a word while we spoke to her?"

"That Seer?" As someone from the Department of Mysteries, he could not possibly overlook wizards who were so extraordinarily different from ordinary people. Many exceptionally gifted individuals had dedicated files within the Department of Mysteries.

They studied unusual magic, so naturally they needed unusual people. They had always paid close attention to such existences.

"Yes. The Department of Mysteries has a file on him as well, but there's classified information that you would never be able to see without approval from me, the Minister."

"Tell me, why do you think the Middle Eastern wizarding world didn't capture a Seer who used the power of prophecy to slaughter his way across the battlefield during the Gulf War? Do you know how hard it was to suppress the news that an eleven-year-old child had punched through the lines of a modern army?"

"Was it really just because of infighting? Couldn't they capture him first and fight among themselves afterward? Did they have to let a Seer run wild on the battlefield?" A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Fudge's lips.

"...Aren't we talking about the Fear Demon?" The Department of Mysteries director was somewhat confused.

"Because these two things are closely connected." Seeing that the man still had not put the pieces together, Fudge stopped speaking in riddles.

Riddles were no fun if the other person had no intention of guessing.

"You've read Ritual Magic is More Than Just Blood Sacrifice, haven't you?"

"Of course. That book played an important role in the establishment of modern magic. Its author verified many crucial theories. Though it was written centuries ago, practically every member of the Department of Mysteries has read it."

Within the wizarding world, the book held a position somewhat like Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art during the Han dynasty. Modern people rarely read it, but researchers in related fields would generally be curious enough to leaf through it.

"Ritual Magic is everywhere. It does not even require any arrangement. Merely people's 'belief' can forge an incomparably vast ritual that affects everyone in the world..." Fudge softly recited a passage from the preface on the book's title page.

"That pantheon has nearly four billion followers in total. Back in ancient times, the 'belief' of merely tens of millions of people could create countless holy artifacts. Do you really think no wizard would set their sights on that?"

The man from the Department of Mysteries snorted. "Impossible. No one can wield that kind of power."

If the power of faith were truly so easy to use, wizards would have taken advantage of magic's convenience to establish churches of their own.

Unlike simple belief, the power of faith was not only difficult to harness, but... poisonous! Even forging it into an alchemical item could trigger countless side effects, let alone—

Wait!

He suddenly realized what Fudge had been circling around to say!

"Now you understand, right? Vast amounts of 'belief' naturally gather immense power. That Little Seer used the name of a religious prophet, creating 'miracles' all the way. During the Gulf War, whether enemy or ally, huge amounts of 'faith' would have converged on him."

"He was also a wizard with magic, so he should have been more susceptible to its effects. Yet nothing strange happened at all."

"That wasn't the kind of 'expectation' Harry Potter received. It was more extreme, and far more numerous—faith."

"Sometimes, the absence of anything abnormal is the greatest abnormality of all!"

At that, Fudge paused. "I may not be a powerful wizard, but sitting in the Minister for Magic's seat gives me access to a great deal of information."

"There are generally three possibilities in his case. First, the abnormality within him may still be gathering momentum. Second, he himself may possess a special constitution that allows him to avoid certain harmful effects... though whether he also avoids the benefits along with those effects is another matter."

"And the final possibility is that his existence itself is an abnormality more terrifying than that faith."

"To return to the point, if he falls under the first or third possibility, then that Seer is a nuclear bomb that could explode at any moment. If it is the second, he will become an important specimen for research into the power of 'faith.'"

Minister for Magic Fudge stopped walking, turned, and looked solemnly at the man from the Department of Mysteries. "With all of that as the premise—"

"Think again. Why didn't those Middle Eastern wizards capture the Little Seer? Why did Dumbledore declare his support for acquittal during the Wizengamot trial, then allow him to enroll at Hogwarts? Why have the Middle Eastern wizards been causing such a fuss lately? Why isn't Dumbledore in the United Kingdom right now, but personally went over there?"

"And why did Hogwarts handle the Fear Demon affair differently from before?"

Because Fudge currently lacked power, he viewed Dumbledore through the lens of an inferior looking up at a superior, an ordinary wizard looking at a powerful one.

Thus, he never considered the possibility that Dumbledore had taken pity on Roger because of his own painful past, or that Dumbledore himself was a kind and benevolent elder who was especially tolerant toward children.

Fudge liked to impose his own way of thinking on others, and so he saw schemes and calculations in everything. He patted the man beside him on the shoulder and said, "So don't meddle in everything. Don't dig to the bottom of every matter."

"When the waters run too deep, you need to learn to keep one eye open and one eye closed..." Fudge expounded on his wisdom for survival.