Last night Fudge said, "Last night we found a surviving guard, and learned from him that someone forcibly broke through Azkaban's defenses, rescuing those Death Eaters amid the Dementor's encirclement.
"The Beater saw that person's appearance, and when the Aurors responded to the report, they also saw the Dark Mark in the sky... Yes, I regretfully have to inform you all, You-Know-Who has returned.
"I think I need to represent the Ministry of Magic and apologize to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. He was the first to discover his archenemy's resurgence, but we at the Ministry failed to take it seriously.
"Soon I will personally go to Hogwarts to apologize to Headmaster Dumbledore and discuss together how we should deal with the dreadful Dark Lord.
The Ministry of Magic will do its utmost to ensure everyone's safety, but I also ask the public to remain vigilant, always carry your wand, the war has begun!"
....
"Hah, Fudge is quite shrewd." Cedric sneered after recovering, "The Ministry of Magic didn't take it seriously, how does he have the face to say such a thing? He clearly spent six months telling everyone that Dumbledore was an old lunatic, didn't he?"
"That's indeed the case, but obviously, he would never admit it." Conna continued flipping through the newspaper, "The entire Magic Realm is in chaos, Kael, do you think Professor Dumbledore knows about this?"
"He should know about it, right?" Kael looked up at Dumbledore in the professor's seat.
Just then, Dumbledore also looked over, his blue eyes glistened behind the lenses.
After breakfast, Professor McGonagall came to the Hufflepuff table,
"Please wait a moment." She called after Kael, "The Headmaster excused you from attending the first Transfiguration Class, just go to the Headmaster's Office, use the previous password."
"Alright." Kael agreed.
After Professor McGonagall left, Conna couldn't help but ask, "What's the Headmaster looking for you for?"
"I think it's related to today's Daily Prophet." Kael said.
"What should we do afterward?" Conna looked somewhat confused, "Suddenly the declaration of war in the Magic Realm, can we still continue to stay at Hogwarts?"
"Rest assured, especially at times like this, Hogwarts will not shut down."
Kael said with a smile, "And you don't need to worry too much, Voldemort won't just jump out because of a report, just attend classes as usual.
However, the things we will learn next may not be as simple as before."
"No problem, as long as Hogwarts doesn't close." Conna waved with a smile and ran toward the Transfiguration Classroom.
Kael also headed straight to the eighth floor.
When he reached the Headmaster's Office via the revolving staircase, he found Fawkes perched on its previous roost, having no idea when it left the box.
And Dumbledore was already there waiting.
"I'm truly curious." He looked at Kael with intrigue, "What exactly did you do to make Fudge voluntarily admit to Voldemort's return without seeing Tom firsthand?"
"Nothing much, didn't we discuss it before?" Kael said, "Put some pressure on him, forcing him to do so to keep his position."
"I know, but I'm quite curious about what you did." Dumbledore said, "I know Fudge, he never does anything unnecessary and believes only what he sees.
"I approached Fudge countless times before, laying almost all the evidence in front of him, yet he just wouldn't believe... anything that could threaten his position as Minister, no matter how small the risk, he wouldn't act upon it."
Dumbledore glanced at the spread-out Daily Prophet on the desk, especially the last sentence on the front page.
"War has begun..." He gently said, "To Fudge, this decision is akin to drinking Unicorn blood to prolong life, something absolutely not done unless absolutely necessary, what did you do?"
"Just wrote a few letters." Kael shrugged, briefly recounting what he'd been doing these past days.
Upon hearing Kael had Fawkes deliver letters without cover to St Mungo's Hospital, Dumbledore's mouth twitched.
And hearing what Kael had Malfoy do, as well as his self-sent letter maneuver, he was downright astonished.
He'd only been away for a few days, how did Kael manage to stir up so much... No wonder Fudge acted so unusually.
It's hardly surprising for Fudge actually, if such things happened at Hogwarts... like daily owl deliveries into Professor McGonagall's office from the school board, he might also wonder if Professor McGonagall was aiming to be Headmaster.
"But I feel the breakout event ultimately pressured Fudge into making his decision." Kael said, "Ten people breaking out isn't something you can simply brush off."
"No, you're underrating Fudge." Dumbledore said, "If your actions hadn't imposed unprecedented pressure, he probably could have found an easy excuse... Barty Crouch Jr.'s escape is a viable one."
"However, there's one more thing I'm curious about." Dumbledore asked with interest, "Are you certain Fudge would choose this method to secure his position?"
"Actually, I can't guarantee success." Kael said, "Which is why I really sent letters to Nicolas Flamel, Newt, Mr. McPhail, Ms. Maxime, and Professor Cecily.