Fudge's Smoldering Fury

Cornelius Fudge realized that the young wizard before him truly knew what he liked to hear, and what he needed right now.

Fudge's smile grew increasingly sincere as he unhesitatingly picked up another pouch from the tray.

The pouch was made of luxurious material, no bigger than a wallet, with a family crest Isaac did not recognize embroidered upon it.

"This is the prize money sponsored by the Ministry of Magic. Make good use of it, Isaac~"

Make good use of it?

The Galleons awarded by the Ministry of Magic were certainly substantial, but Isaac did not think Fudge would make a point of mentioning it at a time like this.

Leaving aside whether a Minister for Magic would care about a mere thousand Galleons, even if Fudge did care, would saying that now not completely undermine the lofty image he had just cultivated?

Isaac's gaze fell on the pouch in Fudge's hand, and he suddenly realized something.

Isaac had exchanged Galleons at Gringotts before. A Wizarding World Galleon was one size larger and twice as thick as the one-yuan coins he had used in his previous life.

A thousand Galleons piled together would take up roughly as much space as ten 500-milliliter bottles of mineral water.

The pouch in Fudge's hand was only the size of a wallet, so the question was: how could such a small pouch hold so many gold coins?

In the Muggle world, such a thing would be utterly impossible.

But the Wizarding World had the Undetectable Extension Charm.

The Undetectable Extension Charm was a complex, advanced spell, and it was strictly regulated by the Ministry of Magic.

In the Wizarding World, casting spells on Muggle objects without authorization was illegal—the pouch in Fudge's hand had clearly been enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm.

And this pouch was what Fudge had specifically meant when he told him to make good use of it.

What did generosity mean? This was what generosity meant.

Never mind whether the thousand Galleons and the pouch enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm had both been charged to the public account.

The man was willing to present them to Isaac in front of Dumbledore and the Hogwarts Heads of House, in front of Ministry of Magic bureaucrats and Aurors, and in front of Daily Prophet reporters and photographers.

He was vouching for Isaac.

Mr. Isaac Waldore possessing a pouch enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm was entirely reasonable, legal, and compliant.

"Thank you very much, Minister! You are truly generous~" Isaac could not help but marvel at how skilled Fudge was at winning people over.

Of course, Fudge had risen from a low-ranking bureaucrat to Deputy Minister for Magic, and even become the third-ranked candidate for Minister for Magic. How could someone like that lack a few tricks up his sleeve?

What was more, he had gradually seized the authority of the Minister for Magic while Dumbledore was still alive.

Dumbledore had certainly gone easy on him, but Fudge himself also possessed the qualities of a politician.

He dared to think, and he dared to act.

Anyone else might truly have resigned themselves to being Dumbledore's mouthpiece.

One could imagine the immense pressure Fudge must have felt when he first tentatively tried to seize the true authority of the Minister for Magic from Dumbledore's hands.

Isaac took the pouch containing the Galleons from Fudge and casually slipped it into the inner pocket of his robes.

Umbridge, who was holding the tray nearby, was about to say something, but swallowed the words after seeing Fudge's expression.

This pouch enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm was not part of the reward!

They had used the pouch to hold the money because carrying a thousand Galleons by any other means would look somewhat improper.

They had originally planned to bring the Galleons over in this pouch, then transfer them to the young wizard.

Whether it looked elegant or not once the young wizard received the money had nothing to do with them.

Yet they had not expected this young wizard named Waldore to be so unabashed and unceremonious.

Even more unexpectedly, Minister Fudge was so generous today that he gave away such an exquisite pouch just like that??

The award ceremony could be said to have delighted both hosts and guests. After presenting the prize money, Fudge pulled Isaac over for another round of photographs with the Daily Prophet photographer.

This time, Isaac's face was filled with a bright and enthusiastic smile.

This was his biggest patron. What was wrong with smiling for a photograph with him?

Isaac was not in the business of selling smiles, but Minister Fudge had simply given too much!

Just as Fudge was preparing to deliver another speech in the Hogwarts Great Hall, Umbridge suddenly stepped forward and spoke to Isaac.

"Mr. Waldore, that Death Eater has already been sent to Azkaban by us—the security of Britain's Wizarding World now has unprecedented protection.

"Perhaps you should stop troubling the Hogwarts professors here. Go home early, and do not make your family worry?"

Upon hearing those words from the toad Umbridge, Isaac instinctively looked at Fudge behind her.

At one glance, Isaac nearly burst out laughing.

Because Umbridge had her back to Fudge, she did not see the look in his eyes as he stared at her.

It was more than disgust—it was utter loathing!

How could this woman have so little awareness?

Isaac could actually understand Umbridge's suggestion.

A Death Eater coming to attack a young wizard who had not yet enrolled was already an enormous political scandal.

Everything Fudge was doing now could only serve to patch things up, to repair the Ministry of Magic's image in the Wizarding World.

Since there was a problem with security in the Wizarding World, what was the best way to solve it?

It was to have someone prove that the Wizarding World's security was actually fine.

How could they prove that?

Umbridge's answer was to send Isaac, the victim of the attack, back to the place where he had been attacked.

If Isaac survived until Hogwarts began, it would prove that security in the Wizarding World was still fine.

If he died... they would deal with that later.

"Absolutely not!" Before Isaac could answer, and before Fudge could speak, Professor McGonagall strode out from behind Dumbledore.

At that moment, she was like an enraged lioness, glaring furiously at the pink toad as she rebuked her. "I will never allow my student to take such a risk!"

Professor McGonagall shielded Isaac behind her and met Umbridge's gaze.

Umbridge, who had not expected such a fierce reaction from Professor McGonagall, instinctively took half a step back before looking toward Fudge behind her.

"Minister, look at her!"

A surge of smoldering fury rose within Cornelius Fudge, and it was directed neither at Professor McGonagall nor at Isaac.

All of it was aimed at Umbridge.

Why could this woman not adapt? Why could she not read the room?

Yes, their original plan had been to persuade Isaac to leave Hogwarts and return home.

That was also the most straightforward way to prove that the Wizarding World was still safe.

But before was before, and now was now.

Isaac had just given Fudge's reputation a massive boost. Fudge could already imagine how wildly his popularity would soar once this issue of the Daily Prophet was published.

Would it not look like crossing the river and dismantling the bridge, or killing the donkey once it had finished turning the millstone, if they sent Isaac home now?

Political theater needed to be seen through from beginning to end. If Umbridge really did this, it would no longer be political theater—it would be a political scandal!