After finally managing to avoid the councilman who wanted to come over and chat, and leaving the eerie, ghostly Courtroom Ten behind, Link was blocked in the corridor outside by Harry.
Right now, Harry looked rather absentminded and out of it.
Link walked up to him and waved his hand twice in front of his eyes.
"You okay, Harry?"
At those words, a flicker of life finally returned to Harry's dull, vacant eyes.
His facial muscles twitched a few times, and he grabbed Link's arm impulsively.
"Link, I really, I really can't thank you enough! Fudge is just awful! If it hadn't been for you and Dumbledore today, I have no idea what I would've done!"
"But… Dumbledore, why did he seem so cold to me? I haven't seen him in so long. I had so many things I wanted to tell him, but he didn't even acknowledge me, he just left!"
"And Percy! He's actually Fudge's recorder now?! He pretended not to even know me! I just..."
Harry's rapid-fire complaints gave Link a headache. He quickly waved his hand to stop him.
"Alright, alright, I already know what happened. Let's take this one step at a time. I can't explain Dumbledore's attitude, and I won't insult you with excuses like 'he's too busy.' But about Percy Weasley, you've misunderstood him."
"Misunderstood?" Harry's voice immediately shot up. "You were there too! Didn't you see the way he acted? He was just..."
"Do you know why Dumbledore showed up at the hearing three hours early?"
Link interrupted him, shaking his head.
Harry froze at that, stunned. It took him a while to react.
"You mean, it was Percy who told Dumbledore about it? He's our informant?"
"Though the word 'informant' isn't exactly right in this context, strictly speaking, yes."
Link nodded. "I hope you can explain this to the Weasleys when you go back. We can't let Percy make such sacrifices only to be questioned by his family. Of course, you have to remind them to keep it a secret."
"Ah, o-of course. I just can't believe it…"
Harry muttered, looking both embarrassed and relieved.
If Link hadn't explained, he definitely would've told Mr. Weasley about it later, and that would've hurt Percy deeply.
What Harry didn't know, however, was that what he understood as a "spy" and what Link meant were two very different things.
He didn't realize that Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix and Link's faction were two separate powers entirely.
And though Percy had indeed provided Dumbledore with key intelligence, in truth, he was working for Link.
It was Link who had planted Percy at Fudge's side. While feeding information about the Ministry to both Link and the Order, Percy was also secretly passing Link intel about the Order itself.
It was, without question, the kind of mission that could get someone killed at any moment. No sane person would ever take on something that dangerous.
But Percy was clearly not a normal person.
If Snape was a slave driven by love, then Percy was a slave to ambition, or rather, a beast of power.
Faced with the huge rewards Link had promised him, Percy willingly accepted the risks.
After chatting a little longer, Link and Harry headed for the exit.
Along the way, Harry excitedly invited Link to come to Number 12 Grimmauld Place to celebrate together. Link gladly agreed.
However, just as they were about to reach the elevator, a string of familiar arguing voices echoed down the corridor.
"…What are you doing here, Arthur?"
"I'm working!"
"Not here, I imagine? I thought you worked on the second floor… Isn't your job basically stealing Muggle stuff and enchanting it?"
"That's not..."
"I really don't understand why the Ministry would even set up a position like that. You contribute absolutely nothing to the wizarding world of Britain, you're just wasting our taxpayers' money. I strongly suggest we eliminate the position of Mr. Weasley. What do you think, Minister?"
"Perhaps… But one thing's true, Weasley, what are you doing here?"
"I… I'm waiting for Harry."
"Harry Potter?"
"Yes, that's right. I brought him to the Ministry today on my way to work, since he's still a chil..."
"You brought him three hours early to the Ministry?!"
"Uh… yes."
"Weasley, it's working hours right now. You should be in your office doing your job, not wandering around here. I'm very disappointed in you. Maybe I should seriously consider Mr. Malfoy's suggestion, perhaps it's time to dismiss you."
"What did you say? Minister, no! You can't be serious!"
———
Hearing the familiar voices, Link and Harry quickened their pace. They recognized them immediately, Arthur Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, and the recently humiliated Cornelius Fudge.
And from the sound of it, Mr. Weasley was about to completely lose his temper.
When they arrived at the elevator, sure enough, Mr. Weasley's face was as red as his hair, utterly furious.
"You can't do this! I've got a family to feed! This is nothing but petty revenge! I will not...!"
He shouted as he reached out toward Fudge.
Fudge stood still, not even flinching, perfectly playing the victim.
Harry panicked, but Link reacted instantly. With a small flick of his fingers, a wave of magic pulsed through the air, and Mr. Weasley froze in place, rigid as a statue.
"Mr. Weasley!"
Harry finally managed to shout.
His voice drew the attention of both Lucius and Fudge, who turned in unison, their faces darkening.
"Link Flamel!"
Fudge gritted his teeth as he said Link's name.
If it weren't for Link, today would never have gone so badly for him.
Lucius took two steps forward, smiling coldly.
"Well, well, look who it is, our dear savior Potter and young master Link Flamel himself. Potter, the Minister just told me about your little miracle escape. You really are good at running away, aren't you, our beloved Savior Harry?"
"You..."
Harry's jaw clenched tight, fists balled.
Link, ignoring Lucius entirely, stared straight at Fudge.
"Fudge," he said coldly, "a loser should act like a loser. Crawl back into your hole and stop embarrassing yourself."
