When it came to Sirius, Dumbledore and Fudge started from different positions, so their thoughts would naturally never align.
Many times, people cannot simply be judged as good or evil. Standing in different positions leads to different thoughts and actions. Fudge had merely chosen what he believed to be the most correct and most beneficial course for himself.
"Cornelius, since the Ministry's mistake has already been discovered, why not try to make amends, to correct it, instead of avoiding it?" Dumbledore said. "The Cornelius I know isn't someone who only knows how to run away."
Fudge suddenly laughed, a laugh that made Eda's skin crawl.
"Make amends? Correct it?" Fudge said. "The Ministry of Magic cannot bear such an error. It would trigger a chain reaction—pull one thread and the whole body moves. When the time comes, you'll return to Hogwarts, and all the blame and criticism will fall on me—on the Ministry!"
"More than that—have you thought about what would happen if the Ministry of Magic were to lose its credibility?" Fudge continued. "If the Ministry no longer has authority, the wizarding world will fall into chaos, and ambitious people will rise to take advantage of it. Do you want to see the wizarding world return to what it was like more than a decade ago?"
At this point, Fudge wasn't just trying to avoid responsibility. If possible, he wanted to persuade Dumbledore—to make him give up on Sirius and consider the bigger picture of the Ministry, rather than fussing over Sirius's personal gains and losses.
Dumbledore did not respond. He simply watched Fudge quietly. The headmaster knew what was going on with Fudge, and why he thought this way—because Dumbledore himself had once gone through a similar phase, when he valued power above all else.
In the end, despite appearances that he was thinking about the stability of the wizarding world, what Fudge truly cared about was himself. Whether he could remain Minister of Magic, whether he could continue to rule over the country's wizards—those were what mattered most to him.
"Or is it that you, Albus, are planning to gather your old followers again? Or perhaps you want the Minister's seat now?" Fudge said flatly. The sentence carried little emotion, yet it was heavier than anything he had said before—a remark meant to strike at the heart.
Fudge hadn't spent these past years as Minister for nothing. Maintaining close ties with pure-blood families like the Malfoys wasn't without benefit. Amelia Bones had been firmly kept in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, posing no real threat to Fudge's hold on the Minister's position.
But there was one person Fudge could never suppress, no matter what—and in fact, Fudge owed his very position to this person. That person was Dumbledore.
If Dumbledore had not explicitly refused the role of Minister of Magic, the position would never have fallen to Cornelius Fudge.
At the beginning, when he had just taken office, Fudge had treated Dumbledore with the utmost respect and often sought his advice. But as time passed, Fudge gradually came to see Dumbledore as a threat—and the greatest threat to himself.
Blinded by greed, intoxicated by power, Fudge was no longer the man he once had been. Yet Dumbledore remained the same Dumbledore.
Fudge's words left the office in silence; even his labored breathing could be heard. Dumbledore fell into thought, saying nothing, deeply disappointed by Fudge's behavior.
The pink toad did not leap out in a shrill outburst to please her master. She merely stared fixedly at Dumbledore, as if trying to kill him with her gaze.
Eda, meanwhile, suddenly understood everything. She had thought that Fudge at least had a bit of public spirit, that he was considering the stability of the Ministry and the wizarding world. In the end, however, the Minister was full of nothing but selfish motives.
Overturning Sirius's case would certainly bring a heap of trouble, but it wasn't entirely without benefits for Fudge. Eda didn't believe Fudge couldn't see that.
But Fudge deliberately ignored it. He gave up those benefits simply because he didn't want Dumbledore to gain anything from it as well—he didn't want Dumbledore to expand his influence any further.
When it came down to it, Fudge was still afraid of losing his position as Minister, afraid that Dumbledore might rise against him.
"Ha.. haha.."
In such a serious setting, Eda suddenly laughed—completely out of place—and even let out a sound. She truly couldn't hold it in anymore; she found Fudge utterly ridiculous. If Dumbledore really wanted to rebel, would he even need to expand his influence?
With a single call to arms, even if not everyone responded, he could at least gather a large number of top-tier wizards. Besides, he alone could fight his way in and out of the Ministry of Magic as if it were nothing—why would he need to gather subordinates? It was absurd.
Fudge thought far too highly of himself, and far too highly of the Ministry. Who had given him such an illusion?
"What are you laughing at!" Umbridge snapped sharply. "The Minister is speaking—who gave you the right to laugh!"
Eda merely shot Umbridge a look of disgust. She didn't lose her temper and snap back at the pink toad. If she also started making a scene, there'd be no ending this without someone's brains getting smashed out.
The reason Dumbledore had come to see Fudge privately was precisely to deal with him—to tempt Fudge with the political achievement of overturning Sirius's case, and to push forward the process of reopening the case from back then.
Who would have thought that Fudge wouldn't fall for it? Afraid of Dumbledore growing stronger, he would rather see everything burn together. Dumbledore had launched his sugar-coated shell, but Fudge simply swallowed the shell and returned the sugar coating to Dumbledore intact.
Now Dumbledore had been put on the spot by Fudge—no matter what he said next, its meaning and tone would be completely different. Fudge could easily counter with a question: Are you trying to tell the Minister how to do his job? Are you planning to take the position next?
Fortunately, Dumbledore had brought Eda along.
She was just a student, and could ease the awkward tension a little. And it was precisely because she needed a reason to step in that Eda hadn't lashed out at Umbridge earlier—she just hadn't found the right opening yet.
"How about this, Albus.. we each take a step back," Fudge said, regaining his composure. "You hand over Black, so I can give the Ministry and the public an explanation. Then I'll return Black to you and restore his freedom—he just must not appear in Britain again."
This was the compromise Fudge had come up with. It would restore Black's freedom while also giving the public an explanation. Most importantly, Dumbledore's influence wouldn't grow to an unacceptable level.
But the problem was—why should an innocent man be forced to leave his homeland and stay away from Britain? On what grounds should Black be made a sacrifice in this struggle?
Clearly, Dumbledore did not agree with Fudge's proposal. He turned to look at Eda.
Eda immediately understood.
At this point, there was no need to think about finding the right opening—she should just speak up. Otherwise, she was afraid she might not be able to stop herself from smashing Fudge's head in.
"Minister, there's something I'd like to say—though I'm not sure if it's appropriate," Eda said.
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