Principles of the Gaunt Relic

"You're being too sensitive, Dolores." Fudge waved his hand dismissively. "I know Weasley very well. He's not a typical Weasley. He had a huge fight with his family about the Ministry of Magic a while ago, and now he basically doesn't come home anymore."

That did happen; before Christmas, Percy didn't go home for the holidays but instead worked overtime at the Ministry of Magic.

"I think you should still be wary," Umbridge said in her saccharine voice, which was at least ten times sweeter. "I suspect this is a self-orchestrated ruse to have Weasley lurking around you."

Fudge took a deep breath.

It's certainly not impossible; as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry...

After thinking for a moment, Fudge said, "How about this, let Weasley go with you Rufus Scrimgeour, to raid Piers Thicknesse's house. We just received intelligence that he's a Death Eater— "

"Death Eater?" Umbridge frowned. "Piers is Death Eater? How could that be? He's our distinguished Head of Department of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement! How could he possibly be Death Eater!"

"But the evidence is conclusive, Dolores." Fudge sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "This isn't suspicion, nor accusation, it's fact! We found the Dark Mark on his wrist—it's terrifying! Piers Sinix is Death Eater, and he's been lurking among us all this time."

"Could this be a setup?" Umbridge asked, frowning. "Cornelius, think about it—the struggle within the Ministry of Magic is reaching a fever pitch. What if this is a smokescreen put out by Black and his group to weaken us—"

"The true Dark Mark can only be planted by Dark Lord!" Fudge waved his hand dismissively. "Although the Dark Lord can't return..."

But I simply cannot tolerate having such a ticking time bomb next to me—think about it, he's been lurking in the Ministry of Magic for over a decade; isn't he planning some kind of sabotage? I highly doubt his motives—"

"And another thing!" Fudge whispered again, "If I suppress this matter, and if Slughorn and his group team up with Dumbledore to expose my appointment of a Death Eater —or a former Death Eater —as Head of Department of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, my political career will be over!"

It seems that the first sentence is not the key point; the key point is the second sentence.

Umbridge realized the seriousness of the situation and had no choice but to accept Fudge's decision.

"Oh, what a pity," Umbridge shook her head and sighed. "He really was a Death Eater, that's just..."

"Alright, Dolores." Fudge's eyes were downcast. "Hogwarts still needs you to put pressure on them; they can't do without you."

"I understand, Your Excellency Minister," Umbridge replied in a cloying voice.

The following afternoon, Percy knocked on the Minister's Office door, carrying a large file folder in his hand.

"Come in." Fudge, who was reading the newspaper, didn't even look up.

Percy entered the office, walked to the opposite side of Fudge, and placed the file folder on the table.

"Your Minister," Percy called out.

Fudge looked up and saw it was Percy. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Oh, it's Weasley. How's the Sinix thing going?"

"We've arrested Sinix," Percy reported to Fudge, standing ramrod straight at the table. "At Sinix's house..."

We found many Dark Arts artifacts, and of course—many alchemical products as well. As you know, Mr. Sinix, being pure-blood wizard, has accumulated quite a bit in recent years."

Upon hearing Percy's words, Fudge shook his head, gesturing for Percy to sit down.

Percy didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the sofa not far from Fudge.

Fudge stood up and sat opposite Percy. After a moment's thought, he continued, "Besides these, what else? I remember you went with Rufus to capture Sinix, right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency," Percy said. "In addition to these, some Potions were also found at the Sinix house, but Mr. Scrimgeour has already packed them up and is ready to send them to the Ministry of Magic."

Fudge twirled his fingers and sighed, "The Head of Department of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has become corrupt and degenerate into Death Eater. This is a heavy blow to our Ministry of Magic. It will affect our image among wizards—I have something for you to do. Go and talk to the Daily Prophet, understand?"

"Understood, Your Minister." Percy understood; having served as a secretary for a year, he had some discernment. "I will explain to the Daily Prophet that the operation to capture Sinix was carried out under your guidance, Your Minister, and that it was your keen insight that exposed Sinix's undercover identity."

Fudge was even more satisfied.

"Furthermore," Percy said meaningfully, "I really didn't expect that the Sinix family would have some rather old collections."

Upon hearing Percy's words, Fudge immediately sat up straight.

"Oh? Didn't you check it carefully?" he asked, his eyes burning.

"Of course, we conducted a thorough inspection."

Percy seized the opportunity, and seeing Fudge's meaningful gaze, he felt a sense of relief.

"One of the rings was said to be a treasure collected by the Gaunt ancestor. It was always carried by Marvolo Gaunt. I didn't register it and kept it in my pocket. Just before I came in, I put it in the file folder for this arrest operation."

Upon hearing this, Fudge couldn't suppress the smirk on his face.

He leaned back tactically on the sofa, seemingly thinking about the ancient ring that Marvolo Gaunt kept close to his body—as everyone knows,

Gaunt family is an ancient family with a long history; they are descendants of Slytherin himself.

The fact that it was collected by the Gaunt ancestor and then kept closely by the previous head of the family, Marvolo Gaunt, proves in itself its extraordinary nature.

Even as Minister for Magic, Fudge couldn't resist the temptation.

He couldn't wait to open the file folder and take a good look at the ring.

After sitting there for a long time, Fudge finally managed to suppress his joy.

He looked up at Percy, half admiringly and half satisfied, and said, "Percy— "

The tone was filled with warmth and affection.

"Yes, Your Excellency." Percy immediately leaned forward, pretending to listen.

"As you know, I've been short of a Minister's Assistant lately, but unfortunately you're too inexperienced, having just graduated from school."

Fudge clasped his hands together, placed them on his lap, crossed his legs, and said...

As Percy's heart pounded, Fudge spoke again.

