New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
Perhaps Dumbledore's guarantee had an effect. This time, Fudge actually listened and did not go looking for Dudley overnight.
Instead, he waited until early the next morning and came to the door with the Aurors.
"When did all of this appear?"
Fudge looked at the tall outer wall and gate of the castle and fell into thought.
He had come to Godric's Hollow more than once. After the unfortunate deaths of the Potters, he had also gone to the old Potter house.
Ever since that incident more than ten years ago, this place had definitely been the most desolate area in all of Godric's Hollow.
And now, not only had the old Potter house been repaired, there was also a luxurious building here.
When had all of this happened?
"I heard the Carrow family helped build it," a Ministry employee standing beside Fudge explained.
The fact that the Carrow family was close to Dudley was practically an open secret among the upper levels of the British wizarding world.
The gate on the outer wall could be described with one word.
Large.
It could practically be called a small mountain.
Most family estates used barred iron gates for their outer entrances, such as Malfoy Manor. A person standing outside the gate could see through it into the garden. But the gate to this castle's garden was different. It would be more accurate to call it a mountain gate or a wall.
Because this thing was solid and airtight.
In other words, standing outside the gate, one could not see the situation inside at all.
It was as if a boundary line had been drawn, separating the other side of the gate from the world.
But the key problem was that such a large gate actually had no handle and no keyhole. This made it very strange.
Yes, not only the castle's front door, even the outer garden gate had no handle.
This place, however, did not use automatic identification.
How to contact Mr. Dursley had become the problem Fudge and his group now faced.
Send a letter by owl? It was not impossible, but the problem was that they had already reached the front door. Sending a letter now...
They could not force the door open with magic, could they?
He had come to see whether Harry Potter was safe, not to break into a private home.
Even if they used magic, there had to be a place to open. Since there was not even a keyhole, Alohomora was certainly useless.
Fudge had brought only ordinary Aurors with him. The Head of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour, had not followed him here. If it were him, he should have other methods, but his mission was to capture Sirius. Yesterday, he had only happened to be with Fudge.
Looking at that giant gate like a small mountain, Fudge suddenly had an illusion. The circles of patterns on the gate seemed like countless doors overlapping. Could this gate be pushed?
Fudge forcefully pushed the gate.
It did not move at all.
'How could I have such an absurd thought?' Fudge shook his head and laughed at himself.
A normal human could not possibly push this kind of gate open. Perhaps only a giant could.
"What are you doing at someone else's front gate?"
Just as they were struggling over whether they should send an owl inside, a cool voice carrying a trace of sternness sounded behind them.
When Fudge and the others turned around, what entered their eyes was Draco holding a cane, looking at them with vigilance.
He had finished his morning training and, according to Dudley's instructions, gone to Diagon Alley to buy materials.
"Lucius's son, Draco Malfoy?"
Fudge looked at him in surprise and delight.
He had some dealings with Lucius, so naturally he knew Draco as well.
"You are... the Minister for Magic? Mr. Fudge?" Draco first paused slightly, then widened his eyes and spoke with an exaggerated, delighted expression.
In truth, he had recognized Fudge immediately, but he still had to pretend to examine him for a while, then gradually change his attitude.
Mm. Most people enjoyed this process.
Of course, this did not stop him from thinking that Fudge was an idiot.
"Why are you here?"
Draco's attitude made Fudge very pleased, and his attitude toward Draco became much friendlier.
"Oh, Draco, I came to find Harry. Harry Potter."
Fudge briefly explained to him. "Dumbledore said he is here, so... is he?"
"Harry? Of course he is."
Draco stepped forward, looked at the gate, then looked at Fudge. His eyes shifted, and he said, "Why don't you go in?"
"Go in?" Fudge blinked.
He did not understand what Draco meant by going in.
The gate was closed so tightly. Was he telling them to walk through the wall?
"Oh, I think this must be your first time here."
Draco put on a look of sudden understanding. The corners of his mouth rose into a polished, perfectly practiced smile.
"Yes."
Fudge suddenly had the illusion that he was facing Lucius the Second. Draco, however, did not have Lucius's noble aggressiveness. Instead, he gave people the illusion of being a polite gentleman.
Mm. Compared with his father Lucius, he looked even more gentlemanly.
"Do you have a key?"
"No use. This gate does not need a key."
"Does not need a key? What does that mean?"
Draco did not rush to answer Fudge. Instead, he slowly walked to the gate, patted the tightly closed door, and a dull sound came back. There was no doubt it was solid. Then his voice slowly sounded.
"If one wants to pass through here, ordinary methods will not work. Keys, spells... none of these are needed."
"Big D named it the Testing Gate."
"The... Testing Gate?"
"That's right. Only those who pass the test can enter. And the method of testing is very simple."
As Draco spoke, he tapped the gate with his cane.
"Push it open."
That simple?
"I tried. I couldn't push it open," Fudge immediately said. It was not as if he had not tried pushing the gate just now. It had not reacted at all.
"I think that should be because you did not use enough strength. This gate is very heavy."
Hearing Draco's explanation, Fudge immediately signaled with his eyes for an Auror who had come with him to go up.
That Auror understood and immediately walked to the gate. He wanted to perform well in front of Fudge, so he pushed hard against the gate.
It did not move at all.
The Auror was somewhat embarrassed. Then he gathered all his strength and pushed hard again.
It still did not move at all.
Seeing the Auror use all the strength he had, his face red from effort, Fudge cast a doubtful gaze toward Draco.
"Still not enough force. Did this Auror not eat breakfast this morning?"
In terms of having a poisonous tongue, Draco was not at all inferior to his father. He had clearly learned from Snape.
"You go too." Fudge's expression was starting to stiffen. He indicated for another Auror to help.
The two pushed together.
Still no reaction.
Just as Fudge began to feel that Malfoy was playing with him, the gate finally showed a tiny reaction.
Before Fudge could speak, the strength of the two Aurors ran out, and it returned to its original position.
'It really is pushed open?'
Fudge was greatly shocked.
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader