Perjury and the Weight of a Life-Saving Favor

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A bolt from the blue struck Harry's heart, followed by a continuous drizzle.

He accidentally betrayed Aaron completely, but he really didn't do it on purpose.

The problem is that the sale has already been made, and it seems too late to repent now. You can't just admit to everyone that what you saw was an illusion!

"The facts are already obvious." Fudge shrugged, a smug look on his face. "This is an operation planned by a Death Eater, who wanted to spread the terror of the You-Know-Who."

That Fake Moody was probably out of his mind to cause trouble at Hogwarts. Harry and the other four were threatened and retaliated against by dark forces, but the resurrection of the You-Know-Who was absolutely fictitious.

"Fudge." Dumbledore looked at him seriously and emphasized, "Voldemort has returned. You must accept this Reality Stone and take action so that we may still be able to turn the tide."

The first and most important step is to free Azkaban from the Dementor ' control.

"Impossible!" Fudge jumped up and down in anger. "If this resolution is proposed, I will definitely be kicked out of the office."

"Isn't it because Dementor are stationed in Azkaban that we can sleep peacefully?"

"They are Voldemort's most dangerous cronies. What's the difference between sending them to guard Voldemort's most loyal servants and releasing them from prison?"

Those guys won't be loyal to you; Voldemort can give them far more power and pleasure than you can offer.

If Azkaban remains under the control of the Dementor, they will bring Voldemort's former loyal servants back to his side, at which point he could easily regain the terrifying power he possessed thirteen years ago.

Fudge opened his mouth, looking extremely angry, but unsure how to express himself.

"In addition, you must take a second step—send a message to the Giant," Dumbledore continued.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I send a message to Giant?" Fudge said aggressively.

"It's not too late now, extend a hand of friendship to the Giant."

He had done this before Voldemort tried to win them over, offering them rights and freedoms.

"Are you crazy, Dumbledore?"

Giant are inherently cruel; if others were to find out that I have dealings with Giant, my career would be over.

"Fudge, you are too obsessed with power, which has caused you to lose your proper judgment."

Do as I say, take some measures, and the entire Warlock world will regard you as the greatest Minister for Magic in history.

But if we do nothing, the Magic World will remember that you stood idly by and gave Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we've worked so hard to build.

Fudge shook his head and backed away. "This is impossible. This is too crazy. I can't gamble my career on the unrealistic words of a child."

"I'm telling the truth," Harry said again, but no one paid any attention, all drawn to Dumbledore's long sigh.

"Cornelius, since you insist on going your own way, then we have no choice but to part ways."

You do what you think is right, and I will do what I will.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just as Fudge was about to speak, there was a knock on the Headmaster's Office door.

"Professor Dumbledore, Gaius and the others are back," Filch called out.

"Let them in."

The oak door opened, Aaron, Cedric, Viktor, Phoebe entered the Headmaster's Office.

Their faces were filled with exhaustion, looking almost like refugees, only slightly better off than Harry.

Abei dashed out and, with tears in her eyes, threw herself into Aaron's arms.

Two grizzly claws rummaged through the pocket for a while before pulling out a small bottle of clear grizzly liquid.

"No, I don't have any external injuries, so let's use this stuff sparingly!" Aaron said affectionately.

"Your pet... is quite special." Phoebe looked at Abei with great interest. "I've never seen such a loyal pet before."

Abei waved his hand arrogantly, and even Phoebe looked much more pleasing to the eye.

"Could this also be the Phoenix Tears?" Cedric asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Sigh!" Aaron sighed. "I was relatively merciful back then, so I only managed to get this much."

Upon hearing this, Abei's eyes sharpened, and he turned to look at Fawkes.

The Phoenix trembled with fear and retreated to Dumbledore, letting out a pitiful cry.

"Uh... please keep an eye on it," Dumbledore complicated expression. "If possible, it would be best not to let it into my office."

"Professor, don't be so stingy!" Aaron said dismissively. "As the saying goes... the victor is king."

Just kidding, he knows how rare Phoenix Feather.

If Abei isn't brought in, he won't have a reason to pluck the fur even if he wants to. It's not nice to bully the principal's pet!

Bringing Abei in would just lead to some playful fighting among Fantastic Beasts. Accidentally plucking a few hairs or shedding a few tears wouldn't be a big deal.

Dumbledore rolled his eyes, a rare occurrence for him, realizing he would need to strengthen his protection of Fawkes from now on.

Abei's gaze wasn't scary, but it gave you goosebumps.

"Now that you have all returned safely, could you tell us what happened?"

"We need to compare this with what Harry Potter said to see if we've missed anything," Fudge said seriously, having already regarded Aaron and his group as his lifeline.

If what they say doesn't match what Harry says, then he directly concludes that Voldemort's resurrection is entirely Harry Potter's imagination and nonsense.

The four exchanged glances and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I'm very sorry, Minister for Magic."

"I was unconscious at the time and don't know anything," Krum said with a regretful expression.

He is Bulgaria, an internationally renowned Quidditch star, and Durmstrang's representative in the Triwizard Tournament. He is the most suitable person to start this.

"Dizzy? You fainted?"

"I've fainted before," Phoebe said, shivering. "I didn't know what happened; I just suddenly lost consciousness."

Cedric shrugged, his meaning clear.

"Gaius, and you?"

"Minister, those senior Warlock have all fainted. Do you think I'm still standing here perfectly fine?" Aaron retorted.

Fudge raised an eyebrow and continued, "But Harry Potter said you fought a large group of Death Eater, used several different advanced spells, and managed to kill a third of them."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not that amazing," Aaron said, then looked at Harry with feigned ignorance. "Even if you admire me, you wouldn't make up such a lie!"

Harry froze instantly. After finally snapping out of his daze, he saw Cedric, Krum, and Phoebe constantly giving him meaningful glances.

Now he seemed to understand something, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back down.

It must be that Aaron reached some kind of agreement with the three of them, preventing them from revealing what they saw.

But in doing so, his version of the truth would only be one side of the story, and perhaps apart from a few people, no one else would believe it.

"You..." Harry opened his mouth as if to say something but then stopped, "You should know how serious this matter is. You can't pretend you don't know anything!"

The three looked at each other, probably unaware of the true value of a life-saving favor.

Moreover, they only concealed the part about Aaron's battle with the Death Eater; Aaron did not ask them to conceal the most important part about the Dark Lord's resurrection.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Fudge clapped his hands excitedly and laughed happily, "I told you it was Harry Potter was hallucinating, and you made it up so convincingly."

The You-Know-Who's resurrection? Absolutely impossible!

"He really came back to life," Krum suddenly said.

Fudge almost choked on his breath. "Viktor, you... you said you fainted, didn't you?"

"He fainted after the You-Know-Who was resurrected; his magic was too powerful."

"Me too," Cedric and Phoebe said in unison.

Fudge's lips twitched violently as he struggled to shift his gaze to Aaron, asking almost pleadingly, "Mr. Gaius, you didn't also witness the You-Know-Who's resurrection, did you?"

"No." Aaron feigned a lingering fear and gave an awkward laugh. "I was knocked unconscious by a spell as soon as I landed."

I woke up to find myself inexplicably outside Hogsmeade Village. If Cedric and the others hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known the You-Know-Who had been resurrected. It's terrifying.

Fudge was speechless, Harry looked bewildered, and the others understood each other perfectly.

Aaron perfectly extricated himself from the situation. Voldemort was indeed resurrected, but his subsequent battles with the Death Eater were all Harry's fantasies, or rather, dreams.

How they escaped back is unknown.

But you can make up any reason you want, like some unknown powerful figure rescuing them from Voldemort.

The problem is that even if you know the truth, you can only follow Aaron's plan, since three out of the five witnesses are on his side.

"As expected of you." Adrian couldn't help but chuckle, then gave a thumbs up. "You haven't changed after all these years; you always like to keep yourself out of the loop."

"Sis, I have no idea what you're talking about." Aaron scratched his head, feigning confusion, which made the others secretly click their tongues in amazement.

"Never mind, Jeans will give me the records anyway."

Aaron:...

Generous gift of crabs! I completely forgot about that.

But it doesn't matter. Even if there's no record, if Adrian asks, Jeans can only answer truthfully.

"Impossible." Fudge still refused to believe it. "Do you have any evidence? No, right? Then you can't prove that the You-Know-Who has been resurrected."

"So it was five..." Fudge paused, then changed his words, "No, it was a prank by four students. Mr. Gaius fainted and knows nothing about it."

As Minister for Magic, he could yell at most Warlock, but he knew those who couldn't afford to offend him.

Fortunately, Gaius was unconscious throughout, which suggested that he would not participate in the testimony, otherwise he really wouldn't know what to do.

At this moment, Snape strode forward and rolled up his left sleeve.

He stretched his arm over for Fudge to see, Fudge instantly turned pale and took a few steps back in horror.