Before Kyle came, there were already a lot of people here, and they were all acquaintances.

Chris, Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Auror Kingsley, Tonks...

And, of course, there's Dumbledore.

When Kyle arrived, Dumbledore was bending over, and a ball of warm yellow light was reflected on the walls on both sides of the corridor, flickering.

"Fox is back!" someone exclaimed.

Then everyone turned their heads.

"Kyle?" Fred rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong.

"Why is it you? Aren't you the healer at St. Mungo's?"

No one answered his question because everyone subconsciously made way for them and Kyle could see the situation ahead clearly.

The floor was covered in blood, and it was a strange purple color.

Amelia Bones of the Law Enforcement Division was lying in a pool of blood, still breathing weakly.

Dumbledore held his wand against her, and the warm light Kyle had seen earlier came from the tip of the wand.

In just a moment, Kyle understood why Fox brought him here.

"Here?" Kyle asked directly, not caring about the dizziness.

"It's an emergency. She can't move for the time being." Dumbledore said just as quickly, "You have to hurry. Fudge is already on the seventh floor."

"Okay." Kyle nodded and opened the box immediately.

"Wait...wait..." Then, a faint voice came.

It was Amelia, and she tried to open her eyes, but the simple action took almost all of her strength.

"Death Eaters...attacked...the Ministry of Magic..." Amelia said unsteadily, "Tell the Aurors...to attack...don't...be left alone..."

She seemed to want to explain something, but her voice became lower and lower.

"Hurry up!" Dumbledore urged, "Mr. Weasley, Fudge is almost here..."

Although Dumbledore's words were vague, Fred and George immediately understood what he meant. They nodded and ran quickly to the corner of the corridor.

Kyle's box is already opened.

"Turn around!" Chris said seriously.

Out of trust, everyone immediately turned their heads to the wall, including Chris, but when he turned around, he waved his wand and conjured up a mirror on the ceiling.

"...Oh, Mr. Minister, you are here!"

"It's so scary, you have to be prepared... Really, I can't even watch it."

Fred and George's voices came from not far away.

"Merlin, what on earth happened!" Fudge's voice was filled with undisguised panic.

"I really don't dare to recall it. You will know it yourself when you see it."

"Slow down, Minister. Watch your step and don't fall."

"Get out of the way, both of you." This was Scrimgeour.

He quickened his pace and appeared at the end of the corridor in a hurry, followed by Fudge's stomach.

Fred and George stayed last.

At this moment, they were standing on both sides of Fudge with their hands outstretched, as if they were afraid that he would fall if he ran too fast. This action looked like that of a lackey.

"Oh!" When Fudge saw what happened in the corridor, he suddenly grabbed his chest. "Is that Amelia?"

"I think so," said Scrimgeour in a deep voice, and he walked quickly towards him.

"She was petrified."

Scrimgeour took out his wand, tapped Amelia's gray skin, and whispered, "Resurrect quickly..."

"The curse is lifted!"

"Show up immediately!"

He tried many spells in succession, but Amelia Bones showed no signs of recovery.

“It was a very sophisticated dark magic.” Scrimgeour glanced at the blood on the floor. “But luckily, the petrification saved her life.”

He looked at Kingsley and Tonks in the crowd and asked seriously, "Tell me, what happened here?"

"Death Eater attack," Kingsley said. "Ten minutes ago, at the Ministry."

"They originally wanted to go to the first floor, but when they were in the elevator, Ms. Bones saw through their disguise, so the Death Eaters temporarily changed their target."

When Fudge heard that the Death Eaters' target was the first floor, he shuddered violently.

The first floor, isn't that where the Minister's office is? Those Death Eaters are targeting him, the Minister!

For a moment, Fudge felt cold all over. If Amelia had not happened to take the same elevator with them, he might have been the one lying on the ground.

Fudge's legs felt a little sore, and he tried to move his body so that he could lean against the wall.

However, no one around noticed the minister's poor performance.

After hearing the two Aurors' explanation, Scrimgeour became furious.

"What are you guys doing? Why didn't an Auror show up when such a big thing happened?"

"I don't want to shirk my responsibility." Kingsley shook his head. "We rushed here immediately after hearing the noise of the battle, but by then, the Death Eaters had already escaped."

"That's impossible," said Scrimgeour. "Apparition is forbidden at the Ministry of Magic. How could they get away?"

