Guests

On Tuesday morning, several serious-looking guests appeared on the bridge in front of Hogwarts. A short, stout wizard in a dark green robe and a tall, white-haired witch in a crimson robe stepped out and strode into Hogwarts.

The young wizards, who were originally rushing to class, stopped in their tracks, looking at the two adult wizards with either curiosity or surprise. In the windows overlooking the main gate, young wizards crowded together, chattering excitedly at the imposing adults waiting at the end of the bridge.

Cyberlina was usually one of the last to leave the Great Hall during breakfast, but today, Senior Gemma saw her early on the stairs leading to the classrooms.

"Good morning, you're early today, Cyberlina."

"Good morning, Senior Gemma." Cyberlina glanced at the students bustling around her. "What's going on?"

Gemma moved aside, gesturing for Cyberlina to look through the window behind her, which offered a view of the bridge. "A bunch of Aurors from the Ministry of Magic showed up. I heard Minister Fudge is taking an old witch from the Wizengamot to see the Headmaster—but that's just what I heard, I didn't see it myself."

Cyberlina took a step forward, glancing at the Aurors who clearly looked very experienced, and smiled knowingly. "They're here to show off their strength."

"Show off their strength?" Gemma paused for a second in confusion, then immediately reacted. "You know what happened?"

"Something like that..." Cyberlina turned to look at Gemma's inquisitive eyes. "Don't worry, you'll know what happened soon enough. But before that—"

Cyberlina glanced at the sky, and amidst Gemma's renewed look of confusion, she chuckled softly. "I hope they're lucky their slightly confused superiors chose such a sunny and pleasant day."

In the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore sat behind his desk, smiling as he watched Cornelius Fudge settle comfortably into his office. "Cornelius," he asked, "I believe I mentioned in my letter yesterday that I would be visiting you today."

"It's just that Madam Bostede wanted to see an old friend first," Fudge replied with a harmless smile.

Dumbledore gazed at Fudge for a few seconds before turning to the stern-looking witch in the crimson robes of the Wizengamot. "It's been a long time, Alison."

"It has, Dumbledore," Alison Bostede replied without even nodding, sitting rigidly as if Dumbledore meant nothing to her.

Fudge gave Dumbledore a helpless look, indicating his own powerlessness against the stubborn old witch. However, Dumbledore had already seen the amusement in his eyes.

Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged, but he sighed inwardly—Cornelius's dissatisfaction with him was growing.

Because he needed to take Cyberlina to the Ministry of Magic to appeal Hagrid's case, Dumbledore had written to Fudge on Sunday to inform him of the matter. He had received a reply from Fudge politely declining and asking for reasons. So, after obtaining Cyberlina's consent, Dumbledore wrote to Fudge again, omitting the details of their four-person trip to the Chamber of Secrets.

He had hesitated at first, given Fudge's increasing displeasure, and worried that Fudge might not agree. Although it wouldn't significantly impact the outcome, it would be more troublesome and further alienate Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

However, after hearing his concerns, Cyberlina insisted he write, and specifically asked him to emphasize that Voldemort might have more than one soul fragment, mention her involvement, and include her admiration for the abilities displayed by Voldemort's soul fragment. She then gave him the letter on Monday evening.

Dumbledore immediately understood Cyberlina's intention.

Given Fudge's personality, if he were told that Voldemort had a contingency for resurrection, he would vehemently deny it for the sake of his career. At the same time, he would quickly resolve Hagrid's case to prevent the news from spreading too widely—this was something Dumbledore had considered when planning his reply.

But clearly, Cyberlina didn't want Fudge to simply brush aside the matter of Voldemort.

If Cyberlina's involvement were merely stated, Fudge might not react strongly, perhaps even be pleased with such assistance. However, if it were mentioned that she admired Voldemort, he might not be so pleased.

Dumbledore knew very well that although Fudge had become somewhat power-hungry and arrogant, his competence and sharp intellect were undeniable, otherwise, he wouldn't have held the position of Minister for so many years. Therefore, having reviewed the Ministry's files, he would not let his guard down regarding Cyberlina.

Now, with Dumbledore's letter stating Cyberlina's identity and her unclear stance, hinting that she might even lean towards Voldemort, Fudge would surely panic and seek help. Of course, he wouldn't come to Dumbledore, who wrote the letter and clearly had a good relationship with Cyberlina.

So, whom would he seek?

