"I'm sorry, Albus, this all happened so suddenly. We had no choice in the matter."
Cornelius Fudge sat in the headmaster's office, his face full of apologies as he looked at Dumbledore, nervously fidgeting with his teacup.
"It's quite alright, Cornelius. In fact, I rather enjoy catching up with old friends. But you might want to take off that hat—Hogwarts isn't as chilly as it is out there," Dumbledore said, adding two sugar cubes to his tea and nudging the neatly stacked pile toward Fudge. "Care for some? A sweet cup of tea does wonders on a day like this."
Fudge hastily removed his bowler hat, setting it down without bothering to hang it on the rack, and politely declined the sugar. "Albus, you have to understand, the entire British wizarding world hasn't seen anything like this in years."
He gripped his teacup, the faint red liquid reflecting his flushed cheeks. Avoiding Dumbledore's gaze, he continued in a conciliatory tone, "I personally trust Snape, but the evidence we have points squarely at him—especially given his prior record at the Ministry."
"I have to give the public some kind of answer, especially after I suppressed this morning's Daily Prophet. I have a feeling my desk will be buried under complaint letters by this afternoon."
Professor McGonagall, standing on the other side of the office, pursed her lips, clearly struggling to hold back. Finally, she couldn't resist. "This is utterly ridiculous! Snape was a victim himself not long ago…"
"I'm sorry, Cornelius, I mean no disrespect, but I suspect someone's provided false evidence."
Fudge glanced at Dumbledore, then at McGonagall, setting down his tea and tugging at his collar uncomfortably. "I share your view, believe me. I only saw the report from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement myself a short while ago."
"By then, Edward had already left the Ministry. I came here as quickly as I could to discuss this with Albus."
"What?!" McGonagall's voice rose sharply, her eyes wide with disbelief, as if seeing Fudge for the first time. "Did I hear that right? Edward Reynolds? Wasn't he just leading a team of Hit Wizards to Brest, France, to apprehend a fugitive? He's already at Hogwarts?"
"I'm not entirely sure…" Fudge mumbled, fidgeting with his hat. "Edward's Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Scrimgeour's Aurors have been at odds for ages. Both sides think the other oversteps their authority."
"That's not what I'm worried about!" McGonagall snapped. "How can he just barge into Hogwarts with his team? This is a school full of students!"
"I'm sorry, Albus, I need to check on this. I hope they're still outside the castle." With that, McGonagall hurried out of the office.
"I apologize, Cornelius," Dumbledore said calmly, sipping his tea, the steam briefly clouding his face. "You'll have to forgive Minerva. She's protective of her students. Every child here has grown up under her watchful eye."
"I completely understand," Fudge replied. "But sometimes, things spiral beyond our control—like what's happening now. My intentions are good, Albus. This is about maintaining stability in the wizarding world, especially since this matter has stirred up so many people."
…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The heavy door to the dungeon classroom was pounded on, then forcefully broken open. The sound of the thick wooden door slamming against the wall echoed through the room. Every student spun around to face the entrance.
A stern, broad-shouldered middle-aged wizard strode in, followed by a dozen others dressed in robes similar to those of Aurors, though the differences were clear. They wore armbands with small, pale red lettering, their wands gripped tightly as they stared intently at Snape, who stood at the front of the classroom.
"Severus Snape," the lead wizard announced, "we've received reports that you were present at the Gringotts robbery in August and, just yesterday, appeared in Hogsmeade mere minutes after a known dark wizard was spotted."
"This is a warrant for your arrest and search. You're to come with us to the Ministry for questioning immediately."
The wizard, scanning the room, pulled a stack of parchment from his robes. His gaze was cold, almost clinical, as he fixed his eyes on Snape.
Snape, who had been closely watching Adam's movements, turned pale. After a long pause, he managed to choke out, "I haven't received any summons from the Wizengamot, Edward…"
"That's irrelevant. You'll see it at the Ministry," Edward replied, his eyes locked on Snape. His team fanned out, securing the classroom, even pulling back the heavy curtains to check the windows.
The two men stared at each other in silence, each watching the other's hands closely.
"That's the guy who brought me here," Aiden whispered, staring at the intruders. "Didn't expect them to be Hit Wizards."
"Hit Wizards? Like Aurors?" Adam asked. "I didn't see them last time."
"The Auror Office is just one part of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Aiden explained. "It's not like the whole department relies solely on Aurors. These Hit Wizards are part of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. They handle routine law enforcement, while Aurors deal with high-risk or specialized magical crimes. But I hear the heads of these two groups don't get along, especially when cases overlap."
Adam turned to him, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. "How do you know so much? Didn't you say you grew up in the Muggle world?"
"My dad told me about it," Aiden said. "I mentioned it last night, remember? Wait—why did you say 'last time'? You never told me—"
"Stop. Not the time," Adam cut him off, glancing at the middle-aged wizard at the door. "I just want to know how they got into Hogwarts. Where were the other professors?"
He muttered to himself, then fixed Aiden with a pointed look. "Don't tell me you brought them in."
Aiden's face flushed red. He tugged at his robes, looking down and avoiding Adam's gaze. Feeling the increasingly strange stare, he stammered, "N-no, it's not like that—"
"Don't. We'll talk about that whole 'raised as a girl by your grandma for years' thing later," Adam said, cutting him off again. "Just tell me, where did you see them?"
"Uh… fourth floor, I think," Aiden mumbled, his soft blonde hair falling over his forehead. "There were a lot of suits of armor in the corridor. I think it was near the trophy room."
Adam's eyes flickered as he reached out, steadying the wobbling scales in front of him, his mind racing.
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