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Chapter Forty-Eight: Phoenix Society Secret Meeting (Part Two)
"Alright, then I'll say it." Everyone leaned in, listening. "Fudge is usually well-protected—except when he's at home. His house is under the Fidelius Charm, and because Pandora invited me, I was able to enter freely. If I subdue Fudge and then use the Imperius Curse on him—"
"Oh my God, Gilderoy, you're disgusting! You took advantage of a fifteen-year-old girl's feelings!" Tonks shrieked, horrified.
"As a former Auror, one must be ready to use any means necessary! Little Gilderoy has the same spirit I did back in the day," Moody said approvingly.
"I swear on Merlin's beard, my feelings for Pandora are real!" Lockhart said quickly, hurriedly defending himself.
"But it's impossible to use the Imperius Curse on the Minister of Magic. Even though his Occlumency is terrible, he has at least trained a little," Moody reminded him.
Well—Lockhart truly hadn't thought of that.
"I could take Polyjuice Potion and become the Minister instead," Arthur said. "I know him well, and I can imitate him convincingly."
"And then what?" Tonks asked.
"Then I give the order for the Dementors to be withdrawn from Azkaban and transferred to another department. Of course, we have to handle this carefully in case the Dementors rebel. The ideal outcome is that they revolt, the prisoners attempt a mass breakout, and then our ambush teams take advantage of the chaos to eliminate them. That way, we won't have to waste manpower guarding Azkaban."
"Even if the Dementors leave quietly," Cyrus added, his voice low and cold, "we should still stage a fake breakout and kill the dangerous ones in the confusion. Dead Death Eaters make the best Death Eaters."
"The plan is perfect, but remember," Moody continued, still unconvinced, "the Ministry isn't full of fools. Such an absurd order will raise suspicion, and you can't provide evidence that the Dementors are unreliable."
"There's a way," Lockhart said. "I'll have Rita Skeeter write a series of articles in advance smearing the Dementors—highlighting their failures, their unpredictability. At the same time, our members inside the Ministry can step forward to support Arthur's order. People follow the herd. Once most Aurors and Hit-Wizards accept it, any doubts will collapse instantly."
A long silence followed. Everyone was thinking.
"It seems sound," Cyrus said at last.
"Then… shall we do it?" Tonks asked, cautious but tempted.
"No objections here. As long as no one looks too closely, even I'd fall for it," Moody said—high praise coming from him.
So from the next day onward, newspapers and magazines were flooded with articles questioning the Dementors' reliability—ranging from Sirius and Pettigrew's escapes, blaming the Dementors for negligence; to the Dementor attacks on Hogwarts students, claiming they had become uncontrollable; to gossip columns speculating about their allegiance.
The reports were so varied and so numerous that even members of the Order of the Phoenix began to believe them.
Meanwhile, Lockhart wrote to Pandora telling her he was free in the coming days. Her reply came quickly—an invitation to visit her home that Saturday. Snape sent over a fresh batch of Polyjuice Potion, and preparations were complete.
"Professor!" Pandora ran to him without hesitation, throwing herself into his arms. "I've missed you so much!"
After receiving the Secret Keeper's invitation, Lockhart entered Cornelius Fudge's residence without the slightest difficulty.
"This is Gilderoy Lockhart—my boyfriend," Pandora said proudly to her parents.
Lockhart awkwardly shook hands with the Fudges, who were barely ten years older than him, greeting Cornelius Fudge at the same time.
"Don't be nervous, Gilderoy. This is a private gathering. Forget that I'm the Minister," Cornelius said warmly.
"Then I'll follow your lead," Lockhart replied politely.
They enjoyed dinner together. Lockhart's wit, elegance, and encyclopaedic knowledge won over Pandora's parents completely. Even better, the Fudge family didn't seem the least bit bothered by the age difference between him and Pandora.
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