--Undoubtedly, the venerable old wizards of the Wizengamot.

They possessed prestige not far behind Dumbledore's. The older ones might even recognize Cyberlina and could help confirm if she was the same person from back then. Oh, and it would be even better to find someone who didn't see eye-to-eye with Dumbledore.

However, this would lead to the Wizengamot inquiring about the matter, and Voldemort's situation wouldn't be suppressed. This case, which should have been handled by the Wizengamot, would be escalated again. Fudge would no longer be able to conceal the fact that Voldemort had a backup plan on his own.

Since Dumbledore understood Cyberlina's intentions, his letter conveyed a hint of helplessness towards her stubbornness in her old age, expressing his inability to do anything about her and his acceptance.

This letter indeed sent Fudge into a frenzy. Coupled with Dumbledore sending the letter late at night, leaving Fudge with little time to think, the number of people he could seek out overnight was limited.

And the Alison Bostede before him was Dumbledore's first choice for Fudge in his mind.

She was two years below Dumbledore, an excellent Slytherin graduate from a pure-blood family, and someone favored by the pure-blood patrons of the Ministry. More importantly, she had publicly challenged Dumbledore many times, even refuting every word he said and bluntly stating that his skill as a wizard was mediocre.

--Indeed, she was Fudge's best choice.

What a pity, though—

Dumbledore smiled, unfazed by Bostede's cold expression, and said, "But please wait a moment. Cyber might take a little longer to arrive."

"Waiting for her is only proper—" Bostede's voice faltered, and she turned to look at Dumbledore coldly. "What did you just call her?"

"'Cyber'," Dumbledore blinked innocently. "We've been good friends for so many years, is there a problem with calling her that?"

"She is your profess—" Bostede looked at Dumbledore, speaking word by word. "You should address her as 'Professor Sekri'! You cannot be so disrespectful."

"But Cyber asked me to call her 'Cyber'. With Cyber's permission, can't I call her 'Cyber'?" Dumbledore grinned, popping a purple fruit candy into his mouth. He hadn't had breakfast yet!

"Dumbledore!" Bostede pursed her lips, her freckled face flushing red with anger.

Fudge quickly stepped forward to appease her. "Ms. Bostede, please don't be angry, don't argue with him. It wouldn't be good if you upset yourself."

"Yes, don't be angry, Alison." Dumbledore extended his hand, offering a few fruit candies to Bostede, who was far away. "Have a candy, Cyber made them herself."

Bostede trembled with anger.

Fudge was delighted to see the two bickering and was about to offer more words of persuasion with schadenfreude when he saw Ms. Bostede extend her hand towards him.

"?" Fudge looked confused.

"Go get it for me," Bostede said concisely.

Fudge: "...What?"

"You, go, get, the candy—for me," Bostede looked at Fudge with a 'you're an idiot' expression. "Understand now?"

"Oh, oh! I understand!"

Fudge understood the request for actions but was still unclear about the reasons behind them, so he hesitantly took two pieces under Dumbledore's smiling gaze.

"Bring them all."

Fudge immediately scooped up all the sweets from Dumbledore's palm and handed them to Bostede, then watched with a hint of confusion as she put them in her pocket.

Dumbledore's smile deepened, the grape flavor in his mouth becoming more intensely sweet.

It was just a pity—the reason he didn't get along with her was—he was the student Cyberlina had acknowledged and accepted alone, unlike her and Cyberlina's ordinary school teacher-student relationship!

When Bostede was at school, Cyberlina was her favorite professor!

As the three were lost in their own thoughts, the office door suddenly opened, and a girlish voice came from the doorway: "Albus, besides us, who else is going to the Ministry today?"

Bostede abruptly stood up, coughed lightly, and tilted her head back to adjust her meticulously pinned hair and her purplish-red Wizengamot hat. Then, with her hands clasped at her abdomen, she smiled at the young woman as she turned and saw her, saying elegantly, "Long time no see, Professor Sekri."

"Ahem—" Dumbledore coughed, drawing their attention, then immediately raised his hand as if to dismiss it, waving it in front of him and saying with an undisguised chuckle that everyone could hear, "It's nothing, I'm fine—the sweets were just a bit too sweet."

Merlin, how many years had it been since he last saw Allison's smile? He really should have called young Bostede up so she could know her great-great-aunt could still smile.

