To put it simply, the ministry was seriously understaffed, and the few people in the Department of International Magical Cooperation were totally insufficient. Anyone who could still breathe was called back to help.

The same thing happened to Mr. Weasley.

For a week in a row, they left before dawn and did not return until late at night.

So Kyle had been having dinner at the Weasleys' house these days, and every time he went there he would hear Fred and George making sarcastic remarks next to him.

Because Kyle and Cedric had teamed up to stuff them into the box, and they had been doing this since they returned from camp.

Cedric escaped because he was far away from the Burrow.

Finally, Kyle couldn't stand it anymore and agreed to take them for a spin in the box after school started, and they finally had a few days of peace.

Another incident that happened during this period was that Percy had a big fight with Mrs. Weasley.

The reason was that Rita Skeeter had published another article. She got the news from somewhere, saying that Mr. Weasley only cared about a few French students in order to please the headmaster of Beauxbatons, and watched more than a dozen wizards being killed without doing anything.

Of course, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this kind of thing was made up, but Percy believed it anyway. During breakfast, he complained to Mr. Weasley that his actions were not wise enough, and he also brought Bill and Charlie along.

Mrs. Weasley was furious and had a big quarrel with him, and Charlie even showed him directly what the methods of a dragon keeper were.

Percy didn't even finish his meal before he ran to the Ministry of Magic with a pair of black eyes.

"Don't mind him." Bill said to Harry and the others beside him, "Rita Skeeter never writes good things about others. She is best at confusing right and wrong, but many brainless people believe her."

In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the holiday, and Sirius and Lupin still hadn't brought him any letters.

In the morning, Kyle went to number 12, Grimmauld Place, but it was empty and the elf was not there.

Besides, there was no news from the Ministry of Magic.

Apparently, Sirius' retrial was put on hold.

What happened at the Quidditch World Cup had not yet been dealt with, and Fudge didn't seem to want to attack Crouch at this time.

But this is not difficult to understand. The Ministry of Magic is in chaos now, and a large number of Howlers are sent to the office of the Department of International Magical Cooperation almost every day.

If Crouch hadn't attracted public anger, letters complaining about the safety of the World Cup and demanding compensation for losses would probably have been sent to his ministerial office.

Fudge didn't want to spend most of his time every day dealing with those Howlers.

It was almost noon when Kyle returned to St. Catchpole Village.

Chris came back once, and then left in a hurry with Charlie. He received a mission to go to Romania immediately. When Charlie knew about it, he decided to get some portkeys. It happened that he only had one day left in his vacation, and using the portkey of the Ministry of Magic could save him a lot of time on the road.

Mr. Weasley waited until very late before returning, dragging his tired body and looking exhausted.

"Things are getting out of hand." He sat in an armchair by the fire, fiddling listlessly with the wrinkled cauliflower on his plate.

"What about Malfoy, Dad..." Bill asked, "How is Malfoy? Is he imprisoned in Azkaban?"

"I really think so." Mr. Weasley sighed. "He insisted during the trial that he acted in a fit of madness because his team lost the game. He never thought it would become such a big deal."

"He's crazy?" Bill said angrily. "They've used the Cruciatus Curse!"

"I know, but there's no one to testify," said Mr. Weasley. "Remember, his spell didn't work, and there's no way we can prove it with a flashback spell."

"Moreover, a considerable number of jurors chose to believe Malfoy. They believed that the mastermind behind this incident was an escaped Death Eater. Whether it was the use of the Imperius Curse on Buck, forcing him to assassinate Harry, or the first use of the Killing Curse and the creation of the Dark Mark, it was all done by this Death Eater.

Coincidentally, Malfoy had already been arrested when the Dark Mark appeared, which means he had no connection with the Death Eater."

"That's complete nonsense...What about Principal Maxime, did she agree too?" Bill asked.

"The Ministry of Magic is still negotiating with her." Mr. Weasley said, "That's why Malfoy and the others haven't been released yet.

Even though he donated a large sum of gold and took the initiative to bear all the losses and compensation, Principal Maxim found the French Minister of Magic and insisted on an explanation, otherwise he would withdraw..."

Mr. Weasley paused for a moment before continuing, "In short, the attitudes of Principal Maxime and the French Minister of Magic are very firm, and Fudge has been troubled by this matter."

"I see." Kyle nodded. "He doesn't want to damage his international reputation, but he's also unwilling to give up Malfoy's gold..."

"You could say that." Mr. Weasley poured himself a small glass of whiskey, "But no matter what, Malfoy has to suffer this time... I've inquired about it, and the gold he promised to compensate is not a small amount.

"Plus, we have to give an explanation to Beauxbatons... There is news that the Malfoy family is already selling the shop in Diagon Alley."

"He should go to Azkaban!" Ron yelled in dissatisfaction, "I really want to see if Draco Malfoy will still be so arrogant by then."

Mr. Weasley said nothing.

If the Cruciatus Curse had been used at the beginning, he would definitely not have been able to escape, but now... it can only be said that Lucius's scheming over the years has paid off. He spent a lot of Galleons and finally got rewarded at the critical moment.

As long as the mistake is not too serious, there will always be someone to speak up for him.

Besides, the Dark Mark appeared at the perfect time, which gave him an excuse to escape punishment.

"I think you'd better go upstairs and see if everything is packed," said Mrs. Weasley, interrupting their conversation. "Go ahead and stop talking about Malfoy and let your father rest for a while."

"Okay..." Everyone took their things and went upstairs.

Kyle originally wanted to ask if there was any news about Sirius in the Ministry, but seeing that Mr. Weasley looked tired, he didn't say anything.

…

(End of this chapter)