As a seasoned veteran in the workplace, Billy immediately sensed that something was amiss.
The professors who had come along didn't look too happy.
As for Minister Fudge, needless to say, his face was terribly gloomy.
Old Billy stood up, greeted them, and then stood quietly to the side, remaining silent.
"That idiot Walton will definitely jump out on his own," old Billy thought. "Let him take the brunt of the minister's anger."
Sure enough, Walton saw Fudge come in and immediately stood up to complain.
"Minister Fudge, this kid is involved in harboring dark Magical Creatures, refuses to cooperate with our investigation, and even dares to threaten us."
Walton looked at Silan with a mixture of smugness and fierceness, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
"I think we should use some methods against him..."
Upon hearing this, old Billy opened his mouth silently, but ultimately cast an admiring glance at Walton.
Young people are just bold.
How dare they say something like "use some tricks on the junior wizards" in front of the principal and dean!
Such courage would probably make even Gryffindor himself feel ashamed.
"Shut up!"
Fudge, his face contorted with rage, forced out a sentence through clenched teeth. "Why don't you obey my orders?"
As soon as Walton uttered his words, Fudge clearly felt the gazes of the professors behind him sharpen.
This made him feel like he had a hidden threat behind him.
What is this complete idiot talking about?
Can't you see the people who've come to his rescue?
You have no brains at all!
Walton was somewhat puzzled. "Minister Fudge, I'm just following your orders."
"Didn't you send us to investigate the Basilisk? You said we could do so if necessary..."
"You still know I sent you to investigate?" Fudge shouted angrily. "Then what are you doing now?"
Is this an investigation?
"Of course," Walton stubbornly insisted. "As far as I know, he has the deepest connection with the Basilisk ... I think he's highly suspicious."
"Alright, shut up!"
Fudge waved his hand impatiently at him. "I don't want to hear your stupid explanations."
"I never issued such a foolish order; you acted without authorization. You are responsible for this! Don't try to shift the blame to others."
"I..." Walton hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
Fudge glared at him coldly.
"I told you, shut up!"
Old Billy sighed inwardly.
Walton was too young and didn't understand the minister's temperament.
How could he possibly lose face in front of outsiders?
They're definitely going to try to shift the blame onto someone else.
Are you deliberately asking for trouble?
That's incredibly stupid.
Hermione wasn't interested in their conversation. She pushed her way through the group of adults, ran to Silan, and asked anxiously, "Are you alright, Silan? Did they hurt you?"
"No, definitely not!" Fudge answered first, trying to soften his voice. "Perhaps their methods were a bit rough, but there was absolutely no malice involved."
Silan's face paled slightly when she looked at Walton, and she shook her head in slight panic.
"No... I'm fine."
Seeing Silan's completely different demeanor from her previous relaxed and carefree self, old Billy gave a wry smile.
This is really bad trouble.
She's such a good actress.
But he didn't say anything.
It's meaningless.
Fudge only wanted to get away with it and wouldn't stand up for them; by jumping in himself, he ended up getting himself into trouble.
Professor McGonagall frowned slowly as she saw Silan looking frightened and hesitant to speak.
Several professors also looked at Walton with displeasure.
A wronged and frightened Prewett, a fierce-looking Walton, and the axe tucked into his waistband...
The matter was crystal clear; it was obvious that this guy was bullying the young wizard, and there was no room for argument.
Old Billy had seen Walton playing with the axe a long time ago, but he didn't warn him, hoping Walton would draw attention to him.
In retrospect, the results are remarkable.
Professor McGonagall took two steps forward, pulled Silan to her side, a little distance from Fudge, and asked with pursed lips, "Mr. Prewett, you don't need to be afraid. Tell me what's wrong."
"I think Headmaster Dumbledore and the other professors will protect you," Professor McGonagall said sarcastically, her gaze cold as she looked at old Billy and Walton.
Fudge gave a somewhat awkward smile.
Even the usually taciturn Dumbledore spoke up, "Don't worry, child."
"Minister Fudge is the fairest and most just Minister for Magic I've ever met, and he will definitely protect you."
