Amanda and the two Professors had just stepped out of the Minister's office when Fudge slumped to the floor, rubbing his neck incessantly, his face filled with a daze.
His mind replayed that last look Amanda had given him—cold, indifferent, and completely devoid of warmth.
Fudge felt as if he were a mere speck of dust that she could sweep away to parts unknown at any moment.
It wasn't until Umbridge knocked and entered the Minister's office that Fudge managed to snap out of it.
"Mr. Minister, have they left? If you ask me, your attitude toward them was far too mild; that's why they don't know their place."
A sickly sweet voice rang out. As soon as Umbridge entered, she saw Fudge sitting on the floor with vacant eyes.
The words she was saying caught in her throat. "Ah!"
After a short scream, she rushed forward to help Fudge up. "Mr. Minister, who did this to you? Get up, quickly. Was it Dumbledore and McGonagall who were just here? Let's go find the Aurors and arrest them immediately."
As she spoke, she tried to pull Fudge toward the office door. After being tugged twice and nearly reaching the threshold, Fudge suddenly came to his senses.
He forcefully flung off Umbridge's hand. "Find the Aurors? Find my ass!"
Fudge looked at Umbridge as if she were an idiot. "Do you think Dumbledore and McGonagall are so old they can't handle a few Aurors? Or do you think if we actually did something to them now, the people of the Wizarding World would stand on our side?"
One had to realize that not everyone in the British Wizarding World supported the Ministry of Magic, but practically everyone had attended Hogwarts.
Choosing between the two was simply too easy.
Not to mention that Hogwarts still had Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard, in residence.
Shaking off Umbridge's hand, Fudge walked back behind his desk and sat down, slowly rubbing his neck with his hand.
Of course, the most important point was that he, the Minister for Magic, had been made to look so pathetic by a low-year Hogwarts student.
If word of this got out, he wouldn't have a shred of dignity as the Minister for Magic left.
This Dolores, she knew nothing and only acted on impulse.
She truly thought the power she held, and the power he held, was unshakable.
Startled by Fudge's shout, Umbridge froze on the spot, then quickly realized she had overstepped.
She had been so focused on punishing that annoying Young Wizard and Dumbledore that she had forgotten to observe the Minister's expression.
Her nauseating face broke into a smile again as Umbridge stepped forward and showered Fudge with flattery until a smile finally returned to his face and his original confidence was restored.
"Mr. Minister, Hogwarts has seriously threatened the authority of the Ministry of Magic. And Dumbledore—his ambition is no longer even hidden."
"He must have been the one pushing those two little witches from behind. We... we can't just let this go."
"Indeed we cannot," Fudge agreed in a low voice, his fingers lightly tapping the desk in front of him.
"But Hogwarts' prestige in the British Wizarding World has been too high for too many years. Coupled with Dumbledore himself, we must find another way. We absolutely cannot go head-on."
They exchanged a look, and at that moment, the two conspirators reached a consensus.
After returning to Hogwarts from the Ministry of Magic, Amanda bid farewell to Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall before returning to the Ravenclaw Common Room as quickly as possible.
Hermione was still waiting for her, and she couldn't keep Hermione waiting. This thought flashed through her mind repeatedly until she stepped into the Ravenclaw Common Room and saw Hermione sitting on the sofa reading a book, at which point the thought finally subsided.
"You're back."
Hearing footsteps, Hermione looked up, saw it was Amanda, and closed her book with a smile.
"Yes," Amanda nodded calmly, walking over to Hermione. "I came back as quickly as I could, and I'm not hurt."
"It's good that you're okay."
Hermione stood up and gently ruffled Amanda's hair. "Was the trip successful?"
Amanda thought for a moment and said in a flat voice, "My goal was achieved. I punished Fudge and warned him not to spread rumors about Hermione, the rest of Ravenclaw, and the Professors. Headmaster Dumbledore's goal was also achieved; he warned Fudge not to choose the wrong path because of the Pure-blood families."
Hermione lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "To become the Minister for Magic, Fudge must have some political skill."
"He won't just listen to you."
