This Hogwarts is not normal

Chapter 1321 A Deafening Collapse

Sirius let out an angry snort, Lupin lowered his head, and Moody gripped his cane tightly; they all clearly believed Vincent was right.

Arthur's expression was grave. As an employee of the Ministry of Magic, he was even more aware of Fudge's and those high-ranking officials' thought processes.

Dumbledore remained silent for a long time. In his gaze at Vincent, there was sorrow, understanding, but also an unwavering determination.

“Even so, Vincent, trying is still necessary. We cannot abandon our responsibility to communicate and inform just because we anticipate the other party’s stubbornness. Some paths, even if we know they may be futile, must still be taken.”

Vincent looked around at everyone. "Professor, you're dragging everyone down with you."

His tone carried a hint of barely perceptible disappointment: "You're handing over the initiative to a foolish politician, expecting him to judge with reason? He won't; he'll only use his power to punish those who embarrass him and threaten his position."

Dumbledore and Vincent, one trying to ignite a beacon of hope amidst the ruins, the other choosing to fight in his own way.

It's not a matter of right or wrong; it's simply a clash of ideas.

……

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In the Ministry of Magic's conference room, Fudge, having just finished a meeting, excitedly led several close associates to the elevator.

His voice was brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "Voluntary arrest? Hmph, that's just an excuse in the face of the Ministry of Magic's powerful intimidation! But in any case, Wayne's arrest is an important signal."

"Minister is brilliant!" a sycophantic chorus rang out beside him: "After tonight, public opinion will be completely reversed!"

Fudge straightened his back even more. "We're going to see this surrendered Dark Lord for ourselves. The temporary detention cell is on the ninth floor, right?"

Clearly, the meeting had just concluded and decided to make a big deal out of Vincent's "voluntary arrest," so as soon as the meeting ended, they rushed over excitedly, intending to meet this "prisoner" in person.

"Ding—" The elevator doors opened.

A bone-chilling cold swept over them without warning, and the group of people who were chatting and laughing were stunned.

A swirling cloud of black mist emerged from the elevator door crack and hurtled past them at an alarming speed.

“What…what is that?” An official collapsed to the ground.

"A face...a face shrouded in mist!?"

"A god... a mysterious person?"

Fudge stood frozen in place, his face drained of color, his lips trembling, staring blankly at the end of the corridor where the dark figure had disappeared.

In that brief moment, he seemed to see a distorted face with crimson eyes burning with endless rage and resentment.

A few seconds later, Fudge suddenly came to his senses.

His lips trembled, but he tried his best to convince others, and himself: "Calm down! It must be Wayne's dark magic trick! Something might have happened in the temporary detention cell! Quick, let's go check it out!"

The official who had collapsed to the ground was pulled to his feet and followed them into the elevator.

In the confined, small space, only the sound of his teeth chattering could be heard.

The silence of the Mysterious Affairs Department was broken by a flurry of footsteps.

Vincent looked away and calmly turned around.

"Professor, do you want to see it for yourself?"

Without waiting for a response, he stepped over the broken pieces of the door and went outside, heading towards the open corridor from which came the sound of hurried footsteps.

Fudge and his party stood in front of several unconscious Ministry of Magic employees, still in shock. Dolohoff was still there; it seemed he had also been abandoned by Voldemort.

“Minister…Minister…is that infamous…Death Eater…”

Why did Dolohoff suddenly appear at the Ministry of Magic? And why did the staff who were supposed to be escorting Vincent suddenly faint?

Fudge recalled the thick black mist that had almost grazed his nose, and the distorted face on it—could it really be Voldemort?

"Tap...tap..." The sound of unhurried footsteps came from behind them.

Fudge whirled around, the color draining from his face in an instant. His eyes widened as he stared intently at the figure slowly emerging from the darkness.

“Vincent… Vincent Wayne!” His shrill scream instantly froze the air in the corridor.

The Dark Lord, whose arrest warrant was issued by him and whose "evidence was irrefutable," stood in front of them, carrying a gun-shaped briefcase that was said to be able to transform into all sorts of terrifying weapons. Most importantly, his wrists were not shackled at all!

"You... how did you get here? Did you do these... did you do these things? How dare you! Attacking officials inside the Ministry of Magic! And just now... was that black mist your accomplice? Your conspiracy!"

Fudge's words were incoherent, but his terrified yet stubborn mind had already constructed a complete chain of logic:

Vincent feigned arrest, but in reality, he was working with insiders to create chaos and release that terrifying black mist, attempting to cause even greater destruction within the Ministry of Magic! Dolohoff and the unconscious staff member are the best evidence!

Voluntarily arrested? That's practically letting the wolf into the house! And Dumbledore, with such a major event happening, is he also involved?

Vincent remained eerily calm in the face of Fudge's accusations, not even raising an eyebrow.

"Grab...grab him!" Fudge roared at the officials hiding behind him. "Immediately! Dead or alive!"

"Clang—" A trembling official accidentally dropped his wand on the ground.

Just as he shakily bent down to pick up the wand, Vincent moved.

He neither attacked nor made any defensive stance. He simply carried Pandora and strolled past them as if taking a walk in his own backyard, heading towards the stairwell leading to the upper floors of the Ministry of Magic.

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An official finally mustered the courage to recite the spell for the coma.

The moment the red light left the tip of the staff, a thin beam of light completely destroyed it.

Upon witnessing this bizarre scene, the remaining officials trembled even more violently, and their hands, which were tightly gripping their wands, unconsciously fell limply to their sides.

"Useless! Good-for-nothing!" Fudge was furious, but dared not step forward to stop him himself.

And so, with Fudge and his group watching him go, Vincent strolled leisurely down the corridor and into the stairwell leading to the next floor.

His shadow stretched long in the dim light, and every step he took seemed to tread on Fudge's crumbling authority, causing that authority to collapse with a silent yet deafening sound.

He left so ostentatiously and calmly that it didn't seem like he was fleeing, but rather like he was on an inspection tour.

Only when his long shadow, stretched out by the dim light, completely disappeared from sight did the silent corridor resume its heavy breathing and the officials' lingering fearful discussions.

"He...he just left like that?"

"That's terrifying... I've never seen such a frightening look in anyone's eyes..."

"Minister, what do we do now?"

Fudge turned and glared at the officials behind him, "Immediately suppress the news!"

His face was ashen, his eyes burning with a twisted determination. "Tonight's events were a terrorist attack launched against the Ministry of Magic by the Dark Lord Vincent Wayne and his cronies! All the destruction and casualties were caused by him! Draft a proclamation immediately! Also, send more people to thoroughly search the Department of Mysteries. He came from there; he must have left behind some conspiracy!"

He made no mention of the black mist or the indistinct face, as if it had never happened.

He chose the approach most suited to his political survival: blaming everything on a known "enemy" who could be openly attacked.

The truth? That doesn't matter.

……

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