"It's not Apparition, it's the Portkey." Kingsley said solemnly, "We saw it with our own eyes. The Death Eaters gathered around a cane and disappeared collectively."

"Is there more than one Death Eater?" Fudge asked in a trembling voice.

But Scrimgeour was not too surprised.

Amelia Bones did not get the position of Director of the Law Enforcement Department by sucking up to people; she is also very capable.

In a one-on-one situation, there was no way those Death Eaters could defeat her in such a short time.

Unless there are enough people.

But Scrimgeour couldn't figure out how the Death Eaters got into the Ministry of Magic. Every passage here was strictly guarded, especially the corridor where the fireplace was, which had two large spyglasses installed. It should be impossible for anyone to sneak in without making any noise.

As a result, three Death Eaters arrived at once, and they had not received any news yet.

This made Scrimgeour's face burn, as if he had been slapped hard in the face.

"I think we need to go to the Department of Magical Transportation," said Tonks. "I suspect there are people there helping them."

"So what are you waiting for?" Scrimgeour growled in an irritated mood.

After Kingsley and Tonks left, he also used his wand to lift up Amelia, who was petrified on the ground, and said, "Minister, I have to send her to St. Mungo's immediately. Please make way."

"Okay, okay, we're going to St. Mungo's," Fudge said hesitantly, trying to get closer to the wall.

The attack on Amelia Bones at the Ministry seemed to have completely thrown him off his composure.

"Thank you." Scrimgeour frowned at his appearance, but said nothing. He just took the petrified Amelia towards the elevator.

After hesitating for a moment, Fudge immediately followed.

Perhaps in Fudge's opinion, he was the safest person only when he was with the head of the Auror Office, so he followed without hesitation.

As for what others think... It's normal for the minister to care about his colleagues who were attacked, right? And compared with his own safety, nothing else matters.

After they left, Dumbledore and Kyle also came out of an office next to the corridor.

A second before Scrimgeour arrived in this corridor, Dumbledore took Kyle and hid in it.

"We should not be in the Ministry of Magic right now, neither you nor I," Dumbledore explained.

But Kyle thought that he just didn't want to be bothered by Fudge or anyone else.

Of course, he didn't say it.

"But Professor, what is going on?" Kyle stood there still not figuring out what had happened, why Amelia Bones had been attacked, and why Dumbledore appeared in the Ministry of Magic.

Before Dumbledore could speak, Chris whispered beside him, "Someone's coming again."

In fact, there was no need for him to remind everyone, as they heard the dense footsteps not far away. Obviously, there were more than one or two people coming this time. They should be members of the Ministry of Magic who had received the news and wanted to come and check out the situation.

"This is not the place to talk." Dumbledore grabbed Kyle's arm, "Come with me."

Kyle felt dizzy, and when he came to his senses again, he found himself in the lobby of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, opposite the portrait of Phineas.

But now he was still in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, with only an empty picture frame in front of him.

"Who's there!"

Mrs. Weasley, who heard the noise, rushed out of a room with her wand in her hand.

"Dumbledore, Kyle? Why are you here?"

"It's a long story, Molly," Dumbledore explained. "Could I have a cup of black tea, please? More sugar, if possible."

"Oh, no problem, I'll get it ready." Mrs. Weasley said and walked into the kitchen.

Dumbledore and Kyle followed in.

"You must be wondering why I am at the Ministry of Magic?" he asked.

Kyle nodded, and Fox only told him that he needed the basilisk, and then took him away.

"That's because I received news that the Death Eaters are planning to attack people from the Ministry of Magic in order to intimidate people."

Dumbledore sat down on a chair at the dining table. "I thought they were targeting Fudge... and that was exactly what happened. The Minister of Magic was killed. Nothing could be more terrifying than that. But I didn't expect that things would turn out this way."

"The Death Eater's disguise was discovered by Ms. Bones?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, in fact, at the Ministry of Magic, most of what they said was right. Although I tried to get there as quickly as possible, I was still a little slow."

Dumbledore's tone was somewhat complicated, "Amelia has always been a careful and cautious witch with keen insight, which has been shown since she was still in school.

"But this time I really hope that she does not have these good qualities... Your father and his men have been on the first floor the whole time, but they came to nothing." Dumbledore sighed.