"He certainly won't," Amanda's voice remained flat and emotionless. "According to a personality analysis, there is only a ten percent chance he will completely reform. The other ninety percent suggests he will choose a roundabout way to struggle against Hogwarts and us."
"Well, we just don't know what method he'll use yet," Hermione said, picking up the book she had just set down on the sofa. "But no matter what he tries, we'll just deal with it as it comes."
Hermione finished and gave a light stretch. With Amanda, Headmaster Dumbledore, the Professors, and so many students supporting them, she didn't need to worry about whatever move the Ministry of Magic might make.
"Let's go, get some rest. Oh, right, Madam Pomfrey confirmed that Harry is indeed fine and can be discharged tomorrow morning."
"That's good." Amanda followed Hermione as they walked toward their Dormitory together.
"Harry also said to thank you for saving his nimbus two thousand. He wants to thank you in person after he's discharged tomorrow."
Hermione opened the Dormitory door, and the two girls walked in silently.
"I understand."
Seeing that the bed curtains for Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore were already drawn, Amanda replied in a whisper.
"Go take a shower and then rest."
Hermione closed the Dormitory door, hugged Amanda, and patted her back. "Goodnight, Amanda."
"Goodnight, Hermione."
Amanda nodded and watched Hermione walk back to her own bed and lie down.
Grabbing a change of clothes, Amanda walked into the washroom.
During breakfast the next day, Harry, who had just been discharged, immediately came to the Ravenclaw Table to find Amanda and express his gratitude solemnly.
"Thank you, Amanda. I've grown quite attached to this nimbus two thousand. Thank you for saving it; otherwise, I don't know how sad I would have been."
Harry stood before Amanda, expressing his thanks with a sincere tone.
Amanda looked at him and shook her head expressionlessly. "You're welcome. I only did what I should have—helping others when it's within my power."
With a polite smile, Harry hurried away from the Ravenclaw Table. He had to finish breakfast quickly and get to the Library.
Merlin's beard, he had spent almost half the day in the Hospital Wing yesterday, and he hadn't even started his Potion Class homework!
With elective classes starting in the third year, the schedules of the Hogwarts Young Wizards had become a bit more crowded.
But even so, the current course load wasn't even half of what Amanda had experienced back in her original world.
As such, Amanda still filled most of her spare time with self-study, extra reading, and practice.
The other portion of her free time was allocated to her friends, such as Hermione, Cho Chang, and Marietta Eckmore.
Chatting and walking with them, she finally felt like she had a real life outside of her studies.
Additionally, she began handling business affairs in the British Wizarding World; the production lines under her control had begun full-scale operations.
The British Wizarding World seemed to have been reset, with everything running in an orderly fashion.
It seemed as if nothing had changed, yet it also seemed as if everything had been transformed.
Everyone in the British Wizarding World who agreed to work for Amanda received a raise within a single day, as she shared more profits with those working for her.
At the same time, the Potions Masters contacted by Professor Snape had also arrived and began teaching the employees how to brew Potions.
Although Potions Masters were generally very arrogant figures, upon hearing about the compensation Amanda offered through Professor Snape, their arrogance vanished instantly.
Wasn't it just teaching others to brew Potions? Why not!
For that kind of money, they would teach anyone.
In contrast, life was becoming increasingly difficult for the Pure-blood families. Authorizations for various products were revoked, and various industries were intercepted.
Their appeals to the Ministry of Magic were stalled by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Everyone knew why.
If nothing else, more than half of the lawmakers in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement were Ravenclaw graduates. With their help, stalling these Pure-blood families to death was no problem at all.
Amidst the storms of the outside world and the peaceful days inside Hogwarts, Halloween finally arrived.
On this day, Young Wizards in their third year and above could spend the entire day playing in Hogsmeade.
But those Young Wizards without a guardian's signature... could only stay behind in Hogwarts Castle.
"Don't worry about me, go have fun. I'll just stay in the Castle to read and get a head start on Potion Class."
Harry joked with Ron and Hermione with a smile. Although he felt a bit down that his friends could go to Hogsmeade while he couldn't,
He absolutely did not want to show it now and ruin his friends' mood for the outing.