"Politeness, Albus." Cyberlina turned her head helplessly and smiled at Bostede, "It really has been a long time, little Allison. I told you, you'll still be a beautiful and elegant woman even when you're a hundred years old."

Though her muscles had receded with age, Bostede's tall stature was still evident. When she was young, her height and robust build had often made her the subject of jokes from peers in other families. However, those taunts disappeared after she took Cyberlina's advice—joined the Quidditch team as a Beater, and at a holiday gathering of pure-bloods, she punched a few gossiping young wizards—after which they ceased.

Professor Sekri said that elegance had nothing to do with body shape; she would always be the most elegant person! And so it remained to this day!

Looking at the proud expression on Bostede's face, Fudge understood—he had asked the wrong person!

His sudden visit last night was impolite and unfriendly, but Bostede had agreed immediately after hearing his brief explanation. He had even secretly rejoiced that she and Dumbledore were at odds, but who would have thought it was because she was eager to see Cyberlina!

"And this is—" Cyberlina's gaze shifted to Fudge.

Fudge immediately composed himself, extended his hand to Cyberlina, and smiled, "A pleasure to meet you, Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister for Magic in Britain."

"Oh, Mr. Minister." Cyberlina smiled and shook his hand, "Likewise."

Seeing that sincere smile, Fudge believed Cyberlina's initial impression of him must be quite good.

"Mr. Minister, are those Aurors outside the school here with you?"

Fudge, who had specially brought some battle-hardened Aurors to demonstrate the Ministry's strength, proudly replied, "Yes, Ms. Sekri."

"Oh… then Mr. Minister, which wicked wizard has entered Hogwarts?" Cyberlina smiled gently.

"?" Fudge was a bit confused, "No, with Albus here, wouldn't that be walking into a trap?"

Cyberlina looked puzzled, "Then what are you here for, Mr. Minister?"

Seeing her reaction, Fudge thought Dumbledore hadn't told her about the letter. He felt a surge of surprise, then maintained his facial expression and slowly showed a hesitant look, glancing furtively at Dumbledore before quickly looking away, saying, "Well… Albus mentioned you would be going to the Ministry, so—"

"Oh, I certainly know about that. I was right beside Albus when he wrote the letter," Cyberlina interrupted Fudge's performance. "I'm just a bit confused. If I remember correctly, Albus said— I was going to testify for Rubeus. Right?"

"Yes." Fudge nodded, showing embarrassment at being caught in his little act.

"Then that's strange," Cyberlina's smile widened. "I'm just a witness, but judging by your demeanor, Mr. Minister—it's as if you're planning to lock me up in Azkaban…"

Fudge froze and quickly explained, "No, I didn't mean that—"

"Then what did you mean?" Cyberlina looked at Fudge with a smile.

Even though the person opposite was smiling, the overwhelming aura emanating from her sent a chill down Fudge's spine. When he realized his body was subconsciously reacting with fear, Fudge began to feel a genuine sense of trepidation—because he knew, unlike those seasoned politicians, the aura emanating from the person standing before him was built upon the lives of countless wizards.

It reeked of blood and was filled with violence.

His body instinctively recoiled because his wizard's intuition was telling him—run!

But for now—at least for now, he couldn't run. But he could seek help!

So, he instinctively looked towards—Dumbledore.

However, Dumbledore merely gave him a helpless look, indicating his powerlessness against this stubborn and angry witch.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Minister. I'm not interrogating you either." Cyberlina smiled and pulled Bostede to sit on the sofa, then waved her hand to levitate a small table from the other side of the office—and tapped it.

A fragrant breakfast and a cup of green tea with milk appeared on the table.

"I haven't had breakfast yet. Would you like to join me, Mr. Minister?" Cyberlina invited Fudge.

"No, no… I've already eaten, thank you for the offer." The cold sweat on his back receded, and Fudge sank back onto the sofa.

"Can I?" Bostede asked, having paid no attention to Fudge.

"Of course."

So, another breakfast appeared on the table.

Just as Bostede cast a provocative glance at Dumbledore, she noticed he had already risen from his desk, levitated a chair, and sat down next to Cyberlina's sofa, watching her with a smile.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Albus, you probably haven't eaten either." Cyberlina tapped the tabletop, and another breakfast appeared.

"Thank you, Cyber, you're so kind," Dumbledore said with a smile, but his eyes were fixed on Bostede.

Bostede: "…" Childish!