The speaker was a tall, thin, pale man with a goatee.

There are many people around him.

Scrimgeour stood beside him, wand in hand, cautious.

"Dear Pierce, is it abnormal for me to be here?" Dumbledore greeted him warmly.

Thicknesse shook his head and hugged Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, I am surprised that you still remember me. I was a very ordinary person when I was at Hogwarts."

"I don't think an excellent student who gets five O's in NEWTs would be mediocre." Dumbledore smiled slightly. "You have always been very quiet. You are the most typical Ravenclaw. Which headmaster would forget the most symbolic child of each college?"

"It's just that I didn't expect you to become Minister of Magic."

Sinix looked at Dumbledore in surprise. "I didn't expect that either. I thought I would stay in the position of deputy director until I retired. Nowadays, young people are better than each other. Whether it's Rufus or Kingsley, my colleagues may think that they should let an old guy sit in this position, so that they will feel at ease. How pedantic."

"Of course, I never expected that you, Professor, would remember so many things about me."

"I almost forgot what I got in my NEWT exam. How could I get 5 Os?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Although I still want to relive the good old days at Hogwarts with you, my dear Pierce, now is not the time for small talk. Voldemort has resurrected."

Like everyone else.

When the new Minister of Magic heard the name, his body honestly shuddered.

"He really came back to life?" Thicknesse stammered. "Cornelly has been saying... I mean, he has been denying it."

Kingsley spoke, his tone heavy: "Minister, I really think so. I witnessed it with my own eyes."

Thicknesse's already pale face now turned completely bloodless.

"He really resurrected and really came back?"

His voice was trembling, and the rustling sound was like dead wood in the typhoon.

The other Ministry of Magic officials who followed, including Scrimgeour, were all covered with a black and white filter.

"Yes." Kingsley replied to them softly in a hoarse voice, "The You-Know-Who is back."

Thicknesse sucked in a breath of cold air, wishing he had a heart attack and died on the spot.

"But there is good news." Kingsley clapped his hands, making a crisp sound, attracting the attention of others, "Mr. Potter can deal with him. Just now in the vault, Mr. Potter fought with him and cut off one of his arms."

"He's getting very weak now."

Thicknesse breathed a sigh of relief.

Harry shook his head. "But he'll be strong again soon enough."

Thicknesse took in the breath he had exhaled and said, "But Mr. Potter, you are not..."

"Can you make other people not afraid of Voldemort?" Harry looked at him.

Thicknesse said nothing, and Scrimgeour lowered his head.

Not afraid of the mysterious man?

They can't even control themselves, and they are still afraid of the mysterious man. How can they convince others to abandon such emotions?

"Voldemort's name is magical." Harry shook his head. "The more fear he has, the stronger he will become. It may not be long before his strength returns to its peak, but it won't be too far behind."

The air around became thin again.

The more terrifying, the more powerful...

After they knew it, they couldn't control their hearts even more.

"What is the Ministry going to do?" Harry looked at him intently.

Thicknesse was silent.

He hesitated for a long time, then spoke hesitantly: "Is it true that fear will foster the power of You-Know-Who, Professor Dumbledore?"

"I think so," Dumbledore nodded. "There is a lot of ancient Dark magic in his name."

"Those who fear him will become the anchor of his power."

Thicknesse took a deep breath and said, "Then I'm afraid the Ministry of Magic will have to find a way to suppress this news. We can't let more people know this news and continue to provide him with power..."

"No, they should know." Harry shook his head. "Whether those people know it or not, it will not affect the power they provide to Voldemort."

"They know the truth, so they can be more peaceful and at least protect themselves, even if they think they are being protected."

Thicknesse shook his head: "Mr. Potter, I understand your idea, but this idea is too naive..."

"No, Mr. Thicknesse," Harry interrupted. "You don't have to convince me. What the Ministry does is your business."

"I am just explaining to you my point of view and my possible actions next."

Thicknesse was startled.

Scrimgeour was also startled. After a moment, he reacted: "Harry, are you planning to have Skeeter publish the news of Voldemort's return in the Quibbler?"

"Why not?" Harry asked back.

Thicknesse frowned: "Mr. Potter, you should cooperate with the Ministry of Magic on this matter..."

"The Ministry of Magic has let me down terribly," Harry interrupted. "Dumbledore has been reminding us over and over again over the last year that Voldemort is coming back, but what's the use?"