"Yes, I will tutor Harry in his studies," Amanda added in her usual flat tone.
"Amanda, you're different from me," Harry said, waving his hand. "I have guardians, but my aunt and uncle won't sign for me. But you... you just don't know who your guardian is, so you can't get a signature. You should go try; maybe you'll be allowed out."
Hermione, standing nearby, also gently took Amanda's hand and gave it a little shake. "Yeah, go give it a try."
When she received the letter during the holidays, she had her parents try to sign for Amanda. However, since they weren't Amanda's guardians, they couldn't get their names onto the permission slip at all.
The permission slip was clearly protected by Hogwarts magic!
The problem was that Amanda's various identification details were perfectly fine in this world, even for buying plane tickets.
But her guardian was simply unknown. They didn't dare take Amanda to a Muggle police station to ask, fearing it might cause trouble.
"Yeah, what if you can go? There's no harm in trying."
Ron offered a word of comfort as well, then turned back to Harry after finishing with Amanda.
"Don't worry, mate. I'll bring you back one of every kind of candy from Honeydukes."
Harry nodded with a smile, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Ron knowingly. "Alright then, I'll count on you. Also, no cockroach clusters."
"Hey, why'd you have to add that last part?" Ron nudged Harry. Although his intention had been guessed, he still laughed heartily.
Being able to guess his meaning only showed how well they understood each other.
Watching this scene, the corners of Amanda's mouth curved slightly, and a strange feeling rose in her heart.
Once the three seniors—Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope—arrived, the group headed toward the Hogwarts gates together.
Wrapping her clothes tightly around her, Amanda saw the Hogwarts caretaker, Filch, standing at the door, checking the Young Wizards' permission slips one by one.
He seemed determined to catch someone trying to sneak out without a guardian's signature.
Following Hermione to the door, Amanda handed over her permission slip after the three seniors had passed.
Filch took the slip, saw the blank space where the signature should be, and grinned.
"Completely blank. Were you planning to sneak past me?"
"It's not like that, Mr. Filch," Hermione explained from behind Amanda. "Amanda's situation is a bit special. We don't know who her guardian is, so the permission slip couldn't be signed."
"No signature means no Hogsmeade. You naughty child, did you think you could fool old Filch?"
Filch narrowed his eyes at Amanda. Amanda blinked indifferently, then looked down at the permission slip in Filch's hand as if sensing something.
At that moment, the permission slip flickered with magical light, and two flourishing names appeared.
"I believe my permission slip has signatures from my guardians now."
Amanda looked up again, her voice as steady as the ancient waters in a deep well.
"What? You're lying again! No one would sign for you, you despicable, shameless..." Filch trailed off as he looked down at the slip in his hand, freezing the moment he saw it.
In the guardian signature space at the bottom of the slip, two names were clearly written: Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff.
"What... is this?"
Filch stood there in a daze, staring at the permission slip. Amanda, however, had no reaction; after all, she had already deduced that the two Founders, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, were likely inside the watch on her left wrist.
"This—this is impossible! It must be... you must have used some strange, deceptive magic to trick old Filch! It must be!"
Filch narrowed his eyes at Amanda, as if staring hard enough would make her admit she was cheating.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Filch, but I did no such thing."
Amanda shook her head expressionlessly. Hermione, behind her, also snapped out of her shock and argued loudly.
"It couldn't have been Amanda! The permission slip is protected by Hogwarts magic; no one who isn't a guardian could write their name on it."
"But it's impossible for anyone here to have signed for her!" Filch breathed heavily, desperate to prove that Amanda was deceiving him and was in the wrong.
"And it's even more impossible for the Founders to have signed for her! Absolutely impossible!"
"What's going on here? Filch, why are you taking such an attitude with the students? You'll frighten them."
Professor McGonagall's disapproving voice came as she walked over quickly with a frown.
"Filch, you aren't intimidating my students, are you?" Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice rang out as he hurried forward, stepping directly in front of Amanda and pulling Hermione back slightly.
"Now, everyone, tell me exactly what is happening."
Professor McGonagall looked down at Amanda and the others, then at the flushed Filch.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.