Fudge had been trying to gloss over the matter, as if it never happened, but Dumbledore's words had put him in a difficult position. Now, trying to remain silent and let it slide was no longer appropriate.
"That's right, child."
Fudge nodded quickly, anxiously calculating how to convince Dumbledore that he had nothing to do with the matter.
"Speak, Prewett." Snape stood between him and Walton, separating the two of them.
"Don't be afraid, child," Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick said softly.
Silan took a deep breath, as if forcibly suppressing the fear in her heart.
"They brought me here to ask about the Basilisk. I told them Basilisk was dead. But they didn't believe me. Mr. McNeil even said that if I didn't cooperate, he wouldn't mind using Veritaserum on me, and some other methods..."
As Silan spoke, her gaze slowly fell on the axe tucked into Walton's waist, flickering fearfully twice.
Old Billy opened his mouth, but no words came out.
In truth, the child is absolutely right.
Walton, that idiot, did say something like that.
Upon hearing Silan's words, Fudge felt an uncontrollable fire raging within him, bursting forth intermittently and scorching his heart with a hissing sound.
He glared angrily at Walton, then turned and smiled awkwardly.
"He was an executioner... all brawn and no brains."
"He's like an empty bottle; the wind blowing into his ears makes a whistling sound, hahaha..."
Fudge chuckled awkwardly. "I think he was probably joking. You're perfectly fine now, aren't you? You look completely alright, so let's just..."
He didn't care what was wrong with the little wizard; he just wanted to smooth things over and quickly put the matter behind him.
"You're right, Minister Fudge." Snape grinned coldly.
"Yes, yes... we..."
Fudge chuckled, but suddenly saw Snape's hand, hidden in his sleeve, snap out of his hand, wand flash in the air, and the air in front of him rippled.
Several invisible blades swept through the air, grazed Fudge's cheeks, and tore several holes in Walton's clothes.
Under Snape's control, the Sectumsempra blade sliced through Walton's clothes, leaving a few shallow cuts on his skin, but did not actually injure him.
It's not very harmful, but it's extremely insulting.
"Severus!"
Dumbledore was the first to react. He reached out and grabbed Snape's wrist, saying with a hint of complaint, "Put your wand away."
"You! You..."
Fudge was clearly frightened by Snape; he could barely speak.
He never expected that Snape would dare to pull out his wand and attack right in front of the Minister for Magic.
Snape put away his wand and said casually, "Minister Fudge, don't worry."
"I see McNeil is perfectly fine, nothing's wrong with him, is he?"
"I was just joking with him, just like I did with Prewett. You should understand, right?"
This is what Fudge just said.
Snape returned it to him intact.
The noisy scene from before has quieted down considerably.
Fudge was speechless.
Walton's eyes also cleared.
When the Sectumsempra, he almost thought he was going to die.
Snape, that madman, traitor, ingrate!
What does this kid have to do with you? Why are you meddling in my business?
Walton cursed inwardly, but dared not show it on his face, and could only stand there frozen.
Dumbledore pulled Snape back and said in an exaggeratedly loud voice, "You're too reckless, Severus!"
"Minister Fudge, don't worry. As the principal, I will punish him severely."
But in the end, Dumbledore didn't say how he planned to punish Snape.
The other professors also played along, feigning shock and complaining to Snape, but they all handled the situation gently.
After making a few perfunctory remarks, Dumbledore brushed the matter aside lightly, saying with a relaxed expression, "Now I'm certain that this was all a misunderstanding."
"That's right, that's right." Fudge nodded repeatedly.
"It seems the misunderstanding has been cleared up," Dumbledore, trying to smooth things over.
He didn't mention the capture of the young wizard, nor did Fudge mention Snape's actions.
Fudge just wanted to get rid of this troublesome matter and didn't bother to hold Snape responsible.
Even if he brought it up, Dumbledore would only say it was an internal matter of Hogwarts.
With Dumbledore and so many professors in front of him, could he really demand that Snape be imprisoned in Azkaban?
This whole thing was a messy, troublesome affair from the start, Fudge couldn't wait to get it over with.
"You just said you're here to investigate the Basilisk, right?" Dumbledore changed the subject.