"How dare you talk to the Minister like that?!" Lucius exploded, looking even angrier than Fudge himself. "Minister, you can't tolerate this kind of behavior! A boy like him..."
Lucius didn't even finish before Fudge raised a hand to silence him.
After taking a moment to calm himself, Fudge looked at Link with a blank face.
"I remember that Second-Class Order of Merlin medal on your chest, I was the one who personally awarded it to you. You were such a good kid back then."
"And now, you won't even call me Uncle Cornelius. I see, you've grown up."
With that, Fudge turned and walked away.
Lucius hesitated, uncertain what to do, before finally deciding to follow.
But before he could take a single step, Link's cold voice stopped him.
"You too, Malfoy. Don't think that just because your master's back, you're safe. I'd say he probably wants you dead more than anyone else."
"And don't forget, your precious son Draco is still at Hogwarts. Do anything that displeases me, and I'll kill him."
Lucius's face went deathly pale in an instant.
He knew perfectly well, Link was absolutely capable of doing such a thing. The man was a lunatic. A monster.
Panicked, Lucius instinctively looked toward Fudge for help.
But Fudge didn't even glance back, he was already gone, too busy trying to save his own skin.
Lucius had no choice but to follow after him, tail between his legs, not daring to say a single word in protest.
Only after the two had disappeared down the corridor did Link finally lift the Petrificus curse from Mr. Weasley.
"Th-thank you, Link."
Mr. Weasley stammered, still visibly furious.
"You should thank me," Link said flatly.
"Do you even realize what you were just about to do? If you'd so much as laid a finger on Fudge, you'd be fired for assaulting the Minister of Magic, and probably thrown into Azkaban. You said it yourself, you've got a family to feed. If you really care about them, then control your temper."
Link didn't have much affection for Mr. Weasley.
He was a textbook Gryffindor, brave enough to sacrifice everything for his ideals, but not nearly wise enough to match that courage. It made him reckless and naive.
That was the Gryffindor curse. And honestly, Link thought Mr. Weasley wasn't even that good at his job in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. His understanding of Muggles and their objects was completely disconnected from reality.
"Link…"
Harry nudged him softly, hinting for him to stop talking.
Given what Harry knew of Mr. Weasley's temper, that speech was sure to make him angry again.
But to his surprise, Mr. Weasley just lowered his head, looking embarrassed.
"You're right. I lost my temper."
Harry froze, stunned.
Link, on the other hand, nodded approvingly.
That was how an adult ought to act, a working man who knew when to swallow his pride.
"Right, Harry, how did it go?" Mr. Weasley suddenly remembered why he was there.
"Hehe, everything's cleared up!" Harry grinned. "Thanks to Link and Dumbledore! If it weren't for them, Fudge would've eaten me alive!"
Both he and Mr. Weasley turned to look at Link with gratitude, but Link just waved it off casually.
"Phew! In that case, I'll take you two home so you can share the good news," Mr. Weasley said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"But first, we've got to stop by the lavatory at the Snalley Green area. Fudge will definitely try to get back at me, so I'd better at least look like I'm working hard."
"So you've already figured out how to deal with those toilets?" Harry said eagerly.
He looked so excited and curious, it was hard to believe this was the same boy who'd looked so gloomy before the trial.
"Of course!" Mr. Weasley winked at him. "Just a little counter-curse, easy as pie."
"Wait!"
Link suddenly interrupted, frowning. He had a bad feeling about this. "What toilets are you two talking about exactly?"
"Oh, just a regular case of sewage backflow," Mr. Weasley said matter-of-factly.
"Some anti-Muggle pranksters have been charming public toilets lately. When Muggles flush them, instead of disappearing, well… everything comes right back up. You can imagine the rest. Poor souls."
Mr. Weasley sighed, completely missing how pale Link's face had turned.
———
Ten minutes later, Link and Harry arrived back at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
As they stepped out of the fireplace, Harry looked annoyed.
He'd clearly been curious about Mr. Weasley's line of work and had wanted to go along, but Link had absolutely zero interest in cursed toilets.
"Harry! You're back! Ha! I knew you'd be fine!"
Sirius shouted excitedly, rushing over to hug Harry and spin him around in midair.
Having spent half his life in prison, Sirius was more realistic than most, he knew that if Harry had really been in trouble, he wouldn't have been released so easily.
Then, with loud cheers, Ron, Hermione, George, Fred, and the others all came running out to celebrate.
Hermione, being the more sensible one, only joined in briefly before walking up to Link.
"Link, thank you."
"No need, we're all friends here."
"We're throwing a little party to celebrate later. Would you like to stay?" she asked tentatively.
"Of course," Link smiled. "That's exactly why I came."
"And… what about Emily?" Hermione glanced instinctively at the fireplace behind him. "I mean, she's not coming?"
Link shook his head. "Just me this time. I figured Emily wouldn't enjoy this kind of event. You're not saying I'm unwelcome, are you?"
"What?! Of course not!" Hermione almost screamed, face lighting up. She was obviously thrilled by that answer.
Link said nothing, just smiled at her.
Under his gaze, Hermione's face slowly turned red. She lowered her voice and said, "I mean, we're definitely glad you're here. Oh, and Mrs. Weasley made borscht today, it's a foreign dish she's been learning for ages. It just came out of the pot. You have to try it!"
Then she grabbed Link's arm and pulled him toward the kitchen.
Her grip was so strong that even Link, who prided himself on his fitness, nearly stumbled.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.