"I guess they must think that Ms. Bones is important enough," Kyle said. "After all, she is also the director of the Law Enforcement Department and an important member of the Wizengamot. Her influence is not much less than that of Fudge."

"You're right, I was negligent."

At this time, Mrs. Weasley also put a pot of tea on the table and brought a pot of pumpkin soda for Kyle.

"Amelia, what happened to her?"

"He was ambushed by a Death Eater and seriously injured," said Dumbledore.

"Oh my God, in the Ministry of Magic?" Mrs. Weasley's voice trembled a little. She always felt that besides Number 12 Grimmauld Place and Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic was the safest place.

Kyle glanced at Mrs. Weasley. This was probably the effect that the Death Eaters... or Voldemort wanted.

Since his comeback, he has not made any big moves, and even if he did, he failed one after another. Voldemort himself is not a low-key person, and he likes to see other people when they are afraid.

This time, I guess I want to take this opportunity to help everyone recall the fear of being dominated by the Dark Mark more than a decade ago.

Just as Dumbledore said, killing the Minister of Magic under the heavy protection of Aurors is much better than killing an unknown passerby wizard.

"But Professor, will they chase us to St. Mungo's?" Kyle reminded in a low voice, "There is a big difference between killing and seriously injuring."

"Don't worry, Sirius, Alastor and Remus have already gone to St. Mungo's." Dumbledore said calmly: "Remus still has the two-way mirror and can contact me at any time."

He took a sip of black tea, and when he looked at Kyle, his expression suddenly became a little dazed.

"Professor, what's wrong with you?" Kyle asked.

"Nothing, I just find it a little strange." Dumbledore shook his head. "The basilisk that Tom regarded as a killing weapon actually became the key to saving people one day."

"You've said that once before."

"Really?" Dumbledore was a little surprised. "Did I say that?"

"At St. Mungo's," Kyle reminded him. "When we first used the Basilisk to petrify that... uh, that wizard who had been victim to the Dark Arts."

"Yes, but no matter how many times I experience it, it's still hard to believe, as if the Killing Curse suddenly turned into some kind of healing magic."

Dumbledore said softly, "By the way, you should remember Sturgis' name. He is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Sorry." Kyle spread his hands. He really forgot.

"Professor, there is one more thing."

"Go ahead." Perhaps because he felt the taste was not right, Dumbledore added three more pieces of sugar into the teacup.

"It's about the Department of Magical Transportation. They..."

"I can't answer you this for now, Kyle." Dumbledore interrupted him, "I don't know the specific situation either, I still need to investigate.

"But I believe in Barty. No matter what, he would never go along with the Death Eaters. I have no doubt about that."

"Yeah, I believe him too."

Mrs. Weasley said, "Arthur mentioned to me that Barty was a little depressed for a while, but he quickly recovered and started to develop a more complete way to operate the Floo Network.

"That's just how he is. He takes his work very seriously, no matter where he is."

"Well, okay." Seeing that Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley both believed in Barty Crouch, Kyle didn't say anything else, but just reminded Dumbledore slightly.

The Department of Magical Transportation may not have much presence in normal times, but once a war breaks out, the importance of this department is definitely not much less than that of the Auror Office.

But Dumbledore should also know this. After all, he has experienced some of the most famous wars in the wizarding world and has much more experience than Kyle.

Five minutes later, Dumbledore finished his tea and prepared to leave. He still had a lot of things to do and couldn't stay here and relax.

"Do you need Fawkes to take you back to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked before leaving.

"No, that's not necessary." Kyle shook his head, "I can Apparate to Hogsmeade and then go back to school."

"Okay," said Dumbledore. "Be careful not to get caught by Filch. The new school rules have very severe penalties for going out without permission. Even if I were the headmaster, I couldn't give you extra points for things outside of school."

Kyle was speechless. Didn't Fox pick him up here? How could he be considered to have gone out without permission?

But before he could say anything, Dumbledore had left, the door was closed, and the room returned to silence again.

"How about we eat here and then go back, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"As much as I'd like to, I'm afraid I can't." Kyle shook his head. "I have to get back before dinner to avoid arousing suspicion."

"All right then," said Mrs. Weasley, but she brought a large bag of homemade fudge and beef patties and insisted that Kyle take them to school.

(End of this chapter)