"Big sister! A prefect is a very important position, responsible for assisting professors in managing the school. Only students who are outstanding in both character and academics, responsible, and willing to dedicate themselves can become one," Astoria glared at her sister with displeasure. "How could you even think of running for prefect just because their bath is bigger!"
"But think about it, that's a large bath! After a whole day of exhaustion, you can fill it up with hot water, stretch out your limbs however you want, and release all the fatigue in your body—and it can even massage you!" Daphne slapped Astoria on the butt.
The scene described by her sister made Astoria's heart stir a little. She really couldn't resist the allure of a large bath, and becoming a prefect was also a way to prove herself…
Daphne continued, "Besides me and Rhys, who else has the qualifications to be prefect? Malfoy?"
She let out a loud, mocking laugh.
In her eyes, the selection of prefects might look like a multiple-choice question, but in reality, it was a fill-in-the-blank one, and the only correct answers were herself and Rhys—anything else would score zero.
Looking at her overly confident sister, Astoria once again fell into silence: in this day and age, even someone like her sister could become a prefect… Slytherin House had truly fallen.
The two soaked in the bath for a long time, only getting out once the water had cooled, wrapping themselves in the bathrobes they had prepared in advance.
"This potion really does seem to work—I think my arms actually look whiter now," Daphne exclaimed in delight after carefully examining the state of her skin.
"You don't even think about how long you were soaking in the water!" Astoria finally couldn't hold back and complained, feeling that her sister had definitely fallen for some kind of IQ tax.
After finishing their bath, the two of them used magic to dry their hair. Returning to the dormitory, they collapsed onto the soft beds and quickly drifted into dreamland.
While Daphne and Astoria were enjoying their hot bath, Rhys had already finished his own cleaning and returned to the dormitory earlier.
He did not rush to bed, but instead took out a roll of parchment, a quill, and a plate of sweets. Setting a small table on his bed, he began writing a letter.
He was writing to Jamison Henry Greengrass.
As for the content of the letter, naturally, it was related to what had just happened.
~~~~~
[Dear Jamison,
Hello. Today, Dementors attacked Hogwarts—don't worry, they have already been buried, and no one was harmed. I now need you to help me find out two things clearly.
1] Has the Ministry of Magic actually dispatched people to supervise the Dementors stationed around Hogwarts? And how strong is the Ministry's control over the Dementors?
2] Who insisted on using Dementors to blockade Hogwarts? If it was Minister Cornelius Fudge, I want to know why he did this.
Expecting your reply, with sincere regards,
Rhys Lint]
~~~~~
Rhys's letter was very short—so short that it left large sections of blank space on the parchment.
After finishing the letter, he sent it out and then lay back on his bed to sleep. By the time he woke up, Mr. Greengrass's reply had already been delivered.
He opened it, skimmed through, and let out a cold laugh: the Ministry of Magic had not dispatched anyone to control the Dementors. Even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to exercise effective restraint. Fudge had sent the Dementors to surround Hogwarts in order to lie in wait and capture the escaped prisoner Sirius Black.
After reading Mr. Greengrass's reply, Rhys took two deep breaths to calm himself.
Then he wrote Mr. Greengrass another letter. This time, it was even shorter than the last—so short it contained only one sentence:
[I believe Cornelius Fudge is unfit for the position of Minister for Magic.]
Upon receiving the reply, Jamison Henry Greengrass narrowed his eyes. After a moment's thought, he began writing letters to his friends.
Rhys's letter had been very short, but Mr. Greengrass's were extremely long, one after another, and he continued writing deep into the night without stopping.
If that man believed Cornelius was unfit to be Minister for Magic, then Cornelius was unfit to be Minister for Magic.
…
Cornelius Fudge had no idea that he had inexplicably offended a group of people. At present, he was troubled by other matters.
When he arrived at his office this morning, he received two pieces of news.
The first came from the Ministry employee responsible for delivering "supplies" to the Dementors—he reported that the Dementors around Hogwarts had vanished.
When he read this, Fudge felt as if his scalp had exploded. That was over a hundred Dementors, not a hundred stray cats! Could such creatures simply be misplaced?
Then his eyes fell upon the Hogwarts crest on another letter lying below. Immediately, Fudge had a bad feeling.
Opening it, he discovered it was a letter from Dumbledore.
After reading, he was left with one good piece of news and one bad piece of news:—
The good news: the Dementors' whereabouts had been found.
The bad news: they had invaded Hogwarts.
Upon reading Dumbledore's words, cold sweat broke out all over Fudge. If a single student had been harmed, he would be utterly finished!
When he read a few more lines, Fudge relaxed again—after all, no one had been hurt. That old man Dumbledore was simply making a fuss over nothing. He would just remind the Dementors later not to enter Hogwarts.
But as he continued through the letter, Fudge's mood shifted to shock. The Dementors he had stationed around Hogwarts had been completely wiped out!
According to Dumbledore, they hadn't been driven away by the Patronus Charm, but rather "buried."
At first, Fudge thought Dumbledore must be mocking him, but after calming down, he realized Dumbledore had no reason to lie, and the Dementors really had disappeared.
Either way, he would have to make a trip to Hogwarts.
Placing his silk hat back on his head, Fudge hurried out of his office. In his rush, he failed to notice that many familiar faces were absent from the Ministry that day.
At that very moment, those missing faces were gathered at Greengrass Manor, invited by Jamison into the drawing room.
The chamber was packed with representatives of pure-blood families, senior officials from the Ministry, and other notable figures of the wizarding world. They all shared one thing in common—their children were currently attending Hogwarts.
Once nearly everyone had arrived, Mr. Jamison cleared his throat and addressed the room:
"I believe all of you who came here today must have read my letter, correct? Yesterday, Hogwarts suffered a collective invasion by Dementors."
As soon as Jamison finished speaking, Lucius raised his cane slightly, interrupting him.
"Forgive my intrusion, but may I ask, Mr. Jamison—how exactly do you know that Dementors invaded Hogwarts yesterday? My son is also studying at Hogwarts, and he certainly hasn't written me a letter about such an earth-shattering event."
Jamison Henry Greengrass gave him a cold glance and replied, "That's because the Dementors triggered Hogwarts' defense mechanism. They have already all been buried."
Lucius: ???
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