Arthur couldn't help feeling a bit exasperated watching Dumbledore waste such a strong position.
Back when Dumbledore was Headmaster of Hogwarts, he had been excellent at strategy and planning.
So why had he become so ineffective after entering politics?
Logically speaking, Dumbledore should have had the support of the Ministry's lower staff.
After all, most of them were Hogwarts graduates.
They should naturally favor Dumbledore.
Yet somehow they had been won over by Umbridge instead.
Arthur found that hard to believe.
But no matter how unbelievable it seemed, it was already reality.
Accepting that fact, another question arose in Arthur's mind.
He looked at Dumbledore and asked:
"If you can't outplay Umbridge politically, why not just use force?"
"Teaching that pink toad a lesson shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Dumbledore did not answer immediately.
Instead, he smiled faintly.
"That's quite an accurate nickname."
Clearly, he had plenty of resentment toward Umbridge himself.
Then he shook his head.
"If things could be solved through force, it would be much easier."
"But the Ministry workplace isn't something you can settle with violence."
"Besides… that pink—"
He coughed lightly.
"Besides, Umbridge is extremely cautious. She never travels alone."
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly.
Had Dumbledore almost said pink toad himself?
That was rare.
For Dumbledore to nearly use such an undignified nickname—
Umbridge must have truly reached a remarkable level of annoyance.
From what Dumbledore said, Arthur suspected something else.
Dumbledore had likely considered teaching Umbridge a lesson before.
He might even have followed her secretly.
Otherwise, he wouldn't know she never traveled alone.
Sometimes Arthur truly couldn't understand it.
With enemies everywhere and danger looming—
Why were people still so eager to fight internal battles?
He asked,
"Did you at least tell them about Voldemort?"
"I did," Dumbledore replied.
"But they don't believe me."
"Not just Umbridge. Most people don't."
"They all believe the Azkaban prisoners simply found a way to control the Dementors and escaped together."
"No one believes someone broke into Azkaban to release them."
"After all…"
"Less than two months ago, nearly the entire wizarding world saw Harry kill Voldemort."
At that point, Dumbledore slowly turned his gaze toward Lucius.
Because that whole situation—
Had been Lucius's doing.
At the beginning of summer vacation, Lucius had distributed magical recording crystals across wizarding communities.
Those crystals showed Voldemort's entire story—
From resurrection to defeat.
After some clever editing, everyone believed Voldemort had been completely destroyed.
Lucius awkwardly looked away.
How could he have known Voldemort would return so quickly?
In Lucius's plan, Harry would eventually destroy the final Horcrux.
Then Voldemort would vanish forever.
But reality turned out differently.
Not only had Voldemort returned—
His first act after regaining power was coming after Lucius.
Arthur waved a hand dismissively.
"Alright, there's no point discussing that now."
"Since that's the situation, I'll go with you tomorrow."
Dumbledore hadn't expected Arthur to agree so easily.
Normally, whenever Dumbledore asked Arthur for help—
Arthur would require some kind of payment.
But this time he hadn't even mentioned a reward.
Still, Dumbledore wisely chose not to ask.
If he reminded Arthur about payment—
He might regret it.
Seeing Arthur agree, Dumbledore asked:
"Will it just be the two of us?"
Arthur shrugged.
"If you want to bring spectators, I don't mind."
Snape spoke from the side.
"I'll go as well."
With Arthur involved, Voldemort was practically guaranteed to die this time.
Snape wanted to witness the fall of his former master with his own eyes.
Lucius cleared his throat.
"May I come too?"
He mainly wanted to watch Voldemort get thoroughly beaten, to soothe the anger in his heart.
Arthur waved casually.
"Suit yourselves."
"Come if you want."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Then I'll go fetch Harry."
As for the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore didn't plan to bring them.
Their strength varied too much.
Even the stronger members wouldn't make much difference.
If Arthur and Dumbledore couldn't defeat Voldemort—
Bringing them along would only send them to their deaths.
So why bring Harry?
Because of the prophecy.
Perhaps Harry might play a crucial role at a critical moment.
Besides, Harry already possessed considerable strength.
Dumbledore wasn't worried about him being a burden.
Thinking of Harry reminded Arthur of something.
The tracking disk he had given Harry.
Without that disk, finding Voldemort would be somewhat troublesome.
Arthur asked,
"Where's the disk I gave Harry?"
Dumbledore answered,
"I returned it to him, since it wasn't needed for the moment."
That was also why he needed to visit Harry tonight.
Arthur couldn't help complaining internally.
Has Dumbledore really grown senile?
Returning such an important artifact to Harry—
Wasn't he worried the boy might rush off alone to Voldemort's hideout?
Hopefully Harry wouldn't be that reckless.
Otherwise tomorrow's mission might involve collecting Harry's corpse as well.
Arthur finally said,
"Fine."
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, bring Harry to my house."
Dumbledore nodded and stood up.
"It's getting late."
"I still need to visit Harry, so I'll take my leave."
"Oh—and thank you for the dinner, Severus."
"Leah's cooking was excellent."
With that, Dumbledore attempted to Apparate.
But the spell failed.
Arthur coughed lightly.
"I've set up an Anti-Apparition barrier around here."
"You'll have to step outside before you can use that spell."
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