The High Ground of Public Opinion

Although reluctant, William eventually obediently sat down between Snape and Sirius.

Sure enough, he immediately caught a pungent odor from Professor Snape.

How can I describe it? It's like someone with body odor eating a hundred cloves of garlic, breathing on you, and forcing you to swallow cilantro.

Oh, it's truly a divine dish to eat with rice!

Professor, what method did you use to marinate yourself so thoroughly?

William held his breath; he would rather suffocate than be suffocated by the stench.

That way, dying wouldn't be so painful.

Before he could say anything, Professor Snape started his antics, saying in a sarcastic tone:

"Shidake, you've gone on some high-risk, top-secret mission, haven't you?"

Otherwise, why would you be three minutes and fifteen seconds late, making everyone wait for you?

Tsk tsk... You weren't going to ambush the Death Eaters, were you? You're something else!

"Maybe he went to take a bath," Sirius Snape casually, seemingly unrelated to the main point.

Not everyone likes to have a strange body odor.

William, can you smell it?

Did someone eat that stuff in the toilet? Otherwise, why does it smell so bad?

Sirius now likes to mock others by saying things like "They ate something awesome!"

There's a reason for that, of course. On the night Voldemort was resurrected, he followed William's orders and went to Hogwarts to provide support.

Afterwards, she secretly attended the celebration party Gryffindor for Hermione and got completely drunk.

After returning home drunk, he lay on his bed and slept unconscious all night.

The next day, he was awakened by the stench. He pulled back the covers and saw that the bed was full of...

Kouqu!

He still thinks he accidentally lost control while he was asleep!

I'm feeling a little devastated.

Snape and Sirius stared at each other with hatred, as if they both wanted to kill each other with their eyes.

William remained silent, as quiet as a timid wife.

It's none of his business; if he wants to do something, he should go do it himself.

However, under Dumbledore's stern gaze, the two only exchanged glances and did not take it any further, engaging in any physical contact.

This left William quite disappointed.

Now that William has arrived, the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix officially begins.

William was the first to speak... That's impossible!

Although he's famous, powerful, handsome, and incredibly wealthy—and none of the people at this table are any real fighters—he's too young.

Most of the wizards present are old members of the Order of the Phoenix from the last Wizarding War.

William fought against Voldemort and did many things that no wizard had ever done.

But at least within the Order of the Phoenix, he's still a newcomer... lacking in experience and prestige.

That's how human society is; everywhere you go, you have to follow seniority!

It was only with Voldemort that it relied on individual ability.

Did you mess things up?

One day you were the Dark Lord's favorite? The kind who would stay overnight... and the next day you might just Avada Kedavra.

Tsk tsk, it seems only the Death Eaters prioritize ability above all else, lacking that old-fashioned bureaucratic air.

But are there any requirements for joining the Death Eaters? Not just anyone can get in.

The minimum requirement is Pure-blood; Half-blood are acceptable, but Muggle-born are not.

Pure-blood is equivalent to the world's best, while Half-blood is either top-tier or bottom-tier.

Muggle-born wizard... is equivalent to a non-major or college graduate; not only will they not want you, they'll kill you.

Therefore, changing jobs is impossible.

William sat there like a lackey... waiting to make a surprise move, to build up his prestige and seniority, hoping to poach the principal's staff.

He wants to turn Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix into Stark's Akali-Order of the Phoenix.

Professor McGonagall was the first to speak.

Holding a thick stack of documents, she began to report on her recent work.

Professor McGonagall's report was long and tedious, mostly revolving around the wizards she had recently encountered.

Dumbledore need to spread the news of Voldemort's resurrection? Does he need more people? To join the Order of the Phoenix to fight Voldemort.

However, to avoid exposure and ensure reliability, Order of the Phoenix is still using the old-fashioned one-to-one contact method.

In other words, joining the Order of the Phoenix isn't something anyone can do; you need a reliable member to vouch for you.

This is a secret underground organization that exists solely to fight against the Dark Lord.

However, the results were not very good.

No one wanted to believe it... Voldemort had been resurrected.

Even with Dumbledore's speech and Stark's acknowledgment, everyone was still observing.

Dumbledore looked at Kingsley and asked, "What did Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, say?"

Is it possible to try?

"I probed the director about this, but he didn't seem to believe me and said he needed more evidence." Kingsley shook his head.

"Evidence... Didn't Umbridge already take the Auror to inspect the cemetery? There were such obvious signs of a battle there."

Sirius frowned.

"In fact, those two Auror were Umbridge's men."

"They faked the scene, saying it was a landslide," Tonks explained.

"Yes, the department has already issued a formal statement defining the nature of this matter," Mr. Weasley sighed.

"I have an acquaintance in the Muggle Liaison Office who told me that Umbridge has dispatched Obliviator to modify the memories of neighboring Muggle."

Emily Vance said quickly:

"She also ordered the Misinformation Office to contact the Muggle Prime Minister and have them announce that it was a landslide."

"... Perhaps we should take a step back," Mundungus Fletcher spoke up.

"Our targets are the You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. But if this continues, it might lead to conflict with the Ministry of Magic."

Mundungus Fletcher received considerable support.

Many members of the Order of the Phoenix are officials of the Ministry of Magic. They don't want to fall out with the Ministry of Magic.

"We openly abandoned propaganda, trying not to provoke Fudge, and secretly contacted those who believed in us," said Sturgis Podmore.

William shook his head dismissively.

Dumbledore crossed his arms, looked at William, and asked, "William, what's your opinion?"

Everyone looked at him.

William raised an eyebrow. Was this the beginning of paving the way for him and building his reputation?

"Speak freely, say whatever you want," Dumbledore encouraged.

William thought for a moment, stood up, looked around, and said:

My ideas are different from everyone else's.

Of course we must deal with Fudge, and we must use the most drastic means possible.

"I know... everyone thinks Voldemort has returned, and believes that the main conflict at present is between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters."

But we also need to face reality.

Three mountains stand before us: public opinion, Minister Fudge, and Voldemort.

"We must defeat them all, and in this order, we cannot get it wrong."

William braced himself on the table with both hands, his eyes gleaming:

"If we don't occupy the high ground of public opinion, the enemy will occupy it."

Just you wait and see, next, the major newspapers will smear us, they will smear Dumbledore.

They would say that Dumbledore getting old and has long been demanding and stressed at work.

They exhibit significant physical and mental fatigue, and there is a large gap between their social roles, self-expectations, and psychological feelings.

Over a prolonged period, their anxiety intensified, leading to a cognitive bias that resulted in extreme behaviors.

"They dare to do this?!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed angrily.

"In fact, it has already begun, Professor," William said softly.

"I have some intelligence here, which I just obtained."

"That means, Professor Dumbledore, I'm afraid you won't be able to attend this International Confederation of Wizards."

"Why?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Fudge has revoked Professor Dumbledore's status as the United Kingdom representative."

Everyone remained silent.

William shouted:

"Gentlemen, abandon all illusions. The battle began the moment we announced Voldemort's return."

That's right, it's a battle with Minister Fudge.

Voldemort is the greatest mountain we must ultimately defeat, but the first two are also must be overcome.

"Politics is not a dinner party, but a life-or-death struggle!"

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