"All Dumbledore did was get criticized by the Daily Prophet."

"Anything can be said to cover up the truth."

Having said that, he paused for a moment, looked up and down at Sinix, and asked, "So is the Ministry of Magic interrogating Fudge now?"

"Interrogation?" Thickness opened his mouth slightly, surprised, "Why do we need to interrogate Cornelius? He just neglected his duty..."

"Dereliction of duty?" Harry interrupted him again, his tone sharp. "Can the things Fudge did be summed up in such a light word?"

Thicknesse wanted to say something.

Harry raised his hand and poked him lightly on the chest: "In order to cover up what he was afraid of, he ignored the fact that those six people were Death Eaters. Can this be called dereliction of duty?"

"In order to cover up his own mistakes, he wrote rumors about me and Professor Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet. Can this be called dereliction of duty?"

"He even put a label on me as 'the butcher of Little Hangleton' to show how right he was, and tried me for 'crimes'. Can this be considered dereliction of duty?"

A series of questions made all the Ministry of Magic officials present lower their heads and dare not speak.

Now it seems that what Fudge did was indeed too much.

"For Professor Dumbledore's sake, I've always treated him like a piece of air." Harry said calmly, "But that doesn't mean I don't have any opinion about him."

"Everyone be decent."

"The Ministry of Magic will try him for his crimes as they should be."

"Don't let me do it myself. It will be very ugly."

Thicknesse's face turned grim - no one in a high position of power would be willing to accept such a threat, so naked and in public.

"Mr. Potter, Fudge is Fudge, and I am me." Thicknesse shook his head, "You can trust me completely..."

Harry waved his hand: "Trust you?"

"Perhaps I can trust you, but how long have you been in office? Has the Ministry of Magic changed?"

Thicknesse opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, "you shouldn't be so against the Ministry of Magic."

"Wizards should stay away from politics." Harry turned around.

This is what he said in second grade.

"But to deal with Voldemort, we need help, and the Ministry of Magic is a very reliable helper." Dumbledore smiled, "Piers, let's discuss this properly when we have time, okay?"

Thicknesse nodded, "Of course, no problem, dear Professor Dumbledore."

Harry looked at him deeply. "I hope that when dealing with Voldemort, you will not forget the responsibilities of the Ministry of Magic."

Thicknesse opened his mouth but said nothing.

They leave.

The Aurors were busy dealing with the aftermath. Gringotts was too badly destroyed and the repair work was a huge headache for them. Not only that, they also had to determine the identities of the victims, more than 20 of them, including Muggles and wizards, and they needed to give an explanation to the outside world.

Thicknesse dealt with reporters from the Daily Prophet.

Harry, Dumbledore, Sirius and Tonks, who were waiting outside, walked back to the Leaky Cauldron together.

The already dirty environment became even dirtier after the trampling, and the tense atmosphere in the air had not yet dissipated.

Old Tom sat at the counter and sighed. There were so many people coming and going just now, but no one stopped and was willing to put even a knight into their pocket.

"Four glasses of whiskey." Sirius couldn't wait to speak as soon as he entered the bar.

"It's three glasses of whiskey and one glass of honey water," Harry corrected him.

Sirius pinched his waist: "I'd rather drink butterbeer."

Harry called again, "Two whiskeys, a glass of honey water, and a bottle of butterbeer."

"Isn't the honey water for me?" Sirius was a little dumbfounded.

Harry glanced at him. "That obviously belongs to Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore blinked his blue eyes innocently.

"Tom, it's three glasses, three glasses of whiskey!" Sirius turned his head away quickly, "No one will drink butterbeer."

They chose the most secluded corner farthest from the bar and sat down, waiting for Old Tom to bring the drinks.

"Professor Dumbledore, that Mr. Thicknesse, is that still Mr. Thicknesse?" Harry asked straight to the point.

Dumbledore nodded: "You didn't notice anything unusual, let alone me?"

"His reaction was very much like how Pierce would react, which is exactly what he is like."

"But, this does not rule out the Imperius Curse."

"That's a spell that even I can't detect."

Harry frowned. The power of the Imperius Curse was very weak. Unless it was cast in front of him, even he would not be able to detect it.

"Do you think there are still Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry sneered. "When hasn't that happened at the Ministry?"