Fudge had just left when Conna walked into the Three Broomsticks with two bags of candy.
"So the person you're looking for this time is the Minister of Magic?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Yes." Kael said with a smile, "Fudge is here to persuade me to drop out of school. He wants me to become the next Minister of Magic right now."
Hearing the first half of the sentence made Conna panic for a moment, but after hearing the second half, she suddenly reacted and threw a bag of Multi-Flavor Beans at Kael, saying with annoyance:
"Then go ahead? The youngest Mr. Minister."
"No, I actually refused." Kael chuckled as he caught the Multi-Flavor Beans, "Being Minister of Magic is so dull. The workload is heavier than fifth-year assignments and it's not even interesting."
"As if you could really become one." Conna unceremoniously pierced through Kael's words.
"Alright, I can't actually become one." Kael said, "But Professor Dumbledore can."
"What?" Conna blinked in confusion, "Professor Dumbledore is going to run for Minister of Magic?"
"We have to give Fudge a sense of crisis, don't we?" Kael said as he picked a Multi-Flavor Bean and put it in his mouth, "So he stops trying to trip us up."
Then, Kael briefly recounted the plan he had discussed with Dumbledore earlier.
"You want Fudge to think this is Professor Dumbledore's conspiracy?"
After listening, Conna frowned, "But in this way, he'll definitely become more aggressive. Professor Snape told me, Fudge is very power-hungry, he values the position of Minister more than anything else, he definitely won't let Professor Dumbledore take it."
"Don't worry, no one is actually fighting him for it. Remember what I said just now? This is just a facade to give him a sense of crisis."
Kael explained, "Our initial goal is to deal with the resurrected You-Know-Who, and the Ministry of Magic is a force we can't ignore.
"But Fudge is afraid... or rather he doesn't want to create trouble for himself, so he keeps vehemently denying this fact."
"That's true." Conna nodded involuntarily.
All vacation long, the Daily Prophet kept emphasizing that You-Know-Who hadn't resurrected and that everything Dumbledore said was madness.
In the end, she couldn't even bother reading the newspaper by the second month.
"So you deceived Fudge by saying that the wartime Minister of Magic can serve multiple terms?"
"No, that's a fact." Kael shook his head, "Take Minister Hector Welfare, for instance, he was nearing the end of his term due to the war Grindelwald started, staying fifteen years in office, but he himself never paid attention to the threat Grindelwald posed to the entire Magic Realm, which is why he was ousted."
"Grindelwald?" Conna repeated quietly, remembering she had heard the name before but couldn't recall its significance.
"Yes, the Dark Lord before You-Know-Who, he caused unrest throughout Europe and even North America back then." Kael said, "However, he was ultimately defeated by Professor Dumbledore."
"But..." Conna continued, "As far as I know, during the rise of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic switched ministers twice."
"It's different, they were ousted because they were too incompetent to deal with the troubles You-Know-Who brought." Kael explained, "If they performed adequately, they could've stayed on."
"Alright." Conna nodded, she hadn't really paid attention to this before.
Now the Three Broomsticks was gradually getting crowded, every table was occupied and people were standing looking for available seats.
Soon, they noticed this corner spot, and several sixth-year Hufflepuff students walked over.
After all, the table was fairly large, but Kael and Conna were the only ones there, so adding two or three more wouldn't be a problem.
"Let's go back." Conna suggested.
With so many people now, it was hard to ensure that their conversation wouldn't be overheard and cause trouble later.
"Okay." Kael nodded.
The two got up, greeted the approaching students, and then left the Three Broomsticks.
Since it wasn't midday yet, the way back to the school was quiet, with nobody else around.
The two continued their previous discussion.
"What do you think the Minister will do; will he believe you?"
"I don't know." Kael shook his head, "But one thing is certain: he won't believe it immediately; for now, he'll likely target Professor Dumbledore."
"Aren't you worried he'll spread your words to the newspaper, telling everyone that the so-called resurrection of You-Know-Who is Dumbledore's plot to become Minister of Magic?"
"That's the one thing I'm not worried about." Kael said with a laugh, shaking his head, "Ever since Fudge became Minister, he's always worried Professor Dumbledore would take his position. Because he knows in his heart that both in popularity and ability, he falls far short of Professor Dumbledore.
"So no matter what, he won't publicize this. Whether it's conspiracy or not, if Professor Dumbledore truly wanted to be Minister, countless people would immediately support him.
"Fudge won't create trouble for himself, and most importantly... if he intends to serve multiple terms, he too would choose to bury this matter, focusing solely on Professor Dumbledore."
Conna nodded, half understanding, about to reach Hogwarts' gates, she suddenly thought of something.
"What if Fudge is unwilling to serve multiple terms and decides to prove in the newspaper that You-Know-Who hasn't resurrected, saying Professor Dumbledore is lying?" she asked.
"I'd be embarrassed." Kael shrugged and said with a smile, "But chances of that happening are very low. If Fudge really does that, I'd actually think more highly of him."
"But what if it really happens... you'd have to stand on the opposing side of Professor Dumbledore, wouldn't you?"
Conna said with some concern, "And with you joining, people will even less likely believe You-Know-Who has returned."
"And what about Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, Professor Sprout... would they misunderstand you?"
"No, such a thing won't happen." Kael looked up at the two winged boars on the gate, "If it came to that, I'd have to use the Forgetfulness Spell once more."
"Use the Forgetfulness Spell again?" Conna asked confusedly, "You used the Forgetfulness Spell just now?"
"Not just now, I used it once when I was locked up by Umbridge." Kael said, "It worked pretty well..."
The two continued talking as they walked through the school's gate, heading towards the castle.
…