"You did a great job with the Sinix thing," he said. "Of course you should be rewarded. I think you should take the position of Minister's Assistant."

Percy was suddenly overjoyed.

He immediately stood up and said excitedly, "Thank you for your guidance, Minister!"

"Sigh." Fudge waved his hand, gesturing for Percy to sit down, his face nonchalant. "Ministry of Magic training, individual performance."

However, as he said this, Fudge was thinking about the Gaunt family ring.

Since the start of the School Opening, Hogwarts has been somewhat lifeless—but this atmosphere is limited to Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students; Gryffindor students are not included.

After all, in Gryffindor, there are the Weasley twins, who are super fun at enlivening the atmosphere among their classmates.

The Common Room was noisy as Fred and George demonstrated the latest products from the Joke Shop.

"Headless Hat!" George shouted, as Fred waved a pointed hat adorned with pink feathers, "Two Galleon each—look, gentlemen!"

Fred grinned and pulled the hat over his head, looking foolish for a moment, then the hat and his head disappeared together.

Several girls screamed, while the others burst into laughter.

"Take off your hat!" George shouted. Fred's hand fumbled around on his shoulder for a moment, and his head reappeared, his pink feathered hat removed.

"How was that hat made?" Hermione curiously, carefully observing Fred and George. "It's clearly some kind of invisibility spell."

But extending the invisibility zone beyond the enchanted object is quite clever—but I don't think the magic will last long—"

"Louis XVI," Ron commented. "This hat shouldn't be called Headless Hat; it should be called a Louis XVI Hat— you see, after all, their heads are missing."

"Don't make jokes like that!" Hermione warned Ron, slamming her fist on the table with a serious expression.

"Why?" Ron asked, scratching his head. He didn't know why Hermione would warn him like that for joking about Louis XVI.

"Because," Hermione tried to be serious, but she couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked curiously.

"There's always an end to jokes, isn't there?" Hermione said, laughing heartily.

Ron paused for a moment, then laughed along with him.

"Look at this." Harry walked over with a newspaper and handed it to Hermione and Ron. "The Ministry of Magic has taken action. Last night they arrested Sinix— the one who is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the one who succeeded Auntie Burns."

"I've always been curious why Bones ' aunt— Amelia Bones —didn't become the Head of Department?" Ron said, clicking his tongue while holding the newspaper.

"For some unavoidable reason," Harry glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then said softly, "If I remember correctly, this Sinix is one of Fudge's men."

Ron looked at Harry in disbelief.

"Why did Fudge arrest him?"

"It says it up there," Harry said, pointing to the newspaper. "You see—under Minister Fudge's leadership, they successfully uncovered Sinix's undercover identity; he's a despicable Death Eater."

"That makes sense," Ron nodded. "I've heard my father talk about Fudge. He values his political career more than his life, and he runs away as soon as he senses trouble."

During lunch, Hermione received a newly printed copy of the Daily Prophet.

Hermione frowned as soon as she opened it.

The students around him who had received the newspapers gasped in shock the moment they opened them to read.

"I really suspect they're all leaking air," Ron muttered.

Harry didn't pay attention to anyone else; he raised an eyebrow and asked Hermione.

"What's the matter?"

Hermione spread the newspaper on the table, pointing to the ten black-and-white photographs that filled the front page—the faces of nine wizards and one witch, some silently chuckling, others arrogantly tapping their fingers on the borders. Each photograph was captioned with a name and the crime for which they were imprisoned in Azkaban.

Antonin Dolohov, a pale, distorted, long-faced sorcerer, smirks at the camera, with text below listing his crimes: the brutal murder of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.

August Luke Wood, a greasy-haired, pockmarked man, leaned against the frame with a weary expression. His crime was leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to the Dark Lord.

Oh, Luke Wood—

Harry rolled his eyes; he really couldn't forget that last name.

Well, Luke Wood, one of the Ancient Magic Professors was Professor Rackham, and Professor Rackham descendants...

It seems he was born to become Dark Wizard.

The next woman— Harry's face jumped into view the moment he first looked at the newspaper. Her long black hair looked disheveled in the photo, but Harry would bet that this somewhat crazy woman must have been a beautiful woman in her youth.

Her eyes, hidden beneath thick eyelids, stared at the camera, a haughty, disdainful smile playing on her thin lips, just like Sirius.

She still retained some traces of her beauty, but something—perhaps Azkaban —had robbed her of most of it.

Harry looked down at the photo and saw her name: Bellatrix Lestrange— whose crimes included the torture of Frank and Alice Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, leaving them permanently disabled.

Minister Cornelius Fudge confirmed in an interview in his office that ten serious criminals escaped last night, and that he had informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the danger posed by the escapees.

"It's very regrettable," Fudge said. "The Ministry of Magic is doing its best to track down these fugitives and will keep the public informed as soon as there are any developments. In addition, he has already called 10 Downing Street and informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the danger and uncertainty surrounding these fugitives."

"Can Muggle catch them?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"But it's better than not knowing at all." Hermione shrugged. "I think there must be a lot of wizards lurking in the Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street right now, trying to make sure these important people aren't kidnapped by escaped Dark Wizard."

"The Ministry of Magic is really something." The Twins sidled up, standing excitedly on either side of Harry. "Look, they thought we were bored at the School Opening of School Opening, so they put on a big show for us on the very first day, didn't they?"

"I'm more interested in knowing who released these Death Eater," Hermione said thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand. "Whoever it was..."

This must all be part of a huge conspiracy!

(It turned out to be a mycoplasma infection—that Moxifloxacin was really strong. I felt much better after taking it; my throat didn't hurt anymore, but my eyes still water a little when exposed to light. When I was writing this chapter, a friend asked if I had written something touching and I was crying the whole time.)