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A student had suffered an accident. Although it had not been fatal, unlike the life lost fifty years ago, after having so much life force drained away, she did not have much time left either.
Although the Shaffer family was not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, her elders were all Ministry officials, and they were currently filing a case with the Ministry of Magic.
Someone had to take responsibility for this.
Originally, as headmaster, Dumbledore would have been directly responsible. But the coincidence was that at this time, Dumbledore had been removed, and not only removed, but taken away from Hogwarts.
He had not even been present, and he had been suspended from his position. Surely he could not be made responsible for what happened at that time.
Moreover, as soon as he returned, he resolved the matter. Emotionally or logically, he could not be blamed.
Then someone else had to carry the blame.
Had Lucius not been making a spectacle of himself earlier? Had he not proposed and organized Dumbledore's removal? Had he not pressured the Ministry of Magic?
Then he was the best person to take responsibility for this incident.
The governors were eager to shift the blame. The Ministry of Magic was eager to placate the Shaffer family. The Wizengamot needed to maintain its public image.
And so Lucius was removed from his position as school governor.
"Wea-Sha... the Shaffer family?" Lucius showed a stunned expression.
'The Shaffer family? Was it not supposed to be the Weasleys?'
Fortunately, Lucius was not truly stupid and did not say that aloud. Otherwise, he would not merely have lost his position as school governor. The charge of using a Dark Magic object to murder an underage witch or wizard would have been enough to send him straight to Azkaban.
"Lucius, if I were you, I would honestly stay at home right now and wait for the Ministry to visit."
"I hope you enjoy your time in the Wizengamot."
Lucius had gone to so much effort to send Dumbledore to the Wizengamot, only for Dumbledore to walk out without anything happening. Then Dumbledore turned around and sent him there instead.
A classic case of trying to set a trap and falling into it himself.
This time, the Wizengamot would probably cost Lucius another large sum.
Lucius's already rather long face became even longer.
"I would like to see what you will do without my financial support," Lucius said hatefully. Right now, he could only throw out threats. He could do nothing else.
Just as Carrow had said, he still had to face investigations from both the Ministry and the Wizengamot.
Among the twelve Hogwarts governors, the Malfoy family had always been the largest contributor, which was why they had firmly occupied the number one position among the governors.
If not for his failed investment in Voldemort, which had caused the Malfoy family to suffer heavy losses and lose much of its strength, he would not have been removed even after this error in judgment.
"I believe the new school governor is not short of money."
Carrow followed Lucius's words.
Although the Malfoys were called the largest contributors, it was actually only three thousand Galleons a year. To an ordinary wizarding family, that was an astronomical number, but to the truly wealthy of the wizarding world... er, it was still not a small number.
That was three full thousand Galleons, after all.
A Muggle-born wizard would need thirty full years to exchange enough money for that, and a Muggle-born wizard could only exchange for seven years in their entire life.
"Oh? It seems you have already found a new governor. Hurry and tell me which family's member it is."
Lucius stared at Carrow with eyes that seemed to spit fire.
He had only just been removed, and someone had immediately taken the position. If anyone said this had not been planned in advance, he would never believe it for the life of him.
Carrow had no intention of hiding it. He gently breathed out one name.
"Dursley."
"What?"
Lucius seemed not to have heard clearly. His eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
"It is Mr. Dursley."
Carrow emphasized the name again, and a hint of playfulness appeared in his eyes as he looked at Lucius.
That Malfoy, the one known as the shrewdest of all, had his day of humiliation too.
Once upon a time, Lucius had been Carrow's idol. Elegant and noble, an elite among pure-blood wizards, a model for him to learn from. Carrow had almost grown up listening to his stories.
In those days, Lucius could make a group of high-level Ministry officials spin in circles with only one sentence.
During the Dark Lord's era, although Lucius had not been the first pure-blood investor, his timing had absolutely been the best among the pure-bloods. The instant he attached himself to that rising power, he leapt into the upper ranks of the Death Eaters and gained that person's deep trust, even becoming one of his trusted lieutenants.
Now, he was merely this.
Senior Lucius, your era has already passed. Now belongs to the younger generation.
My judgment is stronger than yours.
"Brothers and sisters of Hogwarts."
"Let us cheer for Mr. Dursley becoming a school governor."
As he spoke, Carrow took the lead in applauding. Thunderous applause immediately erupted from the Slytherin table. Hufflepuff followed closely, then Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
The entire Great Hall was left with waves of applause rising and falling.
As the protagonist, Dudley stood at this moment and smiled, nodding to the surroundings. Then he lightly raised a hand, and the applause instantly vanished.
His influence at Hogwarts was even stronger than Dumbledore's.
Dumbledore sat in the headmaster's seat, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Dudley below. His eyes were full of amusement, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Snape's face was expressionless. Only the slight upward twitch at the corners of his eyes betrayed his mood.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout wore regretful expressions, lamenting that Dudley was not a student of their houses.
Lockhart was trying very hard to make himself less noticeable.
In short, every professor had a different expression.
Dudley looked at Lucius. When their eyes crossed, Lucius unconsciously took a small step back.
"I believe if Mr. Lucius has nothing else to do, he may leave. It is everyone's mealtime right now."
"Because of your arrival, you have delayed everyone for quite some time. Breakfast has already gone cold. Students with weaker stomachs may become ill from eating it."
This was an extremely obvious order to leave.
"Mr. Dursley is correct. You have already delayed us for a long time. And you are no longer a school governor, Mr. Lucius."
"If you still have matters to discuss with the professors, please wait until everyone has finished eating and then speak to them as a parent."
Carrow placed particular emphasis on the word parent.
"You... you..."
Lucius was so angry that his face turned red and his whole body trembled. He pointed shakily at Dudley and Carrow, but for a long time, he could not say a complete sentence.
Perhaps if anyone provoked him again, he would cry out and cough blood.
Lucius wanted to roar, but unfortunately, it would only have been powerless rage.
He fiercely flung his sleeve and left the Great Hall in a sorry state.
'My foolish father.'
Looking at his father leaving from the professors' table like a clown, Draco shook his head slightly and could not help thinking this.
'Father, I told you long ago not to go against Big D. Why would you not listen?'
Why could he not see the current situation clearly at all?
Big D's methods and Big D's ability were far beyond what an ordinary person could compare with. At a time like this, the most correct approach should have been to invest in him, not oppose him.
Without realizing it, the tall image of his father that Lucius had built in Draco's heart since childhood was collapsing bit by bit.
Draco was already beginning to think that if he were the head of the Malfoy family, he would definitely do much better than this father of his, who could not understand anything.
He could not simply watch the Malfoy family decline little by little in his father's hands, could he?
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