Dumbledore's Panic

Fudge moved much faster than expected.

The first change was to the Daily Prophet.

In previous newspapers, almost every article featured different people criticizing Dumbledore, concluding with the unwavering assertion that the resurrection of the You-Know-Who was impossible and that it was a complete lie.

But ever since Fudge left the Three Broomsticks, there hasn't been any news about the You-Know-Who in the newspapers for a whole week.

Those who were previously filled with righteous indignation seemed to have vanished overnight, and the entire newspaper was filled with harmony... at least to others.

"Kyle, can you explain what's going on?"

On the Seventh Floor, in the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore, who rarely returned from outside, sat there with a worried look on his face, and on the table in front of him was an open newspaper.

[Is Dumbledore's intention to run for Minister for Magic a long-planned scheme or a spur-of-the-moment decision?]

"Our special correspondent Rita Skeeter reports: Albus Dumbledore, the renowned Headmaster of Hogwarts, has been frequently in contact with high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic these past few days. Sources suggest he is dissatisfied with the current Minister Cornelius Fudge's disparaging remarks about him and intends to run for the new Minister in an attempt to salvage his increasingly damaged reputation and honor..."

The article was quite long; although it wasn't on the front page, it still took up an entire page.

The above are all revelations from so-called insiders, as well as Dumbledore's recent schedule, and there's even a large photo in the middle of the article.

In the photo, Dumbledore is chatting and laughing with Umbridge, and the two are even shaking hands.

"Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, took over the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts in mid-September."

"Some people previously said that she took this job to monitor Dumbledore's every move for Fudge, but now it seems that the truth is not so."

"Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the two were often seen chatting and laughing in the corridors of Hogwarts, indicating a very close relationship."

"We have reason to suspect that this Deputy Minister Dolores Umbridge is actually a double agent, ostensibly working for Fudge, but in reality, he has long since defected to Dumbledore..."

"Ha..." Kyle couldn't help but laugh out loud upon seeing this. "This is really funny. I bet Umbridge will be furious when she sees this."

"I have no doubt about that," Dumbledore sighed.

Kyle glanced at the newspaper. "By the way, Professor, when did Umbridge become one of us?"

"Didn't you do this?" Dumbledore retorted, his blue eyes fixed on Kyle.

"Of course not." Kyle said calmly, "If I really had that much power, I wouldn't have had to wait until now to get Umbridge on our side."

"That's not what I meant," Dumbledore complicated expression. "Professor Umbridge has always been a loyal follower of Cornelius, and I have never doubted that."

He pointed to the photo above. "Actually, this photo was taken after Sirius was taken away, when she wanted to become the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, which I welcomed."

"Furthermore, the location mentioned above is not Hogwarts, but the Ministry of Magic."

"I see..." Kyle said suddenly, "I should have known better. Rita Skeeter just likes to write nonsense."

"So, this article has nothing to do with you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course not." Kyle shook his head repeatedly. "You just said that the photo was taken at the Ministry of Magic, and I've been staying at school ever since Sirius was taken away. It's impossible for me to go to the Ministry of Magic to take a picture."

Dumbledore looked into Kyle's eyes but saw nothing unusual in them.

"So, do you have any way to end this farce?" Dumbledore sighed. "That famous Rita Skeeter wrote many articles about me, but this one has had the greatest impact on me."

"You probably don't know, but in just a few hours I've received so many letters."

Dumbledore to the side, revealing a thick stack of letters behind him, piled up to be several feet high.

"This is only part of it..."

Before Dumbledore finish speaking, another owl flew in through the window and tossed a letter onto the table.

"You see," he continued, "Everyone seems to believe this article, that I really want to be Minister for Magic ...and they're even actively giving me advice, which is absolutely terrifying."

"Honestly, I'm a little afraid of seeing owls now."

Dumbledore afraid of owls?

Kyle couldn't help but think that if he were to say that out loud, it would probably be a front-page story.

"Professor, this might not be a bad thing," Kyle said softly. "Only when more and more people believe it will Fudge stop having doubts."

Dumbledore's expression changed. "This isn't what we agreed on."

He clearly remembered that Kyle's exact words were to create a false impression and make Fudge suspicious.

And that's exactly what he did: he said a word to Amelia Bones, greeted Barty Crouch... it was just a bit more enthusiastic than normal etiquette, nothing more.

How did things suddenly turn out like this?

Since this morning, I've been receiving letters asking if the news in the Daily Prophet is true, and some have even expressed their support for him in their letters. Several of these people are members of the Wizengamot, and some are even...

Dumbledore glanced at the table.

There was a special letter on it, sent by the French Ministry of Magic, written by the Director of the France of Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

Although it seemed like just an ordinary greeting letter, he had never received any letters from the other party before, and he didn't even know the name of the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

How could Dumbledore not understand the meaning behind a letter of greeting sent by someone with whom he had little interaction at this particular time?

Even the Ministry of Magic in other countries are supporting him. If things continue like this, Dumbledore feels he might really be pushed into the position of Minister.

This wasn't what he wanted; he just wanted to be an ordinary, unremarkable school principal.

"Well... there's nothing I can do about that," Kyle said. "We can only see what Fudge does."

"If he wants to keep his ministerial position, he'll definitely try to stop you. All we need to do is sit back and let him win."

"Really?" Dumbledore looked at Kyle suspiciously.

His intuition told him that Kyle was involved in the article, but he couldn't find any evidence... He couldn't even use any special methods.

He knew that Kyle had learned Occlumency, and was quite proficient at it; even Snape couldn't see through his thoughts... or rather, he could see through them, but it certainly wasn't true.

The ability to conceal one's true thoughts while simultaneously creating illusions to confuse the enemy is a level of Occlumency that is extremely difficult even for an adult wizard to achieve.

Thinking of this, Dumbledore sighed again... If he had known it would turn out this way, he shouldn't have agreed to let Kyle create that illusion in the first place.

Now I just hope Fudge can be a little more reliable.