That day, after Lucius left, Cornelius Fudge began sending letters and informing the wizard throughout The Daily Prophet that Albus Dumbledore would be stripped of many of his titles and statuses.
Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and the Order of Merlin.
The only one that Cornelius let Dumbledore keep was the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Fudge realized that Lucius was right. Dumbledore had too much influence and position. He needed to show Dumbledore that he was not a guy who could be played with.
Dumbledore left him no choice. The way he spread fear could only cause a setback to his Ministry. And the more he pondered on, the more he could see Lucius's words had some truth in them.
It did not take long for the news to spread like fiendfyre.
Many were unsure which parties to side with. Some believed in Dumbledore claiming that Voldemort was back, but the recent event of Harry being portrayed as a killer has cast doubt in their mind.
On top of that, there was not a single death followed by the death mark happening around. People were sure that if the dark Lord was really back, then he who must not be named would have already begun to wreak havoc. This was one of the arguments Fudge used to convince wizards to his side.
Inside the Malfoy Manor, Voldemort had a newspaper in his hand. It was the latest issue of The Daily Prophet, dated 1st July 1995. The newspaper had three major articles. It was about Dumbledore and his lost titles, Harry Potter the killer, and the latest about the escapee from Azkaban, Sirius Black.
After Cornelius had announced Harry as the main culprit of Cedric's death, there were many murmurs that maybe it was Sirius Black who had used the Imperius Curse on Harry and made him do the killing.
More people began to believe in that possibility as Sirius was arrested for his betrayal of the Potters and the murder of twelve Muggles. While that was a total lie, the general public still had no idea.
Putting down the newspaper, Voldemort rose and started walking toward the cellar.
"Two days should be enough to break whatever sanity has remained." Thought Voldemort as he took the stairs down.
During the past few days, Voldemort has left Harry alone after the incident with Dobby. He also did the same with Narcissa, never approaching her. In fact, during the past days, Voldemort had spent much more time outside than in the Manor.
He went to visit a muggle Piers Polkiss, in the town of Little Whinging. For Voldemort, this was a nobody but a pawn for his future plan. The dark Lord had used the Invisibility Cloak to get around, as his doubt was true on seeing some Aurors hidden all around. Whatever Voldemort did there, only he was aware.
As Voldemort took the final step and reached the door, he changed the expression on his face, and he tapped the door.
The door swung open, and a foul smell hit him as if the smell was trying to escape the cellar.
"The trouble I have to go through just for breaking you. You better be worthy of it, Harry." Voldemort, although he was clearly expecting that smell, voiced out his disdain.
"What is that rotten smell? I have been away for so long and asked you guys a simple task to just take care of the boy, yet you all can't even do such a thing."
Harry was lying flat on the floor and heard the voice clearly, belonging to the dark lord. But there was silence as he heard no reply from anyone. Just from that, Harry got an idea of what was going on. He was in a different room as Voldemort was not present for a certain time. He had asked his Death Eaters to take care of him. That was why he did not receive any visit from the dark lord. Anyway, now he did not care about anything. Not even what the dark Lord would do to him.
Days had passed. He had no idea how many times he had screamed. He did not know from where he had regained some strength, but he cried until his throat gave out. Still, no one came.
Denial came first.
"This can't be real," he had whispered over and over again.
"He's just… sleeping."
He had even tried to shake Dobby awake. But the elf never moved again.
Then came the anger.
Rage had consumed him. He screamed until his throat got dry. He had cursed the Death Eaters and Voldemort. He had cursed Dumbledore. He had cursed himself. He punched the floor until there was no strength left in them.
Bargaining came next.
Begging the world to give him a second chance. To take him instead. "If I give up magic… if I never return to Hogwarts… if I let Voldemort win… please, just give him back."
Then, after a day, a nauseating odor emanated from Dobby's lifeless form. Harry felt a primal urge to escape, to flee from the suffocating confines of the cellar, from the stench of death. But he was paralyzed by the weight of his own guilt and could not move his body.
The pungent smell of decay mixed with the lingering scent of blood filled the air, creating a nauseating atmosphere. Harry could not hold any longer, and his stomach turned, and he vomited uncontrollably upon himself.
His body gave in, and he fell on the floor.
Then came the depression. Harry stopped talking.
He let the blood dry on his skin. Let the smell of rot invade his lungs. It didn't matter. None of it mattered.
Harry heard the footsteps approaching and then the voice of Voldemort echoed around the room again. "Oh my, Harry. Did you kill another one? This looks like a house elf. For how long has it been like this? It smells rotten here. Let me help you get rid of your victim."